Horse of The Year Show
Three amazing days were spent at the NEC Arena enjoying the extensive array of retail stalls containing every aspect of horse paraphernalia from bridles, saddles to horse feed, bedding and horse transport and of course, watching the incredible horses at work.
We headed to the main arena and took our seats in the VIP area right in the heart of the action. We were fortunate to see the Racehorse to Riding Horse Championship. These wonderful animals of incredible blood line, after often illustrious careers as racehorses now perform in the big stage at the show.
Next was the exciting and speedy Double Harness Scurry. Here, two ponies pull a four wheeled scurry with two horseman passengers being propelled at extreme speed over a tight nit course whilst trying to avoid penalty points by not knocking a ball off the gate posts. And all against the clock! It had all of the JollyDays team clapping and yelling with delight.
We spent a lovely morning at Woodgate Valley Urban Park, which was a real hit with all of us. We were able to get up close with all the furry friends in the park including chickens, the cute rabbits, the greedy goats, cows and the noisy pigs!
We spent a few hours here, wandering around and we were able to help feed some of the animals, too.
Back at the NEC we loved 'horsing' around!
The Pony Club Mounted Games had us on the edge of our seats. Eight teams compete in an agility race, picking bottles, balls, batons and even fish in a relay style race, jumping on and off of their ponies. It was so much fun to watch!
Our perfect front row seats gave us an amazing view for the nerve racking Show Jumping Accumulator. We were blown away by the incredible jumping agility and speed of the horses and riders as they jumped against the clock with not only penalty points for missed fences but bonus points for certain fences especially the last fence.
The House Hold Calvary gave us a display that was not only visually brilliant but emotionally as well, finishing with the flags from the components of the UK being brought through the arena to the music of Land of Hope and Glory.
We were lucky to see some rosettes being presented to all the winners of the day.
Excitedly we made our way to the much awaited tour of Cadburys World. First, we explored the vast world of chocolate by being entertained with a visual feast about the history of the cocoa beans and its journey from Ghana to England.
We then learnt about its fusion with milk and sugar to produce the delicacy we all love today. Taking in all the interesting facts, we learnt the fascinating story of the Cadburys background starting in a small tea shop to becoming the chocolate mega brand we know today.
The Purple Planet section was one of pure delight as we chased chocolate eggs and jumped about in chocolate rain. The 4D chocolate adventure cinema with motion seats was memorable as chocolate flew through the sky, enhanced by our 3D vision glasses.
Best of all, we all got to sample the warm, silky chocolate for ourselves!
A day was spent at the famous Battlefields Railway Line run by the Shacklestone Railway Society. Everyone was delighted by the mystical steam train, captured with the coal fired engines, bellowing steam and whistle blows and the gorgeous Victorian station buildings. 
Travelling on our return tickets in our own compartment, the call of 'Tickets Please' and being clipped by the Guard brought back memories of years gone by. The views were pretty spectacular, too.
We had a hot drink back at the station café and looked around the museum and curiosity shop buying some souvenirs to remind us of our memorable day.
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