Over the stable door: Abba tribute segues into Britain’s Got Talent and a great night out

It was Kai’s first visit to the Yorkshire event and he performed two faultlessly stylish rounds to finish less than a penalty ahead of Polly Stockton.

Kai and his wife, Petra, run a riding school and training centre at their beautiful beach home on Fehmarn island, a popular tourist destination off the German coast. I met the couple in Spain last year at an Abba-themed wedding (yes, it was as mad as it sounds).

Both Kai and Petra were well prepared for the all-night party, arriving in full costume ensemble – Kai looked a picture in a fitted silver lycra flared trouser suit complete with bat-wing sleeves. His bronzed complexion, pearl-white grin and cheeky glint could have come straight from the cover of a rock and roll magazine.

He certainly had the ladies melting… although his Abba outfit had obviously been made for a lesser man – Kai stands at six foot four. His half-mast trousers revealed six inches of hairy ankle flesh.

The eventing pin-up star ended his evening fully clothed in the swimming pool, where the bride coaxed guests to join her. I heard the lycra suit had to be cut off next morning having shrunk further after its impromptu wash.

My equine ulcer patient has been given the all-clear after endoscoping clean.

“Quite a remarkable recovery,” the vet commented before explaining they had been the worst case of ulcers he’d seen. “I didn’t want to dishearten you before we began treatment but I doubted she would make such a recovery in the time we had.”

She is entered to run at York today if we don’t get balloted out. The owners have dreamed of having a runner at the prestigious Yorkshire track. It is a high-class race but will work well as a warm-up preparation for Carlisle next, where the stiff uphill finish is in her favour.

I seem to be accumulating high-maintenance mares in the yard at present. Some take up twice the time of a gelding but with the light summer mornings, I have the time to spend getting them settled in order to learn.

The longest day will soon be upon us (what – only six months to the shortest). Every summer I wonder how we cope on the dark frosty winter mornings which bring a gruelling day’s work; the warm sunny days are so agreeable.

At Christmas, you may remember that in the Bedale hunt ball raffle I won a trip to the Britain’s Got Talent semi-final. It had been kindly donated by the ITV chairman, Archie Norman, who lives at Little Ribston, near Harrogate.

He is a keen follower of hounds and a member of the Middleton hunt.

I collected my tickets from him in person at the ITV studios in London last Thursday before heading along to the live show with a friend.

She, thankfully, was an avid fan, which made up for my ignorance (dare I admit to never watching the show).

To say the least my expectations were not high – I abhor reality television – but it turned out to be a terrifically entertaining evening. Some of the acts were surprisingly bad while those with real talent shone through. That’s the benefit of live television – there can be no covering up.

One performing Chihuahua relieved itself on the stage, and the schoolboy singing act that followed slipped in the said canine’s parting gift during a gruelling dance routine.

We were in hysterics – for the wrong reasons.

The male judges had make-up applications every 10 minutes (the only female on the judges’ panel remained untouched throughout filming).

The one act we were lucky enough to hear was eventual winner Jai Mcdowell. The Scottish singer was outstanding; he sent goose-bumps down my spine. Praise indeed from the pessimist in the audience.