Simon Richards, and curate, Stephen Jarvis, were eloquent on church matters. Tree surgeon Tim Bendle and Simon Toomer, who runs the glorious Westonbirt Arboretum, advised me on trees. Phil Bradley, who drove me all over the country, initiated me into the skills and hazards of goalkeeping. Rupert Proctor advised me on betting. Inspector Mark Ravenscroft of Operational Services and Chris Miller were brilliant on explosives, and my super lawyer, Graham Ogilvie, wised me up on the law. Adam and Nat Phillips inspired me on houses and cockpit-shaped offices as did Judy Zatonski on greyhounds. Bill Holland with his usual sweet nature answered the most obscure musical queries. Wonderful Stephen Simson at Hatchards as usual tracked down endless books. Susanna Franklyn was witty and illuminating on the theatre. Bob and Derelie Cherry enlightened me on rose grafting as did Mariska Kay on lovely clothes and Anne Spackman of Kenneth Green Associates on lovely scent.
I would also like to thank my wonderful bank, Hoares, and especially Bella Hopewell and John Gallop for looking after me.
On the veterinary front, I had great advice from my own vet, John Hunter and his staff at Bowbridge Veterinary Group, from Shirley Bevan and, particularly on hairline fractures, from Emma Ridgeway at the Willesley Equine Clinic.
Pat Pearson and my own doctor, Tim Crouch, advised on medical matters, and my super dentist Terry Mason on straightening buck teeth.
Of the younger generation, Poppy and Charlie Stirland, Harry Luard and Kit Cooper educated me on teenage slang, and Luke and Freddie Mander on excellent speeches.
Willowwood is threatened by widespread flooding in Jump! A huge thanks therefore to our local neighbourhood warden, Ashley Nicholson, for providing graphic descriptions of wrestling with the Gloucestershire floods and the helicopter rescues these entailed. Our own local papers, particularly the Stroud News, the Citizen and the Gloucester Echo, also covered these events most dramatically.
Meanwhile, Martin Meade and pilots Robin Gibson and Garry Hodge advised me on helicopters; photographers Gavin James and Les Hurley kept me supplied with wonderful pictures of racing and horses.
There was huge excitement recently when our Bisley Compost Scheme won an MBE for all their hard work. One of the scheme’s pioneers, Liz Howlett, and Anna Shepard, Green writer on The Times and author of the wonderful How Green Are My Wellies, gave me marvellous advice on ecology. I have to confess to a slightly irreverent portrayal of Mrs Travis-Lock, my eco-warrior in Jump!, but as a character she is staunchness personified.
Over the past few years, a ravishing Queen Anne house across the road has been gutted and lovingly restored by a team from Ward & Co. of the Ryeford Industrial Estate, headed by their general manager Gary Perrins. During this period, they regaled me with hilarious stories of work in progress. Despite the roads closed and traffic hold-ups, we missed them hugely when they went.
I must also thank Shaun Moore, an expert on graffiti on white vans.
My friends, as always, provided magical input; they include Maria Prendagast, my sister-in-law Angela Sallitt, Rudolph Agnew, Peregrine Hodson, Susan Kyle, Antony Winlaw, Suzie Dowty, Laura Cooper, Mandy Pitman, Rupert and Ollie Miles, David Cull, Miriam Francome, Deborah Waters, Janetta Lee, Lucy Lane-Fox, Jemima Khan, Arthur Wade and Pete Curtis.
I have listed the names of so many people but to my shame I took down the telephone numbers of many others, but never found time to follow them up. For this I apologize, and even more so to anyone whose help I sought and haven’t included.
Now to the book itself. I am utterly blessed in my publishers, Transworld, who truly know how to cherish and inspire. I cannot thank Larry Finlay, my darling editor Linda Evans and her hawk-eyed PA Joanne Williamson enough for all their kindness. Claire Ward and Henry Steadman produced a most stylish jacket, and I am honoured that Neil Gower, who won Jacket of the Year for Lord of the Flies, has drawn such a beautiful and witty map.
Deborah Adams tackled the copy-editing, while Katrina Whone and Vivien Garrett ably managed the progress of the book through its copy-editing and proof-reading stages. For the typesetters, Betty Leggett amended the text with inimitable speed and accuracy.
One of the reasons I love finishing a book is because I can work again with the divine Nicky Henderson, my freelance publicist, and the fantastic publicity team at Transworld, headed up by the lovely Patsy Irwin.
I am also blessed with the most wonderful agent, the wise and warm-hearted Vivienne Schuster. She and Linda Evans must have felt like midwives delivering elephant quads as I laboured to finish Jump! but their sweetness and encouragement never faltered. I am also delighted Viv has taken on a bright and beautiful assistant, Felicity Blunt, who gave me excellent advice on developing characters.
Once again, the true heroines are my friends, my PA Anna Gibbs-Kennet, Annette Xuereb-Brennan, Mandy Williams and my former PAs Pippa Birch, Pam Dhenin and Pam’s daughter Zoe. They dropped everything to produce a huge and beautiful manuscript in record time, typing long into the night, wrestling with my increasingly indecipherable writing, then carrying out a million corrections, pointing out errors and making suggestions. I cannot thank them enough, or Sue Kilmister for also helping me with a later draft.
I would like to add an extra thanks to dear Anna Gibbs-Kennet, who not only masterminded the production of the manuscript but kept my office running smoothly at the same time and dealt with a million loose ends.
I must also praise the kindness and resourcefulness of Steve Perry, my husband’s carer, who spends a lot of time looking after me. He was brilliant, sorting out various computers when they started playing up and checking facts. When Steve is away, Hazel Johns steps in and cheers us all up with her sweetness and expertise.
Nor would I survive for a second without my wonderful housekeeper Ann Mills, who has somehow put up with our family for twenty-five years. Ann and her great friend Moira Hatherall skip out our house as cheerfully and heroically as any stable lads, always leave it beautiful and provide so much comfort and love.
My own family has, as always, been beyond reproach. My brave husband Leo, a great publisher, who gives me wonderful advice; Felix and his wife Edwina and their daughter Scarlett; my daughter Emily, her husband Adam, their three sons, Jago, Lysander and Acer; Feral the cat, and our collective dogs: Feather the greyhound, Bobby the Labrador and William the mongrel, have once again provided their essential mixture of love, fantastic copy and good cheer.
I am also deeply grateful to Monica, my ancient manual typewriter, who, when computers crashed, never put a key wrong.
Finally, I would like to thank thoroughbred horses everywhere for racing their hearts out and for the joy and excitement this brings the public, and plead that their lovely, sensitive and trusting natures should never be abused.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jilly Cooper is a journalist, writer and media superstar. The author of many number one bestselling novels, she lives in Gloucestershire with her husband Leo, her rescue greyhound Feather and her black cat Feral.
She was appointed OBE in 2004 for services to literature, and in 2009 was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Gloucestershire for her contribution to literature and services to the County.