8 CHRISTMAS AT THE MANSIONThe team had seen Wayne’s family off on Sunday morning after breakfast, then the performers among the girls carried out their routine of exercises and after a light lunch had swum all afternoon in the heated pool, despite the chilly ambient temperature. Swimming was an important part of their exercises, but Wayne just liked being with the girls, most of whom were between eighteen and twenty years of age.
Jim’s team consisted of his wife and himself, six performers, a stable-girl and a stable-boy, Wayne and Jane, and Jim’s daughter, Emma, who was still at school, but was training to become a riding performer as well. There were also eight horses, six that performed regularly, one that was in training and a foal. Jim spent as much time as he could with the horses,
