There has been a bit of a silence from this end, to say the least.
I have been flying around, but the main reason for the lack of news is because I have been asked by Harper Collins Non Fiction to write a book about Greatwood.
This is great news but the writing of the book is going to take a huge amount of time. The deadline is at the beginning of March, which in itself poses a problem because of all the work over the winter when the horses have to come in. But hey ho.
It is exciting to have been asked and I hope I do it justice.
This brings me to another point, having to write 75,000 words by March will probably mean that I will have precious little time to write the blog. Therefore, we have decided to wind up the blog, but we will continue to keep you up to date with news on the main site.
Just before I sign off (for the time being anyway), I have to ask something.
Does anyone in Wiltshire have a good tempered,and good Jack Russell dog? I don't care if he isn't the prettiest....
Mabel, (see on website under 'About Us') is my sweet Jack Russell. We have kept the same family for something like 60 or 70 years. She is the last in the line and I can't find a dog that has long enough legs....!!
If you do know of anybody it would be great, I would really appreciate it.
Anyway, all from me for a bit, I will still write the newsletter.....
Thanks for reading this over the last few months.
Best, Helen
Saturday, 17 October 2009
Thursday, 24 September 2009
The Arrival of New Horses
We have had such a lot to do prior to the visit of HRH, The Princess Royal, I haven't been able to get round to writing about the arrival of three more horses.
The first to arrive was: Red Beaufighter by Sheikh Albadou out of Tart and a Half
(the dam also the dam of the talented Assertive)
Red Beaufighter is 9 years old and the poor chap had a decidedly uninspiring racing career. We were asked to take him because his previous owner didn't have suitable facilities to care for him properly. He had escaped from his field and had been hit by a car, so she would have had to keep him in his stable pretty much forever.
Hard on his heels, Craig Hill Cracker arrived, by Michelozzo out of Tuftarney, a 10 year old gelding with an equally uninspiring career. We had been asked to take this chap in because of lack of facilities and his future looked uncertain. He seems a nice little fellow albeit with the worst ear plaque that I think I have ever seen. This condition has made him extraordinarily headshy and I think we will have a bit of a battle to try and help ease the situation.
Then we had the return of Quixotry, who is now 18. He came back to us because his elderly companion had to be put to sleep and he would have been on his own.
Quix made us chuckle a little. He jumped down from his box with alacrity, had a quick look round (obviously remembering his old home,) strode into his stable and proceeded to munch hay.
His neighbours however, nearly died of a heart attack. Quix is now almost white and as he came into the yard, they all jumped and hurtled about with their eyes popping out of their heads. It all settled down after a bit, but we have a job with integrating very light grays into the herd, they always seem to get bullied. Horse racism!
Anyway, despite worrying that his new companions may plague him when we turned them all out into the field, it was fine. Although, Quix clearly remembered that when he was with us last, he had been out in the fields with the mares. He proceeded to spend quite alot of time gazing longingly over the fence at the 'girls', they didn't help the situation by flirting on the other side.
We have new stables being built at the moment...pictures to follow.
The first to arrive was: Red Beaufighter by Sheikh Albadou out of Tart and a Half
(the dam also the dam of the talented Assertive)
Red Beaufighter is 9 years old and the poor chap had a decidedly uninspiring racing career. We were asked to take him because his previous owner didn't have suitable facilities to care for him properly. He had escaped from his field and had been hit by a car, so she would have had to keep him in his stable pretty much forever.
Hard on his heels, Craig Hill Cracker arrived, by Michelozzo out of Tuftarney, a 10 year old gelding with an equally uninspiring career. We had been asked to take this chap in because of lack of facilities and his future looked uncertain. He seems a nice little fellow albeit with the worst ear plaque that I think I have ever seen. This condition has made him extraordinarily headshy and I think we will have a bit of a battle to try and help ease the situation.
Then we had the return of Quixotry, who is now 18. He came back to us because his elderly companion had to be put to sleep and he would have been on his own.
Quix made us chuckle a little. He jumped down from his box with alacrity, had a quick look round (obviously remembering his old home,) strode into his stable and proceeded to munch hay.
His neighbours however, nearly died of a heart attack. Quix is now almost white and as he came into the yard, they all jumped and hurtled about with their eyes popping out of their heads. It all settled down after a bit, but we have a job with integrating very light grays into the herd, they always seem to get bullied. Horse racism!
Anyway, despite worrying that his new companions may plague him when we turned them all out into the field, it was fine. Although, Quix clearly remembered that when he was with us last, he had been out in the fields with the mares. He proceeded to spend quite alot of time gazing longingly over the fence at the 'girls', they didn't help the situation by flirting on the other side.
We have new stables being built at the moment...pictures to follow.
Transpique bowing for the occasion. The Princess Royal was highly entertained by his performance, although after it was all over Coudy was shaking like a leaf.
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
The Wooden Spoon Unsaddling Enclosure & Willie Carson
I've been hanging on a little to try and get some good photographs of our Royal visit yesterday, but they are proving a little slow in coming so I thought I would write a bit about it and then post some pictures later on. (I have to say that I am hugely impressed that Kim Bailey, our Patron, has already some pictures of The Princess Royal and Transpique on his website: www.kimbaileyracing.com). Anyway, after weeks of preparation, finally the day of reckoning arrived....The Royal Visit to Greatwood. Practically all of us had difficulty sleeping the night before, and if we did sleep we all had nightmares about what could go wrong. We took one nightmare scenario out of the equation by removing Whiskey, Georgina and Marshall out of the stables adjacent to the marquee just in case the close proximity of the microphone sent them barmy (it would have been difficult to get them out because there was a huge tea urn in the way). We had pretty much thought of everything, even putting signs on the tiniest little steps to prevent headlong falls.
Covered Occasions of Marlborough had expertly erected the most splendig marquee actually on the yard.
Dr Willie Carson OBE kicked off the day by kindly agreeing to present certificates to those children that had successfully completed the Open College Network accredited Greatwood Horse Power Course. He was very encouraging to the children and told them that everyone has a particular gift, and that they should make sure to find theirs....his gift was being small. He rode 4,000 winners worldwide and was champion jockey five times.
All was spick and span, there was a bit of a red alert when it looked as if HRH was running early but it all went to plan. The Princess Royal was cheered by the children that took part in Greatwood Horse Power and they waved flags. Laura, was presented to the Princess Royal and she talked to her about her work with the children. The Princess Royal had a chance to see some of the work by the children as she passed through the classroom to see the Wooden Spoon Unsaddling Enclosure. The Princess Royal is Patron of The Wooden Spoon.
We are thrilled with this additional facility at Greatwood which was funded entirely by The Wooden Spoon, it comprises of a further loo, and washhand basins, a quiet room, and a kitchen....luxury indeed.
Her Royal Highness returned to the marquee to unveil the plaque, and before her departure she was amused because we had arranged for Transpique to take a bow.
We were complimented by the Royal Party because it had all gone like clockwork...all the rehearsals and hard work was worth it!
Covered Occasions of Marlborough had expertly erected the most splendig marquee actually on the yard.
Dr Willie Carson OBE kicked off the day by kindly agreeing to present certificates to those children that had successfully completed the Open College Network accredited Greatwood Horse Power Course. He was very encouraging to the children and told them that everyone has a particular gift, and that they should make sure to find theirs....his gift was being small. He rode 4,000 winners worldwide and was champion jockey five times.
All was spick and span, there was a bit of a red alert when it looked as if HRH was running early but it all went to plan. The Princess Royal was cheered by the children that took part in Greatwood Horse Power and they waved flags. Laura, was presented to the Princess Royal and she talked to her about her work with the children. The Princess Royal had a chance to see some of the work by the children as she passed through the classroom to see the Wooden Spoon Unsaddling Enclosure. The Princess Royal is Patron of The Wooden Spoon.
We are thrilled with this additional facility at Greatwood which was funded entirely by The Wooden Spoon, it comprises of a further loo, and washhand basins, a quiet room, and a kitchen....luxury indeed.
Her Royal Highness returned to the marquee to unveil the plaque, and before her departure she was amused because we had arranged for Transpique to take a bow.
We were complimented by the Royal Party because it had all gone like clockwork...all the rehearsals and hard work was worth it!
Monday, 7 September 2009
Almost Injury Free
The week without Robbie and Sue has been fine, although Lara their dog has been a bit worried without them. We had a slight deluge of injuries for a few days....BT's gash, followed by Whiskey and then Sunshine Boy.
Whiskey came in with a huge left foreleg, he just had the tiniest mark below the knee, and I think that he had been fooling about and maybe got his leg caught somewhere which then got inflamed. He came in for a few days with Marshall and George(ina) and then was joined by Sunshine Boy, who came in with an equally massive leg.
Sunshine had suffered from lymphangitis a few weeks ago and it had obviously reoccurred. He looked perfectly alright but nevertheless we took his temperature and it was 39.2. I doubted this and thought that maybe the thermometer had broken, we tested it on Warren but it was ok...unlike poor Sunshine. Anyway, a cocktail of various drugs sorted him out and he was back to normal in a few days.
It has been a relatively quiet few days really, the yard are all out and about undertaking a quad bike training course, and we have moved Deano's from one field to another. Deano's, being a creature of habit, was highly indignant about the whole affair. We took his breakfast out to him and he was so busy hurtling about that he had overlooked the fact that Paul had taken advantage of the situation and scoffed his breakfast as well as his own. When Deano's realised this, his indignation knew no bounds.
Whiskey came in with a huge left foreleg, he just had the tiniest mark below the knee, and I think that he had been fooling about and maybe got his leg caught somewhere which then got inflamed. He came in for a few days with Marshall and George(ina) and then was joined by Sunshine Boy, who came in with an equally massive leg.
Sunshine had suffered from lymphangitis a few weeks ago and it had obviously reoccurred. He looked perfectly alright but nevertheless we took his temperature and it was 39.2. I doubted this and thought that maybe the thermometer had broken, we tested it on Warren but it was ok...unlike poor Sunshine. Anyway, a cocktail of various drugs sorted him out and he was back to normal in a few days.
It has been a relatively quiet few days really, the yard are all out and about undertaking a quad bike training course, and we have moved Deano's from one field to another. Deano's, being a creature of habit, was highly indignant about the whole affair. We took his breakfast out to him and he was so busy hurtling about that he had overlooked the fact that Paul had taken advantage of the situation and scoffed his breakfast as well as his own. When Deano's realised this, his indignation knew no bounds.
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal
We have just received confirmation that HRH The Princess Royal is coming to Greatwood on the 21st September. We have been very fortunate in that The Wooden Spoon Trust granted us a sizeable chunk of money to create a cloakroom, additional loo facilities and a time out room for the special needs children.
As you can imagine, this has thrown us into a bit of a spin, and we are already targeting areas which need sorting out, licks of paint etc. Nevertheless, we are absolutely thrilled, it will be a great honour to receive her at Greatwood.
Sue is running around like a startled gazelle this morning. She, and her fiance Robbie are off to Egypt tomorrow and she is desperately trying to get everything done before she leaves. I am really excited for them that they have finally got something together to go on holiday, but a little nervous that my two key people in the yard aren't going to be here! especially in the light of what happened on Monday when Robbie had taken a long weekend to fulfill a long wished for ambition to take his bike around the Nurbergring, and it was Sue's day off!
Mikey arrived to work in bad order, I took pity on him and sent him home after breakfast, and that left Coudy, Dan, Lucie and me in the yard. Richard our vet was due to come in with Polly, our physio, to work on Bunkhouse and Insheen. All would have been well if it hadn't been for a number of injuries throughout the day culminating in poor old Richard having to return to Greatwood at 6.30pm to try and attempt to stitch a gash on....Broughton's Turmoil. When Dan told me at evening stables that there was yet another injury, this time in the old boys field, I hoped upon hope that out of all the horses it wouldn't be BT. My hopes were dashed. BT is a dreadful patient, he fidgets, hates injections and has a keen left or right hook if things get a little personal. He even managed to aim a well directed jab at Richard's hand as he was trying to clean him, even though he was sedated.
Anyway, it was managed in the end without all of BT's toys being thrown out of the pram, and we turned him out again into the field later on. I led by torchlight, followed by Dan with BT and Coudy with Mikko. It would have been hopeless trying to keep BT in for the night because unless everyone in the old boys field comes in he acts like a complete nitwit.
Let's hope Monday isn't an example of what will happen over the next ten days!
As you can imagine, this has thrown us into a bit of a spin, and we are already targeting areas which need sorting out, licks of paint etc. Nevertheless, we are absolutely thrilled, it will be a great honour to receive her at Greatwood.
Sue is running around like a startled gazelle this morning. She, and her fiance Robbie are off to Egypt tomorrow and she is desperately trying to get everything done before she leaves. I am really excited for them that they have finally got something together to go on holiday, but a little nervous that my two key people in the yard aren't going to be here! especially in the light of what happened on Monday when Robbie had taken a long weekend to fulfill a long wished for ambition to take his bike around the Nurbergring, and it was Sue's day off!
Mikey arrived to work in bad order, I took pity on him and sent him home after breakfast, and that left Coudy, Dan, Lucie and me in the yard. Richard our vet was due to come in with Polly, our physio, to work on Bunkhouse and Insheen. All would have been well if it hadn't been for a number of injuries throughout the day culminating in poor old Richard having to return to Greatwood at 6.30pm to try and attempt to stitch a gash on....Broughton's Turmoil. When Dan told me at evening stables that there was yet another injury, this time in the old boys field, I hoped upon hope that out of all the horses it wouldn't be BT. My hopes were dashed. BT is a dreadful patient, he fidgets, hates injections and has a keen left or right hook if things get a little personal. He even managed to aim a well directed jab at Richard's hand as he was trying to clean him, even though he was sedated.
Anyway, it was managed in the end without all of BT's toys being thrown out of the pram, and we turned him out again into the field later on. I led by torchlight, followed by Dan with BT and Coudy with Mikko. It would have been hopeless trying to keep BT in for the night because unless everyone in the old boys field comes in he acts like a complete nitwit.
Let's hope Monday isn't an example of what will happen over the next ten days!
Monday, 17 August 2009
New Seeker
I have had to hang on for a few days before writing this particularly sad bit of news until such time that Elite Racing Club and Axom could contact their members.
New Seeker died here at Greatwood on August 12th.
Robbie and Mikey had just about finished field checks but when they looked over New Seeker it was apparent that all was not well. The vet was called, he treated New Seeker and I kept an eye on him overnight. He appeared to be alot better the following day, was a little stiff, but wasn't in any pain, he was eating up well and was bright and alert. He deterioriated the following morning and it was our vet's opinion that euthanasia was the only option in order to relieve his suffering.
New Seeker had ongoing unresolvable issues with both his knees and hock and he had clearly had an acute episode resulting in spine/pelvic trauma.
New Seeker came to us in October 2008, and despite the fact that he was quite high maintenance we are all nevertheless very sad that he won't be able to enjoy the long and happy retirement that we had envisaged.
RIP New Seeker
New Seeker died here at Greatwood on August 12th.
Robbie and Mikey had just about finished field checks but when they looked over New Seeker it was apparent that all was not well. The vet was called, he treated New Seeker and I kept an eye on him overnight. He appeared to be alot better the following day, was a little stiff, but wasn't in any pain, he was eating up well and was bright and alert. He deterioriated the following morning and it was our vet's opinion that euthanasia was the only option in order to relieve his suffering.
New Seeker had ongoing unresolvable issues with both his knees and hock and he had clearly had an acute episode resulting in spine/pelvic trauma.
New Seeker came to us in October 2008, and despite the fact that he was quite high maintenance we are all nevertheless very sad that he won't be able to enjoy the long and happy retirement that we had envisaged.
RIP New Seeker
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