The Kelpies
The Kelpies

Yogi & Merlin April 2018
Yogi & Merlin April 2018

Maggie & Ben warming up for Team Quest Dressage April 2018.
Maggie & Ben warming up for Team Quest Dressage April 2018.

Maggie May at Hairy Camp May 2018
Maggie May at Hairy Camp May 2018

Black Prince & Black Magic 03-06-2018
Black Prince & Black Magic 03-06-2018

Maggie May In-Hand Champion FPS South Cumbrian 10-06-2018
Maggie May In-Hand Champion FPS South Cumbria Show10-06-2018

Sophie In-Hand Champion at West Park July 2018 Sophie In-Hand Champion at West Park July 2018

Black Prince & Black Magic at FPS Breed Show 05-08-2018
Black Prince & Black Magic at FPS Breed Show 05-08-2018

Maggie May's first beach experience at Seaton Carew 28-08-2018
Maggie May's first beach experience at Seaton Carew 28-08-2018

Autumn 2018 - Rackwood Family.
Autumn 2018 - Rackwood Family.

Rackwood Lucky Lady & Rackwood Maydew at Eggleston Show September 2018.
Rackwood Lucky Lady & Rackwood Maydew at Eggleston Show September 2018.

Rackwood Lucky Lady M&M Chaqmpion at Scottish & Northern November 2018.
Rackwood Lucky Lady M&M Champion at Scottish & Northern November 2018.

 

News

2018 News from Rackwood Fell ponies

Maggie May was to be my main riding and showing pony this year so was fully clipped at New Year so that I could get her into work. There was quite a covering of snow during January and conditions were rather icy so the normal problems of frozen water pipes and carrying water took up a great deal of time. One of my 2017 Christmas presents involved going away from home overnight so I decided to buy a tombstone ring feeder for the ponies at Hamsterley so that they did not need to be fed every day. I experimented with the number of small bales that would fit in it and they would eat without wasting too much. I could get 10 small bales into it but that meant they were stacked two high so the ponies just pulled it out and wasted it. Six bales stood on edge was the best fit and they did not come too far above the bars so very little waste. Not as much as there would be in a large round bale but sufficient to last two or three days if necessary.

February presented very cold and snowy so carrying water continued to take up my time. Maggie May was rapidly changing shape as she became fitter and finding a saddle to fit her was beginning to be an issue. I have a large selection of saddles of varying makes and sizes but Maggie May wasn’t conforming to any of them. Fortunately an acquaintance advertised a saddle that had been used on her Dales pony, so I went and collected it so I could try it for the weekend. I’m happy to say it was a good fit for her so I bought it. Donald kept asking me just how many saddles did I need, so I resorted to ask him how many tractors did he need!

We began our Team Quest competitions during February at the RDA Centre at Middlesbrough and Holmside Hall Equestrian Centre. The fun had begun.

March brought us ‘The Beast from the East’ which I’m sure everyone remembers. I had booked for us to go away at that time but had to cancel as everywhere was in chaos. Our Christmas voucher expired at the end of March so I rebooked for the very last weekend in March and hoped the weather would settle. We escaped for an overnight stay at Falkirk and went to see the Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel. Fabulous experience and would strongly recommend it. Around this time I agreed to sell Merlin to a young lady who was looking for an up to height Fell pony. I agreed to keep him until he had been gelded and fully healed so suggested early in June.

The weather early April was beginning to settle and be more spring like so I turned Merlin and Yogi out into the paddock next to the house so that they could come into the adjoining stable at night. They soon got used to this routine and benefitted from the daytime exercise. I continued to work Maggie May and enjoyed hacking out with Barbara and Ben as well as competing in the BD Team Quest dressage at the RDA Unicorn Centre and Holmside Hall Equestrian Centre. Around the middle of April my stallion, Linnel Riddler, went lame so I brought him home to investigate the cause. He had gravel in a front foot and once diagnosed recovered very quickly. As a stud stallion he only works one month a year which is mid May to mid June so going lame in April was a wee bit stressful for me. He was very quiet and placid when he was in pain but once the pain was removed he soon told me he wanted to go back to his family on the hillside at Hamsterley.

The first weekend in May was the Highland & Fell Pony Camp at Linnel Wood. I took Maggie May along for the fun and she really enjoyed herself. I must have been wearing my brave pants when I completed the application form as I had selected lots of exciting activities such as Jumping and Cross Country. We began the weekend with a flatwork lesson with Richard Telford which I enjoyed but he thought Maggie needed more energy. I think she found the arena work boring because she certainly found lots of energy on the Cross Country course and the Jumping. I fell off at one of the jumps on Sunday morning so that destroyed my confidence and I was reluctant to continue. I went over her head and landed on my back so had a whiplash and was very stiff and sore for a few days following camp. I don’t bounce like I used to so maybe my choice was a little reckless.

The following weekend I took Yogi to the FPS Stallion Show. Katie agreed to show him for me as I was struggling to run evenly. He was placed 6th out of 11 forward so I was happy with that. The following week Merlin and Yogi were castrated, just before my foals began to arrive. Maydew had her 13th foal on the 13th day of May so I named her Lucky Lady. Black Magic produced a colt the following week and he was named Black Prince. Melody followed quickly afterwards with another filly which I named Harmony and then Magic completed my 2018 foaling on the 25th May with another filly which I called Aurora. All 2018 foals were born within a 12 day block so Riddler must have been rather busy when I put him with the mares in 2017.

Early in June I delivered Merlin to his new owner and then brought Sophie in to start and handle ready for the showing season. She had taken a back seat while I had shown Rambling Rose during 2017 so although she could be caught and led that was as far as her education had gone. Very soon afterwards I bravely took Sophie and Maggie to the FPS South Cumbria Show at the Westmorland County Showground in Cumbria. Maggie May was 1st prize mare and then In-hand Champion. Sophie was rather cautious at leaving Maggie May and going into the ring on her own but managed to be awarded 1st prize 3yr old. I thought this an excellent start to her showing career and with the help of her big half sister Maggie May, travelled well. We then took the caravan up to the royal Highland Showground for our annual holiday. Retail therapy is a wonderful thing when there are so many goodies to choose from.

July took us into haymaking at Hamsterley and although the yield was down on previous years, the quality was good. I continued to work with Sophie and lunged and long reigned her throughout this month. By this time she was confident at going out without her sister for support so I took her to another show at West Park Equestrian Centre. She was 1st prize M&M any age, 1st prize Rare & Foreign Breed any age (under a different judge) and then went In-hand Champion when the two judges came together with all the 1st prize winners. Fabulous day and a big learning curve for her. Later in July I took Maggie May to the North West FPS Camp held at Newton Rigg. This was a completely different experience to the North East Camp and my confidence at jumping returned. Maggie May really is a super star and was awarded the Best Mannered Pony rosette at this event. Proud mammy moment!

Early in August I backed Sophie and began riding her in the arena and around our farmyard and fields. She was quite laidback with everything by now but as she was only 3yrs old I didn’t want to ask too much of her. I took her to the NECWPCA Summer Show at Richmond Equestrian Centre where she was 1st prize M&M 2&3yr old and M&M Reserve Champion. Sophie obviously had something that the judges liked. Mid August I brought Maydew and Lucky Lady home to start handling for the local autumn agricultural shows. Donald chose to go ploughing rather than help me show a mare and foal at Wolsingham Show so Maydew and Lucky Lady’s first outing was to Bowes Show when Maydew was awarded 1st prize broodmare and Lucky Lady was awarded 1st prize foal and Reserve Champion Youngstock. The following week I took them to Eggleston Show where Maydew was 1st prize Brood Mare and Reserve Champion and Lucky Lady was 1st prize foal.

The late summer/autumn drought had restricted the grass growth at Hamsterley so insufficient to get some lambs to fatten so I brought Riddler home so that all my ponies could run together and graze what little new grass there was before winter arrived. I think it is educational for all ages to run together for a while as the younger ones are taught some manners by the older mares.

Early in October I took Maggie May down to the Rare Breeds Show at Grantham. Katie took Black Ice II and together with Jennifer and Hannah we had a fabulous time. Both ponies were winners in their respective In-hand classes and Black Ice was awarded Fell Champion and took part in the evening performance to choose the Supreme Champion. He looked fabulous and quite rightly was awarded the Supreme Champion of the show. It’s good to end the season on a high as it inspires you to start planning for the next season. The weather was torrential rain when we were at Grantham and did not improve during the following week. Donald and I had planned to go down to Warwickshire for the British National Ploughing Championships but the weather was so bad that we decided to stay at home. It’s not much fun being on a muddy stubble field in a caravan and we learned afterwards that everyone was turned away on the Sunday because conditions were so bad.

It was now the time of year to wean my foals. I began with Black Prince and Harmony as they had both been sold and would be leaving for their new homes early in November. The following week I weaned Lucky Lady and Aurora with the plan to keep both these fillies. I showed Lucky Lady at the Scottish and Northern Foal of the Year Show where she won her class and then was awarded M&M Champion. The following week I took her to the NECWPCA Foal Show where she was placed 2nd and M&M Reserve Champion. My showing complete for 2018 so it was now time to tidy my house before Christmas.

Black Prince had gone to his new home in Cumbria early in November. Xena and Harmony had gone to their new home in Germany mid November so I was going into winter with 12 ponies. Graham, my equine dentist, came during November to check all the adult ponies before I began to feed hay over the winter. The weather had turned rather cold and wet by now.

My wagon went in for its MOT and then I agreed to sell it to a lady who had looked at it at one of the foal shows. I had decided it was time for an upgrade but the problem now was to find one as reliable as the one I was selling. I wanted the comfort of heating for when I sleep out during early spring and a reversing camera. I still needed a wagon that could carry up to four ponies but more comfort in the living area. My quest began and I spent most nights searching the internet. I travelled to look at a couple but couldn’t find the perfect one at a reasonable cost. This will be continued in 2019!

To sum it up 2018 was a positive year.

1. Being forced to consider a different feeding pattern for my ponies at Hamsterley so I could have the occasional night away from home.

2. Having a short foaling window of 12 days without any complications.

3. Gaining Sophie’s confidence sufficiently to get her out showing with great success. Backing her and teaching her the basics of being ridden.

4. Enjoying a variety of fun activities with Maggie May. Having a mature pony to take out and about is a novelty as I’m usually experimenting with a young or newly broken pony. She really is a super star and I hope we can enjoy many years together.

 

2017 News from Rackwood Fell Ponies

2016 News from Rackwood Fell Ponies

2015 News from Rackwood Fell Ponies

2014 News from Rackwood Fell Ponies

2013 News from Rackwood Fell Ponies

2012 News from Rackwood Fell Ponies

2011 News from Rackwood Fell Ponies

2010 news from Rackwood Fell Ponies