2009 ends on another high note...

Plenty of highlights to 2009 really, Marks polo handicap went up for the second year, Another best playing pony award, six healthy happy foals who are now starting to move onto great new homes, Pitufa and three other South American horses won the open team challenge at Equithon and finally to finish the year in fine style Marks mum was awarded an MBE in the New Years Honours List, best open the champagne!!

Chamfron Stud wishes everyone the best for 2010.

JR Update!

JR in his new home with friend "Errol" - brilliant to get photos of him looking so settled already.

JR away!

Gemma and her dad braved the icy roads today (note - do not get Mark onto the following subjects - council tax, lack of gritting, the increased road tax for 4x4's and why we should all be driving Prius's to save the environment!!) and with confident driving and a small break in the blizzards they made it safely home.

Should imagine he'll settle in quite quickly as he's a bit of a dude and hopefully we'll see him at some shows next year.

Stroll in the snow!

Rather horrific experience today, I stood on Rose's new scales... both Dick and I think they are reading at least a stone heavy!!

So then we went out for a stroll with the guns, passing the ponies on route.

Mark found he had acquired a very short black lab as his gun dog...

This is the look of a man who has not shot at two snipe as a certain someone was stood in the road with the camera... (what?  The light was better there!!)

Then the snow started rolling in over Hadrian's wall (below with two intrepid walkers.)

So then we ate until we could eat no more, and skillfully avoiding the scales on my way out, we waddled back home to feed the horses.

Annual horse humiliation

Two more sleeps....

I'm not quite in the mood yet, but Trish at Atira Appaloosas has put a smile on my face by designing my Christmas card for the blog...

Mini!

Mark jumped up onto Pitufa - doesn't she look tiny?

Then Cheeko wandered over to say hello, Pitufa said "He's my beeyatch now"

Cheeko thought, "my how rude"

Cheeko and Erica

Loves young dream!

Laughing in your face!

Some head shots of the retired boys!  First up is Ned just about turning himself inside out!

Then Toby pointed out to Mark that he was VERY itchy under his rug, what you can't see in the photo is that he was shaking with pleasure at getting a scratch.

Bugsy "I'm too beautiful to be a boy" caught in a rare fierce moment - MY HAY!!!

Insulation!

Mule is amazing in the frost, beautifully insulated and with eyelashes that just cry out for glittery mascara! 

And Bounce!

I went off down the drive to see if I could see the fox while I actually had the camera (nope!) and as I came back up the horses decided to have a bounce and a play.  I even RAN across the field, honestly I kid you not, to try and get these snaps!

Whippets and Lunatics!

Next I tried to capture the dogs.  The whippets pose beautifully. 

The heeler, well she has "issues"!!

A wee bit more...

We've had another sprinkle of snow and for a short time the freezing fog cleared and I shot out with the camera to get some snaps.  The Chamfron Stud calendar initially produced for family has become a sought after product so any opportunity to get seasonal photos must be captured!  In addition I try to get a few photos for the appaloosa calendar run by Karen and Marty and this year my aim is to sneak the mule in, somehow, someway!!  

Peter is ready to go out trapping varmints...

Peggy has been out in the garden sculpting!

A light dusting.

Mark says this photo should be captioned "The good, the bad and the ugly"

Two of the equines in the photo are mine, one is his...

Cherry is peering over at the haylage and willing Mark to unwrap faster.  They now have two big round bales out in the field but amazingly this is the first they've had this year.  They are all fat and shiny under their rugs but the last field move placed them under the living room windows where they stared in mournfully last night as the snow engulfed them.  It would have taken a harder heart than mine to ignore the sad wee faces!

A truly terrible photo of the most amazingly red, fluffy and large dog fox that has appeared.  Clearly the hunt going through on Tuesday hasn't worried him and he's hungry enough to be wandering up the drive on a fairly regular basis, getting closer and closer to my free range chooks.

I'm desperate to get some good shots of him with the camera... Mark is just desperate to get some good shots at him!!