Happy New Year

How did it get to being the 31st of December and where did this year go?!  We started the year with more mud than is ideal but a lovely spring, fantastic summer, perfectly decent autumn and a winter we are cruising through so far has made that melt into the background.

Mark has been kept busy with horses in for breaking and schooling.  It was great to have two Arrayan Numa fillies and two Exbury Ghost youngsters on the stud to get ridden away, as well as some other cracking fun horses.

Belting foal crop, can't say any more than that, thrilled with them, thrilled with the homes they are going to and thrilled with the results and reports back we are getting on their older siblings.

So time to get the pen and notepad out, make plans, improve the business, look forward and wish everyone a Happy New Year and all the best for 2015.

Chamfron Bellini - Show Results

Bellini does it again, winning all her classes and taking the youngstock championship today.  Looking absolutely fantastic and really quite large!  An absolute credit to her owner Natalie and thank you to Andy Thearle for the great photos.

Helloooo

The Criollo youngsters decide to let Peggy in on their plan to take over the world...

Chamfron Oro Rosa - Almost eight months old

Trail Camera - December

Trail cam is back to it's original spot in the wood and we are glad to see all our old friends present and correct - incoming pigeons, tree rat, exhibitionist badger, fox and the ever present mice all making an appearance this month.

Festive Dressage

Chamfron Kukri (Gemma Hope) was out at festive fancy dress dressage yesterday, seen here warming up and looking very relaxed after his holidays.

Its a glorious morning on the stud, bright blue sky and a light frost.  The field have their second bales of haylage out (the hay turtle is looking at the remaining stack and thinking we may have over ordered this year!)  Tested out my new Christmas knife and it glided through the bale wrap like it was (spreadable) butter - it would be best not to argue with me, I am well tooled up.

Frost flowers and tiny chook!

I had the camera out this morning to document "The Sparrow" the chick which makes me laugh every day - he (I suspect it is a he) is shown with the others that hatched at the same time and yet he is a third of the size with a very tufty head, different, definitely different.  Lots of frost flowers again this morning with the drop in temperatures last night.

He's been Tangoed!

Chamfron By Dand with his Christmas presents, Rebecca you should be noticed at the endurance rides next year.  His little sister is pretty in pink!

Festive Chamfrons

Chamfron owners keeping the traditions going!  From top to bottom, Chamfron Bellini (Natalie Brougham).  Chamfron Cactus Jack (Sarah Chadfield) Cactus, don't eat Sheep, Santa won't come!  Chamfron Tizona (Christine Harling).  Chamfron by Dand (Rebecca Crump).  Chamfron Paloma (Alison Cheetham).  Chamfron Firely (Rebecca Crump).  By Dand and Firefly again.  Chamfron Toledo (Cara Brooke).  Chamfron Ojo de Tigre (Lindsay Purves). Chamfron Angel Dust (Kayreen Jones).  Chamfron Soutra Brae (Ruth Pyatt).  Chamfron Colada (Gemma Hope).  Chamfron Kukri (Gemma Hope)  and lastly Chamfron Wakizashi (Victoria Scott).

The Nutcracker

Day out to the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh to see the Nutcracker for Peggy's Christmas.  Camera ban in place so just a snap of us stuffing our faces in the interval.  Shame because the sets and costumes would be so fabulous to photograph!

Ark Vets calendar

Our vets have produced a calendar which you can pick up in the surgery in exchange for a donation to Sands Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity.  Beady eyes will spot Chamfron Caramia as May and some other great photos

Rudolph Rosa!

With twelve days to go until Christmas Rosa wondered where she would go to audition for Santa's sleigh, she is fit, ready, fluffy and thinks her outfit is better than Marks.

Hay and Frost Flowers

There was a decent ground frost forecast for this morning so it seemed a good opportunity to get up early and get the first field haylage out, the horses seemed pleasantly surprised rather than ravenous.  The frost flowers were out in force and sparkling in the sun.