Finally a rainy day!

Finally a day cold and wet enough for me to sit still and get to the paperwork. I admit two years is a bit much....now that Meghan Benge is going to be prodding me for more current info on this site there should be an improvement in my blogging.

Ponies are plodding along. Last summer Audrey Bostwick with guidance from PJ and Tara Crowley, borrowed my stallion, *Shilstone Rocks Snow Shoes, for the pleasure show season. They captured several nice wins and ribbons at the likes of Devon, Brandywine, Lorenzo, and Walnut Hill (winning the ride and drive class under the careful eye of Muffy Seaton....different whip/rider for that class). The win at Walnut Hill was special for me as it proves what versatile ponies we do have. Shoes was shown at times as a pair with Tracey Morgan's wonderful gelding, Gaylen Romeo (Joe)....also in a four in hand, tandem and unicorn.....amazing. What a group team Crowley is....very organized and professional in all they do to prepare a pony and driver. So many thanks to Audrey and the Crowley's....what a group!

Tracey Morgan ventured to Germany this time with her three power house Darties (*Lizwell Gambling Queen...aka Maude....Farnley Coquette, and SingleTree Tabitha Twitchit) for the pony world championship in combined driving. For her fourth time representing the USA, Tracey proved once again that the Dartmoors are competitive in world class competition. She left the USA undefeated at the various selection trials (Live Oak, Sunshine State can't remember the others). The event was very well organized and plenty of competition! Tracey, Kenny and the ponies were sitting 9th as the cones began and then......Tracey drove that tough course with the wind at her back.....she had the fastest time of anyone, and with only one ball down....she finished 4th and thus moving from 9th overall to 5th! It was amazing! Galloping and turning as small ponies can do on a very tight course! The USA Team finished 4th.....we would have loved to medal....and they almost did....

Back on the home front, I have only one mare in foal...SingleTree Gwynneth to Shoes, and that foal is sold. At this point I am only breeding for foals that are prearranged....as the market improves I would still like to breed Lace Wing to Shoes and Lizzie to...haven't decided yet. Gwynneth will go on to high school with Tracey after weaning and hopefully start her competition career.

I am now learning to drive a pair. After acquiring all the tack, equipment, etc.....I finally got to "get into the driver's seat". Definitely a challenge, but I love it....my circles are getting rounder and not such a multi sided figure. Haven't hit any trees, and seem to be able to stop when needed. It is a blast! I borrowed "Joe" for a while so I could drive Shoes and Joe....that got me started. Now it is down to Gwynneth and Shoes til the weather is impossible.....then the carriage gets put away until spring. I hate cold weather....will drive a single til it warms up again.

With the market having been so weak for selling ponies, it has been interesting to watch as a slow recovery seems to be appearing. Several good performance ponies have sold, and there does seem to be a demand for Dartmoors that ride or drive. The key is to have a pony that is in work. Not one that worked last year, or could do the job....but ponies that are out there doing. So those that are for sale....get them into a job. And have them doing their job well.

A new product that I am excited about. A hay bag ( www.busyhorse.com ) that is easy to fill and slows down the rate of inhaling. They are sturdy and very useful. Check out that web site!

So now I have updated. I have some new pictures to post....will zap those to Meghan. Will try to be more active on the site. Susan

It's been a while...

It has been a while since the weather has forced me back to my desk. Mild winter (lots of driving).....gorgeous spring (more driving), then it got hot and dry (did at least do some paperwork), and finally tropical storm, Barry, brought plenty of rain (now I'll update this blog)!

It is a championship year for the pony drivers, and it is off to Denmark this time. Tracey Morgan has qualified with *Lizwell Gambling Queen (her 3rd go), SingleTree Tabitha Twitchit (*Cruachan Valentine/Farnley Lady Fair, aka Nutkin), Farnley Coquette, and of course the rock, Joe, aka, Gaylen Romeo. Our website http://www.dartmoorpony.com/ has a link for the hats, T-shirts, etc. that help to support our Team USA endeavor....check it out!

I didn't breed any mares this year, just decided to take a break. The market has changed, and the call is now for broken ponies for riding and driving. I have a couple of youngsters that I am keeping, and so needed to focus on their start in life.

The oldest is SingleTree Jitterbug, who I did have on the market for a while. After JB developed into a very solid driving pony with plenty of power, Tracey and I decided to see how he would develop as a CDE prospect. He is three this year and has been a joy to drive. JB also has a few miles under saddle. This pony is by *Boveycombe Banjo and out of Farnley Lacewing. He has huge gaits with a steady beat and plenty of motor in reserve. I do like this fellow.

The next is SingleTree Gwynneth. Gwynneth is two this year and she is the product of a couple of crosses that I wanted to keep in my breeding line. Her dam is SingleTree Gidget (*Pumphill Maverick and Farnley Gabrielle), and her sire is my old boy, *Cruachan Valentine. This gave me a Gabby granddaughter (Gabby, of course, produced several fine performance ponies such as SingleTree Gemma, SingleTree Grendel, SingleTree Gillian, SingleTree Glenda, and SingleTree Georgia Brown), a bit of Maverick (a stallion imported by Robert Bryan and now owned by Mary Thomas in Clyde, Ohio), and a new Valentine daughter for me to keep. *Pumphill Maverick I have always liked for the muscular rear drive he produces,and a lovely, long and gracious neck. Maverick is a character, and he adds some very nice pluses to one's line. Gwynneth has tons of bone and personality, size and a huge walk that can keep up with the big guys. Definitely a CDE prospect. She should cross nicely with Shoes later in life.

The youngest of my "keepers" is SingleTree Lady Luck, aka Liz (named for Liz Newbolt-Young). Liz is an adventurer. She is the product of my *Shilstone Rocks Snowshoes and *Lizwell Gambling Queen, whom we call Maude. I imported both of her parents at the same time, and both thru Liz Newbolt-Young. Shoes was bred at Shilstone Rocks, and I bought her directly from Liz. Maude, on the other hand, is a product of the Moors, being an SR2 mare from the Newtake Scheme. I was with Liz N-Y when she was inspecting ponies on the Newtake, and I purchased Maude on that day from Mr. Mortimer. Maude's story is quite a tale but as a result of her upbringing and Tracey Morgan's many and long hours of training, she is now a 4 time national pony pair champion, and has been twice to the World Ch. in Europe for CDE ponies. She finished 11th in Austria, 8th in the UK, and is headed to Denmark this summer, if all goes well. She truly is the gambling queen. So, in between competitions this last year we bred Maude and Shoes to produce Liz, who is a character like her mother. She has her grandmother's (Shilstone Rocks Snowfall) look, her dam's determination, and her sire's elegance.So those are the ponies that will be keeping me busy for the next few years. Of the older stock, Valentine has a reprieve from retirement, as we would like to breed Maude just one more time to him. Shoes is my steady driving fellow, and does have a few ladies that visit each spring. Maude is on the road with Tracey. Lacewing is doing a few shows under saddle with her new best buddy, Peyton Frye, and Nutkin is doing grandchild duty here. I still drive her, and she has one or two more foals to produce, we hope.

On the overall Dartmoor scene, we have a meeting scheduled in October at the Kentucky Horse Park. We are settling in with an event called the National Drive...October 10-14. http://www.nationaldrive.net/ will give you the details for motels, etc. Basically it is a fun few days with lots of people who enjoy driving, and we have use of the entire Kentucky Horse Park. It is a central location for many of the Dartmoor owners, attached to a fun activity and in a good area to just tour between drives. Our annual meeting is scheduled for that Saturday afternoon, and it will be quite casual and relaxed. The board members will meet earlier (I think we will have a quorum there of the board). Bring ponies, driving or otherwise, and contact Sally Cheatham, the organizer, for stall space. It is always great experience for youngstock to be in a group on a field trip. And we all love to see each other's ponies. Again, the contact info is on www.nationaldrive.net.

One new idea for those out driving in the summer.....I have cut the face part of a fly mask away and use the ears and the velcro that comes under the chin for those buggy summer drives. The crochet hats are too hot, and the fly mask gives good protection and are a lot cooler! This is not pretty, but it really works!

Couple more things....

I meant to mention a couple of things you can do with the babies to help with training later. One is to use a fly mask as a yearling in the summer. It does help with the flies, but also helps later when starting to use a bridle, and even the blinkers for driving. That putting on and off of something on their head, and the vision change with the mask, is just one more thing to add to the daily life, and makes acceptance much easier as they get older. Hosing in the summer time with the babies (weanlings and up) is most important. It is a great desensitizing exercise with the water touching them everywhere, also they learn to stand while you are doing something. Also walks on the trails is most important. This gets them out of the pasture and into new environments, and away from the gang and with you. Pick a couple of outings, such as an expo and a local schooling event and let the youngsters just go and see what this is all about. We won't be going far this year with gas prices, but it is still a good idea to plan a few outings somewhere, again hiking in the local forests is always fun.

Spring is here, and so is the new lush grass. Make sure you are ready for the summer grass battle with the ponies. I rotate some of mine on and off the paddocks with and without grass. It even helps to keep a fan in the loafing barns which lures the ponies in for the heat of the day to lose the bugs, thus limits the grazing, and I keep hay in the barn, which encourages them to graze out of the sun on the hay. Here in North Carolina I keep the paddocks mowed down, but fertilized (just reduce the nitrogen) to control the spread of weeds, but you want the root systems healthy, so some fertilizer is needed. Grazing muzzles work for some, just make sure that you don't leave it on 24/7. Anyone would need a break from wearing that device, but it works and lets a pony be out instead of standing in a stall all the time. I keep several of my ponies on Quiessence which certainly helps with those cresty necks....should be a link on my website for Foxden Equine for more info on that. Most important, keep these ponies in work, even if you just take them for walks somewhere or trotting in the round pen for 10 - 15 minutes a day would be good. I am starting to hike with the various ponies with the grandchildren....good for everyone! I just found a great company... www.OutfittersSupply.com ... that has packing equipment....some of the velcro and cordura stuff is great. Check it out! Am off to make a new edition of "Roy the Boy".....my breaking dummy.....as it is time to get Jitterbug going under saddle this summer, anyone interested in making one, give me a call and I will happily walk you through that process. I'll be home for a while getting the visiting broodmares settled in, come visit anytime.

Latest News and Musings

Dartmoor Pony Breeders:
Spring is here and so are the foals, and those hairy youngsters that still need to be sold.  Just like the house we need to get to work to get our youngsters looking good for the public.  First thing to do is to give them a good scrubby bath, a quick haircut of the bridle path and pull that mane so that it isn't hanging below the neck.  Now dig out your camera.  First sunny day work on a good photograph.  If you are using a digital camera, forget trying for the action shot, the delay just doesn't work.  I usually try to find a good amateur photographer to come out for an hour or two (though in Georgia I had Cynthia Brann who was all pro and she did all those wonderful photos for me for years) and do the action stuff.  Now I just do the standing shots and will send a video if desired.  Make sure you have had the farrier and get those feet trimmed!  Nothiing sets a client off more than looking down at those long toed broken feet....definitely ugly!  Also make sure all shots are done and the coggins is in place. Again having all the details taken care of proves that your youngstock are important and that you as a breeder or seller care about what you are selling.  It all makes a difference.  Also make sure (check out the helpful hints button) they lead and can behave around humans.  Again these are supposed to be kind and quiet ponies....they need to show off their wonderful disposition, so spend a bit of time with your youngsters.  Now I am off to the barn to get started on mine.....will look forward to seeing all the youngsters for sale on the website.....make sure your dues have been paid and that the pony you want to sell is registered with the DPRA.....Susan