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!