by Hayley
Grim. Grey. Grizzly.
Not the most uplifting opening to today's blog but it's hard to describe the weather as anything but grim, grey and grizzly. Visibility is low, there's a steady fall of a rain and the office is so dark that Anna's solar powered calculator won't work! Still, rain never stops play and the horses in winter training will all be ridden as scheduled, including the yearling colts which are now at the stage of trotting and cantering very steadily up the all-weather gallop. The fillies are not too far behind. Allen broke the group of yearlings into two lots to make the process more manageable. He will spend a good hour per morning with each horse during the earlier stages of their education. Yesterday was a big day for the fillies as they were ridden away for the first time in the lunge ring and also had a nice stroll up the lane. Anna had previously leant over and sat on them in their stables, getting them used to the weight of a person on their backs and the feeling of boots brushing against their sides. The girls were very good and seemed to enjoy their first step out into the big, wide world!
The video below shows a lovely filly by Swiss Spirit (we are building up quite the collection!) who has blossomed over the last month and has really strengthened up and improved for being worked. She is out of a mare who is half-sister to a horse previously trained by Ann back in 2006, 'My Valerina' who won twice as a 2-y-o over 5f. Our fillies sire, Swiss Spirit, was a really sharp individual and hopefully he has passed on some of his speedy genes, but for now it's nice and steady away.
Swiss Spirit x Houri yearling filly from Ann Duffield on Vimeo.