Autumn glory

This Autumn the colours around Sun Hill have been even more impressive and vivid this year prompting Hayley to take her camera out and get some great shots around the place. Many of the horses are enjoying extra downtime in paddocks and fields and the safety pen has been in constant use requiring the lads to pick it up and carry it to a new patch of paddock every second day. The hunters are back inside and clipped out and looking good, the goat is hoping to be moved back to somewhere on the main yard where she can introduce herself to the new arrivals in the yearling barn. Stuart, our equine dentist, came again today. He seems to live here at this time of year, but it takes a long time to get around all the horses properly. Today he extracted wolf teeth (the equine equivalent to our wisdom teeth) from six horses and rasped his way around many others, he will be back again next week to finish off when we will also have taken charge of some new arrivals.

Rosina went off to Nottingham today where she was poorly drawn yet again, the pace horses went off at a tremendous gallop which suited her down to the ground and she flew at the end having been taken out of her stride completely at a crucial time when PJ felt her running into the back of the horse in front of her. The right hand down drive to avoid a collision caused her to lose her momentum and probably cost her the race, however third place was a great effort and the filly remains in good heart.

Our yearling parade plans are well under control, Hayley has put together a smashing glossy A4 brochure and we have started praying for a nice, bright and dry day for the 20th. Colm, Hayley's other half, is thrilled to have been nominated for a "Lester" for a very brave ride which might have easily ended in disaster but instead ended in the most incredible success. He deserves to win and winning a "Lester" means a great deal to a jockey. George was lucky enough to win a few of them, they are to jockeys what an "Oscar" is to an actor or actress. Should you wish to vote, please do so HERE. (Let us know in the facebook comments or on twitter if you have!)

The yearlings are going great guns and three more are due back from the farm tomorrow. Anna is continuing to break one filly in at home now after doing a sterling job while Allen was laid up with his broken shoulder, she is in love with "Fascinator" (otherwise known as "Hattie") so she is breaking her in each morning before working in the office, while Allen is cracking on with the next batch of colts.

Yearlings 31.10.16 from Ann Duffield on Vimeo.