Last Updated 28 March 2012

 

 

Honey

With less than a month to go till our first and only foal of the season is born on the farm the excitement is building to meet
the latest addition to the clan, Honey is looking very well and is looking very keen to drop the bundle of joy, this foal will
be available at weaning, and rest assured it will be a stunner.

Toffee

Tofee headed of to her new home yesterday (3-12-2011) with Louise Green and we wish them all the best for their new partnership, I am
sure they will both do very well, I look forward to seeing them at the Cust Domain as they start their inhand work
with Kim Voss.

 

Lesson with Kim Voss (20 August 2011)

After much anticipation the day dawned for Luxurious and I to set of to our very first Classical Dressage
lesson together, I was feeling a little nervous
but when we arrived at the Cust Arena the nerves started to settle (rest assured
they were still there they were just less) I walked him around to settle him in,
(and to make me feel better) then I tied him to the float and he happily stood there
while I brushed him (best I could with the amount of wet mud on him it was not easy)
We watched the first person having their lesson while we chatted among our selves about
what we were there to do, then it was our turn (eeeek) as we walked up to Kim, the first
thing she called out to us was " Now that is a pretty horse", I then introduced us and off
we set around the arena, Luxurious felt very calm and relaxed even if I was not quite there,
but it did not take long to feel completely relaxed and happy to be on board in a wide open space!
As the lesson started we were shown how to re balance the horse thought very simple techniques (
from the ground at first)then we progressed to using the same technique on board, and it was not long before
Luxurious started to understand what was required even if I was still a little confused
about separating reins and the go button, but by the end of the lesson I think I had gotten more
accustomed to the new way of doing things and we finished on a good note. Kim was very complimentary of
Luxurious, his movement and his attitude. We had a number of admirers on the sideline too, with positive
comments on our performance
We have our second lesson tomorrow afternoon, here is hoping David will come along and try to take some
photos of us to put on the web.

 

 

 

News, well lack off...15 August 2011

I can't believe it has been 5 months since my last update, so I guess I better start updating it more often,
time flies so it seems, today is the second round of snow and hail we have had in as many months, I am not enjoying it,
as pretty as it is and I am sure the ponies are not keen on it either, this time I managed to ensure they all had a medium
bale of hay at their hooves to keep them warm and fed during this horrible storm and they certainly are appreciative of it.

I did pop out during the first snow in July and took some pictures to share,

 

 

Woodfieldpark Ludwig July 2011	Woodfieldpark Luxurious July 2011
Woodfieldpark La Croix July 2011	The Walk Way July 2011

On a exciting note Woodfieldpark Luxurious had his first dressage outing in July, to be fair he only had one ride prior to going (ie the day before) and I could not have been more proud of him and his rider for the day Mel Fletcher, the placed 5th for their first test and sadly were eliminated in the second due to course errors. I have since booked my self in with Kim Voss for next weekend and will attempt to start doing dressage my self (poor horse) as well as keep up with our western riding. I am looking forward to getting out and about its been too long!

My Xmas Pressent Arrived!

It took a long time to get it but its so worth the wait, as mentioned previously I wanted to explore western
and obviously need a saddle to do so I thought I could get away with a SW one but sadly no, Luxurious
is rather wide across the shoulders so the search started for the perfect saddle, I was helped along the
way by a Kind lady named megan whom I have never met but she was kind and helpful, showed me
where to get templates to extend the search further afield than NZ as nothing was wide enough,
measured the horse using the templates and off we went, searching Ebay and the like every night.
at last we found a little boutique shop owned by Nancy Hopple in the States that had the most lovely
looking saddles and I found my saddle there...Nancy was helpful and measured using the same templates
and I took the gamble buying the saddle it took over 5 weeks from its arrival in NZ till it reached me and I was a long wait...
When I arrived home from work I spotted a BIG box, excited as a little kid I was keen to get to the box
and unwrap my xmas present I could not have been more pleased, dragged Luxurious in to the stable (it was raining) to
fit and play with the new toy and I must say it looks and feels like it fits perfectly..we have had a few rides now and
its very comfortable, and so much fun pretending to be a cowgirl....

 

 

Sad news;

Today I collected La Croix from NLEC for an extensive rehabilitation time at home, we had Dr Joy White out to provide him
treatment as he was dragging his hind legs and not moving forward, he was in considerable discomfort and pain
and is looking brighter today, we have been advised to not ride him for at least 4 weeks and to just lunge him to keep
him going forward so that is what we will do, followed by more time to rebuild muscle and condition as he has lost a lot of
muscle tone.
Once he is back on track he will return to Elaine and NLEC to continue what they had hoped to do...Dressage.

 

New Rider For Woodfieldpark La Croix

From the 7th of Feb 2011, WP La Croix will have a new "shorter" rider, Elaine Rutherford from the North Loburn Equestrian Center is taken over the reins so to speak, they will be doing level 3 and 4, and hope to make level 5 in the near future.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Emil Murphy and Selina Hack for the work they have put in and it was on Emil's advise we searched for a shorter rider, I believe Emil has his eye on Woodfieldpark Ludwig to take on the showjumping and eventing world.

 

 

Welcome 2011!

Hoping 2011 brings much joy to all my family, friends and clients and good health to those who are suffering.

2010 wow what a full on year we have had, starting with building our new house on the farm, followed by our wedding in March, we had wonderful relatives over to celebrate our big day, took two trips to Australia once for our honey moon the second for Equitana, lots of activity on the farm, new fencing, and irrigation al be it on a small scale, and we loved having medium squares of hay to feed out with our dear old tractor , it made life so much easier and less complicated than it used to be, I am sure my 80 year old mum would agree as she finally got to retire after many years feeding out on the farm and taking care of the horses during the winter when time is at a premium(she says she misses it tho, Thank you mum for all your hard work I could not have done it without you for all those years), we extended the hay shed to accommodate the float and tractor and a new enclosed space for David to have his shed.. (all husbands need their own shed).

The horses had a good year as well, the classification tour validated my breeding program with two mares on farm classified as Premium (one world class) and all of La Croix progeny presented were awarded premium status, so very pleasing to see all that hard work come to fruition. Woodfieldpark Ludwig made it out a few times with pleasing results considering he does not really get worked we tend to pull him out of the paddock and expect him to perform and he does try very hard, so watch out over winter for him at the non graded days, Luxurious will be taking a change in career and is working on western (blame Equitana lol) he is learning things rather quickly and we enjoy each others company which is great.

 

 

28 Dec 2010

As you would have read on the home page I am reducing numbers, and will be selling a lot of my mares, and young stock, I will retain fillies by each mare to continue on with and there by giving you a chance to buy a exceptional mare at a reduced rate, these mares and fillies will give you a good foundation to breed on with, the mares have been inspected and are approved, with a score of 70% or more at classification, to find mares that are up to the mark is very hard and time consuming and expensive take this opportunity to start your breeding program with premium stock at affordable prices. see the for sale page for details if you are interested in any of the mares of young stock please email me for more details and photos.

 

Dressage at Rangiora 5/12/10

Today was Ludwig's third outing to ungraded dressage, he was a lot more relaxed although some improvement is still needed, its just too exciting all those other horses there. Emil was again the jockey on board and did a good job, "thanks Emil" Ludwig took exception to the little stones flicking up in the arena onto his privates which caused some gafuffle in the canter parts, but all in all he did alright I could see he was trying his very best to please, and that is all anyone could ask for.

Luxurious Tries Western 5/12/10

Ever since Equitana I have been keen to try Western (the spinning was just so cool and the sliding stops wow!) anyway I was unsure of what size saddle to get as western is quite different from English, so was every so pleased when a friend dropped round with his horses who happend to have a western saddle to try, even more impressive was the fact that it fitted him quite well, Heath was very keen to try and ride Luxurious in the saddle and so hopped on, as you can see from the photos fun was had by all and Heath got of with a big grin on his face, and having mentioned that he wants one like that soft and with a lovely head carriage!

 

 

 

Equitana 2010

We have just come back from Equitana in Melbourne, this was my second time to the event and I enjoyed it as much as the last time, fantastic entertainment, good shopping, and loads to learn, the things that left the biggest impression on me were watching Stefan Peters ride oh to be gifted like that, he brings out the best in the horse with what seems to be great ease (I am sure its not like that but he sure makes it look so effortless), the other big impression was left with a lovely cowboy by the name of Adam Sutton, David and I both really enjoyed watching him show his skill to win over a un handled horse from not having worn a halter before to riding it around obstacles, his horse I am sure appreciated the non invasive way he was started, with Adam showing great care and concern for his mental state during the process, the end result I am sure every one agreed on was a calm (yes very green) but obliging and relaxed horse and this is what we should all strive for to get the horse to respond in a obliging manner without being forced to do so. Congratulations Adam for winning "The way of the horse 2010" it was deserved.

 

Progeny Updates November 2010

Time is flying by and the little foals are turning into nice looking teenagers, I am always pleased to get photos from Clients who are clearly enjoying their progeny by our stallions, thanks to those who keep this grandma happy by sending in photos.

Elmo owned by Denise in Blenheim who kindly took a photo for me of him, He is out of a lovely pony mare by WP La Croix, currenty 3 years old and about to be started by Brian mcVicar, I have to say he is looking rather mature and Denise can't wait to get on and ride him.

Limeric Lad is a two year old gelding by WP La Croix out of a lovely TB mare, Lenny as he is better known to his friends is always out and about with his owner Sarah and are great team They spend a lot of time in the winners circle, yesterday they took out the Champion title at the Waimate A&P Congratulations guys you make us proud!

 

 

La Croix Progeny Update,

I received a wonderful email from one of our clients who has bred 3 foals by La Croix and two of those are out of a pony mare, I read with great delight that those of you who think he is too small (15.3) and will only produce small horses could be wrong, he so far has produced taller than him self out of mares that are much smaller than him, the Progeny out of the Pony Mare are not far of 16 hands at almost 3 years old...so some food for thought there?

 

Winchester 2 Day Dressage Oct 2 and 3 2010

Emil, La Croix and my self set off on Friday night to drive to Winchester for our very first 2 days of dressage away from home, armed with the Tom Tom, we set off well I can tell you that we had some issues with the poor darling Tom Tom, it did not seem to agree on the best way to get to Winchester, we even ended up in a CAR PARK as she was trying to trick us into going "her" way lol, eventually tho we did get to our destination and we quickly set up, Emil taking care of La Croix and me doing what girls do best setting up house inthe float. I was pleased that I had taken two sleeping bags for my self and a duvet to stuff in there as well in case it got cold, and cold it did get over night we awoke to a frost both days..brr it was cold.

Emil was in charge of cooking the bacon and eggs however we could not find the matches to light the cooker so not a great start to our big road trip, thankfully we ran into two wonderful ladies from Greymouth who really made our weekend special, super fun and provided us with a means to light our gas fire...(yes eventually I did find the matches). On the sat night they even allowed us to hang out in their TRUCK with fancy internal lights and much wine was consumed...but we did have a blast!

The Dressage part was also not too bad, although La Croix had felt tense throughout his test , I guess it was his first real trip away too but by Sunday he had started to come right, and he seemed much more relaxed although still slight tension issues from time to time.

All in all we all had a great trip away and are now looking forward to going away more often, we have started to set up the float with bunk beds etc to make the next trip away a little more organised.

A big thanks to Emil for his efforts over the weekend and coming away even tho it was his birthday on Sunday, (yes we had cake, candles and singing out of tune but never the less there was singing)

 

Canterbury Dressage 19 Sept 2010

I have just returned from our first graded day of the season with La Croix (we were supposed to be attending the stallion parade but felt that since Spring into Action and Dressage was on it would be more benificial for him to go out competing since he had been entered already, shame to have missed the parade but rest assured he will be there next year with progeny to view) I am feeling very pleased he was really wel manered and during the tests he tried very hard for Emil, considering the lack of riding he has been getting due to this rotten weather I think we should be really proud as a team. He certainly was noticed for his handsome good looks and we had many people stop and chat about him, so even tho he missed the parade he certainly was viewed by many.

 

Woodfieldpark are proud sponsors of the Stable of Stallions supporting key events such as the National Young Rider & the Bates National Championship in NZ. It feels great to give something back to our community and what a better way to show our commitment and offer a service to Woodfieldpark La Croix, available through Dressage NZ email dressagenz@xtra.co.nz.

What is new? (3 July 2010)

Tonight we had our annual team planning session for the coming season and it seems there will be a lot to be done and arranged, so keep watching this space but some of the items on the agenda were...

stallion parade 12 September 2010 (who are we taking?)
Super Special Discounts on Services to Laharrah for our 10 year aniversary...boy time has flown!
Who will compete where and how are we logistically going to achieve what we have in mind...its going to be fun. Check back regularly so you wont miss out on the celebration special!

 

April 8th 2010 RIP Woodfieldpark Candries

It is with a sad heart and tears in my eyes, that I have to inform you all that today we lost our beloved Candries aka Stinky, he had been battling a severe colic attack and had to have surgery, during this we found that he had a twisted bowel, he put up a great fight leading up to and during the surgery , sadly during recovery he took his last breath and left this earth,

Stinky you were a fantastic friend who never let me down,during your short stay on this earth may you rest in peace my dear friend its been a privilege to have been your friend and mum and you will never be forgotten..

I am sure all our clients with progeny by Candries will treasure them.

Thanks to all the people involved in trying to save Candries life, your efforts were greatly appreciated.

 

 

German Verband and Trakehner Gala Show 2010

On Saturday the 27th of February the German Trakehner Verband visited the stud for two reasons the first to give Woodfieldpark La Croix his final inspection and to view his progeny, and the second was to score the horses we had put forward for the Gala Show. The day did not go without a hitch as much as you plan these things there is always something that goes wrong, firstly I had to try and plait a few horses (not counting la Croix as Emil and Selina kindly took care of that) but as I work full time, I ran out of time and managed to wash one (the stable lights are broken so had to quit around 8) so much to my Fiance's disgust we had to get up early and try to plait Mosaic who lives in the back paddock and is just a little shyer than the others on the farm, she ended up not being washed at all but quickly hosed down and plaited up with out her mane being clean, I must say I was very surprised how well she looked regardless.

So we expected two more progeny to be presented and when the verband arrived they had not shown yet, so I started to panic as this client was very keen to have them inspected and scored as they are rather nice and are doing very well in the in hand sections at shows, sadly there was a miss communication which meant that we had the days mixed up, a real shame as I am sure these two would have scored very well, (ah well there is always classification 2013) so with just one progeny by La Croix presented (had washed and plaited her just in case) I had not choice but to present Savannah, who is a lovely looking mare but sadly she had a accident as a yearling and compacted her wither resulting in a very odd looking back but the classifiers were happy to look at her and take the accident into account, I was very pleased to hear them discuss her in a VERY positive way, her movement is very good despite her back not being as fluid as it should be, so while they were there looking at her I asked If they would classify her with her back the way it was, they were very happy to and the end result was she scored 54 points, a very good score 77% and was awarded premium status, (a very happy moment for me)

 

Woodfieldpark Savannah (La Croix x Shirley P)

 

on with Mosaic who was being very good, looked the part and really took the Verbands eye, her amazing up hill movement and overall type, and conformation was "world class" she scored a massive 56 points 80% which is a super score for a 2 year old, the comments were made that with some more maturing and filling out she could score even higher at her classification in 2013, so a second premium awarded. Mosaic also took out the Gala Show Class for Trakehner young stock 1-3 years.

Woodfieldpark Mosaic (Kasimir x Marcella)

The morning ended up with a very good feeling, and full of inspiration on trying to improve on the scores given this time, Mathias (Trakehner verband) said my breeding program was definitely working and to keep on going.

Limerick Lad was also presented as part of the progeny group for La Croix, he was presented on the Friday at the Cust domain, he impressed the classifiers as well scoring 70%,

In the North Island we had Rosalie Bakkers "merrylegs" who scored 75% also a premium mare

so it is proven that La Croix has the quality to improve on the mares and to stamp his progeny with his good looks, out of four La Croix progeny presented each of them scored 70% or better, (some out of mares that had failed classification scoring only 65% them selves) . I had hoped to have a few progeny in one place to take a group photo sadly it was not to be, as it would have been interesting to see just how much alike they are, same colour, type, movement and markings... he truly stamps them...

 

Andante (La Croix x Amber TB) at the Windsor Show 2010

I received a phone call from a very excited owner, who has two progeny by La Croix Amalibele and Andante pictured below, she had taken Andante to the Windsor A&P show to say "Mork" had won his yearling class (a class of 30 yearlings!) and then went on to win Reserve Champion against all young stock aged between 1 and 3 so a pretty good result.

 

Ludwig Update Part 2:

Vanessa has been making progress with Ludwig, so far we have moved from the arena to the big paddock and have been working on going forward, which seems to be coming along better now that we have more space to balance etc, then today 29 Jan it was decide to quickly take Ludwig for a road ride after some brief ridden work in the paddock, we were very pleased to see how confident he is, striding along like he had been out and about for months rather than his very first time, very relaxed and just happy to go for a "trek". We will be taking him out to the cust arena in the next few days to get him going there, before Vanessa sadly departs to take up a position with Caroline Powell in the UK.

 

Ludwig Update;

Ludwig was started under saddle last week, with very little fuss, he was a little concerned that the rider appeared to grow to get on but after a few repeats he was ok about that aspect, he calmly moves about in ludwig time, (very relaxed) and has proven to be willing to learn which is always a good start. He is currently worked for 20 min a day (with a in season mare right next to the arena) and continues to improve on a daily basis,

 

 

 

Savannah update;

After a few months off due to bad weather and lack of time getting Savannah started had been on the back burner, so tonight we ventured of into the paddock and tacked her up, hopped on and rode her around the big field, the few months of have done her well she has grown and filled out especially across the shoulders, the best thing is that she is just so obliging, walking trotting and even had her first canter under saddle tonight and she was just so cruisy and took it all in her stride, so weather permitting we will get another crack at it and finish her off so that David can finally get to rider her.

 

 

Luxurious' First Foal Finaly Arrives

After weeks of waiting and waiting Molly finally decided to pop out a very classy looking colt, a beautiful refined head, huge star and snib and wow what a laid back nature he has, I came to see him after work and he just bold as walked over and was happy to chat to me and get some pats and cuddles, his owner is delighted with what her lovely Clydesdale cross mare produced to Luxurious. I did take some quick shots of this lovely lad so will share them with you.

 

 

Luxurious Starts Jumping Under Saddle

With the weather being so iffy at best we have not been able to do much in the way of riding but in the last week we have spent a little time getting back on and starting to school Luxurious to jump, (who has just turned 4) something he obviously loves to do. Just as he has shown to be very good at free jumping he is showing the same keenness under saddle he is proving to be very bold and takes the rider into the fence, he has not even considered backing off, he is very very enthusiastic on doing "the" job, and he is schooling 65 cm with ease, (which is to be fair far to easy for him) but as he is still very green and inexperienced we do not want him to get over faced by trying to get him jumping higher (plenty of time for that a bit down the track)

Photos to come soon.

 

New Dummy Mare and Breeding Area

I have noticed that it has been a month since my last update so I thought that it was time I put some news up, so here it goes ;about 6 weeks ago whilst collecting La Croix, he was so enthusiastic during the throws of passion that he twisted the dummy mare of the 8" post, no mean feat so I had to put my thinking cap on, "how" to eliminate this happening again, and to get this back up and running so that the clients did not have to wait unnecessarily. The best I could come up with was a Metal Tube, as I am confident that won't twist, so off I set to search for the "magic" tube only to find it was already here at home in the form of left over well pipe, so I had this puppy put in the ground its about 2 meters down so no way it would ever move "enthusiastic" efforts being made or not, so while we were at upgrading this part I decided I should really re pad the dummy mare and make a cover for it , to give it some protection from the elements and hooves, and I also thought it may be a good time to put some fencing around the mare to define a clear separate area of work for the boys, i think the end result looks quite good obviously I still need to paint it.

 

 

AI Technician Otago Area;

This Breeding season we have been approached by potential customers who live in the Otago /Alexandra area who were struggling to find a vet who would be willing to perform the A.I at an affordable rate.
After some discussion with our stud technician it was decided to go the extra mile for our customers and have arranged our technician to travel down to Otago in the next few months so if you are keen to use one of our stallions but did not think there was anyone available rest assured a qualified technician is on the way, please contact the stud for further information on fees etc.

 

 

First Foal of the season 29 Sept 2009

We had been waiting for this wee one to arrive for a few weeks now, and I joked that it would be born on my mothers birthday well I was close she arrived this morning the day after mums birthday, we had checked through the night and nothing Libelle was too busy eating to get on with the job but between 5:30 and 6:15 am she foaled a healthy filly, by Laharrah this filly is a chip of the old block and very similar in type to Laharrah so I can't wait to have this filly mature, at this stage I will keep her (don't tell my fiance) to replace my lovely mare Libelle, this means I have a full set of replacement mares coming along in the nick of time. this little filly is still nameless although her paddock name is Sophie, which really suits her, no photos at this stage but rest assured there will be loads coming so keep an eye out. Also suggestions of names beginning with L much appreciated.

 

 

Stallion Parade 13 September 2009

We have just come back from the annual stallion parade, what a day we have had, taking two stallions to the parade was a lot of work but thanks to Emil it was a little but easier as he plaited and washed La Croix which left me to get Luxurious and the display sorted. we had it all loaded the night before so we could easily set off in the morning, We were one of the very first ones there leaving me with a feeling that perhaps I had the day wrong (not an uncommon occurrence for those of you who know me well) thank fully I managed to spot one other stallion owner so I felt much better they confirmed that the stallion parade was definitely on today.

I thought I would get the stables sorted and the displays set up while I waited for David, Emil and La Croix to arrive in a different car, they arrived in good time and Emil got La Croix settled in, I was still setting up displays etc and having a mental breakdown when he asked where Luxurious was, I had to think and realised I had left him on the float ~! poor boy he must have thought I did not love him anymore, ,so Emil got him of the float while I continued to set up the display, all done and dusted in the nick of time as the Assistant arrived to inform us that La Croix was on in 15 minutes, EEEEK we were still plaiting, let alone having warmed him up (he was being ridden) we did manage to get it sorted and La Croix was NOT impressed with his hind bandages, and let us know he was not impressed shaking his back legs to get them off lol.
La Coix and Emil put in a very nice ridden display and the spectators were impressed with is movement and natural Rhythm, of course he played around a little but that is just his personality, he likes to be the clown.

no sooner had we got back to the stand when we were told that Luxurious was on in 15 minutes, which was odd as we were sure there were 7 more stallions to go before us, but no definitely only 15 min, so no time for me to lunge him and loosen him up, he was rather stiff but excited to be finally free, (he had been boxed over night, floated and boxed again) so all very exciting to see something other than the inside of the box, so his display was entertaining for lack of a better word, it was a shame that the spectators could not really see his movement due to the lack of concentration on Luxurious part..ah well there is always next year!

back at the stand, we were inundated by the hordes of spectators who were very impressed with La Croix and Luxurious and wanted to meet the boys up close and personal, so it did get very busy for some time after the parade,

Big thanks to Emil , David, Marilyn, and Selena for helping out when I had my mental meltdown trying to get everything sorted.

 

 

 

 

Limerick Lad's first show of the season;

I have received a lovely email to inform me, that Limerick Lad (La Croix x Molly) has had a very successful day at his first show of the season, finishing up with the Reserve Champion Ribbon and as you can see from the HUGE smile his new owner is very happy with the result, Congratulations to you both and keep us in the loop!

He is so laid back ,self loads on float ,you can spray him with sheen etc and that's first time.Doesn't batter an eyelid

 

 

 

Luxururious ridden debut 30 August 2009

The day finally arrived to enter the beginner classes at the winter woollies show (to be fair I had gotten Luxurious ready 4 weeks prior by accident as only I do!) so this time it was for real, he was clean and ready to go, so off we set in plenty of time, we arrived got our back numbers and got organised to tack up, "shock" set in when I discovered no girth! what was I going to do, I ran over to a fellow competitor and prayed to the horsy gods that they had a spare girth, thank fully they did and were kind enough to loan it to me, (thanks to who ever you were much appreciate your kindness) so once tacked up we set off to do some working in and soaking up the atmosphere he took it all in his stride, he was a little concerned about those small ponies that kept wizzing past but after a short while he felt confident they were not out to get him (although it pays to keep an eye on them lol) we had to wait for 1.5 hours as the pony ring was rather slow but we got there in the end. he entered the RDA indoor arena for the first time like he had been there a 100 times before he was relaxed and not at all interested in the mares or geldings and just got on with the job. He was quite a hit with the spectators and competitors alike, all commenting on how well mannered he was, laid back and gorgeous, Luxurious of coure lapped it all up!
Both Vanessa and my self were very pleased with him on the day and he just gave it his all

Thanks to Vanessa for her time and the great job in getting him started!

 

 

North Canterbury Stallion Parade 23 August 09

The first ever North Canterbury Stallion Parade took place today at the Rangiora Race Course, as a bit of an unknown event I was apprehensive at going but then decided that if we want to have events like this in the area we should support it, so two of the boys were dragged out of the paddock for the event, Laharrah (the veteran) and Luxurious first time out to something like this both not looking their best as they are still in their winter pajamas.
I was impressed with the considerable number of people that did come to see the horses, many people had come to see the boys before the parade and their comment were very favorable with many asking if they could come to see them back on the farm, which we of course were very happy about. We would like to thank the organiser for her time and effort and look forward to next years parade who knows we could bring all four!
Thanks also to David for his help and the very tall Emil for parading the boys for me.

 

 

 

 

Savannah Under Saddle

Savannah is La Croix oldest progeny, (rising 4) now dear Savannah is somewhat accident prone but they do say all the good ones are!, she de-gloved her front legs as a weanling and then went on to damage her spine by playing in the paddock rearing up with her friend and falling over backwards on a post compacting her withers, her back has had a number or expert treatments but non seem to make it any better, however this damage has not made any difference to her movement nor does she seem to be uncomfortable, my fiance David is rather fond of her due to her laid back nature, and is very keen to rider her, so we thought lets try to get her started by Vanessa while she is still here, I am pleased to say she took it all in her stride, Savannah positively could not have cared less, even resting her back leg while being mounted for the first time! so far no sign of her being uncomfortable, so here is hoping it wont affect her in a negative way, David and I are both very delighted by her progress and can't wait for the summer so we can go for rides down the road.

 

 

Luxurious begins his ridden career, June 09

I really wanted to get Luxurious started so that we could take him to a few low key shows in the spring to get him used to being ridden at shows, he is fine in hand but ridden could be quite a different affair, we had given him a very light backing in late summer/autumn 08 so at least 14 months ago, and had left him to mature more, I had hoped that Emil would be able to take him on but to be realistic he is trying to ride La Croix after work and so with it getting dark around 5:30 it leaves very little time, so then I found Vanessa who is here on her OE from England, a fully qualified instructor who in her spare time to earn a little money starts horses, as she is staying just across the road I thought I may as well get her to back Luxurious, so far he has proven uncomplicated and willing to learn, he seems to have taken to it rather well, Vanessa feels he is very balanced for a young horse and has a very natural head carriage. On the 6th session we felt it may be good for Luxurious to go for a road hack, (I walked behind to keep an eye on things as you can not be too carefully with a young one) all went well, he did feel sheep were out to get him on the way out but coming home he was pretty much over it and could not have cared less.

I am very pleased with the progress Vanessa is making and after a week of 20 min sessions he is feeling more and more confident. I will keep you posted on progress as it happens.

 

 

Foal Show Result May 09

Only one foal was presented for the foal show in 2009, we had hoped to have more there but sadly I did not have any foals at all and the others are too far away to come down for this event. However a valiant effort was made by the new owner of Limerick Lad (WP La Croix & Molly) they had entered in a few classes and walked away with two second places, he was very laid back "too laid back" were the words used. We look forward to hearing more of this partnership as they hit the show season early next spring we wish them a successful career.

 

 

Canterbury Dressage May 09

The team was very pleased to be given two times close together and the bonus of not needing to be there till the afternoon, Emil , La Croix and my self set off we arrived with plenty of time, we tacked him up and took him to the warm up area and he was going great guns, he has come along in a steady fashion each time I see him being worked I can notice a difference (well done Emil and Selina)

He was more relaxed this time than his last outing and gave it a fair effort, sadly on his second test they managed to get two course errors even tho 12 marks were taken off they still scored 58% a pleasing result over all, Thanks Guys for putting in the effort each outing.

 

 

 

Dressage Day Looming/other news

La Croix and Emil will be heading of to Mc Leans Island this weekend (May 3rd) to have another crack at dressage, so fingers crossed all goes to plan, I hear they have been making good progress so here is hoping the scores reflect this, but to be fair there is bound to be ups and downs during their careers, I will be there to take photos and give them a wee pep talk if needed.

Luxurious is changing so much, filling out and bulking up he is becoming a MAN, but one thing is left unchanged his amazing temperament remains, so laid back and eager to please I just adore this little fellow. I can't wait to ride him and have fun with him.

The Woodfieldpark Trakehner stallions have taken out a total of three Trakehner Sashes over their very limited show season La Croix was awarded one at the Warmblood Show and Luxurious was awarded two one for the Royal and one for the South Island Breeders show, a very pleasing result for the stud.

 

DRESSAGE D-DAY (EEK)

Well TODAY was the DAY, Emil and La Croix's first graded dressage outing, to be fair I was quite nervous and excited about it, and the pair did not let the team down at all, he looked superb thanks to the excellent care he gets at Emil and Selina's (thanks guys), we set off early enough and traveled to Rakaia where we found a great spot to unload and not bother anyone, there really was no need to worry La Croix got of the float and immediately put his head down to eat (yes he is a True Trakehner lol) there were horses being ridden past the yard where he was and he could not have cared less, then the time had come to tack up and ride him in his first test, the warm up was great and a lot of people looked and enquired about the handsome black stallion being ridden, the pair had to wait 10 min for the judge to arrive but then put in a great effort for the first test it was rather beautiful to watch upon completion sadly it left very little time for a rest and they had to go and do their second Novice test again very nice to watch with lots of nice comments from by standers, we had a 1.5 hour break so went back un tacked him for a rest and a snack and waited for our scores to be added up, the results blew me away, 65.5% in their first ever graded NOVICE test, and 64.5 % for their second NOVICE test, (so that straight away qualifies them for the Dressage Nationals next year) on to their first ELEMENTARY test again a beautiful performance with really good scores and the result was 65% so not only did they qualify for the NOVICE section they also Qualified for the ELEMENTARY division all that in their very first Graded outing, I could not have been more pleased or thrilled for Emil his hard work is really starting to pay off. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PAIR OF THEM!

 

 

 

Lesson with Mark Todd,

I think Mark is worth every cent for his lessons, very down to earth and natural, Emil (and to be fair the rest of us) were quite nervous at the start, but once we got going it was quite a wonderful experience. I believe we all got quite a lot out of it and by all accounts Mark was rather taken with La Croix, I did manage to take some photos of Mark riding La Croix so I thought I would share them with you.

Of course I will also share some photos of Emil riding La Croix at the end of the lesson with Mark, after all its about Emil and La Croix.

 

 

 

Breeders Show 09

Firstly thanks to Brad Price for handling for his help on the day, it was a long day by all accounts (just ask my partner David) Luxurious was very well behaved and looked a picture, just see for your self.

 

 

Waitangi Day

Since Emil and La Croix have a lesson tomorrow with Mark Todd, it was decided that perhaps they should go for a practice session as the ground at home is too hard to do any jumping, so they had a good practice session at Flaxton Equestrian and they looked pretty good considering he has not been jumped for about 2 months, I managed to take some quick snaps and promise to have some more tomorrow from their lesson.

 

 

Automatic Water Troughs

IT took two long days but we have managed to install 4 automatic water troughs so that will relieve some of the pressure on my time after work, we do have one small problem and that is we have one that will just not get any water to it regardless of what we try so some more thinking needs to be done on how to fix that ..after two days we have given up lol..we will solve it tho...

 

Morgen Stern (Woodfieldpark La Croix x Sharna)

Tina Wraight and her husband Steve dropped round yesterday to show me photos of Morgen her black colt by La Croix out of her lovely part clydie mare Sharna, I am very impressed I must say, he is still quite typey and you can tell who the daddy is without a doubt, see for your self.

 

Stud Fee Review

As mentioned in my previous update I have had the chance to review the Stud Fee structure, I feel it will be beneficial to my clients to know up front what it will cost them, so the new all inclusive package is a set fee, which includes, the booking fee, stud fee, your first collection, freight anywhere in NZ, the all important 24 day LFG and GST. There are no hidden costs how ever keep in mind that you are responsible for the Vet fees at your end for the AI, and scans.

AI is available on farm by arrangement if you are able to visit the stud you could use this in Lui of the freight, however Agistment is a chargeable to the mare owner.

I am convinced that this will provide my clients an clearer over view of the cost to breed to a quality stallion.

Unfortunately Laharrah and Candries are not available via AI at this stage, however I will offer the all inclusive package for them as well, excluding Collection and Freight.

 

2008 What A Year!


The good news is that all my clients foals have arrived safely and they are more than happy with the results from our stallions, sadly tho I have no foals at all this year, one phantom pregnancy, and two reabsorbed so no foals to play with for me, on the upside it will give me time to spend with the yearlings and get a little more handling done with them. Sandy the elderly founder mare has made a great recovery and is back into cycling so we are trying very hard to conceive a foal by Luxurious from her so every one please cross your fingers and toes for me should I get lucky this foal with have chrome to burn and who knows maybe even colour!

It has been a great 6 months for La Croix who is finally getting ridden regularly and is progressing well with Emil, his rider and "daddy" it is more than pleasing to see those two out and about giving it all a go, their next outing is going to be in Rakaia doing some Novice dressage, I will keep you posted on those results mind you they are way off, not until Feb but no doubt I will have other news to tell you about before then.

Then there is the wonderful AI training the boys have received from Emil, they are now confidently jumping "Candy" the dummy mare, and it is great to be able to offer Luxurious and La Croix via AI only from next season, La Croix was already happy to be collected of a mare but having the dummy there makes it easier and probably less stressful as we should be able to collect with the minimum amount of fuss or a mare in season. I will be negotiating better rates for shipping with a local courier company to keep the he costs down for freight.

So all in all a very exciting and interesting year was had if you scroll back through the years events, I feel that I have personally grown, and achieved things I would not think were going to happen, I would like to thank my family, partner, friends and clients for the great year and hope to be having an even better one this coming year.

The team at Woodfieldpark Stud wish you all a very prosperous and healthy 2009!

 

Christmas Cracker Show Jumping Dec 08

Saturday the 13th of December was La Croix Debut in the Show Jumping Arena,
this was to be a mixed bag but the end result was very pleasing, we arrived well in time
and had to wait around for HOURS, 3 hours in fact before he made it into the ring for his first
class he had been jumping quite well outside the ring, by then I think La Croix and the
support crew were well over it and La Croix was just not interested and so we were eliminated
very quickly, shame all over his and our faces, what was going on? We gave him a pep talk
(offered him a incentive of a carrot per clear jump)and let him rest for the next class and did not
get on too early, only 10 minutes or so before we had to be in the ring did Emil get on and
warm him up over a few warm up jumps, this time at the higher height he was very good about
his job at hand, and only dropped one rail. Emil had to ride most of the round with only one stirrup
and then decided to drop the other one as well, all I can say he is a brave man!

 

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