Hiya

Hi guys

Sarah and Tippy here:

Have you heard? The countdown is on 'til Holly and Tippy's first show. They're heading for Holly's local PC Show a week on Saturday.

Holly has started practicing her individual show and getting Tippy's tack ultra clean and I'm going to be helping her start sprucing Tippy up this weekend. I'm gonna pull her mane, trim out her hairy heels and chop the end off her tail so it's smart and level. The makeover is on!

Tippy enjoys looking smart so she should stand still while I whizz around her with a comb and scissors.

Fingers' crossed it all goes okay next weekend and Tippy is well behaved.

Hi everyone

Jennie here:

Whenever I do something exciting with the mag, like meet a really famous rider or go to a special event, my mum and dad are always really jealous. Mum says how much she’d love to do some of the stuff I get to do with H+P. I am pretty lucky, I know!

And so, as a special treat, I took my mum and dad to Guards Polo Club last weekend for the Al Habtoor Royal Windsor Cup Final.

It was such a nice day out. When we arrived we enjoyed a drink in one of the bars and then had a picnic on the grass, right next to the pitch, in the sunshine.

Come three o’clock we headed to the stands to watch Geebung take on Zacara. Pepe Araya playing for Geebung, got knocked off his pony in the first chukka by a stray ball - which was pretty dramatic. He was okay but unfortunately his team lost to Zacara 7 goals to 10.

The Queen was there to present the trophy, wearing an apple green suit. My mum was beside herself with excitement to be so close to HM.

Check out www.guardspoloclub.com for matches over the summer open to the public. We’re certainly going again!

Hi guys

Sarah and Tippy here:

Hope you are all doing fine! Tippy and Poppy have been watching the haymaking from their field this week. Unfortunately it rained so it's not going so well.

Anyway, I've got a guest blogger again. Meet Annabel! She's been on work experience in the H+P office this week... and has been finding out some cool horsey stuff.

I've found out about a really cool prize this week and one very lucky winner. I've heard nine-year-old Maisie McNab won a competition for thinking of a name for a new foal!

The new Shire foal was born at Cotebrook Shire Horse Centre - home to top Shire horses; there they normally name their new filly foals (girls) after Scottish lochs.

I reckon they thought this was getting pretty boring, as this year they had a fab idea of holding a naming competition for the public and this is how lucky Maisie won her prize.

She came up with the brill idea of calling the new filly Cotebrook Charlie's Spirit. Clever Maisie thought of this, as it is a mix of both the centre’s name and also the filly’s grandfather's name. The foal’s grandfather was called Moorfield Charlie and he was a very special horse as he was the original bloodline of the centre. What a stroke of genius by Maisie!

Not only did Maisie get to name the foal and visit her she also won a model of a small Shire horse – how cool is that?

If you want to find out more about the centre check out www.cotebrookshirehorses.co.uk or visit the centre between 10am and 5pm all year round. I’m definitely going to be popping along!

Maisie and the newly christened Cotebrook Charlie's Spirit

Hey all!

Laura and Thomas here:

There has been yet another baby boom at the stable yard, this time we have kittens - five to be exact. They are about three weeks old but their mum had them hidden away so well that we’ve only just found them now that they are a bit older.

Obviously, we can’t have six farm cats so we are trying to tame them so that they can find new homes when they are old enough to leave mum. We are having limited success handling them as they are angry little people and not overly keen on being tamed!

I will try to get some snaps of them and put them on here so watch this space!

Bye for now

Laura

Hi everyone

Jennie here:

Have you heard? Horsey charity the Mare and Foal Sanctuary has announced it has bought Coombe Park Equestrian Centre, near Totnes in Devon.

You see, charities can’t just go out and buy any old farm, they have to buy a property which already has equine facilities. It will now be able to do even more to help horses in need!

Coombe Park will be turned into a visitors' centre which rescued horses and ponies will move to after they've been rehabilitated at the charity's existing yard at Honeysuckle Farm. The extra facilities mean the charity can hold shows and demonstrations and potential ‘carers’ will be able to try out a loan pony at Coombe Park.

Check out www.mareandfoal.org for all the latest info on the new farm.

Hi everyone

Jennie here:

I’ve met some lovely people doing H+P photo shoots and I’ve become especially good mates with a few riders from my home town of Bedford. So, when they got involved in a Inter-School’s Cross Country Challenge in aid of Independent Age at Alconbury, Cambridgeshire I thought they deserved a big shout out.

Congratulations are in order for Hannah Edwards and Oscar who won the Novice; winners Katie Kavanagh on Teddy and Libby King on Copper both from Sawtry Community College in the Pairs Class; Rachel Dykes riding Portland Lass from Bassingbourn V.C. won the Intermediate Class and Louse Ayres on Murphy for Sawtry Community College were victorious in the Open.

Hannah Edwards and Oscar (Photo thanks to Equestrian Services Thorney).

The Schools' competition was won by Oundle (Blue Team), second was Sawtry Community College and St. John's College School came in third.

If you’d like to know how you can help support them and get involved in future events check out www.independentage.org.uk

Do you guys go and support your mates at competitions, even if you’re not riding? Let me know!

Hey all!

Laura and Thomas here:

OMW! You may not remember Mark Todd but when I was a mad H+P reader he really was one of the best eventers around. He retired in 2000 after winning, well, everything really, including Burghley five times and a pocket full of Olympic medals.

After seven years putting his feet up, he’s decided to give eventing another go – well not just eventing he’s decided that he would have a shot at the Olympics AND he’s made the team! Along with Andrew Nicholson, he’ll be going to his sixth Olympics this year on the New Zealand team.

Good luck Toddy – but don’t beat Team GB!

Hi guys

Sarah and Tippy here:

How ya doing?

Check out H+P's very own vid - it's Tippy putting the brakes on last minute. Well have a looksy and let us know what you think.

Hi everyone

Jennie here:

Now, before I started work at H+P I didn’t really know about John Whitaker’s ‘mega horse’ Milton. I remember seeing him on the news when I was a youngster but didn’t really understand how much he’d achieved and what an icon he was.

Over the past few years I’ve learnt a bit more about his accomplishments from Laura and Sarah and I’ve met John who explained what an amazing nag he was, what he was like at home on the yard and also what it was like to lose the gorgeous grey. Slowly I’ve come to realise he was a celeb in his own right.

Whilst talking about the great horses of all time in the office today Milton, needless-to-say, got voted into our ‘fantasy stables’. Laura recalled sitting in the stands at HOYS many years ago and crying as Milton and John cantered around the arena to Tina Turner’s Simply the Best.

I searched for it, and hooray… got to see it for myself on Youtube. Check it out. This truly is a magnificent horse - now I get it!

Hi everyone

Sarah and Tippy here:

Tippy's been naughty again! Holly and Tawney were riding in the field last night doing some schooling. But, Tippy decided she wanted to spice things up a bit - well schooling can get boring - so she started bucking - at a walk!

She really tested Holly's riding skills out. But good on Holly for sticking on and not giving up. Naughty Tippy even bucked when Tawney coughed. She was well hyped up and managed to get Tawney's pony Poppy spooked out too.

Don't you just love ponies? They can really embarrass you. Especially after I've been saying how calm and well-behaved Tippy is.