19 August 2016: Haylage bailed; 28 bails from 2 acres.
05 May 2016: Awaywithefairies foaled ‘Tilly’ (a filly by Doncaster Rover) early this morning;it had been a long wait, nearly a full year.
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22 April 2016: First swallow of the summer.
11 July 2015: Fox came calling; sadly lost three hens.
01 July 2015: Haylage cut and baled; 33 bales this year.
21 June 2015: It is Mid-
17 April 2015: Spring is here: first swallows of the year spotted in the sky over Middle Pool. “Brigit” has gone up to Hedgeholme Stud to be covered by Doncaster Rover (½ brother to Carpe Diem, who is one of the favourites for this year’s Kentucky Derby). Willow attracted some interest when going through the sales ring at DBS in January, but didn’t quite make her reserve; she is likely to be entered in one of the yearling sales at Newmarket in the autumn.
20 September 2014: The last brood of swallows has fledged from the stables; it won’t be long before they leave for the winter. We have started to wean the foals, “Willow” first. China Lily has been moved out into the paddock with the rested mares; so far both mare and foal seem to have accepted the change. We will wait for a least a week before weaning “Dylan”.
25 June 2014: Haylage cut and baled (50 bales).
17 May 2014: We have now got hens!
24 April 2014: Truffles foaled a bay colt (Dylan) early this morning.
17 April 2014: Swallows have arrived back for the summer.
20 March 2014: After a long wait (353 days!) China Lily has finally foaled. We have bay filly, whose stable name is “Willow”.
16 November 2013: A sad day. Coco was found with colic this morning; following an exploratory operation, we had to take the decision to have her put to sleep. She was sweet pretty filly with no vices; we can only hope that any future brother/sister that we might be lucky enough to breed will have all her qualities.
6 July 2013: Haylage cut, dried and baled; 35 bales in total.
29 June 2013: Shamwari foaled a healthy filly foal (“Coco”) this morning; she is dark bay with a white star and stripe on her face. She isn’t our first “hatch” of the year; a pheasant and her chicks have been seen scurrying about the paddocks in recent days!
11 June 2013: “Truffles” and “Brigit” have returned from stud; both are in foal to Doncaster Rover. Thank you to Geoff for collecting them.
05 May 2013: China Lily has been confirmed in foal (to Shirocco). We brought her home today, having been at the Rowley Mile to watch Dawn Approach win the 2000 Guineas yesterday. Thank you to Walter and Fran for looking after her. “Truffles” and “Brigit” are at Hedgeholme Stud where they are to be covered by Doncaster Rover; a tough and consistent listed class racehorse who is standing his 1st season at stud.
21 April 2013: Amanda has sent a photo of
Newgrange Appalachee on his 3rd birthday.
16 April 2013: 1st swallow of the summer in the sky above Middle Pool Stables.
24 March 2013: China Lily is in Newmarket, boarding at Arran House Stud. She will be covered by Shirocco at Dalham Hall Stud when she comes into season.
3 March 2013: After a dry spell, the ground is finally starting to dry up. We have our first daffodils of the year!
23 June 2012: Following 24 hrs of heavy rain, we are underwater!
5 June 2012: Both “Minnie” and the twins are doing well. Shamwari has travelled to Country Farm Stud where she is to be covered by Furst Kiss (sire of the twins).
2 June 2012: “Minnie” foaled twins whilst out in the field this morning, a filly and a colt. Both foals are a good size and appear healthy. This wasn’t expected and is a very rare occurrence.
21 May 2012: “Brigit” ran her first race over 7f at Redcar. Although everything was new to her, she remained (mostly) calm and appeared to enjoy herself. The race itself was a shock; and, although only finishing 14th out of 15 runners she was still trying at the finish. Hopefully she will benefit from the experience and racing over longer a distance for her next run in 2 to 3 weeks time.
05 May 2012: China Lily is in Newmarket (being looked after at Arran House Stud); she was covered this morning by Shirocco at Dalham Hall Stud: the stallion is past winner of the Coronation Cup and Breeder’s Cup Turf (both Group 1). (Unfortunately, China Lily lost the foal in October).
24 April 2012: “Brigit” travelled to Wolverhampton for a racecourse gallop. She took everything in her stride, finishing strongly on the bridle. She is now ready for her first race sometime in May.
15 April 2012: 1st swallows of the summer spotted in the skies above Middle Pool Stables.
24 March 2012: After conditioning work on the hills around Barnacre, ”Brigit” has now started to put in some faster works; she seems to be enjoying herself.
25 February 2012: “Minnie” breathes a sigh of relief: at last her first foal ”Kookie”
has fled the nest! He has gone to be cared for by Claudia. We wish both of them
a happy and successful future together; and, that “Kookie” behaves himself. His
half-
22 January 2012: “Brigit” has returned to Lancashire Racing Stables to resume training, with the intention of a first race early in the spring.
30 October 2011: Although “Brigit” was entered to race at Wolverhampton, she has started to grow again and and now needs more time. She has returned to Middle Pool for a break, to give her time to grow and strengthen; hopefully, she will return to Lancashire Racing Stables to continue her career next year.
28 October 2011: “Sooty” (Newgrange Appalachee) has been bought by Amanda, as a future dressage prospect. He has settled in at his new home and we look forward to hearing about his progress.
29 September 2011: “Brigit” had a trip to Wolverhampton Races and a racecourse gallop; she seemed to enjoy herself.
22 September 2011: Mare and foal split up earlier this week; all well so far. Still a few swallows around, but numbers greatly reduced.
1 August 2011: “Minnie” has returned from Country Farm Stud, where she has been covered by Furst Kiss.
25 July 2011: Haylage cut and baled (38 bales).
10 July 2011: “Brigit” has entered pre-
She has already been backed and is cantering on the gallops.
26 April 2011: “Truffles” foaled a bay colt (“Frankie”) early in the morning; both mare and foal are well.
21 March 2011: “Sunny” and “Sooty” were both gelded today.
y!
26 December 2010: Snow and ice! Struggling on, everyone Ok, but starting to get a bit bored. The youngstock have managed the occasional hour out and are just about behaving.
25 September 2010: “Truffles” has been scanned, and is confirmed ‘in foal’. “Brigit” has been registered with Weatherbys as ‘Awaywithefairies’. “Sooty” has been registered with AES (‘pink papered’) as ‘Newgrange Appalachee’. ‘Newgrange’ has been registered as a suffix for use with our homebred warmbloods.
11 July 2010: A day out at Tattersalls July sale has resulted in China Lily joining our broodmare band.
03 July 2010: Haylage cut, baled and stacked! Sooty is growing; he is loosing his foal coat and appears to be brown underneath. “Truffles” has been scanned in foal at 42 days; all is well.
20 April 2010: "Shamwari" foaled a healthy colt shortly after midnight on Tuesday morning, Although a sooty grey at birth, we expect he will turn black like his dam. Mother and foal both enjoyed a short time in the sun later that afternoon.
06 April 2010: "Truffles" has gone to Bearstone Stud to be covered by Indesatchel, a group winning son of Champion sire Danehill Dancer.
02 August 2009: It is August! We haven't had two consecutive days without rain in July; hence, we still have a paddock that hasn't been cut for haylage. We have started to wean "Sunny" by moving the mare into adjoining paddock for a few hours; so far so good.
27 June 2009: Shamwari has returned from stud after being covered by the stallion Saint Malo.
23 April 2009: Julian, a North Ronaldsay ram, has come to stay for the summer. His initial experience was a bit traumatic, he was chased by "Kookie" and "Shamwari". On escaping, he has been making friends with the Shetland ewes on the other side of the fence!
07 April 2009: "Shadow" foaled a bay filly ("Brigit") at 12:20 am.
05 April 2009: "Truffles" foaled a chestnut colt ("Sunny") around dawn; mother and foal are both well and enjoyed a short time out in the afternoon sun.
28 February 2009: Spring is nearly here, the crocuses and daffodils are starting to flower and the fruit trees planted last year are starting to bud. Both broodmares are now getting big and restless, with only a matter of weeks to foaling.
05 November 2008: website launched