Hollybrooke Stud - Review 2012

Show and Performance New Forest Ponies

John and Wendy Adams
Forest Farm, Crow Hill,
Ringwood, Hants BH24 3DE. Telephone: 01425 476020
Mobile: 07754587853

info@hollybrookestud.co.uk

Another brilliant year for the stud!

Just a selection of the prizes won by the stud's ponies this year!

This year has been dominated by two things, the wonderful success our ponies have had across a broad range of disciplines and the weather. The rain has had a huge influence on what we have been able to achieve and is continuing into what promises to be a long and very wet winter.

We were lucky enough to be able to have the services of Sam Roberts again to produce one of our ponies under saddle. (www.robertsnativeshowteam.co.uk) This time Hollybrooke Tinker winning WHP she had our second young stallion Hollybrooke Tinker. As always her dedication and attention to detail were superb. She took him from a complete novice to competing in open classes. It quickly became obvious that the scope he had shown over a fence when loose jumped was equally exciting when ridden. He proved an enthusiastic, talented and bold jumper. During the season he won fourteen working hunter pony classes, six flat show classes, eight championships and two supreme championships. He also won as a sports pony and in Hollybrooke Tinker dressage. It is difficult to pick out the highlights from such an impressive season but winning his first ever WHP at his very first attempt, winning the New Forest Picton Final (the second year running that the stud has won this prestigious final), winning an NPS ridden silver medal and winning both the NPS British Isles Supreme Championship and the overall Supreme Show Championship at NPS Area 7 must rate among the most memorable. Hopefully, his success has introduced many more people to the New Forest pony. The wonderful comments we have received, many from people who had not previously been enthusiastic about the Breed has been quite overwhelming.

We broke in our gelding Hollybrooke Ginger in May. He has been a delight to work with and combined showing in hand with the start of his ridden career. He had some excellent wins and placings in hand and although his ridden debut was delayed by the weather, by the Breed Show in August he was competing in both ridden show classes and in dressage. He was third in the 4 and 5 year old large novice ridden and then in the Prelim 14 dressage he scored an amazing 73.75%. He won the section for ponies wishing to grade at the Breed Society's level one and had the best score from 34 starters in the three sections to win the Burley Cup. An amazing achievement for a four year old pony competing in only his forth ever preliminary test. He has shown a real talent for dressage beating ponies of far greater age and experience. He is now having a well deserved holiday but will be resuming his ridden career in the New Year.

We showed two young fillies this summer and both were very successful. The yearling Hollybrooke Nutmeg, the first youngster by Hollybrooke Rambler to be shown by us, was always

well placed including two wins at Elite shows. Her three year old half sister, Hollybrooke Melitta by Burley Branston covered her self with glory by winning five times and ended the season by becoming young stock champion at the Romsey Show. She is pictured on the right receiving her cup at the New Forest Show. She has now been shown there twice and has won on both occasions. We also have a smart yearling colt Hollybrooke Duke by Hollybrooke Tinker who won on his only outing. Any ideas we had of getting him out again were washed away by the persistent rain and the exceptionally prolonged hay making season. We hope to get out and about with him next season.

Ponies bred here continue to enjoy success. Hollybrooke Brown Sugar by Burley Branston had some excellent results in Novice ridden classes and is now spending the winter hunting with the New Forest Hounds. Hollybrooke Astronaut age five has been hugely successful in his first year of dressage competitions (see the comments page). Hollybrooke Maxwell age four did really well and achieved some good results including winning a novice ridden class and at affiliated dressage. He will be contesting worker classes next year. Hollybrooke Chablis by Hollybrooke Tinker won the yearling gelding class and was reserve gelding champion at the Breed Show. Ponies by our stallions have also been making their mark. The two year old filly Brock Bronwen by Hollybrooke Tinker contested both New Forest classes and Sports pony classes and was successful in both. Her full brother the colt foal Brock Braithwaite notched up a string of first and second places at elite shows. The four year old Brock Bright Eve by Burley Branston has also made a winning start to her dressage career. Knaves Ash Rustler sired by our late stallion Burley Traveller so a half brother to both Tinker and Rambler, qualified for the BD National Winter Championships, and also won championships both in flat and WHP classes including the Novice WHP Championship at the Breed Show.

All our 'Boys' produced some lovely foals in 2012 both from our own mares and those that visited us in 2011. We had six foals of our own and have kept three to show next year one by each of the stallions. We sold the other three as well as some older ponies ready to break in. These ponies have all gone to homes where they will be competed and their new owners are already thrilled with their progress and their temperaments. We are looking forward to mentioning their achievements in years to come. Pictured left is Hollybrooke Cappuccino aged four by Burley Branston having a chat with her new young jockey.

Unlike last year when he was the busiest of our stallions, Hollybrooke Tinker had a restricted stud season this time as Sam was keen to continue riding him. He covered a few visiting mares that included a New Forest mare who has achieved a string of top class show wins both in hand and under saddle and a large thoroughbred mare. So there should be some exciting foals next Spring. Rambler was busy with mares. He covered his first mare in March and was still covering in July. The visiting mares have all been tested and are safely in foal. We only covered four of our own mares this year. We have two mares in foal to Rambler, one to Branston and we hope that Tinker's full sister Hollybrooke Romany is expecting her first foal by Willoway Minstrel
We are looking forward to the foals in the Spring and some drier weather!

Maintained by Wendy Adams