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I have received two sets of photos this week that make me even more proud than our show results.
  Firstly our eldest granddaughter photographed on her seventeenth birthday with the love of her life Hollybrooke Caramel.
The pony who was her best friend, giving her a huge amount of fun and confidence from the age of four and starting her on the road to being the accomplished rider she is now.
Secondly Hollybrooke Annie
and new rider Hilary got together earlier this year with the   aim of competing in Para Dressage Virtus classes The goal was to get to the National Championships this Summer. It took a lot of training and hard work whilst Hilary got used to Annie but they made it to the BD Para Championships at Hartpury.
Annie loves a big occasion (and any opportunity to show that a New Forest pony can out perform a fancy warm blood!) and won both the II3 Novice and Intermediate classes. An absolutely brilliant achievement from both pony and rider..
Both these ponies show exactly why we chose to breed New Forest ponies not for the show successes but to produce ponies with kind and generous temperaments that would turn their hoof to what ever was asked of them.
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It has been quite a week! On Monday I set off to the NPS Championships with Hollybrooke Distinction. We were doing well until a lorry fire on the M4 closed the motor way and we were trapped for over 4 hours, on a very hot afternoon. More than eight hours after I left home we arrived at Malvern. Unbelievably when we were about to set off for home on Thursday. The M4 was shut in the opposite direction at the same junction involving us in a long diversion via Oxford.
I was thrilled with Distinction who won the New Forest two & three year old class and the championship beating all the same ponies who beat him at the New Forest Show. It is the third time we have won this championship with three different ponies. He went on to be reserve champion M&M stallion and reserve in the Lady Wentworth Championship (restricted M&M breeds). The judge in the M&M championships gave us some really complimentary feed back, including that she was really looking forward to seeing him under saddle. He had qualified for the Price HOYS in hand qualifier so had a spin in the evening performance with twenty seven other ponies where, while not placed, he behaved perfectly. Interestingly both the New Forest champion and reserve were sired by Hollybrooke Tinker!
After some
very quick lorry unloading, sorting out and cleaning kit on Friday, we set off on Saturday to the Ellingham Agricultural Show. We took Distinction's five year old full sister Hollybrooke the Duchess. She has been very lightly shown but won the four years and over New Forest mare class (probably the strongest class of the day) and was reserve New Forest champion.
Definitely a week to remember! |
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The New Forest Show was a day of mixed fortunes for the stud. Sadly Hollybrooke  Distinction did not impress the judge this time. However, to say I was immensely proud of him is an understatement. His behaviour was absolutely amazing. He is a three year old colt with all the hormones you would expect and yet he stood quietly and calmly in the collecting ring among other colts and mares many of whom were upset by the flies, the excitement of the show or the proximity of other ponies. His behaviour in the ring was equally wonderful. I couldn't have asked for more.
The rules say understandably, that that colts must be bitted. Distinction wears a soft Naithe snaffle but I have never needed to lead him from the bit I just use the nose band. We try very hard to breed for temperament and Distinction has a temperament to be proud of.
 Hollybrooke Tinker's Gold now just four years old, kept the Hollybrooke flag flying. He is owned by Julia Anderson and shown as always by Malcolm Fry. He won the large (over 138cm) gelding class and followed this by winning the gelding championship. He was young gelding champion here last year and followed that by winning both the young and overall gelding championships at the Breed Show. He is now broken and we look forward to seeing him under saddle.
His full brother will be for sale at weaning in the Autumn. |
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 I spent a lovely day this week at the Royal International Horse Show watching Hollybrooke Jupiter in the mixed New Forest and S class. How things have changed, the last time I went was in 2017 when Hollybrooke Duke qualified, he was one of only three New Forests to do so. This time there were five New Forest ponies in the top eight. Jupiter looked absolutely amazing and is such a credit to Heather who has worked so hard with utmost patience on a journey that had not always been easy. There were twenty eight ponies forward and we were beyond thrilled when he was pulled in fourth. Sadly in the end he didn't make the last eight but a great achievement never the less. |
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It has been a quiet time at Hollybrooke because of the equine flu outbreak. The feral herd of New Forest ponies has been badly affected. It started in the north of the Forest and is moving steadily south. Many of our stud ponies are vaccinated and they have had a booster whether due or not. There is little else we can do except not to use our fields closest to the Forest and keep our fingers crossed. The one positive note is that where the outbreak began in the north of the Forest the majority of the ponies have recovered and are now fit and well.
Some good news is that Hollybrooke Jupiter is going to the Royal International. He had a string of second places in the qualifiers. One of the ponies that qualified had dropped out so Jupiter takes his place. I am more than thrilled for Heather who owns him she has worked so very hard with a pony who has not always been easy.
Our foals now are growing well and we are very pleased with both. Melitta's foal looks as though she is going to be dark liver chestnut like her grandmother Coffee Crunch. At the moment she is going through the horrible stage where she is neither one colour nor the other, Crystal's foal is not only very smart but very tall too.
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Well what a start to the show season for Hollybrooke!
 We took our three year old colt Hollybrooke Distinction to the Bath and West Show. He won the two and three year old class and followed that by winning the New Forest championship. Apart from being a lovely pony he has the most amazing quiet temperament. Interestingly Distinction's sire is Hollybrooke Tinker and the winner of the championship last year was Brock Bronwen who is also by Hollybrooke Tinker.
We took our two year old colt Hollybrooke Barraquito (a full brother to the foal below) to his first ever show. He found it all very exciting and his hormones rather got the better of him however, despite that, we were thrilled that he still won his class.
We will have limited opportunities to show Barraquito this year as he will compete in the same classes and age group as Distinction.
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 Our second and final foal arrived in the early hours of 17th May. A chestnut filly by Skywalker out of Hollybrooke Melitta.
We were quite surprised that she was chestnut, as Melitta is dark brown and Skywalker was bay, all her closest chestnut relatives were liver chestnut so we are hopeful she will be the same. Interestingly liver chestnuts are born ordinary chestnut and the colour only changes when they lose their baby coat. Sadly this is the last Skywalker baby.
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 I have just been sent this lovely photo of the four year old gelding Hollybrooke Galaxy (another Coffee Crunch grandson) He is recently backed and has just had his first canter in the school. You can see just how thrilled his two jockeys are. They have been waiting patiently to ride him for the last three years.
As always our mares like to keep us waiting for their foals.  Hollybrooke Crystal was exactly two weeks over due when she produced this enormous colt foal. Photographed at just two days old and still with some uncurling to do. He is a full brother to last year's New Forest Show young gelding champion, Breed Show young gelding and overall gelding champion. He will be for sale at weaning. Sadly Crystal needed the vet twice in the twenty four hours after foaling but all seems well now. Melitta is due this week but doesn't look like foaling yet.
Hollybrooke Barraquito and Millyford Masterpiece not only passed but also had the joint highest marks at the April colt inspections. We also presented a forest bred colt Fly Away, who we bought as a foal off the forest as a companion for Barraquito. We had no intention of keeping him entire but he has grown into a smart pony so we took him for the Breed Society/ Verderers inspection. He has been approved as a potential stallion to run on the forest. All three boys passed their vetting, DNA and pssm tests so are now fully licence stallions.
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We have had another very sad day at Hollybrooke when we lost our wonderful foundation mare Coffee Crunch. We bought her as a foal and she had been with us for twenty nine years. She bred fourteen foals and I could write a book about the achievements of her children and grandchildren. They include the champion mare (4 times), champion colt (twice with two different ponies) champion young gelding (twice with two different ponies) overall gelding champion, champion stallion and the Supreme championship at the Breed show. Most of all she was a really lovely, kind and gentle person and Hollybrooke is a poorer place without her. I could have chosen many photos of her and her hugely successful progeny but the photo on the left is Crunch aged 24 with her last foal and the photo on the right two of her daughters looking after our grand children while giving them an immense amount of fun.
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As a very fitting tribute in the week that she died two of her grandsons Hollybrooke Barraquito (out of her daughter Hollybrooke Melitta) and Millyford Masterpiece (by her son Hollybrooke Tinker) both passed their colt inspections with flying colours.
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A sad start to 2026 for Hollybrooke when we said goodbye to our stallion Skywalker. He  would have been twenty five this year and his age had just started to catch up with him. The last thing we wanted was to watch him going down hill so we made the most difficult decision for any animal owner.
He was an absolute pleasure to own and has left behind some lovely progeny both here and also in the Brock and Trenley herds, who also used him during his time at Hollybrooke. I have had many messages from people, who have Skywalker progeny they adore. Many were not conceived here, but during the twelve seasons he was a Forest run stallion. Our supreme champion mare Hollybrooke Melitta is in foal to him, having produced two really super foals by him before, so we are really looking forward to that. |
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 On a more cheerful note the Breed Society has just published the results of their annual performance pony of the year competition. The winner of the section for part-beds in 2025 was Trenley Tomorrow. A New Forest TB cross sired by Hollybrooke Tinker. He also won the trophy for the most versatile part-bred.
We have just two mares in foal this year Hollybrooke Melitta and Hollybrooke Crystal who is expecting a full brother or sister to last year's breed show champion gelding by Hollybrooke Tinker. |
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