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Spring 2013 Newsletter

I have lapsed a bit with writing my newsletters recently but I probably don’t need to tell you it’s been raining a lot! Our customers old and new have been a loyal bunch and put up with the mud and cold, but let’s hope Spring is round the corner - the bluebells are just starting to grow and should be in bloom at the end of the month, or perhaps the start of May.

Whilst on the subject of mud etc, I had some good news the other day. The B.O.A.T (Byeway Open to All Traffic, although a boat may have been the best transport this winter) has been shut for a year or so; go down the track past the cottages taking us off the farm and you’ll see that we currently use the field that runs alongside it. Anyway, they have found great crested newts down there which are protected, so they are going to downgrade the path to a bridle way and put a hard surface through to Nore drive. This should happen before midsummer, and it’s a relief to know that we will have a permanent mud free way off the farm next winter. I know I am a bit cynical, but I knew the Council wished to downgrade this right of way, I think they may have acquired some newts and planted them there!

We took 5 horses along to the RDA (Riding for the Disabled) sponsored ride on Good Friday. I dropped them off in the horsebox a Shamley Green and they hacked up to the official start at Roman Temple. The ride was about 11 miles and enjoyed by all, so much so, that having had a drink at The Red Lion afterwards they declined the horse box and hacked the extra hour home! If you are interested in joining something like this let us know, we can often get a group together.

Now we have a reliable horse box again we can arrange various special “off piste” events for you. For instance, we can now offer cross-country schooling with my daughter Alex; we have 1 space left on our 3-day South downs trip May 21st 22nd 23^rd; beach rides are still available on Thursday 9th May and Friday 24^th May (we box the horses down, and meet you circa 4.00 pm at Middleton or Climping); and of course we can schedule additional trips for you on request.

Should you ever wish to entertain clients why not consider a riding excursion, we’d be happy to oblige; we have horses for all abilities, are a friendly bunch and if you wished ould organise it so you could stop for a drink at one of the pubs in the area. Over the years we have entertained the John Lewis Partnership, Logica, American Express, Online Finance and others (oh, if you wish to stop for a drink, don’t forget some money, American Express did, didn’t even have a card!)

For the next couple of weeks should you wish to purchase 3 hacks or lessons we will give you your 4th ride free. And don’t forget to watch Hopefulearl’s Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/HopefulEarlRidingCentre - we post last minute ride specials, and other special offers on there.

Happy Easter to you all

Ian McAlpine

December 2012

Sorry I missed our November news, I spent most of the month being fairly soggy. I have just resigned myself to the weather now - you either enjoy outdoor pursuits and get wet, or you get square eyes and become excited waiting for the omnibus edition of East Enders.

I did have one bit of luck though. We did a beach ride on the 23^rd November and enjoyed one of our few dry days - glorious sunshine and still air, which was only marred by the occasional big yellow vehicle moving shingle from one end of the beach to the other.

The same evening we had the Surrey and Kent Bloodhounds ball. Wow, wish I could afford to go out more often; we are a scruffy lot in the horse industry business, but we do brush up well on occasion. I felt a little second hand the next day and blame Tony Irving for trying to buy all the Tequila the hotel had in stock. My ex wife always used to show me up at such occasions by dancing on the tables, and interestingly her youngest daughter Charlotte (nothing to do with me) continues the tradition.

We did our first winter trip to the South Downs on the 1st/2nd of December when again we were blessed with one of those isolated periods of good weather - very cold, but thankfully dry. On the Saturday afternoon we kept running into fragments of the South Downs and Eridge hunt - I must look like a local as one horseman even asked me the way to Firle. Then on the way back, walking up the side of Charlston Manor, I had to get off to wrestle a fallen tree blocking the bridle path - it was the first time I’d had warm hands all day! Sheila’s B&B was warm and welcoming though, and the Eight Bells pub up the road looked after our eating and drinking needs very capably. All in all a great weekend.

I would like to wish you all a happy Christmas and a drier New Year. If you need a last minute present don’t forget that we can offer handmade gift vouchers.

Ian McAlpine

Proprietor

PS.

Now for the quiz! Questions 1-6 refer to our horses and answers can either be found on our website, or by a bit of clever research. Answers must be received by email by midday on 24^th December and will be entered into a draw. Winners will be notified by 1^st January 2013. 1st prize is a voucher for a beach ride, 2^nd prize is a 2 hour hack, and 3^rd prize is a 1 ¼ hour hack - well worth a go!

1. Which of our horses ran in a Derby trial, whose sire won the 2000 guineas during the nineties?

2. Who was Epsom trainer Jim Boyle’s first winner?

3. Whose sire was in training with Aiden O’Brien until recently?

4. Whose sire won the Epsom Derby during the nineties?

5. Which chestnut horse shares my daughter Catherine McAlpine’s birthday (not the same year!)

6. Which horse’s sire was 9-2 second favourite in the Epsom Derby during the late eighties?

October 2012

Sorry this Newsletter is a bit late, I hope you havn’t all been waiting with baited breath.

We went to the beach last Wednesday though it wasn’t the smoothest running outing I have ever had: we had just come over the top of Bury Hill in the `new’ horsebox and were on the hill heading down into Arundel when “CRASH, BANG” the exhaust fell off! Not quite `off’, but the tail end was hanging on the road. I stopped to investigate but it was beyond my capability with no tools or even bailer string ( if you have never worked with horses you will have no idea how many things you can repair with bailer string! ). Anyway, I made the decision that as the silencer was probably terminal I would carry on for the last 5 miles at about 15 mph with hazard warning lights in case it suddenly detached itself and pole-axed a potential Bradley Wiggins or hit someone’s new Merc. I was then struck with a brainwave and went to Climping which saved a couple of miles of sparks and being pointed at.

We phoned our clients waiting at Middleton and they agreed to relocate, then the landlord of the Black Horse at Climping kindly offered his car park for our use. I was just chauffeur that day, as Carrie our stable manager took the ride with Ella, Deborah and Juliette, so I was able to enjoy a splendid steak and mushroom pie whilst waiting for the mechanic to arrive. This turned out to be a bit of an “ill wind” scenario; many years ago the nice Irish family who owned The Black horse used to let me park there, then it was taken over by some guy who thought he was Michelle Roux and that scruffy horsey people in his establishment wasn’t the image he wished to promote. Anyway the new landlord is friendly and we have permission to park there for the Winter.

We have been to the South Downs twice this month: a weekend trip with Rachael and Heather, and a midweek jolly with Sally and Danielle. I was standing in the Dragon at East Dean on the Saturday night talking to a nice guy about micro-breweries; it turned out that he works for the Long Man brewery which we ride past. We had been talking for about 15 minutes when he looked at me and said “ I have ridden with you, you have got all the ex-racehorses near Guildford”; turned out they used to live in SW London and had moved down to Alfriston (my saddler Ian Hastilow rings church bells for a hobby and has clanged the bells in Alfriston Church). Anyway, Sally is off riding in Botswana next week; I have never been to Africa but I envy her being away from all the rain. I seem to recall that there are two places that operate in Botswana - two of my ex staff and a customer ( Sam the croupier ) have worked at one or the other.

We are going to offer weekend breaks to the South Downs throughout the winter, at a price to reflect the shorter winter daylight hours available to us. The format will be to drive down either Friday night or first thing Saturday morning ( I will take the horses the day before), have a full day’s ride starting at 10 am, stay Saturday night, and enjoy another slightly shorter ride on the Sunday. Details to be posted on our website within the next few days.

I went with Laurel to the British Museum recently, for an exhibition on the evolution of the thoroughbred horse; amazing that all modern racehorses evolved from 3 Arab stallions, ( 1 we pinched from somebody’s empire I think). They had a serious family tree where you could trace Frankel, Red Rum and Secretariat amongst others ; I am not a museum person, but I was captivated by the age of some of the exhibits; horseracing has been supported by Royalty since James I in 1612, and there were some beautiful paintings of the Derby etc which make you realise how popular horse racing had become within 200 years.

As you might have gathered I’m a bit fed up with the rain; our first ½ day ride here was a great success although we’d all got pretty wet by the end; but Stilemans is so lovely and beautifully maintained it didn’t seem to matter.

Possible beach ride dates: Tue 23rd & Wed 24th October, Thurs 8th, Fri 9th, Thurs 22nd, Fri 23^rd November , and December Sat 8th, Sun 9th Sat 22nd, though the last three will be subject to Xmas staffing arrangements etc.

Ian McAlpine

August 2012 Newsletter

Hi, what a bummer that “ Pussy Riot” got banged up by that nasty President Putin, us fans will have to put up with their tribute band, “Pussy Punch Up!”

Never mind, we went to the Olympic Games Team Show Jumping at Greenwich Park the other Monday, must say I was quite blown away by the whole event: the transport was good, the people so friendly, the location out of this world, and as for excitement we couldn’t have ever been there on a better day. We were about six or seven rows back from the arena and had two rows of Dutch supporters in front of us who were most sporting in defeat. I have to say it is probably the most exciting event I have ever been to.

The 150th anniversary of the America’s Cup at Cowes in 2001 was close though - the racing was exciting, but standing in the pub next to Alan Bond who had won it for Australia, and seeing King Juan Carlos of Spain walking down the High Street and having some breakfast when Senignor Agnelli (then owner of Fiat) sat down on the next table took some beating. Mind you, the Goodwood Revival meeting on 14^th-16th September takes some beating if you are a petrol head.

I was forced to watch the Olympic Games Individual Dressage in the Three Horseshoes in Cranleigh, but even though I don’t understand much more about dressage than I did 25 years ago, the patriotic music that accompanied Charlotte Dujardin’s gold medal even made people who don’t like horses proud to be British.

My lack of knowledge of dressage took me back about 20 years. A new customer wanting to bring his staff for a ride before Christmas explained that they were mostly novices, but he and his wife were serious dressage riders, and in his case he had a Danish Grand Prix horse. My partner at the time had 2 horses competing at advanced medium level which is pretty good, but we decided it would be embarrassing to offer one to such an experienced rider so we gave him a new recruit “Tom” who was a very flashy palomino part bred Arab, and gave his wife one of the dressage horses. It was an interesting ride, we witnessed “passage” in a ditch full of water, “piaffe” about 8 foot up a bank, his wife was too frightened to go any faster than walk on her horse. In fairness he didn’t fall off (I will not mention his name) but it was somewhat different from the indoor school they had at their house. I found out later that you can purchase a branded Grand Prix Dressage horse, but it doesn’t mean you ride at that level.

We got a nice new horse a few weeks ago. Champagne Mary (known as “Fizz”) is a 5 year old who ran once (came second to last), damaged a tendon, but now hopefully has a rosy future here. She’s a proper English thoroughbred, none of your Danish stuff (like comparing who produces the best bacon).

Glen rode for us at Cranleigh show on the first Sunday in August. He was again on Perfidious (“Fidi”) in the Racehorse to Riding Horse class, and the horse looked great, even in the pouring rain, but unfortunately the judges don’t want to see them looking like racehorses, and as he works hard for his living, he is unlikely to resemble a fat cob. Glen also rode Hopeful Earl (“Earl”) in Ridden Veteran without much more success, as Earl has fired tendons which would have been ignored in Fidi’s class, although Earl carries a lot more condition. We may try Earl in the racehorse to riding horse class until Fizz or Troy are up and running.

I can do a day ride (6-7 hours) on Saturday 8th September or Sunday 23rd September, let me or one of the team know if you are interested. These are relaxing sociable events, but a few riders who have come on a day ride for the first time with us have expressed a little disappointment that there isn’t more cantering. I understand this, but our regulars really enjoy seeing some new countryside and stopping at a pub or two. Also the best cantering we have, excepting the beach or the South Downs, is all on our doorstep, or within two or three miles. I intend to rectify this with a brand new half-day ride on a Saturday or Sunday mornings at 9.00 am for our more experienced riders. It will last circa 3 ½ hours and take in all the good cantering available to us plus a couple of extras for only £85.

Ian

July 2012 Newsletter (Part 2!)

Hi riders, friends etc. I got a little carried away with my last newsletter so sorry about the lack of news ( it was quite a shock realising how many horses we’d had over the years, and I forgot Kalamazuzu by the way if anybody remembers him).

Very good news is that our lack of transport problem has been solved thanks to the kind generosity of some close friends and my daughter Alex. I have been going for over 22 years and had never not had a horsebox for more than a couple of weeks until last November, which has been a nightmare.

One benefit is being able to organise more beach rides. Until October these will take place at Climping, which is between Bognor and Littlehampton - we meet you there at about 4.00/ 4.30 pm for about two and a half hours riding; the cost is £120 and is not suitable for novice riders. Visit our Excursions page on the website for scheduled dates in August and September.

Many of you will be pleased to hear we are finally offering our mid-week breaks to the South Downs at weekends too! The Downs offers some of the best riding we have ever done - even with all the rain we’ve had the going remains good to firm. I will take the horses down on Friday mornings and there will be a ride of approximately 3 hours in the afternoon; Saturday will be a full day’s ride, and Sunday we will ride from approximately 10.30 am until 3.30 pm with a pub stop at some point. If you can’t get Friday afternoon off we can make a small reduction, but I have to book the accommodation for 2 nights. See our Excursions page on the website for prices etc.

Having transport again also means that we can reintroduce our cross-country schooling so if you fancy having a go, just contact me at the yard.

We are about to introduce an on-line Rider Registration Form. By receiving an emailed invitation to read this newsletter you must have already registered with us, but please can you register with us again on-line when you book your next ride so we have your up to date details. I hope it will be up and running within the next week.

I have further added to our stock of horses; Firstly, Bollinger, a 7yo bay, who I am trying for a couple of months - although he is registered with Weatherbys he has never raced; he has nice paces and has a few horse trials under his belt, so I hope he works out. Then there is Sergeant Troy who has come straight from Jim Boyle’s yard at Epsom. A handsome 4yo Iron grey with white mane and tail, Troy has a lovely nature and has won some money. I am not going to ride him before the end of the year as he could do with making up a bit.

Our apprentice, Glen, is going to ride for us at Cranleigh show on Sunday 5th August. He will be riding Perfidious in the racehorse to riding horse class and Hopeful Earl in the ridden veteran class (he is too badly behaved for the other class, Earl I mean not Glen!).

Our next day ride will be on Sunday 12th August. If you fancy it but can’t do that date let me know a more suitable date and I can probably organise another.

I played golf a couple of weeks ago. It was the first time for about 4 years, I thought it may it may be a more gentle pursuit for an old man other than riding racehorses, but was absolutely exhausted after 12 holes - think I have pulled a muscle in my leg, perhaps I had better take up Bridge!

I would like to get my hands round the neck of whoever said this Summer was going to be like 1976, stand pipes in the street etc, because the rain is not doing us any favours. Until the end of July if you wish to buy 3 hacks you will get a 4th free, and you can use them right up to the end of October. For the sake of the Olympics and me, please come back Summer, all is forgiven.

Ian

July 2012 newsletter (Part 1!)

Hi everyone, bet you haven’t been sitting on the beach too often recently, we've had awful weather, still not as bad as in the North.

My daughter Alex and some of the staff produced a list of horses who used to live here - most have passed on through old age, but a couple are still going so I’m going to tell you about some of them. (The rest of our news will have to follow next week, although I must mention before I forget that we do have a couple of places left for our late July South Downs Ride – details on our Excustions page).

To continue, Goldie (Mister Golden, stunning to look at, John Francome won 2 races on him in his final season); William (Poachers Peril, my first horse, genuine as they come); Mon’T (Cleveland Bay/Hanovarian, advanced medium dressage, lovely paces, very lazy)l; Rebus (7/8 Thoroughbred advanced medium dressage, much more willing than Mon’T!); Maggot (3/4 thoroughbred, so small when she was a foal used to wear a greyhound coat); Ticker (Behind The Clock, has to be one of our great horses); Piper (another Piper, still racing at 13 a real character, not very easy to stop); Sailor (Grecian Sailor, great big brown monster, harder to stop than Piper); Dancer (Dancing Lucy, another of my horses - stunning looks, lacking in brain power); Strimmer (Can’t remember her racing name, shows why chestnut mares have a bad name); Boston ( 17.1 bay Warmblood with a stubborn streak); Foal (about the same size but a bit longer in the back, not a bad chap, also a Warmblood); Havana (thoroughbred X something, was exported to Ireland as a showjumper, we found him on the way back, but still won a shed load of rosettes); Woody (Foreby, big thoroughbred, was in his mid teens when he came here; good horse, although probably the worst on beach rides I have ever had); Meggan, (one of my mistakes when looking for a big horse, my friend Jeremy gave her a loving home); Chessie ( 15.1 never found out who he was but had loads of fans); Amos, (Prenonomas, another who was lots of girls favorites, ridden by Willie Carson, John Reid and Frankie Dettori); Pluggy, (Hawai Storm, very much like Amos, little horse with a big heart); Ranger (Dorking Ranger, 17.0 hh - his ex owner Bob Keane said he didn’t go fast enough to keep warm); T’Leaf (Burglar Bill, a very genuine 16.2 had speed, brakes and manners); Senna (Warmblood advanced eventer, his ex owner also had Shumacker and Hackennan); Maverick (another advanced eventer from the same source); Barley Mow, ( one of my first horses, small hunter, heart of gold); Tom ( Legend Spirit of Autumn, now owned by my friend Alex he was part bred Arab, real brat when he came here as an 8 yo, settled down a bit in the end); Dusty ( can’t remember his racing name, used to throw himself and rider in the ditch, had to find him another home); Dolly (Topping Lady, came from the same trainer as Earl - big grey mare, if you look on our link to You Tube on our website, you should see her being ridden by an Australian pop diva); Scooby (L’Inconnu, bucked a few off in his time, but lots of friends, came from trainer Anna at Jevington where we go for our South Downs trips); Storm, (Grey, nice horse, had to find him another home through lameness, but lived until a ripe old age); Storm (Bay, can’t remember his racing name, but won a lot of money, sadly died of cholic); Derby, ( not a racehorse and a mistake, had to move on); Areya (Areyoualright, lovely mare, had been mistreated before she came here, but loved being here and had loads of fans, affectionately called Turbomare!); Topsey, (nice to look after but lacked brakes); Eddy (13.2 pony, a real character, adults enjoyed him, went blind in one eye, but still going strong); Beebe (Roman Coin, used to bite people trying to groom him, fabulous jumper); Ed (Shire cross I think, great big thing, very bouncy, used to bite the staff); Hardy ( also from Anna, not enough brakes to use in our business); Winnie (Lady Winifred, everybody’s favourite except mine, did us proud over the years); Gucci, (Guiting Girl, also lacked a bit of stopping power, but ok with experienced riders); Festival (Harvest Reaper, shire cross Thoroughbred, had evented, great character, one of our first horses); Major Tom ( came on loan from my vet at the time, blue roan, very flashy, featured on the TV, featured on one of our You Tube films); Arnold (Windover Lodge, one of my favourites, fabulous paces, lovely manners, rare find); Noddy ( 13.2 pony, good jumper); By (None Go By, problem was when she was racing most other horses did go by - my daughter rode her at intermediate level eventing, and she jumped at Hickstead as well); Luke (Luke of Tara, shetland pony, nuisance, out on loan as he kept escaping); Geno, (Genotin, classy horse, won a number of races); Peer Gynt ( pure bred Arab, was 4th at the Horse of the Year show when he was younger. I’ve never liked the breed but he was a good horse); Topper, (Top Bay Boy, great big thoroughbred, used to get very excited about cantering); Spinny (Welsh cross Arab, 14.0, very fast, no brakes whatsoever, used to attack the children when they went to catch him, wouldn’t jump, notorious throughout the Pony Club); Katie (Miss Katie, a delicate little mare, nice nature and very popular).

I have probably missed a few, if you have any memories (good rather than bad!) I have photos of most of them Otherwise I am not sure how much film is on You Tube, but a lot of them are on there. Oh, and Wizz, I forgot Wizz (Whisky Grain, good little horse, won at Cheltenham).

That’s all for now, Part 2 to follow.

Ian

April 2012 Newsletter

This drought is getting us all a bit wet at Painshill Farm Stables, I’ll be pleased when it is over! From a selfish point of view rain is quite a relief at this time of year, two years ago we had a dry spring, the grass didn’t grow and hay prices trebled with some suppliers; unfortunately, like fuel, when prices go up they often don’t go down again, let’s hope we have a glut of hay this year.

The sun shone down on me last week so I must have been very good at some point in my life (I can’t recall when, so it must have been a long time ago); Laurel and I went to the South Downs for three days to explore some new routes, didn’t get rained on once and Thursday was almost like Summer. We had some success - found a couple of great routes, and a new pub (Rose Cottage, at Alciston) which made us very welcome and had some nice grass for the horses. This opens a window for very thirsty riders - The Cricketers, Rose Cottage, and The Ram, stopping at The Plough & Harrow on the way back (if you are still capable of riding by then!)

We have had some new equines in since my last newsletter (I don’t include my daughter Alex’s horses, it’s probably best not to ask). Firstly, Go Jonny Go (stable name Moonax), a ten year old, 16.2 bright bay, who was in training with Colin Tizzard, won a bit of money, and when he retired from racing went to one of the grooms, who’s now off to New Zealand so has donated him to us. Alex collected him from Dorset on her way back from Jimmy Frost’s in South Devon, and as I wasn’t expecting to be given his tack and rugs as well, that was an added bonus. I rode him for the first time yesterday, very special.

Our friend Penny has bought her daughters a delightful 13.2 chestnut pony called Dolly, and we will have some use of her. I have wanted a couple of decent ponies for a long time - there is a shortage of teaching capacity for children in this area, with most yards quoting six to twelve month waiting lists. The big problem is that I can acquire as many ex-racehorses as I want for nothing, but good ponies cost an arm and a leg. When Alex arrived back form Dorset with Moonax she also had a 14.2 called Charlie for us to try - a lovely pony but he hasn’t fully settled in yet, unlike Moonax. Piccies and more detailed profiles of Moonax and Dolly can be found on the "Our Horses" page.

Looking at forthcoming events we have a few spaces remaining for our day ride here on the 13th May which should be fun; there’s also limited availability for our always exciting three day South Downs trips - that is, commencing Tuesday 22nd May, and Monday 25th June. We are also showing two of our horses at the Royal Windsor Horse Show on Friday the 11th May if you want to come and watch (details of all events on our website’s Excursions and News pages, or ring me at the yard). Oh, and don’t forget to view Hopefulearl’s Facebook page for all the latest photos and gossip.

Ian

March 2012 Newsletter

This should be called `Spring Newsletter’ - the weather is fantastic, and we are going to the South downs on Tuesday so I hope it lasts.

After I’d finished my last newsletter (in which I had been reminiscing over the mares we’d had here over the years) I suddenly started remembering other mares - like my own horse, Dancing Lucy who I bought for the business. She was a 16.3h well put together brown mare, and as the girl I bought her from had recently taken her to pony club camp I thought she could go straight into work. Trouble was I kept meeting my best riders leading her, and when I enquired why, “no brakes” was the common reply. So, the next time I met someone leading her I swapped horses and carried on my ride on Dancer, who certainly spent quite a lot of her time cantering and flying through the air, but I found her very easy to stop, just needed the knack. Dancer was very excitable and used to sweat up. Being brown (effectively black), covered in foam and with a wild look in her eye, drivers would often insist on reversing for miles to avoid me passing too close, and even then she would only jog and could cover passers by with foam; but she was much safer than she looked and gave me a lot of pleasure. When I retired her my friend Mark used to ride her over to the White Horse, she was incredibly flashy and all the girls used to chat him up.

Then there was None Go By, who was the most talented horse I have ever bought (£250 including tack and rugs as a 6 yo). I bought her for my daughter Catherine, who at 16 was eventing at intermediate level, always went double clear jumping; but Cath was never much good at dressage which was a shame as daughter Alex would have won a lot. None Go By was a grumpy mare, used to attack humans in the field.

Moving on, Areyoualright was a character. AKA Turbo Mare, she could go very fast yet you could put novices, children etc on her and she would take care of them. Guiting Girl'(stable name Gucci) went ever so fast too, brakes weren’t quite as good as the acceleration, but she was a pleasure to have on the yard. The last one I can remember was Bo Belle she was nice in all ways, looked like one of our current geldings, Proceed (Seedy); had lovely manners, wasn’t at all mareish. That’s about it for the equine females in my life.

We have entered Masterman Ready (M&M) and Perfidious (Fidi) in the Racehorse to Riding Horse class at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in mid-May. It’s on Friday 11th, so if anyone wants to support us we would be pleased to see you there. Carrie is riding M&M and Glen will be on Fidi (we could do with getting a little weight on M&M, though I can never understand why show judges want the horses so fat when vets don’t approve and we encourage people to be slim).

Laurel and others have done a fantastic amount of work on our website www.hopefulearl.co.uk so check it out; also we will have a new brochure within the next couple of weeks. We appreciate that riding is an expensive pastime so are doing our best to help by continuing to hold our prices – they are now some of the lowest in the South East.

Alex is competing at Munstead horse trials on Sunday 15^th March- it’s not far, just our side of Godalming. I think she has 2 horses there, and it’s meant to be a nice sunny day if you’d like to go.

All the Best,

Ian

January 2012 Newsletter

A belated Happy New Year to everyone! I have to say the weather had been quite kind to us until the last few days, but it is quite difficult to look after 25 horses in snowy weather.

I was sorry to hear this morning that Josh Gifford has died. Our paths have crossed a bit over the years, and I have had a few horses from him - currently guard of Honour (Sammy), Proceed (Seedy) and Gandouge Glen (Digger), (although Digger was latterly trained by Alexandra Embiricos). Josh rode his first winner aged 14, and went on to be a hugely successful trainer, being perhaps remembered best for training Aldeniti who won the 1981 Grand National ridden by Bob Champion. Aldeniti looked more like a show hack than a race horse and his vet had said he should be retired due to successive tendon injuries, but they paired him up with Bob Champion who had been pretty broken down himself and together they won the hardest race of all.

Aldeniti’s owner Nick Embiricos was very supportive of the Pony Club and used to let Lord Leconfield hold a rally at his place in the summer. Beryl and Wilf, knowing I was a racing fan would always take me to see him in his field (still looked like a show horse). It’s worth looking up Aldeniti - there is BBC archive film of the end of the race, they even made a film out of it with John Hurt and Edward Woodward. I bought Josh’s horsebox 22 years ago (I hope to have it back on the road before the spring) and I don’t know if it was used to transport Aldeniti to Aintree, but was looking on the internet and it was certainly the same model though with all the crowds I can’t see the number plate.

I have acquired a couple of mares since my last newsletter, Eden Star (Eden) 10yo and Crimsonwing (Crimson) 7yo I am often asked why I don’t have any mares (I am certainly not prejudiced against the fairer sex). I have in fact had some very good mares over the years, but as most of my horses are donated to me the owners of mares often keep them to breed from, perhaps deluding themselves that a big winner may be just round the corner.

The best mare I have ever had was Lady Winifred (Winnie) she was a 16.2 chestnut built like a brick whatsit, she didn’t enhance the reputation of chestnut mares and could bite and kick, but everybody (except me) loved riding her - she was very fast, comparatively safe and would go all day. I will dig out a picture of her and put it on Hopefulearl’s Facebook page. I got Winnie when she was five of six and she was here until her late teens.

Another memorable lady was Topping Lady (Dolly). She was a great big grey mare who came from the same owner as Hopeful Earl (Earl) and Durham Hornet (Sedgwick) in North Yorkshire. Lucy Horner won her first race on her when she was 16. I did like riding her, great fun on the beach, I will see if I can find a picture of her as well. We have got Dolly on DVD - she was ridden at Stilemans by some Australian pop diva for Smash Hits TV, who later sang at the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics when they showed her riding Dolly. We had a few customers and friends in the audience who recognised her.

Another memorable mare was Strimmer (I can’t remember her racing name offhand) she was about 15.1, chestnut mare, boy could she bite and kick. She had won a dressage competition with a partially sighted rider, was too small for me to ride but was much loved by riders who could. I have probably still got some scars from Strimmer, I remember when I had to have her put down in her late teens, she tried to attack the vet, and he was holding a gun!

I can’t finish without a mention of Maggot, she was a 14.2 h ¾ thoroughbred, who I acquired for my daughter Alex. One memorable beach ride a lady asked to ride something small and feisty so I gave her Maggot. Half way through the ride she got off and said she wasn’t going to ride her any more, I asked her what was wrong, “I didn’t mean that feisty!”

Anyway my two new mares seem delightful, affectionate, neither are straight from racing and both have been schooled - photos on Facebook in the snow.

Finally, a special offer until the end of February - buy three rides or lessons, get a fourth free. And if you are good enough you may even get to ride one of the new mares, or Masterman Ready (M&M), who we got about 3 months ago - he has dressage points, and is now taking some of our more experienced customers out hacking too.

Best wishes, Ian.

November 2011 Newsletter

Hello everyone,

Exhausted at the moment, have been really busy the last ten days, not riding unfortunately, but hey ho. Went to the opening meet of the Surrey Union hunt on the last Saturday of October, at Forest Green - fab weather, massive turnout. Barry and Iona took Donald and Maggie - gather Maggie was well behaved but Barry came off in a ditch with Donald on top of him (fortunately he is ex King’s Troop and can take a knock!). The weekend before last we had a visit from 30 horse enthusiasts from Finland! It happened to be a really busy morning with our regular riders, but we managed to turn the coach around in the car park. Apparently they had been racing at Lingfield the day before (said they lost their money) so my daughter Alex put on a show with one of her five year old ex racers “Fancy” who jumps like a stag considering she was a flat racer. Last Friday a gang of us went to the Surrey and Kent bloodhounds hunt ball at the Burford Bridge hotel in Dorking, wow do they party hard! I used to be a bit of a rugby person, but they make the rugby club events seem like a women’s institute tea dance (no offence meant to the WI, I expect they have got some ravers!). Got talked into going out hunting with them on the 4th December, so it should be a bit of a Painshill farm outing. I believe my daughter and her husband were some of the last to be thrown out circa 3.30am. Felt a little jaded on Saturday, glorious day though. Sunday we were short of staff, had thick fog and nearly lost a rider at one point - we had put a high viz jacket on her, but when I looked round she'd disappeared. Fortunately she materialised out of the fog as I was turning round. Monday we had a beach ride, and a complete turnaround with the weather - glorious sunshine, not much wind. Still, life doesn’t run that smoothly - we forgot to take Fable’s bridle. I did consider riding Kanga in his head collar as I surrendered his bridle, but thought the beach may not be the ideal first time, so had to leave him on the lorry, show the ride which way to go, and retire to the Berisford Arms for lunch. Pictures of most of the above events will be on Hopeful Earl Facebook page in the next few days. We now have Christmas gift vouchers available, so if you're wondering what on earth to buy friends for Christmas here's the perfect answer. Don’t miss out - they can be for specific riding or an amount of money, all produced to order and posted on your behalf (and with 10% discount if you have ridden with us before). Carleen has been pushing me to lead some different route rides on the weekends and intends to make me lead the first ride to Bramley very soon. It’s a lovely 3 hour hack and will offer our regulars a change of scenery too. Chosen dates and routes will be posted on the Facebook page soon. By the way, details of our South Downs Winter holiday are on our website now. Wednesday collected a new horse, “Masterman Ready” he is 10 years old and ran 19 times as a two, three and four year old, achieving 4 wins, 2 seconds and 3 thirds with prize money of £23,323 he was trained by Walter Swinburn. He went on to do some dressage and has 12 British Dressage points. His sire was “Unfuwain” who was an eyeful, he was also 2nd favourite for the ’88 Epsom Derby and favourite for the King George V1 and Queen Elizabeth stakes at Ascot that year, beaten on the day by Mtoto. He has a remarkably similar background to “Hearty” who was also 10 when he came here, I hope he turns out to be as good. Finally, Christmas opening hours. We are closed Christmas Eve pm, Christmas Day and probably New Years Eve pm. We will be putting on a number of special Christmas rides (starting 10.30 am, duration circa 3.5 hours) on Tuesday 27th, Wednesday 28th, Thursday 29th, Friday 30th and Monday 2nd Jan. These will kick off with mince pies (and some alcohol to wash them down with!), and include a pub stop if the weather is friendly. Normal rides will also be available on those days. On New Year’s Day we will not have any of our normal rides but we will be running the special 3.5 hour Christmas rides, starting at 11.00 am (be good to get a good turnout on this ride). Cost £85 per head.

Seasonal greetings to you all, have a good one!

Ian

September 2011 Newsletter

Happy Autumn, customers and friends,

It is a beautiful Autumn day as I write this - sunny, a fresh breeze, beautiful colours in the woods. I had to take my gloves off to type as I think my son has commandeered the office heater.

We went to a dinner dance on Saturday evening at Epsom racecourse being held to celebrate one of my competitor’s 35th anniversary in the business. Lovely venue, and a great time had by all. I had fun trying to recognise people who had also ridden here at Hopeful Earl as we all look so different in evening dress - think I identified a few, but they probably didn’t recognise me out of my scruff. There was a story going round on one table that I had once lost a whole ride, and ok, I admit there is a small amount of truth - I did once turn left with a couple of horses immediately behind me, while the horses a bit further back didn’t see which way we had gone and went straight on. But I hasten to add that I soon realised I’d lost them and went back, so I have never lost a whole ride who had to find their own way back to the stables! Still, it makes a good yarn.

Not being able to afford holidays I did spoil myself recently by spending two days at the Goodwood Revival meeting. I love classic motor racing, had several Aston Martins when I had a conventional job, and am gobsmacked how hard they race some of these almost priceless cars - during the Tourist Trophy revival on Sunday it rained hard after about 15 minutes, yet the average lap time was just under 80 mph, and the Ferrari that came fifth did so without windscreen wipers! I read that the value of the cars on the grid was circa 70 million pounds. Lord March also managed to assemble 14 Spitfires, 10 of which flew together on Sunday which was an amazing sound and sight. I will put some pictures on Hopeful Earl facebook page if anyone is interested.

We went back to the South Downs again last week (a bit like a holiday for me), couldn’t get bored with it down there. Found out that the pubs don’t stay open all day in the winter, but the riding is as good as ever. We were riding from East Dean to Birling Gap on the last day when a large helicopter flew up behind us, and lingered overhead, a man on foot stopped us and said it was going to land to drop someone off they had just pulled out of the sea to be collected by ambulance. I was impressed that the horses hardly took any notice of the whole thing. I am going to continue doing short breaks there throughout the winter, and some of these will now be at weekends. Because of our unpredictable weather though I propose to do them at fairly short notice so we can check out the forecast. If you are interested please let me know what dates you might like - we should get some great riding there this winter, with good going as its mainly on chalk.

The shooting season is upon us again. My landlord gets paid more by the shoot than he gets from me so we have to respect their sport, and the gamekeeper is good at letting me know where they are going to be so we don’t cause each other much trouble. Fable once got hit on the head by a terminal pheasant, probably got a bit of a headache, but still not bothered by the shooting. Last Sunday just after lunch I heard a very low flying jet and Laurel, who was just by the door, went outside and shouted OMG (I assumed at that point it was going to crash) but it was a Vulcan bomber, the only one in the world still flying. It had apparently been involved in the flypast at Wooton Basset and flew on here, did a 10 minute display over the aerodrome, and flew off again, it all happens at Painshill Farm.

Come riding soon, I promise I will not lose my ride.

Ian

Monday, 23 April 2012

EVENTS AND SPECIAL OFFERS FOR 2013!

Friday, 23 March 2012

NEWSLETTERS