Spring Has Sprung!!

Martin takes Wally for a drive with Marmite

Martin has been helping at the stables for quite a few years now and has become a proficient driver, besides being a very useful helper.

Spring has truly sprung! We started driving at the beginning of March, which has been the driest March for many years, so, though cold at times, we have been able to drive most days.

April has started out on a very warm note and there is prolific blossom everywhere. The horses are all shedding their winter coats in handfuls to cope with this rare warm spell which makes easy picking of nesting material for a variety of birds from Goldfinches to Jackdaws.
Surprisingly we haven't seen our Swallows yet, but I'm sure they aren't far away now.

Now is the time for anyone who has a little spare time on their hands to come down and take advantage of an outdoor activity on this wonderful site at Holton Lee and make new friends. We are always pleased to welcome volunteers to help in any way they can.

Season 2011 Has Started!

We did our first drives out at a gentle pace on 1st March (St David's Day).

We should be grateful for the dry weather, but with a bitter NE breeze it was oh... so cold!!

Marmite was very keen and forward going, but we are very aware of the need to ease the horses into work gently.

We desperately want to welcome new volunteers to our happy band of helpers! Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are days when we are light on helpers.

Holton Lee Summer Fair

Jo & Sue manned a table up by The Barn to provide information and direct folk to the stables.

Perfect weather was forecast, and perfect weather was delivered for Holton Lee's summer fair, an exercise to both raise money, but probably more importantly, a PR exercise to put Holton Lee permanently on the local map. Judging by the crowds and a lot of comments that came our way, it was a great success. For more about the event click HERE to go on the Holton Lee website for their report and list of raffle ticket winners.

There were all manner of stalls, competitions, go-carts, demonstrations, tours of the estate, and a great attraction was sponsoring a Teddybear for a parachute jump!! The Dorset Fire & Rescue Service extended a ladder on one of its vehicles to its full extent infront of The Barn and a member of the Fire Service dispatched brave Teddies that were hauled up to him in a basket, on a parachute to float gracefully down to earth!

There was a lot more going on that we were not able to see as we were busy down at the stables.

Our aim, that of the East Holton Driving Centre, was to hopefully attract the interest of some more willing volunteers to help out at the stables.

We ran some short carriage drives with Marmite in the morning, taking several families round in the 4-wheel waggonnette for two hours and, after lunch, we used Felix.

We had quite a lot of interest and felt that the day was very worthwhile.

I should remind interested parties to give Wally a call on 07790912770. We welcome all comers, whether you have a disability or not.

End Of Carriage Driving Season

It was time to consider replacing the shoes for another 4 to 6 weeks at considerable cost just when the weather is becoming rather fickle and it was decided that it wasn't worthwhile.
Keith, our farrier, removed all the shoes and trimmed the feet and the horses were turned back out in the field for their winter holiday.

The new season will start with the shoes going back on in January or February 2010, depending on the weather.

We now turn our attention to planning our Christmas Carol and Lantern walk scheduled for Thurs 10th December at 6.30 pm.