News from Chester Farm

1st February 2012 Summer feels like it might have finally started to arrive here in recent weeks with some beautiful hot sunny days and a gentle breeze flowing through the Maratoto Valley. It has been very good hay making weather with many locals cutting their well due paddocks and getting some lovely meadow hay in the shed - us included! Our hay useage is fairly high as you can imagine so with such a wet start to summer we have been able to shut up extra paddocks and grow a good lot of lovely hay to supplement that which we source from outside.

Haymaking at Chester Farm, Jan 2012

We had a super 3 riding clinic and camp on the 6th, 7th and 8th of January. The weather hadn't been flash over New Year but we remained optimistic and the sun shone brilliantly on the 5th and 6th as people arrived to setup camp and begin the clinic. The lovely tree-lined camping paddock on Wires Road, right next to the scenic river and swimming hole, proved very popular these first two days with adults and kids of all ages enjoying a swim - not to mention quite a few ponies and horses having a paddle too! We had hired 40 steel yards alongside our 6 permanent yards beside the arena, and they were put to good use throughout the clinic for horses staying the night. Alongside the campers, we had plenty of locals and regulars also attend who travelled to and fro each day.

Campers start arriving and setting up their spots, Jan 2012
Horse Yards at Chester Farm camp, Jan 2012	Enjoying a splash after lessons, Jan 2012

We run our clinics with lessons ranging from private individuals to small groups of 2 - 5 riders which works really well and allows everyone plenty of one-on-one time to progress. Those who worked through the 3 days made excellent progress and especially nice to see the younger riders with huge grins on their faces having jumped the "mighty" red wall, while many adult riders were just thrilled to achieve progression with the ridden flatwork basics or bring their young or green horses on and have them confidently jumping all the fillers and walls without hesitation. Diana's flatwork and pole lessons saw small groups of 2 to 3 adult riders enjoying some new exercises using poles and working on position and focus, while Greg's jumping lessons ranged from those just starting out through to 1.20m riders.
Saturday brought some light drizzly rain which did little to deter anybody from riding and certainly wasn't even noticeable while teaching, and it remained throughout Sunday with only a few campers with very young children deciding to go home early - not without complaint from the kids though!

Despite some wet weather, group jumping lessons proved popular with riders of all levels, Jan 2012.

The paddocks with small logs and hunter jumps also proved popular and made for a chance to enjoy doing something a bit different with the horses and ponies. Riders also enjoyed the Wires Road bush track for a relaxing and scenic ride amongst lessons.
We are tentatively looking to hold our next 3 day riding clinic either late March or during the April school holidays so keep an eye on our website Lessons page for more details and confirmed dates coming soon!
Following the clinic we received several emails from people who had attended saying they had gone to competitions the next weekend and won Champions and Reserves in round the ring classes, hunter classes and double clears show-jumping so very pleasing results so quickly following the lessons! This sort of feedback is great for any trainer to hear and we love to keep in touch with how people and their horses are doing.

Competition wise, we went to 2 shows in January 2012. The first was Waitemata 3* SJ and SH show held at Woodhill Sands 14th and 15th Jan. Chagall had one unlucky rail in the 7yo class but jumped well, followed by a clear first round in the 1.30m on Sunday and then a quick time but one rail in the jump-off. Greg was pleased with Charlie's attitude throughout the show and felt he was jumping this height very consistently and quite easily now and could be ready to step up another notch before too long.
Diana rode Gianni in the large showhunter classes, earning two third placings and a win in the Open and Amateur classes which Diana was pleased with. Gianni jumped extremely well over the weekend gaining praise from both days judges but was noticeably tired by the championship class on Sunday where she had a rare rail and didn't place. A great weekend nontheless with lovely ribbons and Hubriflex product prize to boot.
Despite having only attended 4 shows so far this season, Gianni is currently placed 5th overall on the Waitemata Summer Series Leaderboard and is 4th= on the Tara Groenstein Memorial Trophy leaderboard.

Astek Gianni with Diana on their way to a winning round at Waitemata 3*, Jan 2012

On 28th and 29th Jan we took Chagall over to Cambridge to enter the Pukete Grand Prix - his first GP start! The track was quite a technical ride, with all but 3 of the 18 combinations having particular trouble with the final fence - an imposing oxer built to full height and with a difficult curving approach caused by the surrounding ringside bank. Vollrath Chagall and Greg were first to go and rode a lovely rhythmical clear - eventually proving to be the only combination to do so resulting in a win for their first start at this level! Owner Philippa Barriball was onsite so it was a thrill to win with her present.

Greg and Vollrath Chagall win their first start at Grand Prix, Jan 2012.

We are building the courses again this year at the coming February Paeroa PC Twilight Showjumping nights, held 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th Feb at the Paeroa racecourse so encourage any riders interested to come along and make the most of these low-key outings, ideal for young/green horses or riders of all ages to enjoy some friendly competition in a supportive environment. Two rings run from 50cm - 70cm and 80cm - 1m, start 5.30pm. Hope to see you all there!

1st January 2012
Happy New Year to all of our friends, family, clients and website followers! The weather up North here hasn't exactly been a great introduction to 2012 but looking back over 2011 it was a really productive and exciting year for us, with our property development taking place, getting married in Rarotonga and some really good successes with our competition horses.
December saw us fairly quiet on the competition front. We went up to Woodhill Sands to a Waitemata Showhunter day, the wind was atrocious with jumps blowing over regularly in the hack ring, and horses and riders contending with little sand storms being swept up into their faces as they approached the fences! Diana was really pleased with Gianni who coped extremely well in the conditions and jumped well all day, earning two 2nd placings in the Open 1m and Open 1.05m. The points she has now gained at the 3 shows this season means Gianni has qualified for HOY, so it is nice to get that done so quickly in the season.
Vollrath Chagall also went along for the outing to Woodhill, Greg feeling it good for him to have the occasional smaller competition class to keep him fresh and confident. Chagall jumped well in the showhunter picking up two placings in the 1.10m classes and a win in the Open 1.15m thanks to his ultra consistent regular rhythm and even jump.
December 15th Greg took Chagall down to the ever popular Taupo Xmas Classic where they jumped in 3 classes. It was raining when they left and raining when they arrived... not so promising but the show must go on! Chagall always feels quite pleased with himself standing in the dry shelter of the stallion barn.
They jumped a good double clear the first day in the 1.20m (130 starters) and although not many came through without a rail or two, Greg didn't push for time in the jump-off which kept them out of the placings. Friday saw them jump a great first round in the 1.30m, jumping clear before then taking 1 rail in the jump off and finishing on 4 faults, again another big class with 80 starters. Having stayed home to catch up on some work, Diana drove down Friday night to watch the 7yo class on Saturday.
The ground at Taupo in Ring One wasn't looking too flash by Saturday morning following more rain overnight, and we woke to heavy dark clouds threatening rain but that continued to hold off for most of the day. Greg felt confident going into the 7 Year Old class (1.30m) and Chagall performed to expectations jumping a brilliant round in very patchy footing that was catching many out, just lightly rubbing one vertical but with good time which kept him as the fastest combination on 4 faults right until the very end of the class when one other 4 faulter just pipped his time pushing Greg and Chagall out of the prizemoney into 7th place.
We spent a very enjoyable Christmas day at home in the Maratoto Valley with Greg's family. The horses all enjoyed their Xmas day carrot with breakfast :o)
We have had a great response for our next riding clinic coming up 6th - 8th January with lots of people deciding to make a real horsey holiday out of it and coming to camp out overnight and make the most of the lovely local rides and facilities. There are just a few group lessons spots still available so if you are thinking of attending contact us asap!! Look forward to reporting on the clinic in our next news report.

1st December 2011
Who can believe it is coming around to Xmas time again! It feels like one minute we are looking forward to the competition season starting again, then before we know it, it is almost half over and we are on the downward slide towards the grand finale of Horse Of The Year show in March. However our horses have been going very well at the shows so far so we are already finding ourselves in good form if HOY does happen creep upon us a bit quicker!
We took Vollrath Chagall to Kihikihi for the Waikato Showjumping 3* Championships, 4th - 6th November. This was, as always, a big well supported show with quite a few additional entries this year from South Island competitors who travelled up together, adding to the atmosphere with these new combinations to watch. Chagall was in fine form jumping clear in the big 1.20m class on the Friday, which he backed up with another clear in Saturday's 1.30m. Greg was really rapt with how he was jumping and putting his effort and focus into the job at hand.
The big, square and quite technical track put in front of the 7 Year Olds featured many related lines including a large treble. Chagall stepped up to the challenge very well and jumped in excellent form, but much to Greg's dismay tipping the rail on a vertical - incidently the one jump in the course Greg thought was an easy one! It just goes to show you can never take any jump for granted! Though they came home with no placings this time, Chagall had performed really well and had a few well deserved days off out in the paddock.
He also competed in the 7 Year Old SJ classes at Pukekohe 2* and Woodhill 2* over the next two weekends, both instances saw big technical tracks with very few clears - in fact the winner, Sally Steiner, was the only clear at Pukekohe!. Greg guided Chagall around to finish both classes on 4 faults but with good times to see him place 4th and 3rd respectively.

Astek Gianni recently started her 2011/12 competition season at Woodhill Sands on 20th November where she and Diana put in several good rounds in the showhunter classes coming home with one placing and very pleased with their combined ability to slot straight back into the swing of competing again. The following weekend 26th -27th November we headed up to Pukekohe for the Auckland Showhunter group competition. This is always a very popular, well organised show with excellent quality jumping equipment that attracts many of the top horse and rider combinations. This year they again hosted record entries with big numbers in both pony and horse divisions which is a great sign for the sport of showhunter and proving its increasing popularity as a stand alone sport (from showjumping) with many people now making it their sole competition discipline. Gianni was in excellent form and won two of the most popular classes with a win in the Amateur and Open 1.05m, as well as 6th placing overall in the Open Horse Classic (despite a rider mistake that had Diana really kicking herself!!). Excellent comments from the two judges on Gianni's consistent jump, softness, movement and overall appeal as well as on Diana's accurate riding made us very pleased with these results for only their second show of the season. These results see them currently sit in 3rd place for the Tara Groenstein Memorial Trophy (a prize for Amateur competitors).
Vollrath Chagall also attended with Greg, jumping well with 1st, 2nd and 3rd placings in the 1.10m and 1.15m classes.

1st November 2011
Another month has flown by and a very busy one it has been. With a full house of horses in work alongside 4 of our own, the longer days are very welcomed so we can finish before dark and get home to enjoy the sunset views with a cool drink out on the deck.

General goes long-reining with Greg, October 2011

We went to Woodhill Sands 1* competition with Chagall and Retrospect on the first weekend of October, the boys both jumped really well and this time it was Chagall's turn to take home a prize, with a super double clear and some quick turns in the jump-off seeing him place 3rd in the competitive 7 Year Old series class (1.30m). Retrospect also jumped well over the weekend though didn't place in his classes. We were really pleased with the way the boys have taken to the show scene and atmosphere again so calmly and with little fuss.
We drove down to Te Teko show on the 8th October and Chagall again jumped very well in the 7yo class where he placed 4th this time behind several combinations who were just a second faster in the jump-off. We were quite concerned about the ground conditions which was developing quite a few holes and lumps and bumps in the ring after so much rain the night before so, knowing Retrospect's dislike for shifting ground, we decided to head home early - at least earning one ribbon made the drive somewhat worthwhile!

Diana works with Kathie and Gypsy during our riding clinic, October 2011

On the 14th, 15th and 16th October we held our "Spring Into Action" riding clinic here at our arena. The weather forecast was looking a bit dicey for the weekend but any worry proved uneccesary as the 3 days dawned sunny and still with only 3 or 4 short five minute showers arriving - keeping the arena surface beautifully damp and even! We had a good turnout with plenty of new and current students attending and all making great progress. Diana had her adult riders doing some much improved flatwork through the use of some good pole exercises to help riders work on their focus and basic riding aids. Greg's jumping lessons also proved popular with the groups of 2 or 3 riders (including one young rider only recently off the lead rein!) getting great mileage over the 3 days and leaving with improved jumping skills and plenty to work on. Our next riding clinic is scheduled for January 6th, 7th and 8th 2012 so make sure you check out our Lessons page for more details (including a clinic photo gallery), download the booking form and keep the dates free!

Greg sums up the key points with Anne, Belinda and Ann after their jumping lesson, October 2011

Labour weekend was our only free weekend until Christmas and we spent most of it doing some more gardening and planting around the farm. The grass - and, to Diana's delight, the weeds - have been growing flat out with the on-going warm rains. We have several paddocks shut up for baleage followed by hay that will be cut in coming weeks.
We drove over to Cambridge on 29th and 30th October for Greg to ride Retrospect in a class each day. He was very calm despite this being his first trips anywhere on his own for a very long time and cantered around the 1.25m and the Grand Prix courses well, taking a rail but showing some good form overall.

Our beautiful yearling filly "Astek Gucci" has settled in to our farm life here very well. She arrived at the end of September after coming up on the transport truck all the way from Diana's parents' Astek Stud in Christchurch. Since her arrival she has had to learn how to negotiate ground that isn't always dead flat and has got to meet her first pukeko! A full sister to our mares Astek Gianni and Astek Gymbya, and a half sister to Astek Versace, she is another true to type example of this very attractive and talented family. Diana is looking forward to starting her 2011 competition season with Gianni at Woodhill Sands 2* in the showhunter classes on 20th November, where Greg will also be competing in the showjumping classes.

Astek Gucci & Astek Gigi at Chester Farm, October 2011

8th October 2011
The farm is looking beautiful with all the willow and poplar trees showing their leaves again and the spring grass coming up from the ground. The weather has been a bit changeable lately, with occasional storms passing through seeing us outside working in the rain and wind, followed by lovely calm days bathed in sunshine - much appreciated by both us and the horses!

Sylvester negotiates the river with owner Coral Morrison

Po returns from a ride around the farm, September 2011.

We've had several owners come (from as far away as Wellington!) and stay with us for a night or two to ride their newly broken in horses and have some one on one lessons before taking them home. A lovely warmblood mare by the now deceased sire Salutation and a very cute coloured stationbred gelding have recently arrived to be started under saddle.
We recently heard that a local 2 year old Thoroughbred gelding by Sandtrap that we broke in over the winter won his first trial at the racetrack with flying colours, so look forward to following his progress.

It was also great to see the Steven McKee trained "Mufhasa" was once again named NZ Thoroughbred sprinter of the year (for the second time), and followed that up with a win in the first Group one race of the year at Hastings. Mufhasa was broken in and spent his first two preps under the guidance of Greg and has since gone on to win six Group One races and counting, with over $2 millon in prizemoney, and with a second behind current NZ Horse of the Year "Jimmy Chioux" in another Group One race looks well placed before embarking on an Australian campaign.

Thoroughbred Sprinter Of The Year "Mufhasa"

And to complete our association with winners, the Hanoverian/TB gelding Astek Giovanni (that Diana bred and sold as a foal, that we later broke in and have also since schooled for his owner Cath Nichols) recently won the Horowhenua Prelim Winter Dressage series for 2011 with consistent wins and placings throughout the series. We always love to hear how horses we have worked with are doing and follow their progress with great interest!

Diana schooling Podge in the arena, September 2011

Molly explores the bush while long-reining

Greg started his competition season on the 17th and 18th September at Woodhill Sands 1* SJ competition, taking Philippa Barriball's stallion Vollrath Chagall and gelding Retrospect II for the weekend. Chagall was a bit more lively than usual when we first arrived having not been anywhere since last March at HOY, but soon settled down again and jumped a great round in the popular 7 year old class (1.30m), finishing double clear for 7th place.
Retrospect II also jumped very well, including a brilliant round in the very competitive 1* Grand Prix (1.45m) resulting in one of only 3 double clear rounds and finishing in 3rd place behind two World Cup horses (Annandale Online NZPH and Meersbrooke Flinstone). Proud partnership owners Bruce and Carolyn Mincham were also ringside to watch and take home the lovely ribbon. A great start to the season!

Retrospect II and Greg warming up at Woodhill Sands

A great double clear in the Woodhill 1* Grand Prix

October 1st and 2nd saw us back at Woodhill for their next show, here Chagall really stepped up in the 7 year old class finishing 3rd with a well executed clear jump off round. We have noticed "Charlie" has started to make quite an impression on the other riders and specatators who are taking note of his extremely rideable, unflappable temperament and very good form over the jumps.
Retrospect also jumped well in the 1* Grand Prix until a large hole in the sand in front of fence 5 saw him completely lose his front legs on take-off and take a rail, then a slight miscommunication between horse and rider saw Retrospect fall into a trot one stride out from the big treble! They came around again and took one rail but otherwise jumped well. The problem ground at fence 5 had already caused one crash and nearly all of the other riders taking a rail there too. Unfortunate circumstances caused by large numbers of horses riding in the ring throughout the weekend and the jump not being repostitioned adequately.

Diana started jumping Gymbya in September and has been making great progress with this gorgeous young mare. Her confident attitude certainly makes her a delight to ride and her constantly pricked ears and keen expression show she is obviously enjoying herself too.

Our riding clinic due to be held 14th, 15th, 16th October has gained good interest from both locals and riders from further afield. We still have a few spaces left for lessons on each day so if you are interested please contact us asap to arrange your times!

1st September 2011
Spring has sprung at Chester Farm! Daffodils are out, trees are budding up about to burst unto full leaf, the horses are shedding their coats in handfuls and we have been able to wear a few less layers at work during the lovely calm sunny days.

Diana riding 3yo filly Astek Gigi (by Gym Bello x Ramirez mare) during one of her first rides under saddle, August 2011.

We have been thoroughly enjoying working our own horses again all through August. Diana has just started doing some polework with Astek Gymbya in preparation for starting to jump over the coming weeks. She has also been riding 3yo filly Astek Gigi who is proving to be a lovely character to work with and always showing off her amazing big walk when out hacking - ears forward and she's off, she just loves it!

Greg riding 7yo stallion Vollrath Chagall (by Castello x Anamour mare, owned by Philippa Barriball), shown here during their first time schooling over the water jump, August 2011.

Greg has been having a great time riding warmblood stallion Vollrath Chagall (Charlie), getting him back into work and jumping, ready for the coming National 7yo Showjumping series. Charlie has also been out hacking up the bush trail quite regularly which is so good for him mentally, not to mention great for fitness. In fact one of our favourite Friday afternoon past-times is going for a hack up the bush trail together on 2 of the horses; taking in the sunshine, fresh smells of the native plants and listening to the birdsong.... very relaxing indeed and a great way, for both us and the horses, to end a busy week!

Sylvester makes his way over one of the fords while hacking out, Aug 2011

We seem to have had alot of horses here lately from the lower North / Wellington region, including 2 lovely Anamour 3 year old geldings who have just gone home after spending 6 weeks being started under saddle. We spent 2 great days with their owners who came up to ride them here in the round yard, arena and then a hack out around the farm before they went home. This is something we really encourage all owners to come and do if possible so you can get a good feel of your horse and we can help the two of you get going together as a team before taking the horse home.
Greg's first competition of the season is coming up at Woodhill Sands on the 17th and 18th September where he will be competing Retrospect II and Vollrath Chagall. Retrospect is looking fantastic and going very well too so will be good to get the boys out at a show again. Speaking of which, it must be time to do a spring clean on the horsetruck!
We have our next Riding Clinic scheduled for 14th, 15th and 16th October so are looking forward to this. Our arena sand has settled down alot over winter and is providing a fantastic surface to ride and jump on. This clinic is scheduled during the school holidays and will be ideal timing for some lessons to get you and your horses or ponies going for the coming summer, be it basic flatwork, young horses or jumping lessons. Welcome to ride for 1, 2 or 3 days, with discounted lessons if you book more than one, so download the forms from our Lessons page and contact us today!

5th August 2011
Apart from keeping busy working horses and dodging rain showers all month, the biggest news from July is that we got married in Rarotonga on the 28th July!! Our small private ceremony was held barefoot on the beach at 5pm at the beautiful Crown Beach Resort where we stayed, followed by a great photo session amongst the resort's stunning tropical gardens, beach front and poolside. We both had a fantastic relaxing holiday and have lots of great photos to fondly look back on. Have decided Rarotonga might be on the cards for our annual holiday again next year!

Greg and Diana in Rarotonga, July 2011

But it was back to reality on the 1st August when we returned home again, luckily the constant rain that was drowing NZ when we left on holiday had dissapeared on our return, making getting back into the daily routine much easier. Several new horses arrived immediately and the 4 that had stayed on during our short holiday had all been very well cared for by Joe and were pleased to get back to doing something again too.

Theo hacking out, August 2011

Tralee schooling with Greg, August 2011

Diana has also brought Astek Versace (just turned 3yo gelding by Voltaire II), Astek Gymbya (just turned 5yo mare by Gym Bello) and Astek Gigi (just turned 3yo filly by Gym Bello) back in for some work and loving dealing with her own "babies" again.
Greg's showjumper Retrospect II - already rather round after his long winter turnout - had gained a few extra kilos after being turned out for a week in a big grassy paddock, so it looks like more fitness work and a new diet will be on his agenda, but he was pleased to be ridden again and is now looking very shiny with his new full body clip.
We also picked up Phillipa Barriball's Holsteiner stallion "Vollrath Chagall" (Charlie) on the weekend to bring him back into work and prepare for the season ahead. Charlie has just turned 7 and has filled out quite alot more over the last year as he continues to mature. He's slotted back into life here very easily.
We've had horses here over July from the tips of Kaitaia right down through to Wellington and several places inbetween! Bookings are starting to come in quickly and fill up for the coming spring months so it is full steam ahead now as we also start preparing for the jumping competition season with our own horses as well. But there is nothing like a complete change of scene and some quality R & R time to get one re-inspired again! Roll on summer :o)

16th July 2011
We had one of our external computer hard disks make noises and die recently... unfortunately it was the one holding all of our original Chester Farm website files and several years worth of photos etc, so that's added to reasons why this months news is late and not very colourful with no pictures available to add in just yet! Luckily we still have all photo originals on the camera cards but Diana will have to spend some time re-creating Photoshop files for all of our website and advertising graphics which she isn't too pleased about. We think this problem was caused by the kittens innocently chasing a ball of string on the computer desk while we were outside.... not an ideal play area we know but makes it harder to be too upset about it!
The last few weeks have compromised of rain, heavy rain, mud and more extremely heavy rain! The horses have all been keen to come in for their feeds in the stables and take shelter from the weather for a few hours each day. Surprisingly we have managed to avoid getting wet while working the horses and seem to have timed things very well, often coming in for lunch just minutes before another ominous black cloud drops a super heavy rain shower upon us. Our round yard and arena have been performing outstandingly well and have been 100% useable every day so far despite being so wet and having such alot of use - great testiment to the contractors (Arnet Development) who put them in. We are more than happy to pass on their contact details if you are looking to put an arena in yourself!
Greg brought Retrospect II back into work recently and is thoroughly enjoying riding an established horse on the roads and up the bush tracks after riding so many unbalanced and inexperienced young horses that are just starting out under saddle for so long. Retrospect has come in from his off-season turnout looking very round and relaxed and happy to be back doing things again.
We have been bringing the grazing calves into the cowshed at night and feeding them baleage as a way of giving the paddocks a rest overnight to avoid them turning to mud. The calves are all looking very good this year despite the weather thanks to such a great grass growing season earlier on until the cooler temperatures hit recently. We consider ourselves lucky though to live in quite a high valley and only have the young heifers onsite when we compare our farm to those in the plains or even down at the start of our valley, with large dairy herds and lower level land that suffers very badly with such constant wet. Greg is often heard saying how thankful he is not to be a dairy farmer anymore!!
We plan to bring several more of our own horses back into work early August so with a bit of luck the weather might decide to change for the better by then... fingers crossed! Diana will be adding latest photos to this news and our photo gallery soon so check back here later for the updates.

1st June 2011
The month of May brought mixed weather here to the valley and surrounding areas - beautiful warm, calm, sunny days, followed by days we got drowned in rain! Nevertheless, the horses still got worked and a few weekend days made up for any missed during the week.
Diana thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to bring back into work one of her home-bred "babies" Astek Giovanni for owner Cath Nichols of Kapiti Coast, following many months out of work due to Cath's second child on the way. "Gio" - no longer a baby as a 16.3hh 5yo - is a full brother to our horses Gianni, Gymbya, Gucci and half brother to Versace, so it was great to see and get a feel of him in work now as a more mature horse and compare him with the rest of the family!

Aspa & Greg return from a ride out, May 2011

Astek Giovanni & Diana going through their paces, May 2011

We've had a very nice Anglo-Arab gelding "Aspa" here for breaking-in from Te Puke and were rapt to see him hack out around the farm and over the ford very calmly and confidently with his owner on two occasions before going home. The pair have since been out on several treks where Aspa was impeccably behaved - see our Testimonials page for a lovely comment from Brian and Andrea.

With lots of other young horses here for breaking-in at the moment, including three young thoroughbred race horses and two nice 2 year old warmblood fillies by Vollrath Chagall (the Holsteiner stallion that Greg competes for owner Phillipa Barriball), Diana has been getting plenty of opportunity to refine her groundwork and lunging skills in the round yard, while Greg's legs get alot of exercise as he takes over the horses for their next training stage long-reining out and about around the farm and river.

Retrospect II & Astek Gianni in winter turnout, May 2011

The rising 2 year old heifers that we graze on the farm went home to their owner in Paeroa early May, leaving us with the 50 odd calves to continue to take on through the winter months. There is certainly no shortage of grass around the farm at the moment with good rainfall and warm days, so these rising yearlings are all growing well and looking good going into the coldest months.
We have had two new additions arrive at Chester Farm and would like to introduce "Blackie" and "Chez" - a pair of 4 month old kittens we adopted from the Animal Rescue centre in Thames for Diana's birthday. "The Terrible Two" have very quickly taken over the house - it is great to have some cats around the place again!

Chez and Blackie making themselves at home, May 2011

Blackie and Chez, this looks like trouble! May 2011

1st May 2011
For once we have got our news posted on time! Surprising too considering how busy we have been (and still are!). An ongoing full house of horses here, from as far away as Whakatane and Kapiti Coast, has seen us outside most daylight hours fitting all the daily tasks in. Autumn is always a popular time for people wanting to get their horses broken in and we have had some really lovely young horses coming to stay - going home again after their 6 to 8 week stint much wiser and more worldly than when they arrived and feeling very proud and important now they are one of the big guns and can carry a rider on their back. It is a very rewarding moment when owners come to sit in the saddle and show their delight at riding their horse for the first time.

"Mac" and Greg fly the big log and the liverpool, April 2011

Greg has also been keeping his jumping eye in while bringing back into work and schooling several hunters for owners looking to hit the hunt field again this winter. The farm and hills are a great place for this sort of fitness work, complemented by training in the arena.
Predicted downpours put bit of a damper on our early April riding clinic and we postponed some lessons till the following week and weekend, however those that did brave the weather were mostly treated to fine spells and some sunshine which made lessons much more enjoyable than they might have been otherwise! The arena has been standing up very well to rain with the drainage system working brilliantly, so it's a great result and such a valuable all-weather all-year tool for training.

Scene from our Autumn Riding Clinic, April 2011

Since Retrospect II and Astek Gianni got turned out after Horse Of The Year, we have brought our 4 year olds Astek Gymbya and Astek Rantani back into light work and have started breaking in our 2 year olds Astek Gigi and Astek Versace. Gymbya's amazing intelligence and confidence, combined with her exceptional type and super supple way of going, make her a real joy to work with and to simply watch; she is certainly a very special young horse indeed. Due to our time restraints, Rantani hasn't done as much as Gymbya in her previous training stints, so she is currently still working at the top of the farm and in the round yard but she really loves being back in work and doing things... we look forward to riding her lovely big canter out in the open where she can really roll along!

Astek Gymbya (full sister to Astek Gianni) and Diana during their first arena schooling session at home, April 2011

Gigi and Versace are both happily accepting wearing all the gear and have just started long-reining, so Greg will have a few days with tired legs coming up after long-reining them all around the farm and up and down the hills. These two are both growing out very nicely and it will be great to get a feel of them under saddle before too long as well.

1st April 2011
The biggest event of the year for horse riders and spectators alike is the annual Horse Of The Year show held in Hastings, with this years competition being no exception. We made the 5 hour drive down to the show grounds on Monday the 14th with "Retrospect II", "Astek Gianni" and "Tiki Taane" onboard, in preparation for our first classes beginning on the Tuesday. Stallion "Vollrath Chagall" (aka Charlie) also came down with his owner Philippa Barriball on the Tuesday night - due to unforseen circumstances and arriving late in the evening he missed his first 1.20m class on the Tuesday, however was all ready to go on Wednesday where he jumped a very good double clear 1.20m and acheived a 4th placing out of approx 125 starters. Thursday saw Charlie and Greg entered in the 6yo Horse Of The Year Championship (1.25m) held in front of the grandstand. It was a large class of approx 50 entries and all competitive young horses who have been starting in classes throughout the season. A superb clear round saw them go through as 1 of only 14 combinations to make it into the jump-off. Another brilliant ride with just a slip on the corner going into the 3rd fence costing them some precious time and seeing them finish double clear but just short of the placings in 7th place. A superb result for this young stallion with so little competition experience to be competing so well in the atmosphere of the big ring. Phillipa was absolutely rapt and we decided to withdraw him from his Saturday class and finish his short season on a great note.

Retrospect II (aka Enzy) and Greg started in classes ranging from 1.30m to 1.45m throughout HOY including Wednesday's entry into the 1.40m in the International arena where they put on a really good display in front of the big grandstand. Despite taking 2 rails in this class, Enzy was jumping well and throughout the week really showed his huge improvement of canter and rideability between the fences - thanks to the many hours of flatwork schooling we have been putting into him in the past 6 months since our arena went in!	Retrospect II with Greg and part owners Bruce and Carolyn Mincham, at HOY 2011
They picked up a 2nd placing in a 1.35m class on Thursday following a super double clear and quick turning jump-off, a thrill in front of friends and family including part owners Bruce and Carolyn Mincham of Pukekohe (who were incidently also onsite all week promoting Carolyn's fantastic new book "Attitude & Heart, The Horse In New Zealand"). This too was a satisfying end to Retrospect's 2010/11 show season.
Astek Gianni and Diana were also right on form at the show, competing in the showhunter. Gianni placed 2nd on Friday in the hotly contested "Amateur High Points" class (Amateur being a division for riders over 21 who own the horse they are riding and are not competing in showjumping over 1.25m or Advanced eventing during the current or previous season) where they beat all (but one! - "Time'll Tell") of the National Amateur series finalists. This set them up very nicely for the Saturday title class competing for "Amateur Showhunter Of The Year".	Astek Gianni and Diana show their winning showhunter form at HOY 2011 (Photo: GeeGee Photography)

The first round of the title class was held over a reasonably technical showhunter track which caught quite a few riders out. Gianni and Diana put on a lovely smooth, correct display and after waiting for the strong field of over 40 competitors to finish, we were excited to hear they had made it through to the final, with the top 10 combinations called back to jump a second different round for the judges to compare.

Astek Gianni and Diana (second from left) lining up as Reserve Champions Amateur Showhunter Of The Year 2011.

Another beautifully executed round, showcasing Gianni's real show-ring presence, elegance, movement and consistent quality jump, saw them announced in 2nd place as Reserve Champion Amateur Showhunter Of The Year, much to our delight including Diana's mother Sue and grandmother Melva who had travelled up from the South Island, and other friends and family also ringside to watch. The winner of the class, Tracey Parnwell riding Time'll Tell, was a cheered winner, being the horse previously owned by the late Denise Crisp who had won the class in previous years and for whom the class and large trophy are now in honour of. It was a thrill for Diana to do so well amongst a strong field of the top National series contestants and previous showhunter title winners and made a great end to Gianni's show season. Our thanks to Clearview Estate Winery for their sponsorship of this class!

The very cute coloured gelding "Tiki Taane", that we have had in schooling for a few months and have both been riding in some showjumping classes this season for owner Paul Rasmussen, also jumped well in the 1.10m classes in Ring 3. Tiki had been advertised for sale prior to going to HOY and attracted interest from South Island based junior rider Olivia Robertson and her mother Jan. After a few rides during the show, Tiki proved his awesome nature in a hectic setting and ended up leaving the show on a different truck and in a different direction to the one he came in! We certainly look forward to following his progress in the future and have no doubts they will have a huge lot of fun with him, as we did!

Tiki Taane and Greg competing at HOY 2011 (Photo NZ Equine)

Since coming home from HOY, we have been extremely busy with a very full workload of new horses arriving for general work and breaking in, as is normal for this time of year! Autumn makes a great time for working outside with fresh mornings and gorgeous scenery up here in the valley. Some more lovely young horses coming through from all parts of the country alongside great follow up comments from owners once they have their horses home again... keep an eye on our Photo Gallery page for latest pics posted soon - when we have time! Will also be posting more HOY action shots when our photo orders arrive!

We are holding our next riding clinic in mid April at the start of the school holidays (15th - 18th April) - click here to download info flyer and booking form - so hope the lovely weather holds out and look forward to seeing more of you here then.

1st March 2011
The most interesting show we went to in February involved Retrospect II's entry into the special 1.40m class held at the picturesque Mill Reef Winery on 3rd of Feb, as part of the Tauranga 3* show. A strong field of top combinations were no doubt attracted to the class due to the better than usual prizemoney up for grabs, not to mention television coverage and very nice food and drink onsite! Retrospect seldom travels anywhere alone but took the different atmosphere in his stride, with the horse trucks all parked tightly side by side amongst wine making buildings and equipment. A great crowd filled the marquee and the winery viewing area, this concept being the brainchild of Phillip and Sally Steiner and to be congratulated on their huge efforts and acheivements in making it happen and helping bring our sport more into the public spotlight. Despite taking 2 rails, we thought Retrospect jumped really well and is gaining more consistency between the fences all of the time. The class was eventually won by Adrian Bruce and Corofino II.

Making Hay at Chester Farm, Feb 2011

We also took Retrospect II, Astek Gianni, Astek Gonzales and Tiki Taane to Waeranga showjumping on the 20th of Feb, and then Woodhill Sands 3* on 25th to 27th Feb, as our lead up shows to Horse Of The Year in March. Diana formed a quick bond with Tiki having only started riding him herself over jumps in the previous week before Waeranga. They also had a great show at Woodhill, taking only 1 rail from 4 classes at 1.05m and Tiki gaining admirers even just in the warm up area his super springy jump style. Schooling up to 1.20m at home, this fellow is going to make a fantastic horse for a competitive younger rider. See our Horses For Sale page for more details on him.
Greg has been busy teaching several nights each week, it is great to see such improvements in the horses and riders coming for lessons on a regular basis, to then hear of their successes out and about as well makes it all very rewarding.
We have got our next Autumn riding clinic scheduled for the 15th, 16th and 17th of April (first weekend of the school holidays) so look forward to meeting new faces and seeing current and past students come along for a fun 3 days of lessons, making new horsey friends and camping onsite! The weather has certainly changed lately with the humidity gone but we have been having really beautiful warm, still days with fresh nights and hope this will remain for the duration of the clinic.

We will be taking Retrospect II, Astek Gianni, Tiki Taane and Vollrath Chagall to Horse of the Year show in Hastings, all competing in the showjumping classes apart from Astek Gianni who will be competing in the showhunter. We would love to see you there so please do find our classes in the programme and come and give us your ringside support if you are going to be at the show! It is often a pretty hectic week and the 4 horses will keep us busy but we are looking forward to it.

Vollrath Chagall schooling at home with Greg

1st February 2011
Another very busy month has flown by! We held our first riding clinic in our new arena on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of January and it was great to see both new and familiar riders and horses here for lessons of all types; from young or green horses working in small groups and progressing in their ridden work, through to basic flatwork lessons and of course jumping lessons for beginners to more advanced. We gave lessons to a wide range of riders, from children on ponies to adult riders just getting back into it and having a bit of fun!

Riding clinic at Chester Farm, January 2011

We had a few people attend from further afield who camped onsite and made the most of watching other lessons and spending some holiday time getting to know like-minded horsey people, and many enjoyed the nearby river swimming hole to cool off after their lessons! Our thanks to everyone who attended and we look forward to seeing you all back again during your regular lessons or for our next clinic, which is currently scheduled for late March / early April - keep an eye on our Clinics page for confirmed dates (email notification will also be sent out to all who have previously attended lessons).

We took Astek Gonzales and Astek Gianni up to Pukekohe on 9th January for the Auckland Showhunter competition. This is a really thriving, competitive show for showhunter riders and the committee always do a super job of running their shows efficiently, with flowing courses and lovely gear.
Astek Gonzales competed with Greg in the Training Hunter division, entering 3 classes and placing 4th, 1st and 3rd and getting commented for his excellent jump, movement and presence which was very pleasing.
Astek Gianni jumped quite consistently for Diana in her 4 classes up to 1.10m, again jumping clear all day, although just missed out on placings due to a few minor details - showhunter can appear a simple sport but it's surprisingly hard to get it all just right!

Geishaan competing in showhunter, Jan 2011

Greg also competed the impressive 6 year old gelding "Geishaan" by Gymnastik Star, for his owners Linda and Laura Mead of Te Aroha. Although already a competitive and very talented dressage horse currently competing at Level 3, Geishaan comes regularly to Greg for jumping training to give him some variety from his usual dressage schooling at home. This show was his jumping competition debut and, with his wonderful rhythm and good jumping style he didnt dissapoint, placing 2nd in the First Year Registered class and then winning the Open Hunter 1m.

The following weekend we headed up to Woodhill Sands for the Waitemata 3* World Cup Showjumping & Showhunter competition. Gonzales only competed on the Saturday but performed beautifully, winning 1st Training Hunter 70cm and 1st Training Hunter 80cms, again receiving much praise from the judge. We were rapt with his performance and behaviour throughout the show, taking everything in his stride. Gianni also did well, jumping clear throughout all of her classes up to 1.10m with Diana and gaining 4th in the Amateur and 2nd in the popular Amateur High Points.

Astek Gonzales with his two 1st place ribbons, Jan 2011

Retrospect II was fairly highly strung after a week of training over our permanent water jump at home so we didnt quite know what to expect from him in the 1.40m on Saturday, however with an option at the water jump, which Greg took, he finished with just the 4 faults in the first round. The Grand Prix on Sunday had no such option but he appeared confident once he entered the ring..... until he turned towards the water jump - unfortunately he is getting a little too skilled at standing on his hind legs for our liking! Again it is back to the decision to not enter any classes with water jumps for the rest of the season until we have have more time over winter to practise and get him confident about them.This is an all too common problem with many top showjumpers throughout the world, often the more sensitive and careful horses, and takes a great deal of schooling to get them past the mental fear of these particular jumps. They either hate them, or they couldn't care less!

The 25th - 27th of January saw Greg and Retospect head up to Ti Papa Equestrian Centre in Auckland to take part in a very rare clinic with legendary showjumping coach George Morris. Having not been to teach in New Zealand for around 15 years, and with only 7 spots available in the top level jumping group, we were rapt Greg was able to attend and learn from this world reknown jumping coach. Despite his rather firm manner at times, we both thought the advice and knowledge gained from George was fantastic, confirming many things that we are already doing and providing many simple ways to enhance our riding for more effective results. It was really interesting to watch George ride many of the horses on the clinic, including a ride on Retrospect, after which he certainly had more praise for Greg's riding, realising he wasn't the easiest horse in the group! George is not one to give compliments easily so his comments towards Greg's riding were quite an honour. We would like to thank John and Jackie Cottle for bringing George Morris back to New Zealand and hope that more New Zealand riders, coaches and the like, will seek his training and advice which may mean an earlier return for his next clinic rather than having to wait another 15 years!

Greg and Retrsopect II at the George Morris clinic, Jan 2011.

Meanwhile Diana was flat out working all the horses at home early in the morning and then again late afternoon each day, fitted around driving to and from Ti Papa in the heat. Times like these we are so lucky to have the support of Greg's parents Pat and Joe on deck to help out where needed, including having a delicous tea waiting in the oven each night!! :o)
No sooner had Greg returned home from the clinic on the 27th and put Retrospect out in his paddock, we loaded Gianni, Gonzales and Remi onto the truck and headed straight down to Taupo for the National Young Horse Championships. Needless to say, we were VERY tired that night and it was early to bed after getting the horses tucked up for the night.
Gonzales and Remi were both entered in the 4yo Showjumping class, a decidedly technical and initally very big course (up to 1.10m) - which surprised us for the 4 year olds - but was thankfully brought down one or two holes after lots of discussion, however was still going to prove testing for many. Gonzales jumped a very nice round considering it was his first ever showjumping round and finished on 8 faults; both rails Greg felt were due to the difficult half stride distances made even more difficult on a big striding young horse! We almost scratched Remi from the class after seeing the difficulty and realising her green-ness, but Greg decided to ride her for the experience. With 2 rails and a couple of mid-course circles to balance up again, Remi made a good effort of what was a big ask for a horse of her level and experience. She was well behaved at the show which was good to see and looked lovely all plaited up.
Gianni was busy over at the showhunter ring, again doing some lovely rounds at her favourite show location (she always goes so well at Taupo!!). A lovely flowing performance saw her win the 6 Year Old Showhunter class with a super score of 88%, beating many top SH and SJ riders. This was followed by what Diana considered to be an even better round in the 6 year old National Championship class... however Gianni took her first rail of the show in the most un-timely place, being the final fence of the title class, and extremely dissapointingly lost out on a place or potential National title. Diana's aim for back to back National titles just wasn't meant to be it seems!
With terrible weather looming, we decided to pack up and head home early, very pleased we did as it started raining just after we left the showgrounds and continued to pour down all the way home and throughout the night. Slippery conditions are no fun for young horses and it was good to be back home again after a thoroughly intense week of horses, courses, travelling and shows.

1st January 2011
December was a really hectic month for us with alot of horses to work in some very hot, dry weather, combined with a big competition at Taupo followed by Xmas, then straight after that our first riding clinic was due to be held early January that we were busy preparing yards and gateways for! Needless to say, we just managed to welcome in the New Year before falling fast alseep camping out under the stars :o)
We had two lovely 4 year olds arrive here in December from Sue at Astek Stud - "Astek Gonzales" and "Astek Remi Martini", both here to be prepared and offered for sale. Gonzales is a very impressive young horse and has a full sister competing very successfully in the USA. Remi has already attended some low level jumping competitions in the Canterbury area jumping double clear, and impresses us with her lovely sensible nature.

Astek Gonzales with Greg

Astek Remi Martini with Diana

Diana rode Astek Gianni at the Waitemata Showhunter day held 12th December, where they performed really well and placed 5th in the Open 1.05m and 4th in the Open 1.10m classes. Gianni is jumping in a really consistent style and rhythm and continues to improve as the jumps get higher. Greg also competed the coloured 8yo gelding "Tiki Taane" for owner Paul Rasmussen in the Training showhunter classes - although Tiki's way of going is more suited to showjumping, we thought this would be a great first outing for him to access his behaviour and attitude when jumping away from home and he didn't dissapoint, making easy work of the small, flowery tracks and being a very easy fellow to have out and about.
The Taupo Christmas Classic held 16th - 19th December is always a great show, although this year was marred by a bit of a showery weather throughout. Astek Gianni again jumped brilliantly for Diana every start, jumping up to 1.10m and taking only 1 rail throughout their 4 classes entered, finishing with a creditable 8th= place out of 230 starters in the 1.05m - 1.10m Championship on Saturday which Diana was rapt with.
Greg rode Tiki Taane in the 1m and 1.10m classes, where he too jumped well including a 2nd placing in a 1m class and gained more valuable competition mileage.
It wasn't to be as good a show for Retrospect II however... Greg had been practising him over our newly built permanent water jump at home for the 2 days prior to Taupo and was hesitant in taking him at all, but decided to have a go and see what happened. Horse's don't forget though and Retrospect wasn't keen on going anywhere near the water jump end of the Taupo NEC Ring 1 (even though it wasn't in the course this time), the same jump that had given him a fright 2 years ago as a 7 year old and had haunted him again in 2009. It was especially disappointing as he was jumping a fantastic clear round over the big 1.45m course before the mishap. Thanks to the officials at the show, Greg was allowed to re-enter the ring at the end of the class and ride Retrospect around for awhile, at least ensuring he ended his Taupo competiton on a better note. Greg chose not to start him again at the show.

We spent 2 days before Xmas visiting Diana's family at Astek and friends in Christchurch which of course included a tour of all the stud horses, including finally meeting our own new filly foal "Astek Gucci" and congratulating her dam "Sately Affair" on a job well done. A really gorgeous filly, she is extremely similar to Gianni in so many ways and it's going to be a pleasure to see her mature and compete under saddle in the future.

In December we very regretfully sold our classy 5 year old Holsteiner/TB mare "Astek Radiance" to Rebecca and Rob from Auckland. Radiance had had a minor injury as a 4 year old and although we had continued to ride and compete her, felt it was still holding her back from her full potential and made the decision to sell her as a rideable broodmare, we are sure she will unleash her amusing character, lovely type, excellent attitude and talent for jumping in her offspring. Radiance arrived in Christchurch at Astek to get in foal to Gym Bello while we were there visiting the stud and was pretty surprised to see us there too after spending 2 days travelling! We look forward to following her progress and progeny in the future. Leading up to and over New Year, we spent long hot days working hard to build yard facilities and our driveway entrance in preparation for our first riding clinic held here on our new arena. Greg did a great job of getting it all finished in time and his father Joe a very fine effort on the essential new double-sided longdrop toilet!!

Geishaan enjoys a swim in the river after a schooling session on a hot day, December 2010.

January is lining up to be another busy month with more shows on the cards for most weekends and alot of new horses arriving for work and breaking in.
We hope everyone had a great Xmas and New Year, 2011 is sure to be another good one!

10th December 2010

Thankyou to all of our clients, business associates, family and friends for your involvement and support throughout 2010. Wishing you all a very Merry Xmas and Happy New Year from Greg and Diana and the team at Chester Farm!

(This news is really really late because we've been really really busy.. sorry!!!!)
The hot, dry weather through November made for some long days on the farm; working horses all day in the heat requires an early start, drinking lots of water and a good nights sleep to keep going! The horses have all been working very well though, with the inclusion of several youngsters who have returned to us for their second stint under saddle after having been broken in and then turned out at various stages over the past year. Always a pleasure to get these young horses back again and see them return to work and being ridden like they've hardley had a day off! It has been great to extend their schooling and flatwork skills on our big new arena and combine these sessions with hacking out around the farm and river. Some of these young horses are being offered for sale - see our Horses For Sale page for details.

Retrospect II and Greg competing at Kihikihi at 1.40m, November 2010.

We attended several jumping shows in November, starting with Kihikihi 3* on the 5th, 6th and 7th November which saw Retrospect II fly around three classes at 1.40m, jumping fantastic throughout the show ending with a highly creditable 3rd place in the Open 1.40m Championship against tough rivals. A super start to his season and Greg was very pleased at the progress and development of their canter and flatwork making the ride between the jumps that much easier.
Second show was at Pukekohe for the Auckland Showjumping 2* on 13th and 14th November. Again Retrospect II was in fine form, jumping brilliant clear rounds and placing 3rd in the 1.40m on Saturday.
The 20th and 21st November saw Greg drop Diana and Gianni off at Pukekohe for the Auckland Showhunter competition, while he headed on up to Woodhill Sands with Retrospect for a Saturday class at the 2* show there. Another super double clear in the 1.40m but not quite quick enough in the jump-off after Greg decided to go around a jump instead of inside it, seeing them finish in 6th place.

Retrospect II and Greg competing at Kihikihi at 1.40m, November 2010.

Back at Pukekohe, Diana and Gianni had a mixed weekend, Gianni still very out of sorts from an ongoing recent battle with spring grass and mycotoxin effects seeing her put in some rather out of character behaviour! After having previously not really taken much notice of it, we have really come to realise the major effects that mycotoxins can have on some horses over the last couple of months having now witnessing first hand a usually calm, settled, non-spooky horse become more and more senstive, spooky and 'on edge' both at home and then exaggerated at shows, also becoming very alert to all sounds and movements making her difficult to ride at home and unable to cope in show atmospheres, and even head flicking during rides (which is a strong indicator of mycotoxin overload). We contacted Vic Wall from Elite Equine and put a plan of action together, Vic recommending we put Gianni on strong dose Mycosorb (toxin binder), Organic Plus (complete balanced organic minerals) and Ultra-Mag (organic magnesium). The effects these products have had on Gianni 3 weeks later, combined with a change in diet and change of paddock, has been incredible and we'd like to thank Vic here for her quick response to our plead for help and fantastic range of products! We didn't quite realise just how bad Gianni had got until now when we have her back to her usual lovely quiet self... the head flicking has completely dissapeared, she is back to her calm, willing, unflappable nature and is so much more settled and relaxed in her everyday work and routine. Our most recent show at Foxton for the North Island 3* Championships 26th - 28th November was a good test where she competed in the showhunter and was at last able to stand calmly at the ringside again (no sign of rears or bucks here!) and put in some good performances including 3rd place 1st Year Registered.
Retrospect II also entered at Foxton, jumping in great style over the 1* Grand Prix track on the Friday but making one small mistake costing them a rail and entry into the jump off which was dissapointing for Greg, but we were rapt to see Lisa Coupe aboard My Ocean Wave (also by Ramirez) win the class - Greg taught this classy mare to jump as a 4 year old and competed her for her first 2 seasons as a 5 and 6 year old up to 1.20m, always believing she had what it took to jump a big track!
Retrospect's entry into the 1.40m class was always going to be a very testing one when we saw the water jump was included.... People who saw Retrospect's major aversion to water at Taupo as a 7 year old were probably among those in the crowd who cheered when, after some impressive standing on his hind legs, Greg faced Retrospect at the water again and he boldly cantered up and jumped it! Although we have been in the process of getting him more familiar and accepting of water in general and water type jumps, we have not yet had the chance to jump him over a jump holding any actual water, so to jump this in the ring was quite an exciting achievement.
No surprises we are including a water jump in our new range of derby jumps that we are currently building on the farm :o)
We have got our first riding clinic scheduled on our new arena for the 3rd, 4th and 5th of January 2011, with lessons for all levels of horse and rider, ranging from jumping, flatwork and young horse lessons. Download the info flyer and booking form by clicking here! (PDF file, Adobe Acrobat Reader required).
We hope everyone has a great Xmas and New Year with family and friends, and look forward to catching up with you all in the New Year.

1st November 2010 Spring and summer are good times for new beginnings and that is just how we feel as our farm really starts taking shape now that we have our arena development completed, other garden projects and renovations finished off and early spring plantings getting well established. An exciting new arrival also entered the world on the 30th October at 12.50am when our broodmare "Stately Affair" (Rusty) gave birth to a gorgeous bay filly by Gym Bello, under the watchful eye of Sue at Astek Stud in Christchurch.

Her resemblance to her full sister Astek Gianni is very strong, and it seems "Astek Gucci" has the same beauty, character and body type to match - which we are thrilled with! Gucci is also a full sister to our 4yo filly Astek Gymbya, half sister to 2yo gelding Astek Versace (by Voltaire II), as well as her 5yo full brother Astek Giovanni who belongs to Cath Nichols of Kapiti Coast, so she has a strong family of quality young horses to follow in the footsteps of! We will be visiting Astek Stud at Christmas time so will have to wait to meet our new filly in person, but will be posting photos of her here online as we receive them from Sue, so stay tuned!

"Astek Gucci" 2010 filly by Gym Bello x Stately Affair Photo: Antonia Steeg

We are both excited to get back into doing some jumping again now following months of flatwork and fitness riding while our showjumps have all been packed up and our flattest paddock gone beneath the earthworks and arena development!. A last minute decision saw us take Astek Gianni down to Taupo NEC on the 30th October for a day at the Waikato Showhunter competition. Gianni had only jumped twice in the week leading up to this show since last April at the Young Horse Championships, so Diana was very pleased to gain two 3rd placings in large classes and finish on a super round in the Open 1.05m class. Gianni's natural sparkle and enthusiasm for jumping occasionally make her a lively ride but it was great to see her settle so quickly back into the show atmosphere and perform as if she had been jumping all winter.
Greg is looking forward to making his 2010/11 seasonal debut back in competition at Kihikihi next weekend on the 5th, 6th and 7th of November, with Retrospect II entered in several 1.40m classes as a lead up to 1* Grand Prix's later in the season.
We have several on-site clinics planned for the coming months (keep on eye on our Lessons page for more info), with the first being scheduled for early January 2011 - tentatively scheduled for the 3rd, 4th and 5th Jan 2011 but keep an eye on our Lessons page for confirmation. Our new facilities will allow more regular lessons and clinics to take place year round which will be great, offering jumping lessons, general riding and young horse lessons for horses and riders of all levels.

Chester Farm Arena completed, October 2010

Alongside the arena, we also have further plans to re-instate existing and add in more cross-country, hunting spars and derby jumps around the farm to provide an all-round equestrian training facility that will help benefit local riders as well as horses that come to us for training.
So there is, as usual, plenty to do and it's not uncommon for us to be coming inside and having tea well after dark! We are very grateful for having Greg's parent's Pat and Joe onsite to help us maintain the farm (and ourselves!!) when we get so busy and need a helping hand.
A Connemara pony we had advertised on behalf last month had huge amounts of enquiry and eventually found his new home mid October, coincedently to a family living just around the road from us, so we wish them all the best with little Whisper!
We currently have a very scopey young Hanoverian/TB gelding here being broken in who is being offered for sale on behalf of his owner, see our Horses For Sale page or contact us if you are interested in finding out more.

1st October 2010
Where did September go?! Time sure has been flying by lately and the recent introduction of daylight savings means we just end up just doing another hour of work at the end of an already long day and work till 8pm now instead of 7pm! So a public apology to anyone who has had trouble getting hold of us in the evenings lately (please leave us a message and we'll get back to you!).
The very wet and extremely windy weather throughout most of September has made working young horses a bit testing at times, but we have managed to keep them all in daily work and progressing well, occasionally having to duck for cover in the stables and wait out a sudden downpour.

Chester Farm arena development is underway, September 2010

The weather also made the development of our arena very slow and bitsy - only in the last fortnight or so of September did we finally get a reprieve and the bulldozer and trucks made some great progress in a short time, moving amazing amounts of topsoil and carting in metal while Greg spent a frantic few evenings staying ahead of them putting in the outer posts and railings to fill the arena base against. The arena surface should be all finished within the next week in early October which is great timing as we continue into our busiest time of the year with the horses here for training and with our own horses' competitions coming up.
In mid September we were approached by Katrina from "Annandale" who wanted to do a feature about us in their Spring edition of their free "Seasons" magazine... this was a great opportunity and we have already had lots of great feedback about it. If you haven't seen the magazine, you can view the full article by clicking here or you can sign up to receive your own free copy in the mail by clicking here.
The farm is looking really beautiful now with all the spring colours coming out - green grass growing everywhere, all the willow trees now back in full leaf and the fence lines of poplars all colouring up too. With the native bush backdrop, it's a true slice of paradise! :o)

1st September 2010
"Rain rain, go away" has been the catch phrase here for the past month! Not many (if any?) days went by towards the second half of August that didn't bring a few showers or more to the Maratoto Valley, however with mostly mild temperatures it has kept the grass growing quite well and we should have a great spring flush that will keep the yearling heifers and horses happy in the coming weeks.

We made the most of the wetter weather by planting more pittosporums around the round yard and road frontage which will look great when they have grown up into a good sized hedge and keep the turn-out paddocks more private and sheltered. Now it's just a battle to keep the weeds at bay!
Two horses we had here for training both sold in August; 8yo warmblood gelding "Raval" going to a lovely home in Wellington for dressage and hacking, and 4yo crossbred pony "Valentine" heading down to Marlborough to a big station home where she will be in horsey heaven working her way around the hills. Always great to see horses going on to suitable homes and to acheive a positive result for our clients. We currently have another two horses here in work that are being offered for sale, see our Horses For Sale page for details.

Greg & Whisper enjoy the views at Chester Farm, Aug 2010

Driveway development gets underway, Aug 2010

The last few days of August were quite exciting when the trucks, diggers and bulldozers arrived to begin work on our driveway and much needed arena! Greg spent the weekend prior pulling down fences and cutting down trees to make way for the earthworks to commence. The arena will be in an ideal spot, easily accessed and quite private, surrounded by trees and native bush. We have both really missed (at times completely struggled!!) not having an arena for so long, and although the round yard has provided a good year-round surface to work on and remains an essential tool for breaking-in and young horse work, there is only so much more advanced training one can do with the older horses going round and round in circles all day!

Working all hours to get the jobs done! Aug 2010

Barney supervises the action. Aug 2010

Because we have these extra developments happening at home at the moment, and have a busy book of training horses already booked in over springtime, we are planning another quiet start to the competition season this year, looking to probably attend our first shows in October.

1st August 2010
We brought our horses "Retrospect II" and "Astek Gianni" back into light lunging work in July - with a clip and tidy up they have come through the winter and back into work in magnificent condition with a super shine to their coats, both feeling very well and definately enjoying doing things again.

Greg jump schooling over logs on the farm, July 2010

Diana on a farm ride with a young horse, July 2010

July has seen us working with outside horses that have come from as far away as Taupo, Whakatane and Wellington. With an ongoing stream of new horses arriving for training and breaking in, we have been as busy as ever so have been much appreciative of the weather being overall very mild and consistent, especially considering it really is still winter and all!
Spring and summer are traditionally the busiest times for outside horses arriving for training so we advise contacting us now if you are thinking of sending your horse to us for breaking-in or other training sometime within the next 6 months so we can pencil you into our schedule.

Local Paeroa owner Paul Rasmussen recently sent his very colourful 8 year old TB X gelding "Tiki" to us for jump schooling and, after witnessing his quite outstanding free-jump technique and general attitude under saddle, Greg has now aquired this new ride to include in his early season competition team where Tiki will be introduced to showjumping competition before being offered for sale. By a son of Pintado Desperado out of a TB mare, Tiki has been trained in both Western and English riding to this point so is excellent to hack out with the young horses here, yet can also turn on a sixpence when needed! We think he could make quite a smart and competitive showjumping prospect especially for a young / junior rider and look forward to seeing his progress over the coming months.

"Tiki" at Chester Farm, July 2010

Diana spent another week down in Christchurch at the end of July giving Sue a much needed rest from the daily work in running Astek Stud, while Greg has been giving some jumping lessons again recently with a few early birds keen to get their training regime underway before the competition season begins again in September.
We have some very exciting developments due to get underway very shortly here at Chester Farm, so stay tuned for details on these coming soon!

1st July 2010
With not enough hours in the day at this time of year for doing anything other than getting through the daily routine and working the outside horses, things are pretty quiet on the news front this month, however everything is ticking along just nicely!

A hunting group in the Maratoto Valley on a neighbouring property

The shortest day of the year has recently passed and already the extra minutes at the end of the day are noticable as we are finishing the nightly feed round that includes both the horses and the grazing calves. June saw us get more good rain as well as very mild temperatures which has kept the grass growing pretty steadily on the farm and keeping the paddocks fresh.

The Maratoto River ford located on Wires Road that borders the bottom east corner of our farm and provides access to several neighbouring properties was flooded over for 2 - 3 days towards the end of June when we had approx 200mls of rain here with more rain further up in the Coromandel Ranges, seeing the river swell up by several metres. Prepared neighbours often park their cars on our side of the ford and can walk across via the swingbridge enabling them to get to town, school or work, but if the rain strikes without warning, getting home or getting out can be a little more complicated!!

Maratoto River ford overflowing, June 2010

The past month has seen the arrival of several ponies ranging from 13hh - 14.2hh who have come for starting under saddle, including 2 adorable stationbred ponies that are being offered for sale on behalf of their owner (See our Horses For Sale page for further details!).
We have also been working with several Thoroughbred youngsters who we started under saddle before sending them home for a rest prior to their next work up that will see them head along to their owner's chosen racing trainers for introduction to their future racing careers.

Hacking out with young horses "Tiki" & "Valentine", June 2010

Pony "Blazee" learning to canter with Diana, June 2010

Our own competition horses Astek Gianni, Astek Radiance and Retrospect II, who have all been turned out since early April down the bottom of the farm, made their comeback up the top of the hill and back into their winter routine of being stabled at nights - not only to save their paddocks from getting too cut up and muddy but also because there is just something so nice about lying in bed at night hearing the rain pouring down outside and knowing your horses are all tucked up, warm and dry - I'm sure any horse owner can relate!!
Astek Rantani and Astek Gymbya have been making slow but steady progress under saddle over the past few months with them being worked spasmodically whenever we have a spare hour left in the day after working all the outside horses. Both girls (now 3 1/2 years old) have grown signifigantly in the past 6 months and are looking fantastic. We are very excited to be riding them at last and seeing their characters really develop - the first ride always a special moment for Diana and very exciting to see more of the young horses she has bred coming of age under saddle.

1st June 2010
The rain finally arrived here in May following months of dry weather and provided great relief to what was getting to be a rather difficult sitution for most farmers with no grass or growth happening anywhere around the entire Waikato, Auckland and Northern areas and the prospect of cooler temperatures on the horizon not giving us any sign of recovery before winter. But as often happens, when it rains, it pours! Here at Chester Farm we've had excellent rainfall lately and very nice warm days which have seen the grass flourish back to life and turn brown paddocks back into green ones. The rising 2 year old dairy heifers that we graze here over summer went home to their owner 2 weeks early, just in time for the rain to come and leave more pasture for the 60 or so calves that we continue to graze on the farm and take through the winter.

"Astek Versace", yearling gelding by Voltaire II, with the Coromandel Ranges in the background, May 2010.

Not to be deterred from working the horses inbetween the heavy rain showers, we have continued with a full house of clients horses here for work including quite a few new youngsters to be broken in, from Thoroughbreds to Warmbloods to everything in between! Two lovely 3 year old Warmblood geldings who had travelled here all the way from Gisborne and Nelson that we broke in and got going under saddle both went home to their very happy respective owners in April. We have since had another nice horse arrive for training who has also travelled a good distance to be here, this time from Palmerston North.

Some great news came from Cath Nichols in May who is the owner of the 4 year old gelding "Astek Giovanni" that we started under saddle and gave early mileage to back in October. Cath and Giovanni have recently made their dresage competition debut down in Kapiti Coast area with fantastic results, placing in their first four Training level tests and then winning both his first Level 1 dressage starts with excellent percentages and comments. Giovanni was bred by Diana and is a full brother to our 5yo mare "Astek Gianni" and 3yo "Astek Gymbya" and half brother to yearling "Astek Versace". See our Testimonials page for some of the latest great reports from owners of horses we have been working with recently.

Diana went down to Christchurch mid May and spent a week looking after Astek Stud while her mother Sue went to Nelson to visit her own mother and have a break away from the daily chores that are involved with running the stud. With almost 50 horses onsite, the feed rounds morning and night take over an hour each and with such short winter days, it almost feels like there is little time inbetween to get anything else done! A nice chance for Diana to also catch up with some Christchurch friends and to give our broodmare "Stately Affair" (Rusty) a good pat and tell her we are looking forward to seeing what she produces this coming spring!

1st May 2010
April at Chester Farm has certainly had its ups and downs!
Our final competition of the 2009/10 season was the NZ Young Horse Showjumping Championships held over Easter weekend at Taupo NEC. We took Astek Gianni and Astek Radiance along, as well as rode Vollrath Chagall there for Phillipa, who, we must add, has become much more than a horse owner to us over the season - she does fantastic plaiting jobs, supplies hot drinks in the morning and is getting very skilled behind the camera - a big thankyou to you Phillipa for all your help!!!

The horses were all in fine form and jumped really well throughout the weekend. Competing in the showhunter classes, Gianni placed 2nd in the 5yo Showhunter class on Saturday (behind Astek Geneva, and with Chagall in 3rd!) and then on Sunday did an outstanding round in the 5yo Championship class (1.05m), seeing her win the title of "National 5yo Showhunter Champion"! We were all so thrilled for Gianni to finish her first season of competition on such a high, made all the more special by the fact that this was also Diana's first season back riding in jumping competition since 1995 so a great success! A beautiful big sash, sponsors rug and victory lap in front of the grandstand was an exciting way for Gianni to go out for the year. Greg rode Astek Radiance in her first official showjumping competition, the 4yo Showjumping Championship. Radiance jumped very well, although a little greenly, over the first 2 rounds of competition on the Friday and Saturday, showing some great style and jumping clear so finishing 1st= in both the first two rounds, qualifing for the final round on Sunday in top place. A change in the course from the previous two stride double down to a one stride showed her inexperience and caught her out, catching one rail but jumping the rest of the final championship round in good form. Radiance finished the 3 days competition on 4 faults and in 8th= place out of 37 starters - a result we were more than pleased with!

"Astek Gianni" and Diana - the National 5yo Showhunter Champions 2010! "Astek Radiance" and Greg finished 8th= in the National 4yo Showjumping Championships, April 2010

Gianni and Radiance also entered the led Sport Horse classes on Saturday afternoon, with Radiance placing 2nd in the 4yo class and 3rd in Potential Broodmare class, while Gianni placed 3rd in the 5yo section.
Chagall was ready to tell anyone who would listen about his mighty prowess when he first came out of his stable at the show, but quickly settled down with a lunge and look around from Phillipa. He placed 3rd in the 5yo Showhunter class with Greg aboard on Saturday with a lovely smooth round. Also entered in the 5yo Showjumping Championship, Chagall cantered around and made the height look easy (up to 1.20m), however a moment of distraction saw him take one rail in the first round on Friday which was a real shame to an otherwise excellent round! The second days' competition saw him jump a beautiful clear, placing him 1st= on Saturday and qualifing for the final. Chagall then jumped a super round on Sunday and was in with a good chance of a placing among all the top 5yo horses, most of whom where vastly more experienced than him, when a very unfortunate rail at the very last fence cost him entry into the jump off and saw him finish the 5yo Championship in 6th= place.
Overall it was still a great finish to the competition season for us, we were all quite relieved it was the last show and to be able to look forward to the next weekends - and beyond - for a few long overdue sleep-ins and relaxing time at home!

On a brighter note, the beautiful weather lately has seen us spending all daylight hours outside, with the gorgeous autumn colours around the farm and fresh but still warm air make working outdoors at this time of year a real pleasure and seeing Diana capture some very picturesque moments of the horses in work. We have started breaking in our two 3 year old fillies "Astek Rantani" and "Astek Gymbya" who are full sisters to "Astek Radiance" and "Astek Gianni". Both the girls are loving their new work routine and progressing very well, recently just backed for the first time and will start being ridden in the round yard over the next few weeks.

"Astek Rantani" exploring the farm, April 2010

"Dream" and "Beau" April 2010

1st April 2010
From the 5th - 7th of March we took our competition horses to Woodhill Sands for the 3* Showjumping and Showhunter show. A big crowd of horses and riders were there with all of the visiting Australian competitors attending in preparation for the coming Horse Of The Year show the following week.
Retrospect II has continued to improve throughout the season despite going to so few shows this year due to a minor injury earlier in the season. He jumped a superb double clear on the Friday with Greg in the 1.30m class to earn 6th place behind some of the top horses. On Saturday Retrospect jumped beautifully in the 1.40m taking just 2 rails and then on Sunday again jumped in great form in the 1* Grand Prix, a class which saw few clear rounds, where he finished on 8 faults. Greg was very pleased with the way Retrospect was jumping and felt he was in fine form going towards Horse Of The Year.
Astek Gianni and Diana entered the showhunter classes on Saturday and Sunday, jumping in very consistent rhythmical style, earning a 4th place in the Open 1m, and jumping a terrific round in the 1.05m. Astek Radiance also entered the Training 90cm Showhunter with Greg where she placed 5th.
Vollrath Chagall jumped a great double clear in the Astek Stud 5yo showjumping class to gain 1st equal place and was, for a large portion of the class, one of only 2 double clear rounds alongside Katie McVean with Springfield. Another lovely rosette for Phillipa's growing collection!

From the 8th to 15th of March we were flat out working hard at home, with several of the young horses here for breaking in going home to their owners with a great foundation to their training now well established in place. The surprise and delight on some owner's faces when they see the transformation their youngster has made since being dropped off as an unworldly, uneducated young horses to suddenly striding out confidently under saddle all around the farm and in the water etc is well worth the effort! We've also recently had a few horses to bring back into work for owners that have been turned out for quite some time and they are looking to be either sold on or for them to ride during the autumn.

"Beau", here for bringing back into work & jump schooling

The big focus for us (and most NZ horsey people for that matter!!) in March was of course the "Horse Of The Year" show in Hastings from 16th - 21st. Diana spent an entire afternoon in the feed shed covered in chaff and grain making up feeds for the week - feeds for us to take away with us to the show and the rest for the staff at home to feed out while we were away at HOY! We drove down to Hastings on Monday, a 5 1/2 hour journey in the heat. Retrospect and Gianni were both pleased to get out and have a cool drink before a quiet ride around the grounds in amongst the other early arrivals setting up camp and getting their horses ready for the coming days competitions. Vollrath Chagall arrived with Phillipa on Tuesday and apart from his usual "hiss and roar" to announce his arrival, he quickly settled into his stable too and quite enjoyed being right beside the showjumping warmup area able to watch all the action.
Greg had unfortunately been feeling very unwell since the weekend so decided not to compete until the Wednesday where he rode Chagall in the Welcome Hunter and First Year Registered showhunter classes, earning 7th place in both in big fields. Gianni also entered these classes with Diana where she placed 12th and 6th respectively and jumped very calmly.
Chagall jumped a brilliant clear round in the 1.15m on Thursday, and then did a super double clear in the 1.20m class on Friday to just miss out on a ribbon finishing in 7th place. Chagall's entry into the Open Showhunter Of The Year on Saturday saw him do a good round which, although not a prize winner, provided a great warmup to his main aim of the show being the Astek Stud 5yo class. Things werent meant to go their way though as Chagall lost concentration due to the hectic ringside surroundings and took a rail off the first 2 jumps.However he quickly regained his focus and easily jumped the rest of the round faultless.We were all still very pleased with his progress and effort throughout the show and it was just unlucky he didnt come home with a placing!

Gianni was extremely consistent in her jump style and manner for the entire HOY show and certainly looked a picture everytime she entered the ring, already with her own fan club of admirers!

Astek Gianni and Diana competing in showhunter and receiving a prize at HOY March 2010

A brilliant round in the Open 1.05m saw her place 3rd behind two of the top national horses - "Moll Flanders" (2009 Showhunter Of The Year) and the ever consistent winner "Squirt", so Diana was thrilled with this and especially so with her family and friends in attendance in the grandstand looking on. Gianni's round in the Amateur Showhunter Of The Year on Saturday was very smooth and only marred by landing on one wrong leg which Gianni changed automatically of her own accord a couple of strides after the jump, but which saw them just miss out from the top 10 callback round, placing in 12th position from over 30 starters.

A late entry into the NZ Sporthorses classes on Saturday afternoon saw Gianni strut her stuff in-hand where she proved her classy conformation and quality movement once again by winning the "Best Mare 3yo and Over Most Suitable For Breeding Sporthorses". She then entered the ridden classes, placing 2nd in "Most Suitable For Dressage" (behind Astek Gymnast also by Gym Bello), 2nd in Most Suitable For Showjumping, and 2nd Most Suitable For Eventing. A super effort for a young horse at her first Horse Of The Year attendance!

Greg was feeling much better by Thursday and ready to get his teeth into some competition. Retrospect II was fresh and ready to go going into the competitive 1.35m class, jumping a super clear first round and then another swift clear against the clock, just pipped by less than 1 second by the last horse to go in the jump-off ,the long-time campaigner "Midnight Hour" with Robert Steele, to finish in 2nd place from a strong field of approx 40 top combinations competing.

Retrospect II and Greg flying over 1.35m at HOY

Friday saw Retrospect entered in the 1.40m class, again another good field with top combinations entered. Greg gave Retrospect a great ride around the reasonably tight course making them 1 of only 2 clear rounds going into the jump-off. Vicki Wilson riding Showtym Diva gave it her all, but had an unlucky rail at the last fence, meaning Greg only had to ride clear and within the time for the win. Retrospect had the crowd on the edge of their seats, but flew around and made the height look easy, winning the class to much applause in front of many family and supporters including his part owners Bruce and Carolyn Mincham which made it a real thrill.

Retrospect II and Greg at Horse Of The Year Show 2010

Saturday's entry into the 1.35m Horse Of The Year Championship was a tough class, with over 60 of the country's best horses and riders lining up to start. 12 combinations went clear in the first round of which Greg and Retrospect were included. The second round (a shorter course with quicker time) narrowed the field down by half again with only 6 clear rounds going forward to the final jump-off, Retrospect again amongst them! A tight time was acheived but a turn into a fence cost them one rail, ending in 5th placing overall behind the first four clear rounders. Greg was thrilled with Retrospect's performance and decided, after so many jumping efforts in this one class, not to start him again on the Sunday.
We packed up the truck, said our goodbyes to Diana's family and headed home at lunchtime Sunday, after a spot of last minute shopping to grab some bargains!

1st March 2010
February has been a really busy month for us with a continued full house of horses here for training alongside attending several competitions with our own horses... all of this during a run of extremely hot weather which can make an already busy day outdoors alot more tiring! But the month has seen all the horses progressing in leaps and bounds (so to speak!).
The young horses that arrived here early February for breaking in are now all making excellent progress under saddle, learning the basics of ridden work and going for nice rides around the farm. We've been receiving lots of lovely testimonials from owners so plan to add these to the website, so keep a look out for that coming soon!

3yo gelding by Ramirez enjoys the river, Feb 2010

First ride out for Ruby, 2yo filly by Limonit, Feb 2010

Greg was asked to course build for the Paeroa Pony Club Twilight Showjumping nights which ran each Tuesday night throughout February, so after building the courses on Monday nights, we took 2 of our young horses Astek Gianni and Astek Radiance down to several of the Tuesday evenings for the experience. These were Radiance's first ever competition outings and she was very well behaved and jumped really well, taking all the new jumps in her stride, including a liverpool, without any hesitation, which was great. She certainly attracted some attention with onlookers very surprised to hear she was only 4 and at her first outings!

On 6th and 7th Feb we attended the Waitemata 1* SJ & SH competition at Woodhill Sands. Another hugely popular event with with over 800 competitors seeing the hosts constructing temporary yards all over the place at the last minute including filling up their round yard with visiting horses! Despite the numbers, these shows are a credit to the organisers and hosts for how efficiently they are run. The main star of our team at this show was Vollrath Chagall who jumped a beautiful double clear in the Astek Stud 5yo Series class with Greg to gain his first showjumping win which was very exciting and a real thrill for his owner Phillipa Barriball.
The following weekend saw us journey down to Taihape 2* show, there was a threat of rain all around which never arrived but instead a big gusty wind kept the ring crews busy holding jumps up while people competed. Retrospect II and Vollrath Chagall both gained placings against large fields which was very satisfying.

Astek Gianni competing in Showhunter at Woodhill Sands.

Astek Radiance at Paeroa Twilight SJ night, Feb 2010

In mid February, we took Chagall over to Cambridge for two private lessons with Australian international rider Chris Chugg. It was interesting to get Chris' perspective on riding a stallion seeing as he owns and competes them himself. Chris was impressed with Chagall's ability and attitude and the lessons proved very helpful with some great new advice and ideas to work on.
For the last weekend of February, the 27th and 28th, we made the 6 1/2 hour drive all the way down to Foxton for the 2* Wellington Championships. The weather was extremely hot and still so we were relieved to finish our classes each day by lunchtime and retreat to the cool shade and lemonade in the truck! We had a super show with Restrospect II, Astek Gianni and Vollrath Chagall all coming home with ribbons, while Astek Radiance made her showhunter debut in the training classes with very pleasing rounds to her credit.

Retrospect II went into the Saturday 1.30m class with confidence, jumping in a lovely calm manner and great style, earning one of the few double clears of the class and seeing him place 6th overall behind five 3* Grand Prix horses which Greg was rapt with. On Sunday the 1.30m Championship was a big and very related course with no room for error. After 20 starters, including many of the top combinations, there still wasnt a clear round, so when Greg went into the ring the crowd was still holding its breath.... a super round with Retrospect again jumping in easy form he was clear right till the very last jump where he just

Retrospect II at Waitemata 1* Grand Prix, Feb 2010

1st February 2010
We had some good little bits of rain here through January which has kept the ground a bit softer and the pastures fresh. Most of our horse work lately has been breaking in, with some lovely well-bred warmblood youngsters coming to us including by Anamour, Furst Jupp, Ramirez and Limonit, and with horses arriving from as far afield as Wanganui, Wellington and Nelson! We find these young horses are usually keen to learn and very quickly slot into the daily schedule of coming into the stables, work time and the morning and night feed rounds, a routine which they really thrive on. Some of them have never been on hills or seen rivers etc before, but you can see their confidence and pride grow as they manage to successfully negotiate these new obstacles before them. Always very satisfying to see these young horses progress and enjoy their work!

Hez Zurich enjoying life on the hills with the 3yo filles Astek Gymbya and Astek Rantani, Jan 2010.
(The well known 'Maratoto Rock' is visable just to the left of Zu in the background.)

In January we took our competition horses to several shows - Auckland Showhunter 10th Jan at Pukekohe and Waitemata 3* SJ & SH 16th & 17th Jan at Woodhill.
Greg's big Holsteiner 8yo "Hez Zurich" was notably absent as we decided to turn him out after Taupo Christmas Classic for the rest of the season following minor foot trouble that has been niggling at him over the last couple of months due to the hard ground conditions. Zurich is now out barefoot and naked in a big hillside paddock with our two 3 year old fillies... and loving it!!!

Astek Gianni and Vollrath Chagall both entered their first showhunter classes at Pukekohe. This was a popular and very competitive event with some of the top NZ combinations present meaning high standards throughout all levels. Gianni did two super rounds in the Amateur 1m and Amateur High Points 1m with scores of 79 and 86, just missing out on placings - which shows how tough the classes were! Commented on for her excellent jump, balance and rhythm, we saw this as a promising start to Gianni's showhunter competition.
After winning his first class for First Year Registered, Chagall then jumped in his first 1.05m and 1.10m tracks, which he did with ease and earned several placings which was terrific.

Astek Gianni training at home with Diana, Dec 2009

Jumping lesson at Chester Farm, Jan 2010

At Woodhill for the Waitemate 3* show, we competed in scorching heat on the Saturday, with Diana riding Gianni in the showhunter and Greg riding Retrospect II and Vollrath Chagall in the showjumping. Retrospect II jumped in the 1.25m on the first day, jumping well but taking one rail. On Sunday he jumped a lovely easy clear in the 1.25m Championship, with Greg opting not to do the jump off to save him for the 1* Grand Prix in the afternoon. A big, square and reasonably technical track with no room for error, Retrospect flew through the first half of the course including making a problematic turning line from jumps 3, 4 and 5 seem effortless, however a slight hesitation at take-off at the start of the treble got them into trouble, with 2 rails in the first two elements and a miraculous recovery to jump clear over the last fence. Retrospect went on the complete the course in very good style and his calm rideability throughout the whole course had us rapt with his effort. The class caused problems for many riders, with only 3 clear rounds out of approx 30 starters.
Chagall jumped in his first 1.10m showjumping track on the Saturday where he had one rail, then entered his first 5yo Series class, a very nice track but the biggest course he has faced under saddle. Greg was confident and Chagall made it look easy, doing a lovely smooth clear first round, with one rail in the jump off - owner Phillipa Barriball was rapt! Jump-offs for 5 and 6 year old series classes are not against the clock (except at championship shows) which means simply completing the jump-off clear and within the allocated time earns you full points. This is an excellent concept for young horses who do not need to be pushed into racing for a fast time while they are still developing their jumping technique and experience. Chagall entered showhunter classes on Sunday, once again winning his first class - the 4&5yo Showhunter, followed by two more placings in the First Year Registered classes.
Astek Gianni jumped really well for Diana throughout the two day show, placing 3rd in the 4&5yo Showhunter, and placing 2nd and 3rd in the First Year Registered classes at 1 metre on Saturday. Sunday saw her gain more placings, with a 4th in the 4&5yo class and 4th in the First Year Registered. Gianni gained 14 showhunter points at this show, meaning she is now well on her way to the 20 point qualification required to enter the Horse Of The Year Show.
Of interest, 5yo mare Astek Geneva (bred and previously owned by Sue at Astek Stud and competed as a 4 year old last season by Greg) was the winner of the Saturday 4&5yo Showhunter class and placed 2nd on Sunday with her new owner Trudi Biggar. Great to see her continuing to do so well!

1st January 2010
Happy New Year! We hope you all had a great time over Xmas and New Year with family and friends! We went to Christchurch for one night to visit Diana's family for an early Xmas on the 21st December which was great - early presents and meeting all the latest foal arrivals was a very nice way to spend some time!! - before flying back home to Chester Farm to have a second Xmas with Greg's relations.
There has been no time out for our competition horses though over the festive season. We attended the very popular Taupo Christmas Classic show from 17th to 20th December (over 800 horses) which we thought was a superbly run show and a real credit to the organisers.
Of note Astek Gianni made her first official SJ start entering the 1metre classes each day with Diana and jumping in excellent form throughout the show.
Retrospect II gained 4 placings in some of the lower height classes that included entries of up to 200 horses per class, making it a great competition build up to some bigger classes at his next shows after Xmas.

Astek Gianni jumping 1 metre, Taupo Dec 09

Retrospect II jumping 1.20m, Taupo Dec 09

Hez Zurich's entry into the 1.20m Derby on the Sunday came down to an exciting finish. One of only 11 clear rounds out of 90 starters, Greg and Zurich gave the jump off everything they had (Zu has never gone so fast in his life!), posting the 3rd quickest time (including faster than any of the ponies in the Pony Derby which ran over the same course) however an extremely unlucky rail that simply dropped down out of the cup and landed a few inches on the rail below, went unnoticed until he had finished the course but thereby put him down to 6th place.
The 28th and 29th December saw us go to Waikato 1* for 2 days of showjumping. Retrospect II was the most pleasing member of the team at this show with one of his best rounds to date in the 1* Grand Prix, despite one rail we were really thrilled with the way he performed and jumped.

Hez Zurich in the 1.20m Derby, Taupo Dec 09

Vollrath Chagall jumping 1 metre, Taupo Dec 09

Vollrath Chagall also competed with Greg at these two shows for owner Phillipa Barriball and really impressed with his calm acceptance of the show surroundings, and lovely rhythm around his jumps. Charlie is progressing well and ready to step up another hole or two.
On the horse training front at home, timing was perfect as several horses were ready to go home just before Xmas which gave us a lighter workload for a couple of weeks over the festive period, with new horses due to arrive early in the New Year again.

1st December 2009
November was a rather hectic month working horses at Chester Farm, visiting family and teaching in Christchurch for 2 days, as well as competing at several local shows.

Learning to jump over logs is good fun!

Yearlings Astek Gigi, Versace & Guy Fox, Dec 09

We took Retrospect II, Hez Zurich and Astek Gianni to the Auckland Showjumping 2** show at Pukekohe, and owner Phillipa Barribell took her stallion Vollrath Chagall along for Greg to compete as well. This was Chagall's first jumping competition and he entered the 5yo Sporthorse class where he was judged jumping a course of 80cms and also presented in-hand. Although initially a little over-awed at all the horses in the warmup area, "Charlie" jumped quite well and was perfectly behaved in the trot up. A very nice introduction to the show scene for him!
Astek Gianni also competed with Diana doing two clear rounds in the training ring at 85cms.
Hez Zurich was in fine form at the show, jumping double clear in the 1.25m on Saturday to place a close 6th out of approx 80 entries, and taking one rail in the 1.25m on Sunday.
Retrospect II (Enzy) went in the 1.15m class on Saturday - a step down from his usual height but he needed a lower class to make sure he was fully recovered from his recent minor injury and to get his jumping eye back in again! After a very bouncy clear round, Greg opted not to do the jump-off, saving him for the 1.25m on Sunday where they took one rail after bit of a miscomunnication in the treble. Overall a very pleasing competition, especially managing to load the horses and shut the ramp just as the rain started to pour down!
Several of the young horses we've had here for breaking in have recently gone back home to their owners, including one all the way back down to the Kapiti Coast, and we've since had some wonderful emails reporting great progress from them all which we are always thrilled to hear.
Diana has been busy putting together our first Chester Farm newsletter which will be posted here on our website soon so keep a look out for that.
And, with Xmas fast approaching, Greg has also been spending some late nights finishing off painting some commissioned pet portraits.... there's always something on the go at Chester Farm that's for sure!

1st November 2009
Spring is flying along here at Chester Farm, the recent rains have seen the grass flourish and our paddocks that have been shut up are ready to be cut for baleage any day now. The horses are all blooming as they lose their winter coats and enjoying being able to spend some time without their rugs on out in the sunshine. Our own horses have been doing some more jumping training lately, with Astek Gianni making great progress under Diana's guidance and ready to enter some competitions in the training ring for starters soon. Retrospect II has been out of action for a month with a minor injury but is coming back into work again now and very pleased to be doing so - such an energetic, ethusiastic horse doesn't like to be left out of the action for too long!

Astek Giovanni (4yo) enjoys the river with Greg

Holly (5yo) heads off on a hack out with Diana

October's weather hasn't been so consistent for those of us who work outside, but rain wind or shine we've been out working the schooling horses and they too have been all making very good progress. Some of the young horses here for breaking in have been getting some wonderful mileage under saddle, out and about exploring the bush and farmland, it's so great to get them going out in the open like this enjoying themselves and learning to so bravely go "where no horse has gone before" (or so they seem to think at times!!). The river usually proves popular with even the more timid youngsters once they realise splasing around in there is actually quite good fun!
We visited Christchurch again on the 17th and 18th October where Greg held a jumping clinic at the National Equestrian Centre, McLeans Island, which was a popular location with his students, especially considering it was the competition venue for the following weekend's Labour Weekend Showjumping Carnival! Some great results have been coming through from students, from the placings and wins in showhunter, eventing and low level showjumping, through to the 1.20m and upwards class riders gaining recent placings amidst tough competition. And thanks to those dressage riders and first time jumpers who attended the last clinic to give their horses some variety with polework and over small jumps... it wasn't so scary afterall was it!?! Look forward to seeing you all back at McLeans again November 21st and 22nd for another clinic.
We are really enjoying having a quieter start to the competition season as we are getting so much work done around the farm on the weekends. Perhaps we will have earned a day off by Xmas? :o)

1st October 2009
We had a fantastic run of weather through September which saw us busy getting our competition horses back into jumping mode before the first show at Woodhill on the 19th and 20th. We took Retrospect II and Hez Zurich along to go in the 1.20m and 1.25m classes and we were very happy with how they both went, despite the extremely hectic warmup area which was causing many horses and riders all sorts of problems. The crowded warm-up was the sole reason we didnt take our young horses along.... a decision we were very pleased with!
The schooling horses for September / October are a quality group, including a 3yo Trakehner gelding by Holme Park Flute here for breaking in, a 5yo Hanoverian gelding by Gymnastik Star re-visiting for ongoing jump schooling, a 4yo Hanoverian/TB gelding by Gym Bello (full brother to our 5yo mare Astek Gianni) to bring back into ridden work and give early mileage under saddle, a very attractive 5yo Pinto gelding who is learning to jump and expanding on his basic flatwork, the local Holsteiner Warmblood stallion "Vollrath Chagall" also continuing his education over jumps in preparation for competition, and a 5yo Hanoverian mare by Dream Boy here to further her mileage under saddle with hacking out experiences over the farm and in the bush and to establish some basic flatwork and dressage schooling.

Diana working with a 3yo Trakehner gelding.	Yearlings enjoying the sun, Sept 09.
A beautiful day to long-rein a youngster around the farm.	"Vollrath Chagall" in jump training with Greg

In our little bits of spare time (daylight saving is a blessing - or a curse?!) we have continued to work on re-fencing, painting and establishing garden areas around the round yard. With half of the farm currently shut up for hay, the return of the rain at end of September was great to give the paddocks another boost and keep our grazing heifers happy in good grass.
Our 3 yearlings have been growing like weeds lately and are looking great as their summer coats start coming through. Our last remaining broodmare "Stately Affair" will be heading back down to Astek Stud at the end of October to return to her old friends in the broodmare herd and get back in foal to Gym Bello - this outstanding cross simply has to be repeated again! We are extremely excited about Gym Bello's progeny. His oldest crop of 10 foals have just turned 5 years old and already showing outstanding results in their first season of competition as 4 year olds. Their beautiful movement, very scopey athletic jump with great technique, excellent upstanding types all with really beautiful heads and then to top it off, exceptional trainable, sensible temperaments - we just can't get enough of them!
October will be another quiet month of the competition front with our next intended outing over Labour Weekeend.
We are heading back to Christchurch for a showjumping clinic on the 17th and 18th October, this time at McLeans Island equestrian centre. We are both also looking forward to visiting Astek again and meeting any new foal arrivals!

1st September 2009
Our new 18 metre round yard was completed in August and has been in very regular use ever since! As well as providing an essential training facility for working young horses, this also timed in well with bringing our own horses back into work - Retrospect II and Hez Zurich are currently preparing for their first show at Woodhill Sands on the 19th and 20th September while we also have several young horses getting ready to make their jumping competition debuts in the coming months. One of these is Vollrath Chagall, a 5 year old Warmblood stallion owned by Phillipa Barribell of Thames, who Greg broke in as a 3 year old and rides in regular training. "Charlie" shows excellent jumping technique in his free-jumping work to date and we look forward to aiming him towards the 5 Year Old Series classes later in the season.

New round yard progress begins, Aug 09.	The surface went down then the fencing went up!
Round Yard, Sept 09	Showjumping training ground, Sept 09

Diana's decision to sell her broodmares so we could concentrate on the our young horses came to fruition very quickly with TB mare "Sugar Rush" in foal to Voltaire II selling to Southland, and then "Renaissance II" also in foal to Voltaire II selling to Kerikeri... from one end of the country to the other but both to excellent homes where we will be looking to keep in touch with their new owners and hear of their exciting foal arrivals this spring.
We purchased some new showjumps recently which have enabled us to add to existing materials and now create the complete show experience here on the farm, right down to the start and finish flags, colourful fillers, walls and loud-speakers. This provides excellent training practise especially for the younger horses to ensure they dont get too overwhelmed when they enter the busy jumping rings on competition day!
Greg's last showjumping clinic in Christchurch went well with both regular students and new attendees all making great progress. Now that the weather is improving and with competitions just around the corner, its a great time to get some lessons in and work on new training ideas. Greg is available to take lessons here at Chester Farm, or further afield, so contact us if you are interested in some tuition.

1st August 2009
Fencing and painting have continued on our agenda for the month of July - we've been making the most of having all of our own riding horses turned out and freeing up some spare time for working around the farm, in between working the outside schooling horses of course! The grass has been growing pretty steadily throughout the winter thanks to some very mild spells of weather of around 18 degrees which has kept our grazing calves happy and making it very nice for working outside and getting the paint dry.

Man at work! Old fences coming down...

...to make way for new horse paddocks at Chester Farm.

Our 3 weanling foals are also growing like weeds and showing us more of what they are made of as they mature and with occasional handling sessions. Wet weather sees them come into the stables which they all seem to think is rather good, getting to act like the grown ups!
As much as we love the youngsters, we recently made the decision to sell our broodmares in foal as realised it was going to be too difficult foaling and serving mares while traveling away to competitions and clinics all at the same time - a little too much to expect from our staff!! So Thoroughbred mare "Sugar Rush" in foal to Voltaire II has just made the long journey back down the country to her new home in Clinton, Southland, with a showjumping owner... we wish them all the best and are sure she will produce a stunning jumping prospect! We also have our Holsteiner mare "Renaissance II" in foal to Voltaire II for sale, check her out on our Horses For Sale page. We will still be bringing along youngstock mostly via the Astek Stud progeny which is very exciting as they come of competition age and are starting to show real promise.
After a long break of 4 months off for the two big boys "Hez Zurich" and "Retrospect II", and a month off for our just turned 4 year old mare "Astek Radiance" and now 5 year old mare "Astek Gianni", the 2009/10 Chester Farm show team will all be getting reshod and brought back into work this coming week in readiness for the season ahead.
We've had quite a few early bookings coming in for the next few months, mostly young horses requiring breaking in or further mileage to add to their reportoire of skills. Spring is always a great time to get the young horses going and we have two of our own 3 year old fillies that we will be looking to start under saddle as well.
Despite the relatively mild winter (Diana still can't believe it's winter compared to Christchurch!), it will be nice to have the summer warmth and longer days arrive before too long, so we can spend even more time out with the horses!

1st July 2009
The last month has flown by and we have been making more progress around the farm, establishing new fencing and developing our new 18 metre round yard. We headed down to Christchurch on the 3rd July for another showjumping clinic at Selwyn Equestrian Centre - the indoor arena making lessons much more pleasant than the outdoor 7 degree temperature! Greg will also be taking lessons starting from September 11th in the new equestrian facility Little Valley Farm in Hamilton. With outdoor and indoor arenas, this will be a great central venue for future clinics.
The visiting schooling horses have been getting plenty of road work and bush rides during the wetter weather recently, our quiet roads making very peaceful rides for both horse and rider! We've also been working with a local young Holsteiner stallion "Vollrath Chagall", establishing his jump training in preparation for his stallion licensing in August.
Another trip to Woodhill Training Showjumping show at the end of June saw good improvement for our three horses, with Omniscient gaining placings in all of her showhunter classes.
The boys Hez Zurich and Retrospect II have been coming back into the stables at night again recently, a routine they both thrive on! We plan to get their shoes back on again at the end of the month and start bringing them back into light work ready for the coming competition season.

1st June 2009
We weaned our 3 warmblood foals last month (Astek Versace, Astek Guy Fox and Astek Gigi) and they have all come through it very well - quickly accepting their new found grown up, independant existance and thoroughly enjoying their new routine of coming into the stables every night and going out in the paddock during the day. Their dams (Stately Affair, Sugar Rush and Renaissance II) have also settled well in the big paddocks at the bottom of the farm and were pleased to have their winter covers on before the recent rainy days arrived. We've added a new page to our website called Breeding Programme showing all of our mares and youngstock so take a look!
We have an enjoyable team of oustide horses in training at the moment, ranging from saddle hunters to eventers to young horses coming back into work - it is always pleasing to see them develop and progress and enjoy their time here on the farm.

"Viktor M" cross-country schooling with Greg aboard

The weanling foals at Chester Farm

A few weeks ago we resurrected some of our stand-alone hunter/cross-country jumps and have had alot of fun schooling some of the jumping horses over them, adding to their variety.
On the 31st of May we took 2 of our outside schooling horses "Omniscient" and "Viktor M" and our own 4 year old "Astek Gianni" to the Woodhill Sands winter training SJ & SH competition and were extremely lucky to finish all of our classes and get the horses safely loaded back on the truck just as the predicted rain and cold wind arrived! Gianni made her showhunter debut with Diana and did two nicely balanced rounds showing her quality movement and jump style.
Greg's showjumping clinics in Canterbury at the Selwyn Equestrian Centre are proving to be very popular, we are heading down there next weekend - the 6th and 7th June - so Greg can keep his students progressing while Diana will be at Astek for a catch up. Considering the recent weather around the country, it couldn't be better to have such a fantastic indoor arena to give lessons in down there!

Hez Zurich and Retrospect II are starting to feel terribly left out since being out of work and turned out in one of the bottom paddocks following the April Breeders Show. They will come back up to the top of the farm before too long and get back into their cosy stables each night which they love, although we won't bring them back into light work until July. Our new fencing around the horse truck entrance with post and rails and a stone wall feature is starting to come together really well. We're on a mission to get as much done over the next few months before the summer competition season starts all over again!

Some new fencing goes in, June 09

1st May 2009
We spent a great week at the Horse Of The Year show in March and were right on the edge of our seats as we watched KS Genoa jump her way to victory in the HOY Olympic Cup. Genoa is by Graf Landau who is the dam-sire of Astek Stud's young stallion "Kinnordy Gym Bello". Astek Stud also own a broodmare who is a full sister to Genoa so some terrific jumping blood coming through in their breeding programme. We currently have 2 horses by Gym Bello, "Astek Gianni" and "Astek Gigi", both of which show great athleticism and jumping ability.
Since arriving back in Paeroa, we have been very busy setting up the farm - building stables, painting rails, putting up new fencing and getting our horses all settled into their new home. Diana's 10 horses all travelled up from Christchurch extremely well and have slotted in very quickly. Our thanks to Nationwide Horse Transport for looking after them so well.
Greg's big Holsteiner boys "Hez Zurich" and "Retrospect II" have both now been turned out for a rest following another very successful season in the showjumping arena. With their main focus having been on the Cushionride 7 Year Old series (1.35m - 1.45m), Hez Zurich finished a creditable 8th place overall including winning the 7yo class at the Canterbury Xmas Cracker, while Retrospect II finished the series in 4th spot overall, also acheiving 4th place 7yo at HOY. Both horses also stepped up to making their first few appearances at 1* Grand Prix level, with Retrospect II going clear or taking just one rail in every start. Both horses have finished within the top 8 over the last 3 years in the National 5, 6 and 7 year old series, so a very consistent achievement we are proud of.

Mares & foals sleeping in the sun

Hez Zurich on his way to 4th place in the 1.25m Championship at the National SJ Champs, Feb 09

Our horses in work at the moment include 5 outside horses here for schooling, alongside our own 4yo mare "Astek Gianni" by Gym Bello, and 3 1/2 year old filly "Astek Radiance" by Ramirez. Both are enjoying the variety of farm hills and bush rides we can now offer them alongside their regular flatwork - a drastic change from dead flat Canterbury!
Quality 4yo mare "Astek Geneva" who Greg has been riding since October 2008 for owner Sue Fowler at Astek Stud, has recently been sold following a fantastic first season of competition. Geneva won or placed at every showhunter outing entered in both the North and South Island including winning two 4yo Showhunter classes and also gaining places in strong Open company. Geneva has been sold to competitive showhunter rider Trudy Biggar of Coatsville and we look forward to seeing them out together at the shows next season.
During the recent rainy days we have been continuing work on the stables and getting this website together! We are pretty pleased with how it's turned out, but would love to hear your feedback as well!

Greg & Astek Geneva at Taupo Breeders Show April 09

Diana & Astek Radiance working at home