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You are reminded much more sharply of the change of season at our new property further south.. the fence lines of deciduous trees are changing all manner of beautiful colours and there is a distinct drop in temperature at night already! Clippers out.

However no complaints, our first summer at the new place has been awesome and the facilities are ready to come into their own over the wet winter months.

Our show season has been resonably quiet with a small, green team and being busy with the two places, however, still succesful. The horses all progressed throughout the season and jumped some great rounds. Next season is going to be quite alot more full on as we have oodles of youngsters coming of age for the competition arena at once! A lot of exciting horses to take out, we are looking forward to it!

This seasons foaling round too, was smaller than usual, however I think there are more than ever that we are obsessed with!! Some exciting new bloodlines for us with the arrival of our young colt Kingswood’s first progeny plus some more foals by the superb Long Spring stallions.

I had an awesome ‘holiday show’ at Horse of the year this year as I only took my little Possum! She was an absolute angel all week and loved every minute of her first HOY experience. She jumped perfectly without a single rail in her 1.20m class, 1.25m class and 1.25m champ class on the Saturday and was in the top 10 in two of them. She had only done her first 1.25m at Tauranga two weeks before (she placed 5th in that) so she had an awesome end to her season and I am so excited to be able to get back out into 1.30m plus classes next season. I am lucky to have such an amazing horse.

So all is well in the Weiti world and I will keep you updated on our activities this winter!

P.S we are looking for a working pupil this winter if anyone is interested.

Finally made it to the computer chair to write something. Everything is good at both propertys, In Auckland the foaling season has wrapped up, finishing with an absolute stunner in Watchamacallit/Claudia filly Weiti Zumba, tall blingy and fabulous.

The good times extend to the competition arena too, the showjumping horses are going very well and I am already excited to have some experiance back on the truck next season after seeing them come on well over the past few weeks. We have spent this week  in Auckland as we had a competition at woodhill followed by the annual Weiti Show which was fabulous! and then another Auckland show at woodhill with Waitemata showjumpings Worldcup final show. Showjumping Waitemata proved their awesomeness by producing a seriously great competition, Ring one was stunning and the World Cup final was super, Katie and Springfield nailing down the only double clear in fantastic style. Our horses though not quite up the his standard (yet 😉 jumped well all weekend, Weiti Drama and Penny power making a step up in height without fault.

As I mentioned earlier the Weiti show was great! a super field of riders and a good time had by all!

Back down at Weiti Waikato the beautiful team of youngsters are coming on very well, all progressing quickly though they have had a break this past week they will be our focus for the next couple of weeks, Some being prepared to sell so keep your eyes out if you are looking for a lovely young horse.

The devalopment is ongoing at Weiti Waikato but the bulk is now done, the stable all up and running beautifully.

Exciting times at Weiti Auckland! Our very first two foals by our three year old colt Kingswood (Indoctro/Corland) have arived and they are both spectacular. We were unsure what to expect from him, he is an incredibly nice type himself with excelent breeding however they don’t always produce typey progeny! We are over the moon with the colt and filly we have so far and are very excited for the future.

First is Weiti Pogo a superb HUGE grey colt produced by darling Fat Gabby, Pogo is very tall, hadsome and substantial with a fantastic neck and head. Then this morning maiden filly Weiti Narnia had a much daintier but equaly as impressive piabald filly called Weiti Quickstep, petite and awesomely marked with an exquisite head like her dam.

So we are very pleased with our new boy (or man!) thus far, he has maintained his gorgeous manners in every thing we have done with him and we look forward to riding him away (he is lightly backed) once he has finished this seasons breeeding duties.

In other news we had an excellent show at woodhill sands last weekend with all the team jumping clears, looking forward to Pukete next weekend.

Clyde cross Julia has had a HUGE chunky and sweet natured roan filly by Handy Andy called Weiti Nee’s Up! (no K due to alphabetical order!) Another new addition to the Weiti mob Corland mare Lacey has had a fantastic chestnut roan filly to impressive young Longspring sire Lord Larino LS, should be a potent mix for jumping stardom, very pleased she’s a filly and a fun color too! Her name is Weiti Opera.

We are very busy at the moment, there is a large herd of youngsters waiting to be broken in and 4year olds that need to come in and further their education. We are working hard on these greenys, for me this is the best part of the job, I love breaking in a young horse, learning about his temperament and finding out what he’s good at. The older showjumpers are all in good form too, They are a bit hot at the competitions as they have been few and far between so far this season, however all are performing well. We jumped at Pukekohe last weekend and had a good show. Woodhill sands next weekend then Pukete at St Peters.

Recent sales include Handy Andy gelding Weiti Mr Universe, Gorgeous new season filly Weiti Minuet was sold at one week old and cool grey Ratamill Rodrigo was sold to free up some roundpen time for other breakers!

The Waikato farm is devaloping further, the horses are in their boxes now and the roof is on the washdown/kitchen/ tackroom barn, alot of cleaning up to do inside after the hundreds of birds and tens of possums that have been hiding out in their for the past few years! We have done our silage to feed the hungry hordes at both propertys and now all the weeds are rareing their little heads we are on major spraying rounds! so busy times but glad with progress.

Ah October, one of my favourite months of the year.. days are longer and holding much promise for the months ahead!Peace and harmony at Weiti Waikato, horses are happy and slowly all coming into full work now the arena in finished. We have been to two competitions so far, Rotorua at Taupo two weeks ago ware my horses were slightly mad but co-operative which is all I could have asked from the fat, under worked trio of in season mares!

And this past week end was Eastern Bays showjumping at the gorgeous Te Teko racecourse. After our dress rehearsal at Taupo (we rehearsed being maniacs) Ponies were much more settled and rider was taking of from distances much closer to the jump! so we had a great, sunny show with all the team. Other Weiti horseys were out doing well early in the season to which is great to see.

With a three week break from shows now I will be making good use of the round pen finishing of a handful (quite a big handfull) of breakers that have been staring at me over the fence as I was trying and failing to tame the showjumpers before the first show!

Having the gorgeous new arena is a god send, the surface has turned out beautifully and the drainage is exceptional. Need to steal some more jumps from Weiti Auckland now (ssshhhh) Stable almost done bar the rubber wash down and the new roof on the old woolshed part.. getting close!

Up at Weiti Auckland it’s foaling time! Sadly worst case scenario with Ramonas twins, her big colored filly was born dead and little roan colt survived only a couple of days. Very sad but at least Ramona is fine. On a brighter note we have two healthy gorgeous new additions. Weiti Wednesday has had a handsome big roan colt by Thomas RF called Weiti Levade and blueblooded maiden filly Ngahiwi Focus (Indoctro/Emillion) has had a superb skewbald filly by Handy Andy called Weiti Minuet, a very exciting individual!

Not a great deal to report, winter is bowing out with a bit of a hiss and a roar after a really quite settled later part of the season (sort of) but that’s ok, spring and the show/foaling season are virtually upon us which is always cause for great excitment in our camp.

In Auckland the earlier of our mares are ready to pop, Ramona, a blymp carrying two Handy Andy offspring is now in the barn being rudely woken up in the middle of the night. We keep our fingers crossed for at least a safe birth and hopefully two living foals!

In Mangatangi I have been discovering the joys of doing a project like ours (involving alot of earthworks and building material) in the winter! Copious amounts of water falling from the sky, I’m told makes it impossible to work, I frown petulantly and stomp off 😉

However despite my impatience, great progress has been made on days when weather permits, the arena’s two drainage layers have proved their ability to move water over the last couple of weeks! and as long as it gets a chance to dry out over the weekend the final surface will go down next week.. YAY!

The stable is taking shape too, frame and rooves are up, concrete, walls etc waiting again for the weather gods to smile on us.

Sadly the fencer has no excuse! They have been working overtime with the fencing around arena, roundpen and some other post and rail and are now onto the paddocks.

Boy, My Dad will be getting breakfast in bed this Father’s day!!

This has to be the most plesant August weather wise is history. The grass is going crazy and the ground is drying up at both propertys, who knows if it will carry on into spring but lets hope for a nice mix of rain and sun! We dont want to have rock hard ground in October.

The show season draws near, very exciting.. The stable and arena are nearing completion at the new place and its all looking awesome. Up in Auckland things are ticking over nicely too, progress being made with the Ratamill horseys, FINALLY can give an update on the one you never hear about Ludgar! He has been the most difficult by far but is coming around now that boss Jackie has started spending the time with him, He can be caught and handled around the face but it’s a long road with this guy! Lucky he’s flash.. Little grey Rodrigo has come in after a break and is being backed, He is a sweet little boy and will make a great allrounder for a small adult or teen in a month or two.

Weiti Potato has started jumping under saddle and is showing heaps of scope and an excellent back end, this big guy is such a show stopper!

Manuka filly Weiti Rosie and fresh broken ‘on behalfer’ Aphrodite are coming down to join the Waikato team next and will both be started over fences and marketed in the near future.

With spring comes the foaling season! Our first to foal in Weiti Ramona who is pregnant with twins! They were caught to late in her pragnancy to abort one so we have had to let it be, She is a month away and the big roomy mare is looking well bigger than normal so both must be devaloping, She will likely drop soon (A little early) and we hope she has two healthy foals!

Lets face it, if your in the horse and farming industry, the grass is greener on the other side of the bridge. We love Weiti Station, her rolling hills and plentiful space have been the cornerstone for our breeding and training system, However over the past few years despite the growing  necessity we have been loathe to develop the horse facilities (i.e stable yard and arena) as we have had our eyes peeled for the perfect place in the Waikato area.

Finally we have found that place in beautiful Mangatangi, less than an hour from Auckland city yet so much easier for traveling to shows further south. Myself and a small team of nine horses so far have moved down and its heaven for all parties. The wonderful guys over one side of the farm are building a fabulous 40m by 60m arena and a beautiful stable and while thats going on I work the horses in the paddocks, the entire thing is a mudless bowling green which after working in Dairy Flat (clay up to your eye balls) for 5 years is amazing! The grass is different too, very lush and green and makes my horses buck and fart and do passage, they are strip grazing now!

So in about 3 weeks when the facilitys and fencing are finished more horses can move down and I can get on with the massive amount of breaking in to do and get ready for the shows.. very exciting.

Gorgeous Weiti Beijing has finaly found an amzing home, he has been an absolute favorite of mine and many people who have worked here.

The last time I wrote the drought was just beginning to release its hold, now we have experienced the annual transformation from rural paradise to swamp. Swamp it may be but we have so many lovely horses swimming in it this year.. Lots of interesting things happening.

Sales wise, we have seen two of our lovely 2yr old Handy Andy boys go, Weiti Zephyr has gone north to Sharee Graham and Weiti Westminster has gone even farther north to Michelle Wakeling as well as weanling filly Weiti Disco who should be a star with a mother by Corland and a daddy by Distelfink. A month back another truck of new horses was just what we needed!! Luckily four has already been turned to two before I even got the chance to introduce them. Two of the newbies, unbroken sisters by Mighty Heights have been sold to Sophie Wilkinson to event and Sam Peters to showjump, I liked these pretty sisters and I’m sure they will excel.

One of the remaining two from this most recent bunch is a quite gorgeous chestnut mare by top eventing sire Crown Coranation (UK) out of a 3* eventing mare. We have named her Aphrodite due to her resemblance of the voluptuous red headed goddess, Aphrodite too is mother of Eros (Weiti Eros now sold was one of our stars) so good connotations! She is being broken in at present. The last is Weiti Sonnet, a lovely Manuka filly sold at auction as a yearling she is now 10.. and unbroken, so she has gone strait to the broodmare herd. She is an excellent type and we look forward to her offspring.

Another new arrival comes in the shape of a 14.0hh 3yr old smokey black and white colt, currently going by the name of ‘Smokin’ Hot Cowboy’, we are still waiting for that name to grow on us but the colt certainly has! We brought him as a pet stallion for our 18.0hh Weiti Wednesday who is too big to breed with hack stallions. He is so cute we might have to take up ponies on the side!

And yet another new face in the crowd, the return of Weiti Potato, the 17.2hh full brother to our stallion Weiti Handy Andy. Tate was sold freshbroken 3years ago to a very armature lady rider who had two more of our horses, almost inevitably it didn’t work out and after receiving a serious torrent of abuse from this interesting character Tate arrived home on majestic, a bundle of nerves and skinny as a rake. Tate has understandably developed some habits after three years of…strangeness. But is quickly proving a serious athlete, we look forward to bringing him along and later seeing him in the stable of a more professional rider who can bring on his ample ability.