Twyford Rosebud in the foreground, CorleyOak Cavalier as a foal and Collytown Charisma enjoying their summer grazing...........  see below for the history of our stud.

Pictured below is "Midget Gem" a four year old miniature stallion who was our first ever shetland....

    Midget, as he was known, was 
   the friendliest pony ever and 
   would go anywhere and do 
   anything.  Sadly, we lost him
   suddenly and tragically over the
   space of a few hours due to an
   acute attack of colic.  Our vet
   did everything possible but we
   could not save him.  Midget's
   death left a huge void,
   so the hunt was on for a replace-
   ment - found in the shape of.....

 Midget Gem's Legacy (Gem   for short!)

This little cutie was discovered in a field with 28 miniature shetlands.  He was only 17" high and 3 weeks old at that time.

His owner, an elderly farmer, agreed to sell him, so we bought him and his dam, Skye.  Skye was completely wild and we had to work very hard with her to gain her trust, but Gem very swiftly took over where Midget had left off and became the sweetest, most user-friendly pony you could wish for.  We sold him (as a yearling) to a super long-term home.  Skye was re-homed in North Devon and has really "landed on her hooves".  She has since had a lovely chestnut colt foal to our stallion. 

    How cute is he?  It's no wonder
   we swiftly became completely
    hooked on shetlands, is it?

    So hooked in fact that it wasn't
    long before we had bought
    three ponies from the Collytown Stud!

This trio - Collytown Thunderbolt (then a foal), Collytown Charisma (yearling filly) and Twyford Rosebud (broodmare - who would give us our first foal to be born at our stud) joined us in September 2005......

the Collytown three, settling into our paddock on the day they arrived, catching up on some serious grazing after their long journey!
                                                           

Collytown Thunderbolt, enjoying a quiet  munch.  We sold him to a stud in the north of the country, where he is to become their new stallion.  He should produce some super foals for them.........

Twyford Rosebud gave us our first foal, CorleyOak Cavalier (by Tawna Trooper) in May 2006. 

We went back to Devon in the spring of 2006 to purchase our   stallion,  Champler's Fairy Sovereign.
This is Sovereign, pictured at the Collytown Stud in Devon.     The Collytown Stud has been a tremendous help to us - offering advice and help and, of course, selling us some of their lovely ponies.....                             

Sovereign settled in straight away.  His first "introductions" were to Skye (Gem's dam - see above) and Barn's Gypsy Rose who we had recently purchased in the Midlands!  Their union produced our very first "home grown" foal, CorleyOak Black Diamond in June 2007.

CorleyOak Black Diamond

During the summer of that year, we purchased "Nola of Burland".  We bought her unseen and met her owners in a service station on the M1, where Nola was swapped from one trailer to another, without raising an eyelash or interrupting her munch of the hay!  She is a real sweetheart (unless you want to take a blood test or give her wormerin which case     she turns into the devil pony from hell!) and we love her to bits!                                                                                       

In August 2006, we purchased two more ponies from the Collytown Stud, Kirkstall Queen of the May and her filly foal, Collytown Casablanca.  On the way home from Devon, we bought Braywood Vanilla and her filly foal, Gathanparc Apirka!!  We subsequently sold May but retained her lovely filly.                                                                             

In October 2006, we purchased Talrwynisaf Clover Girl and not long after we went to Reading Sales and came home with Chewvalley Daisy and Longfield Queen .  The following month, November, we bought Wight's Tiger Lily from Varkies Stud.  "Tiger" was a lovely pony but unfortunately did not get on with our other mares so we were forced to sell her.  Luckily, we found a local home for her and she has since visited our stallion so we are looking forward to seeing her foal some time in 2008.

In March 2007, we purchased Quakers Comfrey from the Helenbrie Stud and then in September 2007 we bought Halstock Pacific Blue, taking our total complement of shetlands to 14!

On the right is "Halstock Pacific Blue", known by us as "Rabbit" as she has enormous fluffy ears.......

On 11th March 2008, our second home-bred filly was born - a lovely, sturdy palomino, "Champagne" born to Braywood Vanilla.

Above is Champagne, a few minutes after birth and right about two days later on her first venture outisde.

Last updated 03.04.08