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Starting from number one there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on the Photo page all from Lynne. We have a few days of photographs left to put on the Photo page, but not as many as I had first thought.

THESE WERE ALL TAKEN IN THE GARDEN OF OUR HOLIDAY COTTAGE IN PEMBROKESHIRE 2 WEEKS AGO. LYNNE.

I ran out of petrol on the Quad Bike down the Valley yesterday afternoon. With no petrol and a CCTV camera pointing at it there was very little chance that anyone would ride away on it, so I didn’t bother to go and fetch it back until about half an hour before I fed the Badgers. I walked into the Valley for about 25 yard and startled a large Red Deer Stag in velvet that was no more than ten feet away feeding on cowslip by the Stream. To tell the truth I don’t know who startled who more, for if I had been zipped in I would have jumped out of my skin. It ran into the left hand side wood and as I walked past where it had entered, it was standing a way back watching me.

The hay was had dried so that it was able to be baled this afternoon. It looks as if the rain hasn’t spoilt it. I don’t mind a little rain on hay as it tend to make it a little course that the Horses tend to like more. As it is early hay it will have most of the grass seed still on the hay which then has very good feed quality. We always try to make seed hays, but the weather doesn’t always allow us to make it. Last year because of the heavy rain that we had the hay was made very late, so that all of the seed had fallen. It made well and the Horses and Sheep never wasted any at all as there was a good sweet smell to it, but we did use more.

Bliss and Misty’s passports arrived in the UK from France on Friday. I must admit I was concerned that they may have been lost in the post. The exportation and all relevant paper have been prepared and the Fillies passports were returned to France the same day. This time they have been sent back to France by recorded delivery. They should arrive by Tuesday. They will then get their racing names and should get their first race very soon after. Bliss will be called, It’s Me and Misty will be called Live the Moment. We had also had the name Gypsy reserved but it is not very well liked in France.

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Starting from number six there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number six there are five new photographs on the Photo page of Bliss and Misty.

Bliss and Misty galloping.

Bliss and Misty on their warm up.

Bliss.

Misty.

The grass Gallops at Chantilly. The men are there two fill in the divots after the Horses have passed.

As the drainage work on the Farm was going so well and I seemed to be standing around doing nothing, I decided to make a quick dash to France to see how Bliss and Misty were doing. I managed to book a seat on the 2.04pm Eurostar to Paris, leaving the Farm at 10.am, arriving at the Trainers Stables in Chantilly at about 7.0pm Tuesday evening.

On arriving at the stables I went straight to see Bliss and Misty. Both Fillies had their heads down eating their hay. I would like to think that they remembered me for as when I called their names they came straight over to the stable door. In the rush to catch my trains I had forgotten the Herbie treats, it did make me feel guilty.

I ate with the Trainer and his Family and had the use of the guest cottage for the night. Trouble was that as you go through the Channel Tunnel the clocks go forward an hour. The Trainer and his Family turned in at 10.30pm, in UK time it was 9.30pm. As there was nothing else to do I made my way to the cottage. There was no television either, I had never been to bed so early since I was at School.

Even with going to bed early the night before I still managed to miss the first group of Horses on the morning 6.30am training session. After breakfast it was time to see Bliss and Misty on the 8.30am training session. I so much enjoyed seeing them work it seemed it was over before it had started. The group of Horses that Bliss and Misty were with did their warming up and then went to the grass gallops. I thought that they would have done a warm up canter on the grass before any galloping, so I wasn’t that concerned about getting a photograph on the gallops, until it was that I realised that the first run was going to be the only opportunity to get a photograph, so it was taken a bit in haste, that made me take the photograph to quickly so that Bliss and Misty were to far away and unrecognisable in the photograph. As it was the only photograph a friend enlarged it for me. It has turned out really well.

After seeing the other training sessions it was time for a quick lunch with the Trainer at a restaurant that he was meant to have lunch with a group of people with Monty Roberts the so called Horse Whisper, who I was introduced to, but not before I had scrounged a few carrots from the Trainers kitchen to give to Bliss and Misty before I left. After lunch I got the train back to Paris for the 4.15pm Eurostar back to London. The connections once back in the UK went well and I arrived back home in time to feed the Badgers last night.

Bliss and Misty are doing really well, but we wont know if they will make it until they start to race. They should have been racing by now, but there is a problems with the Export Certificate that the transport people should have applied for when they travelled to France last November. We cant name them until all the paper work is in order. To do that the Horse passports needed to be returned to the UK from France. They were sent from France early last week and should have arrived in the UK by Monday gone at the latest. They have not arrived, so new passports will need to be applied for if they haven’t been received by the coming Monday. That will need a Veterinary describing on paper all of Bliss and Mist body markings, and a renewable passport fee that is more than one we would have to pay for.

The dash to France was a hard two days, but it was well worth it to see Bliss and Misty. Trouble was the drainage work was not finished when I got back to the Farm and I had to help top get it finished.

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When I got back from France on Thursday I had…

When I got back from France on Thursday I had received a phone call from one of six UK Horse Trainers that I had contacted when I was first making enquiries about training Bliss and Misty for racing. You will probably remember better than me how long ago that was. But whatever, it was over two months ago. The phone call was the return call from then. I have only received one other reply from those six that I initially contacted. All the Trainers that I did contact were well known. I should think that the others will return my phone calls when their stables are not full. After my eye opening experience of the French racing set up, I would think that there could be more following my footsteps. Obviously Race Horse Owners in the UK are being taken for a ride. Excuse the pun. The wages in France are much higher than in the UK, Tax is also extremely high and they still manage to be a lot less in their training fees than UK Trainers. I will be making regular phone calls to the French Trainer about Bliss and Misty, and I will let you know how they are getting on. The Trainer has also said that he would send me photographs of Bliss and Misty. You will see a difference in them after a month or so. I will be visiting them late January.

When I spoke to the Trainer about Bliss and Misty when in Chantilly, he could see like me that Bliss would probably be racing before Misty, possibly about June next year. A few of the French Lads indicated with their hands, the size of Bliss’s hind quarters. That is the engine, she also has a large chest, another good sign. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Misty will be late racing or that either of them will be any good. I have seen both of them grow and Misty is an athletically built Horse.

Also when I returned from France I had an invoice waiting for me to cover the cost of the Sheep that I put into auction two weeks back. I must admit that being Portland’s was against them, but after commission, Tolls and Bio-Sercurity what ever they mean, I finished up owing the Auctioneers

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When I got back from France on Thursday I had…

When I got back from France on Thursday I had received a phone call from one of six UK Horse Trainers that I had contacted when I was first making enquiries about training Bliss and Misty for racing. You will probably remember better than me how long ago that was. But whatever, it was over two months ago. The phone call was the return call from then. I have only received one other reply from those six that I initially contacted. All the Trainers that I did contact were well known. I should think that the others will return my phone calls when their stables are not full. After my eye opening experience of the French racing set up, I would think that there could be more following my footsteps. Obviously Race Horse Owners in the UK are being taken for a ride. Excuse the pun. The wages in France are much higher than in the UK, Tax is also extremely high and they still manage to be a lot less in their training fees than UK Trainers. I will be making regular phone calls to the French Trainer about Bliss and Misty, and I will let you know how they are getting on. The Trainer has also said that he would send me photographs of Bliss and Misty. You will see a difference in them after a month or so. I will be visiting them late January.

When I spoke to the Trainer about Bliss and Misty when in Chantilly, he could see like me that Bliss would probably be racing before Misty, possibly about June next year. A few of the French Lads indicated with their hands, the size of Bliss’s hind quarters. That is the engine, she also has a large chest, another good sign. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Misty will be late racing or that either of them will be any good. I have seen both of them grow and Misty is an athletically built Horse.

Also when I returned from France I had an invoice waiting for me to cover the cost of the Sheep that I put into auction two weeks back. I must admit that being Portland’s was against them, but after commission, Tolls and Bio-Sercurity what ever they mean, I finished up owing the Auctioneers

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I hope none of you who had wanted to see…

I hope none of you who had wanted to see Bliss and Misty being worked for the last time missed them being ridden. The weather was a bit grim this morning. fortunately the weathermen got it right today and it brightened up this afternoon. It didn’t rain as hard as they forecast but it was very windy, so much so that most of the leaves on the trees around the Farm House have blown off. We have a number of Acacia trees in the yard and they are completely bare.

Both Bliss and Misty worked well today. Misty was on her toes a bit. With the leaves being blown off of the trees she could see the Sheep properly, that previously the trees had obscured, they made her look a bit, so I needed to walk with her a little. We have taken a few photos of the Fillies that I will post on the website as soon as I am shown by my web man.

I must admit every time that we see the Fillies we start talking about them, about them not being here after tomorrow. We have no preferences for any of the Horses, but Bliss and Misty will be missed more than any that have left Denbury previously. Both are very kind and want to be around people which has made them very easy to work with, especially when they were being broken. What ever happens in their racing careers, both will return to Denbury to be Broodmares.

Marie asked if any one who knows Bliss and Misty will be travelling with them to France, and will they be close when stabled. They will be travelling over night, arriving in Chantilly about midday on Tuesday. There is no one spare at Denbury to travel with them. I really cant afford the time to travel there myself, but I will sometime in the week go. Bliss and Misty will be stable next to each other. The Trainer also has a double stable, that he may put them both in. I will let you know all about what happens to both Bliss and Misty over the coming months.

I was speaking to one of the UK Trainers who I had enquired about training Bliss and Misty. He never came back to me as he had lost my phone number. When I told him that I had decided to send the Fillies to France, he said that he did not blame me, as he agreed that the training fees were a lot less than in the UK and the prize money was a lot better in France. He also knew the Trainer, and had visited his training establishment. He was impressed with both. The Trainer that they are going to only trains about fifty Horses at a time, and has a good reputation.

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The Stag that you have seen tonight is a Royal…

The Stag that you have seen tonight is a Royal Stag. After seeing the Deer on Wednesday night I thought that they would be back, as the way the Stag was mating, I thought that they must be using Denbury for the Rut. The Stag chased away a young pretender who tried his luck with one of the Hinds on Wednesday. There does not seem to be as many Hinds tonight, although there could well be some in the woods. I must admit that I am pleased that they have returned. Moments like this make the webcams worth doing, and what we are seeing is live.

No, Elsie we haven’t planted the trees yet, to be honest I ha-vent even ordered them. I was told by my supplier that they would be in by now. We do need to do some tree planting on the Farm. Since we have lived here we haven’t done a lot, just the odd tree here and there around the lake and holiday cottages. We have lost a number of nice trees since we have lived here, mainly by the wind. My Lads have been cutting up a few over the past weeks for firewood. We have decided that we are going to plant about sixty whips, consisting of Cherry, Elm for the hedges, Silver Birch and Maple. We will also put in some more mature trees, and a eighteen foot Weeping Willow around the Lake.

Jan, when there is no one in the Hide, the Fox are always watching me put the Badger food down. I did get a little worried earlier in the year when there were six of them feeding. I thought that they may have been shot. I think that there are three coming to feed at the moment, one of them only now and then. There is one Fox that is going very close to the Badger Sett entrance. You may have seen him on camera one going in to the gap in the hedge that the Badgers come out from, The Sett entrance is within inches of the gap, he will be caught by the Badgers one day.

Who ever asked if the Bliss and Misty had gone to France yet? They are leaving the Farm Monday night and will arrive in Chantilly about Midday Tuesday. Not an over long journey, but we will worry about them. We will try to put travel boots on their leg to protect them, and tail bandages to stop them from rubbing there tails out on the journey. The intention was for us to be in Chantilly for when they arrived, and after meeting the Trainer we were going to spend a couple of nights in Paris. That has now changed. I am going to France on my own, a day or so later, trying to get there and back in one day. It is going to be tight as I wont fly. As I am travelling from Somerset, it is a two and a half hours journey before I get to St.Pancras for the Eurostar. Chantilly is only half an hour by train from Paris. There has been a few rail strikes in France, so that may cause me a problem. If I need to stay over for one night it wont be a disaster. The Trainer has offered to take me to a good restaurant and I do like France. Normally the French trains are never late. UK railways could learn a lot from them, for keeping to timetables, cleanliness and their very low cost fares. We will shortly be able to upload photos on one of the website pages, so as well as other subject I hope to be able to show you how Bliss and Misty are doing. When I am in France I will also see if there is a Television Channel in France for Horse Racing that I can pay to get here. What ever I will let you know how they are getting on.

As last Sunday we will be showing Bliss and Misty working for the last time in the sand school before they go to France.

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font color red The Astro Webcams are working I am…

The Astro Webcams are working. I am having to adjust them remotely. So please be patient.

We have made up our minds about Bliss and Misty. Both are going to France to be trained for Flat Racing. I could never imagine us sending them to the Auction this week, After speaking to a very good French Trainer over the past couple of days, who we liked the sound of, and who we have managed to come to an arrangement to keep the training fees to a minimal amount, it was a very easy decision to make. The intention is that once the two Fillies are broken to ride out, they will be going to a training establishment very close to Paris. The expected day of the two Fillies leaving Denbury is the 19th of November, arriving within twenty four hours of them leaving.

We are going to France to meet the Trainer on the 20th. We are hoping to arrive on the same day as Bliss and Misty. I wont fly, so we are travelling by Eurostar. The journey time now that Eurostar leaves from St.Pancras to Paris, take about two hours fifteen minute. It takes us longer to get to London from Somerset. I will tell you more tomorrow, as I am messing about adjusting the Astro Webcams.

Elaine, we do have a very expensive Solar Telescope, that you are able to see Spots and Flares on the Sun. Time is the biggest factor. But I will try.

Elsie. Do not let you MP tell you what is not true. Ask him if he has read all on the Badger and Bovine TB. Obviously he has not. And remember that a MP works for you.

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The Tawney Owl that has been perching on the pole…

The Tawney Owl that has been perching on the pole down the valley, was hunting in the Badger field last night. It was hunting vermin and voles that we are encouraging when we feed the Badgers. It does give me a bit of a problem with the amount of rats that are in the area. I need to try to poison the rats or at least get the numbers down. But if an Owl catches a poisoned rat, the poison that the rat has eaten will kill the Owl. We have tried different ways to trap the rats rather that poison them, but we haven’t managed to catch one as of yet. It doesn’t look as if the Badgers are leaving any of the feed that I put down, but I suppose the rats must be getting something, or they would not stay. The other problem that we have is that the Badger Sett is very close to the Farm House, so the rats are as well.

Bliss and Misty are getting better being led every day, and their coats are starting to look good with the daily grooming that they are getting. The trouble is that this extra contact with the two Fillies, starts to make you think twice about selling them at all. I even started to make enquiries in to the training fees today. It is an expensive hobby, the price that I was quoted ranged from