somersetpark

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Training

SP Zuhair: 4th - 8 points - $8,000

Advanced

SP Nyx's Nocturnal Knight: 6th - 4 points - $2,500

DLV Junior: 7th - 2 points - $1,000

Windbrise CF: 8th - 1 point - $250

Prix St. George

SP Rani: 1st - 15 points - $30,000

Gråravn's Baukje: 2nd - 12 points - $22,000

Intermediate I

Infortunio del Valle: 4th - 8 points - $8,000

SP Asad: 5th - 6 points - $5,000

NREC Red Canon: 6th - 4 points - $2,500

Intermediate II

MA Thyraya: 5th - 6 points - $5,000

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Just another sunny day in California, relaxing with the mares in the pasture. Raya becomes more and more curious as the days goes by, even with people who are not Gabriel (=me), so that's lovely. She was kind of skittish when she arrived, so it's good to see her settling in some more (and no, Rani is not death, she is just death asleep xD).

Another stallion has arrived, and his rider will be Linnea from now on. He has a lovely crested neck, and he has about the loveliest trot I have ever seen! Holding his tail high all the way through the training session.

We even brought the mares (and Asad d:) out for a trail ride today. Gabriel would be riding Asad, and I was allowed to make space for my butt in Raya's saddle.

At first it went okay, but then we needed to canter, and she began doing some mighty bucks! Even bumped into Asad, who gracefully jumped away, directly into Rani's behind. This beans are spicy sometimes!

Luckily I got her to cool down well enough to trot and walk more or less peacefully, until we got back home.

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Just a few different training shots from today's jump training with the beans. Horses featuring are SP Nyx's Nocturnal Knight aka. Knight, SP Asad and SP Rani.

And then a few pictures from inside the stable afterwards. Roy and Linnea was faster at grooming than I, and I didn't realize that Knight had gotten into the grooming supplies before it was too late xD

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ABOUT US

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STAFF

BOARDERS

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ARABIANS

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MISC

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RE-TACKING

So Somerset Park has "re-saddled" as they say in Denmark ("saddlet om") a few times now. Some has noticed it, some hasn't. It started with Standardbreds, then switched to Thoroughbreds and then we had just about a little of everything. It's not because we haven't thought things through (but bc of the idiot behind the screen who controls us).

Basically we have finally found our focus again. Some of the 'old' horses have been sold - the kids' ponies, Gillian, Captain Nemo and a single stock has been kept. Other than that everything else has been sold. Our focus - in terms of disciplines - is still Eventing, but we wanna do some Hunter/hunting related shows as well.

That's leads us back to the picture below. These are four new members of the stable's herds: Four fiery and lovely Arabians. From left to right we have NREC Red Canon (generously giving to us by Vivian Cheswick with Echo International Jumpers), SP Asad, SP Zuhair and the last is the only lady as of right now: SP Rani.

Rani is as kind as they come, and even my 9 year old daughter can ride him! It's horses like her we want to breed. We want to make Arabians with a good head, who is well-mannered and has a good on and off switch, so they can do well in sports as well!

We are of course looking for more Arabians (or Pintabians) to add to our stable, so if you have one for sale, please let us know!

Anyways, that was all from me today: Camilla Bennett OUT!

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SHE'S LOVING IT

When I came into the stable this morning I found Thundercat sleeping very deeply, even if it was around feeding time! Guess she hasn't learned that just yet xD

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HAPPY NEWS

So... I have a few happy new I'm gonna share with you guys today. First one is that we have added a new horse to the herd! Her name is Thundercat, and she is a Palomino Tobiano Irish Sports Horse. We are looking forward to see how she brilliates in Eventing.

She seems like a very sweet young mare, and if her new rider wants, she will be starting a few Show Jumping competitions as well.

Today was also the day I told Amy that we will be keeping Rosie. She has been a lease for awhile now, just to make sure she was what Amy needed and that she fit in, in one of our herds. Walking with Rosie and Prue, so they could get some dinner, I decided to talk to my daughter.

"So Amy-bear?" I said, nudging her shoulder as we walked.

"Yeah, mom?" She rolled her eyes in annoyance, probably feeling too old for that nickname at the mature age of 9 - I am sure.

"So dad and I have been talking to Rosie's owners, as I said we would," I began, holding the suspense a little, knowing this would make her very happy, "And if you are sure she is the pony for you, then we can keep her."

"Really?" her voice were clearly excited, and she almost dropped the leadrope.

"Really, Amy-bear," I smiled at her, as her own smile grew and grew, probably making her cheeks hurt a little.

"YES!" she all but screamed, and threw her arms around the pony's neck.

Another piece of news is that Linnea has been employed with us. She came to us looking for a job as at least a stablehand, and as we needed more staff - because before today it was only family who was staff - we said yes. Not before watching her handle a horse though.

She was very good with Gillian, as they trotted around the jumping arena. It was nice to see how well she handled a sensitive mare like Gillian, and even managed the bitless bridle very well as well.

And BOY they could jump! Both of them. Linnea is clearly a very talented rider, and we are happy to welcome her to our facility. She will begin right away, taking over Gillian from Gabriel, as he has enough horses to train as it is.

Linnea will also be riding Thundercat, so she has a lot of work from the start, but I am sure she can handle it.

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YES, I BOUGHT CLYDESDALES. NO, I DIDN'T THINK BEFOREHAND

So apparently we now have three gentle giants in the stable. I saw them on a sketchy auction from somewhere in Great Britain, and they honestly looked miserable. Now they are no longer miserable though, because they are mine, and they live with my family in California.

I have absolutely no plans for them yet, but I will see if I can figure something out, as I know absolutely squad about driving and draft horses in general. They are cute though, aren't they? From left to right their names are Excelsior, Big Ben and Captain Nemo.

Whatever the future will bring us, they are here now and they are safe!

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IDO WELLINGTON FL USA

Aletheia, Baukje, Windbrise and Infortunio at IDO Wellington FL USA

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BWEC'S ENGLISH & WESTERN COMPETITION 2025

A basic show where you show your horse of in walk, trot and canter clad in English or Western gear

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DS FLORIDA

Infortunio del Valle by Damon Doukas and Gråravn's Baukje + Aletheia van Stall Mallinkroth by Alexander Dalgaard

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SNAPSHOT SHOW JUNE 2025, PART 1

Aletheia van Stall Mallinkroth and Gråravn's Baukje by Alexander Dalgaard - Infortunio del Valle and Windbrise CF by Damon Doukas

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THE JOYS OF FOSTERING

Generally the French and English Bulldogs (and Pugs as well) are frowned upon by many of our dog lover friends bc of their breathing issues, but a rescue who is literally already born seemed okay to support, so right now we are fostering young Darling! She is just 1 year old, and might get bulkier with time, as she fill out in muscle and stuff.

She is an English Bulldog, and she is just wonderful. Playful, good with the kids and overall a joy to have. She was rescued from a puppy mill having had a litter of puppies, even if she was definitely not old enough for that yet, and ended with all of her puppies dying. But she was rescued, and now lives with us! At least for now. We are fostering, and hope that if she fits into our life just right that we might be able to adopt her.

Especially Amy spends a lot of time with Darling, teaching her the ways of the world for example how to chill in the stables, how to take a nap at the end of the day, and how to beg for the best treats. Those two definitely already love each other, and we hope she is a good fit for us on the long run as well.

Fostering is really lovely, yet hard work! When she first got here, she would pee and poop indoors, not really knowing what they outsides was and what that place was for (peepee and poop). She learned quickly though, adapting just as quickly and now she enjoys sleeping in Amy's bed every night.

Horses were a bit of a shook to her system at first though. Even the smaller ones made her skittish. At first we thought she just wasn't the right fit, but soon Darling began making friends with Lillian's pony Fire, and even if she keeps her distance from the bigger horses, she now longer cowers or shows sings of being scared.

(Template is not mine, and made by someone from SFCI.)

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ACCIDENTAL STOCKS

Camilla's POV

When someone asks you "Well, do you wanna buy some stocks?" and they have never done English before, nor do you need stocks, even if you have space for them, your answer will of course be a sound "yes!". So now we have stocks. I swear this stable has no focus at all xD

We even got a cute 'little' mule for Amy, so she can try a slightly bigger pon/horse, when she feels like it. Otherwise Mr. Longears can just enjoy the pastures and all the good food.

So basically these stocks has mostly only done cow work and barrels, so jumping them should be a challenge right? Apparently the answer is 'no', since these stocks just jumped whatever we put them in front of? Who says - now - that Barrel Racers cannot jump? Not me!

Miller (KT Gun in a Million) can do such sharp turns that I was almost thrown out of the saddle, and the others? Well Demeter jumps a little heavily. Longears jumps clumsily, but he jumps. And TBN? Well, he jumps like he has never done anything but jump! It's kinda exciting to see what the next few months brings, and if we can get them into jumping shape to enter their first competition!

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BOARDERS HAVE ARRIVED!

The new boarders have arrived! From left to right you see Appaloosa RL Jester's Chief and RL Silver's Limelight owned by Viper Villin, Aletheia van Stall Mallinkroth and Gråravn's Baukje owned by Alexander Dalgaard, and at last Windbrise CF owned by Alexander's boyfriend Damon Doukas.

We have no pictures of Infortunio, since he lives in the stable, due to him being a lease for Damon and being a stallion. Chief and Silver are geldings, while the other three are mares. They seem to like the new shared/group stall though! You can see a difference between Baukje and Aletheia though, as Baukje is Arabo-Friesian, while Aletheia is pure Friesian!

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"YOU GOT A FRIEND IN ME"

Camilla's POV

Buying a pony for your daughter is never easy. You want a pony who can give her fun and good experiences, but you also want no harm to come to her, so you need a safe pony as well. That's how we ended up leasing Rosie!

She is a mix of Dales, Shetland Pony and British Spotted Pony, and has an unusual long neck for a Shetland mix. She is a good egg though, careful with her feet and always up for training in any capacity.

Rosie hasn't done much else than basic training, and has taken a few obstacles, but the last at least 2 years she has just been pasture buddy to her owner's nervous show gelding and the geldings buddy at shows as well, so she has seen a little bit of everything, which will be a plus, if or when Amy wants to start shows with her.

Amy tried her today, and warmed her up thoroughly. Yes, she was a little out of breath by the end, but she is also pretty out of shape (just look at how thick her stomach is! xD), so when in better shape she can endure more!

She even felt safe enough to cool her down after some rough canter work in trot and long reins! I think we have found the perfect pony, for our eldest, but we will be leasing her the next few months just to make sure!

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HOW THEY ARE GROWING

Camilla's POV

Things are going very well with the Épernay Sports Horses! They are settling in nicely, and hopefully we can soon get some more training in with them now that the covered outdoor arena has been finished. Most of them will need some basic work, before they are fit for jumping again, since they have all taken a long break, but it's nice to get them back in shape and actually get to ride them, other than on light hacks.

Tomorrow is for some pole work, which is great, but it will be a quite busy day, since we have four horses, but only three riders. I am thinking about letting my oldest daughter Amy ride one of the mares though, just to make everything easier. I also think she would enjoy that, since big horses has always been her greatest love, even if she will need some help tacking Gillian up xD

Oh, and the last TB Prue is growing as well! She is greying out more and more, and looks more (and more) like her dam. Got her a new halter, since she grew out of the old one, so she just looks really nice. She is also settling in well in the mares pasture alongside Gillian and Nirmala, which is always good, even if she got more energy than both mares combined.

But she CAN talk them into some cantering or galloping around the pasture sometimes. And they honestly all seem to enjoy it. I hope to add a young mare closer to Prue's age to the stable soon, if I can find the right mare, as she desperately needs a playmate, now that she has reached 1 year and 5 months especially, because she just has sooo much energy d: