25th January

Our very own Duggie (Cooramin Don Aloha – Don Ramiro x Aloha Crystal Bell) competed in his first 5yo class today, bringing home third place and a qualifying score of 7.0 which we were thrilled with. It was an indoor competition, under lights at 9pm, and he didn’t put a foot wrong with a lovely test. He may not have the huge flamboyance of some of his competitors, but is such a balanced, trainable young horse and never lets his rider Kellie Thomas down. Kellie has done a great job with him and it’s a credit to her to have prepared him for the demands of the 5yo class.

Sadly, Duggie will come on the market next year, as Kellie will be finishing her veterinary science degree and leaving us for bigger things. I had always planned that Duggie would be my next competition horse, but the reality is that I just don’t have the time to dedicate to keeping a competition horse in work at this time of my family life, so he will be for sale. A very reluctant decision.