The Highbrook Herald
March 2010
WINNER!
FEBRUARY NEWS
What
a fantastic start to 2010, with the first horse to
compete from Highbrook bringing home First Place with
plenty to spare. Dominique Park and her magnificent trusty
stead blew the competition away with a whopping 66.4% at
their “Advanced” outing at Merrist Wood. There is no doubt
there are many more ribbons to come this year from this
combination and we wish her the very best of luck with her
next outing at Prix St. George level.
A very warm welcome back to Rosemary. After a nasty
accident it is great to have Rosemary’s constant warmth
and positivity on the yard and she rejoins a fantastic team
of staff currently working at Highbrook. I would like to take
this opportunity in commending them in their endeavour to
create a fabulous and friendly environment in the face of
some pretty rotten weather. The standards at Highbrook
are high and the staff continue to raise the bar. I am sure it
will stop raining and snowing soon! The conditions over the
last couple of months have been very testing for all who
work with horses and yet the staff continue to smile. Roll on
the spring!
SYSTEMS
The way we actually carry out our
work on the yard i.e. feeding/haying/grooming etc
AREAS
Simply areas on the yard i.e. fields/the
school/the barns etc
NEW SYSTEMS
The new systems that we have implemented at Highbrook
are essentially working well. There obviously will be the odd
tweak to get things really running smoothly but the yard is
looking better and the horses all look very well going into
this time of year. I would like to thank all of the liveries for
their patience and acceptance over the changes. Change is
not easy for horses or people but the changes that we have
made have a very strong logic behind them and have been
made to improve the yard and ultimately the care of the
horses.
We have invested in 46 new haylage nets which have
smaller holes so the horses don’t eat their hay so quickly. We
are feeding top quality hay and I am assured by local
farmers that the grass will start to have some real
nutritional value in the first week of March. The
nutritionist Mark Weaver who came to visit us believes the
horses are in perfect condition going into this time of year. I
am very happy to talk to anyone regarding their feeding
program and I am very happy to set up meetings with
Mark himself so that we all have piece of mind.
It would be very helpful to have some old towels. If you
have any to donate that would be great as we can use them
on the horses and keep all vital areas drier in this ridiculous
wet! Have a look and bring your old towels. TAx
You may have noticed the highly fashionable outfits now
being worn by the staff at Highbrook. These have been
kindly donated by Helen and Hans and are outside of the
economics of the yard .
AREAS
Every horse on the yard now has it’s very own personal
storage space. Excess storage is available in the loft space
above the coach barn.
With very limited room in the tack rooms I now believe
we are very close to finding some solutions to the inevitable
problems. Doing the Rubik’s Cube was easier!
I am glad to say that the school system is working very
well. Of course there are times when we would like the school
to ourselves and it is a case of looking at the diary and
finding gaps. There are plenty of hours in the day when the
school is not being used including the weekends.
I would like to remind everyone of the basic school rules
which apply in every school in the country. I don’t want to
put up a sign as this is a competition livery yard.
Riding School Rules
1. ASK And WAIT For PERMISSION To ENTER
2. Approaching Other Riders - Pass LEFT HAND to LEFT
HAND
3. Riders at WALK, WORK AWAY From The TRACK,
4. HALT AWAY From The Track. Do No Impede Other
Riders
5. Do Not Pass Slower Riders From Behind - Circle Or Turn
Away Across The School
6. Warn ALL RIDERS If You Intend To Leave The School
7. Pick up all droppings
NEW ARRIVALS
We welcome: Bertie,Red and Harvey and their owners:
Dawn and Serena to Highbrook. Red is a Grade A show
jumper and Bertie certainly knows his way around a track.
Harvey is a young horse who will eventually live out and is
currently being roughed off. We all wish them well.
SNOW!
INCA AND SILVER
RIDER PROFILE
Helen Snook
HORSES: Silver, Inca, Sheiky and Ally
SEX: Female
BRIEF HORSEY HISTORY IN TWO OR THREE
SENTENCES: Riding since 10 years old. Used to be kamakazi
– but now light hack.
ACHIEVEMENTS: Not killing myself.
AMBITIONS: To get my back better and ride more.
PHILOSOPHY: You are responsible for your own happiness.
Favourite Colour? Red.
Dogs or cats? Dogs – big and black.
France or Spain? Spain – France is nice but owned by the
French…say no more.
Favourite Horse? Silver
The ultimate Sunday? Bacon butties, hack, pub, afternoon
footie game.
Who do you most admire? My husband
Star Sign? Do you believe? Aries – Yeh, why not!
Desert Island discs: 1 album and 1 book? Definitely Maybe
by Oasis. The Alchemist
Favourite meal? Cheese Soufle. Beef Wellington. Crepe
Suzette.
The quality you most admire in a person? Loyalty.
The quality you most detest in a person? Greed.
If you were’nt a horsey nut what would you be? Richer.
What was the first record you ever bought? David Bowie.
Changes.
Favourite Womble? Uncle Bulgaria.
What do you think of Facebook? Fine if you knew the person
who wants to be your friend!
When did you laugh the most? With my husband.
What do you think of Highbrook? It’s getting there.
BREAKING NEWS
“Ali” a three year old filly has arrived at Highbrook from
David Nicholsons yard. Helen now has another to add to
the list!
RECIPE CORNER
Rain,
rain, rain. Cheer up with this fantastic recipe
which I made the other night. Deeeeeelicious.
Chinese-style spare ribs with stir-fried
cabbage
Ingredients
For the spare ribs
6 large spare ribs, cut into individual ribs
2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp cornflour
vegetable oil, for deep frying
For the sauce
3 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
3 tbsp plum sauce
2 tbsp hoi sin sauce
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp light soy sauce
75ml/3fl oz cider vinegar
150ml/5fl oz chicken stock
1 tbsp Chinese five-spice powder
2 garlic cloves, crushed
5cm/2in fresh root ginger, grated
For the cabbage
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
5cm/2in piece fresh root ginger, finely chopped
1 long red chilli, finely sliced
½ Chinese cabbage, finely shredded
2 tbsp light soy sauce
Method
1.
For the ribs, place all of the ribs ingredients into a
bowl and stir to combine. Cover the bowl with cling
film and place into the fridge to marinate for four
hours.
2. Heat a deep fat fryer to 190C, or place the oil in a
deep heavy-based pan so that it half-fills the pan.
Heat until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns brown
when dropped into it. (CAUTION: hot oil can be
dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)
3. Remove the ribs from the fridge and drain off any
excess marinade. Carefully place into the hot oil in
batches of 2-3 ribs at a time and cook until nicely
browned. Remove the ribs with a slotted spoon and
drain on to kitchen paper.
4. For the sauce, place all of the sauce ingredients
into a large shallow pan with a lid and stir to
combine. Place the pan over a medium heat and
bring to a gentle simmer.
5. Add the fried ribs and bring the sauce back to a
simmer. Cover and cook for 40-50 minutes until the
ribs are tender, turning the ribs several times during
the cooking time. Remove the lid for the last five
minutes of cooking.
6. For the cabbage, heat a frying pan until hot, then
add the oil, garlic, ginger and chilli and stir-fry for 30
seconds.
7. Add the cabbage and stir-fry for a further 2-3
minutes, or until the cabbage is just wilted.
8. Add the soy sauce and stir to combine.
9. To serve, spoon a little cabbage onto each plate.
Place two ribs onto each plate and serve with extra
sauce in a serving jug alongside.
Or how about this?
Which can easily be brought to the
yard!!!
Carrot cake
Ingredients
115g/4oz plain flour
115g/4oz unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
115g/4oz caster sugar
2 free-range eggs
100g/3&frac12oz carrot, peeled and grated
Method
1. To make the sponge place the flour, butter, sugar and
eggs in a food processor and blend to a thick batter.
2. Carefully remove the blade from the food processor
then mix in the grated carrot.
3. Grease a pudding bowl or heatproof dish with butter
and spoon in the sponge mix.
Cover with cling film and microvave on full power for
eight minutes, or until cooked through.
5. To serve, place the sponge on a plate.
Cake baking is to be encouraged at all
times.
ANOTHER WINNER!
There is a competition for the best cake every month with a
fine prize. The girls are the judges.
I threw my gauntlet down last month and won the
competition with my Chocolate Party Cake.
The prize:
A luxury holiday for two in the Caribean.
Ahhh! some winter sun.
I won’t be around for a couple of weeks.
DID YOU KNOW?
In 10 minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all the
world's nuclear weapons combined.
The origin of the phrase bits and pieces may have come from
parts of a bridle. The bit fits into the mouth of the horse and
rests on the gum between the incisors and the cheek teeth.
The cheekpieces are the parts of the bridle that connect the
bit and the headstall. Bits and pieces were collected and
piled together in a barn or stable, hence the use of bits and
pieces as a collective term for many small and varied
objects.
"Go." is the shortest complete sentence in the English
language.
Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.
Each year there is one ton of cement poured for each man
woman and child in the world. A cat's jaw cannot move sideways.
There are about 75 million horses in the world
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
The oldest horse on record is "Old Billy," an English barge
horse. He was 62 years old when he died, living from 1760 to
1822.
SHEEP
There will be some sheep grazing on the land in the near
future. They will moved around the estate from time to time
by the shepherd. This is to improve the grass at Highbrook
and eventually the hay. The sheep will be fenced in and we
will be able to ride around the outside of the field. Only one
field will be grazed at a time. This may prove to be a
challenge to some horses but a good exercise for them.
PARTY TIME
What a Princely bash!
25th February. Spreadeagle, Liss.
AND THIS FROM THE
CHRISTMAS PARTY!!!
THE HIGHBROOK HACK
On Sunday 14
th
February the “non-fair weather riders”
slung on their high viz jackets and explored Hampshire. I
have to say at one point I did think that they maybe
exploring the entire county but back they came muddy,
rosey cheeked and a little hungry. The next Highbrook Hack
on the 21st March will definitely be precluded with some
sizzling bacon sarnies. There will be a list on the white
board in the tea room and please join in the fun and lip
smacking fodder. The ride will leave at 11.00am so sarnies at
10.00am sharp.
CLASSIFIED
CARPENTRY AND JOINERY
MICHAEL HAMMONDS: 07973 155908
DAVID PENNISON: 07711 717955
Oak Foors, Paneled rooms, Bespoke Kitchens, Cross Country
Fences
CLEANING SERVICES
ELLIE: 07838 1237727
Domestic Cleaning, Office Cleaning, End of Tennancy Cleaning,
Spring Cleaning, Building Cleaning, Ironing Services.
BUILDERS SERVICES
Y & L Boyanov
Lime Plastering, Plastering, Bathrooms, Tiling, Floor Stones,
Painting and Decorating.
JULLIAN: 07838 123727
Polymax Ltd
Bldg 90. SEME, Budds Lane
Bordon, Hants GU35 0JE
Tel: 01420 474 123
Fax: 01420 487 816
[email protected]
NEDDY EDITORS NOTES
It has been another challenging month at Highbrook and
the weather. However, I am delighted with the way things
are going and with spring now showing it’s magical face I
am confident that we are all in for lots of fun. Any
suggestions for the Highbrook Herald are much appreciated.
Content should be sent to [email protected]
HAPPY NEDDYING