It appears that there is an awful lot of confusion out there about Highland Wildrides at the moment and whether or not we are closing for the season or for good and what the reasons for that may be. We would like to take this opportunity to set everyone straight on what is happening here over the next 18 months and just keep you all in the loop.

We can confirm that we are closing the trekking and riding school for good on September 27^th this year to allow us to spend the next 6-8 months to prepare and perfect a new and exciting aspect of the business that we hope to launch late spring 2010 (more details of this to follow).

Nearly all the horses will be staying with us so you will be able to keep in touch with them as they and the staff work their way through their Parelli levels, and hopefully end up at Parelli Centres both here and in the states to train directly with Pat and Linda Parelli.

There will still be a need for the regulars to come along and help out in return for riding so really nothing will change – just that it will now be FREE!

We have had so much fun riding with you all at Highland Wildrides – we’ve met a lot of fantastic people and had some truly amazing experiences - but now we feel we have taken it as far as it can go in its current form and we are ready to move on to something different. We would like to take this opportunity to say a BIG thank you to all who have supported us with their custom and volunteered as it is the Wildriders who have made this the greatest place to ride in Sutherland for the past four years. We are very excited about moving on to something new and hope that you will continue to join us on our next adventure!

We have had another reason to celebrate at Highland Wildrides with the arrival of our third litter of Siberian Husky pups three weeks ago. These guys are the best litter we’ve had yet, and they are extremely large pups. Bred from top racing and show stock ( Zero and Sepp Alta blood lines) they will make good pets as well as work in harness – ideal for novice mushers. Both parents can be seen ;Dam = Oochinapees Zoom pet name Rogue, and Sire = Sakhalins Magician, pet name Merlin, but there are pictures of them on our website and bebo group page. Two will be remaining with us for our own racing teams, but of the three that are still available we have a piebald dog, a grey dog, and a piebald blue eyed bitch. They are exquisitely marked, will be KC registered and we will be home checking all prospective buyers before a deposit is taken. Ready for homes from August 13^th onwards, £550 each.

We have also decided after careful consideration to put our Eriskay mare up for sale. Eriskays are extremely rare with only 300 ponies having any Eriskay blood in them. Our mare is one of only forty 100% pure mares and of a very rare bloodline. She is perfectly put together and is an identical half sister to this years RHS Eriskay winner, Cuill Ruaraidh. She has a 2 month foal at foot, out of Tobermory, who has already been playing the first three Parelli games and is extremely well handled. As Pollei is so important to the breed we have decided that she really ought to be bred from every year and we will find it very difficult to take her up and down to stallions so we are looking for a knowledgeable breeding home with an interest in Eriskays or rare breeds. We are happy to accept offers close to £4,000 for Pollei and her foal.

And finally, we are also looking for a new home for Breeze our grey dun, 14hh, 5yr old, highland mare. She is such a great lady and we feel that she is really quite wasted here. She has done two seasons for us trekking, trail riding and in the school, she has done most of that barefoot although she is no problem to shoe, and she is also working at Parelli Level 1-2. She is a highly intelligent girl and would be much better off in a private home where she will be challenged and made a big fuss of. Perfect to do in every way and a really willing partner, we will be sad to see her go and will be home checking all interested parties. We are looking for £2,850 for Breeze, but we would be happy to put her in foal to our Clydesdale stallion an extra £150.

If you think you may be the owner for our guys then please do get in touch and we will be happy to discuss things further and arrange a home visit. If you think that you may know of someone else who might be interested then please forward this on.

Her horse, Jazz who was a jet black “spotless” appaloosa, was amazing especially considering it was the first demo she had ever done. What she could do at just 5 years old was an inspiration, and proof of how helpful the ground work games actually are at teaching your horse to move and to become engaged with its rider.

The obviously close relationship between Jazz and Claire was enviable as they moved around the school together. After showing us the ground work games Claire then showed us how to saddle and mount with “Savvy” before demonstrating the relevance of what she had done on the ground from on top. She gave in depth explanations of the relevance of bits and their applications pointing out that a bit is not a brake, but a sculpturing tool designed to ask for precision and shape. The best example of this was when she backed Jazz up several steps in a straight line from just a string around her neck and with only the slightest pressure, emphasizing that true horsemanship comes from time spent training not money spent on tack.

At the end of the demo we retreated from the wind and hail to the barn for hot chocolate and the opportunity to ask Claire questions. The majority of the spectators had not tried Parelli with their own horses, but were fascinated by its possibilities and keen to get started so it was decided to invite Claire back in June for “Intro to Parelli and the seven games” lessons. Claire will be with us from June 18^th to the 21^st  to give 26 lessons. All the lessons are fully booked, but we are holding a cancellation list. Those who are attending lessons are also invited to join us for dinner at Crannag on Friday 19^th and again for our midnight ride out to watch sunset on one of the longest days of the year on the 20^th. For full contact details go to www.highlandwildrides.co.uk

AND HERE’S WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING………….

Hi Stacie

The parelli evening was brilliant really enjoyed it

Thanks

Enjoyed the Demo on Thursday with Claire, sorry I missed the playday and lessons they must have been good too.

hope your Play Day went well on Fri.  Really enjoyed the demo on Thurs.  Take Care, hopefully see you soon. x

I really did enjoy the demo – let me know when you know the date in June and I’ll do my best to make it J

Ivan and I were very impressed and enthused with the Parelli demo and we would like to hire one of your horses and take an hour Parelli lesson

We will be sponsoring Scotsburn Horse Trials this year including a couple of the jumps specifically. We will be eagerly watching the 225 competitors that have entered so far as they negotiate the ditch combination (we thought this was very apt as all our horses have to jump big ditches daily to come into work!), but most exciting of all will be watching them tackle the brand new log pile jumps at the top of the hill above the Scotsburn Log which we have sponsored in the name of our sister company MacDonalds Mobile Mills (for more info on having your timber sawn on your site go to www.highlandwildrides.co.uk for our contact details). These new log piles look particularly difficult and will pose a real challenge to riders as well as entertainment for spectators. They have very little clearance around them being wedged between some very mature and leafy Beech trees!

The weather is forecasted to be fantastic, dressage starts at 7.30am and we look forward to catching up with you all there for an action packed day!

Our 100% Eriskay mare, Cuill Pollei, has finally given birth to her long awaited foal out of Eriskay stallion Tobermory. She had a colt at 2am on the very stormy morning of 5^th of May 2009 which also happened to be part owner, Jonathon Wojtunik’s, thirtieth birthday! We have called him Tolstaidh as a name for everyday on the yard, but his show name is Deich ar Fichead which is Gaelic for thirty.

He is a decent size of a foal and full of beans. He is black at the moment with a pale grey muzzle but will eventually fade to grey like his parents over the next 5-8yrs.

Eriskays are very rare with only around 300 or so ponies having Eriskay blood in them. Every year there are only around 15 Eriskay foals born so Tolstaidh is a very important foal. His father is 95% pure Eriskay making Tolstaidh 97%. His mother is very rare as not only is she 100% but there are only 40 mares left that are completely Eriskay and she is the last mare of her bloodline. We will be looking for another 100% stallion for her this year so please contact us if you know of any that you think may be suitable.

For more information on Cuill Pollei go to www.highlandwildrides.co.uk and click on “ADOPTIONS”.

We would just like to wish the very best of luck to the pupils from Charleston Academy who have entered our competition to come up with a new business logo for Highland Wildrides. The winner will have their design reproduced on our literature, website, signs and on T-Shirts that will be on sale to the public. On top of this they will receive a prize of £50 Highland Wildrides vouchers to be used on any of our products.

We will announce the winner at the end of this month and look out for our new logo on www.highlandwildrides.co.uk

The Car Boot Sale was a huge success raising over £340 for our new Riding for the Disabled Group. Some of the sellers had excellent vans and stalls on their pitches and great deals on new and used products. We especially loved the bunnies and Giant Snails that were on exhibition and we look forward to receiving one of the Lion Head x Continental Giants from Morag’s Small Animals once he is old enough to leave his mother.

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who turned out for pitches or as shoppers. Your support was very much appreciated. We are hoping to make this an annual event and after such a successful first attempt we hope to see it grow rapidly in popularity over the next couple of years with everyone knowing that the best horsey bargains are found at our horsey boot sale!

For more information on future events at Highland Wildrides or other ways in which you can support our RDA group please go to www.highlandwildrides.co.uk and click on “Events and Offers”.

Our youngest member of the husky pack, Kramer, had his first paid job since appearing at Falls of Shin to deliver Santa to their Christmas fun day. He took out guests at Highland Wildrides for the first time, and we were delighted to see that he has got real “attitude” and a chance of becoming a lead dog!

He will now join the team on all of their Sled Dog Training Trips that are available at Highland Wildrides. We hope that he will soon lose his title as youngest as we are hoping to have more pups in mid June so watch this space or go to www.highlandwildrides.co.uk for pics and info!

Harry Hall kids hat and scarf set from Horse@HIS

Haylage from Mount Eagle Farm

Kids grooming and sticker set from Sarah Watt

Goody Bag from Wormers Direct

Goody Bag from Seaforth Saddlers including a numnah, silk, and gloves.

Pet Food Hamper from Morag Soska

Breyer stablemates set from Seaforth Saddlers

Equissage session from Sheree Dobson

Canine Reiki Massage from Norma Roche

Equine or human Reiki or Reflexology from Sue Wilson

Sled dog ride for two from Highland Wildrides

Own a Pony Day from Highland Wildrides

Selection of sauces from Caledonian Curry Company

There will also be something from Ross Shire Horse Talk who will also be bringing a selection of second hand and new goods in their van. Pet Pals will also be taking a pitch with their mobile pet shop.

The details of our next fund raiser, the Parelli Demo with Claire Adamson, have been confirmed. It will definitely be on Thursday the 7^th at 7pm. The following day we will be having a Play Day and Claire will be doing online lessons for up to two people at a time. At the moment I believe there may be no charge for these lessons, but donations to the RDA instead would be much appreciated.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

For full directions to Highland Wildrides go to www.highlandwildrides.co.uk

We have just had an excellent evening supporting the Scottish Casualties Network by hosting one of their training scenarios.

Scottish Casualties Network is a non profit making organisation, which provides Casualty Simulation Services and training support throughout Scotland to all types of organisations including; mountain rescue, voluntary first aid organisations, International rescue corps, hospitals and local councils.

Tonight their scenario was an RDA lesson that had gone badly wrong leaving many casualties with special needs littered across the riding school and all in need of first aid and reassurance. There were people with back injuries, obscure conditions, sight problems, and one lady in a wheelchair. The actors ranging from age 11yrs up were superb, the make up was unbelievably real, and the care they received from the first aiders that attended was spot on. It was obvious how important the Scottish Casualties Network is and how lucky we are that there are people out there who are prepared to hang out in riding schools in the cold to ensure that, someday if this really happened, everyone would be in good hands!

Our Murphy made his debut as a horse that had bolted (Ha! Murphy bolt?! That’ll be the day. Sounds far too energetic for him!) and got right into the part trying to add extra drama by attempting to roll when he was taken into the school to stand near a casualty on the ground who had supposedly been thrown off. We quickly persuaded him that it was overacting and we didn’t want any real casualties! The first aiders who attended immediately cleared the area of any further dangers so Murphy was asked to leave making his role rather minor but no less important!

We would like to thank everyone from Scottish Casualties Network for coming along and being so pleasant and enthusiastic, but more importantly for doing a really important job.

If you would like more information on the Scottish Casualties Network you can go to www.scottishcasualtiesnetwork.org.uk