Quality Draft and Draft-Cross Horses for Driving and Riding
News from Below...
...the View from a Mini Donkey
My name is Matilda and I am the editor of the News page at Christmas Wish Farm. Since I have the keenest hearing, not to mention the best grammar, spelling, and punctuation, I will be the one keeping you up to date with happenings around the farm. If you have any complaints, please contact Megan, because I'm sort of busy eating carrots and keeping my ear fuzz neatly groomed...
Learn about Donkeys and a project to rescue 120 unwanted ones from Hawaii at Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue
Trick or Treat
Halloween was sort of different this year, as kids from the barn asked if I'd like to dress up as the character 'Shrek' and go Trick or Treating with them. I agreed, but only on condition two of the kids would wear a donkey costume. After all, you can't go out without a donkey!
Here we are, ready to go collect carrots from local residents:
Devon Quadrille
Several of our friends from Second Nature Farms participated in DVCTA's Quadrille presented at Dressage at Devon to honor heroes of September 11th. Great job, ladies! You looked great. Next year you are doing it on donkeys, right?
I recommend you watch their Youtube video, where you will see a flag bearer riding Painted Rose. She's the dam of our stud Charlie's second foal, Painted Lilly. See her picture farther down this page.
CWF Goes to Press
My secret agents report that Christmas Wish Farm made the press twice recently! First, My Lady's Manor Driving Club selected a photo of Tanya driving the sporting tandem for its color ad in the American Driving Society's annual Buyers' Guide publication, distributed to all ADS members.
And I just learned that Driving Digest magazine just mailed its issue covering The Devon Horse Show, which reportedly also includes Tanya with the sporting tandem. Apparently, some people think it's a pretty nice sporting tandem, thank you very much.
Congrats to Charlie and Isabelle for making such an impressive tandem pair!
Laurels at Landhope
Our boy Chuck competed in his second CDE at the prestigious Laurels at Landhope event in Unionville PA. Read more on our Shows page.
Gratuitous Donkey Pics
Labor Day has come and gone, and that means summer is regretfully drawing to a close. To me that means it's a good time to post more donkey pics, because everybody loves a Fuzzy Donkey!
First, here is a picture of me and my beautiful ears in my cabin at summer camp.
I had a nice postcard from my cousins on the eastern shore of Maryland where I used to live. I wish I could visit them, but Mom and Dad got rid of the mini-van and I don't fit well in the car. I miss the gang down there, but at least I know they are being fed well now. Jeez, easy on the chips, ladies!
Finally, because one can never have too many donkey pics, there's this one of a distant relative up in Kish Valley, Mifflin county,
And Why Not Another Donkey...?
Well, I guess I have to tell you about the newest addition to our farm family and unfortunately she's not another mini donkey. Boo! Guess I'm going to have to talk with management about our recruitment program...
Eliron Exquisite is a 17 year old, classically-bred Arab mare acquired from a herd reduction at a long time breeder in New Jersey. As you can see, she is a flea bitten grey; Megan and I have encouraged her to keep her fleas to herself, thank you very much!
We'll put more info under Our Horses.
Too Much Fun for One Little Donkey
Hi, everybody! Matilda here, reporting in from my summer vacation, where I'm having too much fun for one little donkey. Rather than rave about the perfect weather or the ice cold drinks or the all night Donkey-dancing, I thought I'd bring you up to date with fun from around the home farm. The neighbor mule has been kind enough to send me photos via that social networking site everyone is talking about... 'Assbook'.
On July 2, some of the gang went to Horse Progress Days, held this year in Lancaster county. They saw these two cute boys who drove in from the mid-west. Next time I am in Indiana I may have to look up this pair... Wonder if they know how to do The Donkey?
We also met a pair of Norwegian visitors. We thought they won a toy stuffed horse at the ring toss, then we realized it was their FOAL. How embarrassing! Must be the milkman's kid... doesn't look a bit like either one of them.
On July 4th the weather continued hot hot hot. Charlie, Isabelle, and Megan all begged Mom and Dad for relief until they finally gave in and took them swimming. First Charlie and Isabelle had to drive through the water really, really fast so that Mom got splashed a lot.
Then Charlie was 'excused' back to the trailer so the mature critters could have a nice, quiet 'Adult Swim'.
The water was perfect and Isabelle said "That is nice on my knees".
After a few drinks, Meg and Scott got all silly and had to play 'I can splash bigger than you can', ending the Adult part of the Swim. It's a good thing I wasn't there... I have a Super Soaker and would get them all! Hee haw.
When they got back, naturally the big horses had to blab about their adventures in front of the kids. Pretty soon, the kids were bugging Dad and Mom to take them swimming too, even though Lefty had never even ridden a trailer... Please can we go swimming Mom? Can we get a pool Dad? When can we go swimming Mom? Phew. I'm glad I missed all that. Finally, everybody got sick of hearing them, so Poppy and Lefty got to go swimming too.
That's all the news for now. Check back for the next installment, sometime after I finish this Margarita!
What's This Devon Horse Show?
While I didn't get to go along, Isabelle and Charlie went to The Devon Horse Show as a tandem pair for the second year running. Read the full report on our Shows page. I just want to point out that not everything at Devon is a horse, and I now have photographic proof thanks to one of my spies. I've already started a letter to the show committee, so next year look for 'The Devon Donkey, Mule, and Horse Show'.
Another Foal
That Charlie has been busy! His second foal arrived at our friend's farm early on April 23rd and she has been named Painted Lilly. She's a very pretty filly with lots of white and a mostly white face, out of a little paint mare. They say she's very friendly and came right up to people arriving for their Easter Egg Hunt her first morning. She has nice, big furry ears, just like me and the Easter Bunny!
Thanks to our photographer friend Kathy King for the photos. See more in her online gallery.
Charlie's First Foal
Well, that would be a neat trick, wouldn't it? But the first foal from a breeding by Charlie hit the ground on April 11, 2011. The little stinker is another boy, just what we need around here. He looks more like his mother than Charlie... which may be a good thing.
Ok, I guess he is flashy, and he is closer to my size than some of the elephants (named MEGAN) around here. I just don't know that he really deserve his own website section already...
Tanya Coaches at Youth Clinic
Our "mom" Tanya spent the weekend coaching kids at an American Driving Society affiliated youth driving clinic held by our friend Pam Kister at Grey Horse Stables in York. Despite lots of rain and mud on Saturday, the kids were very enthusiastic if a bit wet. Sunday was dry and lots of great driving was seen! We hope to see this become an annual event, as there can't be enough opportunities to get new people driving... just so they aren't driving my little ass.
Charlie Visits Hofmann Center
In April, our resident stallion, Charlie, made his second trip to the Hofmann Center for Animal Reproduction, part of University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center. There he was trained on something called a 'phantom mare', and collected and evaluated for AI. The lab said "his numbers are good and he should ship with no problem", whatever that means. Sounds like boy stuff to me.
The staff there thought Charlie was a pretty cool character (I gave him some pointers on how to behave properly). They even asked for pictures for their "working stallion" album they show to vet students. I wonder why they don't want pictures of him chasing Oliver or plucking the fence, which is most of the work I see him doing?
Not in Kansas Anymore
Our friend Vince is spending some time living in Paris and has been sending us pictures of French draft horses that show tourists the sights of the city. Our favorite so far is this one taken near the Eiffel Tower. Looks an awful lot like a big version of our Isabelle.
