Starlight Farm

31/03/2025

Hannah Ashwell and Starlight Jakeeta placing 4th in there first HT together 🤩 Marcus Ashwell Christine Fagan

30/03/2025

The riders ages between the ages of 11 and 17 all of these combinations jumped double clear in their classes at Matamata Horse Trials. Go team Starlight Farm 🤩

30/03/2025

Congratulations Alisha Macfarlane riding Starlight Jago to victory in her class at Matamata Horse Trials. Also Hannah Ashwell in a credible 10th place on Starlight Storm in her first 1.05m. Competition was tough, the venue was outstanding.

13/03/2025

It's so hard with the children growing up so fast. This pony is truely something special.

Pony for sale. 6 years old. Discipline: Dressage, Pony Club, Show Horses, Show Hunter, Show Jumping. Height: 144m. Breed: Performance Pony :Warmblood:Welsh. Country: New Zealand.

09/03/2025

26/02/2025

Woo hoo 🙌 love to see Starlight Django out there having a great time!

22/02/2025

Starlight Django and Maurice Beatson in the Silver Tour at Takapoto

20/02/2025

Twyla Ashwell and the homebred Quince in one of their 1m classes over the weekend.

20/02/2025

Starlight Ivahoe with Camryn Young dominating Cat C pony show hunter at Waitemata. Scoring 90% in both his first round and call back round in the Championship class. Javana Johnston and her ponies Starlight Samara and Starlight Sahara also dominating Cat A and Cat B ponies 🤩 https://www.facebook.com/share/12Mhaf83YJV/?mibextid=wwXIfr

20/02/2025

So exciting to see our horses and ponies competing successfully under different riders. Starlight Django is the second generation of our horses bred at Starlight Farm, by Damontez LS and out of Corlando mare Starlight Zing whose dam Natural Vision was my Young Rider horse when I was a teenager. Good luck Maurice Beatson and Starlight Django

https://www.nzequestrian.org.nz/2025/02/maurice-shoots-for-the-stars/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3-xFgDLvhKlNzqyGhQ2lMbnJdsP69fYYWlKg5LFhRvWVstQT7-ZZ1NGuM_aem_VaRiwjMrKcK8pYyARf4m-A

Feilding hosted their annual February show where Maurice Beatson came in hot. Whilst it was definitely not his first Property Brokers Grand Prix win, having won well over two hundred,...

19/02/2025

Starlight Farm horses and ponies making a splash at Te Teko

𝐓𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐤𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐎𝐧

Eastern Bay Showjumping and Showhunter Show 1-2 Feb 2025

The trees at the Te Teko Racecourse in Eastern BOP provided welcome respite for horses and riders alike, during a hot weekend, both in and out of the Show Hunter rings.
Waikato riders were to the fore, with Denise Collins and Miss Mandy taking recent consistent efforts to the next level early on. Their wins included the ESNZ Show Hunter Amateur High Points Series class, (first day) beating the well-fancied Hillman Hunter and fellow Waikato rider, Abby Fawcett. Abby turned that around taking out both NRM High Points Series classes, and the Canter for Cancer Open 1m Championship.
A small, uncharacteristic mistake during a beautiful round in Sunday’s ESNZ Show Hunter Amateur class was enough to relegate her to second again, this time behind yet another Waikato rider in Kirsten Pike on statesman Zig Zag. Kirsten is building momentum in the lead up to HOY, as is Maya Matthews, who, following a frustrating run, saw good results.
Maya quinella’d the EquiMatch Junior High Points (first day) and won the Auckland Show Hunter Groupd & Show Hunter Waitemata Junior Equitation & Seahorse Supplements Adult Equitation combined class (second day).
Representing Auckland, riders, Lauren Mitchell (Kumeu), produced some lovely rounds on Craighaven Black Heart, turning the tables and winning the EquiMatch Junior High Points (second day) and the Auckland Show Hunter Group & Show Hunter Waitemata Junior Equitation & Seahorse Supplements Adult Equitation combined class (first day). Minnie Davies on her two mounts also featured prominently.
Small pony riders Chloe Dickson and Javana Johnston dominated the Cat A classes at the weekend, with Chloe and Charis Master Ralph winning both Vero Insurance Cat A High Points classes, and Chloe and Javana a win a-piece in the Bay of Plenty Show Hunter Group & Waikato Show Hunter Groups 12 & under Equitation classes. Javana, aboard Starlight Samara, snuck in front of Chloe by one point in the Canter 4 Cancer Open Cat A Championship.
Javana continued the fine work on similarly named Starlight Sahara in the Cat B ponies, capping a run of seconds in the Canter 4 Cancer Open Cat B Championship class. Credit must be given to mum, Julia, and family for breeding and producing these two super pony mares and claiming their respective championships classes. Rose Kershaw and My Luna Eclipse won the Grains & Gains Co Cat B High Points on the first day, and Hannah Andrew on Mount Tulloch Fantail took out the same class on day two.
In the bigger pony classes, Kyra Purcell took out the Big On Writing Pony Equitation on the Saturday, but it was Camryn Young on super pony stallion Starlight Ivanhoe who made a clean sweep of proceedings. Not only did they take out the Big On Writing Pony Equitation on the second day, but collected both The Brave Pants Company Cat C High Points classes (one with an outstanding 90%) and the Canter 4 Cancer Open Cat C Championship.
Stalwarts Marilyn Vincent and Joan Couper did the honours in the judging boxes, with Marilyn also doing course design. The committe members provided a lovely show for all.

Pictured: Miss Mandy looking for a well-deserved treat and Denise Collins. Photo credit: Rebecca Wylie

Story by Claire Muirhead & the Jumping Team.

NRM Bay of Plenty Show Hunter Group Waikato Show Hunter Group Big On Writing Seahorse Supplements Seahorse Supplements The Brave Pants Company EquiMatch Grains & Gains Co Auckland Show Hunter Group Show Hunter Waitemata

16/02/2025

Very true, training is a slow process.

One critical truth about training horses is that on no given day is it possible to make much progress, but on any given day it is possible to set a horse substantially back, and, worst case, even possible to destroy a horse.

Improvement is as slow as watching grass grow, but one temper tantrum, one hard gallop, one big over-jumping session can scare or hurt the best trained horse.

Slow to make a well trained horse, but fast as a lightning bolt to ruin one. And after that has happened, no amount of regret can change it.

Watch grass grow, Nothing visible happens, Same with the daily, weekly horse schooling. It’s happening, but too gradually to see. But in keeping with the grass analogy, all that growth can be mown down in one instant.

No temper, no drama, much safer. Temper can be as lethal as a scythe blade.

27/01/2025

On our large property in the hills of the Waikato we are able to offer services for handling, starting, schooling/early education and milage undersaddle. Want a solid foundation for your horse to get out more, hacked out in a varied environment, confidently ridden with others and independently on its own and create a better partner and well rounded youngster ready for what ever discipline life has intended. Or if you have a young horse you would like us to bring back into work. Send me a message or call 0274 900 775