Gibbons Stables

12/05/2024

Another very successful season done and dusted!
Brae - 1st Last Chance Cup, 5th Pak N Save Cup
Cody - Pony Power Racing Stable Parade Cup and 2nd Last Chance Cup.
Alexis - Alexandra Park Driver of the Year, Alexandra Park Most Wins and Kumeu Supreme Driver of the Year
Cinnamon won Kumeu Pony of the Year
The ponies are all turned out and having a wee break for a couple of months. They will then be coming back into ridden work to get fit before next season!

02/04/2024

Awesome weekend away in Hawera where the ponies and drivers did themselves proud!
Salt and Alexis came away 3rd in the 400m cup series with 3 wins out of 8 races.
Ty and Cody struggled with the distance (600m) on the grass against some seriously fast 800m ponies but I was super proud of them and Ty trotted the whole way.
Gus and Brae were in same race as Ty and also struggled with the distance and faster ponies but did manage to pick up a couple of placings.
Cinnamon and Luca did us proud, Luca drove her great and did the best he could. I really should of put her in the 400m with Salt as the fast running 600m was too much for her. Will know that for next time.
Star (club pony) and Maisie did very well in the Novice Driver 400m cup and came away 2nd in the series with many placings.

A huge shout out to Horselands for the loan of their massive float! Made the trip so much easier thn hauling a truck around!

28/03/2024

Massive day yesterday! Left home at 8:30am, had major issues with the float fishtailing every time I went over 60km. Got as far as Manukau and had to turn around and go back to Kumeu to try reload. Thank goodness its the type of float where you can move the dividers and stand them anywhere. Moved ponies and load around, put heaps more pressure in tyres on car and float and away we went! Took 2 hrs to get to Bombay thanks to bloody traffic but once out of Auckland it was smooth sailing!
Rest stop for ponies in Pio Pio for a snack and drink and then back on the road!
Arrived at Motel in Hawera at 8:30pm. Unloaded ponies, rugged them up and threw them in the paddock. Threw kids in the motel and rushed to Woolworths to get food until Saturday then back an in bed at 11pm!
Lack of photos as co-pilots kept sleeping!

24/03/2024

No Fus Gus
Gus has been out on the track too but has been battling muscle soreness too. Hes picked up a few placings along the way. This weekend he showed he's back on form where he worked incredibly! He's ready for Hawera!

24/03/2024

Little Miss
Cinnamon has had a great season so far, wins and placings for different drivers! She had an eye ulcer a month back but recovered quickly. Such an awesome wee gal! Looking forward to seeing what she's got down in Hawera!

24/03/2024

Salt Lake City
Salt had his first race start a couple of weeks ago, he won both his races! Super proud moment! From the wild lightly handled stallion that arrived 2 years ago, to an unbelievable wee gelding who loves to work and race! I'm sure Alexis was absolutely stoked too as she's put in a lot of hard work with him and then he goes out and wins for her!
Friday night he had his second start, first race with Brae and to top it off, a Cup race! They pulled out a nice 2nd with little effort! Slow and steady definitely wins the race!
Bring on Hawera this weekend!

24/03/2024

Pencoed Tirion
Ty has been out this past month due to soreness. He has been receiving Contact Care from Robyn and treatment from Freya at Symmetry in Motion.
He is feeling much better and back on form heading into the Easter weekend at Hawera. He had a great workout yesterday where he showed some of the speed we had been missing!

24/03/2024

It's been a hot minute!
Instead of a massive novel of an update, I'll just pop some pics up of our adventures so far this year! From hacking out, to injuries, to the arrival of the new galloper filly plus some awesome racing wins and placings!

08/12/2023

3 in tonight
2 of them having a sleep right as we need to start getting ready!

10/11/2023

What a great first race back!
All 3 ponies behaved impeccably with no dramas!
Cody and Cinnamon won both races, Brae and Ty were 3rd in both races. Gus was a bit sore but still ran home 6th and 7th for Alexis. Not a bad night considering this was the first time racing these ponies for all drivers! Super proud of them all!

08/11/2023

Been a bit quiet on the updates as of late but I can assure you, we have been ticking along nicely. With 7 horses/ponies in work there has been little time for updates!

We have 3 ponies racing this Friday at Alexandra Park! This is our first race of the season!
Brae with Tirion (Ty)
Cody with Little Miss (Cinnamon)
Alexis with No Fuss Gus (Gus)

04/09/2023

Story of my life.... except its 9 🤦‍♀️

03/09/2023

Kidz Kartz is back for the 2023-2024!
A couple of changes over the past few weeks to the pony herd.......

Quagmire headed off to his new forever home where he will be well and true loved! We were sad to see him go but reality was we just didn't have the time to break him to cart.

We have also welcomed a new pony to the herd.
The very cute Cinnamon has completed a season of light racing and is now ready to up her game.

Today was the first day back for kidz kartz training. We are very lucky to have the awesome Alexis helping us this season.
Alexis also comes and helps with the horses every Thursday and Friday and I'm so very grateful! With 9 horses, it becomes very time consuming so being able to have a couple of days a week where I don't have to worry about the horses is great.

06/07/2023

The boys are wanting to focus on their bigger ponies so it's time for Quagmire to find a new home! Spread the word people! Keen to move him on.....

Meet Quagmire, a spunky approx 10.2hh, about 12 years old (aged by vet) coloured gelding. We got this boy in January with the hopes of starting him in the ca...

01/07/2023

I've had a fairly good run over the years without any major injuries....... thanks to Shania, that run has ended 🙄
Shania somehow sliced her hind leg open in the paddock. Only thing we can think of is she's kicked out and got her leg through the post and rail fence (hind leg on her blind side).
So she's come home to be stabled for a while and Squaw and Quagmire have headed out to keep Theodore company. Our awesome vet Sophie came out and cut the flap off.
On the good news front, since putting shoes on Squaw, she is now sound and happy! Her abscess is still draining but we are heading in the right direction!
I've put the photo of Shania's wound in the comments for those of you with week stomachs........

18/06/2023

A huge shout out to my amazing husband for building this massive yard!!!
Just in time for winter! Makes a huge difference being able to get the horses and ponies out of the mud!

18/06/2023

Theodore and Shania headed off-site to graze at my friend's place for her daughters to dote on for a bit. Her daughters are living their horsie dream!!!!Both horses met for the first time and then cruised off together quite happy like they have known each other for years.
Lakota and Squaw will join them in a couple of weeks once Squaw's abscess has healed. But for now, she's on box and yard rest to keep her out of the mud and is wearing a boot to make her more comfortable. Will also give me a chance to get on top of her mudfever.
Mudfever has been bad for so many horses this summer thanks to the warm weather and rain!! Theodore had it too when he arrive but his was cleared up within a week with my magic potion 😁

17/06/2023

Shania
Now this girl is a bit special.
I've known Shania since she was a foal. I even rode her a few times as a young horse. I was also lucky enough to have had her mother Madonna for many years until she passed away peacefully at a very old age.
Shania had a very successful career in both showjumping and polocrosse - in NZ and Australia!She has also produced some stunning foals!Shania has the same lovely nature as her mother! I actually used to use Madonna to give rides to special needs children as she was so quiet.
Shania lost an eye a couple of years back due to cancer but this doesn't effect her in any way.
Im so very pleased to have been able to give this girl a wonderful retirement too. She will also spend her time eating, being fussed over and the odd ride.

17/06/2023

The beautiful Squaw.
Such a sweet quiet nature and has settled in well.
She had a successful career as a polocrosse horse and played in both Australia and New Zealand. She was then retired to the broodmare paddock where she has produced some very nice foals.
She is now retired and will enjoy her time eating, being fussed over and the odd ride around the paddock.

16/06/2023

If you have 6 then what's 2 more!!
Welcoming the 2 new girls!
Shania (grey) and Squaw (chestnut). More info on these gals to come - both deserve an individual post.
And look how clever and amazing my husband is building me a new yard to help house all the equines 🤣

26/04/2023

Final post for the day.......
Lakota was lonely and felt like a giant amongst the small ones..... so I got her a friend.........
Meet the stunning Theodore (named by Brae).
A beautiful 5yo 15hh standardbred gelding. Will be great having a big horse to work in the cart with the ponies next season. Over the winter break he will enjoy a bit of hacking and maybe the odd show.

26/04/2023

Bit of a sad day yesterday as we said goodbye to the lovely Supermoon. He's headed off to a great home where he will be given the job of babysitter and being a travel companion. His new owner will also work on him as a riding pony. It's always hard saying goodbye but I really feel this is the perfect home with for him where he will be given the time he needs.

26/04/2023

And that's a wrap!
Kidz Kartz is done for 2022-2023 season. What a great season we have had considering we had a lot of disruptions throughout.
Ty and Gus raced their hearts out and massive improvements were seen.

Huge shout out to our amazing farrier Lewis from Sharp Farrier Services for keeping the many hooves in great form and to Robyn from RLT Contact Care for keeping the herd feeling physically and mentally great.

Ty and Gus will enjoy a few months rest before coming back in around August.
We will use the winter break to work on Salt and start Quagmire in the cart.
And Lakota may even make a few appearances at some local winter shows 😉

27/08/2022

Supermoon headed off to the breakers a couple of weeks ago to be started under saddle. From the updates I've had, he's progressing well. Hoping to pop out and see him in a couple of weeks time.

06/07/2022

Been a while since we last had an update.....
And bare with me, it's a long one!

Wee Jack is doing really well in his retirement home and is very much loved by both the humans and his needy Thoroughbred mate.
Zero has landed on his feet and I love seeing updates on FB of his adventures!

Tank, Ty, Gus and Vamana have all been enjoying a well deserved holiday. They will be coming back into work at the end of the month in preparation for the new kidz kartz season.

Supermoon and Salt
These boys are really settling into their new lifestyle. Salt just loves attention and is super nosy. He has now checked off all basic handling/ground skills. I really rate this guys attitude and I'm really looking forward to starting him under saddle and in the cart soon.
Supermoon is still rather cautious and at this stage I am the only one who he will allow near him, and that's OK, all in his own time. He has mastered all handling/ground skills except picking his feet up. I'm working on this quietly and not rushing him. It's really important that we gain his trust through all these processes, especially as in the future he will be handled by children.

I said a very sad farewell to my beautiful Delta a couple of months back. She has headed north to be a farm hack for a lady returning to riding and by the photos I have been receiving, she's completely loving it and being very well looked after. Super happy to have been able to slip her into this home.

Which brings me to the introduction of a new horse who arrived over the weekend.
Meet Aquila. A beautiful 14.2hh 6yo palomino Appaloosa cross mare. She has been beautifully prepared/started and I'm really looking forward to our future full of adventures! (And yes, clipping is on the cards this weekend 🤣)