Dakota Fell

09/17/2025

The process of weaning begins with introduction of new things in an environment where their dams are present, as well as the herd close by. This allows our young stock to explore, learn and find comfort on their own without escalating pressure. These items as well as halters and lead ropes will only be left in the corral under supervision.
As you can see here, there are various measures of curiosity in each of these three foals; the most curious bold one is a filly who’s dam is a very laid-back mare that you can do anything with…this filly has mirrored her mother in temperament, but has the curiosity tenfold of her sire!
The c**t with the halter on is the youngest, and his mother is also very calm and friendly but not so inquisitive in nature and note his behavior; Very much like his mother! The c**t without a halter on is gentle but not overly interested in developing a relationship right now…. His mother is a mare that was raised on the fells in the UK… she and her c**t have very similar tendencies and temperament. Also this mare had a c**t last year, so a full sibling to the one in the video (without the halter on ) and the now yearling is very much an “in your pocket type”of gelding….. an example of the impact we can have on these young ponies; when we establish a solid foundation with consent and learning in a calm and quiet manner.
Never forget the impact of the mare in traits and temperament on the resulting foal. Too, often we focus on the stallion; equal focus should be placed on the mare for the desired outcome the following year.

09/16/2025

Five-year-old gelding DakotaFell RedCloud helping train the yearling geldings to pony behind him. So much you can do with a young horse before riding them.🙌💕

09/16/2025

As the hills brown, we prepare for the “farmers almanac” calling for……… a long, cold, snowy winter… relish the fall days and peace of the changing seasons….

09/13/2025

Approaching weaning time for this bunch……..

09/13/2025

Yes, love this…. We view anytime with the ponies as training time…. Any interaction always moves the relationship forward. I am guilty of beating myself up for not having a consistent schedule of working ponies . I’m trying to do better….. enjoy the journey the destination will arrive and may change along the way ❤️

You can get a lot done with a little time, creativity and desire

When it comes to training, consistency obviously is king. We all know that- but there are seasons of life that can make giving what a horse needs to them much more difficult than others. This is just part of life.

If you keep waiting for circumstances to be perfect, you’ll never get anything done! And then we face the tragedy of a life passing us by - a life of waiting rather than living.
Something is better than nothing!

Ideal circumstances can make for the best outcome, but sometimes “making do” teaches us a lot! Sometimes learning to work around helps us find what we’re made of, shows us the holes, and even produces different results than we expected for the better .

I don’t have an arena or much time to myself to ride my horses. But I’ve got two little kids with boundless energy, lots of curiosity, and a strong desire to get my horses worked. We are getting it done, learning a lot, having fun, and dare I say, making different than I wanted but still valuable progress.

09/09/2025

One of our very first foals… what a great home he has and what a great ambassador he is for the breed. Thank you, Lydia!

09/08/2025

yes!

Going Deeper -

“Don’t get your energy ahead of him,” Brent said. “It’s not “you go over there- it’s we go together.”

He talked to me about an encapsulating bubble of energy - it always flows from me to the horse and back, but it changes shape, direction and speed. The first directive is from here, then the lead rope helps keep us connected.

When I focused on this feeling, there was a world of difference in the bend and internal softness my horse was able to find. When I got lost in just the mechanics, I found a stiff and disconnected horse in front of me.

It never ceases to amaze me how much deeper the most basic things we do can get. We can look at the same piece and turn it over a million ways to find worlds upon worlds within, and in the process go so much deeper inside ourselves.

This really is the essence of horsemanship - not just technique or methods or theories, but the art of becoming the sort of person we were always meant to be - with the horse as our master teacher.

09/07/2025

working the yearling geldings ( with Red mentoring)..We like working young horses in group settings for security and confidence building…solid foundations through lots of groundwork….💕

09/02/2025

Read this twice….why some adult horses may have issues in the poll????? Should we slow down with that halter on foals…..hard tying, pulling hard on the lead to “teach them”……?????

09/02/2025

Thrilled to have two young mares in our herd by Geronimo!
Great job team Geronimo!
Wellbrow Primrose
Hades Hill Princess - on loan from Fiddlehead Fell ponies

Geronimo at the National Championships!

88 competitors had qualified for the Championships in the different classes. One in ten competitors either retired or were eliminated during the competition.

We had only one goal for the weekend. To get round without being eliminated and not be last!

It’s been a big year for our homebred grey stallion Hades Hill Geronimo. Although we had driven him a little a few years ago he had been more of a working stallion running with our mares for the past few years so it was always a big ask to start competing with him at 2 day events.This year he started at the North East Driving Club event at Feedale Farm as a test run to see if he could keep his head at a competition. Only 3 weeks later Geronimo was at his first National Qualifier at Hopetoun, one of the hardest things I have EVER done with a pony. All the while he has been running with 2 of our mares this summer.

Since our first competition 3 1/2 years ago, I’ve said that just getting to one of these events is an achievement. There are many things that can put a spanner in the works. Getting round in one piece comes next and everything else is a bonus.

We took our Dartmoor carriage for the dressage test and had compliments about our show harness ("nice to see a collar!"). We even managed a 9.5 mark for presentation from one of the judges!!

In the marathon, at obstacles 1, 2 and 3 he was brilliant , cantering in and out. Obstacle 4 was the water obstacle who was quite daunting - he’s only done water 3 or 4 times before, there were loads of spectators on the bank above us and a model elephant squirting eater through its trunk that we had to go through (someone has a sense of humour). We only managed a walk through most of the water obstacle but he never stopped or went backwards. Fred Pendlebury once told me that what you want is a horse thats brave, well I couldn’t have asked for more - with the crowd behind him (and a small uphill pull out of the water) ha managed a good strong trot up the bank to get out.

The cones course on daytime 3 was the hardest I have done. We cantered a good few sections of it but were still over the time allowed and I had far too many balls down (6) but we weren’t last again!

At the final score we were 16th out of 18th so a definite big win for us personally. This amazing little pony at only his 5th competition was brave and so determined. He had impeccable manners amongst all the other horses and did not put one foot wrong. He turned loads of heads, sparked much conversation and is the epitome of our philosophy of breeding for hardiness and temperament.

This is the most amazing community of people. Where else could a Novice be rubbing shoulder with National and World Champions? Drivers who have been competing for more than 40 years, all of whom are happy to help and share their knowledge.

Huge thanks to Simon Leach for being a brilliant groom. The amazing Ruby Gray for backstopping and getting us safely around the marathon course. Thanks to all the supporters who got in touch to wish us luck.

And the biggest thanks to Geronimo!
Well done little man. You have definitely earned your keep this year!

Photo 📸 Simon Leach
Coming out of the last obstacle at the end of the marathon (he still managed a canter out!)