Atlantis

We have been talking so much lately about our equestrian centre redevelopment that I decided it was time to get back to what we all love best – our fantastic team of horses.  So I thought you might like to know a little more about each one of them and have a little insight into their backgrounds and characters. I think we’ll go about it alphabetically, so I will start with Atlantis;

This handsome jet black boy is a Welsh Section D x Irish. He was home bred from Sophie, an Irish Cob mare who was one of my original trekking centre horses, bought when she was a five-year-old.

Having had a couple of fantastic Welsh Section D’s from a local breeder I went back to look again and found Capulate as a youngster. I decided to keep him as an entire at first, so I mated him with Sophie.

Sophie had a very calm nature and was one of the most comfortable horses I have  ever ridden, while Capulate’s nature is very forward going and invigorating. So I ended up with something calm and sensible but with a little bit of the X Factor about him.  From day one Atlantis was a bold and very affectionate youngster, aspects of his character which have stayed with him and he is now a great all-rounder.

We use him as a lead horse and he is trained for horseback archery, yet he is so sensible and lovely to ride that he is very popular and a great favourite with our experienced riders. He is always enthusiastic and eager to please his rider.

The only downside to this gorgeous and eye-catching boy relates to his conformation – he has a dipped back. Because of that I gave him plenty of time to mature and he wasn’t broken in until he was four and a half.

My vet and I keep a close eye on him and after the two of us talked it over I decided to impose a weight limit on him. Only riders who are under 10 stone are now allowed to ride Atlantis, as I want to keep him sound and make sure of his longevity. Still, it’s a great incentive to keep the chocolate consumption under control over Christmas!