Semester 1 of university flew by with it being great to get home for six weeks over June/July for exam period (the joys of online exams!) and holiday period. I got some outstanding exam results which I was stoked with considering how long it has been since I was last in study mode let along doing sciences! Disappointingly I didn't make the cut through to vet which was certainly not in the plans. A quick reshuffle saw me enrolling into the Animal Science degree to get me through to next years vet selection as unfortunately they do require continued study until then. Whilst it is gutting being down here not doing vet it is all useful knowledge to prepare me for future vet papers.
The horses at home are all wintering well with fluffy coats. The foals saw themselves being weaned whilst I was home which all went smoothly. Princess has taken on the role of nanny in prep for when she has her own baby and she has taken to her new role very well with Jet becoming quite fond of her. Our rising four year old mare Countessa RF has been progressing well with being started under saddle and is ready for viewings - I snuck in a quick ride (video) before heading back to uni and she was a darling.
Once the holidays ended it was back off down to Palmerston North, this time with my cat Lucky and dog Xena in tow! I love having them down here making my house feel much more like a home although it was a big learning curve for Xena having to become a civilised town dog going on her daily walks. When I moved I was expecting to struggle with the chilly temperatures over winter but it actually hasn't been too bad and its been great not having quite as much rain as we would usually get up in Auckland. I think cold sounds more appealing than continual rain! Although I really lucked out during my holiday period getting probably the best weather of winter for Auckland with some nice fine days and minimal rain.
Meanwhile on the competition front; our lovely young stallion Burley RF (picutred above) headed off to his first competition outing at Takapoto with Logan Massie at the end of July showing off his lovely temperament to everybody whilst taking everything in his stride. And up in Auckland Lorelle RF is doing well with Dani Mason back out competing after having a short winter break whilst I was home. Lorelle is fit and ready to find her new home now.