Off Piste Riding - Horse Riding Holidays Exmoor and Devon

LATEST NEWS:		[updated 22/08/10]



Little Henry has now settled into some light work. Now Henry has celebrated his 3rd Birthday we have settled him into some light work. Jemimah has done an excellent job at backing him and he is developing into a super mount. Here is an up to date photo of Henry.





Glory and our guest Lauren take a swim! During this lovely hot spell we have been taking the horses for a swim in the river. Poor Glory lost his footing and both he and Lauren went for a dip! Fortunately no harm was done as Glory kept calm and Lauren had a great sense of humour. They soon 'drip dried off' and enjoyed a good ride home.





The guests and horses love these sunny days. We have been having great fun in the river albeit everyone gets a bit wet! As you can see from these pictures they all love it although Storm likes to go in the deepest!







An ex Grand National champion joins the Off Piste stable Supreme Glory, (please see about the horses) has joined the stable at Longham. He is a lovely fellow and as you would expect a strong, fast ride. Now he has settled in a few guests have ridden him and he is already establishing himself as a firm ‘winner’ in the yard.





This photo was taken on Saturday 16th Jan. As you can see we can now get the horses out and get them 100% fit again. We still have big drifts at the side of the roads but it is melting fast. We have been snow and ice bound since before Christmas so it is fantastic to be able to get out riding again.







Well - like the rest of the country the snow has really hit Longham Farm. This is a view taken on the 7th January 2010 from the stables. In truth it has been a 'character building time' as it has been so snowy and icy that we cannot get the horses out beyond their stable and a trip to the horse walker. In addition we have not had water in the yard so we have had to fill the tanks up via the farm house. However, the horses are warm and happy if not a little bit 'on their toes' as they long to get out and have a stretch. Sadly, it would seem we are forecast more snow this week ie 12th/13th January. As Dave would say "Happy Days".









Our 'love bugs' Emma Gravett and Sam Plumbe who got engaged last year while on a riding holiday with us are 3 weeks away from getting married. Our 'star' horses George and Ryan are making a guest appearance at their wedding in Norfolk on the Saturday 26th September. They will be at the church when the newly weds exit and will carry them to the reception. As a slight pre-amble Emma and Sam visited Longham Farm recently ie the weekend of (5/9) and galloped on the beach. Above is a 'mad' picture of the two of them on Ryan and Ski Seal. We have named it 'love bugs' practicing for the 'Grand National'! We will keep you posted as to how the happy day goes.





George decided that the failure of his Scargill picket (please read the story below) that he would try another tactic. His next example of displeasure was to lie in the stream at the bottom of the farm gate in a 'super sulk' and wallow like a hippo. Now he is no longer an elegant grey horse but a dark bay. But we still love him!



Horses forming a 'picket line'!



This picture is taken from the inside of our horse lorry on Saturday 13th June. As you can see George and his best mate Ryan have formed an 'Arthur Scargill' picket line of protest in the drive preventing Dave and the guests from leaving the farm. I suppose it is hard to understand why you are left in the sunshine to rest and your mates are going out riding with the guests. So, the only way you can make your displeasure of being left out known is to firmly plant your hooves in the drive and refuse to move which is exactly what these two naughty horses did. Bless them! As you can imagine Dave gave them plenty of loud encouragement to help move them on their way!



Here are the Off Piste horses having a well earned snooze in the lovely Spring sunshine:



Spring has arrived at Longham Farm and bookings are going well. The months of May and June are very booked up. Our new horse Benson has had to have 'box rest' due to a visitor sadly riding too close to him and striking into his back leg. We hope to have him back in work by mid May. All the other horses are looking well and very happy. Due to this lovely Spring weather we have them turned out now and they are enjoying the sun on their backs. George and Zeberdee were featured in The Field magazine in March so they are gloating in their celebratory fame.


Ellen and Benson


Tonto having a well earned drink!


Snowy tacked up and raring to go!

Snow! We have had two big dumps of snow at Longham. These pictures give you and idea of the severity of the snow, but also of the fun we have had!



The first snowfall date is etched in the snow by these snowy hoof prints. The other three pictures were taken after the second snowfall on Friday 6th February.








A Cold Start to 2009 2009 has got off to a very cold start at Longham Farm which has meant frozen water in the yard and limited exercising of the horses due to the icy conditions. We are thankful for the horse walker which has enabled us to keep the horses ‘ticking over’. The weather change and thaw is a welcome friend and has brought with it the sound of the telephone ringing with guests booking for the start of our season – April/May. In fact May is already virtually fully booked and June is looking busy too. We have a few horse changes in the yard with the addition of two new horses – Punchey a dark bay 16hh thoroughbred and Bert a 16.2hh chestnut warm blood. We are working with both of these horses to get them to be fit and ready for the Off Piste season. Naughty Boy has gone to a nearby yard and Mary has been sold to a very nice man near Chard. Whilst we were sorry to sell them we are secure in the knowledge that they have both gone to very good homes. George has wintered well and as you can see from this photo he is as cheeky as ever.





Ryan is in good health and form as are all the other horses and we are looking forward to the Spring when we can get out riding in better conditions.



For those of you who have met our dear foal Henry – you will be pleased to know he is growing into a big strong fellow. The farrier attends to his feet every 6 weeks and he is 100% halter broken and very easy to handle. He will be 2 years old in July, so we plan to do a bit of work with him this Summer and start to make the first steps towards him becoming part of the Off Piste team. You will see from the picture below (taken last Summer) that he already gets on very well with the other horses!







An Off Piste Proposal On the 20th September Sam Plumbe proposed to the lovely Emma Gravett in a peaceful wood while spending a weekend at Off Piste Riding. This is our first Off Piste proposal and we feel thrilled we were part of this special occasion. Laughter and champagne flowed into the early hours once we got home. This photograph shows a happy Emma a few minutes after Sam had proposed. The reason Sam is not in the photo is because he had dismounted Cassie and had got down on bended knee in front of Emma and 'Naughty Boy' to ask for Emma's hand. Congratulations Sam and Emma. We think a horse drawn carriage is a must for the wedding and Cassie and Naughty Boy are already excited and can't quite decide what they will wear for your wedding day!


Off Piste Riding Limited - Registered office: Longham Farm - Cove - Tiverton - Devon - EX16 7RU - 01398 331496 - Company no: 5863569	Site Credit