Gemini Update

02/10/07 - Well, it's been an interesting summer, what with Gemini's leg injury, and the terrible weather, making training even more difficult than normal. Gem's last race was at Gt. Yarmouth on August 9th. The ground was fast, and although it was cold and threatened rain, it managed to stay dry, which was a blessing! Gem was left several lengths at the start, but finished a commendable 4th.

Mark, his young jockey, seems to have grown in leaps and bounds this year, and sadly, is now really too tall to carry on race riding ponies, so Jo and myself have made the decision to retire Gemini from racing, partly because of Mark's height, but also Gemini is 15 years old this year, and he has completed 4 years of racing, which is more than your average race horse does at a much younger age, so we think Gem deserves a hopefully long and happy retirement. At the moment he is out at grass, and soon he will be coming in for the winter, and will be ridden, hunted and much loved by a young girl called Catherine, who has been a great Gemini fan and follower over the years, and I know they will have loads of fun together!

It's been a great experience, and a huge learning curve for all of us who have been involved with Pony Racing, and I certainly hope it is here to stay and will continue to grow in popularity, as it has over the last four years, and will produce some top British jockeys which is the main aim.

Linda

04/05/07 - We went off to High Easter on March 24^th for Mark’s first ride; it was freezing & blowing a gale, not to mention persistent horizontal drizzle! Both Mark & Gem were frozen! However, there were only 4 brave souls in the race, and Mark finished in second place, much to his credit, & therefore qualifying for the Fakenham finals on May 20th High Easter is a sharp course with bend & a hill to finish, & Mark got a bit unbalanced & tired towards the end, but learnt a huge amount & was looking forward to his next outing; disaster then struck, there were not sufficient entries for the Cottenham race, so that was cancelled, so he was entered for Fakenham on the 29^th April. and sadly Gem managed to pick up a viral infection (no, he didn’t catch it from me!) so had to be withdrawn from that race, which leaves him in the finals at Fakenham on the 20^th May & Newmarket the following week at the Countryside meeting, which will be the first race for him & Mark in the Charles Owen sponsored summer series. I will keep you posted on Gem’s health & anything else of interest that comes up.

13/03/07 - Gemini & Mark are in the full flow of training now ready for their first outing at High Easter in Essex, on Saturday 24^th March – so less than 2 weeks to go! Mark has a super write up in the April edition of the “Pony” magazine, which includes a piece on the riding school & some of our horses, mainly Barney, who has a good photograph in the article.

Well, we shall have to wait to see how this new partnership fares on the racecourse, before we decide where we go next.

07/11/06 - The pony race final at Aintree seemed to loom up really quickly; we did have some last minute hitches, as Noel took his good horse Frank Sonata to France, on the same weekend, and most inconsiderately took his own lorry complete with Sarah, who usually leads Gem up, Megan, and her friend Catherine, who are arch supporters, with him! We ended up having to hire a lorry, which worked out well in the end.

Kevin, Mark, who was thrilled because he got to lead Gem up, Jack, our friend Jacqui & me set off at the crack of dawn to be at Aintree for the course walk at 11am, and Jo, with a much depleted entourage, followed on in the lorry with the pony. Although it was a bit blustery, the rain held off until after racing was over, which was a great bonus. Charles Owen, the pony race series sponsors, hosted a marvellous day out, and spoilt us with a superb buffet, and lots of drink for those fortunate enough not to have to drive home!

Both pony races were very exciting; there are loads of photos on www.ponyracing.info/. The child jockeys have so improved since the start of this series, and there was some really first class race riding; I think a huge thank you to the sponsors & both the racing schools for their enormous input which clearly is helping to educate our future jockeys. Gemini did not run particularly well, as he dislikes the soft going, and 9 furlongs is a bit far for him, but having said that we were all really proud of Jack, who rode an excellent race; Jack has now made the decision that he will not pony race again, as he wants to make a career of race riding, so he is going to Ireland to ride out for the summer to gain experience on that side of racing. I am positive that this is because oft the influence of pony racing, as Jack was about to give up riding when pony racing first started, so, let’s wish Jack luck & watch this space!

Gemini is now having a well earned rest back in Chippenham, and in December he will be taken over by Mark Marris, who is a keen rider, from a totally non horse background, and has been helped on his way by Charles Owen. Mark will qualify him for the Point to Point series, hunting with the Newmarket & Thurlow, and hopefully, all being well, will be able to race him next year, and as Mark is an active member of Soham Pony Club, will I’m sure be doing other Pony Club activities with him too.

We will see how it goes, as Gem is now a senior citizen at 14 years old; and anyway, who knows what is round the corner, that’s what keeps life interesting!

14/09/06 - We were blessed with fine weather at Huntingdon, even if it was a little breezy! The first pony race passed without incident, and was won by Clonross Star ridden by Georgina Andrews. Gemini’s race was, as usual, the last on the card, with a big field. Sadly, at the start, a pony bolted, complete with jockey, and ran the whole distance round the course before it could be stopped, as so had to be disqualified, which was a huge disappointment to all those involved. The race started, and Gemini was up with the leaders, and then round the home bend took the lead, hotly pursued by Silver Mist Lady, who was second to him at Huntingdon last year; however the tables were to be turned this year, as Silver Mist Lady gave Gemini a really tough run for his money, and beat him into second place by half a length.

It was a very exciting race, and I think the general opinion is that the longer length races, now mostly 9 furlongs, gives the jockeys much more tactical riding to think about, which is what racing is all about.

Next and final race for the year is Aintree on Saturday October 22^nd which are all looking forward too immensely.

18/08/06 - Gemini seems to be in fighting form ready for Huntingdon! He had a good holiday, eating and getting very fat; he came in to get ready for Pony Club, but unfortunately went slightly lame – he probably heard he might have to do some work! – So he couldn’t go. He did, however, go to the British Racing School for a days training with Mark Marris on board; Mark is an aspiring pony race jockey, who is being sponsored by Charles Owen, the main pony race sponsors. Mark had a wonderful day, learning loads about racing. I wouldn’t say that Gemini’s halo shone brightly, as he was a bit naughty round the gallop, going much faster than anticipated, luckily he managed to pull up without doing any damage, and thought he had been a very clever pony!

The summer seems to be flying by, and here we are with the last bank holiday round the corner, with Huntingdon looming. The race will be at 5.40pm on Monday 28^th so we will look forward to seeing some of you there.

30/05/06 - Saturdays weather was a repeat of last Sunday, wet, cold and miserable! Headquarters of racing is fairly impressive, though, even in the rain. The new Rowley mile stands leave you in no doubt that this is an important place, and a new chapter in history was in the making – the first ever pony race to be run on this hallowed turf! It was a grand occasion for as mere mortals of the horse world, having a runner at Newmarket, and also having the representative from Charles Owen, who are the sponsors of all of this series of pony racing, who have made all this possible.

Miraculously, about an hour before the pony racing was due to start, the rain stopped; I wouldn’t go so far as to say the sun came out, but it did stop raining! Sadly, in our race there were 3 non runners, including Tipsy Flint, who beat us at Stratford last year, and went on to win the finals at Aintree; we were looking forward to another head to head, but I guess we will just have to wait.

The race time came round quickly, and Gemini went done to the start very calm; we were worried that he thought he was just going for a jolly round the heath, but we needn’t have bothered; as soon as they were off he was down to business, and handled the going much better than last week, and again took the lead early, and won by eight lengths, and so became the first race pony winner, along with Clonross Star with Georgina Andrews on board, who won the 138 cm race in great style, to win at Newmarket, so Gemini & Jack have qualified for the finals Aintree on October 21^st. By the bye, I think Jo Quinlan’s training record is pretty impressive, 4 runs, 4 wins, this year, how many other trainers can claim a 100% record?

Gemini is now having a well earned rest before he gets back to work with his other hat on, to grace Soham Pony Club with his presence at camp, before he becomes a race pony again, for his next outing which is at Huntingdon on August bank holiday Monday!

I will post some more photos in due course, and keep you up to speed with Jack & Gem’s diary. That’s all for now, let’s hope we have some warmer weather, and even a bit of sunshine! I’m sure Gem will enjoy his break what ever the weather does, as long as he has plenty of grass, and his pal Merlin to play with!

23/05/06 - Wall to wall grey, and heavy rain completed a soggy Saturday, and Sunday didn’t seem to be much better! Gemini hates getting wet, (he’s far too precious!) and likes the top of the ground, so we set off to Fakenham feeling slightly despondent.

Fakenham racecourse is on top of a hill, and was more like winter racing than early summer, some of the ladies had dressed up for the occasion and looked frozen! The first pony race had a bit of a delayed start, as one pony misbehaved and unceremoniously deposited the jockey, and went for a gallop round on its own. Sadly, there was a false start, as two ponies took off, and all braking systems failing, had to be withdrawn from the race. The race was finally won by Clonross Star ridden by Georgina Andrews.

Luckily the bigger ponies behaved slightly better, and went down to the start with no real problems, and it even managed not to rain. Gemini got a good break, and was in the first three from the start, took the lead from around a furlong, and never was challenged. He won in great style by 8 lengths, so finally Jack and Gemini have won a championship! Jack was presented with a large trophy, a beautiful bronze of a horse jumping, a large rosette, and an engraved wine glass!

There was a great atmosphere, every one was yelling and cheering, in fact most of the race goers seemed stay for the pony racing – it really does seem to be popular. Now we have Newmarket next Saturday, so we shall have to wait and see if Gem and Jack can repeat their performance on home ground!

A beaming Jack

The Presentation

28/04/06 - How lucky were we with the weather on Sunday, it was positively tropical – well almost! High Easter course was in great shape; the clerk must have worked really hard to achieve such good going, as we had had so little rain, and those awful cold drying winds, which, thank goodness decided not to blow on Sunday!

Gemini, and the Quinlan family were all on good form; Noel had a runner at Newbury, Frank Sonata, so was unable to come with us, but – as we were in the parade ring, there is a white lorry coming up the single track into the lorry park, bearing in mind our race is at the end of the days racing, so lots of lorries are heading off home, or, in this case trying to; There is a huge cloud of dust from the unmade track, and maybe somewhere a wild west theme was playing, as this white lorry puts all the attempting outgoing lorries into reverse, and this strange scene evolves, as several lorries go backwards down the track with, yes, you’ve guessed it, Mr Quinlan, complete with his good racehorse, fresh from the John Porter group 3 race, make it into High Easter lorry park, as Jack & Gem are just off down to the start! Luckily, Noel’s adventure was worth it, as Jack rode a cracking race, to win by several lengths, and the whole Quinlan family, complete with the unfortunate Frank Sonata, were there to share in the glory!

Off to Fakenham on May 21^st for the final of this series next, followed swiftly by Gem’s first outing of the summer series at Newmarket on the 27^th May! Exciting isn’t it? Will keep you posted on Jack and Gem’s progress.

18/03/06 - Well, I have to say it was absolutely freezing at Cottenham, but in spite of the biting Easterly wind, loads of folk stayed to watch the pony racing. There was a bit of a hold up at the start and I think all the jockeys and ponies were in danger of turning into blocks of ice! However, Gem got a good break, and flew off in second place, and was soon in the lead, fighting off the challenge of “Pepsi” who was being admirably piloted by Georgina Andrews; He won the battle, in spite of Mum/trainer, Jo’s reservations that at 14 years old he (Gemini, not Jack!) may be loosing some of his speed; he looked as fast as ever to me, but of course only time will tell! He has now qualified for the final at Fakenham, which is on Sunday May 21^st the week before Newmarket. He probably will have a race next at High Easter on April 22^nd, but I will confirm this nearer the time, meanwhile, Jack has a busy Easter break taking part in pony club mounted games, and other various activities!

14/03/06 - I must apologise for not updating the Gemini story for a while, but we have had a bit of a tricky time since Christmas with staff problems and sickness, both horses and people. Sadly I had to have my old retired competition horse Zep, put down, as he had cushings, which was gradually taking it’s toll on him at his great age of 29 years. He had an exciting life, followed by a well earnt long retirement, but still it was a sad day.

We have had a very strange winter weather wise, so here’s hoping it doesn’t stop the Cottenham point to point, as Gemini is due to race there this coming Saturday March 18th. He is on top form and raring to go! I will keep you posted what dates he will race next, but there is a pony race at Newmarket on May 27^th we are hoping to take part in.

Watch this space for a news update!

01/11/05 - Well, that was an exciting end to our race season! Saturday dawned wet & grey, Jo drove the lorry to Aintree, leaving Newmarket at the crack of dawn (or possibly before!) complete with the family. We all met at Aintree at various times preceding the race. There was a very good atmosphere, and Richard Pitman was going around the pony lorry park doing interviews with the kids.

Before we knew it the first pony race was on; this year a brave lady on a hunt horse escorted the ponies to the start which really helped. Millie ridden by Annabelle Heath from Hereford country stormed in to win the 13. 2’s in great style. Then it was Gemini’s race. Jack was quite nervous, he was worried Gem would take off going down to the start, but he needn’t have worried as the hunt lady helped to keep them steady. Unfortunately, down at the start things were not quite so good, and the starter had a really difficult job on; 2 of the ponies took a “flyer” and the starter had to quickly set off the others who were a bit left behind, Jack & Gem included. However, Jack rode a really good race to finish 5th out of a field of 11. The winner was the pony that beat him at Stratford, Tipsy Flint with Rhys Flint on board, second was last year’s winner Fitzwarren ridden by Oliver Murphy and third was Silver Mist Lady ridden by Jake Greenall, who Jack & Gem beat at Huntingdon this year. All the kids were given a beautiful engraved silver plate as a memento, and all will be sent a video of the race, so all things considered it was far better organised this year, a great part of this is undoubtedly due to the generous sponsorship of Charles Owen Hats, who have been very involved from the start of this years race series.

Gemini is as I write this, languishing in a field at home, having a little recuperation, before heading to the hunting field during the Xmas holidays.

03/10/05 - Gemini is now back in full throttle ready for the Pony Race final at Aintree on Saturday 22^nd He seems to have enjoyed his little break, and looks really well and ready to run. Jack is keeping fit riding 2 ponies every day after school, but soon he will have to start riding early in the morning before school because of the light. Let’s hope they are both on top form for Aintree!

13/09/05 - A damp miserable start to the day at Stratford racecourse turned into a reasonably sunny afternoon; however the amount of previous rainfall had left the going on the soft side, which, as it turned out Gemini did not find to his liking. Coming round the bend he stumbled slightly, then proceeded to jump the small road crossing, thoroughly unbalancing himself, but still managing to finish a creditable second. The winner was a Welsh contingent called Tipsy Flint ridden by Rhys Flint who ran a really good race. We all had a thoroughly good day, and are looking forward to Aintree. Gem is going to have a little rest from racing, and then will be bought up for the finals, so will keep you posted on his progress.

07/09/05 - We have had an incredibly exciting time. Bank holiday Monday, we all set off to Huntingdon for our first race of the summer series, this year the whole series is kindly sponsored by Charles Owen Riding hats. For a change Gemini was not the favourite, all money seemed to be on a very smart grey called “Silver Mist Lady”, who already had 3 previous wins in this series, but we all know there is no greater leveller in this world than the horse, or pony, in this case! Noel, (Jack’s Dad) was convinced we were not going to beat the grey, but said he would be happy to be second, as this would still qualify for the final at Aintree. Of course I did not think for a minute (being the proud, if somewhat blinkered owner & god mum!) that the grey was unbeatable, especially when Gem hacked off down to the start, I could see the old determined look on his face, which he had not had in the paddock, probably as he might have thought it was another terribly boring “turn out” competition like the one Megan & Jack took him to at Newmarket race course a few weeks ago, making the unfortunate Noel hire him a lorry, as theirs was otherwise occupied transporting racehorses, to take him all the way to the July course (for those of you who don’t know the racecourse layout, I should say it’s at least a mile from where Gem lives) in case he got his feet dirty on the way! Anyway I digress, it was such an exciting race, Jack rode a truly tactical race, and looked like a little professional jockey, and went on to win by 3 lengths.

It was great to see all the kids after the race, shaking hands, and being thoroughly sporting; I think us oldies have sometimes got a lot to learn from the spirit of these kids. Jack won a new riding hat, thanks to the generosity of Charles Owen, and Mum Jo, who of course is the real brains behind this operation, is tasked with training Gem & Jack for their next outing, which is this Sunday, September 11^th at Stratford-on-Avon, and then to the final at Aintree on October 22^nd.

If anyone is interested in going to the final, we are probably going to organise a mini bus or coach for the day, so please do get in touch by email to Linda at the website address, or phone me.

Here’s hoping for a good day at Stratford ! I’ll try to be a bit more prompt with the next update.

10/08/05 - Gemini is now back in work at his Newmarket home. He went to Pony Club camp, and just remembered how to show jump, if rather quickly! He really seemed to enjoy his outing, and is now ready to resume his racing career. His first outing should be at Huntingdon on August 29^th, which is the Bank Holiday Monday and then possibly to Stratford upon Avon on September 11^th. If he wins at either of these venues he will go Aintree on October 23^rd which will be exciting, so I will keep you posted

24/05/05 - May 15^th was a beautiful sunny day, a perfect day for Fakenham races. Gemini seemed too laid back for his usual self, standing there snoozing in the sun whilst being plaited up for the big final of the winter circuit. However, in the parade ring he soon woke up, as we all had to, to avoid flying hooves and excited ponies. Sadly, whilst at the start, he didn’t move out of the way quickly enough, and was kicked on the stifle. The vet trotted him up, and declared him fit to race. Off they went, Gem took up the lead after about 2 furlongs, and was cruising along, when Chiumbo, ridden by Adam Beschizza, from Newmarket, caught him up and gave him a good strong race. Eventually, Gem’s much heavier weight got the better of him, and he was beaten half a length, it was however, a really exciting race, and both Jack & Adam learnt a huge amount from this experience, and we all had a great afternoon out at the races.

Gem is now having a well earned rest here at the Coach House, with his life long pal Merlin. He is prancing round the field like a prima ballerina, showing off to anyone who will watch, but mostly to the mares in the next field, who he definitely out to impress!

The next pony race series, with the final at Aintree, will start in July, & I will keep you posted for the date of his next outing.

03/05/05 - By popular request here is a little information about our race pony “Gemini”; Gem is a thoroughbred twin. I was given him when he was 3 months old (he would have been put down otherwise) to keep Merlin, who was then a yearling, company. Gem was always convinced Merlin was his Mum! They were inseparable.

When I broke Gem in when he was 4 years old, he was one of the most difficult ponies I have ever had the misfortune to try and get on my side; he was just devious and naughty, always looking for an easy option! He eventually settled down and joined the school for some 5 years, when I gave him to my God-daughter Megan Quinlan, grand-daughter of Sheila Lake’ who many of you knew as our lovely tack cleaning lady.

Megan did great things with Gem, becoming the youngest winner of the Soham Pony Club Derby, and winning many events, both in teams and individually. It has to be said the Gem was not plain sailing, as some days he perhaps didn’t feel like playing the same games as Megan had in mind, and could be the most frustrating pony on 4 legs! A fine example of this was the following year to his Derby win, at the same event, he jumped a beautiful clear round before going up the bank, but unfortunately having cantered up the bank, came neatly down backwards at the same pace. At this point Megan’s Mother Jo, and myself, both shouted (screamed would be more accurate) at him, to which his lordship must have thought “oh no, both the sods are here” and carried on up the bank, completing the course with ease! The next year he decided to play the game, and won the same competition for the second time.

Megan sadly grew out of him, but as we made plans to sell him, Pony Racing evolved, along with a very keen Jack Quinlan, Megan’s younger brother. Now at 12 years old you could say Gem was a late starter, but at last he has found his vocation in life, he just loves to race. To date, he has won 5 out of 6 starts, being beaten at Wincanton into 3^rd place having been left some 15 lengths at the start. He is very versatile, having won a jump race over a mile and a half, and flat races ranging from 5 to 7 furlongs, and he just loves it, and is generally a well behaved, “butter wouldn’t melt in my mouth pony”! He has also won the mounted games trophy for the last 2 years at Soham Pony Club.

Most of the credit must go to mum Jo, who “trains” him and keeps him sweet. Jo herself is an excellent horse woman, she had a lovely ex race horse called “Pontin Lad” and together they won numerous events. Jo trained at Ruth MacMullen’s, and of course is one of “my old girls” although we try and avoid the “Old” bit nowadays!

Anyway, to finish the story for now, I must tell you there is loads more racing, the next being the final of the point to point series at Fakenham on May 15^th, then there is another qualifying series which has the final at Aintree at the end of the summer; Also there are 2 more mini Quinlans, Jessica (10) and Luke(5) so I don’t think Gem’s racing days are going to be numbered from jockey shortages!