Thursday 25th December - All 8 seen

Merry Christmas everyone. 🎅🌲🎁

At 13:00 this afternoon, the ponies were grazing contentedly in the southwest corner of the site, not far from the corral, enjoying plenty of grass and gorse. I was joined by Nicky, the ponies’ owner, who wanted to give them a thorough check. Despite the sunshine, it was still quite chilly, with a strong, cold breeze blowing. The ponies were very friendly, taking turns to come over to say hello and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs.

By 13:15, the girls had set off down the path and along the side of the racecourse, moving to graze in the pasture southeast of Brock’s Hill. One by one, they returned for more attention, thoroughly enjoying neck and back scratches and rewarding me with soft nuzzles and gentle cuddles. All were happy, relaxed, and looking really well.

A little later, the ponies moved on again, heading further east toward the stream before crossing the path and entering the thicket on the far side to browse among the gorse.

After chatting with Nicky and saying goodbye, I went to find the ponies again. Shortly before 13:45, they followed me out of the thicket and into the pasture near the test track gate, where they soon settled down to graze. They alternated between eating and returning for more fuss, enjoying more strokes and scratches. After a brief trip into the woodland along the racecourse fence line—where several enjoyed browsing crunchy holly—they returned to the pasture and moved west toward the pond.

I said my goodbyes at 14:15, leaving the ponies peacefully grazing.

The ponies were all good today.