Stigtomta Blog

Tim and Kajsa got an excellent view of the blue blood supermoon on the last day of January from Stigtomta.  Unfortunately there were no photos, it being quite difficult to capture with a mobile phone, no matter how good they now are.  Here’s an image someone else captured:

Our northern readers might thing there’s a problem here, but no, this is what the Moon looks like from Australia.  Yes, you see it upside down from where you are.

Here’s a different blood moon back in 2015, this time viewed from Sweden:

Saturday was an eventful day for Tim and Kajsa at Stigtomta, with lots of work to be done on the property.

Despite speaking to Kajsa on Saturday night, it was not entirely clear how she managed to walk right by a swarm of bees without noticing them, resulting in her getting stung in the face …

Anyhow, that isn’t the only bad thing to happen on the weekend as an agister’s horse managed to somehow injure himself, resulting in a weekend stay at Baldivis Vets.  It’s convenient to have a vet clinic so close, although we tend to use Ross Wallace from Murray Vets. In any case, Wizz seems to have been cared for very well and we wish him a speedy recovery, he will probably be very happy when he moves back into a paddock after being in one of the walk-in walk-outs during his convalescence.

I was told about the lizard that has decided to reside at Stigtomta earlier last week, however, I never wrote about it and so I thought I could include it here. I don’t think he/she has been named but the lizard is a blue-tongued lizard, they can also be referred to as blueys … typical Australians.

Some more lilies were bought, the existing lilies were split into new pots, another existing plant (name uncertain) was split into five pots (including one that is basically two pots) and some oxygenating plants were bought.

The four remaining fish are now much bigger than they were, one of the photos below shows one of the smaller ones, just lurking about, having a rest.

Lots of photos were taken yesterday, in the hope that one might show the fish nicely.  Generally not successful at all, but we did get one that seems to have worked.  All four fish in the same shot and not overly out of focus.  Oh well, you’ll get an idea of what they look like.

I have been thinking about what Arya should have as a competition name. Due to her not being registered, I have wondered in the past whether I should give her the prefix ‘Emerald’ as that’s what I have done in the past with the horses George and Sparkie or if I should use the name that the farm where she was born has.

There has been a lot of thought put into this, especially as I do not want to disrespect anyone who has contributed into the creation of Arya. I decided, however, due to various reasons that using my ‘brand’ should not be seen as disrespectful to any people involved.

Quite early on, I decided that although I love the name Arya, I wanted something else for her registered name. Arabella became the name that I wanted to use, partially because there’s a cool song by Arctic Monkeys called Arabella, but more so because it’s a pretty name and it works well as a tribute to her breeding (starts with A as does her sires name, Absolute ego Z, and has bella in it which makes reference to her grandsire Pico bello).

Recently, after working at the stable Meadowbrook Farms, in the Netherlands, where they used the suffix MBF, I thought of the idea of using SF as a suffix for the future horses that are produced at Stigtomta. See, it would be too difficult for everyone to easily pronounce the word Stigtomta and with my name and my mother’s name we don’t need to intentionally make things harder for ourselves and other people. However, the name Arabella SF had a nice ring to it and I could see that the suffix would work with all types of names. In fact, there may even be a chance that Sassy (aka Red Bird) gets SF as a suffix in the future.

It is still undecided, and in some ways it would be sad to see the Emerald prefix go. However, I feel that with the farm being called Stigtomta it’s a logical change.

There have been 6(-2) additions to the large collection of animals on the farm. These additions being fish. There were six koi fish purchased from Lotus Blossom Watergardens in Baldivis and sadly two have now been lost, since late October. One of them literally disappeared, there has been no trace of him, or her.

I’ve also been told that they have names, very creative names, we have the most creative names at Stigtomta … after their colours. One is called Golden, another one Platinum, one is called White and Black and lastly, there’s Orange.

I am sure the fish are doing a good job in their nice pond environment, killing mosquito larvae and the like.

Pictures of the fish are difficult (stay tuned as Tim attempts to get some), but here are some of the pond itself:

 

We got a truck! Well my parents got a truck but it’s equally as exciting.

Stigtomta now has a truck and float and that is definitely necessary with the team of horses that we will have at shows in the future. Especially with Emerald Sinbad needing the whole float to himself because there’s too little room and Arya will most likely outgrow him, so she’ll need more room too.

I’m sure my parents will correct me if I’m wrong but I believe it’s a 3/4 horse truck for big horses, it has living quarters with the basic essentials. The cab is from late 80s and may require some upgrades such as power steering but otherwise it works well. And I have been told in the past that Izuzu makes some of the best trucks.

It probably isn’t the flashiest truck, however, we can improve it over time and as long as it’s safe and the horses are happy then that is all that really matters.

It turns out that young horses like to eat tails, and that it may not be a good idea putting a nice horse who is low on the hierarchy with a young horse.

I mean, I honestly don’t think Arya was hurting Sassy by chewing on her tail, in fact, I think it may have even been quite pleasant- like a massage. However, I do know that Kajsa (Mamma) was quite unhappy about it…

Did you know that the massive Stigtomta on occasion has a lake?

Well, this winter the farm sure has a lake and the horses don’t seem to mind. There are pros and cons with the temporary lake that is Lake Stigtomta, one of the benefits being the lovely green grass that will come in spring. However, it does make it a little trickier to ride and especially to jump the horses.

We are fortunate to be located in a very popular equestrian area though so we have options as far as taking the horses somewhere else to use facilities if necessary.

There’s some comfort in knowing that I graduated before heading to Europe as I would not enjoy knowing that I haven’t finished my degree while being over there. I managed to finish my Criminology major and Social and Developmental Psychology minor within a span of three and a half years and have been the youngest Wevel and Pyatt to graduate university. I am proud of this achievement, and fully intend on harassing my father with this knowledge in the years to come.

As for Europe, the plan is to head to Sweden for my cousin, Rikard’s, wedding. Then from there I plan to fly to Germany and work at Gestüt Lewitz, more well known by Paul Schockemohle’s. I am not sure what to expect, however, I am excited to experience being a rider in Europe.

Although I won’t be residing at Stigtomta, I will try to write about the farm through the conversions had with my parents.

We recently said farewell to the wonderful Emerald Supernova (George), he is now part of the very talented team at Eliva Park.

George has given us so much over the years, with his beautiful and quirky personality, and his ability to challenge me as a rider. We have made huge progress together, both in eventing and in showjumping. It’s quite amazing looking back at how far we have both come over the years that I have been the proud owner of him.

The decision to sell him this soon was a difficult one, however, with me planning on being in Europe for an extended period of time it is not fair for him to waste away for that amount of time. Because he has his special quirks, I found the home being suitable to be the priority and I do not think I could have found a better home for him than with the Shore’s who have the talent, experience and coaching to manage his special attributes and also take him to the top levels where he belongs.