The first foal at Chippenham's Kington Langley Stud has just been born, and he is set to be the first of many more at the farm this spring, with 25 more foals yet to be born.
‘Ernie’ who was born in the early hours of Monday morning was on his feet very quickly and is currently the picture of health.
He got his name following a ‘Sesame Street’ string of names from his other relatives. His grandmother was called Big Bird and his brother was also called Elmo.
The young colt is set for a busy career in the showing world, it seems, with many members of his family making big names for themselves.
Dressage rider and staff member at Kington Langley, Olivia Sealy said: “His dad jumped internationally, and more prolifically as such.
"And his offspring are performing at the top of the sport. He’s got one, in particular, that’s jumping on the world cup series, so he’s quite a famous little stallion.
“His bloodlines are really quite sought after. They are particularly really well-known European bloodlines.”
Ms Sealy also explained that when they sell their horses can vary depending on the kind of people who will come forward to buy them.
She said: “We try and find the best homes for them where they’re going to succeed in what they’re doing."
“It’s difficult to put a certain value on them I would say. But the price always increases as they get older as they develop a particular talent or potential as such.
"Although, Covid has massively helped from a British breeding point of view because customers are looking domestically, rather than shopping abroad."
While it has been a rollercoaster couple of years for equestrians who had to adapt to social distancing measures, changing rules on travel and planning ahead to get their horses the right resources, Ms Sealy has noticed that it has not been all bad news as far as the showing and breeding of their horses is concerned.
She said: “Our client base has increased, and there’s a lot more demand for these showjumpers and dressage horses since Covid and Brexit.
"It has benefitted our breeding programme because the logistics and the affordability of buying horses abroad have seriously increased in cost as well as difficulty.
“Travel has been really difficult, so we definitely feel that the business has grown as a result.”
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