News From Elk Creek Farm

February 2008:

Sparrow has been in training downstate for carriage driving since mid-December. He will return home the end of February. We are looking forward to learning to drive both sleigh and cart with him (our cart has runners which slip on quickly in place of the wheels!). His trainer speaks very highly of his looks, aptitude and attitude, and her other clients all want a Connemara now. Connemaras do it all, and make it look like they were born knowing how!

December 2007:

Sparrow was gelded in June. We'd had several strong nibbles for him as a breeding stallion, but nothing worked out with which we were completely comfortable (let's face it: we really didn't want to let him go!) so we decided to make him our own fantastic gelding. Within the month he went to a Pony Club Upper Level Prep clinic downstate, where he was instantly everyone's favorite. He received the same reaction at the High School Equestrian Team shows, and understandably, many guessed he was a Morgan, some thought he was a Friesian, no one had heard of the Connemara but all came away with a new love for them! Several "cowboy types" said what a great cow pony he'd be - we just may try team penning with him this winter!

We made the last minute decision in Sept 2006, when I'd finally promised to either sell or geld Sparrow come the next spring, to put our Welsh mare Bailey and TB mare Sarah, with Sparrow for one last baby each. Sarah had her foal (a filly!) as expected in August, but Bailey waited until late October - apparently she didn't take right away as she usually did - and hers was also a filly. These were the first fillies we'd ever gotten from Sparrow, so were delighted! I was concerned for Bailey's filly being born just as the snow was coming, but we needn't be - she's woolly as a bear and has been just fine.

We sold our two-year old gelding Pete in October to a wonderful family just 20 minutes away. We now have at home two long yearling geldings, Pal and Gandhi, and their new little sisters Delilah and Buttercup - all for sale. Athough all, like Pete, are going to be incredibly hard to part with - they are such characters. Our two mares and Killian are still with us but also for sale; we hope to be down to just 2-3 ponies by next fall when Maggie heads off to college.

February 2007:

After a slow start to the winter (almost no snow in December!) we've since had a very cold and snowy one - ponies are just chillin' (not literally; their thick winter woolies are keeping them plenty toasty) in the fields this time of year. We've wandered around bareback with halters on them a time or two; otherwise they're just eating and relaxing.

The human part of the family has, however, been very busy as always during the school year - Katie working nights and taking care of the ponies; Robert running his Packaging Store and coaching the High School wrestling team; Maggie and Derek studying (as much as they HAVE to!) and socializing and wrestling every day (both kids are getting VERY good!). The ponies pretty much see only Katie during the school year, and then mostly just during feeding times. While that doesn't seem to bother them, we humans have come to the bitter realization that the Petersen family is just too busy with the rest of life to be able to devote the time necessary to run a breeding farm properly. Therefore, we have come to the decision to quit the breeding business altogether. All of our ponies are offered for sale now - please see the For Sale page for updates on each pony.

Sparrow will be offered as a stallion through the winter - he is currently being advertised on several internet sites and will be in the Classifieds section of the March/April Hunter and Sport Horse magazine. If not sold as a stallion by May, we will have him gelded, and keep him another couple years at least, continuing his training (we've wanted to send him to a driving trainer; something we couldn't do with him as a stallion - just couldn't find anyone in Michigan able to accept a stallion) and showing him in Pony Club, open shows and eventing (competing a stallion with a junior rider was difficult-to-impossible too, due to rules or organizer's liability concerns). We'd also like to take him foxhunting when the Metamora Hunt comes up to the Mt. Pleasant/Clare area in the fall. Once Maggie heads off to college in the fall of '08, we'll either sell him, or perhaps, keep him as Katie's own personal mount