Celtic Shadow
|
|
|
|
|
Sometimes you can meet someone and have that feeling that they've definitely 'been here before', well that is the feeling you get from Celti. He gives off this air of wisdom and understanding! and I felt this the first time Andrew and I met him in 1996.
We'd been to Tregaron to view a colt foal 'Fyhad' out of a Section B mare 'Downland Sundew' by Celtic Shadow. The breeder Jean Ackroyd informed us that the Sire Celti was owned by an elderly gentleman Will Davies (Will NFU he was known as to the locals) who lived near Lampeter, So we drove over on speck to see Mr Davies and Celti. Celti came bounding over to us and walked alongside, back to the yard as if he'd known us for years.
A number of years were to pass before meeting Celti again but in the mean time we 'acquired' three foals from Jean out off the same mare and by Celti, Fyhad, Narjan and Azir - paid 4 years rent on some stables and 13 acres for the horses - bought a 14 room house in need of some 'work'!!! to do up, in the hope of selling to make enough money to buy a place with land.
In the summer of'98'unbeknowen to us Mr Davies (whom I would see to talk to once in a while) had been very ill, and sold Celti to a 'lady from Oxford'. This must have been a difficult decisions for him as Celti had been with him from a foal of 6 months and he'd owned Celti's Sire Sollum for many years till he (Sollum) had passed away.
In the spring of '99' we went to see a yearling colt 'Alkabir' (out of G.Karamiabella by Allaska) to make 15hands breed by Hilary Morgan near Carmarthen. I couldn't believe it when Hilary took us to the field to see all her mares; there in the middle was Celti amongst his ladies and babies and being the 'noble gent' that he is he came over to say hello.
So the 'lady from Oxford' was, Hilary who had moved across to Carmarthen before buying Celti. That day we went home with Alkabir and by the summer of 2000 we had also acquired Alkabirs' sister Acknamoon born 1999 by Celti and Fayed (who we have always called Faisal) a colt out of Gemina by Celti. (Faisal's temperament is so much like his father).
Late October 2000 we had a call from Hilary asking if we would like to buy Celti, the answer being yes but we didn't have the money as we'd just had the roof checked, all the ridge tiles done and were in the middle of refurbishing two bathrooms, so money was going out left right and centre. Hilary was adamant that I was to have him and insisted that we pick him up on the Sunday and sort the money out in the new year.
As it happens two day's after picking Celti up a very nice couple viewed the house, offered us the full asking price (even thought we hadn't finished the work) on condition that we could move out within four weeks. So within five weeks we were in a rented bungalow and Celti had been paid for. With in days of Celti arriving I had saddled him up and ridden him, by February 2001 I was taking him to his first pleasure ride with Andrew riding his son Fyhad. Will came to watch us and stood there with tears in his eyes. Unbeknown to us at the time, due to the Foot and Mouth we didn't go to any more rides that year and that would be the last time Will would see Celti as he passed away later that year.
You can leave Celti for months (which happens quite often) and just jump on his back with or with out a saddle, he hates the 'bit' so is ridden mostly in a head-collar or if I have a schooling lesson go hunting or an endurance ride I use a Dr.Cook bittless bridle (all our horses are ridden like this). He has such a patient and kind natured personality that you can lead a youngster off him and he will control them with a flick of the head or a twitch of the ear. When it comes to girlfriends he usually has at least one a year and they have to be good looking and tall (Celti is only 14.2 but thinks he's much taller even on a ride he will quite happily ride alongside a 16+ hand horse but will want to fly pass any thing smaller) I have known him to turn his nose up and give me a look as if to say "how could you bring that thing to me", and he literally scrunches his face up.
I've always felt both lucky and honoured to have Celti, people are always surprised when you tell them he's an entire. If I go and reckky new/old routes I always ride him, he doesn't panic if we find our selves in some 'tight situations and you feel he's looking out for you as much as your looking out for him. The other thing I love is when it comes down to it he is as competitive as I am and fully intends to be in the front.