Hurray! We have finished the harvest, and in record time! (On livestock farms like ours, "the harvest" means making hay and silage, not harvesting crops like wheat or fruit.) With the barn full of hay, we had to make Marleycombe and Square Piece to silage, with the help of Michael Bowden and Mark Leworthy and their HUGE machines! Sarah was armed and dangerous; with a bale spike at the front and back of our tractor, she transported bales to the wrapper at lightning speed. Here are some pictures of silage making - especially for Oliver Willerton, who loves all things mechanical.










For more information about West Ilkerton Farm, please see www.westilkerton.co.uk


Well, I promised you some better photos of Ziggy, my Exmoor stallion, and so here they are.
For a chap who's just turned two, he's pretty handsome, eh? Luckily, the mares now share my opinion of him (they took some persuading at first) so I hope we'll hear the patter of tiny hooves next spring.
As I'm dotty about Exmoors, I'll put in another photo of Ziggy with some of this year's foals in the background:




If you're dotty about Exmoors (or you don't mind becoming dotty about them) , get our Katy's Exmoor books for some light summer reading. The books are written by me (Victoria Eveleigh) and illustrated by my husband, Chris (Christopher Eveleigh). The stories are called Katy's Exmoor, Katy's Exmoor Adventures and Katy's Exmoor Friends, and they are suitable for all ages. For more information please see www.tortoise-publishing.co.uk



Last week we took the day off and went to Dunster Country Fair. For the past two weeks our Aga has been turned off because of the hot weather, so we have been living off sandwiches and salads. (NB Our self-catering guests are much better off, with a full-size electric cooker as well as a Rayburn and microwave!) We tucked into the food in the lunch marquee at Dunster Fair as if it were our first proper meal in weeks - which it was, of course. Afterwards, we all dozed in the sunshine by the main ring; all except Sarah and her cousin, Sophie, who decided that a go on the bouncee, bungee, trampolinee thingee was just what the doctor ordered. Ah! The inexperience of youth!

One of the highlights of the fair is the parade of hounds in the main ring. There were five different packs in the ring at the same time, and it was a magnificent sight.

The Willertons didn't escape! As predicted, they arrived in blazing sunshine on Friday, and we made hay on Sunday and Monday. Many thanks to Richard and Anna Willerton for their help. Thanks also to James Holtom, Jack and Harry Chapman-Walker, Sam Smyth, Richard Leworthy and Sarah (Eveleigh) for their hard work. We now have a full hay barn. Richard Leworthy won the prize for making the most beautiful load of hay (pictured above)

Anne was very useful on her Tramper - relaying messages like, "More ice cream! Quick!".

Trampers are incredible machines; they give people with mobility problems access to all sorts of places off the beaten track.

Summer is marked by various major farm tasks. Haymaking is one and shearing is another. This year James Holtom, Sam Smyth and Sarah helped. James used his mountaineering skills to climb the wall and take this photo:

We are really enjoying doing our "Heavy Horse Experience Afternoons". Some very interesting (and interested) people have visited us. With just a few people, life is easier for the horses and our guests can get much more hands-on experience if they want it. In general, the first couple of hours are spent getting the horses ready and taking them for a drive on the moor, followed by tea and then a tour of West Ilkerton Farm in the Landrover to see the sheep, cattle, Exmoor ponies and (usually) wild red deer. See www.westilkerton.co.uk for further details. Martin and Sue Bastone came on a Heavy Horse experience afternoon and sent us this picture of the horses enjoying a well-earned rest in the evening sunlight.

Welcome to my first newsletter! I will try to produce one every month from now on so that our friends, self-catering guests, heavy horse experience guests, readers of our Katy's Exmoor books and everyone who loves Exmoor can keep in touch. For more information about the farm, please see www.westilkerton.co.uk and for the books see www.tortoise-publishing.co.uk

I am writing this on July 6th, which is Winaway's first birthday (Winaway is my mare Rosie's foal, and her sire is Hot Rumour). Her first year of life has not been without incident (ie. vet's bills) starting on her first day with a plasma drip, hotly followed by a hoof infection, and then an eye infection. It really is true that "fools breed horses for wise men to buy", but she's given this old fool a great deal of pleasure.

Today is also significant because it's Sarah's last day at school. In September she'll be going to Bicton Agricultural College to study for a ND in Countryside and Wildlife Management.

George will be going back to Sparsholt College to finish his ND in Gamekeeping and Wildlife Management in September. At present he is working at Holkham Hall in Norfolk.
With two children into wildlife management, the wildlife at West Ilkerton had better watch out!

We have several new boys at the farm: Sam the sheepdog, Whitefield Millennium ("Mike") the bull, and Acreswild Zeitgeist ("Ziggy") the Exmoor stallion.

Sam belonged to some friends who farmed in Brendon. They sold their farm in the spring and moved to Ireland, so we gave Sam a home. He was a pretty good sheepdog in his day but, like Chris and me, he's a bit slow and creaky now; he still has all the moves, but they're performed at a snail's pace!

Anyway, he's settled down well, loves sunbathing in the yard and adores Chris. His worse point is he bites the back wheels of moving cars, but we're curing him slowly with the help of a well-aimed supersoaker water pistol.

Mike is a very well-bred fellow. For Devon Cattle enthusiasts, his sire was Kerrs Rupert and his dam was Whitefield Orange 123rd. We bought him from Mike Wright (hence the nickname) who breeds and shows Devon cattle. He is very good-looking with a lovely temperament (Mike the bull, that is!) and we're hoping for great things next year when the calves are born.

One of Ziggy's claims to fame is he's the newborn foal on Rackenford Moor who stars in the recently released film Discovering Exmoor Ponies. Now he is two years old and a registered Exmoor stallion. He is the stallion I've been looking for for ages: good breeding ( a very rare bloodline from the founder mare Just Jennifer 75/1 on his dam's side), a lovely head, beautiful movement, well-proportioned body, sweet nature and a golden dun colour. This photo doesn't do him justice, but I'll put it in until I take a better one.

We've had five foals this year: three fillies and two colts. Their sire was Orange Juice, so I suppose they'll have to be called something like Fanta, Sunny Delight, Oasis, Bucks Fizz and Jaffa. Any suggestions gratefully received.

It was so hot last week that we gave the Shire horses a week off. They were dripping with sweat just standing in the stables, and the horse flies outside were particularly vicious. Now, thank goodness, the weather is cooler and wetter. We'll need a good spell of sunshine before long, though, because we want to make hay. Perhaps we'll wait until the Willerton family are staying - they always bring good weather with them and end up helping with haymaking rather than relaxing on the beach!

Chris and Victoria (Tortie) Eveleigh

West Ilkerton Farm, Lynton, Exmoor EX35 6QA Tel: (01598) 752310
www.westilkerton.co.uk

www.tortoise-publishing.co.uk