© 2001 Geoffrey M Sanderson
This Website and all its contents are the copyright property of Geoffrey M Sanderson.
Any reproduction, in whole or in part, is prohibited without the prior consent of Susann Smith (tel: 07811 953774)

Hello everybody. Once again apologies are the order of the day. It has been AGES since the last newsletter - some of the reasons for this are down to me, other reasons are not.

The foot and mouth disease epidemic caused us to shut up shop more or less completely from mid-February until the end of May. Mercifully our dale has (so far) avoided any instances of this terrible disease, but many of our friends have suffered as a result of it. Our sympathy extends to them, and all the other farmers whose lives have been devastated. Lifetimes of hard, physical work have been wiped out within a few months.

A consequence of the (still on-going) epidemic is that I had to take the decision to suspend all stable visits planned for this year so far. We have valuable stock on the farm, and because of this, (and as a courtesy to other farmers in the dale), all non-essential visits have been put on hold, pending a review of the FMD situation. I am aware of the disappointment this will cause to some members who hoped to visit us this Summer, but I am sure, having witnessed the horrific scenes on TV, everyone will understand my motives for this decision. Future High Crossett Heralds will indicate when the embargo is lifted. 

On a personal note, Gill and I have decided to get divorced, as our relationship had deteriorated to an unworkable level.

Gill, "I think you love Ted's horses more than you love me."

Geoff, "Darling, I love Martin Pipe's horses more than I love you." Etc. etc.!!!

I have now moved out of the family home, into a lovely flat in Thirsk. I won't be lonely there, as there is now a new lady in my life, whom I first met, appropriately enough, through Quixall's Fan Club. More of this scandal and gossip in future issues, if requested. (Better here than on the front page of the "News Of The World" or the "Racing Post".

RIGHT. 

Both Poppy and Willow have produced fine, chestnut colt foals this Spring. They are Ted's pride and joy - and Joy's pride and ted (?). If looks alone could guarantee race-course performance, this two have "winner" stamped all over them. The vet called last week to insert a microchip in the neck of each foal - this is a particularly barbaric-looking procedure, necessitating the use of a local anaesthetic, but is required for future identification purposes by the rules of racing.

On the same visit, the vet scanned both Carousel and Poppy. They are both in foal again to Salty Behaviour, our stallion. This is a great relief after Salty B.'s illness last Autumn and Winter. I am pleased to be able to report that he is in good shape again now, and his fertility seems unaffected. Good lad, Salty B.!!! He will cover Willow next.

Our next runners are planned to be on Sunday July 22nd, at Southwell. This will include Quixall's 100th run. He should be joined by Triona's Hope and Clavering on the day, and maybe Cregg Rose too. It would be great to have as many supporters there as possible on the day to cheer him on.

The old boy is exceptionally well at present, and just bursting to meet his public again. There has been a huge amount of media interest in the event, so we are investigating the possibility of taking the horses to Southwell on the Saturday morning, and arranging a "press conference" for filming, interviews and a photo-shoot on the Saturday afternoon. This is subject to the necessary permissions being obtained.

On a slightly sadder note, Supreme Comfort has been retired from racing. Her old leg injury did not recover sufficiently to stand the rigours of her training schedule. A recurrence would have been severe enough to endanger her life, and so she has been recruited to the broodmare ranks and will be covered by Salty B. when she next comes into season.

All the other horses are in good order too. We hope to have lots of runners over the Summer, and look forward to renewing old acquaintances, and making new ones, at the race-courses over the coming months. If you see us, do stop us for a chat. We are always only too pleased to meet Quixall's friends!!

Please keep the letters and phone calls coming. We are always interested in your news and opinions. I'll be in touch again soon. 

With sincere best wishes,

April 2001

On Saturday April 28th, Ted received the confirmation that his permit to train has been renewed by the Jockey Club for another 18 months. This is always a trying time, as the J. C. are a law unto themselves, and are not forced automatically to renew a permit. Due to the exteremly heavy going at High Crossett Farm, and on the race courses generally throughout the last Winter, I do admit that the performances of some of our horses has been below the standard we would have hoped. Coupling this with the injuries suffered by some of our more reliable horses, it has been a bit of a disaster over the last season. Ted has said that we were just giving other stables the chance of a bit of prize money before we embark on our season of glory. Just when that will be, however, hasn't yet been indicated!!

With the Spring now here, and, hopefully better ground on the way, we are hopeful of improving on the stable's performance . All being well, we will have plenty of horses fit to run over the coming months, and, of course, Quixall's hundredth race is a source of great anticipation in the yard and all branches of the national and international media.

Under a separate heading, there are details of the breeding programme which is a source of deep satisfaction for us this year. (Salty is staring out of his box with a dirty great grin on his face too, so I think he knows he has played his part!!).

All the horses are fit and well, apart from the inevitable bumps and scrapes, and it is now a question of returning them to race fitness after their lay off. A bit of dry weather should return our facilities to a reasonable state so that we can get on with things.

Many people have written to ask how the Foot and Mouth outbreak has affected us at High Crossett. Luckily there have been no outbreaks in the neighbourhood, but we have restricted ourselves to keeping the horses at home to work, so as to minimise the chances of bringing the infection into the dale.

As a consequence of the Foot and Mouth crisis, I have reluctantly taken the decision to suspend any planned stable visits for the foreseeable future. This is because there is stock in the fields at the farm at present, and I am sure that, having witnessed the tragedy of the outbreak on TV, no-one would wish that experience on any as yet unaffected farmers. When I am satisfied that the risk of infection is zero, I will reconsider the suspension. I am sure all Quixall's fans will appreciate the reasons for my decision, and will bear with us until the situation improves.

Hopefully, things will get back to normal for us all soon, so keep checking the website for news of further developments!!!

February 2001: Number 9

NINETY-NINE, NOT OUT!!!!

Welcome to the first "High Crossett Herald" of 2001. It's a bit late because I have been waiting to get Quixall's 99th run out of the way before writing. The weather has again been getting in the way of our best laid plans.

May I first of all thank everyone who has visited the website. There has been a tremendous interest, with over 3000 "hits" from all over the world, since it was set up at the end of October last year. The site has already won several awards, including the Racing Post's "Fan Site of the Year 2000." My special thanks go to Steve Parrott, site design and maintainence, for his patience with my literary efforts and his design skills, and to our own stats guru, Jeremy Grayson, who has recently become a MA!!!

Secondly, a big "thank you" to everyone who sent Quixall a Christmas card. He certainly got more than we did!!

The weather has been wet, but usually fairly mild over the winter. We have had some snow, but nowhere near as much as in "the olde days"!! There has been quite a lot of vivid colour to be seen around the Farm. The stark contrast of the black and white colouring of the magpies, vast flocks of chaffinches and bright-coloured goldfinches, the deep russett of tiny wrens, (how does such a small bird make so much noise?), and the bright red breast of the dear old robins. The most visually stunning sight, though, has been pairs of yellowhammer. A psychadelic burst of yellow against a sea of brown mud as they disappear into the hedge, with the characteristic "a-little-bit-of-bread-and-no-cheese" call. The tawny owls have been very noisy in the evening twilight, but remained invisible.

So, on to Quixall. he ran a superb race on Boxing Day at Wetherby. He finished 4th of 4, but saw the trip out well in bad ground, after a break of some 15 months. He got a tremendous cheer as he passed the stands. More prize money to his tally too!!

His 99th run was at Kelso last week. It started to snow just before the race, and the ground was very loose on top, with a lot of kick-back from the other horses. He ran well for a long way, but then decided it wasn't going to be his day. Nick, his jockey, realised he was not enjoying the conditions, so he pulled him up with three fences to jump. Trio ran well to finish 6th of the 9 runners in a high class race. At least both of our horses jumped straight and well, which is more than can be said for some of the others in the race.

Quixall will now be rested for a while, until the ground conditions improve, and then it will be the big one, number 100!!!

Trio has been running some valiant races in ground he is not too keen on. Again, he won the "best turned out" prize at Newcastle last month.

Kin to Quixall, our 5 year old son of Carousel Crossett, was entered to run at Wetherby on Feb. 3rd, but the meeting was lost to waterlogging. We seem to have lost a lot of meetings due to adverse weather recently.

Our stallion, Salty Behaviour, continues to thrive. He is now in a box next to Carousel Crossett, and romance is definitely in the air. He's just waiting for Valentine's Day.........!!!

We currently have two of the broodmares in foal to Salty B.

Poppy is due to foal on April 10th, and Mountain Willow is due on May 5th. Much floor pacing and many sleepless nights to come. We have our fingers crossed that all will go well.

Well, I think that's about all the news for this time. Please keep in touch by phone, letter, or e-mail. We love to hear from you. Keep an eye out for our runners, and I'll be writing again soon.

Sincere best wishes from us all,

Geoff Sanderson

© 2001 Geoffrey M Sanderson
This Website and all its contents are the copyright property of Geoffrey M Sanderson.
Any reproduction, in whole or in part, is prohibited without the prior consent of Susann Smith (tel: 07811 953774)

November 2000

Number 8

Its Has Stopped Raining!

It's been a bit on the damp side lately, as you have probably seen on the T.V. Luckily we did not have the problems that the Malton area had to endure. The fields have been absolutely waterlogged and the farm road was all but washed away, but we were relatvely unscathed. There was a flood at Stokesley, about half way between my house and the farm, which prevented me from getting to the farm for a while, but that has now disappeared. As you will imagine, there has been little wildlife on show during the monsoon!!

Quixall was scanned by our vet and has been pronounced 100% recovered from his leg problem and fit to resume training. He and I are spending a lot of time together as we gradually strengthen his legs again for racing. He has put on very little weight during his spell out of training and his wind is always good. If there is no reaction in his leg to being back in training, I hope he will be ready to race again somewhere around the New Year.

Carousel Crossett, now 19 years old, is Quixall's half-sister. Her first off-spring (now a 4-y-o) has been named KIN TO QUIXALL and will hopefully be running in a bumper, either at the end of this year or early next year.

Clavering and Monaughty Man were also scanned by the vet. They both need another couple of months off. Their injuries, both similar leg problems, are healing nicely, but both need a bit more time to heal fully.

Cregg Rose has been taken out of training for a while. During her race at Sedgefield, she burst a blood vessel and was again pulled up. We treated her for this condition, and although she did not burst again in subsequent races, she seemed to have lost all of her confidence, especially over fences. She is probably worrying that she will burst again and that it will hurt. She also hates very soft ground. We will give her a good break, and try her again over hurdles in the Spring when the ground improves. She has shown bags of ability at home, but hasn't been able to transfer it to the racecourse. 

Triona's Hope finished fifth in his race at Aintree (and won £100 best turned out prize), and was then fourth (£400) at Wetherby. He also ran, unplaced, in the big novice chase at Sedgefield. He could be going to Haydock Park next. 

Swiss Comfort now seems to have got her head together, and has run two mature races at Wetherby over hurdles and at Sedgefield over fences. I think the penny has dropped. She is a natural jumper and we hope the improvement continues. (She is by the Derby winner Henbit, whose stock are nearly all a bit scatty). 

Shank's Pony has now run twice, at Wetherby and Catterick. These were her first two visits to the racecourse and she took everything in her stride. Although she pulled up in the bottomless ground at Wetherby, she completed the course at Catterick and the jockey said she is a tough little thing and did everything he asked of her. She is still just a bit "green", ie she still has a fair bit to learn about racing on the course. This will come through experience. Just getting her to race is a real achievement for Ted and Joy. When she arrived in the yard, she would flip over backwards on top of the rider if something scared her. She gave Joy a couple of very bad falls to begin with, but as usual, time, patience and skill have calmed her down and she is racing. 

Castle Stephen, Supreme Comfort and Cloigeann Rua will also be running again soon. 

I've kept the best news till last. Salty Behaviour seems to be recovering from his illness. The vet is at a loss to explain what he has been suffering from, but he is putting weight on again now. His stomach area looks fully recovered and the weight is slowly creeping up towards his back. He has been a model patient and has done his utmost to survive. He looked in a terrible state but was never suffering or distressed. It was a case of "We'll give him another 24 hours" on quite a few occasions, but we are very hopeful now. We look forward to seeing his foals next year, and for many years to come. 

I have enclosed another of my poems, and a little piece that I wrote for Quixall's web-site. Yes, he even has his own web-site on the Internet now. It has been visited by people in Russia, Uruguay, China, France, Germany, Belgium, USA, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Ireland!!! We get about 100 new visitors per week. His fame is spreading. 

My sincere thanks go to Steve who has designed the site, and who keeps it up to date with my weekly diary notes. For anyone with Internet access at home or at work, who haven't seen it yet the address is: 

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/geoffrey.sanderson/quixallcrossett.htm 

So that's about it from me for this year. Keep an eye on the paper for our runners; we should be having quite a few shortly. Thank you once again for your interest and support, it really does mean a lot to the three of us. Keep writing, we love to hear your news, and I'll be in touch again with the next "Herald" in 2001!!!

© 2001 Geoffrey M Sanderson
This Website and all its contents are the copyright property of Geoffrey M Sanderson.
Any reproduction, in whole or in part, is prohibited without the prior consent of Susann Smith (tel: 07811 953774)

Welcome to the September (where is the year going?) news from our stable.

Before my "Nature Notes", can I firstly apologise to everyone who has been kind enough to write to us recently, and who haven't had a personal reply yet. I will be in touch shortly.

The families of swallows are now skimming quickly over the corn fields, and roosting noisily on the telephone wires. It seems to have been a very successful year for our Summer visitors. Charms of goldfinch are also common at present, feasting on the thistledown along the track edges. I love late July and August for the butterflies we have; cabbage whites, ringlets, meadow browns, red admirals and, my own favourites, peacocks. The resident population of wild rabbits has been breeding like, well, rabbits!

On to the equine population. First the Superstar, Quixall. I still have him in road work, and his leg is doing well. I have been given clearance to step up the pace of his work next month to trotting and gentle cantering, checking for any adverse reaction. His hasn't put much weight on during his lay-off, and is always clean winded. Provided his leg stays sound he won't take much getting fit. He was getting really fed up in the field. He ignored all the other horses and stood alone at the gate, waiting for us to go and bring him in. He looked like a lost little schoolboy on his first day at a new school - no friends, just waiting to be taken home!

Triona's Hope ran a superb race at Sedgefield to finish third, over a trip that was really just too far for him. He ran very flat at Market Rasen after that, maybe a little sore still after Sedge. He will run again later this month after a good rest.

Clavering seemed 100% again, and ran seventh at Market Rasen in a field of eighteen, finishing strongly. A fine run after a year off. The following day there was a little heat in his leg, which has now been scanned by the vet. He has a hole in the inside branch of his suspensory ligament, so will be off for about another three months.

Cregg Rose has had a few races recently, but seems to have her own ideas about racing again. She runs really well for about a mile and a half, and then just stops racing and the jockey can do nothing to encourage her to continue.

We've tried her in blinkers, without any effect, so next time she will run in a visor.

Lots of other horses are in training at present including: Castle Stephen, Supreme Comfort, Swiss Comfort, Cloigeann Rua, unnamed Jolly Jake mare, unnamed home-bred 4-y-o, and I will be starting work on the mighty Monaughty Man again at the end of this month.

The other disappointing news on the last visit of the vet. was that dear old Carousel Crossett is still not in foal. We may try her again next year.

Salty Behaviour, our stallion, has been, and still is, very poorly. At first we thought he had grass sickness which is usually fatal. He also had a brief bout of colic. He has lost a lot of weight and is very weak, but he is now eating "like a horse" and is not in any discomfort. The vet is at a loss to know just what the problem has been, but everything possible is being done to ensure a full recovery.

Needless to say that looking after all the horses is keeping Ted, Joy and me very busy. It's better than being bored! It's been an awful lot of hard work for very little reward so far this year. We're hoping for a bit more luck soon.

Anyhow, I'll shut up now, and wish you "all the best" from all of us here at High Crossett Farm. Keep in touch!

Geoff. M. Sanderson.

© 2001 Geoffrey M Sanderson
This Website and all its contents are the copyright property of Geoffrey M Sanderson.
Any reproduction, in whole or in part, is prohibited without the prior consent of Susann Smith (tel: 07811 953774)

July 2000

Loads of news this month, and most of it bad! Just after my last letter, Carousel Crossett came into season, indicating that she was not in foal after all. Salty Behaviour, our stallion, was put to work immediately, but Carousel kept coming back into season. Stephen, our vet, scanned her last Thursday, revealing that she had reabsorbed her previous embryo, and was a bit dirty inside. He washed her out and gave her a penicilin injection, so hopefully the next time she is in season she will hold.

Quixall Crossett and Monaughty Man both had leg scans. They will both be out for about another three months. Monny has a small hole in a foreleg suspensory tendon, which will heal and strengthen given rest. Quixall's original injury from Kelso in September last year has healed completely, but the scar tissue has thickened the tendon, and it is not passing properly through the joint at the back of the fetlock. He too has be turned out for the time being and they will both be re-scanned in about September, and the situation will be reviewed then.

Now for the better news. Mountain Willow (She is out of the same mare which has produced Compton Ace- third in the Ascot Gold Cup last month) scanned in foal to Salty Behaviour. Willow was injured at the same meeting as Quixall at Kelso last year, and won't race again. She is by a 2000 Guineas winner out of an Irish St. Leger winner, so is bred in the purple. If the foal inherits some of Salty's speed (He won 8 races from 6f to 8f on the flat) we hope to produce a world-beater! Get your cheque book ready Sheik Mohammed. I hope he has a banker's card to go with it!

Cloigeann Rua and Castle Stephen both had leg scans and got the nod to come back into training.

Cregg Rose, Triona's Hope and Clavering are now fit. A couple more gallops at Malton could see us back with runners again towards the end of this month. Market Rasen and Southwell have been pencilled in for them. As you can see from our easy list, it is not always possible to plan too far ahead with horses. Injuries can and do occur in the most unexpected of ways. Minor ones can take ages to heal, and major ones, like those suffered by Trio and Clavvers last year seem to heal completely. We were afraid that neither would race again when they came back. Once again though, the patience, knowledge and skill of Ted and Joy has brought them back to a position where they look magnificent again and are raring to go.

So what have we been doing while we haven't been going racing? A pretty easy, life one would expect. Well I have spent most of my time on the barrow, mucking out. I have clocked up more miles on the barrow than in the wagon this year. I have been riding some work as well, just keeping Monny and Quixall ticking over. Now they have been turned out (you-know-who doesn't like that at all), I will be starting road work on Cloigeann Rua - stable name RED as we can't pronounce the Irish.

Joy has been working with the younger horses a lot. We have a 4-y-o and a 3-y-o gelding out of Carousel and three 2-y-o out of Swiss Comfort, Supreme Comfort and Carousel Crossett. The eldest two have been broken and are being ridden, and Joy is just beginning the process of breaking the two year olds.

We have all been invoved with getting the others ready to race. The Boss has been taking Big Decisions. At least, that is what he tells us he has been doing. It seems strange that he has to sit on the sofa and snore while he is taking them.

I don't know how we ever find the time to race the horses, as every minute seems taken up at home recently.

To close on a lighter note, I have been doing a bit of writing again. I have tentatively shown this to some of Quixall's fans, and have received a positive feedback. This could, of course, just be out of politeness, but I have been persuaded to "go public" with the poems. I enclose a copy of each for your consideration.

With that, I'll close for now, and write again in September when we should have more news about "The A Team" - Monny and Quixall.

© 2001 Geoffrey M Sanderson
This Website and all its contents are the copyright property of Geoffrey M Sanderson.
Any reproduction, in whole or in part, is prohibited without the prior consent of Susann Smith (tel: 07811 953774)

May 2000

Hello. everyone. There certainly was a lot of reaction to Quixall's last letter. We had no idea that news from High Crossett was so eagerly awaited throughout the Kingdom!

First, the sad news. On Saturday May 6th, Supreme Comfort lost the foal (by Salty Behaviour) she was expecting next month. He would have been a colt, but we think he had died in the womb about two weeks ago. The vet is in daily attendance, and we think Supreme is now over the worst. (On Monday she had a temperature of 103 and seemed very poorly). On a more hopeful note, the injury which caused us to take her out of training now seems completely healed, and after a suitable period of rest, she may go back into training. As with all matters of this nature, it will be the horse that makes the decision. In any event, she will not be put in foal again this year.

As Quixall said in his last letter, the firm ground horses were being prepared for Summer racing-then the Heavens opened and it didn't stop raining for almost three weeks. The ground has been the worst of the whole Winter and so work has been all but impossible for the horses. Trips to the gallops at Malton, and outings on the sand at Nad-al-Redcar

have just kept things ticking over without making any real progress towards racing fitness. It is getting more and more difficult to compete with professional trainers who have all their own private facilities and gallops for their horses, BUT SOMEBODY'S GOT TO DO IT!

We haven't had many runners but even so there is always plenty to keep us occupied with the horses. There never seems to be enough hours in the day. I think the horses get as frustrated as we do when we can't work them as we would like. It is an indescribable feeling to sit on any of these thoroughbreds and feel them stretch into a canter, especially here at the Farm, which is situated 800 feet up in the North York Moors National Park.

They just want to run with the sheer joy of being fit and alive. Indeed, the hard work really starts when you want to slow down and pull up, as usually they don't want to.

The bubbling call of the curlews is now drifting down from the high moor tops, as they come inland from the coast to breed. April 15th is usually known as "Swallow Day" and sure enough the swallows arrived within about 48 hours-in spite of the rain.

There isn't really a lot of news this time, but we're all still plodding along. I'm sure it won't be too long before we're racing again.

Many thanks to everyone who has written lately, and, such was the response to the last letter, I intend to try to do one every two months instead of every three.

© 2001 Geoffrey M Sanderson
This Website and all its contents are the copyright property of Geoffrey M Sanderson.
Any reproduction, in whole or in part, is prohibited without the prior consent of Susann Smith (tel: 07811 953774)

HIGH CROSSETT HERALD

NUMBER FOUR

13/03/2000

Well, the daffodils are out in Fangdale Beck village; the lapwings are starting to nest in the stubble fields on the Farm and it's Cheltenham week again! It must be time to think about my Spring Newsletter. So, here goes.

Starting with me. I'm feeling fit and raring to go - but my leg still isn't quite 100% recovered from the injury I got at Kelso last time out.Although it's only slightly warm, only some of the time, my staff never take any chances where a horse's welfare is concerned. They are extremely patient. I, however, am not. I felt so well and frustrated that the other horses were going racing without me, that I was banging on my stable door as they were loading up to go. I was sure that I had been forgotten. No-one took any notice, so the next time he rode me, I "unshipped" Geoff in the yard! Even though he couldn't walk the next day, he was riding again within a week.

Triona's Hope, Clavering and Cregg Rose are back in light training again after their injuries. Cloigeann Rua, however, will be out for quite a while, after giving herself a bit of a knock on the gallops.

The damage to Mountain Willow's knee at Kelso has meant an end to her racing career. We were very worried about her for quite a while, but she has been a model patient, and was lead out for a little walk around the yard last week for the first time this year. The knee has healed enough for her to be able to put all her weight on it again, so she will be put in foal to our stallion, Salty Behaviour, later this year.

As for Monaughty Man, what can I say? He, too, has been nursed back from injury, and is going well at home. He is such a big lad that it is all but impossible to get him really fit at home, and each time he has gone racing, the ground has turned too soft for him, and his jockey has had to pull him up. This has been really disappointing, as so much work has gone into his preparation this year. He will probably run over two miles next time. (Maybe at Newcastle on Saturday).

Swiss Comfort has returned to racing after having had two foals (1997 & 1998). She gets very nervous when at the track, but completed her first race over the big jumps at Sedgefield. On her next race at Wetherby, two horses fell in front of her at the open ditch, so she panicked, with the result that her jockey got unseated. She, too, may run at Newcastle on Saturday.

It is hoped to bring on Castle Stephen in the next couple of weeks. All these horses who are just coming back into training are like me, in that they prefer the firmer ground in the Spring and Summer.

All of my human staff are extremely fit and well, - we horses see to that, as we don't give them a minute's rest as long as there is a bit of daylight left.

That's about all the news for this time. Can I just again thank everyone who sent me money for Christmas. Geoff put it all together to buy me a new turn-out rug for the winter. It fits really well and is nice and warm. I am sure Geoff wiil be in touch shortly with those of you to whom letters are owed, and I'll close now, wishing everyone all the best and, above all, please keep in touch. We all enjoy reading your letters and hearing your news.

Hoping to meet some of you in the year 2000,

Quixall Crossett. O.B.E.

(Oustanding British Equine).

STOP PRESS>>>>Just arrived. The ABC News video filmed at High Crossett Farm and Sedgefield Racecourse last year. See me at home. Meet Ted and Joy. See me at the races.If you are interested, please contact Geoff for details. Q.C

© 2001 Geoffrey M Sanderson
This Website and all its contents are the copyright property of Geoffrey M Sanderson.
Any reproduction, in whole or in part, is prohibited without the prior consent of Susann Smith (tel: 07811 953774)

HIGH CROSSETT HERALD.

NUMBER THREE.

14/12/1999

It's a seasonal "Hello" from me, the stable Superstar, here at High Crossett Farm. I think I'm improving nicely now after my knock at Kelso, and Geoff is riding me slowly round the farm again. I'll probably feel like racing again sometime after Christmas - that'll be run number 98!!

Triona's Hope, Clavering and Castle Stephen are all back in light training after injury. Unfortunately, Cregg Rose is out again with another leg injury. Monaughty Man has had one run since recovering from his injury, and Cloigeann Rua will run again, hopefully, at Newcastle on December 22nd.

Mountain Willow has been retired from racing after badly damaging a knee, also at Kelso. She will probably have a romantic, candle-lit dinner Salty Behaviour (our stallion) on Valentine's Day, so we will hope for a foal from her in 2001!

My staff, (Ted, Joy and Geoff) are fine and have asked me to include them in wishing you a merry Christmas, and a wonderful Year 2000.

Best Wishes,

Quixall Crossett.

 © 2001 Geoffrey M Sanderson
This Website and all its contents are the copyright property of Geoffrey M Sanderson.
Any reproduction, in whole or in part, is prohibited without the prior consent of Susann Smith (tel: 07811 953774)

QUESTION: What's got two heads, six legs and one tail?

ANSWER: Quixall and Geoff galloping around High Crossett Farm.

HIGH CROSSETT HERALD.

NUMBER TWO

SUMMER 1999

A lot of Quixall's fans have told me how much they enjoy hearing about his life here at High Crossett, as well as following his "exploits" on the race-track. Well, I sneaked a look at his diary entries for this week-end (July 31st and August 1st), and risk publishing them here without his knowledge or consent. If you see him, please don't tell him you've read this, OK?

Awoke early as usual. Whilst awaiting breakfast, (Come ON Ted!), I tuned in to my favourite radio station, (Classic F.M. of course, - even though I never ran in one), in time to hear an announcement that this was to be the hottest week-end of the year. I hoped I was to be left in my nice cool stable, but a glance at the training schedule board revealed I was due for an hour's work on the roads and pathways around the farm. Oh dear! Still, Joy is so very light, so...... Oh no! Not him!! Not Geoff!! Not today!! Please, TED!!!!!. Not to worry, if we got out early enough, it might not be too hot.

08-45am. Geoff's car arrived in the yard. Good, we'd soon be off. Joy carried on washing the winter turn-out rugs, but Ted and Geoff went into the house for a "conference". (This usually involves watching Channel 4's "Morning Line" racing preview programme).

10-02am. Boss and Geoff (Two cups of tea heavier!) emerged from the house. Geoff tacked me up and off we went. Not too hot for some gentle exercise around the farm, but too hot to play Geoff up (much). Back in 11-20am. to cool off and have a drink. Went out into the field with my friend Castle Stephen from 06-00pm to 08-00pm. Much cooler then and fewer flies about.

Feed. Early night.

Scheduled trip to the seaside!! Hooray!! Left High Crossett (No Geoff) at 07-00am for Nad-al-Redcar beach. Forgot to check riding roster before departing. As soon as the back of the wagon opened, there was Geoff. No, Ted. Not two days running, surely? So there I was at the beach with HIM on my back again. Hmm. Time to indulge in a small spot of Assistant Trainer Dunking! (I don't like ginger snaps). Valiant try, but unsuccessful.

Looking forward to running at Market Rasen next Sunday, if possible. It's got to be easier than lumping my "Cuddly One" around.

Went home for a well-earned lie down.

Quixall Crossett.

He likes me! I really think Quixall likes me!!!

Best wishes,

Geoff.

 © 2001 Geoffrey M Sanderson
This Website and all its contents are the copyright property of Geoffrey M Sanderson.
Any reproduction, in whole or in part, is prohibited without the prior consent of Susann Smith (tel: 07811 953774)

HIGH CROSSETT HERALD

NUMBER ONE

26/04/1999

"SUGAR IS SWEET, SO IS HONEY, MONNY AND TRIO FINISH IN THE MONEY!"

Welcome to my first newsletter.Great news! My two friends Triona's Hope and Monaughty Man both ran at Market Rasen last Saturday, where they both finished fourth in their respective races, winning about £275 each in prize money. Everyone here is very proud of them. The commentator twice said that Trio had run a "BLINDER" of a race, the third horse was only ONE LENGTH in front of him. Their next runs should be at WETHERBY on May 5th. if all is well.

I think I am going to SEDGEFIELD with my friend Clavering this Friday, April 30th. I hope so anyway - I can't have these youngsters in our stable stealing my lime-light, can I?

WATCH THIS SPACE!!!!

Best Wishes,

Quixall Crossett.

XXXX

© 2001 Geoffrey M Sanderson
This Website and all its contents are the copyright property of Geoffrey M Sanderson.
Any reproduction, in whole or in part, is prohibited without the prior consent of Susann Smith (tel: 07811 953774)

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