Testimonials

‘Would highly recommend toanyone as a brilliant team, very friendly and helpful, could not ask for better. Outstanding in every way 5 star!!!’

Giving us 5 out of 5 for every area for her mare that came to stud in 2011 – Pauline Fox

‘This is our first year breeding, we have used several studs this year and yours has been the most helpful in all ways, a pleasure to deal with’.

Giving us 5 out of 5 for every area on our feedback sheet for 2011 using our chiled semen service – Brian Comb

‘You and your team offfered a profesional and efficient service. Always very friendly and ready to answer any questions or give advice. Thank you’.

Giving us 5 out of 5 for every area for 2011 chilled semen – Patrica Owen

Hi Karen
I have just been looking at your new website and thought you might like to know how Arthur is getting on and maybe you would like to put my testimonial on your site in your comments section.

Arthur (by Country Top Gun and out of Ruth Mason’s little piebald mare Cracker) is 14 years old now. I have owned him for 13 years and, if Arthur is anything to go by, I would recommend the temperament of your horses to anyone. He is very well behaved and sensible in the stable, travels well and always has that “look at me” presence when he is out and about and really turns heads. I have only ever competed at local level on him and nothing too serious but I can always rely on him to give it his best shot when he gets in the ring. He is tremendous fun and a real all rounder – I have done a bit of everything on him.

I have got to say Arthur is my dream horse – I wanted a coloured horse when I was in my teens but they were very few and far between back then!! And not held in as high regard as they are today!! I count myself very lucky to own him.

We have not done very much over the last couple of years but are hoping to get back on the local circuit again this summer. I can’t believe we will be eligible for veteran classes next year!! Arthur can still give the youngsters a run for their money – he is still in his prime!!

I am sending you some pictures of him I have collected over the years. Please feel free to use them on your website.
Best regards

Janice Halsall

‘Many thanks for all the helpful assistance given to me whilst making the bewildering decision to put my mare in foal. Having made contact with you I felt more informed & confident in what I was doing.’ ‘I would highly recommend your stud services & would not hesitate to come back again.’

Claire Growcott-Jones

‘Nimshe looked so well when I collected her from stud she won a 1st prize at a show the following weekend!

Scoring us at 5 out of 5 on all points of our 2009 feedback sheet – Debra Whittaker

Gillian Beattie gave us scores of 5 out of 5 for every point of our 2009 survey. Firstly she used our chilled semen for A.I service but after her vet suggested sending her HOYS mare Curely Wurley to us she came in for fresh semen A.I
She wrote-
‘Thank you for taking such good care of Curly. I would have no hesitation in sending a mare to you or recommending you to others.’

Gillian Beattie

On our 2009 survey Helen Almey gave us 5 out of 5 for everything when using our chilled semen service except on line payment which she found difficult. Just to show we do take notice of these feedback sheets the online payment on the new website is now much more user friendly!
She wrote:-
‘Overall very pleased with your service’

Helen Almey

Scoring us at 5 out of 5 for every point on our feed back form for 2009 Rhea Borland wrote the following comments:-

‘On my initial enquiry Karen was ery helpful in explaining which stallion would suit Josie
Really great website very easy to use.
Great DVD still watching it now!
Very easy to order semen.
I had to phone as Josie had concieved twins, excellent advice!
The staff were always friendly & helpful & put me at ease
My vet commented that when the semen arrived it was the most professional service she had ever seen from a stud.’

Rhea Borland

My daughter and I would like to thank Karen and all her staff for all your care and attention with my mare and her new baby girl. We were both very unsure about putting our very precious mare in foal.

I have had horses all my life, but Poppy was my daughters first horse. She is a very beautiful Conamara cross with lots of attitude and has taught my daughter so much. Unfortunately, our time with her riding and doing dressage was short lived after she tore her tendon, followed by a further knee injury post-op. This left my beautiful mare intermittent lame and her career has a dressage horse was over For a while she went to and from the stable to the field with no meaning in life. We had discussed putting in foal and having a baby Poppy ,but we had never ventured in breeding we didn’t have a clue and didn’t want to anything that would cause Poppy any further distress.

Out of the blue one day I decided to phone around and discuss our thoughts about putting Poppy in foal. At first this was a nightmare, I spoke to people who were not understanding about our special horse ,they just quoted prices, and rules at me. No questions about my horse or any advice about what we all would go through. Eventually I spoke to Karen at Country farm stud and straight away and took a liking to her. She asked me all about poppy. I asked all sorts of questions and nothing was too much trouble. Karen spent ages with me. Eventually it was decision time and with one phone call, my mind was made up, we visited Country farm Stud and was impressed how clean and well run it all was. We went in the field and saw all the new mums and played with the foals deciding which stallion we wanted. Again, nothing was too much trouble and Karen was there to answers all our questions and concerns.

We decided on ‘Percy’ TOP GUN. He was the most placid and well behaved stallion I have ever come across. Mind you all the stallions on the yard are very well behaved. Which if course you have to consider when you want to breed because the temperament will come through to the foal.

We took Poppy the next week, and from then on the standard of care she received was second to none. I was a complete pain, and phoned every day to ask how she was, I shouldn’t of bothered because she was absolutely fine. A few weeks later, I got a phone call from Karen to advise my mare was in foal first time. My heart sank, there was no going back now. Because she was so settled Poppy was kept with Karen for a few weeks more and then came home . Any problems or questions I would just phone and Karen would be there to answers them.

We decided to send Poppy back to Karen to foal. Now I can confirm Poppy can be a bit of a wimp and when it came to labour it took her 3 days before she decided she could not hold on to this foal any longer. This of course meant Karen was up for 3 days and nights with her waiting for her to foal. And I didn’t know at the time, but Karen was in foal herself and wasn’t feeling very well.

We had a filly 11.30 pm 21 May, Karen phoned me straight away and we went to see her. I also had the video to watch at a later date. Again, nothing was too much trouble mare and foal was received first class attention. We visited practically every day.

I can’t thank Karen enough for all her patience with me and the care she gave both my mare and foal ,I have since passed her name to many of my friends and they also are now in receipt of a country farm babies, A friend came to visit Poppy and her new foal, and was so impressed with them that she has borrowed Poppy and sent her back to Country farm stud for a foal of her own. So Poppy is going to be a mum again.

Poppy is very special to me and my family and it took a special person like Karen to let her go and be looked after by someone else, it took all the trauma worry out of breeding and just left us with good memories and a beautiful little filly, so poppy will always live on.

KATRINA NELSON

“I came to countryfarm stud to purchase a filly foal and found the quality was outstanding. I bought a colt and filly there and then! After speaking to Karen and viewing the fantastic stallions, I made the decision to send all 4 of my mares to be put in foal. Help was given from day one to arrange everything. All aspects of the A.I. were handled with the utmost care of my horses. (2 were maiden mares) It just made everything very easy on me. It was the first time I had sent any of my horses away. It is in short a very efficient and professionally run stud, and I would have no hesitation in recommending them to anyone.”

Karen Finney

“The Equine Unit at Warwickshire College has worked with Country Farm Stud for the last two years using chilled semen from their stallions with 100% success rate. The service for chilled semen is very professional, the quality of semen is excellent and Karen is a pleasure to deal with. We have two fantastic foals with two more on the way which the students are very excited about, as they get involved from the birth to handling them through their first years.” – Warwickshire College.

Vanessa Wright – Equine Enterprises Manager – Warwickshire College

“We have known Karen for 8 years. We met her for the first time at Osbaldeston’s stallion parade when we were looking for a husband for our mare, that’s all we knew about breeding. She was very helpful and informative, so we arranged to go and see her boys at home. She talked us through the process, so we arranged for Katie our mare to go and be served, after she was scanned in foal we took her home, but being complete beginners we asked Karen to take her back for Foaling. Katie made a good mum so that became her new role, we have now had four gorgeous youngsters not only did Karen help us at the beginning, but has also broken, jumped and shown the first two, the third was sold at weaning, Karen also did this for us, and the forth one has just been weaned and is going to stay with her. We have had nothing but good advice and help over the years, nothing is too much trouble. If anyone is looking for friendly and honest advice we cannot recommend Karen highly enough.”

Susan & Sarah Marsh

When we visited your stud to view Spotswood Jafeica we were very impressed with him as his temperament was just what we look for in a husband for our sec b mare abbey, who we have had since a yearling. She has already had a foal with us and were happy to put her in foal to another stallion ,as we want to produce quality competition ponies , so max was the obvious choice.

When abbey came to stud we were very happy with the way you made us feel that our little mare would be well looked after. It didn’t stop me from phoning every couple of days to see how she was getting on though {but mums are like that aren’t they we tend to worry } you very very patient with me.

When abbey came home after being scanned in foal , she looked very well and happy. Her colt foal was born in march and what a tall leggy thing he was too. ! ! We didn’t get the colour but we had a very good natured foal and we named him Harvey. Abbey came back again to max and produced another colt we call Harley , he too has a super nature.

Abbey has returned to stud again too max with her daughter Maisey and again I was on the phone worrying about our little filly as this will be her first foal , again she was treated brilliantly as she was a little shy a meeting her husband. All went well and both are in foal and blooming, so we are looking forward to both mother and daughter having fantastic foals due in April/May.

Needless to say having been to the stud three times will speak for it self how happy we are with the care and attention our ponies had. Photos of Abbeys two foals are on site. Thank you again Karen for your help and advise and would recommend your stud to anyone for either ponies or horse to come and know that they are in capable hands.

Diane Levey.

Sharon Hawley Testimonial