1st June 2009:
 Hello All! Pinch, Punch its the first day of the month- its June! Whats happening in the office today? We're busy packing boxes and despatching horses to their new homes and i've been working on our advert for Breyerfest (shown right). UH is visiting Breyerfest in the USA next month. Breyerfest is a model horse convention held in the horse capital of the world- Lexington in Kentucky, USA. We attend Breyerfest every few years and this time to celebrate our attendence, we have produced an Utterly Horses at Breyerfest collectable button badge. If you are visiting Breyerfest this year, come and visit us at the Swap meet (held in the HIN) to collect one of the badges. Breyerfest is in July and we will have lots of pictures and a full report when we return, so keep an eye on our website for more details.
Becky :)
29th May 2009:
Hello! New Horses have just galloped into Utterly Horses on this sunny afternoon. We have seven new additions to the GeeGees range, a range of horses that feature brushable manes and tails and removable tack that can be used on other horses within the Classic 1:12th range. The GeeGee riders are poseable too and are jointed to ride the horses or to help out in the stableyard. Click here to be taken to the GeeGees section on the website to view the new horses. Gonzo the Dressage horse is one of UHs favourite horses so far but shhh, don't tell the other models! Becky
18th May 2009:
 Hello! Wow, what a start to the week. Early this morning Sheik, Kuchi and Saracen galloped into our warehouse in a very large box (and then galloped out again in several smaller ones!). They are three fantastic models and great additions to the range- i'm sure they will become firm favourites with everyone very quickly. I managed to take some quick pictures before they were boxed up again and here they are: Pictured right is Sacaren, the Spotted Drafter and below Sheik Af Hallundbaek (left) and Kuchi the Gypsy Vanner (right). All three models are available to purchase now and further details can be found here.  
Fingers crossed that you should have received a copy of your 2009 catalogue by now. Many of the items in the catalogue are available now but there are still some products which we are waiting to arrive, including the new Pony Parade models by Safari. These items are pencilled in to arrive in June and of course we will keep you updated if this changes. One other bit of good news is that Pippin is due to arrive first thing tomorrow morning! Woohoo! All pre-orders will be despatched tomorrow and an email confirming this will be sent to everyone. OOooooOOo, its soo exciting!! I wonder what exciting thing will happen on Wednesday?!
Becky :) 13th May 2009:
Hello! Sorry for the delay in updates- i've just finished unpacking everything from Badminton Horse Trials last week. We had a fantastic time at the event meeting many customers (hello!) and we even found the time to walk some of the cross country course too. The cross country jumps are huge, with many being taller (and wider!!) than myself! We investigated the Wanworths Brewery jump that must have been at least 2 meters wide!  Whilst i was at Badminton i did come back with a rather unusual purchase though- a new car. Yes, you did read that correctly!! Its not normal for me to go to a show and come back home, driving a new car!! After we set up the stand last week, we went to the local town to get something to eat and whilst walking up the high street we passed a car showroom that had a funky purple mini on its forecourt. I loved the car the minute i saw it and the rest of the UH team persuaded me to take it for a test drive the next day. That was a bad idea as soon as i drove it, it was sold. It was coming home with me!! So meet the latest motor to the fleet- the purple mini which has yet to be named. All the vehicles within the UH team have names weirdly enough- we have Doug and Murphy so far. Each are named after their numberplates. A weird fact!! Back to UH news. The good news is that the UH catalogue is back from the printers (woo!) and is being mailed out to everyone this week (woohoo!). Keep an eye out for the postman delivering your copy! If you have purchased something recently from Utterly Horses you will automatically receive a copy of our catalogue. If your not sure or what to request another one just in case, you can request one through this page.
To celebrate the release of our new catalogue aswell, we are giving you the chance to add Becki the Bear to your collection, for FREE!! Place an order now over £25.00 and you will receive a Becki the Bear FREE!
Becki the Bear is the newest (and smallest!) member of the UH team and helped to put together our latest catalogue. She loved travelling to different parts of the world finding exciting new priducts to add to our collection and have even more fun product them testing! Becki the Bear wears a blue T-shirt too, a little souvenir from her visit to Kentucky in the USA where she found many new Breyer Vanner horse (who can be found on Page 7 of our new catalogue). Don't forget that with Becky the Bear you can also enter our unusual competition, details below, for the chance to win £50 of Utterly Horses vouchers to spend on whatever you wish. Details and pictures of Becki can be found here.
More good news is that Pippin the Pony will start to be posted out to everyone next week. He is due into the UK later this week and will be with us next week. I will email everyone when your order is despatched so you know when to keep an eye out for a large brown box. Kuchi and Sheik are also due in around the same time and these spring release models can be pre-ordered ahead of their arrival too. Please click here to be taken to the page with more details.
 In other Becky News, did i tell you about my latest tattoo? I got it two days after the marathon on the principal that i got all the pain out of the way in one go!! Its on my foot and is six symbols that represent all the marathons and mountains i've ran or climbed over the last three years. The symbols from left to right are: London Marathon 2007, Mount Toubkal (Morocco), Kilimanjiro (complete with giraffe!!), London Marathon 2008, Three Peaks (Snowdon, Scaffel Pike and Ben Nevis and London Marathon 2009. Phew! Quite a list! I have to admit that is was the most painful tattoo i have had so far but i'm really pleased with it. Can't wait to show it off when the summer comes and flip flops are the footwear of choice!!
 There has been lots of news today; its been a week of surprises from our new catalogues arriving Monday, news of Pippins arrival yesterday and today i had another total out-of-the-blue surprise- a HUGE bunch of flowers. A gorgeous bouquet of flowers including roses and those huge daisy looking flowers which i love, now occupy a large part of my desk as i type this! And who sent these flowers? A tall, dark, handsome man that i love very very much, sent them to me just because he could. Aww. Who says romance is dead?!! I love you too, Lee. Becky :) (who has had a week of surprises. Who knows what will happen tomorrow?! Stay tuned!) 5th May 2009:
Hello! Hope you all had a good bank holiday. I've had a busy weekend packing our show stand for Badminton Horse Trials, which we leave for tomorrow at the crack of dawn!! (yawn!!) We are located in the Horse Village, within the shopping area of the site so if you are at the Trials, please drop by and say hello!
See you there
Becky :)
27th April 2009:
Good Morning! Gosh, do i ache this morning! I ache in places i didn't know existed and my legs are on strike. I'm waddling around the office like a duck and its making everyone in the office laugh. Why am i waddling? I completed the London Marathon yesterday!!! Woo!
I safely completed the marathon, for the third time, in 6hrs 30 mins. I was aiming for a time under 6 hours but that didn't quite go to plan after picking up a groin strain at mile 6. Never to be undefeated i plodded on, walking a vast amount of the course but finishing none the less. The main thing was that i completed the course and had a whale of a time on the way around. I met many people, even some famous faces (Peter and Jordan) and to be honest i don't think i've ever waved so much to a crowd before.
This year i was dressed as a nurse, as i was running for a medical charity so it seemed quite appropiate. The outfit was quite striking, especially with stripey red and white tights! Here are a couple of pictures from the start, in Greenwich, London:
 
The first picture is me and Lee, just before the race and the second one is me limbering up (although i can't believe someone snapped me doing this!!). Haha!  
Above are some pictures on the course. My support team (thanks guys!), spotted me at Mile 6 and took the picture on the right. It was really sunny yesterday and everyone came home yesterday with sunburn! I have some really weird sunburn lines!! My support team had very red noses last night too after standing in the sun too long, waiting for me to run past! The first 6 miles were okay and i was plodding along quite happily, waving to the crowds as i ran past. Unfortunately just after Mile 6 my leg began to hurt and i had to slow down to try and give it a rest for 5 minutes. As i carried on, my leg didn't improve but power walking didn't hurt as much as running did, so this is how i completed the rest of the marathon. I did make myself run over Tower Bridge though, much to the protest of my little legs!! You have to run the important bits- the start, middle and the end!! The second half of the course was tough. My feet were not talking to me, my knees had given up but there was no way i was going to stop. I wandered on, talking to other competitors and the crowd who were cheering me on. I couldn't feel my legs, but slowly but surely the miles clocked up and that finish line gradually came into sight. I turned the corner in front of Buckingham Palace and found a little bit of energy i had stored for the run down the Mall towards the finish line. The pictures below are me at the finish- still smiling and my costume in once piece! It was a fantastic day, with great crowds, inspirational people and something i glad i was part of. A huge thank you to the MEDICS charity for the opportunity to let me run for them in the Marathon and my support team who came up to cheer me on. A big hello and well done to everyone i met on the course too.
Today i am back at work although i am hobbling around alot. My feet are a little damaged (3 blisters to be exact), and my calves, hamstrings and quads really ache this morning- and then i have a torn calve muscle! Oh well, no pain, no gain and afterall, i got one of these at the end....
Becky :) 
Above: Lee and Becky at the finish and the Marathon Medal.
24th April 2009:
Hello all! Sorry i haven't written in a while. Its been a very busy week and i have lots of news to tell you. So where to start?
The new 2009 Utterly Horses catalogue is finished and its at the printers at the moment. We were a couple of days behind shedule so unfortunately it won't be launched at Badminton but it will as soon as we return. I'm really pleased with how the catalogue turned out and as a preview, here is a sneaky peek at the picture used on the front/back cover. Can you name all of the horses in the picture and find the three animals also hidden within it too?
The new catalogue is crammed to bursting point with lots of new products, many of which have yet to be uploaded to the website- thats my job for next week. There are new Traditional Horses, New Classic Horses and Accessories, Herds of new Pony Parade items and some new arrivals in the Stablemates section. Keep an eye on our website over the upcoming week to see the products as they are uploaded. The new catalogues are due to be mailed out to everyone around the middle/end of May. I will let you know when we start mailing them so you can eagerly keep an eye out for the postman.
 In Becky news, Sunday is the big day..... the London Marathon! I'm running in costume again this year and this years outfit is as a nurse. Its a very different outfit and i made it even more snazzy with funky red and white tights. I think you will definately be able to spot me on the course!! My running number for this year is 40828 and i'm raising money for a charity called MEDICS. MEDICs are a charity that provide an accident and emergency doctor service. MEDICS Doctors are called out by ambulance control centres to provide emergency medical intervention at road traffic accidents, airport/ rail emergencies, agricultural/industrial accidents, fires, leisure injuries and medical emergencies.
Here are some more pictures of my costume. My tights are just hilarious!!  
 A huge thank you once again to everyone who has sponsored me... and don't forget if you would like to still donate some pennies towards my fundraising, please visit my justgiving page here: http://www.justgiving.com/utterlyhorses. Every little helps as Tescos say!! Also, i wanted to show you this picture- right. This picture is from a wall at the Marathon Expo in which everyone can write their messages of support. This is one of the messages that was left for me. How funky is that!? Right, i better get back to doing some work. I've had far too much fun trying on my costume this morning and checking out the new 2009 catalogue!! Talk to you all soon. Becky (the nurse!!) :)
16th April 2009:
Hello! I hope you had a good Easter. Did you eat lots of Easter eggs? I have to admit i sneaked one egg and ate it in one go! It was soooo yummy!
Its been a busy week already and i've been working flat out on our new 2009 catalogue. Its 48 pages crammed full of horsey goodness and there are lots of new and exciting items in this years catalogue. It is due to be launched at Badminton Horse Trials (on the 7th-10th May) and it will be mailed out to all our customers shortly afterwards. Keep an eye on our website for the exact timings. Would you like a sneaky peak of the catalogue? Tada!
 
In other Becky News, I've finialised my marathon costume and i've decided to run as nurse. The charity i'm running for is MEDICs, a charity who provide an accident and emergency doctor service. MEDICS Doctors are called out by ambulance control centres to provide emergency medical intervention at road traffic accidents, airport/ rail emergencies, agricultural/industrial accidents, fires, leisure injuries and medical emergencies. My costume is hopefully arriving today and i will get some pictures uploaded to you to see (and snigger at- especially when you find out i'm wearing red/white striped tights to complete the costume too!!).
Becky :)
8th April 2009:
Afternoon all! How are you? Are you looking forward to Easter? I've been having a think about my costume for the marathon and have come up with the idea of running as a horse fly... yes, you read that correctly, a horse fly! I plan to have a fairy type costume and then customise it with extra horses on it. What do you think? It would be a little bit different!
Happy Easter!
Becky
 6th April 2009:
Morning! Did you receive our Utterly Horses eNewsletter telling you about your Easter offer? If you haven't heard, here is the exciting offer...! "To celebrate Easter, Utterly Horses would like to give you a gift- a gift that is good for you but its not a Easter egg- its sugarfree! When you spend over £25.00 on your order, you will receive a FREE Wind Dancer Plush Horse, worth £6.95! Wind Dancers are horse Fairies that have beautiful wings that flutter in the breeze, bringing adventure and excitement to those who believe. Let your imagination run wild with these amazing Horse Fairies! The plush Wind Dancers horses are named after the different winds found around the world- Kohia, Aura and Bali. Each plush horse features a baby-soft texture, soft pastel colours, flower accents and decorated poseable organza wings. How does it work? A FREE Wind Dancer Plush Horse, either Kohira, Aura or Bali, will automatically be added to your order when we process it, of course providing that your order is over the required value of £25.00. Its a simple as that! To view the offer, please click here. And... we also have new products. In the Traditional range, Rosie the Quarter Horse, Amy the Rider, An English Tack & Accessory Set, Trotting Poles and a Duo Traditional Rug Set are the latest additions. Rosie the Quarter Horse is a beautiful Quarter Horse that comes with a rug- and is priced at £19.95. Wow! Many of the new products can be found here. Becky :)
1st April 2009:
Hello! Woohoo! Its April. Did you see or read any weird and wonderful April Fools Jokes today? The one which made me smile the most was on Expedia, who were offering $99 trips to Mars. The listing promised no interplanetary booking feeds and the price offered savings of over $3trillion! Hehe!
Today i have some exciting pictures to share with you of our upcoming UK special run model, Pippin. This model is the result of a competition staged by Breyer in partnership with the British Pony Club. Pippin is due to arrive with us in late May and here is a sneak peak ahead of time of what he actually looks like out of box. Enjoy! (Just a note, please don't share these images without permission from Utterly Horses- thank you).
So there you are, Pippin! He is scheduled to be with us during Late May but keep an eye on our website to see if this changes. Pippin also comes with an exclusive button badge which i will unveil to you shortly too. Its all very exciting!
You may have noticed that the red bar on the left hand side of the website has also disappeared. Our sale has ended yesterday but as usual, Utterly Horses always has something else in the pipeline. Keep an eye on our website over the next few days for more details....! Sorry, i can't spoil the surprise just yet! One thing i meant to mention is that some of the hobby items which featured in the sale will be heading to eBay too, so keep an eye out for the listings (and the bargains!).
My run didn't go quite to plan over the weekend and so its been rescheduled for this week. I did, however, treat myself to some funky new running shoes which i broke in this morning. They are very comfy and i know it sounds daft but i think they make me run faster!!! Zooooooom! Haha. I have my shoes sorted for the marathon but still no marathon costume. Hmmm...
Talk to you all tomorrow.
Becky :)
27th March 2009:
Afternoon All. Its been a manic week and i have to admit i am looking forward to the weekend, although, i have a 20 mile run on the cards for Sunday. Its the last long run before the marathon and i think i'm going to hurt on Monday! I'll let you know how it goes. Don't forget that our online sale ends this month. We have models in all scales and sizes in the sale and all the sale items can be found in the sale section of the site. The sale ends on the 31st March 2009 at 12 midnight. Items are on a first come, first served basis so please lasso any horses that you would like as soon as possible. Don't forget to hunt out the bargains, there are some amazing models available at reduced prices. A little message for UH Club Members- Jaxon is now available to be purchased online. Jaxon, pictured right, is the  handsome black Percheron Draft horse who has a jet black coat, a small white star and a greying mare and tail. Jaxon is the first in a series of models to be available through the Model Horse Magazine exclusively for Utterly Horses Club Members. Each Stablemate Scale Jaxon model has been repainted by hand by the Utterly Horses team making each one unique. During painting, we had all the models lined up and it looked like we were setting up a 25 horse hitch! Now there is an idea...! Please remember that Jaxon is only available to Utterly Horses Club Members and you have to have a valid membership to be able to purchase a model. There is no reason why you can't purchase a UH Club Membership and a Jaxon model at the same time though. Have a good weekend and as mentioned in the eNewsletter, don't forget to put your clock forward a hour on Sunday.
Becky :) 24th March 2009:
Morning! More goodies arrived this morning at UH HQ. We seem to have a constant stream of new items at the moment and there doesn't seem like there are any signs of it stopping. New arrivals today including the Traditional Models Shasta Moon and the Black Stallion. We also have the Traditional Scale Trail Class set in stock aswell as a funky Stablemates Carry Case. All items and full details and piccies can be found in the New section, which is here.  Three new plush horses also galloped in this morning. Meet Butterscotch, S'mores and Pepper. Each plush horse is around 18 inches long and features distinctive realistic horse colouring, suede eyelids, and ears, soft manes and tails, suede hooves and the softest coats! Snuggle up with one of these horseys! Pictures and further details can be found here. I wonder what new items will be arriving tomorrow? Check back tomorrow to see! Becky :)
23rd March 2009:
Afternoon! Eagle eyed readers of the Model Horse Magazine will have read about two upcoming models- Sheik of Hallunbaek and Kuchi, the Gypsy Vanner Horse. These models are now coming in sooner than planned and they are also joined by a third model, Fire from the Ethereal Series. Pictured below are the new models. From left to right: Fire, the red appaloosa model from the Ethereal Series, Kuchi the Gypsy Vanner and Sheik of Halunbaek the leopard appaloosa. All three models are due to be with us late May 2009. How Exciting!!
 Our Hobby section is also back to strength with a delivery arriving this week from Rio Rondo. Tack Kits, Bits and Buckles are back into stock in addition to other tack making supplies like Stirrups and mohair. Please visit our hobbysection to see the range of items.
Becky :)
18th March 2009:
Afternoon! Gosh, two posts in one day! This time its something not totally model horse related. As you may know, i ran in the Flora London Marathon last year (2008) and the year before (2007) and once again, i'm taking up the challenge of completing it again for 2009. The MEDICS charity have kindly given me a Golden Bond Place for the 2009 Marathon. MEDICS are an outstanding charity who provide an accident and emergency doctor service - The Mid Essex Doctors Immediate Care Scheme. MEDICS Doctors are called out by ambulance control centres to provide emergency medical intervention at road traffic accidents, airport/ rail emergencies, agricultural/industrial accidents, fires, leisure injuries and medical emergencies.
So on the 26th April 2009 i will be running the 26.2 miles around London for this very good cause. To help me support MEDICS, i would like to ask you to sponser me- every penny counts. To sponsor me, just click on the image above or on this link.
Thank You.
Becky :)
18th March 2009:
Morning! You may have noticed a small change to the top bar today. The "Discussion forum" bar has been replaced with "UH on Facebook". We have decided to change this part of Utterly Horses and move everything to Facebook as its means we can show you pictures of new models, upcoming items and detail whats happening all in one place, rather than two or three different places. Keep an eye on the page for updates! (News of a 2010 Breyer model is on the page at the moment!) Here is the link to the new page.
Becky
17th March 2009:
Yes, its me again. I couldn't sign off for the night without posting some pictures of the new 2009 models, after we eventually unpacked them all! Pictured below are: In the top row are Twilight, the Appaloosa Foal, Cochise the black and white pinto and Quickstep the Quarter Horse Foal. In the bottom row is Idocus the bay sport horse and Mon Gamin, the coloured horse. When purchasing Idocus and Mon Gamin through Utterly Horses, you also get a free decorated show bridle. The dark brown leather Bridle features Silver & Black decorated browband and a double bit and reins. Ooooo! How funky is that!
Right, i better escape the office before i get locked in for the night. Although, on second thoughts, getting locked in the office with lots of new Breyers could equal lots of hours product testing them!!
Becky :)
  17th March 2009:
 Another post today.... i have sooo much to tell you this afternoon! I'm not sure about you but i'm always on facebook- well, to be honest i don't think the page is ever off my computer! I'm on facebook, as Becky Benfield (add me!) and i've just put Utterly Horses on there too. You now can become a fan of Utterly Horses by clicking here. The page is going to be updated weekley with news from Utterly Horses and pictures of things we get up to and new products that seem to constantly be arriving at UH HQ at the moment! Its that busy time of the year!! If you visit the page at the moment, there is a sneaky peak at a couple of "new" items and pictures of us out and about. Anyway, if your on Facebook and would like to become a fan of Utterly Horses, visit this link. See you on Facebook.
Becky
17th March 2009:
Ooooooo! They have finally arrived! The New Breyers are here! Most of the 2009 Traditional and Classic models are now in stock, with a few models following later. I'm off to unpack the boxes and will post pictures asap!! Talk to you all later. Oh, details of models in stock can be found here.
Becky :)
16th March 2009:
Afternoon! I had forgotton that i hadn't uploaded the product details for the latest issue of the Model Horse Magazine. Sorry! I have fixed it now and the latest issue, volume 11 is now availabale to purchase. Volume 11's spotlight is on Horses in Japan. We'll learn about the role of the horse is Japan, Japanese breeds, Yabusame (archery) and even a little bit about Samurai warriors. I'll also show you how to Paint Micro Mini Models. And as a first for this issue, we are also offering a limited edition model called Jaxon. Here is the link to the product page.
Becky
13th March 2009:
Morning! Its Friday and yesterday, we welcomed two old favourites back into the range- our Utterly Horses stables. The two horse stable (UH010) features two stables with hinged top/bottom doors and latches. The two horse stable and tack room (UH011) features two stables, each with hinged top/bototm doors and latches, and a tack room with a hinged door, three tack pegs and a hayloft. Both stables have convertible roofs that can be used as paddocks/arenas. Remove the two roof sections for additional access and reverse them to create a large paddock or arena around you stable. The great thing about these stable sis that they fits all model sizes (Traditional Scale downwards) and no screwing or gluing required. Its ready to play! To view pictures of the stables please click here.
The Marathon is just over a month away and i'm getting very nervous already. I still haven't thought about what costume i am going to wear this time... any ideas? Should i go with the superhero theme like i did last year or maybe something different this time? I thinking of something a bit mad and noticable this year. What do you think? Maybe i should run round as a pack of cards or something daft!!
Becky
 9th March 2009:
Good Afternoon! I hope you had a good weekend. Today i have been putting the finishing touches to our photo show kit... and having a play with it! The photo show kit comes with 2 x A2 backgrounds, 2 x Paddock Mats, Large Bag of Assorted Moss, 4 x Bushes and a full instruction booklet...e verything to get started really! It even comes in its own cylinder storage tube for safekeeping. All you need is a model horse and a camera and then you can give photo showing a go. We are also going to hold some UH photo shows during the year so if you want to enter, keep an eye on here for more details. I was taking pictures for our upcoming catalogue (oooo!) today and used the kit and the backgrounds for most of them. I took a picture of the setup before i started, pictured right. I have to admit i quite pleased with how it turned out, especially when we originally launched the first version of the photo kit back in 2007 but it never made it fully into production (don't ask!). 2 years in the making. Hahah! Better late than never!!
Becky :)
5th March 2009:
 Oo! Oo! An out-of-this-world, what-we-have-been-waiting-for-for-ages, product arrived today. Presenting.... a Stablemate Horsebox (pictured right)! Woo! This horsebox is FANTASTIC! It has tons of features, just check out this list: "It features doors and windows that open, two tack storage areas (one of either side of the lorry), fold down steps, two pull out storage trunks and a fold down rear ramp. The roof of the horsebox also slides off so you can access the inside of the horsebox and the living area, where there is also a sliding internal door. The cab of the horsebox also folds forwards to reveal a sleeping area. PLUS! This horsebox moves! The horsebox is friction powered, so pull the lorry back and watch it drive off into the distance!". Hehe, we have been racing horseboxes in the office all morning and they are quite speedy. We will have to go outside when the weather is a bit warmer and race them on the driveway and see how fast they really can go. Hahah, sounds like our office is a bit more like a playroom than an office and yes, you would be right to think that- as it is!!
Becky
4th March 2009:
Good Morning. More items have been added to the sale this morning, including some Papo horses. To see the new additions, please visit this section of the website.
Good News is that the new Breyer models are hopefully going to be with us towards the end of next week (well, if everything goes to plan!). Keep an eye on the website for more details as items will go onto pre order as soon as we know an exact delivery day. Woohoo!
Becky
27th February 2009:
Afternoon! You may have noticed a very big red banner on the front of the UH website... yes, its that time of year again. In preparation for the arrival of our new product ranges we have to find some homes for the models still living in our warehouse and so, we are having a little SALE! Woohoo!
We have models in all scales and sizes in the sale and all the sale items can be found in the sale section of the site. In this sale we have alot of Hobby Items available too. To make way for new hobby items, we are giving you the opportunity to purchase older hobby items at reduced prices. We have made up themed collections of Rio Rondo items for you to purchase at fantastic prices. There is only one set of each collection so be quick if you see something you like and as they say, once it is gone, its gone.
To view all the sale items, please click here.
Becky :)
26th February 2009: Morning! Its nearly the end of February and sadly, our February promotion will also end too. So if you would like to take advantage of receiving a free rug with a classic or Traditional horse, please do so sooner rather than later. When you purchase a Traditional or Classic Horse during February we will give you a FREE fleece rug that has been hand-made by the Utterly Horses team. Each fleece blanket features an unique slip on design and is very fluffy to keep your models warm and toasty. To see more details, please click here.
As we end one promotion, it means we can start another. Check back to our website tomorrow to see what we have in store!
 The new issue of the Model Horse Magazine (volume 11) is
to released shortly- we are just awaiting its arrival back from the printers. Volume 11's spotlight is on Horses in Japan. We'll learn about the role of the horse is Japan, Japanese breeds, Yabusame (archery) and even a little bit about Samurai warriors. I'll also show you how to Paint Micro Mini Models. And as a first for this issue, we are also offering a limited edition model called Jaxon. Pictured right is a sneaky peak of the front cover...!
Becky
25th February 2009:
Afternoon! Today has been a day of new items which i have snuck into the UH website. Can you find them?
The first new item is a Stablemate/Pony Parade scale stable/playmat. Its a very funky item. Unzip this soft country stable and play on the stable scene playmat, then neatly zip it all up again when you've finished having fun. We have tested this product out and it is suitable for Pony Parade and Stablemate horses. And to get you started, two Stablemate scale ponies are included! To view pictures of this item please click here.
 New Hobby Items have also appeared. Our Utterly Horses Photo Show Kit has finally made into onto our website and can be found here. The Photo Show Kit comes with 2 x A2 backgrounds, 2 x Paddock Mats, Large Bag of Assorted Moss, 4 x Bushes, each measuring 50mm high and a full instruction booklet with ideas and examples. It also comes in its own cylinder storage tube for safekeeping. The backgrounds are available on their own as a set too if you are looking for just backgrounds.
 Another new Kit is our "Create your Own Magpie" Kit. Magpie Models Horses are usually sold painted but we are delighted to offer you the chance to create your own. Each kit comes with two Magpie "bodies"- one in chestnut and the other in brown and two shanks of hair, also in chestnut and brown, to hair your models with. There are three different horses available- the Hunter, the Arab or the Welsh pony. Magpie models horses are often used in dolls house setups and with this kit you can create your own model, to your own design. Here is the link to the page with more details.
Lots of new things... and thats only the start of it!!
Becky :)
23rd February 2009:
Hello! Gosh, do i ache this morning!!! That half marathon i did on Saturday seemed a good idea at the time but today it seems like a bad one! I'm once again in training for the London Marathon 2009 and it will be my third one. Mad huh?! This year i am running for a charity called MEDICS. MEDICS are an outstanding charity who provide an accident and emergency doctor service - The Mid Essex Doctors Immediate Care Scheme. MEDICS Doctors are called out by ambulance control centres to provide emergency medical intervention at road traffic accidents, airport/ rail emergencies, agricultural/industrial accidents, fires, leisure injuries and medical emergencies. Like last year, i would like to run in costume again this year. The only problem is trying to decide what to run as. Any ideas? Any ideas welcome, however silly. Of course there is the obvious option of running as a horse....! Haha.
Becky
(who really really really aches at the moment!)
18th February 2009:
 Afternoon! You may have noticed a change to the Hobby Items section on the website- i've been pruning. Haha, who would have thought you could prune a website! We have had to say goodbye to quite a few items in order to say hello to lots of new ones. The items that you see now in the Hobby Section will be staying for a while and i will be adding other items over the next few days. One new set of items is hair- hair for rehairing model horses to be precise! Our hair is made from a synthetic material and is similar to the hair used to hair Julip and Grand Champion Model Horses. It is great to use for hairing models and we find its more managable than mohair which can go everywhere (and stick to your fingers!). It also has a lovely glossy sheen, that will give your models the superstar look. Hair is sold in shanks measuring 38cm long and weighs over 100 grams. One pack would do a mane and tail on a Traditional model quite easily. Here is the link to the section.
Becky :)
17th February 2009:
Morning! I knew i forgot to post something yesterday. Over the weekend i managed to get in person pictures of the new UK Special Run Pippin. Pippin is a blue roan connemara pony, produced on the POA Breyer mould with the longer tail. More details about the model and ordering infomation, can be found here. And.... drum roll please... here are pictures of Pippin (and may i add, these pictures belong to Utterly Horses. No sharing of these items without permission please. Its stealing otherwise. Tut tut!):
Also in upcoming news, the Christmas Horse for 2009 is Nutcracker Prince. He is a white grey Arabian, produced on the Huckleberry Bey Mould. He wears a golden bridle decorated with red and green plooms and a red blanket trimmed in green, embroidered in gold. Two decorative tree ornaments are also included which are part of his costume. Pictures of the model will be posted as soon as it is allowed- posting Christmas pictures in February is a little too early!! Another fantastic Christmas item this year is the beautful breeds ornament. A gorgeous grey Andalusian, captured performing the Spanish Walk. It would look fabulous in photo shows!
Well, thats enough upcoming model news for the moment. More later!! (Although a sneaky hint... a leopard appaloosa and a gypsy vanner).
Becky :)
 16th February 2009:
Hello! I hope everyone had a good weekend and enjoyed Valentines Day. I got a big bunch of flowers from someone special so i was thrilled to bits! Yesterday was also the day we got to see the 2009 Breyer models in person. There are some fantastic new models in the range including the new mould Idocus model. I took my camera with me and snapped quite a few of the new models, including the Best in Show models, shown right. To view the other pictures, please click on the product pages of the new 2009 items.
Becky
13th February 2009:
Goooood Afternoon. More goodies have arrived at Utterly Horses today! Wahey! We have some new Pony Parade accessories including a two-in-one field shelter/stable and a set that contains feed troughs and a hay rack. There is also a new wooden fence set with a working gate which will look fantastic on your stable yard. The traditional range has some welcome additions too including cats, rabbits and even a guinea pig! Ooooo, the Utterly Horses team will have fun playing with the new products over the weekend!
This Sunday is the BETA awards which i will tell you all about next week, after our return, plus, its valentines day tomorrow! You will have to write to me and tell me if you got any Valentines cards. Did you receive a card you honestly didn't know who it was from? .... oOo, its so exciting!
Happy Valentines Day for tomorrow. Have a good weekend.
Becky :)
 9th February 2009:
Hello! Brrrr, its chilly in the UH office today. The snow is still outside and it looks like it should be Christmas all over again. I've been putting the finishing touches on a new advert today for an equine magazine that i started over the weekend. Its a little bit different...! The picture is shown, right. What do you think? Its hard to think that the advert is made up of over 50 images and took over 8 hours to complete. Mad! Either way, i love creating the adverts even though sometimes i think my ideas are a little too "out of this world!". Muhahaha, the next one is going to be even better! Keep an eye out for the advert on the back of an equine magazine at your local newsagents soon.
This week is very busy with events including the BETA awards, the equine version of the Oscars. I've been racking my brains about what to wear at Sunday nights awards. Its black tie so i think my old faithful LRD (thats Little Red Dress- i don't do black) will solve my dilemma- where did i put the matching shoes though!? Hahah. Either way, i will try to get pictures of the event and post them on here next week for you. Who needs the BAFTAs when you have the equine version!!
Becky
3rd February 2009:
Good Morning! I hope you all enjoyed the snow yesterday. Did any of you manage to make a snow-pony? I managed to creep out of the office a little bit early to go and make some snowballs and have some fun in the snow (some of us never seem to grow up!!). Haha.
As it is very chilly outside, we have a new promotion running to ensure that your models are rugged up against the cold too. When you purchase a Traditional or Classic Horse during February we will give you a FREE fleece rug that has been hand-made by the Utterly Horses team. Each fleece blanket features an unique slip on design and is very fluffy to keep your models warm and toasty. You could use the rug around the stableyard or as a smart travel rug when travelling to shows and competitions. You can also use it as an underrug when the weather gets even colder. Brrr! To view the promotions in more detail, please click here to be taken to the section on the website.
In other Utterly news, Utterly is up for another award this year. We have reached the national finals of the 2009 British Equine Trade Association (BETA) Business Awards. Thanks to being nominated by our wonderful customers, Utterly Horses has joined a short-list of equestrian retail businesses in line to collect the SEIB Retailer of the Year Award in the Mail Order/Internet category. The accolade is one of ten horse industry "Oscars" to be presented at the glittering occasion of the BETA Gala Dinner and Business Awards at the National Motorbike Museum in Birmingham, next week. I will keep you updated on what happens. Its so exciting!!
Next week is also Valentines Day (the 14th- hint hint to anyone who had temporily forgotton!!). Have you done your shopping for your Valentine? I know i have. Who will be the lucky recipient...?
Becky :)
26th January 2009:
Hello! Today has been a day of updates. You might have noticed a new green bar appear on the top navigation bar... the UH Club is BACK! Yes, the UH Club is officially back and you can read all about the new club here. Join today to receive lots of benefits including a chance to spend the day with myself at Utterly Horses HQ!
Pippin is also available to pre-order. Pippin is due into stock at the beginning of May. We are taking pre-orders on this model as he is in high demand, plus, each model that is purchased from Utterly Horses comes with an exclusive button badge. Orders for Pippin will be despatched as soon as the item is in stock and we will advise you when your model is despatched. Ensure your reserve your model today! Click here to find out more.
Becky :)
20th January 2009:
 Afternoon! I had a little bit of a surprise today whilst wandering route my regular websites that i like to visit. I was on one of them! Spooky huh? Clicking on the "Whats New" section of the Breyer US website, i saw the headline: "Benfield Recognized As Entrepreneur". It was a little bit of a weird headline and there are not many "Benfields" in the model horse world. Clicking on the text, i discovered it was talking about me!! I have to admit, it was very odd seeing my silly surname in print. Just being known as "Becky" seems much better! Anyway, the text read:
"Becky Benfield of Utterly Horses has been recognized by The Observer as one of Britain’s best small entrepreneurs. Benfield turned her passion for collecting model horses into a successful business when she started Utterly Horses in 2001 at the age of 16. She is based out of Finchingfield, Essex but is just as successful with her internet and catalog sales. The Observer column, written by Richard Wachman, recognized Benfield and Utterly Horses as one of seven businesses doing well in this economic downturn.
The Observer kindly included me in an article at the beginning of January, an article that can still be found on the Observers website here. I was going to share the article with you all but just wanted to tell you a few more things first! Anyway, I am one of their "Entrepeneurs to watch in 2009" which is a little bit daunting but also a great challenge to do something amazing (so watch this space!!). Here is a piece of the article:
"Step forward one of the youngest businesswomen in the UK, recognised for her inspiring achievement at the annual Everywoman awards earlier this year. She left school at 16 to follow a childhood passion of collecting model horses. Now she sells them, in all shapes and sizes, to families, businesses and public bodies. In her home county of Essex, she can often be found on a trade stand at horse shows, where business is often brisk. With a staff of just five people (her mum sits on the board) Benfield, 25, says turnover is heading north and that business has not been this good since she launched in 2001. Models are handmade and retail for a few pounds up to £1500. She markets via the internet, a catalogue and from a small shop in Finchingfield, Essex."
So there you go, I was in a national newspaper! How cool is that!?!
Who knows, perhaps i will have queues of people asking for my autographs.
*Dreams*. Hmm, maybe not!!
Becky
(who is still a little star struck by it all!)
16th January 2009:
Hello All! My apologies for the delay between my last update. I have been very busy working on our plans for 2009 and wow, we have certainly outdone ourselves this year! I can't wait to unveil it all and have to be so careful not to let all the secret(s) out!! First things first, let me tell you about new products.
We have lots of exciting items due to be added to our range this year. Breyer have many new items, including a new mould Traditional model, new classics and new stablemates in a rainbow of colours. I have uploaded pictures of all the new Breyer items so please click on the scale category you wish to view and the new items will be located in the new products section. Most of these items are due to be with us early February but keep an eye on our website for updates of if the models come in sooner than expected.
Schleich, Safari and Papo all have new products this year... and the Schleich models are in stock already! Meet Thistle the Dartmoor Pony, Riley the Quarter Horse, Duke the Hanoverian Horse, Gordon the Donkey and Bali the Arabian Foal- the new 2009 models. To see their pictures, please see the new Products section of the Pony Parade category or click here. The new Safari and Papo items will be added to the Pony Parade section as soon as i receive pictures and full details.
UH also has new products in the works but i'll keep these under wraps for the moment. One clue is that we hope to bring back some favourite items from past years.
One thing that i'm excited to announce that will be returning for 2009 is the Utterly Horses Club. It has been severly missed since we retired it and so I decided it was time it came back- and wow, its better than ever! Features of this years club include:
- 3 x Issues of the Model Horse Magazine (worth £9.00!): A glossy magazine devoted to the fantastic and fasinating world of Model Horses. With the Model Horse Magazine you can learn about upcoming models, equine model events and many aspects of the model horse hobby including how to create your own tack, paint your own model, enter your model into photo showing and so much more!
- UH Club Members Badge, Poster and Sticker: Decorate yourself, your room & your belongings with Utterly Horses goodies!
- Utterly Horses Membership Card: Show your membership card at our shop or on the Utterly Horses show stand and you will be given & shown any current special offers.
- Special Offers & Promotions: Receive ‘members’ only offers
- Automatic Invitations to UH Events: Receive invitations to Utterly Horses show n’ create activity days and shop events.
- Entry into the "Win a day at Utterly Horses" Competition: An exclusive competition that only UH club members will be automatically entered into. One lucky member will be drawn at random to spend the day with Becky & the Utterly Horses team at their headquarters, seeing first hand, what happens behind the scenes.
- Signed Picture of Becky: (blush!) An official hand signed picture of Becky.
- Special Run Models: The chance to to purchase exclusive special run models.
- Discount Vouchers: Receive discount vouchers
- Keepsake Club Folder: Everything comes in a special keepsake UH Club folder.
Wow! That is the UH Club for 2009 and i have to admit i think it sounds fantastic- so good that i might have to join myself!! The club will be launched shortly so keep an eye out for it going online. It will be £12.00 for a years membership (which when you receive £9.00s worth of magazines and numerous discount vouchers, it works out quite well i think).
 Oh! I nearly forgot to tell you about another new model product- Pippin (shown right). Pippin is the new Traditional Pony model based on a Pony Club Pony. This model is the result of a competition staged by Breyer in partnership with the Pony Club. Oliver Jones owns his beloved Pippin, a 21 year old grey Connemara pony. Pippin has helped Oliver, and many riders before him, develope important riding skills and become good Pony Club members. Pippin should be with us in February so keep an eye on our website for more details! Plus! Each Pippin model comes with an EXCLUSIVE collectable button badge, available only from Utterly Horses. Woop!
Hmmm, what else? I'm working on the next issue of the Model Horse Magazine, which will be launched with the new UH Club. This issues main topic is Horses in Japan. We learn about the role of the horse is Japan, Japanese breeds, Yabusame (archery) and even a little bit about Samurai warriors. I'll also show you how to Paint Micro Mini Models.
Wow, i've just realised how much i have written and its certainely quite an update. The amount of things we have on the go at the moment i think i could write a book about it all! Now, thats an idea.. who knows, a book about UH will appear in the 2010 range!? Hmmm.
Keep checking back for more updates. Talk to you all soon.
Becky :)
3rd January 2009:
Happy New Year! Have you noticed the new products on our website? I've been working on the site over the last few days, uploading new products and having a good tidy up. There are some fantastic new items that are going to be joining our ever growing herd of horses during 2009, including some new sculptures. Keep an eye on the website for more updates... who knows what i'm going to do next!
Becky :)
19th December 2008:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the team here at Utterly Horses. We hope you have a totally and utterly model horse themed Christmas and heres to a fantastic 2009! **clinks glasses**. The UH team will be taking a few well-earned days rest over the Christmas period and we will be back in the office in January. Keep an eye on the website though over this period as no doubt i will be popping into the office to update it at some point, with a sneak preview of the 2009 range! Merry Christmas once again and see you in 2009!
Becky
14th December 2008:
Afternoon All!
How are we all? Well i hope. I'll feeling very Christmasy this week and have even completed my Christmas shopping which is unheard of. I've even managed to write all my Christmas cards, wrapped all my pressies and are now are slighlty scared of how organised i am!
The countdown to Christmas is in full swing and the big day is now less than 10 days away (Whoopee! Not that i am excited or anything!). Our last ordering & despatch date is very close too. Order before the 19th December 2008 to ensure your order arrives in time for Christmas, please. We still have herds of horses looking for new homes to go to over Christmas including some old favourites- Toreo, Azim and Polaris. These models are retired and once they have all found new homes, thats it they are gone. Give a pony a new home today!
 I forgot also to tell you about the rare ponies we currently have in our stable too, at the moment. To celebrate this Olympic year, Breyer created a very special, very limited series of models on the new hunter pony model called The Medalist Series- three ponies made in the colour of the Olympic medals- Gold, Silver and Bronze. There were 350 of each of the ponies produced and were not available to all Breyer stockists. Qualifying stockists were able to earn a limited number of these models based on qualifying criteria from Breyer. This means these models are very, very, very hard to find indeed and UH has manged to find you some. (Click on the image to find out more)
Right, i better be off to go round up some horses and ask them nicely to get into boxes, ready to travel to their new homes.
Ta ta for now!
Becky :)
6th December 2008:
 Goooood Afternoon! My apologies for the delay in updating my blog. Its been quite eventful the last few days and let me explain why.
On Wednesday i travelled up to London, to the Dorchester Hotel in Park lane to attend an award ceremony, for the Everywoman awards. The awards celebrates inspirational business women who have achieved significant success - particularly those who've overcome adversity in the form of financial constraints, social disadvantage or skills gaps. I was one of three finialists in the under 25 category for the awards who have been chosen from hundreds of entries from all over the country. Earlier on in the year i had an interview with a panel of judges who asked lots of weird and wonderful questions about Utterly Horses.
The Award ceremony was held at the Dorchester hotel in London. The hotel was absolutely amazing, you walked in and the first word that came to mind was WoW! It was very glitzy and looked absolutely amazing with Christmas trees everywhere- i have to admit i felt like a star being there, especially when it was reported that Britney Spears had stayed at the Dorchester a few days earlier! There were 300 people attending the awards, many of which were high profile businesswoman, celebrities and people like myself who had been nominated for an award. I was really starstruck when i met many of these people, many of whom own businesses with multi million pound turnovers and there i am talking to them about Utterly Horses. Everyone found UH very intriguing as its not everyday you meet someone who runs a business to do with model horses!
Before the actual award presentation we were served lunch. That was an event in itself, a five course meal served by waiters and waitresses with white gloves. It was really yummy although i have to admit at this point i was very nervous about the upcoming award presentation. I definately had butterflies in my tummy at this point!!
The host of the award ceremony was Fiona Bruce, the presenter of the BBC news and the Antiques Roadshow. She was a lovely lady and told us many interesting and inspirational stories from working on the Antiques Roadshow and Crimewatch. Other speakers at the ceremony included Dame Mary Lesley Perkins, the co-founder of Spec Savers. Fiona read out each of the award nominations, with a small description about each finalist. I was in the first category and as my name was read out as being a finalist, the butterflies turned into hippos jumping around in my stomach- i was soooo nervous! Suddenly, the winner was announced and for a split second i wondered why everyone on our table was looking at me. I HAD WON! That is a feeling i would never forget, walking up to the stage to collect a NATIONAL award for me and Utterly Horses. I accepted the award, a beautiful hand blown/made vase and even had to give an acceptance speech (crumbs!!). I thanked the team at Utterly Horses and my support team who i wouldn't have got very far without. Below (right) is a picture of me at the podium giving my speech. I'm not sure what i am doing with my hands!! The other picture, left, is me with Fiona Bruce.
 
The rest of the day i was in a bit of a daze and it took until the next morning for the reality to sink in, that i had actually won the award. Straight after the award ceremony i was interviewed by various newspapers and magazines- even the BBC! The picture below, left, shows me being interviewed for the Business Channel on Sky (wow!). The picture right, is the Breakfast Room at the Dorchester hotel in London.
So, yes, thats been by eventful week, an amazing week to be honest. Keep tuned to this page for details of my interviews- including my recent radio one.
Becky :)
2nd December 2008:
Good Evening! Wooo, its December. Only 22 days to go until Christmas Eve... how exciting! Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year even though it can be quite hectic- that reminds me, i have to do my Christmas shopping soon! Christmas is in full swing here at Utterly Horses with many many horses being sent to Father Christmas ready for him to find them new homes with good girls and boys. Lets hope the horses behave too!
Tomorrow is quite an eventful day as its the award ceremony for the Everywoman awards. The event takes place at the Dorchester Hotel in London so that in itself should be an event! I will let you know all as soon as i get back.
Becky :)
 26th November 2008:Hello! Todays my birthday! I'm a quarter of a century today (eek!) or in simple terms, 25 years old. Scary huh?! Its a little daunting to think i started Utterly Horses when i was just 16 years old and wow, its come a long long way since then!
Today was also the day i was interviewed on Live Radio. I went to the studios of BBC Essex to be interviewed by the presenter in the afternoons show. I was really nervous about this interview. I had done radio interviews before but never in the studio... and LIVE! I was sitting in the radio booth and when the presenter started to introduce me, it was a little surreal knowing that thousands of people were listening to my voice! The interview went really well and i ended up talking for at least twenty minutes. You can listen to the interview here, through the BBC website, with yours truly on the air at 1510hrs.
Becky, the radio star (well, for a day at least!!) :)
25th November 2008:
 Afternoon! Did anyone read the Daily Mail this weekend? If you looked closely at p.81 in the Mail on Sunday, you may have recognised a familar face. Yes, yours truly was featured in the national newspaper in relation to becoming a finalist in the national Everywoman awards. Woooooopeeee! I think i must have told everyone to go and purchase the paper that day! Its not everyday your picture in a newspaper that is distributed all over the country. To view the article, please click on the image, right, or click here.
And don't forget to listen to the radio at 3pm (1500hrs) tomorrow- the 26th November. I will be in the studio of BBC Essex Radio (103.5) and live on the wireless from 3pm! Its so exciting! What a fantastic birthday gift! Yes, you read that correct, its my birthday tomorrow too. I'm a quarter of a century. Eeek!
Becky :)
22nd November 2008:
Morning! Its been a week of Utterly in the spotlight and today is no exception. Today i was lucky enough to have a piece published in the local paper about Utterly Horses and myself. To view the article, please click on the image, right, or click here. It was a fantastic piece and i was really surprised that it was so big! I certainely said "Wow" when i first opened the newspaper and saw it!!
Becky
21st November 2008:
More exciting news from the world of Utterly. I've been invited to go to a Radio station next week and do an interview on live radio! They have invited me to the studio to talk about Utterly Horses, how it began and my nomination in the Everywoman awards. I'll let you know the exact details of who, what and why as soon as i know them. Either way, stay tuned!!
Becky :)
20th November 2008:
Afternoon! Today was a very interesting day indeed... and not one that happens very often! Today i was interviewed by the Daily Mail as they wish to publish a piece about me in the Daily Mail on Sunday (this Sunday!). The journalist was very nice and asked questions like how i started the business, what we do and how we are keeping Father Christmas supplied with all his Christmas presents at this time of the year. To top it all off, they sent a photographer to take some pictures to accompany the piece and so this afternoon I had a mini photoshoot at our shop in Finchingfield. He even had me sitting on a Rocking Horse at one point!! Here are a couple of sample pictures (courtesy of Lee- thank you!):
 
I'm not sure what picture (or even pictures!) they will publish. It will be a case of rushing to the newsagents on Sunday morning to purchase a newspaper to find out! How exciting!! I'm going to be into a National newspaper! Woop!
Becky
(a very excited Becky to be exact!)
18th November 2008:
Morning! Have you seen our new giftsets? Four new giftsets have been added to our website including our Classic Stable Giftset. This is a fantastic gift for Christmas and perfect starter set for a new collector (or a current collector- you can never have enough stables!). Our Classic Stable Giftset includes the Classic Barn and Sydney the Selle Francais Horse. The stable features stalls, a colourful interior, hinged doors and even comes with a jump too. Just add a couple of accessories and tada, one amazing gift! Our special online giftsets are limited though, so please be quick if you would like one. As they say, once they are gone, they're gone. Lasso them whilst you can!
To view the new sets in addition to more details, please click here to be taken to the section on the website.
Becky :)
12th November 2008:
Afternoon! Christmas is getting closer with it officially being 6 weeks to the big day. Have you created your wishlist of items you would like to ask Santa for? Visit our wishlist section to start creating your very own wishlist.
Becky
7th November 2008:
 Morning Everyone! Have you seen the new model we have uploaded to the website? Caliente, the 2008 Tour Model, is a fiery dappled chestnut Lusitano whos name means "hot" in Spanish. Each model comes with a Certificate of Authenticity and is stamped with "2008 Breyer Tour Limited Edition" on the belly of each horse. This model was exclusively available at 2008 Breyer Tour Stops including the Utterly Horses Breyer Weekend 2008. It is now available to add to your collection. The model comes presented in Blue Velvet Drawstring bag, with silk lining rather than the Traditional Breyer box. Like a number of items this year, a limited number of models are available.
In other Becky News, i have been nominated for another award. Wooohoo! I have been nominated in the under 25 category of the Natwest EveryWoman Awards 2008 which recognise truly inspirational women in business. Back in October i was invited to Natwests HQ in London for an interview where i was asked questions by a panel of judges in addition to having photographs taken and they even did a sound recording too!! It was quite an experience especially when i met the other nominees, some of which are very well known within business circles. I have to admit i was a little bit star struck! The award ceremony for the awards is held in December at the Dorchester hotel in London (ooooo!) so there is not long to wait until we hear who the lucky winner is. Its such a honour to be nominated for this type of award, especially when it is a national one and i have to admit i am still a little shocked at the news! If i had to sum it up in one word, it would most definitely be "WoW!".
Becky :)
1st November 2008:
Morning! Its November and offically 8 weeks until the big day! oOOOooOoOoOo! To welcome in November and well, because we love Christmas so much here at Utterly Horses AND we like to give our customers that little bit extra, I would like to introduce to you our special online giftsets which include fantastic items- FREE! We have created some unique online giftsets that contain your favourite items plus some fantastic free item to make them even better! These giftsets are limited so be quick! To view the giftsets, please click here.
Becky :)
31st October 2008:
Happy Halloween! and don't forget our winter promotion of "rugging up your models for free" ends tonight!
Becky
 28th October 2008:
Afternoon! My apologies for not writing sooner. For the last week i have had the pleasure (well, thats not actually true) of the dreaded lurgy and have been tucked up in bed trying to get rid of it. Whilst i have been fighting off the flu, two new arrivals galloped into the UH Office: Matrix and Big Chex to Cash. These models are part of the 2008 Mid Year range and have arrived ahead of schedule. Please click on the "New Products" section to view all the new products and latest arrivals. The Noelle Christmas horse is due into stock early November and as soon as we have some more details, we will let you know.
Also, don't forget that our October promotion ends this Friday. Our October promotion of: "Rugging your Models for FREE" is ideal for keeping your models warm and cosy during those cold winter mornings and the dark nights (plus, they are a great little extra gift if you are buying the models as Christmas presents). Purchase any Traditional or Classic model during October and you will receive a FREE Blanket but hurry, this promotion ends this Friday (the 31st October 2008).
Becky :)
13th October 2008:
Good Morning. Well, i'm guessing your dying to hear how we got on Friday evening at our award ceremony. We WON, not one but TWO awards. We are still absolutely amazed at the result! Utterly Horses on the awards in the Excellent Customer Service and the eBusiness categories beating many other high profile companies. Let me tell you the story from the beginning....
As i predicted, the mad rush for the shower started at 5pm on the dot. Its a little bit like a military operation making sure you are ready to go on time, not forgetting to make sure that your shoes match your outfit and your not having a bad hair day. Either way, I survived this part of the preparation and the above picture shows us all ready for the event. From left to right: Zoe, John, Fiona, Sharon, Becky and Lee.
Next we set off to the award venue and was greeted by a glass of champagne on arrival (Ooo!). The venue looked amazing, almost like a mini Oscar award ceremony, with very glitzy decorations and lots of flowers everywhere. There were around 300 companies being represented at the ceremony and everyone looked fabulous in their tuxedos and black tie dresses- including us!
Before we got to the award giving part of the evening we had a very yummy three course meal. The nerves had been building up to the evening for weeks and the butterflies were going mad after we finished our meal. Would we be lucky enough to receive an award? The picture below shows myself and Lee just after dinner. Can you tell we are really nervous?
The award ceremony itself is a little like the Oscars. Each nominee is read out and then the winner is unveiled. On each table we were given some "clappers" to help cheer for our companies and the lucky winners. This picture shows Fiona getting ready to cheer Utterly on!
And the Winner is....? The picture below shows me with our first award, the award for Excellent Customer Service. Can you tell i'm relieved and pleased at the same time?
We were already up in the clouds after our first award and then to our surprise we were lucky enough to receive a second award for the eBusiness category. This picture shows me with both awards, although it does look like i am wearing them!! After we had received the two awards, i have to admit we did celebrate in style. We celebrated with a large bottle of bubbley and then proceeded to dance the night away into the early hours. Certainely a night to remember for a long time to come and its a fantastic pat on the back for the hardworking Utterly team. Well Done Guys!
So, there you go, that was out black tie award ceremony adventure. You don't get to do that sort of thing everyday!! Also to unveil another bit of news is that last week we received word that we had been nominated for ANOTHER award, which is absolutely amazing! I may have to go dress shopping yet again!!
Becky :)
10th October 2008:
Hello! Todays the day! Everyone here in the office is counting down the hours until this evening. Gosh, its so exciting! At 5pm on the dot, there will be a scramble to get in the shower first and have first dibs on the mirror. Hahah, well, i'll let you know how it goes! I'm so excited and feel like a child on Christmas morning!!
Have a good weekend if i don't speak to you sooner.
Becky :)
8th October 2008:
Afternoon! Did you know, its 11 weeks today until Christmas? (Yes, i'm sorry i said the "C" word!). Now, i can see two sides to that piece of news. The down side is that Christmas does not seem that long away but on the postive side its not that long to wait until the big day! Either way, there is plenty of time to do your Christmas shopping and you may have noticed the "Christmas" section on our website. In this section we showcase our festive products from Special Christmas Only items to Giftbags of goodies. Details of our bestselling items and our recommendations for Christmas can be found here too! Just one word of warning, so to speak. Some of the items in the Christmas section are limited and once they are gone, they are gone. One example of this is our Utterly Horses Tack Room and Stable (UH014). Whilst this item is in stock at the moment we anticipate selling out before Christmas, so please if you would like one to order sooner rather than later. Talking about Christmas.... that reminds me, i must put the office Christmas tree up!!
Gosh, do i have butterflies today! This Friday is the black tie award ceremony in which Utterly Horses is nominated in two categories and i have to admit i'm quite nervous. As promised, i'm going to unveil the dress for you... and so.... *drumroll please*, may i show you the dress that i will be wearing:
What do you think? Its definately company colours! The colour of the dress almost matches the colour of the website perfectly! Either way, i'll make sure we get pictures of the team in their glad rags on Friday and post them all on here for you to see. Gosh, its soooo exciting!!
Becky :)
 6th October 2008:
Morning! Hope you all had a great weekend. You might have noticed the new "Wishlist" section on the website over the weekend. You can now create your own Wish List and receive the presents you really really would like from our website! How funky is that!!? With such a huge selection of products to choose from, your Wish List can contain all your dream Utterly Horses products and is a great way to ensure your friends and family know exactly what to buy you for that special occasion. Your Wish List is also a great way to keep a list of the things you want to buy too! Want to create your own wishlist. Click here to start wishing.
Becky
2nd October 2008- Evening:
Hello Again. Remember i mentioned something about adding more bits to the website. Have you found the new section yet? Happy Wishing!
Becky ;)
2nd October 2008:
Hello Hello Hello! Its October- the offical start of the festive season... well, in Utterly Horsesland anyway! We like to celebrate in style and so during October (1st October- 31st October 2008), you can rug your Traditional and Classic Horses for FREE! What a way to start the festive season! For more details, please click here
You may have also seen some new products to the website. This includes Fire Magic: the 2005 Breyerfest Horse, Two Funday Horses and new models in the Pony Parade range. Take a look at our new arrivals here.
We have also launched several new competitions (wow, haven't we been busy!). You can enter for the chance to win a selection of new items as well as read about our Golden Ticket Hunt which is back for 2008. Details and piccies can be found here.
Right, better dash. I have even more bits to add to the website shortly...!
Becky :)
30th September 2008:
Afternoon! We have finally finished judging the colouring competition and wow- we had so many amazing entries, it was a very tough decision! After lots of debates, plenty of discussions and heated conversations, the winners have been chosen and they can be found in this section of the website. Well Done to the winners and thank you to everyone who entered. Keep an eye out for the postman who will be bringing you some goodies as a little thank you for entering.
Becky :)
Above: A selection of entries for one of the categories
23rd September 2008:
Hello! Wow, my desk is covered in glitter at the moment. I've just opened the last batch of colouring competition entries we received in the post yesterday and i think most of the glitter has ended up wedged in between the keys in my keyboard rather on the original picture. My keyboard looks very glitzy now to say the least. It could pass as a celebrity's keyboard!! Yesterday our Utterly Horses Summer Colouring Competition closed and now our judges have the very hard task of picking the winners. I would like to Thank you everyone who entered- there are some fantastic and very creative entries. Once our judges have completed their tough task, i will post pictures of the winning entries online for you all to see. Good Luck and Thank You! I'm off now to find the hoover to spring clean my keyboard!
Becky :)
19th September 2008:
Afternoon! :) I hope you are all enjoying the sunshine today. Looking out of the office window it almost seems like summer and most unlike September! Don't forget that our colouring competition ends on the 22nd September so please make sure you get your entries back before then. If you have not heard of our competition before, please take a look at this page of the website to find out more and download an entry form. There is still plenty of time to enter.
Over the last few weeks we have been receiving entries for our Catalogue competition, which is featured on page 40 of our current catalogue. The aim of the competition is to get an Utterly Horses catalogue photographed in a extreme or unusual place and we have received entries that have made laugh, chuckle and wonder "how did they do that?!". One of our favourites so far has been sent in by by Florence Brizard and shows her niece Tyga-Rose holding brochure at a show at Le Haras du Pin. Le Haras du Pin is the national stud of France and is often called the “Versailles for Horses”. (This entry is shown below)
Well Done on taking a fantastic photo! This competition is still open and will end as soon as the 2009 Utterly Horses catalogue is released, so you have a few more months left yet! Get snapping!
In other Utterly News, the conquest for finding the perfect dress for our upcoming awards dinner has come to an end. I found thee dress this week- and even have shoes to match too! I won't unveil the dress as yet but i'll show you a sneaky peak of the shoes (right). Gosh, its so exciting! A couple of weeks to go and counting...! I better start practicing how to walk in heels!!
Becky :)
9th September 2008:
Morning! Another new arrival galloped into our warehouse this morning- Newsworthy, the new mould Traditional jumping pony. It wasn't long after his arrival that we had one out of its box to have a "play" and take some pictures for you all to see. Some of those pictures are below:
Bigger pictures and more details can be found on Newsworthys product page, which can be found here. Enjoy!!
Becky :)
(who is planning many scenes and pictures with this model! Muhahaha!)
8th September 2008:
Good Morning! We have had some new arrivals to our barn this morning, including some old faces. Two long retired items, the Traditional Ground Training Set (#2480) and the Western Roping Saddle (#2472) have made a welcomed return to the range for a limited time aswell as special models Polaris and Mandrake. Polaris and Mandrake were available at special events during 2007 but they are now available to be purchased online to add to your collection. Pictures and more details can be found in this section here.
There has also been an update on the Mid Year range. The Elegance Dressage Set (#1182) will not be available this year due to a manufacturing issue and it is hoped it will be included in the 2009 range instead. Of course if this changes, we will let you know.
Since our exciting award nomination(s) a few weeks back, the topic of what to wear to the event has been highly discussed between the UH team in the office. Today everyone has been telling their tales of shopping over the weekend for dresses, tuxedos and matching accessories- and the funny stories that went with them! Who would have thought finding the perfect dress or tux could be so difficult! I really can't wait until the actual event when i can take lots of pictures of the UH team glammed up and post them on here for you all to see. You won't recognise us!!
Becky :)
29th August 2008:
Hello! Today we have added two new models to our Coming Soon section- Noelle the 2008 Christmas Horse and "Big Chex to Cash". Both will be available in the next few months as part of the Mid Year Range. Here are some pictures of the models:
Also, just a little reminder that our Goody Bag offer ends on the 31st August- Sunday. With any order you will receive a FREE Goody Bag of Horsey Goodies and Activities to keep you busy during August. Each Goody Bag contains an Utterly Horses Summer Activity Booklet, a scrumptious fruit lollipop, horse stickers, a Mini Whinny Horse and a Badge. Grab a goody bag before the offer ends!
Becky :)
26th August 2008:
Afternoon :) Hope you all had a good Bank Holiday. What did you get up to? I managed to keep out of the office for two days straight (which is quite a record for me) and managed to visit a few places i had been aiming to go all year which was a nice change. On Utterly News, we have an update on when the Mid Year items are planning to be in the UK. Most of the items are due to be into stock by the end of September, with more to follow in October. The expected arrival dates of each item will be updated shortly and more Mid year items will be added to the section. To view the current range of upcoming items, please click here. If i here anything else i will of course let you know.
Becky :)
21st August 2008:
Morning! I received some exciting news in the post this morning- really really FANTASTIC news! Utterly Horses is a finalist in the Excellent Customer Service and eBusiness categories of the Mid Essex Business Awards! Not one, but two categories!! Woop Woop! Its a great piece of news that has had the UH team bouncing off the walls like they have been eating too many chocolate brownies (they haven't eaten those today- Jaffa cakes are on the menu today!). We are all currently debating what to wear to the black tie presentation dinner in October (there is nothing like forward planning)- now is it the red dress with matching shoes or is it a good excuse to go dress shopping?!
Becky :)
15th August 2008:
Afternoon All, Have you been enjoying your goody bags? Have you tested out the recipes(s) yet? At the moment i keep making batches of Chocolate brownies for the UH team who seem to devour them in 10 seconds flat. They are extremely yummy if i do say so myself and are a great pick me up in the afternoon. As they seem to like them soooo much, i thought i would share the recipe with you.
Utterly Horses Yummy Scrummy Chocolate Brownies:
Ingredients:
500g (1lb 2 oz) of Chocolate (whatever flavour you fancy)
75g (3oz) Butter
3 Eggs
175g (6oz) Caster Sugar
175g (6oz) Self-Raising White Flour
Pinch of Salt
1 .Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3 and butter a 23cm/9in cake tin.
2. Roughly chop 400g (14oz) of the chocolate and set aside. Break up the remaining chocolate and put into a heatproof bowl with the butter. Put into the microwave for 60 seconds to melt the chocolate and butter mixture.
3. Whisk the eggs and caster sugar together in a large bowl until smooth, then gradually beat in the melted chocolate mixture.
4. Sift the flour and salt together over the mixture, then fold in.
5. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 35 minutes until the surface is set but a skewer comes out with a little of the mixture clinging to it.
6. Remove and cool slightly before placing on a wire rack to cool.
7. Cut into pieces and keep in a tin or in the fridge.
Note before your start cooking: Please ask for the help of an adult when making these delicious treats as hot liquids can be dangerous (also, they can help with the washing up afterwards!!!).
Happy Baking!
Becky :)
1st August 2008:
Afternoon All. Its August! Woop Woop! August means school is out for the summer and with this is mind we are delighted to offer a Free Goody Bag of Horsey Goodies and Activities to keep you busy during August. The theme of the goody bag this month is to make and create, to banish any boredom that you may have over the long summer holidays. Whilst sampling the delicious fruit flavoured lollipop enclosed within the goody bag, you could have a go at one of the 7 different activities featured in the the Utterly Horses Summer Activity Booklet- the recipe for Chocolate Fridge Cake is a hit in the Utterly Horses Office! Mmm. There is also a temporary horse tattoo that you can decorate yourself with and stickers for decorating your books and folders. There is even a badge for decorating your bag or clothes... we have thought of everything! Don't forget to send us pictures of what you create using the items in the goody bag and we will pop them on the website for everyone to see.
Have a good evening.
Becky :)
30th July 2008:
 Morning! Today we had a new member join the UH team! So exciting! He is a little shy but wanted me to say that he says "Hello" to you all. *waves*. Its been a day of teaching our quirky techniques and procedures, including our famous pink tissue and horse sprinkles wrapping, and lots of oohs and ahhs looking and learning about our wide range of products. Its easy to forget that we do have lots of items and all the different techniques we use- that and we have a very unique office. Doesn't everyone have an office that can be described as a childrens playroom x stable x warehouse?!
Becky :)
28th July 2008:
 Afternoon :) We have two new horses that have just arrived to our range! Its hot off the press news! After months and months and months of awaiting, they have finally made it onto UK soil! The new Safari Quarter Horse and Gypsy Vanner models have been highly anticipated models and they have not disappointed us! The picture right, shows the two models- aren't they gorgeous! They are fantastic additions to the Classic Range.
Anybody who has pre-ordered a model will receive it shortly- we have been highly efficient and despatched them all, so keep an eye out for your postman carrying a box with our trademark "Model Horses In Transit" packing tape.
Becky :)
22nd July 2008:
Morning! Today I have uploaded two new competitions to our website this afternoon. Lucky winners can win a set of the new Safari Models aswell as the new Breyer Mid Year models including Newsworthy, the jumping pony and new mould. Click here to go to the competition page and to enter. Good Luck!
More items have also been added to the sale after we found some boxes of items lurking in the deepest, darkest depths of our warehouse. Items added include CD Rom Games, Snoozy Horses and some older Traditional Models. I'm postive that our warehouse is a bit like the Tardis from Doctor Who. You put things in it, which then go "missing" and turn up several months later. Its that or we have a monster living in our warehouse that likes to collect things and then changes his mind!! Weird. To see the latest additions, please click here.
Becky :)
 18th July 2008:Afternoon :) Wow, its been a week of surprises! In this mornings post i received a copy of the CWAC (Children With Aids Charity) Newsletter, the charity i ran on behalf of in the London Marathon.
In the newsletter they had published a little review on the 2008 London Marathon and the CWAC runners... and to my surprise they had published my review of the event, complete with pictures of me in my SuperGirl costume!! Wow! Click on the picture on the right to read the article.
For more details about the charity, you can always visit: www.cwac.org
Have a fantastic weekend!
Becky :)
16th July 2008:
Gooooooood Morning! Hope you are all well. I'm completely bouncing off the walls this morning. Why you ask? I had an fantastic night out with someone special and have to admit i am as high as a kite this morning. How embarassing! Hahah, well, enough about me, whats happening at Utterly HQ?
I'm currently working on the next issue of the Model Horse Magazine. Its going to be jam packed with lots of how to articles to keep you busy over the school holidays aswell as details of our upcoming photo show. My desk looks a little chaotic with lots of little projects that i'm creating, or trying to creating an article around. I should have been on Blue Peter!! In this issue i will be showing you how to make an Arabian Halter, Accessorise your performance entries and even how to make your own jumps! Its very exciting!
Well, its just a little update today as i've got to dash as i have some piccies to take and its lovely and sunny outside. That and i must try and unstick my computer mouse which i have somehow managed to superglue to the mousemat....! Mad!
Becky :)
15th July 2008:
Morning! You know, the other day i suddenly realised that i forgot to tell you about our special offers on our website at the moment!
One is a FREE Julip Goody Bag when you purchase over £20s worth of Julip items during June & July. The Goody Bag that contains a Julip Rosette, Four Leg Bandages, Bucket, Tail Bandage and a Grooming Kit. You will also be entered into our Julip Competitions to win more Julip Goodies including a stable!! The other is a little Utterly Horses online sale. All of the horses in the sale can be found in the SALE section of the site. The sale ends on the 31st July 2008 at 12midnight. Items are on a first come, first served basis so please lasso any horses that you would like as soon as possible.
Becky :)
1st July 2008:
Afternoon All! I hope you are all outside enjoying the sunshine on the hottest day of the year. For most of the morning i have been trying to work out how to get my whole desk outside, with no luck as yet. I'm sure my computer would love to have a day outside of the office although it doesn't seem to co-operate at the moment. Its wires are firmly attached to the sockets in the walls of the office in protest!! Haha, maybe one day!
I managed to do something i have been meaning to do for ages. I've created an Utterly Horses group on Facebook! Yes, you read that right... Utterly Horses is keeping up with the times!! Personally, i'm never off of Facebook chatting to friends and colleagues throughout the day- its a fantastic way to stay in touch with everyone and i thought it was time that i created a group for fans of UH. The group will be updated with all the latest UH news, new products and news from the model horse world.
Here is a link (click here) to the group which is open to anyone to join. See you there!!
Also, You may have recently seen some updates to the website:One is new prodcuts: A sneak preview of Breyers Mid Year Range (pictures here) can be found in the UH specialities section of the website. There is a new mould jumping pony- Newsworthy, Matrix the Appaloosa, Two new Craft Kits, New Colour Traditional Truck and Trailer, New Classic Set and a very special Dressage Set. The Dressage set features a doll with a porcelain head and hands- quite unique! The Truck and Trailer will be in stock by the end of July with the other items following on several months afterwards. Exact dates are unknown at the moment but as usual if i hear anything i will let you know.
Another is a new checkout. Over the next few months we will be introducing several new sections to the website and the checkout is just the start of the upgrade. The new checkout enables your order and payment to be processed all in one go, without us having to contact you if there are any payment problems. Nice and easy :)
You may have also noticed the funky new buttons on some of the products. We have created new buttons so you now can see the status of the item at a glance. Below is a run down of what the buttons mean. Clever huh?
 This Icon means that the item is in stock and available to order.
 A grey Basket icon means that the item is out of stock but will come back into stock at one point or another.
 This icon means that an item is out of stock and it has been retired. It will no longer be available.
 A yellow basket means that this is an pre order item.
 A funky blue basket icon means that the item is coming soon. When we know the delivery date of a coming soon item it will change to a pre order icon, which means you can pre order the item by adding it to your online shopping basket.
Wow, i have written a lot today. Maybe its the sunshine that makes me write more or the fact that there are so many exciting things happening at the moment- the new website, new products, new things in the pipeline. Sooooo exciting! Woop!
Catch you all later.
Becky :)
12th June 2008:
Afternoon All! Hopefully you have all received a copy of our latest catalogue by now and i'm dying to know what you think. What do you think of this years catalogue? Good Layout, Pictures okay? Have you managed to complete the wordsearch yet and figure out what our favourite tea time treat is?
You may have seen some new products on our website over the past week or so including new Utterly Horses rosettes, Pony Parade Horses and our Utterly Horses Deluxe Stable is back into stock. This stable is the 2008 Edition which has the tackroom at the opposite end to the 2007 model to enable you to create a whole yard for your horses. To see all the new products, please click here.
Keep an eye out for these new giftsets which will be uploaded to our website next week. We have a new Pony Parade Showjumping Giftset, a Classic Show Set and a Julip Stable Set. Pictures below:
What am i up to this week. Well, tomorrow i am skipping out of the office early to travel up to Scotland to take part in the Three Peaks Challenge. This involves climbing to the top of Ben Nevis, Scaffel Pike and Snowdon in under 24hrs. Mad huh? I am doing it with a group of 5 friends to raise money for Christian Aid. A picture of the team can be found here. All in all, we expect to cover 26 miles walking up and down mountains, so thats another marathon for this year!! I will make sure i take lots of pictures throughout the trip and will post them on here as soon as i get back. Gosh! That reminds me, I better go and pack! Where did i put those waterproofs...?
Becky :)
29th May 2008:
 Morning! :) Guess what?! A little lorry carrying very precious cargo arrived at the UH HQ today. It was carrying something that the team and I had put thousands of hours into, had many debates over and drunk far too many cups of tea in the process of putting together. I can only be talking about the much anticipated 2008/09 Utterly Horses catalogue! Wahey! Its here! All the boxes of catalogues have been offloaded and from tomorrow (and for weeks to come) we begin the task of despatching a catalogue to all our customers. Keep an eye out for your postman delivering your copy to you... its quite colourful this year with a very snazzy purple cover and a horse montage. The question is what model (or models even!) have we used on the front cover?
Pictured right is the stockroom full of catalogues, boxes upon boxes of them. I have to say its just nice to get the catalogue finished and back from the printers. We all agree that we should start the 2009/2010 catalogue early, so if i start now i should make the deadline of early next year!!
Becky :)
1 4th May 2008:
Today is quite a momentous occasion. The last page of the Utterly Horses 2008 catalogue was finished and sent to the printers. WOOOOOOoo! *opens the bottle of bubbly to celebrate* It seems like ages since i started designing the catalogue (and checking the calender, it has taken me a while- tut tut!). Anyway, let me introduce the new catalogue to you- pictured right. We hope to get the finished catalogues back after the Bank Holiday and as soon as they are back, they will be posted out to everyone. Thank you for your patience. I better start the 2009 catalogue now and get ahead of myself!!
Becky
 9th May 2008:Hello! :) Remember a while back i mentioned that i was nominated for the Young Entrepeneur of the Year award, well tonight was the awards ceremony down in Southend. It was a glizzy occasion which of course needed a very special dress. Pictured right, is "thee dress" as it became known which i wore to the occasion. What do you think?! Its a bit different, a little bit daring but its a gorgeous colour! The awards dinner itself was fantastic and was attended by over 700 people from various companies and organisations. Unfortunately this time around i was not lucky enough to win the award but we had a fantastic night, talking to lots of people and dancing the night away into the small hours!!
Becky :)
14th April 2008:
Good Morning! Wow. Its weird to think that this time yesterday i was running around London dressed as SuperGirl in the Flora London Marathon 2008, although if you probably ask my legs at the moment what they were doing they will say that they definately remember doing some exercise!
I safely completed the marathon, once again, in 5hrs 40mins. (The official time was 6hrs 10mins, 4 mins faster than last year, but 30mins of that was wasted queuing for toliets once again!). I was aiming for a time around 5 hrs so i am a little disappointed that the run didn't go to plan but i completed the course so its not the end of the world!! I completed it and its the taking part that counts. :)
I started at the Red Start which is located in Greenwich Park, London. Here are some pictures of the view from the park. In the background you can see Canary Wharf which the marathon route goes around and underneath it:
 
This year i went for the costume look for the marathon. I thought the SuperGirl costume would be quite applicable since i feel like one half the time (working by day and crime fighter at night!!). Getting into the costume was a bit of fun too- shame there were no phoneboxs on the route to quickly nip into for a quick change!! Here are pictures of the costume complete with blond wig:
Here are a couple of pictures from the start. The first is the queue for one last pit stop before the race and the second picture shows all the runners "under starters orders". There were 35,000 runners this year and the atmosphere was electric. Everyone was in fantastic spirits and raring to go!
My support team (thanks guys!) spotted me at Mile 6 and took these pictures. I was looking a little bit hot and bothered at this point plus i had had several arguments with my wig by this point (that and i had eaten half of it!).
At Mile 7, the Cutty Sark, i got stopped by the BBC and asked to do an interview! They asked me about my costume, who i was running for, how much i was looking to raise and what i thought of the marathon. I haven't a clue if the interview was ever aired but it was certainly a highlight that i will never forget! Either way, it was great publicity for the charity i was running for: Children With AIDS Charity.
Just after Mile 7 the heavens opened and all the runners got drenched- rain, hail and even a little bit of snow! My wig looked like a mop at the end of it and i did have to take it off for 5 minutes to let it dry out.
Mile 13 is Tower Bridge and something you will never forget. Crowds of 10 on either side of the road egging you on to make sure you didn't walk this particular part of the course. Shouts of "Comeon SuperGirl, Fly" were quite regular! I kept having to explain to people that if i flew that would be cheating and unfair on the other competitiors!! The picture (left) below is just after Tower Bridge. I running on the road on the right side of the picture whereas the runners on the left are running towards Mile 22, on the way to the finish. This point of the course is usually very noisy with runners cheering on each other from either side of the railings. The other picture is at Mile 16... can you spot me?!
 
My support team spotted me once again at Mile 17 and took these delightful pictures (!!), below. I have to admit i was starting to feel tired at this point after getting drenched once again and getting a little cold. I'm not one for giving up so head down and keep plodding on.... I did manage to get a picture of Canary Wharf as i plodded past though (below right).
Miles 18-26.2 were tough. My feet were not talking to me, my knees had given up but there was no way i was going to stop. The crowd were fantastic in cheering me on and by the 24th Mile i was cruising home, singing along to the music blarring out the pubs dotting along the route and even having a little boogie along the way!! Things are much easier when you smile about them.
..... and tada! I made it to the end. I did my SuperGirl impression in running down the Mall (dare i say i flew?!) to the finish line.
The above pictures are me at the finish- still smiling and wig still in place! It was a fantastic day, with great crowds, inspirational people and something i glad i was part of. A huge thank you to CWAC for the opportunity to let me run for them in the Marathon and my support team who came up to cheer me on. A big hello and well done to everyone i met on the course including my good friend Jens who did the marathon in a very speedy 3hr 40mins (i'm sure he must have had rockets in his shoes or something!! Haha)
Today i am back at work although i am hobbling around a little bit. My feet are a little damaged (6 blisters, bruised and minus two toenails to be exact) and my calves, hamstrings and quads really ache this morning. Oh well, no pain, no gain and afterall, i got one of these at the end....
 
Above left: The Reverse of the 2008 London Marathon Medal. This year was the 100 year Anniversary of the Marathon and so quite a special year for the sport. The picture on the right shows my pair of London Marathon Medals, one from this year and the other from last year.
Beckys London Marathon Report written by Becky of Utterly Horses.
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11th April 2008:
Remember that secret project i was working on a few weeks back, well, now is the time to unveil it!
"Utterly Horses is proud to welcome Magpie Models to the Utterly Horses stable in a move to ensure that this wonderful brand of models continues for many many years to come. Magpie Models is our new in house range of hand finished 1:12th models of Hunters, Arabs and Welsh ponies which come in a variety of collectable colours and will appear to any model horse collector. Additionally we shall be offering leather tack and headcollars so that you will be able to use them within your current 1:12th collection of other models.
Magpie Models, formerly known as Dream Ponies, began in the early 70s and interestingly was originally based in Essex, not far from Utterly HQ. It is one of the very few British model companies and each model is completely made from start to finish within the UK.
We are delighted to welcome Magpie Models to the Utterly Horses stable and we hope to keep you updated of exciting developments within this range over the next few months" I'm happy to report that the Magpie Horses have settled into their new home rather well and are getting on very well with all the other models in the warehouse. There are a couple of horses which are quite troublesome though, as they keep unlocking the warehouses doors late at night letting all the horses escape and run riot in the paddocks around Utterly HQ!! I will have to keep an eye on them! To see the current range of Magpie Models, please visit: www.magpiemodels.co.uk
Becky ;-)
To view an Archive of Beckys Blog (2007/2006), please click here.
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