28th February 2008:
Good Morning :) You may have noticed some new faces on the website in the form of new Papo and Safari horses in the Pony Parade section. The Papo of horses are hand-painted collectibles made from a durable solid material that are great to play with and collect. Created in the same scale as Schleich and Safari horses, each model features realistic details to represent each individual breed and are perfect for collectors of all ages. Perfect to mix with Schleich and Safari ranges to create a large stableyard of horses and ponies. To view the new additions, please click here.
I also got my pictures back from my Kilimanjaro trek and thought you would like this one:
If you swint and look reallllly closely at the above picture, you will see that i am holding a UH catalogue. I carried a Utterly Horses catalogue thousands of miles to the top of a mountain and can officially say that this is the furthest a brochure has ever travelled! It is also the highest, being 5895 metres up on the "roof of Africa". All the guides and myself also had a good laugh looking through the catalogue and trying to explain what exactly i did for a job, aswell as meeting some future customers from other trekking groups whilst at the top too! Keep an eye on our website for a competition similar to the "furthest travelled catalogue" idea coming soon. We have been busy thinking of new exciting competitions and projects to bring to you this year, and are positive that you will love the one we have dreamt up!
Becky :)
19th February 2008:
Hellooooooo! My sincere apologies for the delay in updating my blog. My feet haven't touched the ground recently after going on a short break to climb a mountain (!!) at the beginning on February and then being very busy at work for the last few days.
So, what exactly have i been doing? Well, working backwards from Sunday. Sunday was the BETA (British Equestrian Trade Association) Awards dinner in Birmingham. Utterly Horses was nominated for the Retailer of the Year award in the Mail Order/Internet category. Other finalists in the same category were: Robinsons, Frogpool Saddlery, Supplement Solutions, Equestrian Clearance Warehouse and Mad 4 Ponies. The award ceremony started with a Champagne reception and continued with a fabulous meal, and great company (thanks Breyer UK!) I had butterflies all evening and have to have to admit looking at the list of finalists i thought little ol' Utterly had no chance at all but sometimes its great to be proved wrong...! To my total and utter suprise, Utterly Horses was awarded the Retailer of the Year award and i have to admit i did let out a little "YES!" as a walked up to collect the award! Its a fantastic achievement and i would like to thank all our customers who voted for us- we couldn't have done it without you! After collecting the award, we found out that the judges had used three mystery shoppers to test our service and all three commented on how easy the website was to use, how quickly we despatched items and of course, the pink tissue paper and horse sprinkles! I think we are renowned for this attention to detail as much as our "Model Horses in Transit" packaging tape!! So, after partying the night away we left the award ceremony with a gorgeous trophy, framed certificate and bottle of bubbly- which we are going to open when we have a staff party to celebrate. Below are some pictures, one of our award and another of me! I do look a little dazed, perhaps it was the shock of winning the award! That dress is also quite famous by now, being a designer piece and being worn only at award ceremonys- i'm sure it will have its own fan club one of these days!!
 
So what else? Ooooo... i have only gone and climbed a mountain!! In February i climbed to the top of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, which is the highest freestanding mountain in the world standing at 5896 metres tall! I travelled with a group of 6 guys who came from all over the UK. It took us 5 days to trek to the mountain and on the 6th day, we started out ascent on the peak of "Kili" at 12 midnight in the pitch black darkness armed only with headtorches to light our way. 8 hours later we reached the top and had a celebratory cup of tea to celebrate! At the top there is 50% less oxygen than at sea level and so its impossible to trek up the mountain in a hurry!! Funnily enough, the guides who lead my group to the top of Kili were the same guys that led Ben Fogel and the BBC team to the summit in 2007- so it was great to hear all their stories from that past trek and their own experiences in climbing the mountain. Throughout the trek we camped in various locations and wow... camping is certainly different! One night we had a water buffalo in the camp, grazing right outside our tents in the middle of the night. The other thing about camping on the mountain is that is really really really cold... minus -20 degrees Celsius during the night. Brrrr! I have to admit that a couple of nights i resorted to wearing all my clothes (so thats 4 pairs of trousers, 6 tops and a ski coat) within my sleeping bag in an attempt to keep warm!! All in all it was a fantastic "holiday" and one that i certainly won't forget in a hurry. The question is which mountain to tackle next... maybe Everest next year?
Below are some pictures of Kili (with more to follow as soon as i locate them on my camera). The first one is the sign that greets you at the peak, marking that you have reached the submit. Picture two shows you how far away (and big!) the mountain looks when you are trekking towards it and the last picture is an aerial shot of "Kili". Notice that the peak of the mountain is ABOVE the clouds.. which is really weird to see when you are on the mountain, clouds all around you!
Tada! So that is what i have been up to for the past few weeks, in addition to putting together the new 2008 collection of items for our catalogue. There are some fantastic products being included in this years range and keep an eye on the website for further details and pictures. We also have some surprises for this year which are.... haha, i'm not going to spoil the surprise. ;-) You will have to be patience and wait and see!
Talk to you all soon and Have Fun!
Becky :)
28th January 2008:
Hello! I have found more items lurking in the bottom of the warehouse including Polaris and Phantasma, the 2005 Halloween horse. How they hid from me over the last two years, i just don't know!! I have also created a new section on the website called: Going, Going, Gone. This is where you will find items which we only have one left of in stock, like Painted Ponies, Resins, Porcelains and Northlight Models. Once these items have sold, we will not be getting anymore into stock. So if you see something you like, please order it sooner than later to avoid disappointment.
Our 2008 catalogue is due to be released at Easter but you can preview items that will appear in our catalogue on our website. The "Coming Soon" and "New Product" sections are two categories to keep an eye on. Regular customers will automatically be sent our new catalogue as soon as it becomes available but we will keep our website updated with release dates and information.
Becky :)
14th January 2008:
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great Christmas with lots of smiles, surprises and horses. I had a nice Christmas thank you, although i have to admit that i was in the office on Boxing Day. Eeek!
2008 is already galloping past at an alarming rate and some of the 2008 products have already been announced. The new Breyer and Schleich items can be found in the Traditional and Pony Parade sections or you can look at the Coming Soon section were all the new items are listed. Most of these products are due into stock in the next few weeks, with the hope that everything will be in stock by the end of February.
Our Winter sale has been extended to the 28th January and new items being added included Resins, Pewter Minis and Retired models. We have to find some homes for the models still living in our warehouse, in preparation for the new arrivals from the new ranges. All of the horses in the sale can be found in the Special Offers section of the site, which is under the UH Specialities category. Don't forget to lasso the models you want before they gallop away!
In other UH news, Utterly Horses has reached the national finals of the 2008 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 Hilton Metropole Hotel, Birmingham on the 17th February 2008. I will keep you updated on what happens. So exciting!!
Becky :)
19th December 2007:
Gosh, doesn't time fly pass when your having fun? The past few weeks i have been sending lots of orders to Father Christmas, to make sure he gets everything he needs for his busy journey around the world on Christmas Eve- we even made sure that everything was wrapped in pink tissue paper with lots of horsey sprinkles! Today was our last ordering date and the Utterly Horses team and I will be taking a break over the festive season to recharge our batteries and plan next years catalogue (sooo exciting! What goodies will we find for next years range?!). Even though the office will not be open during this time, our website will be fully operational and open to accept new orders. Any orders placed between the 22nd December 2007 to the 6th January will not be despatched until our return on the 7th January 2008, so please take this into account if you would like to place an order.
Tomorrow is our office party and i will see if i can sneak some pictures of the team online! ;) Its going to be so much fun. Jelly. ice cream, cake- lots of sugar. Mmm.
Becky :)
20th November 2007:
Good Evening. I must apologise for the time lapse between my last entry- its been a little manic in the Utterly Horses office. Christmas has arrived, our Christmas tree is up and we are already singing carols (honest! The Christmas CD helps us pack faster!!) I must admit that it feels like i have been living in a box warehouse for the past three weeks although thats half the fun! I have been spending my hours trying to find elusive items, that tend to hide when you want to find them the most. Why is it that the item you have spent hours looking for is always -always- in the last place you look?!....so that will be on the last pallet in the darkest corners of the warehouse, where only the spiders and our pet frogs lives. We seem to have a frog that lives in the warehouse from time to time, scarring the life out of us all when we move a box and tada, there he is! We keep picking him up and moving him outside but he finds his way back in, hippity hopping his way around. I will have to try and take a picture of him one day and post it on here for you to see!
Becky
6th November 2007:
Hello! Did you all have a good weekend? I hope so. I had an absolutely amazing weekend when we held a sparkler/bonfire party for close friends and family. We had lots and lots of sparklers that kept us amused for hours, as we are big kids at heart afterall! There is a story about me burning my trousers on the bonfire but that will have to wait for a later date ;)
In Utterly news, tomorrow sees the arrival of Wintersong, the Christmas horse. Wintersong is a Traditional scale model that comes with tartan harness and baskets lined with greenery, musical instruments, and laced with bows. We have limited numbers of this model and full details can be found here. If you would like one of these models we ask that you place your order sooner rather than later to guarantee you receive one.
One piece of news we have heard is that we will not be getting any more stocks of #302 Breyer Deluxe Barn in time for Christmas. The reason for the shortage is unknown at the moment but either way, this item will not be available for Christmas. Other alternatives are available including our own range of Utterly Horses stables.
UH was also in a magazine again this week! News of our award success featured in the Equestrian Trade News magazine and I managed to get a copy of it and upload it to our website (as a jpg) for you to peruse. Please click on any of the images below to access the picture (and save a copy of it if you wish)
Becky :)
30th October 2007:
Trick or Treat?! Are you all going trick or treating tomorrow night?
Did you know that Christmas is less than 8 weeks away? That is a very very scary thought! Although the other day we were celebrating our own mini-Christmas in the office, complete with mince pies and mulled wine.
In preparation for this holiday, we have launched a new Christmas section containing lots of inspirational gift ideas for the festive season. You can find exclusive Christmas only items to giftbags of goodies in this new section in addition to tree ornaments and special Utterly Horses products. We have also created sections detailing our bestselling items and our own recommendations for Christmas- so if you are stuck for inspiration, use our imagination this season. To see the section, please click here.
All of the items in the Christmas section are in stock and early orders can take advantage of our promotions that are running throughout the festive season. These include the Goody Bag and Golden Ticket Treasure Hunt- some of which have already been found! (Well Done!)
Oooh, i better go and get started on my Halloween costume. Now, where did i put the office broomstick?
Becky :)
24th October 2007:
Goooood Afternoon. Wow, do i have some news for you today. Its not totally UH related but still, its exciting! Firstly, you may have noticed the "Just Giving" button above. Well, As you may know, i ran in the Flora London Marathon on behalf on the Children with AIDS charity this year (2007) in addition to climbing various mountains, including the highest mountain in Northern Africa (Mount Toubkal). These challenges were amazing and thanks to generous sponsorship, i managed to raise precious funds for the CWAC charity.
This year, I would like to continue helping this amazing charity but i have increased the difficulty factor by doing a "Tri Challenge". Three challenges that include Marathons and Trekking (in addition to anything else adventure wise i can squeeeze in!). I am going to complete the following in 2008:
- Climb to the top of Kilimanjiro, the highest freestanding mountain in the world, standing at 5,895 metres in February.
- The Silverstone Half Marathon (13.1 miles) in March
- The London Marathon (26.2 miles) in April (in costume possibily- suggestions welcome!)
To help me support the CWAC, i would like to ask you to sponser me to acheive the above events. Remember every penny counts and goes straight to the CWAC charity. Donating through the justgiving site is simple, fast and totally secure. Please click here to read the full story behind my challenges.
Also, last night was my attestation ceremony with the Essex Police, in which i swore an oath to the Queen and received my warrant card. I am now officially a Special Constable. **squeals with excitement**.
Talk to you all later...
Becky :)
19th October 2007:
Evening all! Those among you who have eagle eyes will have already noticed the new sections on our website. The Christmas section is now live with details of Christmas only products including the Safari Range- hehe i kept that quiet didn't i?! We are testing this range of models for the 2008 catalogue and would love to hear your feedback/comments on them. Here are the links to the sections:
- Classic Safari Horses:
- Pony Parade Scale Safari Horses:
One section that is still under development is "Our Favourites" in which we detail what products are on our Christmas wishlists. Due to our extensive product line, it is taking the UH team quite a while to decide their list (tut tut!). As soon as they have finished i will upload their choices. In the mean time, whats on your Christmas list this year? We would love to hear your choices. Drop us an email at: becky@utterlyhorses.com
Well, i'm going to dash. I have been creating the new sections for the website for most of today and i think i have square eyes now! Ha-ha!
Have a good weekend.
Becky :)
16th October 2007:
Hello! Today was today we announced the winners of the Utterly Horses Summer Colouring Competition. Congratulations to the lucky winners and a big thank you to everyone who entered- the entries were amazing and we had a tough time judging it! To see the winning entries, please visit the competition results page which can be found here.
One thing i meant to mention earlier was our Utterly Horses Spooktacular shop event is *this* weekend at our shop in Finchingfield. Join us for a spooktacular weekend of model horses at our retail shop in the glorious North Essex Village of Finchingfield. The event features many special offers including the chance to purchase exclusive models- Mid Year, Halloween and Show Specials in addition to a chance to peruse our large selection of vintage, ex-display and second-hand items/models in our 'Aladdin's Cave'. To see pictures of the special models on offer, please click here.
Well, better get back to work... i'm working on the new Christmas section at the moment, that contain lots of goooodies. ;)
Becky :)
15th October 2007:
Good Evening :) Its good to gets things back to normal. It's been very odd the last few days not seeing our usual pile of parcels disappear into the postmans van ready for their own little adventures across the country. As you may have noticed on the UH.com front page, the Royal Mail strike that was planned for Monday October 15th and Tuesday October 16th has not gone ahead and things are starting to get back to normal. Parcels that are already in the postage system may take longer than usual to arrive as the Royal Mail have lots of parcels/letters to deliver. I'm sure i read somewhere that it was around 8 million letters a day from small businesses alone that were delayed or around £2.5 millions worth of post per strike. Wow.. that sort of statistic puts into perspective how much we use and rely on the postage network!
Anyway, back to things. The new Christmas section on the website is due to be launched this week, so please keep an eye on the site for updates and new things. Stocking Fillers, Special Items and Christmas products will be featured in addition to sections featuring our favourite items.
Ta Ta for Now :)
Becky
P.S: I found a dress, in the end (!), for that important dinner on Saturday night. The funny story that went with it was that the dress was found 6 hours before the event and was bought without seeing the price tag (my credit card had a small heart attack when it found out- £180!). Haha, either way, the evening was absolutely fantastic and my camouflage patterned stilettos were pleased to have another night out! :)
12th October 2007:
Helloooo! Yay, i have managed to complete a few tasks today, I even succeeded in clearing my photographic corner! It was so clear in-fact, that i have taken a video of Twilight Terror and his "light-up" feature for you to see. Click "play" on the video bit below and enjoy. Its quite funky, if a little odd but either way, he is definitely different!! (Video Moved to the Video section here)
9th October 2007:
Gosh, it seems ages since i last wrote to you all and as usual we have been up to numerous things! Starting at the beginning, last week, i attending the Horse of the Year Show with the UH Stand. A big thank you to everyone who came and said "Hello" at the stand and i hope you enjoyed yourselves watching the jumping and displays in the arena- not to mention spending your pennies in the shopping area(s)! Butterscotch the pony also came along for the trip and thoroughly enjoyed himself too- you may have noticed the little stories we wrote for him each day of the adventures he had from the night before! A big thank you to the guys from the Household Cavalry and Met Police for writing stories for him too! The only down side of the show, like many of these events we attend, is that we didn't get to see a "real" horse all week (Butterscotch doesn't count btw!).
We returned from HOYS in the early hours of Monday morning (2am to be precise!) and so Monday was a little bit of a blur- i think i was wandering around like a zombie all day from the lack of sleep! The added problem is that the postal strike has caused a backlog of parcels in the UH office and it looks a little bit like a box warehouse at the moment, with piles and piles of parcels waiting to be collected by the postmen tomorrow morning. The Royal Mail are due to strike again next week and we do ask that if you need a order urgently to let us know and we will try our best. We are keeping everyone informed on the status of their order(s) so keep an eye on your emails.
A new range of Christmas Ornaments also arrived in the office this afternoon from Painted Ponies. Each ornament is a mini version of its larger cousin and are going to look great on your Christmas tree (i think everyone in the office has put their order in for a complete set too!). Keep an eye on the website for pictures and further details, which i will upload as soon as we have finished playing with them!! Talking about new products, there will be new additions gracing the websites pages shortly once i find my photographic corner, which is currently swamped by a pile of boxes... hmm. Perhaps i need to tidy the office!!
Oooo, what else. I've finished by Open University course and are eagerly awaiting the results at the moment- fingers crossed i passed! I am currently trying to decide what course to attempt next- any suggestions? Police training is going well, its really interesting if not a little challenging! I have collected my very very unflattering uniform and have already pranced around in front of the mirror like a complete loony, seeing what it looks like on. The best bit of the "uniform" is my very funky Magnum boots which are soooo comfy compared to the shoes i wore to the awards dinner- see below!. Talking about awards, i have a very important dinner to attend this Saturday with a good friend that may involve purchasing some more smart party shoes (shock horror for the person that only owns boots and comfortable shoes!) And then there is the problem of the dress... but thats another story.
Talk to you all soon :)
Becky
26th September 2007:
Afternoon! Guess what??! We did make it into the paper... TWICE! One was a sort of: "spot the UH team at the award ceremony picture" and the other one was a very nice piece of editorial and an okay picture. I have scanned the newspaper cuttings in for you to see. Plesae click on the images below for a larger view, and in the second picture we are located left centre of the picture (the table with lots of handsome gentlemen)
Becky :)
25th September 2007:
Hello... well, we did it! We won the award!! Go UH Team Go! Wooooo! And i managed to get some pictures of the team in their glad rags. First picture is some of the team before the dinner. From left to right: Becky, Zoe, Tina & Sharon. Our outfits are a little different to our normal workwear of thermals and holey jeans!! The next picture is our award, which is currently sitting on a little pedestal in the office. It will join its friends on the award wall shortly. The last picture was just a bit of fun; i have never ever worn heels before and my first pair were only camouflage patterned stilettos! Hahaaha!
The awards dinner itself was fantastic and was attended by over 500 people from various companies and organisations. We shared a table with some gorgeous gentlemen from a I.T company who kindly bought us some champagne after our victory! (Thanks guys- we owe you one!) A picture of us collecting the award is hopefully going to be in this weeks paper and i will upload a picture of it as soon as possible (although, i might not upload it if we all look terrible!!) :-P
Becky :)
21st September 2007:
Afternoon. Todays quite a special day as we get to put our glad rags on and party the night away! Tonight we are attending an black tie award dinner in which we have been nominated for the Best Customer Service award- so fingers crossed! Hopefully we will take some pictures of the team in their posh outfits but the only downside is that you may not recognise us- we will be that transformed! No thermals or holey jeans allowed, its glitzy glamour tonight.
As i said we may get some pictures of the team. The "maybe" is that we had a slight accident with the UH camera today, which i have to admit is looking a little tired after the thousands of pictures it has taken. It bounced rather spectacularly on the concrete floor of the warehouse and is currently sulking on the corner of my desk. Does anyone know a way to coax a camera back into working?!
Becky
4th September 2007:
Good Evening! Christmas came early in the UH office today. A lovely new shiny blue container was delivered to our warehousing office this morning and it is already very good friends with the other containers! Unfortunately they couldn't giftwrap it but we were sooo excited at its arrival, which was rather spectualor i may add, that didn't matter!
To top it all, a lorry arrived full to the brim with lots of Christmas goodies to put into our new present. Most of our day was spent unloading lots and lots and lots of pallets- over a ton of models in total- in addition to trying to organise where they were going to live for the next few months. Its going to be fun in the upcoming weeks trying to remember where we put everything. There will be plenty of: "I'm sure i put those there"!!!
We're also counting down the days until we can put up the office Christmas tree that usually goes up after the Horse of the Year show. Only 28 days to go!
Becky :-)
(Who has Father Christmas on speed dial!)
21st August 2007:
Ellloooooooo. Have you noticed the new competitions on the UH website? There are several new Utterly Horses Competitions now online, including details of the UH Competition in Pony Magazine and a chance to win a complete box of Bella Sara Trading Cards and an Unicorn Wall Mural! Have a look and enter as many competitions as you wish here.
Good Luck!
Becky :)
16th August 2007:
Hello! We are currently looking for some people to join our team at the UH Office in the upcoming months.
These positions would entail:
- Part time work up to 16 hours a week. Different times including day, evening and weekend(s). We're flexible!
- To assist with picking, packing and wrapping of orders in addition to other general tasks performed in the office.
- Own transport required. UH HQ is not on a train or bus link.
- Model/Horse knowledge desirable.
- Position(s) available immediately.
If interested, please drop us an email detailing any relevant experience and we will get back to you asap. No CV required.
Thank you :)
Becky
15th August 2007:
Afternooooon :)
I returned from my Moroccan adventure last Sunday and and thought you might like to know how it went. It was FANTASTIC! I had such a good time with lots of laughs. The group was amazing and had a good mix of people. Here is a picture of our group at the top of Mount Toubkal, the highest peak in Northern Africa.
 
The holiday started with a small climb up one of the mountains in the High Atlas range, standing at a baby 3100m. It was quite warm, in the high 20s and it was used as an acclimatisation climb- quite handy especially when the climbs got steeper and harder as the week continued. The terrain was different to Mont Blanc (obviously!) and consisted of scree, boulders and loose rock. You definitely had to keep your eyes open and your wits about you, in addition to remembering to drink plenty of water and try not to get extreme sunburn. That day we had lunch in an idyllic location, in a lush fertile valley with the cook cooking up an amazing spread- rice, lentils, bread, salad, fruit, mint tea- we never went hungry. Each lunch would be followed by an hour or so for sleeping/reading... ha-ha, i have a picture somewhere of the complete group chilling out/snoozing in a big mass at the foot of the mountain which i will have to post here as soon as i locate it!!
  The following days were spending walking along the valley to reach the base of Mont Toubkal, where there was a refuge (hotel) that became our basecamp for a couple of days. Getting to this refuge was the "fun" part. The day before we left to reach this refuge, it rained. And when i mean rain, it rained- rained and rained cats and dogs the whole time we were walking to this refuge. This meant that it was more like canyonning, walking along the valley uphill with a river flowing downwards and crossing/wading across rivers that had not been there 24hours previously. In this sort of weather no waterproof clothing could cope and so you were soaked to the bone, including at least a couple of inches of water in both boots! After walking for 7 hours in these conditions, we reached the refuge that looked like a Russian factory, constructed of stone and angry looking, built in the middle of nowhere. The refuge housed 150 people that night, with groups from the UK, Spain, France and South Africa, each sleeping in rooms stacked high with bunk beds. In our room, there was 32 people- men, woman and children all packed in and after trekking through the rain, it was a case of trying to find some warm clothing from our bags that had got drenched whilst being carried up the mountain by mule. My new motto is "just deal with it" after standing half naked in a room with that many people, trying to find some dry clothes!! The things you have to do!
The next morning we got up at 4am to climb the Mount Toubkal in near darkness and continued to climb upwards as dawn rose. Up and up we climbed until we reached the triangle on the top of the mountain symbolising its peak standing at just under 3 miles tall and wow, what a view at the top. Clear blue skies with a blanket of fluffy blue clouds, with little moutains (!!) poking through. A moment to remember forever!
The last day we had a chance to explore Marrakech and do a bit of exploring- and wow, that was an experience in itself. In the main square in Marrakech was a sea of people with hundreds of traders selling everything from teeth to rattle snakes! We managed to do a little bit of sightseeing aswell, exploring some of the ornate palaces and mosques although the heat got to us in the end, hitting just over 40 degrees Celsius! Phew!
Well, hope you are still awake and i haven't rambled too much about my holiday. I had such a good time and would recommend it to anyone interested in visiting Morocco. Its a fantastic place.
Becky :)
Climber of the highest peak in Northern Africa.
1st August 2007:
Happy First of August! Dare i say summer may have arrived?! I thought you might like to hear what i have been up to over the last few months in addition to some more Utterly Horses news.
Well, starting at the beginning.. the Utterly Horses team are award winners once again. We are a Finalist in the Mid Essex Business Awards 2007 in the Excellent Customer Service category, with the winners being announced in late September! Very exciting! We have to attend a Black Tie (urgh- must wear a dress- eek!) event where the winners will be awarded with their prizes and all of the team will be going. I will make sure i take a camera so i can catch the team looking their best and post the pictures for you to see. Who knows, there might be a picture like the one above, which shows us winning the Best eBusiness award a couple of years ago.
At the end of this week i am off on another adventure, this time to Morocco. I am going to climb the highest mountain in Northern Africa standing at 4,165m- thats 700 metres -shorter- than Mont Blanc! Here is a link to a picture of my challenge. The adventure involves 5 days trekking up the mountain with the help of guides and muleteers. On the last day we get to visit Marrakech to do a bit of sightseeing, which should be fantastic. I am really looking forward to this "holiday"!! Lots of spare socks and insect repellant at the ready! The rest of the UH team will be holding the fort whilst i am away so don't worry :)
Lastly, you may remember i was studying with the Open University towards an Degree in the Arts. I am still working my way through the course and this weeks topic is on the plays Pygmalion (aka My Fair Lady) and Medea, a Greek tragedy. My task is to write a essay comparing the two main characters so every evening i have been studying the texts trying to make sense of them. lol! Any help would be gratefully received!!!
Well, thats my news for the pass few months. Next time i write i will be sharing with you my pictures from Morocco in addition to updating you with more Utterly Horses news.
Ta Ta for Now!
Becky
31st July 2007:
Evening! OoooOoo, we had a exciting delivery this afternoon. The new Bella Sara cards arriving in the office and i have to admit we spend half the afternoon playing with them, and oohing and ahhing over the superb illustrations. What is Bella Sara you may ask... well, Bella Sara is an imaginative, joyful world of horses, where every girl is special and uniquely beautiful! Horse cards can be collected, traded with friends and used to play fun card games. Each card also an activation code, which you can enter on the official website to put your horses online in your very own stable in addition to other fun activities. Please see the new Trading Card category on our website or www.bellasara.com for more details.
You may have also noticed some more products on our website. To be honest i don't know how many more i can fit onto the website- its at bursting point!! New products include Stationary, Keyrings, Rocking Horses, Duvet sets and a new Party Set. Our favourite item is the metal horse keyring which has found its way onto every bunch of keys here in the UH Office!! At least we shouldn't loose them that way! Please click here to see the new products.
Becky :)
27th July 2007:
Heya :) I have just returned from being at the Royal Welsh Show for nearly a week- and wow, what a week it was! You may have heard of the appauling weather conditions at the show, with rain falling nearly every day turning the showground into one giant mudbath. We even had a mini river flowing outside our stand, which was quite handy as we played "pooh sticks" during the quieter periods! (we are big kids at heart!!) Pictures of the Royal Welsh Show can be found here on the BBC website.
Apart from trying to keep all the models dry and mud free, the actual challenge each morning was to get onto car park which had turned into a mud ice rink. One day we had quite an adventure when we had to be towed onto the car park by a tractor and then pushed out the car park by a group of young farmers at the end of the day (thanks guys!). The other days were a mixture of getting out of the van and pushing it with brute force into a space or being lucky enough to find a little piece of hard standing. Who would have thought that parking could be so complicated! Here is a link to a video on the BBC Website that shows adventures other people have had: BBC Royal Welsh Video.
On the upside, the Utterly Horses van has been transformed. It has been resprayed a very unique shade of brown in a very funky pattern that is most definately one of a kind. Well, it will be until its given its birthday present in the form of a good wash and brush up.
Talking of washing and brush up, i better go and get clean myself. We arrived back from the show 2am this morning and a hot shower, some hot food and clean clothes are definately on the top of the list!
Becky :)
12th July 2007:
Hello :) One of the associations we belong to, BETA (British Equine Trade Association), are running a Retailer of the Year competition. We have applied to enter this competition and by voting for Utterly Horses in this competition you could win a fabulous Wintec 500 all purpose saddle! For more details about this competition, please visit this page.
10th July 2007:
Afternoon :) Today has been a day of little updates. I have added some more items to our Special Offer section on the website, including most of the Dog Collection (the dog version of the Painted Ponies), and there are definately some bargains to be had! Surf on over and have a little look here.
Other updates have been preparation for an upcoming special offer, so keep an eye on the website for details. Its a great offer this month with the theme of "make and create". More will be revealed shortly!
One thing i have been meaning to share with you are a few pictures from my recent holiday to France, Switzerland and Italy. I went on a trip to trek around Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe, walking in and around the Mountains in the Alps. I had a great but exhausting time. Each day we would trek to a specific region and slowly climb up the mountain paths, climbing up to the top of some of the smaller mountains in some cases. The highest we climbed to was 2500m, which was tiny compared to Mont Blanc itself, standing tall at 4,808m. Picture 1 is the rest of the group- can you spot me? Picture 2 shows the group trekking across freshly fallen snow high in the Alps (2,000ish metres if i remember correctly!). Picture 3 shows the mountain made famous by Paramount Pictures as they use it as their logo and Picture 4 shows the scenery we saw on a regular occurrence.
My next adventure is in August when i am going to climb Mount Toubkal, the highest mountain in North Africa, standing at a massive 4,167 metres. Its a big challenge but i figured that if i could do the London Marathon, then i would give this challenge a go too. My ultimate goal for this year is to climb Kilimanjaro but one step at a time!
Well, i better get back to work and stop daydreaming... sigh.
Talk to you soon
Becky :)
5th July 2007:
Hello! :) The latest issue of the Model Horse Magazine has been released- and boy, have we crammed some features into its new 40 page format- 8 extra pages of model horse goodness! Magazines have already been posted out to current subscribers and so it should be arriving in your mailbox very shortly.
Volume 8, also known as the "Hairy" Issue, features: This issue features: Shrimp Fishing, How to Make a Collar, Unlocking the Harness Secrets, Photo Gallery, Genetics 101, Blinkers, Hitching Horses, Horse Drawn Vehicles, Show Report, Artist Spotlight, Breed Profiles, Showing the Heavy Horse, Plaiting the Heavy Horse. .... and thats in addition to the regular news about new models and upcoming releases from artists and major manufacturers, in all shapes and sizes.
This issue also features an unique competition to WIN the cover, that features a One Of A Kind Stablemate Diorama created by the MHM Editor (eg. Becky!). One lucky winner will win the diorama featuring a customized Stablemate with mohair mane & feathers, hand-made leather harness & diorama.
Happy Reading!
Becky :)
26th June 2007:
Good Afternoon! Just a reminder that the Goody Bag offer ends at on the 1st July 2007. Each Goody Bag contains a Large Breyer Badge, Horsey Spot Stickers and a gorgeous Galloping Horse Necklace. Use the stickers to decorate your notebooks or why not create a bookmark using them? The Necklace is ideal for wearing during the summer with its detailed pewter horse pendant and hardwearing cord. (You could always wear it as a bracelet if you want something different too!) 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. (becky@utterlyhorses.com)
Talk to you soon- we are working on some exciting things at the moment so keep an eye on the website for upcoming developments.
Becky :-)
5th June 2007:
Afternoooooooooooon!
Today we have had the tough task of judging the Spring Colouring Competition. As usual, there were hundreds of amazing entries that provoked many "oohs" and "ahhs" comments (or should i say sounds!) from our judging panel! Pictures and details of the lucky winners can be found on the Competition Results page which can be found here. A HUGE thank you once again to everyone who entered.
As one competition is judged, another one takes its place in the form of the Summer Colouring Competition. Our subjects for this competition is the two lead horses from the new UH galloping horses logo that is featured on our Tee Shirts. We had several ideas from the UH team of what we could turn them into include a Roman Chariot team and my favourite, a pair of charging Knights Destriers. Have a look at the new competition picture here. Your ideas may be even more crazy than ours! :)
In Model Horse News, the Breyer Mid Range that is out in August has been announced. New Additions to the range include a Mini Whinnies Truck and Trailer Set, New SM Building and Play Mat, New Activity Kit and Scented (yes, scented!) Wind Dancers. Pictures of these items can be found in our Coming Soon section. Also in this section are details of the 2007 Christmas and Halloween Horses including the gorgeous Wintersong. A 1:9th scale English Shire that was first released as a Porcelain model back in 2000ish and hasn't been available since. One of these will definately be finding its way into my collection!!
The UH Breyer Weekend was held a couple of weekends back (gosh, how time flys!). A BIG Thank you to everyone who attended despite the typical British weather. Attendees to the event would have been able to have a rummage in our Treasure Crates containing hundreds of ex-display bargains in addition to pursuing our vast selection of Vintage and Second-hand models. We had visitors from all four corners of England including Dorset, Liverpool, Yorkshire and even Cornwall. Pictures from the event can be found in our photo gallery. The good news is that we are planning to hold another similar event during the Summer Holidays so keep an eye on the website for upcoming details.
We have also had to temporarily suspend our Individual Painting service due to inconsistent delivery and production times on our manufacturers behalf. We apologise for the inconvenience caused and hope to get things back on track shortly. I will keep you posted.
Well, i thing thats everything for now but no doubt i will be adding more details later. I am on website update duty!! :)
Becky
20th May 2007:
Hello! My apologies for not updating you sooner. Its been quite hectic since Badminton with lots of new goodies now in stock.
Firstly, thank you to everyone who came and saw us at Badminton- it was good to put names to so many faces! Visitors to Badminton would have also seen the new range of Utterly Horses Clothing (and Bags) that are now available to been seen on the website here. We are very pleased with the new tee shirts and hope to release some more designs, including shirts in childrens sizes very shortly.
Other new items include the New Utterly Horses Stables and the Stableyard set- 5 star Equine Accomodation!! Pictures of the stables and full details can be found in this section of the website: Here!
The New Fairies from Schleich have also landed at Utterly Horses with three horse and rider sets and one standing Fairy princess. Each one is beautifully detailed and like all the Schleich items great to play with or collect. To see these new items, please view this category.
Don't forget that our Utterly Horses Breyer Weekend event is THIS WEEKEND!! The weekend features the chance to purchase exclusive models and a large selection of vintage, ex-display and secondhand items/models in addition to special offers on Schleich, Grand Champions & much more. To view the Special Run Models only available at the event, please click here. The event is held from the 26-28th May, 10am to 4pm. We hope to see you there!
Becky :) |
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1st May 2007:
Just a little hello and goodbye! I am off to Badminton Horse Trials tomorrow with the show stand- so if you are coming to the show, i'll see you there!
The new Utterly Horses T Shirts, Bags and Stables should be back into stock when i get back, so keep an eye on the website over the weekend for any changes.
One event we do have upcoming is the Utterly Horses Breyer Weekend held at our Finchingfield shop at the end of the month. The weekend is going to feature lots of special offers and special models! Here is a link to a page with future details and pictures. The Special Run models are only avaliable at this event and are in limited numbers.
Gotta dash. Got to go and find plenty of socks to pack for the week ahead!! (lol- don't you find that the washing machine eats socks- mountains of them!!)
Becky :)
24th April 2007:
Afternoon! Wow, its going to be one of those hectic weeks! The catalogue arrived back from the printers today- 6 pallets of gorgeous glossy catalogues! The first batch of catalogues are going out into tonights post, so keep an eye out for your postman bringing your copy!
Most of the new products contained within the catalogue are now online including our recently uploaded UH Clothing range. This range features 6 Tee Shirts of various designs and colours, together with 3 new bags. We had great fun designing this shirts and even more laughter trying to take pictures of them!
To celebrate the release of our 2007 Utterly Horses catalogue, full of exciting new items including our own clothing range, we would like to give you a little gift. A FREE Goody Bag with any order placed by the 31st May 2007. Each Goody Bag contains a Mini Horse Notepad, Exclusive Utterly Horses Badge and some Horsey Stickers. Please click here for more details.
Becky :-)
23rd April 2007:
Mission completed!! I did the marathon yesterday in just under 6hrs. (Well, the time was 6hrs 15mins but 20 mins of that was wasted queuing for toilets on the route so techincally that doesn't count!!!) For a full report and pictures, please see my thread on our forum. Here is the link: http://www.utterlyhorses.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6214I would also like to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has sponsered me so far- its greatly appreciated. If you haven't already, i would like you ask that you sponsor me, whatever amount, as every penny counts, going to a good cause.
Sponsering me is really easy - you can donate online by credit or debit card at the following address:
64 hours to go until the big day! Today was the day i picked up my official running number (36340) from the Excel Exhibition Centre in London- together with some goodies and bits of kit including a very funky utility style belt that can hold essential items like energy gels, water and (just in case!) plasters!!. Surprisingly, the nerves have now turning into anticipation, excitment and maybe (gosh!) enjoyment! The scary part is that i am only one of 35,000 runners actually taking part in the event- i don't think i have ever seen so many people in one place!! Also at the London Marathon Exhibition were people giving first timers, like me, tips on how to enjoy the day and how to make sure you have all the energy you need to get round the 26.2 mile course. Stocking up energy for this type of event envolves eating lots of carbs (i.e bread, pasta, potatoes) together with bucketfuls of water! Lets hope i get enough on board to power me around the marathon.
On the FLM Costume front, i have gone for a streamlined approach with a twist. Starting from the bottom i will be sporting trainers with red laces, two pairs of shorts (!!), red top decorated with sponsers logos, red sunglasses and the crowning glory- the rest of my exposed arms & legs covered in temporary horse tattoos! Now, thats one funky costume! :-)
I would also like to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has sponsered me so far- its greatly appreciated. If you haven't already, i would like you ask that you sponser me, whatever amount, as every penny counts, going to a good cause.
Sponsering me is really easy - you can donate online by credit or debit card at the following address:
16th April 2007:
Its Official... the nerves have officially arrived. Its only Monday and i have 6 days to go until the big day... the big day being the Flora London Marathon!!!! I have been training for 6 months, covered countless miles- including a half marathon (piccies right!), and finally the day it all has been in preparation for is nearly upon me. In a spare five minutes i looked at the virtual course on the BBCs website and gosh, it looks a long long way! Oh well, one mile at a time is my plan, taking it nice and steady. Its not everyday you get to run (or walk!) over Tower Bridge or around the Cutty Sark!
My place in the Marathon was kindly given to me by the Children with AIDS Charity. The CWAC is a fantastic charity who help children and young people affected by HIV and AIDS maintain a good quality of life, in addition to making them smile which is the most important thing of all. It is a national UK charity with the aim of working towards a future without poverty or prejudice for these children and their families. I would like to ask everyone for a small favour- Please help this amazing charity by sponsoring me to run in the FLM on behalf of the Children With AIDS Charity to raise money (and awareness) for their cause. Any support would be gratefully received :)
Please take a moment to sponsor me. It's really easy - you can donate online by credit or debit card at the following address:
All donations are secure and sent electronically directly to Children With AIDS Charity.
Many thanks for your support and if you are in London on the 22nd come and join in the fun cheering on the runners around the course. Or if you are watching it on the TV, keep an eye out for me- the slow but steady plodder!!
Becky :-)
12th April 2007:Afternooooon! Whats been happening here at Utterly HQ. Well, at the beginning of this week, we signed off the latest UH catalogue and are now awaiting its return from the printers. Signing this off is a huge weight of our minds as we have been putting it together since December last year! (Better get a head start and start 2008's catalogue now!!!) For a sneaky peak of the catalogues cover, please click here.
Our website has been updated with *most* of the new items featured in the 2007 catalogue, although there is a range that is yet to be unveiled. One range which we can show you is the new range of Utterly Horses stables including the Deluxe Stable with Tack Room. To view pictures and further details, please visit the section here. Becky :-)
22nd March 2007:
Hello! Today has been a day of website updates. - New Section: The Tuck Shop. A tantalising selection of tempting confectionery ranging from classic sweets to delicious hand made chocolates in our Online Tuck Shop. Mmmmm.... yummy!. - New Prints. I have uploaded six new prints, painted by the talented Diane Hennchen, into the Pictures & Prints section in addition to several more to be uploaded in the next week or so. - Breyer 07 Christmas and Halloween Models. Our Coming Soon has been updated with details of the Christmas and Halloween Lines- all of which are available to be preordered. - New Featured Items. Our Featured Items section has also had a change. This month, we are featuring hobby items which can be used to create bases for your model horses and we have written an article to show you how to do this. Surf on over and check out all the new items. TTFN Becky :)
19th March 2007
I did it! I made it around the Silverstone Half Marathon (13.1miles) yesterday- with just a few aches and injuries to show for it. :-) The course was several laps around the actual Silverstone racetrack with the start/finish at the actual start line- complete with the big traffic light starter lights!!
The weather was bitterly cold with a strong gusting wind, snow, rain and hail- my little legs didn't know what to think!! I was aiming for a 2.30hr time but came away with a 2.45 one in the end- not too bad considering the amount of walking i did when i shouldn't have (i will blame the weather!!).
There were some people dressed in costume too- the most memorable being the 17 runners tied together dressed in convicts tops and trousers. I think they were called the jailbreak.
And looook... i even got a little medal to show for it. lol. Only a month to go until the big one- the London Marathon... eek!
Becky :)
**who is now hobbling around the office looking very silly indeed!!**
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18th March 2007:
Afternooooon. Whats been happening on the Utterly Front you ask? Well, the catalogue is nearing completion with only 9 more pages to go (yay!). The last page to be completed will be the front and back covers. Does anyone have any suggestions for these pages? Should we go with the Yellow/Green/Purple colour scheme like last year or go for something different? Hmm... its something to ponder.
I have my first big running race- a half marathon (13.1 miles)- THIS Sunday (i am sooooo nervous!!). The course is the Silverstone racetrack. 3 laps around there with 10,000 other competitors. I am looking forward to it and hope my nerves say under control. I am estimating that it will take me at least a couple of hours of ploding to complete it but i guess we will find out very shortly!!
Catch you later.
Becky
11th March 2007:
Goooooood Morning! How is everyone? Good i hope!
The countdown to the new UH catalogue has started and you can preview some of the new items that are to be included in it, online.
One group of items is the exciting range of colouring and activity books. A range big enough for all imaginations from Horse anatomy, Armour and Classic Storys to good ol' fashioned books with beautiful illustrations.
There is even a Horse Tattoos activity book. These are temporary tattoos that last for several days and i was extremely temped to wear one! (although it would look a little odd next to my real, permanent one!)
Another range of new products are the wall murals. We have managed to find some murals that are ready to stick on your wall, to transform it instantly! They are made of pre pasted, vinyl coated, strippable wallpaper and are easily applied to most smooth surfaces. They are highly detailed and feature brushstrokes just like a real mural would have. To view the designs, please visit this part of the website.
Two new competitions have also been uploaded to the website. The first is to win FIVE Breyer models in our "Where in the world is Pegasus" competition and the other is the "Find Bronc" competition. We have hidden a picture of Bronc the dinosaur, the latest UH team member, on a page on our website. It is your task to locate it and send us an email telling us on which page the picture is hidden.
In Becky news, I have my first big running race- a half marathon- next Sunday (i am sooooo nervous!!). The course is the Silverstone racetrack. 3 laps around there with 10,000 other competitors. I am looking forward to it and hope my nerves say under control! Either way, it is good preparation for the big race in April (the one and only London Marathon!)
I have also started on my OU course. I am working towards a degree in the Arts and have been studying Art History, Sonnets, Music and Philosophy this week. I must apologise to everyone in the office who has had the unlucky job of proof reading my essays and listening to my Philosophy theories! Thanks guys! My next topics to cover include History of Science, Roman Architecture and Religion. That shound go down well with the UH Team!! Hahah!
Well, gotta dash. I have to do a prepartion run for next week (10 miles- woohoo!) aswell as a bit of studying and putting together a few more pages of the upcoming UH catalogue. Who said the life of a UH team member was boring!!
Becky :)
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28th February 2007:
Afternoon! Sorry for not writing sooner- its been very busy the past few days. We are working frantically trying to put together the new UH catalogue, sourcing products and taking lots and lots of piccies.
On the plus side, i did manage to get the MHM magazine finished. Our latest issue is crammed to bursting point with horsey news, articles and features.
Volume 7 of the Magazine features: Skijoring, An Introduction to Pedigree Assignment, The Science of Tack Making by Lauren Islip, Genetics 101, A Breed Profile on The Sorraia....... an Artist Spotlight on Chris Nandell, How to Reposition a Stablemate and How to create a Skijoring Harness.... and thats in addition to the regular news about new models and upcoming releases from artists and major manufacturers, in all shapes and sizes.
Another great feature we have in this issue is a very exciting Competition. We are giving one lucky winner the chance to have your model repainted by Dragonflight Studios- a studio that has created Live Show Champions across the globe.
One lucky winner will be able to choose from a rainbow of scrumptious colours including- chestnut, cream, bay, roan, palomino, buckskin, dun, black, grulla, pintos/paints, and grey. The choice would be yours! (For more details on the competition, please visit this page of the MHM website)
In UH website news, we have lots of new products due to be uploaded shortly so keep an eye on the website. The Free Stablemate Offer also ends tomorrow, the 1st of March (eek!)
When you spend over £35 on your order, you will receive a FREE Stablemate Horse, worth £2.50. Two new horses, the Highland Pony and Paint Horse have been added to this offer. Take a look at the UH Promotions section of the website for more details.
Ta Ta for now and Catch you later!
Becky :)
16th February 2007:
Hello! :)
I am writing this with a fluffy palomino coloured, Shetland life size pony standing in front of me, in the office, just by my desk.... and it has just neighed. I assure you that i haven't gone crackers (yet!), but it is in fact Butterscotch the Pony- the "real life" pony which was the toy at the top of Christmas wishlists for 2006. Butterscotch is one of a line of new items to join the UH range and has animated, touch-activated features. He moves his neck, head, eyes, ears, mouth, tail, aswell as having snorting and neighing sound effects!
After putting him together, we tested it on the other UH residents to see if it passed the real test! Picture 1 shows Butterscotch freshly out of his box. Picture 2 he is being introduced to Harvey our Great Dane who comes to work with us everyday (he likes to play with the cardboard boxes in our packing dept!). Lastly, Picture 3 shows Harry and Gilbert giving him their approval although they did think he was a little small!!
More details about Butterscotch can be found here.
Have a good weekend!
Becky :)
12th February 2007:
Good Afternoooon :)
Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was spend in the office working on the next issue of the Model Horse Magazine. Although, i did managed escape for a couple of arrows to go running! Muhahahahaha!
I have been meaning to share with you, an article about UH that appeared in an Essex magazine under the title "Finchingfields Wild West". I managed to get a copy of it and upload it to our website (as a PDF) for you to persue. Please click on any of the images below to access the PDF File (and save a copy of it if you wish)
On UH Sitenews, i have uploaded some new titles to our DVD Games section, including two My Little Pony games and the Riding Champion. Keep an eye on this section for more additions, including a Ellen Whitaker game!
Becky :)
6th Feburary 2007:
Gosh, do i ache this morning! Although i have to admit its totally my own fault- running on a treadmill nonstop for 2 hours guarentees that its going to do something to you!! The plus side to the ache is that its all for a good cause- a cause that i am raising money for. I am halfway through my London marathon training and closer to the first real run- the Silverstone Half Marathon (13.1) in March- which is good preparation for the big day. As you may have noticed, on the right hand side of this page is a link to my fundraising page for the CWAC Charity. My aim is to raise £1500 for this amazing charity and i would like to ask for you help in achieving this. Donating through the Justgiving site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me and the funds go directly to the Children With AIDS Charity (CWAC). Thank you in advance for your help and i'll do my best. The slogan "keep on running" comes to mind!!
Becky :)
31st January 2007:
Good Evening! WoW! I cannot believe it is nearly the end of the month already. I am still waiting for Christmas to arrive!!What have we been up to this week? Currently we are working on the new UH catalogue- sourcing new products, taking pictures and trying to think of something new to surprise you with. We think we have a few surprises up our sleeve which i will be able to share with you shortly.
As February is just around the corner we have a online promotion to celebrate (any excuse really!). When you spend over 35.00 pounds on your order, you will receive a FREE Stablemate Horse. A free Stablemate (either the Arab, Tenneesee Walking Horse, Belgian or Peruvian Paso depending on what you advise) will automatically be added to your order when we process it, if you order is over the required value, or alternatively you can add the Stablemate you wish to your shopping basket. For full details, please visit the UH Promotions section of the website.
Also, Just a reminder that the UH Winter Colouring Competition closes on the 31st January 2007. If you haven't sent your entry in yet don't worry, we will keep the competition open until the end of this week for any late entries. Judging will start next week. Alternatively, why not email them to us- competition@utterlyhorses.comCatch you later! Becky :)
25th January 2007:Gooood Evening! Today i have been having fun updating the website with more goodies. Muahahahahahaha! So, what have i been up to? We now have a great selection of the latest horsey DVD titles including the Chatterhappy Ponies, the Stables and Pony Tales. There are some new book additions in the book shop including the Riding School Pony logbook which is fantastic for keeping a note of what your favourite pony likes and dislikes.... and lastly, i finally got around to uploading the 8 new Painted Ponies that i have been meaning to do for weeks! tut tut!. Here is the link to pictures.
Enjoy ;)
24th January 2007:Hello! :) I have just returned from a trade show and as promised took some pictures of upcoming products for you. Below is a selection of pictures but a full gallery of them can be found here. The first picture shows Cefnoakpark Bouncer the new Pony Model from Breyer and the second one is one of the models of Schleich's new Fairy range. The third is a Bronc- the latest member of the UH Team. He is not very bright but his talent is reaching for that last box on the top of our warehouse shelves!! (picture temporarily removed due to the Bronc Competition!) Becky :)
22nd January 2007:
A BIG Hello and a Happy New Year! My my, how time has flown already!! My apologies for not writing sooner, it seemed that every time i meant to write something else came along that needed my attention. Well, where to start with the news..
As you may have noticed surfing around the UH website, there are new products in every nook and cranny. The new 2007 Breyer items have been announced with many of them already in stock with the rest to follow in the next few weeks. There are some exciting new moulds including Saleniero, the Dressage Horse, Bluemoon the wild Nokota Horse and Cefnoakpark Bouncer aka Bouncer, the Welsh Pony in addition to some scrummy new colours on pre-existing moulds. Bluemoon the Nokota horse is definately on my wishlist! Just imagine him in a western style setup!
The Schleich range also have some new additions to the herd with 8 new moulds. There are some more horsey themed Schleich goodies to follow in May- a sneaky peak of them can be found here. One another item which we cannot wait to get into stock is the Western themed Chuck Wagon that Schleich is releasing in late September. I think the UH team want one each!!
Our 2007/2008 UH Catalogue is in production at the moment with the intention of being launched towards the end of March. This week we are attending several trade shows to source more exicting products for the range and i will be sure to take you lots of photos so you can see what products will be joining our collection. That reminds me.. i wanted to ask you a question. Is there anything you would like to see in our range in particular? More Horses, more accessories, a bigger range of books? What are your ideas? I would love to hear from you. eMail Me!
In the Utterly Horses product range news, we have several items in production. I don't want to spoil the surprise but i will say that you are going to love them! Oooh, alright. I will give you a little clue. Its something that our range is currently missing and horses can use it. Does that help?! ;) In the mean time, why not check out our new selection of Utterly Horses Classic scale rugs- a quilted baby blue rug and a turnout rug- which are online now ready to purchase.
What else.. hmmmm... have you entered our online competitions? We have two online competitions and a new Spring Colouring competition. All the competitions we are currently running can be found here. Don't forget that the Paintapony competition ends shortly with the grand prize being £150 worth of Utterly Horses gift vouchers.
In Becky news (!!), i am half way through my Marathon training which i have to admit is a challenge in itself. I did 10 miles on Saturday (woo!). Just after Christmas I invested in a treadmill and so happily plodded along for 2 hours on Saturday whilst watching the television and listening to my iPod!! I have to admit i was quite pleased with myself and am going to have a go at a half marathon this weekend- all 13.1 miles!! The next thing on my list to do is to start fundraising for the charity who has kindly given me a golden bond place- Children with AIDS Charity. The CWAC is a fantastic charity who help children and young people affected by HIV and AIDS maintain a good quality of life, in addition to making them smile which is the most important thing of all. It is a national UK charity with the aim of working towards a future without poverty or prejudice for these children and their families. Would anyone be interested in sponsering me?
Gosh that reminds me.. I also have an essay due for my latest Open University course. lol.. its just like being back at school!! Must put that on the to-do list!!
Well, better dash. Ta ta for now!
Becky :)
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20th December 2006:
Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!
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 2007! **clinks glasses**. The UH team will be taking a few well-earned days rest over the Christmas period (mainly to catch up on the lack of sleep!!) and we will be back in the office in January. Keep an eye on the website though, as will we be reactivating the order side of the site after Christmas with special offers and some items you may not have seen before. Merry Christmas once again and see you in 2007!
Becky
30th November 2006:
Hellloooo! My apologies for not writing sooner. I have not been hiding under a rock, well, actually its more like a stack of paper and boxes that i have been trapped under!! Its our busiest time of the year and we are packing up the orders for our good friend, Santa Claus to deliver on the 24th December to all the good girls and boys.
In other news, there are some new items on the website- new Classics, Mini Whinnies, Traditional Accessories and the Christmas range of Breyer ornaments, which would be perfect to give to the collector who has, nearly, everything! Well, gotta dash and talk to you soon Becky
 6th November 2006: Good Evening. Christmas is coming and we have spruced up our website with a little bit of christmas cheer. Our good friend, Santa Claus, has given us a list of his favourite model horse and horse related gifts for giving at Christmas. To view the list, please see the UH Specialities section of our website.
I have also uploaded a Christmassy game for you to play: Christmas Hangman. Its a great little game- one i like to play when i have five minutes spare!! ;) Becky
30th October 2006:
Hello :) I hope you all had a great weekend. We had a very exciting weekend- the Utterly Horses Halloween Live Show was held on the Saturday and it was great meet everyone. Thank you again to everyone who attended. I managed to take lots of pictures throughout the day, i think i even took some video clips, and will upload them onto the website as soon as i locate my camera. I think it is lurking in my car somewhere!!
Becky :)
25th October 2006:
Meeeeerrry Christmas. Oh wait.. i am two months early!! Hahahaha. Either way, its not too long until the big day. In preparation for this, I have uploaded our range of Christmas decorations and themed models, including Tom Foolery, a very mischievous kitten! Click here to see the range of items.
Also whilst clearing out our warehouse, as you do, we found some retired Porcelain items that we thought you may like. Oberon, Rain and Expensive Hobby are the latest additions to our Connoisseur line and can be found here.
Enjoy!
Becky :)
20th October 2006: Hello :) I am pleased to announce an special promotion we are running from this evening until the end of October. Spend over £60 and recevie a free gift bag of yummy horse head chocolates free. They are definately a treat not a trick this Halloween. Enjoy! Have a good weekend Becky :) 
19th October 2006: Evening! Whats happened today? Well, we have a new range of Schleich knights on the website which can be found in the Pony Parade section. These models are absolutely fantastic! One of our favourite items. We have regular jousting battles here in the office with them, including a Joute à plaisance which translated means a Joust of Peace, with many knight models running riot around our desks!! What a mad bunch the UH team are!! :-) If you ever wanted to know more about knights, there are some great websites on the internet that have details. Here is a link to a great website. Alternatively, i wrote an article about it for the Model Horse Magazine earlier this year, in Volume IIII. Becky :)
18th October 2006:
Evening! Its a bit late here in the UH office.. 10.54pm to be exact and the lights are still burning. Christmas has begun and we are working late to try and catch up with some bits and pieces after spending most of the day packing some very big boxes full of model horse christmas presents! I think we are even going to put up the office Christmas tree this week!! Muahaha! Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, tum de tum de dum!
Yesterday we went up to Nottingham for a meeting with Breyer UK and to view the 2007 range. There are some fantastic new models appearing next year, aswell as two new moulds. One is a Dressage Horse and the other is a j43238dhy75sg. Ohh? sorry, did my keyboard just play up then?! My apologies! Unfortunately we have to keep it under wraps until next year. All i will say is that you will love it! Something with an European flavour and something you haven't seen before ;) It will be a great surprise when they release it. Thats all i can say ;) On the positive side, we will be getting some 2007 models in this year- the new Classic models, some mini whinnie sets and the new "fireflies" wind dancer foals will be arriving before Christmas. Keep an eye on the website for more details.
Its time for me to call it a day before i fall asleep at my keyboard. Not a pretty sight!! lol. :-P
Nighty Night! Zzzzzzz
Becky ;-)
16th October 2006: Hello :) The morning started with trying to manoeuvre 13 pallets of newly delivered stock into our brand new 'overflow stockroom' (what a way to start a Monday morning huh?!). Its funny how pallets take on a life of their own when they don't go where you want them to go!! In other UH News, we sent out first UH Newsletter on Saturday night announcing the follow piece of news: " Its official. Its 71 days til Christmas and counting. Don't panic. We have Christmas sorted- after all, Christmas is our middle name (plus we are approved by Father Christmas!) We have just released our new collection of Christmas giftsets. Each set has been thoughtfully put together combining items from across the Utterly Horses range to give you a unique gift and a horsey adventure in a box. Please view the UH Specialities section of our website to view the complete range." The most exciting bit of news is that we are judging the UH Summer Colouring competition as a type... keep tuned to the website for breaking news of the lucky winners!!
Becky
 12th October 2006: Hello! It hasn't been a eventful day as far as news goes but wow, what a day it has been! Its been a day of deliveries, of all shapes and sizes. I think we received a package, parcel or pallet of stock from nearly every single supplier! The "biggest delivery prize" goes to our new overflow stockroom which arrived this afternoon, in the form of a 20ft container (pictured right). Becky P.S I did manage to finish my Open University essay (although it was 11.30pm when i printed the final draft off the computer!!) In celebration of this achievement of actually completing the essay, i signed up for the next OU course, not that i am increasing my workload or anything!! hahaha! My next course is the Introduction to the Humanities- a nine month course that covers art history, literature, music, philosophy, classical studies, history, religious studies, and history of science. One step closer to that Art degree! (I am still working out how you can get a degree in model horses!!)
11th October 2006: Evening. Today we had to strike a pose! A photographer came and took lots of pictures of the UH shop and the UH team for an article appearing in a glossy magazine in December. (I will reveal more closer the time) Muahahaha! Gotta dash- i have got to put my finishing touches on my Open University essay which is due on Friday *eek* *panic* My essay is about this painting... Afrodizzia by Chris Ofili- well, my interpretation of what i think it means!Becky ;)
10th October 2006:
Afternooooooon. How is everyone? Good i hope. There is a couple of new things on the UH site today. One is the Newsletter Page and the other is a new creative article.
UH Newsletter- The best way to keep up to date with everything Utterly Horses is to sign up for our free bi-weekly Newsletter delivering the latest product news straight to your inbox. To sign up, please visit this pageNew Creative Article: How to get your Rider sitting Correctly- Zoe Alexander, a qualified riding instructor, and Tina Tickton a hobbyist, take you through the steps of how to obtain the correct ridden seat in your English ridden setups. A fantastic article, complete with lots of pictures, tips and tricks. Please visit the Interactive Zone to download your copy of article.
Don't forget to send in your pictures of your newly positioned riders- we would love to see them.
Becky :-P
6th October 2006:
Hello! Gosh, today has been a really weird day- a bit like the weather. Hahaha! One day the sun is shinning, the next its raining so much that it has flooded the courtyard! I will have to buy a company canoe just so i can get to/from work!!
Anywho, whats been happening? Well, as usual i have uploaded more bits and pieces to the website- new competitions, products. If you entered one of our past competitions you should have received an email newsletter from UH. This is going to be a new feature on the UH website shortly. Anyone who received it was one of the first lucky recipients of this new feature!! Very privileged ;)
What else.. hmmm, Oh yes! I am being interviewed for a magazine next week. A photographer is coming to UH HQ next Wednesday to take some piccies aswell as a journalist giving me a call to ask lots of questions. I don't know much more than that at the moment but as soon as i find out the niggly details, i will post them here. :)
And finally.. the best news of all. I am going to be running in the 2007 Flora London Marathon. I have always wanted to take part in this fantastic event and was lucky to gain a place by the Golden Bond system. Woooooooooooo! So exciting! The only problem is now i have to get myself fit enough. lol.
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