Young Farmers, #MoreThanTractors

I think many people overlook the National Federation of Young Farmers when they are looking for something new to join because they think that it is all tractors and farming, but it is so much more. Of course, to some extent you do need to be interested in farming to be part of the club because that's who it is aimed at and those are the kinds of people you will most likely meet there. But that doesn’t mean you need to know about farming. I for one have never driven a tractor, milked a cow or helped out with lambing (although admittedly I would love to have a go at all three), and I am a Young Farmer.

The NFYFC uses the slogan #MoreThanTractors to promote the fact that we do so much more as Young Farmers. Just this year I can already count loads of fun things we have done as a club. We recently went on a skiing lesson at the Ackers, where it was many of the members first time skiing. It's fair to say that everyone gave it a good go, some fell, but we all came out of it as better skiers, with a new skill under our belts.

On Saturday, we held our first club event of the year. A hypnotist evening for charity. We have been working up to this night for a few weeks now, with meeting to discuss the food, to make the decorations and to have a chat about what we hoped to achieve. We had a good turnout for the night and definitely raised some money for a worthy cause. This was something a bit different and I think everyone had a really great time.

This week we have a night at the local driving range. I am sure we don’t have a club full of professional golfers (I hope not, or I will look really bad!) but I know that we will all give it a good go and have a laugh.

Anyways, the point of this post was to let you know that we are more than tractors and that you should get in touch with your local club to give it a go. I guarantee that you will have a great time and learn some new skills or uncover a hidden talent. With County Rally approaching it is a great time to get involved and sign up for some competitions.

If you think you might be interested in joining, check out the NFYFC website: http://www.nfyfc.org.uk/

Dublin River Boots Review

For Christmas this year, I had a pair of Dublin River Boots. These are something I have been after for a while now as I wanted some long boots to wear to the yard and out and about that weren't my wellies. Because although I love my wellies, and I am gathering quite the collection, you just can't live in them (apparently, I wasn't aware of this...).

Anyway, I decided I wanted a pair of country boots as they are smart (when clean) but you aren't afraid to go traipsing through muddy fields in them. I did a bit of research into which ones to get and I came across a few styles I liked, but decided that the Dublin River Boots were a tried and tested favourite by many in the equestrian/agricultural community.I had heard some negative, but mostly positive feedback about them so decided I would take my chances and put them on my Christmas list.

I got mine in the chocolate brown colour and in a size 6 in the wide fit as I wanted them to be comfortable and not tight around my calves and this was a good decision as they are true to size. The boots are very attractive with the lighter leather strips and are sturdy and hard wearing. They are comfortable to wear though a bit tricky to get on and off as they don't have a zipper or fastening (similar to wellies) and the leather isn't as flexible as wellies. However, this isn't an issue at all when armed with a boot puller and shoe horn. So far my boots have stood up to mud at they yard and in the hunting field and I often receive compliments when I wear them to Young Farmers meetings.

Overall, I would definitely recommend these boots to other people as they are a good price for the quality and a lovely boot to wear with jeans or jodhpurs. I will leave the link to the shop where I got mine from here (Derby House) in case you want to have a look!

Day Out: Umberslade Farm Park

On Tuesday we took my 16 month old niece, Sophie,  to Umberslade Farm Park. The estate encompasses arable, beef and sheep production as well as plenty of woodland and the farm park. It was a lovely, sunny (but cold!) day and we had a great time.

They have lots of livestock for the kids (and adults!) to see and spring is the perfect time to visit with lambing this time of the year and lots of young calves about. We visited the ponies first and Sophie loved them and thought that the Shetlands were very funny! Then we went to the activity barn where the sheep, goats and some cows were. There were lots of pygmy goats, and some small kids as well as a couple of boer goats. The hilight of the activity barn had to be the Jacobs sheep were three lambs were cuddled up to their mum, they were only born that morning. It was incredible to see such tiny animals up on their feet playing already. There were some friendly donkeys too.

In the goat house there was also a hutch with a few ferrets, and one of the days scheduled activities was meeting some of these ferrets. The handler, James, got two of the ferrets out. One was on a lead for the kids to walk and the other one was crawling around inside his jacket, this definitely made Sophie laugh!

Another of the scheduled activities was feeding the calves. I had a go at this because Sophie was a bit too small and it was great. They were so small and so hungry!

We also went to visit the small animals in the small animal barn. There were bunnies and guinea pigs which you could hold. Sophie loved petting the rabbits, they were so soft!

The last thing we did was visit the pigs, because this was near the end of the day and they were ready for their dinner, they were getting quite excited. One pig jumped up so that its front feet were on the wall. The kids thought this was hilarious!

Overall we had a great day, I would definitely reccomend this as a day out for families with young kids as there are plently of activities to keep you entertanied for the day. There were pony rides for kids over two and scheduled tractor rides all day. There is also a large indoor play barn with soft play and an oudoor playground. They had an indoor sandpit for the kids to go in next to the goat barn, and also an outdoor track for the ride on John Deere tractors. 

If you are interested in visiting Umberslade for a day out visit: http://www.umberslade.com/index.php 

** All opinions are my own

Country Clothing Essentials

Everyone needs a good outdoor wardrobe, especially in the UK where it is always rainy or windy. So I have compiled a list of my top five country clothing essentials for all year round.

1.    A good coat

This has got to come at the top of my list because your coat is the top layer, it is what is going to make the difference between you being cold and miserable all day or warm and toasty. My top two coats are my tweed coat from the Warwickshire Clothing Company and my Barbour Border (these are best inherited).

2.    A decent pair of boots

My favourite boots at the moment are my Dublin River Boots in Chocolate. They are comfortable and warm, but most importantly keep my feet dry. Muck boots also deserve an honourable mention as they will stay on your feet in the stickiest of mud and keep your feet warm and dry all day.

3.    A warm gilet

This is a key item for winter, gilets are great for layering or to wear over a shirt. Schoffel are unbeatable when it comes to gilets, they are without doubt the warmest, and most comfortable. They come in a great range of colours too. If you are looking for something a bit less espensive Rydale offer some great gilets too.

4.    Socks!

Long boot socks are an essential item. Wooly ski-socks are a good option, but so are welly socks. Joules make some nice ones with attractive toppers to turn over your boots. Hunter also have welly socks like this.

5.    A hat or ear warmer

I love to wear my fur ear warmer at the yard in the winter, I got mine from a horse show a few years ago and cant remember what brand it is, but this one is similar. Another option is a wooly hat, these Amelia Jane London ones which are very popular at the moment and come in lots of different colours.

I hope you liked this list, and got some good ideas on how to update your country wardrobe.