The Horses & Resident Animals
Jazz
Liver chestnut gelding, 16.1hh, 14 years old, Irish bred. Jazz is the "King of the Yard", he came with us from England. He loves having his ears scratched and will rest his nose on your boots for cuddles. He is a safe and confident jumper and has a long, even stride. His favorite pace is canter, and his flatwork is responsive and well established. He is a great horse if you want to improve your riding in the school and enjoys hacking out as well. Jazz is suitable for all abilities.
Harvey
Harvey has been with us since 2007 and is a very handsome horse. He is 15.2hh and 6 years old. He is a mixture of English Thoroughbred / Cleveland Bay on his father's side and a Portuguese police horse mother. He has been to several dressage shows and has been placed each time. He also has a huge jump and is developing his confidence before competing in Show jumping. He has proved to be a great endurance horse and has taken part in all the QDB endurance competitions. Harvey is one of our Working Liveries and is owned by Linda Sutton.
Surf
A dreamy, 15.2hh, 10 year old, dapple grey mare with big floppy ears and kind expression. Surf is an ideal ride for those wishing to perfect their riding skills and has a particularly good canter. She has a nice jump and is learning to be more careful! Out hacking she's great fun for confident riders, doesn't pull, but doesn't like to get left behind either. Surf is one of our working liveries and is owned by Alan Sutton.
Aruba
Grey mare, 15.1hh, born in 2005, TB x Lusitano. Aruba was "Made in England", but born in Portugal. The daughter of Merryn, she is full of confidence, charisma and adolescent cheekiness. Aruba is showing smooth flowing paces and an inquisitive temperament. Aruba has been Show jumping at Penina and has taken part in two Endurance Rides. She is proving to be level headed and versatile although she hates puddles!
Merryn
Merryn has been part of Katharine's life for the last 15 years. She is a strong and lively ride suitable only for experienced riders. She is 15hh and 20 years old. Merryn has had competitive success in Eventing, Dressage, Show-jumping and TREC. She always tries her best to please and we hope her daughter Aruba will follow in her hoof-prints!
Paloma
Black mare 14hh, 11 years old. A very steady ride out in the countryside and ideal for nervous passengers less than 9.5 stone. She never pulls and has a very comfortable trot and canter. With enthusiastic and confident riders she can happily jump cross country and show jumps with great style. In 2009 she had successes in Show Jumping and Endurance.
Lily
Grey mare 13hh, 11 years old, part welsh. Lily has blue eyes and long flowing locks! She came with us from England and is our little star! Lily is a “no nonsense” pony who loves her food. She reacts according to the ability of her rider, knowing to be steady for beginners and energetic for more experienced riders. She is well established on the flat including lateral work and jumps very cleanly. She is a true schoolmistress and a great competitor. Lily is also a talented driving pony.
Piccolo
Skewbald gelding, 12.2hh, 8 years old. Piccolo is bursting with personality and wants to be everyone's friend - he is particularly partial to the mares! He is always ready to make people laugh and is great fun to ride in the school and out on hacks. He has competed in Show Jumping, Dressage and Endurance since arriving in Summer 2009.
Cerys
Cerys is a pretty dark bay 12.2hh welsh section B pony who arrived at QDB in February 2008. She was bred in Holland and imported to Portugal by a family in the Alentejo. Unfortunately their circumstances changed and they needed to find a home for her quickly or she would have been put down. Although 8 years old when she came to us she had been broken-in at 4 and had not been touched since. Luckily her friendly personality prevailed and she quickly became a favorite amongst the kids. Cerys is a lovely hack, responsive and is enjoying her jumping.
Macho
Macho is one of our full liveries and has been Natalie's best friend for the last 18 years since she bought him as a young colt. What he lacks in stature he makes up for in personality and he loves whickering at the mares and playing with Piccolo and Stardust.
Romeo
Known as the "small, dark & handsome one", Romeo is a great little character and is a super confidence builder for children. He does have a mischievous side but tends to save this for gymkhana games where he feels it is his duty to entertain and put on a good show!
Juliet
More laid back than Romeo, she loves getting her white patches dirty and has quite an impressive jump for such a small pony. She is an ideal ride for small people.
Tofee
Exactly what it says on the tin! This is the closest to a Thelwell pony you can get. Toffee has been with us since summer 2008. The mission was to tame her naughty ways! She is very cheeky and loves chewing tack, hers and everyone else's. She has worked hard to improve and realised now that she can canter, instead of trotting so fast she thought her legs would fall off! She is a fun pony to hack and can manage 2 hour trips keeping up with the big guys! Her greatest joy is to go down to the river and wallow, saddle, rider and all!
Stardust
Stardust came to us as a rescue case. He was so emaciated that he could hardly stand and we were not sure if he would survive. Gradually he gained weight and strength. Although he is not as strong as the other Shetlands he is a very sweet ride for small people and enjoys being plaited up and wearing fancy dress! He is also an excellent & enthusiastic driving pony and loves going out with the little cart.
Blossom
Blossom and Boris arrived in January 2010. Blossom is a very pretty Shetland and probably the tiniest of them all! She is very quiet and a little bit shy, but she loves to loose jump in the arena and has quite a pop!
Boris
Boris is Blossom's son and is 5 years old. He hasn’t spent much time away from his mum so we are working on him becoming more confident and independent without her so close-by. Boris will be a fun ride and probably a bit wilful, which is quite normal for a Shetland!
Tito, Pacha, Xira & Shrek
Tito the cocker spaniel is the smallest of our dogs but certainly has the biggest personality. He will accept any amount of fuss and attention, if none is forthcoming he throws himself on the ground belly up until someone notices him. He loves joining the horses on hacks out and has endless stamina. Pacha was our first dog in Portugal and came from a rescue centre near Loule. She is a German Short Haired pointer type and a very loving and energetic dog. She is always happy, especially when she has a ball in her mouth! Xira arrived unexpectedly as a puppy with two of her siblings who found other homes. She is very friendly and always happy to greet visitors to QDB. She loves getting wet and joins all the rides out. Shrek is the cuddly Rottweiler. The softest dog to ever walk the planet. Shrek likes leaning on people and licking them all over if at all possible.
Betty, Jack & Archie
Betty is very elegant and selective feline, you are most privileged if Betty lets you give her some fuss. She is svelte and slight with beautiful blue eyes and eastern ancestry. Quite a contrast to our next moggy at Quinta da Bica. Jack often gets mistaken for a cuddly toy as he is a floppy mass of black and white fluff. So relaxed that he is horizontal most of the time, he is more than twice the size of Betty in every direction. The purr-meister! Archie was found by one of our Pony Club mums in a rubbish bin in a terrible state, he has settled in well and is growing in size and personality! He has won the prize for the loudest purr!
Dawn & Twilight
Dawn and Twilight are two lady geese who love being around the horses and bossing everyone around. They are pretty good natured as geese go and are great at guarding the Quinta making lots of noise when anyone new comes on the yard.
California & San Francisco
Califaunia is a pretty little pygmy goat who is great friends with Stardust and likes to go for walks on a lead! On Valentines Day night she gave birth to a little boy called San Francisco (The Cisco Kid!). She is very proud to have such a beautiful baby who is very lively and growing fast!
Activities & Services
Holidays & Accommodation
Contacts
CP 380P Pedreiras
8375-052 S.B.Messines
Algarve - Portugal
GPS
37° 271601' N / 008° 310814' W
Telephone
(00351) 282 332 746
Mobile
(00351) 914 795 301
(00351) 914 756 737