NEWS

May 2010

It seems like we went from 36” of snow straight into show season, and now here it is nearly the end of May!

I’ve been busy teaching, training, and even showing a little. Almost every weekend has some kind of show for my clients.

I continue to teach twice a week in Great Falls, and am working to expand my local lesson business as well. I’m also offering special “summer camp” training packages for both horses and riders. Please contact me for more information. Gillian Clissold and I will be conducting a Fix-An-Event clinic at Morven Park on Saturday August 7. The flyer for that is on the Morven Park website under benefit events.
 

December 2009

Winter arrived with a vengeance on the 19th, and we’re just now really getting dug out of the snow. We had about 18” here at the farm. It certainly made for a white Christmas!

Dakota and I finished our season at VHT in November, ending up 4th in our ATC Prelim division. Our team, sponsored by CDCTA, won the Prelim ATCs by over 40 points. The CDCTA Training level team finished 2nd, in a very tough competition.

Over the coming winter and into spring, I plan to attend a lot of the local indoor jumping and dressage shows. For more information, please see my show schedule, or email me.

As the year closes, I once again thank my clients, friends and family for their support. You make my life a joy!

Best wishes to all for 2010.

 

 

 

October 2009

Our summer into fall weather in Virginia has continued to be exceptionally lovely, with a few notable very cold and wet exceptions!

I’ve been doing a lot of teaching, and really appreciate my wonderful students. Lovely people, very nice horses, and all of them a joy to work with!

Tweedle had problems at both Surefire in June and Difficult Run in August. Despite his amazing talent over fences, I think he’ll be happiest doing pure dressage, where things are more predictable and consistent. So he is for sale as a dressage horse. I’m very disappointed (for myself!), as he was amazing to jump both SJ and XC, but his heart and mind just don’t seem to be in it. I want him to be happy, and I think dressage may be the way for him. I’ll miss his fabulous dressage, his amazing jump, and the clear SJ rounds!

Dakota finished second in Prelim. at Difficult Run HT in August. Two unlucky rails in SJ over a tough course cost us first place, but I was very happy with his performance and fitness. He continues to be eager and excited about eventing, and he finds Prelim easy. I’ll continue to let him dictate our shows and levels as he ages.

I’m off to VHT to be in a Prelim ATC team. It’s been long enough since I’ve done a 2* or Advanced HT that I’m qualified again! How the h*ll did that happen?!?! In any case, I’m thrilled to be representing CDCTA at the ATC’s with Dakota. To add to the fun, two of my team-mates from our winning CDCTA Prelim team in 2001 are competing again – one at Prelim and one at Training!

As the eventing season in Virginia winds down, I think about all the fun I’ve had competing and teaching, and the good friends I’ve found in this sport. I look forward to 2010, and the joy it will give me in my friends, students and horses.

June 2009

With the (mostly) lovely weather we’ve had in Virginia this spring, lesson and show activity has been picking up. People seem to be more confident in the economy, and are finding ways to learn, compete and have fun while still being frugal. I’ve welcomed several new lesson students, all of whom have lovely horses and a wonderful desire to improve. I’m really enjoying working with all of my students.

Tweedle (Twist of Fate) competed at Rubicon HT on June 7, and finished 10th of 16 starters in a very competitive Open Training division. Without our unlucky rail in SJ (darn gnats!), we would have been in the ribbons. He was again well within the time on XC and quite bold and comfortable on both the SJ and XC courses. He’s really coming into his own.

I have him entered at Loch Moy unrecognized on June 20th and Surefire on June 28th, and hope to have two more lovely runs with him. He is schooling Prelim, and his dressage is coming along in leaps and bounds – very exciting!

Dakota has done some dressage and Jumper schooling shows since his outing at Difficult Run HT, and seems rarin’ to go! We’ll probably continue that menu, and do some HT’s in the early fall.

My Advanced eventing and PSG dressage horse Car Tanga (Fozzy) came home to me last month, and is getting used to Virginia (grass!) again after two years in Florida. His young rider lessee is off to college. He had several months off before he came home, so I’m starting him back slowly and letting him acclimate.

I plan to do a few recognized HTs, dressage and jumper shows with my own horses over the next few months, but mainly I’ll be concentrating on lessons and schooling shows with my clients.

The frequent rain here has interfered with a lot of lesson and show plans, but the upside is it’s been cooler than usual, and certainly much greener, with lovely soft footing. Perhaps this year in Virginia we won’t have the usual terrible summer heat, humidity and cement-like ground!

May 2009

This year has started well, with good showings over the winter at the local indoor jumpers for both my clients and my two young horses. All the horses had their eyes bugged out at the first show, but by the third were clocking around like pros.

In March, I sold my two very promising young horses to an adult amateur from Connecticut. I wish her all the best with those talented boys!

My students have done several schooling dressage shows, CTs and HTs so far this year, and everyone has done better than expected! The horses and riders have really stepped up to the plate.

I had a good run at Difficult Run HT on May 2nd with two of my own, Dakota at Preliminary and Twist of Fate at his third Training start. Both finished second in their competitive divisions, and Twist (Tweedle), was in first after dressage. This is very heartening, as Tweedle’s dressage has been a bit rough, to say the least! Our outing at Difficult Run HT was also notable in that it was the first time that I could really let him gallop on XC, and still bring him back when necessary. We finished well within the time allowed, and both of us were happy and relaxed.

Dakota felt great at Difficult Run – it was nice to have him back on his game after some problems last year at Intermediate. I’ll see how he goes on as the season progresses, to decide when and if to move him back up to Intermediate. His age is unknown, but probably between 14 and 18 years, so I’ll let him tell me what he’s “up” for.

Tweedle will stay at Training until he’s more confident and relaxed in SJ. He’s a fabulous jumper, but needs to learn that it’s not necessary to jump the height of the standards!

My plan is to continue to focus on my students, getting them ready to show, and teaching them “how” to show. I’ll probably do a few events with Tweedle and Dakota, as well.

My lesson program continues to expand, and I travel up to 1½ hours from my farm to teach. If you’re interested in lessons, please contact me and we’ll see what can be worked out. I offer lesson packages at a discount from the single lesson rate.

I wish all of you a happy, healthy and successful Spring and Summer.

December 2008

Like many people, my year has been very up and down. Gas prices made it difficult to show as much as previous years, and then the “crash” hit all horse businesses very hard. My focus has been mainly on teaching, and trying to sell a few horses.

This spring, I very sadly lost my mare Babe in foaling, and seven weeks later lost her new filly. My top horse Dakota did well at our few Preliminary outings this year, but our Intermediates were less successful. After a full vet workup and some changes in shoeing and joint support, he’s been feeling more like his old self.

Kufta had a very good year, placing 1st, 4th and 5th at his four Training level outings. His dressage continues to improve, and he received a 27.5 at Difficult Run in August.

I have a very talented new horse, “Tweedle” AKA Twist of Fate, to whom I’m giving a third career. He started as a dressage prospect, then was a hunt horse for many years, and is now with me to try eventing. He’s a 16.3 Oldenburg, 11 years old, with lovely big gaits. His dressage is a work in progress, but he’s a very careful and bold jumper. We started at Novice, but moved up to Training level quickly. We’ll spend the winter working on “ride-ability”.

Car Tanga (Fozzy) continued to do very well for his Lessee, Jessa Lux, taking her to many good placings at Preliminary in her first year at that level. They completed two CCI*s, including the NAJYR Championships, where they were in first place after dressage and cross-country, and ended up with a team gold medal.

I also have, just in for training and sale, a 3 ½ year-old TB that has the most amazingly calm and receptive mind I’ve ever experienced. He has a lovely jumping style, and doesn’t seem to be bothered by any kind of question: log, rail, ditch, flowerbox, etc. I look forward to seeing how this young horse develops.

The Future:

I continue to expand my lesson, training and clinic business, and plan to spend the winter here in Virginia, teaching in various indoor arenas and having clinics and lectures at locations from Great Falls to Leesburg to Berryville. I also plan to attend as many of the various local indoor winter jumper shows as possible. Please see my schedule for more information.

I wish everyone a very wonderful holiday season, and send my best wishes for 2009. May it be a better year for all of us!