We’re delighted to welcome Colleen Meyer of Advanced Saddle Fit back to Clearwater Farm July 20-22. Whether you’re looking to evaluate the fit of your existing equipment or you’re in the market for a new dressage, jump or AP saddle, you need Colleen! Colleen Meyer’s decades of experience have made her Advanced Saddle Fit saddles the best on the market for amateurs, Jr/
I tell my students it takes a year to get to know a new horse. Some behave differently in response to the weather, so taking all four seasons to get to know them is important, plus it just takes a year to accumulate enough experiences on and off the property to learn who they are and how they think. But I’m learning a bit about Puck already.
There are pros and cons to the green 6-year-old. There are things about him that are very mature, including his body, which is nice; I don’t have to worry as much about overtaxing him with introducing collection as a concept, something I always fret about with the terribly athletic 4- and 5-year-olds.
Read the rest at The Chronicle of the Horse!
Olympians? Check! Saddle fittings? Check! Bronze Medals? Check and check! And blue ribbons? Always a check! Check… our our June e-newsletter, and sign up to have it delivered directly to your inbox, by clicking here!
Join us July 8-9 for a clinic with the brilliant and hilarious Michael Barisone. A member of the 2008 US Olympic Dressage Team and coach for the 2016 Bronze Medal winning Olympic Dressage Team and 2012 Olympic Eventing Team, Michael will coach professional, Jr/YR and amateur riders from green to Grand Prix.
Ride times are below. Auditing is $35/day if prepaid or $40/day at the door, and include lunch AND access to our used tack sale! We’ll have lots of great stuff on hand, including a beautiful wooden upright tack trunk and some GORGEOUS custom-made show coats! Email Lauren to sign up to audit.
SATURDAY
10:00 Judy Sprieser & Dorian Gray, 9 yr Dutch Gelding by Sydney, 3rd Level
10:45 Lauren Sprieser & Gretzky RV, 6 yr Dutch Gelding by Johnson, 1st Level
11:30 Jennifer Heck & Rudy, 16 yr Hanoverian Gelding by Rotspon, 3rd Level
12:15 Lunch
12:45 Lisa Hellmer & Aniko, 11 yr Oldenburg Gelding, 4th Level
1:30 Liza Broadbent & Victorious, 15 yr Dutch Gelding by Patijn, Intermediate I
2:15 Eliza Gardner & Ellegria, 16 yr Westfalen Mare by Ehrentanz I, Young Riders
3:00 Lauren Fisher & Eureka BBR, 8 yr KWPN Mare by Sir Sinclair, 3rd Level
3:45 Jean Loonam & Red Hot Chili Pepper, 11 yr Hanoverian gelding, 1st Level
4:30 Torrey Wilkinson & Talisman BHF, 12 yr PRE-cross Mare by Temerario VII, Grand Prix
5:15 Dorie Forte & Froelich, 15 yr Oldenburg Gelding by Festrausch, Grand Prix
SUNDAY
7:30 Judy Sprieser & Stratocaster, 11 yr GOV Gelding by Sir Donnerhall, 4th Level
8:15 Lee Phaup & Rainy, 14 yr Hanoverian Gelding, Prix St. Georges
9:00 Torrey Wilkinson & Talisman BHF, 12 yr PRE-cross Mare by Temerario VII, Grand Prix
9:45 Dorie Forte & Froelich, 15 yr Oldenburg Gelding by Festrausch, Grand Prix
10:30 Lauren Sprieser & Gretzky RV, 6 yr Dutch Gelding by Johnson, 1st Level
11:15 Liza Broadbent & Victorious, 15 yr Dutch Gelding by Patijn, Intermediate I
12 Lunch
12:30 Hannah McSween & Avatar, 11 yr Dutch Gelding by Art Deco, 3rd Level
1:15 Jean Loonam & Red Hot Chili Pepper, 11 yr Hanoverian gelding, 1st Level
2:00 Lisa Hellmer & Lyra, 13 yr Holsteiner mare by Limbus U, Prix St. Georges
2:45 Eliza Gardner & Ellegria, 16 yr Westfalen Mare by Ehrentanz I, Young Riders
We’ve had wonderful back-to-back weekends at Morven Park and HITS Culpeper, and a full report is to come, but congratulations are due to Assistant Trainer Lauren Fisher on completing her USDF Bronze Medal! Huge thanks to Beverley Thomas and her inimitable Fiero for helping Lauren achieve her final scores! Photo by TLP Equine.
Meet Gretzky! Gretzky RV is a 2011 KWPN Gelding, Johnson-Elmshorn, and he’s the latest addition to Lauren’s show string. He’ll be Puck in the stable, and with his quick hind leg and bold markings, he’ll sure to be noticed in the showring. We’re excited to see him arrive from Holland next week! And thank you to the team at Inspo for bringing him into our lives!
I can sit and watch any horse sport done well. I love horses (news flash!), but more than that, I love dressage. And because I’m a huge nerd, I love seeing how dressage plays a role in all the other sports, that the basic tenants of training that I preach to my students apply to other disciplines.
Recently I had the great pleasure of a pairs driving lesson. A student of ours has been involved in pairs driving at the top level for years, and is now coming to dressage, but has a fantastic pair of cremello Morgan mares in training for whom we did some complementary under-saddle training, including the world’s cutest Pas de Deux last year. I hopped up in the cart to take them for a spin, starting out just puttering around in the open, and then tackling cones (at which I was marginally awful), and even a few basic marathon obstacles (which went much better).
Read the rest at The Chronicle of the Horse!