Lazy Days Of Summer? Not For Us! August E-Newsletter
Dressage At Lexington, upcoming clinics and new faces. There’s nothing slow about our mid-summer! Read all about it in our August e-newsletter, and sign up to receive it directly in your inbox!
Great Old Men
A friend of mine lost her horse recently. He was older, and he died in the way we all dream for those we love—out in the field with his friends on a beautiful day, healthy and sound and full of life. And then gone, in an instant.
That doesn’t make it much better, of course; just because it’s a far cry from the slow decline and the tough choice doesn’t make it easy, just ever so slightly easier.
This horse had had an excellent competition career, but you’d probably never heard of him, or at least not heard much about him. But that wasn’t the thing that made him extraordinary. He’d brought countless young people up the levels. He gave his riders the big horse feeling for the first time. He taught them. He humbled them, often rather a lot. He made them.
Read the rest at The Chronicle of the Horse!
Proud Of The Kids
It’s a weird year for me. I’m teaching a ton of clinics, which I love, but it means I’m away from home a lot of weekends. And with only Puck to ride at the moment, who will be showing first level next month (woo) but not with any illusions of grandeur, my focus is on my students and on their competitive and personal goals.
The last time my coach, Michael Barisone, came down for a clinic was last fall, when I rode five horses and was, therefore, half the clinic. For this weekend’s visit, I rode one.
Read the rest at The Chronicle of the Horse!
The Pie Rules
Rule #1: If you fall off, you have to bring in pie.
Variety of pie is up to you: fruit, chocolate, cream, candy; virtuous, diabetic-shock-inducing; whatever floats your boat, if it’s edible, we’re there, though it should be noted that bonus points are given if you purchase said pie from our local rockstar baked goods establishment, the Red Truck Bakery. Heaven.
Amendment to Rule #1: If you fall off twice in one week, I buy YOU pie.
Second Amendment to Rule #1: If you fall off one of the following horses, you should be a bit ashamed of yourself, and therefore you have to buy both pie AND ice cream:
– Fiero, who is a wonderfully good dude, although admittedly he does sneak a little spin in there once or twice a year, so keep your wits about you.
– Vinny, a Connemara who is right on the line for us, because he can be very cheeky, but he is low to the ground, with a sizable center of balance.
– Fabulous, a wonderful elder statesman who has earned his name. If you bite it off of Fabulous, we may not admit to knowing you. (Once you’ve dropped off your pie and ice cream, that is.)
Read the rest at The Chronicle of the Horse!
Curry Combs & Coffee Grooming Workshop
Grooming isn’t just about pretty – it’s about your horse’s health, and about building a great partnership! Join us for a fabulous morning grooming seminar with guest speaker Liv Gude of ProEquineGrooms.com. Learn some great hands-on grooming techniques along with critical ways to monitor your horse’s health, and test out some great grooming products from Shapley’s, Uckele Equine Nutrition, Hands On and Ecovet.
Follow up your education with a fun groom-a-thon contest, with prizes! Dirty horses and grooming tools will be provided, just bring yourself!
July 29, 9:30a-12:30p. Participation is $40. See our EventClinics.com page to sign up!
Saddle Fittings with Colleen Meyer July 20-22
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/
Getting To Know You, Getting To Know All About You
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 And Saddles And Champions, Oh My! June Newsletter
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!
Clinic with US Olympian Michael Barisone, and Used Tack Sale
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
Congratulations Lauren Fisher!
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.