Show Season In Full Swing!

It’s hard to believe it is already June!

I want to welcome Julia Becker to the farm. She will be helping me with barn chores, riding and training of all the horses on the farm. She has brought her horse Max as well. It will be great having her here, and I look forward to being her Mentor.

I want to thank the following people for their amazing coaching and guidance – It takes a Village!

  • Elaine Gibala – My dressage coach
  • Patty Stovel – My show jumping coach 
  • Allie Knowles – My XC coach

SHOW AND TRAINING NEWS:

SS Calisto has had 2 outings so far, Spring Bay & May Daze. I brought him out at Spring Bay in Open Novice, just to give him an easy outing. He is still a bit spooky out in the open fields, but he is improving. We placed 2nd in Spring Bay and had a very good confident run.

I have started getting expert help from Allie Knowles in XC riding. It has been a very long time since I have been able to get consistent, professional help. Allie is excellent at building confidence between horse and rider, and I am very happy with our progress. Once Calisto has the proper confidence in me and himself, we will be a force to be reckoned with. Of course, this may take quite a bit of time, but I believe he is VERY worth it. I plan to keep this horse for life, so I am in no hurry.

Next outing for Calisto is IEA Horse Trials this weekend, and then Champagne Run at the Park. Either Allie or I will be riding him, depending on how things go at IEA. He only pulls his act at shows, so I might have to have Allie compete him so we can develop a plan to help him focus and be calm out on the xc courses.


SS Willow had her first outing of the year at May Daze. I spent all winter working on her rideability on the flat. She has really grown up and is starting to become a lovely mare. Patty has also helped me with her show jumping as she is very forward and brave, but nervous too… We have experimented with several types of bits and exercises, and it is really paying off.

Willow scored a 33 in dressage, jumped double clear in XC (and was safe), and jumped clear and calm in the show jumping (adding 2 time faults – which is a good thing!) to her final score of 35.


MOJO is also coming along nicely! He is getting fit and starting to come together as one horse, instead of several pieces of 2 horses… lol. Plans for him include Summerbird Dressage shows, schooling shows and lots of trail riding to get him used to new places. He can be very spooky out in the field, so he will be going to as many new places a possible with his new horsey friend, Max.

I am going quite slowly with MoJo, because he is so big (17.2) and does not have a whole lot of muscle yet. He is jumping well, and is really settling down in his work. He LOVES to gallop in the open field and we are bonding 🙂 I am planning on competing him later this summer/fall in recognized shows.


SS Zephyr has been growing quite a bit in the past 6 months, so I am not doing too much with him right now. He needs to mature more before I start putting too much pressure on him. He loves to be ridden, and we have light rides a few times a week


Jack Rocks is a honey of a horse! He has such a great mind and really wants to please. He is coming along nicely and I am planning on taking him off the farm soon to see how he handles the change of scenery! Really looking forward to showing him the ropes. We really get along great! Unicorn!


I hope everyone has a great summer!