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Journal

Sept 15, 2008

Two shows left, the championships are over and we are starting to set goals for next year.  Wow.  What a summer, full of shows, camps, horses and kids, and so much fun, even though it wasn't very warm or sunny.  At least, we have these September days that have been pretty nice.  Most exciting part of Sept?  The championships!  Razzmatazz, Galaxy and Willioso all went down to Saugerties to be part of the incredible group of horses that had qualified this year!  Everywhere you looked there was gorgeous horses and well suited riders - it was even more intense than last year.  I can't believe the competition, you practically have to have mastered the level ahead in order to be competitive in your division!  No problem for Willioso and Razz as they both got to go for a victory gallop around ring 1 in the stadium area!  Both finished 7th over all in their divisions.  It was such a joy to see Kate in her first true award ceremony.  And Razz looked the picture!  Galaxy finished 13th over all out of 21 qualified horses. I think I could have ridden her better, but I don't have any real regrets about the whole thing. It is shocking though that the champion is decided in one class.  I think I will send a letter to the USDF and find out more about this.  I disagree that you can tell a champion in one class, even if it is sort of fancy.  I know of MANY horses that just happened to have one bad ride, and completely lost the whole year of hard work.  Next year, I am going to take a group, not only to the Championships, but also to the Youth Festival.  We need to start reading and studying now.  PLUS we need to make Hotel arrangements!!!  Either the Howard Johnsons or the Comfort Inn.  Ho Jo's has the pool though.  The fall lesson plan is in full swing now. If you are trying to get a spot, call the farm in the teaching hours to get in on some of the groups or to take up a lesson spot that may still be available, there are not many of those, but a couple at 3:30 with Wendy.  I am also looking forward to cleaning up my farm and barn yard. Any one want to help??  I have thought about a picnic clean up or something, let me know if you like that idea.  Also please let me know of things that you are hoping to do over the winter, the more input the better!   

See you in the aisles!

Heidi

Aug 2, 2008

Pretty hard to believe that we only have 7 show dates left!!!  Even more, all of the camp weeks are finished and what huge success they were!  I do have to say that by Thursday of this past week the kids and horses were dragging, but man have we been having fun. First things first.  Last time I wrote I mentioned that Kate was qualified for the Championships.  Well, at GMHA Dressage Days she got THREE more qualifying scores. Of course she doesn't need them, but way to go - her scores were SO HIGH!!!!  I kept giving her one more thing to try before each test and boy, did she put them to work!  Then there is Cecilia who needed a score, and she too got a score in every class!  Both girls were off the charts. Teddy and Razz have never looked so good, and those two really made me and the farm proud.   

Today Wendy and I took five girls and horses to Vershire. Can I say not only were they 1st, 2nd, 3rd in one division, but also 1st and 2nd in another!!!  The even better thing is that they were in the top six all together for the tops scores (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th) for the ENTIRE event!  For Lexie and Caroline, it was their first event ever!  No problem, they each took home a first place.  I have to say this takes me to the tremendous event camp week we had.  The girls spent the first day learning how to manage their horses in an open space. We went to the Shaker Land Trust area and played, and of course worked on the hills and through the trails.  The horses and girls were SO pumped.  We did that in two trips,  and those who stayed home worked on grid jumping with Wendy.  The theme of the week was getting a lump in your throat like a real event would cause.  We were thrilled that more than half of the girls managed lumps in throats and continued on to work and succeed at what was giving them the lumps!!  Then, on Tuesday we sent half of the girls to Fox Penny farm to train over cross country, WHAT FUN THEY HAD!!!!  Thanks a million to Susan and especially Kelly Foster for doing this with us, you should have heard the kids, they were so excited.  Those who stayed home with me worked on video taping their work with dressage and over fences and then we got to look at what we did.  I was thrilled to see the ah ha's on their faces.  The next day the other half went to Tamarack Farm to train with Denny Emerson!!!  Talk about a privilege.  The girls had such a great time, they listened to his thoughts on their positions and welcomed the changes, just soaking up every ounce of what he had to offer them.  I tell you, they proved what they learned today. The poor kids, when they came home from Denny's and for those who were at the farm working on video riding, they had a lecture with Blue Seal Feed Representative Mary Jo Hanbury.  I was so happy to see them really trying to get everything they could even though they were just exhausted!  According to many, they really enjoyed the talk, and found it to be a highlight.  On Thursday, we tried to blend everything together and work on riding courses and continued viewing the videos.  By Friday, the kids had an exam of the week in review, then we let them let us know what they really wanted to do.  Half of them wanted to stay home and practice dressage for the event to come and the others wanted to feel the fun of the hill again.  After we got home at about 12:30, we got to have an ice cream party with all of the toppings and everything.  Then the kids started their show prep, hung out and chatted, or even watched more of their videos.   

At the end of this month, August 23 and 24 we will be welcoming Cindy Sydnor to the farm to teach, please let Heidi know if you are interested in riding.  She is a dressage phenom and we are lucky to have her, for sure.  Clinic price is $500 for the two private lessons and all riders are invited to have pot luck with us on Sat evening at the farm.  We will also have auditor spots for those who would like to audit.  Those spots are $15 per day.  Again, just call me and we can get you set up!   

This week I hope to start the sanity of a schedule again.  Please don't hesitate to get in touch with me if you have been neglected for lessons and the like.  Wendy and I are much more sane and ready to teach, teach, teach.  Just give the farm a call.   

See you in the aisles!

Heidi

July 23, 2008

Since when did July become the rainy month?  It seems the past few years we have had a rainy season in July. Yesterday was another Hitching Post event. Congrats to Marissa on her first place!!!!  Congrats to Alicia on her second place!!!  Congrats to Carrie on her fourth place!! And congrats to Leah on her sixth place!  Nicely done girls.  Also congrats to the three who went to Vershire Riding School and came home with a first place, yeah Kate and Scout and Carrie and Timmy for first place and Alicia and Emmy for a tie for second place!!  And of course, I can not forget the girls who went to Morton Farm Equitation Show and all 7 of them came home with either Champion or Reserve Champion!!  Way to go girls!!!  Then of course, we have been at King Oak Dressage Days and off to GMHA Dressage Days tomorrow. Kate is qualified for the Championships with Razz - wish her luck!!!   

All of that being said on Monday, we start off our Event Camp.  We are going to have some big fun here.  On Tuesday, we are off to school over cross country jumps with Kelly Foster, and then with Denny Emerson, shall we say Event Hall of Fame Denny Emerson!!!!  The kids will have lectures on nutrition and conditioning, as well as common lameness and possible protection from such lameness.  They will be riding in fields learning all sorts of ways to train creatively.  This will be so fun!! 

On another note, it is almost time to advertise the training horses for sale!  We have some really great horses to put on the market. On August 5th, we will have a meeting at 10 am at the farm for those who have training projects to discuss how to advertise our horses.  We will be looking for photo's too so if you have any bring them in!   

Stay cool, and ride well!

See you in the aisles

Heidi

June 28, 2008

I am sitting at my computer listening to the summer rain absolutely mesmorized by the past few weeks!  I have been to many shows, and events, and continue to come home satisfied that training has gone well over the winter.  Then, as school came to an end, we started our first summer camp - the Dressage Camp.  What a blast that was!!!  We had Leslie Palos, a level 1 Sally Swift trainer, working with the kids 3 days on the lunge line.  The kids got to learn to sit on different horses while under Leslie's control, and use their body without the stirrups and reins to perfect their positions. The differences were fantastic!!!  

Diane Marshall, a USDF Bronze Medalist, Trainer, and friend came to work with them on Tuesday and Wednesday, encouraging the theory of thinking your ride and making your energy control your horse. She brought her experiences with Mark Rashid, famous cowboy trainer and trainer of many dressage professionals.  ALL of the kids were excited about what she brought and the buzz was terrific.  We had Cheryl Withrow come to talk to us about the saddle fit and horse massage.  That was fun enough, but then she brought some saddles for us to dissect!!  You can imagine our shock and excitement when we found that a saddle that had been for sale at a tack shop actually had a BROKEN tree!!  The kids were so surprised when they saw the actual skeleton of the saddle, fascinated by the barbaric appearance of it.  The fun thought of it, as I look back is seeing Cheryl standing on top of a cut up saddle and pulling it apart like, well I don't know! 

Then, there was Audrey Tacy, one of our farriers. She brought with her a dynamic talk about the hoof anatomy and care, and a wonderful board of different types of shoes that she had made while attending Cornell's Farrier program.  The kids were nearly silent for both of those lectures, and all eyes on the boards!  The kids learned about schooling the dressage horse be it in the arena inside or out, as well as out on the open road.  Boy, we did have a bit of adventure there!  Can't believe that one of the rides went out just as the entire Enfield Police Force went out for shooting practice, at a place on our route!!!  At least we can say that the horses were all fantastic about the gun shots, even though they were multiple round and frequent!! (OK, so Galaxy got the booby prize on that one.) If you ever want to hear about the girls who simply seemed to attract thunder storms and their adventure at the Stone House on Rte 4A and my possible death movie, I can tell you some time!!! 

The girls ended the week in a mock horse show.  The more experienced kids judged while the less experienced performed their new skills.  Everyone thought that was fine, but I am all about turn about being fair play!  We decided to let the more experienced girls ride the 4 most difficult horses of the early part in front of the original riders for a chance for THEM to judge!!  I loved how nicely the kids judged each other in a VERY unbiased fashion, and the respect they had for the job of the judge at the end of the day was truly fantastic.  Overall, the camp that I have been dreaming up for years and years seems to be taking shape, and I am already thinking about next year.  Don't worry, I still have my horsemanship camp and then the event camp to go!!!  Think of what we can drum up for those!   

With all of that in mind, I had a meeting of the minds with Sally from Morton Farm.  We have decided to combine our July 12 Equitation shows.  We are going to go to her farm, bringing with us our First Choice Cafe, and our judge.  I think this will be a terrific answer to the reduced entries that her shows are feeling. It will also be exciting for our kids to compete away from home, yet in a very controlled environment.  I have not had very much outside interest in our show, so we felt it would be a good way to compete without simply competing against our own friends and families.   

You may notice the new footing in the indoor.  It is only the start of our Perma Flex indoor!  This is going to be so nice, especially in the winter.  We are asking that everyone scoop your poops before they get "squished" in. 

Off to prepare for the next things to come,

See you in the aisles!

Heidi

June 17, 2008

Here it is mid June already!  We have had such a quick spring!  Shows every weekend.  Mega Congrats to Kate Neumann.  Can you imagine, she went to her first recognized show (and it was Saratoga no less), and on the first day pulls a qualifying score, and the second day improves her qualifying score by 4% points, AND takes home Junior Training Level Champion!!!  More power to you Kate! Also, at Saratoga, Mollie debuted at 2nd level and sure enough pulls to 61.5% and nice ribbons, way to debut!  Willioso came home with a second qualifying score, so he is all set for the championships, and Galaxy got her first score as well.  We are well on our way here to the region 8's.  

All the while, Wendy is off to all sorts of local shows with her team and coming home with blue ribbons. Way to go Carrie, Cora and Alicia!!  As well as so many high scores, and exciting stories.  It is so fun to go to these places with sensible horses, qualified riders, and GOOD friends.  Thanks to all of you from both Wendy and me.   

Next week starts our dressage camp.  This camp is so exciting.  I can't wait to see what happens by the end of next week.  These kids are going to learn SO much, and ride so much as well.  I have a line up of guest speakers, trainers, and even Joy Congdon for the week-ending mini show and lecture.  This is definitely a camp that we could only run having been here as long as we have with as many experiences as we have had.  I never would have dared to this 10 years ago.   

The second camp is the horsemanship camp, on July 7th.  This camp is being customized to those who have never done a riding camp, but do have riding experience, although minimal is acceptable.  We will be learning so much about safety, horsemanship based on the riders needs, and some horse husbandry, we will learn about nutrition, and some basic medical information.  We will be riding inside, outside, learning how to present the horse to the vet, the judge, riding a trail class, just everything!   

As for the holiday week, there will not be lessons with Heidi or Wendy on Thursday July 3rd through the end of Sat, July 5th.   

If you want to get involved with Summer Camp, Horse Leasing, or anything else, just give me an email or a call. 

Other wise...

I will see you in the aisles!

Heidi

May 18, 2008

OK, so you are going to get sick of my excitement but I just love this farm.  Last weekend, I took Cecilia and her horse Teddy and my two and went to the NEDA Spring show, and low and behold. both Teddy and Willioso came home with their first qualifying scores!!!  Although it was cold and rainy yet again, it was still a super blast.  It is so fun to go places with horses and riders that are qualified to do what they are doing.   

Today, we had our first ground manners clinic of the season. It was such a great success that even Bob commented on how great everyone was looking and how well the horses were doing.  I think we are going to set up a terrific lot of sale horses this year! 

Summer camps are filling up. It is now time to get in applications and deposits to hold your spots.  If you are not sure what camps are ideal, just shoot me an email. I am happy to guide anyone toward the most beneficial camp. As well, if you have not signed up for a half lease and you would like to do that, just let me know.  Remember the first payments were due on May 1st, but we do still have a couple of horses available if your rider wants to participate.  

We will be working on the summer schedule this week and next.  Please don't panic if we come to you and ask about strange times. We are just trying to fit everyone in as well as possible.  Let me know if you want more ride times or less, or if you have certain dates that don't work.   

I am also on the hunt for suggestions, ideas or comments, please don't hesitate to let me know how you are feeling about the farm and your direction in it.  We want this to be home to everyone, and with your help, it can be a little closer to making that happen.   

See you in the aisles!

Heidi 

May 5, 2008

Well, things are off and running!!  We have been to our first show of the season and sure enough we can all see what the hard work of the winter has done!  Once again, I was so proud of my crew as they just stepped right up to the plate and prepared their horses and themselves so nicely, rode so well, and rolled with the natural show punches. We were at GMHA this weekend for the CVDA dressage show, for two days, the first being the critique day.  These girls were turned out so nicely, all of them in clinic attire, and their horses were neat and tidy.  Each rider had nice warm up time and went into the arena ready to ride and learn.  I was so proud of each and every one of them as they all followed the direction of the judge so nicely and tried to put forward everything they heard. The horses worked hard too!  As an L judge, I know the frustration of working at a critique day with a rider who has come to you to learn and yet doesn't seem to try your ideas or spends the time talking about why their horse "can't" do what you are asking.  There is no benefit to that one!  We had scores all the way up to 74%.  I was unable to spend any time at the barn and those girls kept coming up beautiful and calm!  

Things got even better the second day of the show.  I was so excited to see the nicely turned out horses, braided neatly and shiny as can be, especially as it had been too cold to bathe, (and it was mostly rain all weekend), girls sitting so tall on their horses, and each rider with their support crew - THANKS MOMS AND DADS!  The girls handled EVERYTHING that happened with grace and dignity; be it a terrific ride, or a ride that was more, shall we say "energetic" than hoped?  Scores we SO nice for EVERY rider, and when we had a break, we all went to the tack shop and then just hung out together.  I had a great time with all of them.

I have to say that although I am obviously so excited about the rides, as that is the part that we have so physically worked hard to achieve, there was something else that just struck me so strongly.  On Saturday around noon, I went into the office to check for scores, and there was a scribe meeting for those people scribing in the afternoon.  When I looked at the table there was the afternoon scribing crew - ALL FCRA riders!  Boy, that was so cool.  Then, I asked the manager about the tests and she said that she was trying to get them out, but she was doing them and the show all at the same time!!  I said hold on, I will see if I can get someone to score for you, and sure enough when I asked at the barn, I had one!  She was excited to do it and had the tests scored in no time!  I have to say that without energetic volunteers, there is no show.  Seeing these girls happily realize that they will learn SO much from the experience and bounce to do it was something to me.  It spurs me to want to teach you all everything I can, and to work as hard as you all are working with the same energy.  THANKS SO MUCH YOU GUYS!  YOU ALL ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!

See you in the aisles!

Heidi

April 24, 2008

Could it possibly be only one week till May?  Even more, is it really true that we hit the road to horse shows next weekend?  Goodness, although I feel ready with all of the riders and horses and I can't wait for the world to see this year's show teams, I am a little anxious at the start of the "busy time". Did we have a quiet time? 

I am so super excited about ALL of the new faces at the farm!  The farm has grown by 12 in the past few weeks.  Congratulations go to Lexie and The Alchemist, a.k.a. Albert. This is going to be one hot team in the very near future.  We have already shared the excitement with Joy Congdon for a clinic shortly after Lexie got this wonderful boy.  Congratulations also go to Leah and Hera - what a sweetie!  Because her new horse is so young she won't be out in public quite yet, but let it be said, this is one wonderful horse and Leah will have a blast with her this summer.  Then I have all of the kids with training projects to be excited about. This is going to be the year of some REALLY fantastic training, then sales, horses.  And can I be crazy enough to congratulate me and FCRA on the purchase of Clarabelle and Chocolate Chip??? Clarabelle is one of those finds that makes me so excited. She is going to be a fast favorite at the farm.  A perfect package at the perfect height, with a sweet personality and young so she will spend many years with us!!   

Remember that sign ups are due for leasing and the first payment is due on May 1st.  As well, the camps are starting to fill up.  These camps are going to be SO fantastic, although I have to say I am not sure how I am going to fit everything in.  We start with the dressage camp the end of June.  Then the show camp July 7 and then the Event camp the end of July.  I can't believe how excited I am for these, although all of us will go home EXHAUSTED by the end of the day, we will have so much horse fun together.   

I can finally say another exciting thing as well, we got a new trailer!!!!  I am excited to go down the road in this fantastic brand new puppy!  Now we have much more mobility with a 2, a 4, and a 6 horse rig. Life is definitely so fun.   

I think we are properly geared up for this busy time to come, but I have to say, I sure hope that we have a few moments here and there to enjoy all of the magic of this farm.  I am excited to sit back and watch the horses eat their hay in the early morning, and the deer come to the pond in the evening.  I love this farm as it is the culmination of so many things, of course hard work, but also growth in ways that I may never have expected, education to me and to Bob, again in ways we never would expect, and pure honest love for the horses.  Thanks to all of you who help bring this passion to the place!!!  Here it is a little spot in Enfield that has an unprecedented amount of quality, passion and good things.   

See you in the aisles!

Heidi

April 6, 2008

I think that spring is actually on it's way!  The horses are looking sleek, and riders are shedding their coats too!  We have actually already sent in entries to shows, and the spring schedule is on the horizon. Now it is time to find out if our winter training programs have been good.  I am excited to be off to CVDA the first weekend of May, then NEDA spring show the next.  Entries are open for the GMHA combined as well as for Hitching Post.  Then, I am taking a dressage group to Saratoga over Memorial Day weekend too. 

Another exciting part of the spring is the beginning of horse shopping.  We have a number of training projects to buy, as well as the search for the perfect school horse.  I can't believe that I am down to 14 horses, that can't be enough!!!  I hope to find some real gems this year. I will have to turn over rocks and look through many horses but they must be out there!  I will be having a general information meeting for those of you who are doing our training program this year sometime around the end of the month. 

See you in the aisles!

Heidi

February 24, 2008

Remember when I said that it was time to polish for show season? Well, job started and exciting! We had our first guest trainer come in on Friday the 22nd, and she was very encouraging about the work you kids are doing! She said that she was impressed with the three kids that rode with her. They had solid knowledge, excellent positions and very well suited horses! Of course, first I said thank you and that the kids work so hard, and the horses are so eager to please them, but then I did have to say "and you only saw three! I have more in this barn that you did not get to see yet!!"  I can't wait till the next time she comes and we can show her some more of you guys!!!

What better way to polish your horse and your position than the addition of mirrors! Another super exciting part about this past week was the addition of the mirrors. The horses are SO funny, they had a hard time concentrating the first time they were ridden in the arena, but are soon becoming familiar. Little Melody with Meredith aboard was about the cutest. Melody would nicker to herself as she trotted by, and then Meredith would giggle, can I say those are my two favorite sounds!! Ponies, and kids, what heaven. I find the beginning part of the lessons to be about how exactly to use the mirrors, and then watching how effective they are, people are sitting up taller and stretching their legs better already!

So it is true, we had a very sad day earlier in the month, and we lost Max. I am not quite sure how old he was, Dr. Lamb thought he was around 32, I wished he was around 28, just because it may prolong his time with us. Regardless, he will be sorely missed. The only thing as sad as losing Max is that Murray is missing him as much as me. If you have a moment at the farm please go out and let Murray know he is special and that we all love him, that we all miss Max too, and that we are sorry he lost his best friend. It always surprises me just how badly the horses miss their buddies when they go.

Keep your eyes peeled! I will be updating the journal a little more rapidly now as we have tons of news ahead!

See you in the aisles!

Heidi

February 1, 2008

Did we have a January? Somehow I think I did not really feel a January, how could a month go that fast! Here it is February, remember how I always say when fall comes to relax, settle into a training mode, and don't worry about anything until February? Well guess what, it is time to worry. Shows are around the corner, and we need to spend the time polishing that which we have trained this winter.

I have put out my show schedule, I have contacted clinicians, I have plans for the movers and the shakers of FCRA. Bob looked at my summer schedule yesterday and said, "Wow, we are going to be busy this year." I said yes, but due to my new camp and revised barn rat schedule, I think we can manage it with time to spare! Stay tuned if the words new camp and revised barn rat schedule affect you, as we will be making some big and exciting changes to the summer camp, and changing the barn rat protocol, as well They will be outlined on the website shortly. I have also made my initial calls to my contacts for horses for summer training projects and sales horses.

On that happy note, I wanted to put out there the congratulations to Alicia and Beth Traegde on their purchase of Emmy, and also to Nathalie Ferneau on her new purchase of Koda! These will be a couple of super teams to see out there this year! Good luck girls and horses!

We had our first CVDA junior meeting last month, yes in fact there was a January. It was a great meeting! We are going to get some really great learning out there! The kids of CVDA will be the most desired kids for their abilities in all aspects of dressage, look out! Of course we want more people to join us and celebrate youth and dressage! We have some really great plans for the near future and even more for the longer term. Go to CVDA and join now!

I guess that is all for now, but do keep your eyes on the calendar, we have shows scheduled and some clinics already up, with many more to come!

See you in the aisles!

Heidi

December 27, 2007

As I sit here, having a cup of coffee and feeling really good, I can't help but think how lucky I am. I spend my day surrounded by the most magical creature, and people who treat me like a friend, and of course my best part, my family. I guess it is natural to reflect this time of year, so reflect I am doing.

How is it that we are blessed to be in the presence of the horse? My first thought is the obvious; we put them in stalls and confine them. OK, well what happens when they get through a fence? Or get loose some other way? Do they leave? No, they just play, so they too are choosing to stay with us. The horse has some sort of magical quality; something that is down right good for the soul. I can often be heard asking my favorite question, "Why do we love these horses so much?" The people I ask that must think I am crazy and maybe I am, but in reality, I am simply trying to figure it out. What is it about the gentle touch the horse gives its person, or that look of wisdom in its eye that I could stare at for hours? How is it that this enormous animal, that is so full of power lets us ride it and control it with a simple snaffle bit, asking it to exercise under us sometimes to extensive levels? Yesterday I was riding Galaxy in the snow with a junior rider on Linde, and the mares got a little playful. They seemed happy and playful. Both the junior and I pulled them up with simple rein aides, and they listened willingly. They could have said "No, we want to play. Get off." Really, a horse doesn't have to work too hard to get rid of its rider, and if the rider has "glue" in its seat, all it would have to do is lay down and roll! They don't do it. There is something patient and kind in them. More importantly, there is something spiritual in them. I get to see so many of these "spiritual" moments as I work daily. A person just patting a horse, but feeling so much more, looking into the eye of the horse, hugging the horses head, or neck, a horse blowing and smelling its person, or a horse with its head bowed to a rider enjoying the person as much as the person is enjoying the horse. The magic I have seen horses perform on people, helping teens find their way, helping ME through tough times, simply by being there. This isn't leading anywhere in particular, and many of the "barn girls" have heard me go on this tangent before, I guess I just feel like it is important to open the doors for someone else to see, and more importantly feel the horse this way. Maybe I hope that in the coming year everyone could take a moment and be grateful for the horse from deep inside your heart. On the other hand, I feel like sometimes it needs to be said to promote my belief that horses are not generally stubborn, and that they often simply don't understand what we are asking, or they find it risky. Remember the first thing that goes through their mind is the instinct of a delicious prey animal who has virtually no defenses, so things we think are normal could present a danger to them. Sometimes I really believe that a horse may see or hear something that we in fact can not see or hear and they are afraid of that. I have often had a horse go by something a million times and be fine, then go past it a few times completely afraid and then be normal again. I don't think they think the way we often try to put words in their mouth and say "Hmm, I think I will just tick off my rider" and pretend to be afraid, but maybe something we can't see or hear or feel has changed. I guess the big deal is to take a moment, appreciate the horse, trust first that it is trying to satisfy your needs and treat them like the magical creature they really are.

I hope that the new year brings you great things, and happiness. I can tell you one thing that it brings for sure...MIRRORS! We will be getting at least FOUR mirrors as the new year comes. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO HELPED!!!! Every rider will benefit from this,  and I can't thank you all enough for your generosity. You will see riders and horses change fast. Yesterday, I mentioned this and a couple of people said they still wanted to contribute, so fear not, we will put as many up as possible (9 is the key number for the indoor) so if you still want to help, just drop a check in the box made out to Granite State Glass within the next week or so and it will go directly toward the fund.

Have a VERY Happy New Year!! And I will see you in the aisles.

Heidi

December 9, 2007

Finally we have a nice layer of snow on the ground, so the horses can walk around comfortably, and I am not constantly reminded of all of the miscellaneous things I wish I had picked up and relocated. Yesterday, I celebrated the fun I have had with all of Wendy's students while she has been recovering, you guessed it, this means she plans to start back again on Tuesday!!!! I have to say that I am so proud of her students' hard work and great attitude while she was gone. I think that we kept on the same path as Wendy was planning and have made some great strides in the jump riders' skills! Great job girls and boys, ladies too! When I came home last night after teaching from morning to night (in the not so cold as I expected air) I was surprised at how fresh I felt, not so tired, and very happy. I realized it was because I was watching riders and horses REALLY work HARD to get some skills developed. I also realized that I was really loving the horses that we get to work with. Do you realize that not one horse rushed a jump? Do you realize that not one horse made a "refusal"? Or that not one horse tried NOT to do what the rider asked? That just thrills me. When we asked the horses to perform for us they did, what a band of schoolies!! All good eggs, we even got on every one of them, ok, so Max is having a retirement winter so he did not get ridden, but just the same, we rode every horse and EVERY horse gave their all, and left with their rider having learned something. I think in the season of Thanks, and Reflection I want to look at those horses and be SO grateful to them. I can't say that I look out at the fields and see any horse that doesn't give its heart to us. As for the horses that you girls and boys own, WOW, you are doing a fantastic job with them!!!! Do you know that not all horses are progressive year after year??? You guys are doing a fabulous job with them. Anyway, the pride I felt in what you all are doing 2 and 4 legged really gives me energy to try to stay on top of my game as well.

I have started mentioning the CVDA Youth Development position that I will be so glad to have. For those of you who have not heard yet, I am hoping to form a Youth Development position at CVDA. It is a new position and I am thrilled to be the one to form it. I don't want it to be something less than spectacular. We have a shot here of promoting Dressage and really Horses to the CVDA Youth in a way that no club has done before. I hope to pioneer an area that won't be matched by any. I want to make this an avenue that ANY young dressage or horse enthusiast could go down and really feel part of a Club. Something that we all make. I hope to make a sub committee right away - a board of junior riders who have energy and excitement about some of the plans that I want to pursue. I will be putting the word out that we will try to have a group made up of a Pres, Vice Pres, treasurer, writer, photographer, the whole works!!! I am hoping that as we form this we can get to know each other and share our love of horses, at the same time encourage our trainers, local and national level, to participate in developing our kids, making opportunities for trainers and kids to come together in many ways. I hope that we can encourage trainers to donate time to help us with all levels of training, lectures, freestyle development, athletic maintenance and development of the horse. I hope to encourage PJ parties at shows, and even a group trip to either Dressage at Devon, or the Region 8 Championships! I hope to bring riders together to form teams, and compete in teams representing CVDA, just so many ideas are boiling up in my head, imagine if we all got together and started to brain storm. I expect to hold the first meeting in January so keep an eye out if this sounds exciting to you!!!

I don't know how many of you know this, but a few weeks ago Sierra's (owned by Laura Greer) old farm burnt down. It was a HUGE tragedy and 25 horses owned by children and adults were lost. Fortunately 11 survived. Sierra was saved by moving here not even a month before this - odd how the world works when you think of it. Laura and Erich have made a wonderful web site as tribute to these horses and owners. If you are interested in looking it up it is www.burgundyhillfarmfirerelief.com.

Lastly for now, don't forget that next Sunday is the Holiday Party. Let me know if you have questions about it. As for our quest for mirrors in the indoor, we are going to hire Granite State Glass to do the job. For those of you who want to contribute toward the mirrors, please make checks directly out to Granite State Glass since they don't do gift certificates. As a matter of fact Marie of GSG laughed at me when I said that I was hoping for mirrors for Christmas!!! She has no idea of what they will do for our riding!! Just wait until you ride by the mirror and see that you are tipping too far forward for real, I am not just saying it in lessons, or that your horse really is behind or above the bit, or that, get this, YOU LOOK MAHVELOUS!!!! There is some concern that we won't be able to do install as fast as we had hoped, but we will do it as soon as we can for sure.

I guess that is all for now, see you in the aisles!

Heidi

December 2, 2007

I can't believe that it is December, although I can never believe how fast time passes. Here we are in the first of the really cold weekends. For the non cold weather people, consider it one less before summer arrives! For me? I bundled up my horses, bought three boxes of toe warmers, have fluffed my down clothes, and traded my summer boots for the winter ones - bring it on!!

Yesterday, I was giving some of my favorite keep warm tips to the kids. I usually ride at least two horses a day, so you can bet I have some of these things mastered. I figure I had better make them more public so everyone knows. First of all hands, feet, and faces are the tricky parts for winter. For faces, we have a few options. One is the helmet cover that you can find at places like Dover Saddlery or State Line Tack. It is polar fleece, and covers the helmet, and over the ears, and under the chin. That can be too warm though! For me, I get a liner that goes over your head and under a winter hat. I wear that under my helmet, and it takes the chill off the fragile places, and when I need to bring it up over my face I can, yet when I am warm I just drop it down under my chin again. It keeps my ears warm and cheeks, as well as my head. I get them at Rugged Bear for my kids and EMS for me or Bob. Even wearing a bandana on my head can be a great solution, if I keep it over my ears. It is light, so my helmet doesn't get weird, yet keeps enough warmth in that I am comfortable. Of course, please wear something that goes over your neck. The kids laugh at me when I say that if you want to come to the farm please wear a turtle neck. Most of them don't like those, but something that keeps their neck covered is important. As riders, we usually get too warm in the body area so I won't worry about that one, but hands are pretty tough to keep warm. What I do, is I get a pair of silk liners and crochet back gloves. I put them in my breeches against my tummy while I tack up. That makes them warm so that when I put them on they are already warm and my body heat is not used up, just maintained. Tack up with SOMETHING on, usually a bulkier glove or mitten is ok, but DO warm up your riding gloves. Try my method. It is convenient and I am not having to run back and forth to the viewing room. In all reality, winter gloves are bulky and less desired by riders, and that is why I went to the liners. The crochet back gloves tend to hold in the air, so they have always been my favorite. Toes, well that used to be a challenge. I always thought I was super cool when I put a big wool sock OVER the foot of my boot and then a boot rubber over that, and it works VERY well, but these days you can buy Futi's from Dressage Extensions that work as well. You can also get toe warmers. They do a great job. I buy them by the case at Golf and Ski. I am not sure they are the absolute cheapest, but they are $40 a box, and no shipping, plus I can get them with out pre-thinking, a plus for me! For those of you who ride a number of times a week of course the Mountain Horse boots are the way to go. I don't think anyone who is wearing Mountain Horse boots has ever said my toes are cold. I have actually gotten them off of eBay with good luck. Chaps are a great way to keep legs warm. If you pair them with Mt. Horse paddock boots, and a pair of Kerrits winter riding pants, you are GREAT to go. The big deal is layers. Make sure that the kids are bundled. We can always remove layers, and we make fun out of it, but I can't make fun out of cold children. Let me know if you have any questions!!

The next thing to worry about in the cold weather is the horses. I have clipped many of them to try to make it easier for you to cool them out and get you back to your busy schedule, however that means that I have robbed them of their natural defense for the cold air. Please keep one blanket on them while you groom them. Be sure that the blanket is unfastened all of the way around and just groom in sections. You can even saddle them while they are covered and then just bring the blanket up over the saddle. As for the bit, that's very tricky business!!! PLEASE use a bit warmer when you FIRST get your tack out. Just drop one in the microwave when you go in the tack room, heat for one minute, then as you get your bridle out put a warmer on the bit and bring it all with you, simple as can be. Winter bitting is very dangerous for the horse. If the bit is cold, they will freeze their tongue to the bit and that is frightening to them. If it is too hot, they have a burning piece of metal strapped to their head. Neither is a good solution. The bit warmers at one minute when you first take the tack out will assure that won't happen. Your car heater or the viewing room heater will not only run the risk of burning the horse, but it also dries out the leather badly.

The last and maybe most important thing about cold weather coming... Our Holiday Party!!!!! We are going to have our Holiday Party on Dec. 16 at 2pm. It usually lasts about 3 hours. We will be moving lessons accordingly, and it will be held in our viewing room. Please come dressed comfortably, and bring a batch of holiday cookies to share. We treat it a bit like a cookie swap, yummy! Then, for those of you who wish to participate, bring a gift for a horsey person of about $10 or less. On that gift, write three clues as to who you are, NO I LOVE HORSES clues!!!! When we do the gift exchange, we will try to figure out who gave the gift. If you have a specific age group or gender that the gift is meant for please let me know when you bring it, so that I can be sure that it gets to the right person. I have heard of many people working on their clues already. It is usually a lot of fun and we get to know a little more about each other.

Often, people want to give Bob or myself a gift, and as much fun as that is, we have found that by making a suggestion of what all of us may benefit from at the farm has been even more fun. A la a few years ago when we suggested gift cards to Home Depot to work on the viewing room!!! This year we are suggesting gift cards to Granite State Glass so that we can put mirrors in the arena!! Imagine watching yourself jump, hearing the comments, and seeing them in the mirror! Or actually seeing if your horse is on the bit! The farm is going to buy one mirror, and we will put up as many more as we can afford through donation. They are $350 each, so who knows!! Ultimately, we want to put up 9 but that may take some time. We can place them strategically, so that we can benefit from as many or as few as we can afford. This is an exciting gift as it will benefit every single rider!

My last topic in this very long journal is Wendy. She is mending well and has actually taken two trips to the barn!!!! Her spirits are bright, and her smile is back. I love to see that at the farm. I have been missing my training buddy so badly! I expect that we will see her teaching soon, and when we do we will need riders to help her with her lessons. If anyone has time that they want to come in and just help in the aisle, or getting kids up on horses, and especially setting jumps, she would be so happy and me too. We may even need someone to lunge or help in any way. She is more and more mobile, but we don't want to risk her getting bumped by horses. Can't wait to see her in the arena!

I hope the holidays are well for you and your family. I am looking forward to celebrating them all with you on Sunday the 16th. We celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, and The Solstice, but mostly we celebrate all of our horse loving friends!!!!

See you in the aisle!

Heidi

October 22, 2007

How did it get to be this late in October? And thanks to the weather gods for letting it feel so nice!! So here I am coming off of the last weekend of travel and planning for a while. This morning, Bob and I smiled over our coffee at the feeling of satisfaction from the clinic and the beach. What a terrific time we had, Saturday each and every girl was turned out just right, and rode so nicely. What a super way to show the quality of training and pride that we have here at the farm, and what a super way to keep the spirit of good horsemanship alive in the barn!!! Then yesterday, wow, what a day. We left in perfect conditions, rode 14!!! horses at the ocean in more than perfect conditions and then settled in for a wonderful picnic right there on the beach! I typical FCRA style, not one, but TWO grills going, parents enjoying lunch together with satisfied and happy teens around while the younger set buried each other in sand, then ran around with a Frisbee and then spent the rest of the time in the water!! I asked Christopher on the way home how the water was and he said exactly what he always says in August, "It was great once you got used to it." Could that be???? The horses sure seemed to LOVE it.

I am so comfortable to sit back the next few weeks and let the routine of life take over. I like the idea of having a Sunday come that is not structured and hurried. And the idea of not having to cancel lessons for outside activities, I know it makes me happy, and I bet the kids that miss their lessons too! This would be a great time for feed back, if anyone has feed back about the hopes and dreams they have and they would like to see us try to satisfy, please let me know now. This is when I try to start planning the schedule for next summer. This is a great time for me to develop new strategies, so let me know if you have any great ideas!

See you in the aisles !

Heidi

October 14, 2007

We are at one of my favorite times of the year with horses, cool and crisp, horses are a little naughty but so funny, leaves moving around under foot as I cool out after a ride, and settling in for the long winter to come. The past couple of weeks have been busy as usual, but SO rewarding. Although the summer is gone, we have finally gotten into the groove that we had missed for so long. It started with Mollie's terrific win at Saugerties at First Level and, for me, culminated last weekend at Dana Hill. It was sad to go to the show site for the last time, and got a little sadder as I realized that Conner and Christopher would not show there. That was sad because of the times that I judged there while pregnant, and coached there with the smallest kids in my pouch, or one on my back and one on my front. Then, it was glorious because the kids did so well. They conquered farm goals, they shattered their personal goals, and they were such a pleasure to be around. What a way to end a show and a show season.

We just had our last home show of the season. It was fun, not a ton of people, but it inspired a new award. Every show is going to have a sportsmanship award. I will either appoint a roving person to watch, silently as riders handle their horses at the trailer or in the aisle, and how they address either a great show or a tough show and we will award an award for the person who handles themselves the most sportsman-like. It won't have anything to do with the showmanship, or award placements, but it will be all about the important things in showing. Today, Nathalie got that award. She worked as hard as everyone else, but alone, not in a group with anyone, then went out to get her pony today who was black from mud, but she did not let that get her down, she just went about cleaning her up. Then, she warmed up alone for much of the time, while friends were having fun at the show ring, and went into the classes where her pony did not behave as perfectly as her warm up would denote and yet came out with a smile the whole time, and went back in and kept up the great work. She had a first place in a class, as well as a number of 4th places, but she did not smile any bigger or do anything differently when she got the blue as she did when she got the whites. Every time she came out of the arena she smiled and petted her pony as though she had been perfect. I really admired that quality today, and I always admire good sportsmanship. This does not mean that all of the kids did not have great sportsmanship, and trust me I am sure I will miss some super sports with this award, but her attitude hit me hard. What I love is that we are so lucky to have SO many great riders and students, and SO many families with their hearts in the farm life.

Speaking of that, can we all say congratulations to Julie for her new horse Chica? Julie, her mom and I went to the race track last Tuesday. We waded through the horses and almost more importantly the trainers, and searched for the "right" horse. I think we have her. I do know that we took home the best horse from the track that day. This "filly", as a 3 year old TB mare is called, ran a race on Monday, and her trainer called me and said she would offer her to us although she is not officially for sale, and we bought her on Tuesday, taking her home that very day, then on Wednesday Julie was up on her!!! I can't wait to see what Julie and she will do through the winter and into next summer. Congratulations Julie!!! I know there are so many more things to cover but that is enough for today, stay tuned for next week. I would like to develop some strategies to make our home shows bigger and better, but that may take some help though so watch for places that you may enjoy helping out!

See you in the aisles!

Heidi

September 23, 2007

So here I am still pumped about last weekend and then add to that the excitement of having sold three horses this week to fantastic homes. I am full of energy and anticipation for another great season to come. Hampton and Socks are going to be so happy with Varina. Congratulations Varina! They will do so well with you; I could see it in their bodies as you rode them. Houdini is also a lucky one as he and Pat are going to spend so many happy years together. What a cool horse he is and Pat just wants to make him the happiest and the best that he could be. Congratulations Pat!

I have decided to completely change the summer programs for next year, so stay tuned to the website for those changes. They will offer much more to the current students who want to learn, perfect and investigate different skills. We will have one week of camp dedicated to dressage. We will incorporate not only what we can offer here at the farm, but guest trainers as well. What is very exciting is that I have already spoken to Lou Denizard about coming here! Lou spent his summer at the Pan Am Games representing Puerto Rico and competing with the North AND South American greats! Then at the end of the week, there will be a home dressage show!!!!! That way you can tote your new advancements and even try for qualifying scores right here!! Kids will be riding two times per day and studying the art of dressage between rides. We will also touch into the required reading for Lendon's Youth Festival. I am going to do the same thing with Eventing for a week. I will bring in guest trainers who are specialists in the field of eventing, and we will have some highly intense training, ending with the Hitching Post event!!! Then, I will be running one week strictly about horse and farm management, and training and injuries. We will have lectures from vets regarding different aspects of sport injuries and horse management DAILY!!! We will do practicals in the barn and learn how to present the horse to the vet for soundness checks, how to treat even some of the most complicated issues, and how to prevent certain issues in horses with known weakness'. We will also have a day of hoof care, treatments, and a lecture from our farrier. We will have a half day all about Equine Nutrition with lectures directly from two different grain producers regarding not only grain, but forages (hay and other fiber types), as well! We will start the year off with the Show Prep camp that we had last year, and I hope to make a more intense training project summer as well. Keep your eyes posted as stuff changes on the website!!! We are hoping to have a completely new and revamped summer schedule that offers a lot to our students as well as our outside friends.

That is all for now. See you in the aisles!

Heidi

September 17, 2007

The air is getting crisp, and the horses are getting fuzzy, and it is back to a regular schedule! My favorite time of year. I just can't wait for some hot apple cider and to start baking with pumpkins. I just got home from a FANTASTIC weekend in Saugerties, NY with Mollie at the NEDA Fall Festival. It is always SO fun to go to the Fall Festival. You get to be saturated with great rides, fantastic horses, really fun trade fair, and a really well run show. This year had even one more phenomenal part - Mollie and Bailey WON the Region 8 Championship at first level!!!!! What a super job for those two, and what a well done job of competing. Mollie not only got to be showered with prizes, but more importantly she got to do her first Victory gallop and she was in front! Even the announcer commented on taking her big smile around for her gallop and he is the announcer at many of the nations top shows. It was just pure fun.

Congratulations to Jess Dessert as she prepares for her new horse, Tess, to arrive. She is looking forward to not only dressage, but also eventing this nice mare! As she prepares to get to know her new horse, we are preparing for the last month of shows. We have a busy schedule for the next 4 weeks! We will be having our 3rd home show on Sept. 30, so be sure to sign up! It is going to be a great time. Then we will be in two different places with big groups. On October 6th, Bob and I are off to Dana Hill with the dressage team, and Wendy will be at Hitching Post with the event team. The next weekend, we will have our last home show of the year, and then on the 20th, don't forget that Liz Austin will be at the farm. Entries are open for that clinic now, so be sure to get those in ASAP! Then, on the 21st, we will be bringing a group to the, yes, I will say it...BEACH!!!! As long as the forecast does not contain snow, rain, or blustery wind. I think we are all done with riding on the beach in horrible weather. So you will see a sign up on the aisle soon, but remember, signing up is a commitment so when you sign up, please leave a check in the box ($130 if you own a horse and if not, you can rent one of ours for $30 with a promise that you will take care of the tack as well). We will not cash checks until Monday the 22nd and only if we go, but the check will hold your spot. This has become the hottest ride of the year! We will of course be bringing the grill and we will be having a blast!

That is all for now. I will see you in the aisles!

Heidi

September 1, 2007

Clearly the summer is starting to gain some degree of sanity as it winds down. I can actually write in the journal again! First and foremost, I want to congratulate (my Dad would send condolences) the Goodwin Family on their huge leap into horse ownership. They went from two older geldings at home to adding a new mare for each girl!! Congratulations to both Marissa and Tashi on their purchases of Tina and Jewel. I can see those two rumps together in the trailer off to many events and shows in the days to come! I also want to congratulate Paula on her purchase of Daisy Grey - you will have so much fun with this special mare. Can I tell you I have had 8 sad people call to find that she has been sold? Congratulations to Cora Sloan on her lease of Jolie. This is an unbeatable team! I am sure you will have SO much fun with her, Cora.

Show sign ups are at the farm. We still have 4 things to sign up for. As well, I want to encourage EVERYONE to make it in some fashion to the Liz Austin clinic on Oct 20. She is going to be teaching a number of talented riders from our farm and others. Please go to cvda.org if you want to sign up. The entry opening date is there and this will be a popular clinic. On the day of the clinic, we are hoping to have a bake sale, as well as a used tack and clothing sale. If you would like to bake, please do! Also if you have anything that you would like to donate to the clothing or tack sale, please let Heidi know ASAP.

Now the fall schedule has had one week to gel. This has been an incredible blending of schedules done yet again by Dale. You can't imagine what she has to factor in! She has to blend other after school activities, age of each rider, school or home school needs for each rider, group vs. private, even family schedules! She knows who would rather leave time for church, or family time on the weekday, or weekend, who does homework when, who has early bedtimes and who doesn't really care. She knows who gets out of work when, and who has nannies to bring them to the farm, but tell all this? Not her! She has patiently converted a blank page into an exciting schedule where hopefully as many people as possible are content and happy. If you are not yet on the schedule and would like to be, or if you would like to be in a different capacity, please let her know. If it is possible she will take care of it. If you see Dale in the aisle, can you please tell her thank you from all of us!!!

On that happy note, can I tell you that there are other moms behind the scenes at all times? Did you know that Kate Neumann's mom, Karen, is the webmaster? She has committed so many hours just gathering information, and putting the journal online, as well as constantly making changes as I happen to just think up something new! Then there is Chris, the mom of Lexie and Caroline, who is always helping us keep that viewing room clean, and updating me on what sort of stocking of the beverage section needs to be done! Plus countless parents who pick up the broom or help Bob with water buckets in the early mornings. Again if you see these people in the aisle, can you thank them?

Heidi

August 27, 2007

My mom and dad always promised me that NH was a very safe place to live. "There are no such thing as tornados in NH" - they would tell me after a scary movie or news report. Humph, well mom and dad??? So who knows what the officials called it, but Bob and I are going to call it a tornado. The results of 5 minutes of storm looked the same as when Helen Hunt was storm chasing in the movie called... TWISTER. Dale, Karen and Chris would tell you that the frenzy seemed the same, and if you look in the back of the pasture across the street, down in the far left corner you will still see what a path looks like after a, well I am going to say it, tornado. At 9:00pm, on the "night in question" Max was stressed out, can we say that in itself means that something that normally doesn't occur occurred?

Summer is now winding down, no more barn rats, no more summer campers, and even more, time to down size the herd. While I was home trying to sell horses, Bob, Wendy and a big crew went off to Hitching Post Farm and made a good dent in available ribbons! Great Job EVENT TEAM!!!! Then on Saturday, Bob and I took a group to Dana Hill, yet again, awesome job DRESSAGE TEAM!!!! Our next big extravaganza is our September show here at home on Sept 30. Yes, it is a Sunday, that way everyone can get in their lessons on Sat in preparation for the show, and have time to bathe and braid. It will be a fun one, back to the class list with trail classes and all sorts of things. Then we have the last Dana Hill in history on Oct 6, our fall show on Oct 14, and a huge honor on October 20 - hosting the CVDA year end clinic for JR/YR's with Liz Austin!!! I will try to include Liz's bio at some point, it is quite exciting especially since she is the two time winner of the Brentina Cup. After all this, it is back to the drawing board to train for the next year!

I sure hope to start early in preparation for next year. I am hoping to find someone or a few someones to help with sponsorships for our shows. The more we have sponsorship, the more awards we can offer. I also am hoping to get as much feedback as possible from the summer's activities, probably not all that interested in feedback about the well, or the bad stuff, but what can we do next year that was liked this year? Or different? What did you like in particular? I am especially hoping for feedback on the summer camp program.

Well off to the barn! I will see you in the aisles.

Heidi

**UPDATE on our sickness**

It has been determined through the viral isolate that our horses had HV2. This is a virus that causes, are you ready?, a high fever!!! The great news is that all of the horses are fine, and that it is not a horrible thing, except that the horses get a high fever and they don't feel well. One thing that I am so happy about is that it is not something that lingers on the farm, so we don't even have to worry about it anymore. The likely thing is that a horse picked it up while traveling somewhere and then came home and it spread to the four other horses. Which one, where?, I don't know, and I don't care. As long as everyone is healthy I am satisfied. So no more speculation is necessary, is it this or is it that, is the farm safe, was it related to a friend's illness, nope, nope, and more nope. Everything is fine, some horses never get diagnosed as they are not as active as ours are, so extra thanks to everyone who kept such a vigilance and made sure that no horse would go un-temped for a period of 6 hours or more! Now, we walk into paddocks and all horses turn to face us - I guess that is a way to keep horses from becoming kickers!

August 13, 2007

I had to put Curly down tonight. It was so sad. That horse was magical. I bought him when I was 18, and he was 3, and he died at 25 of natural causes. He enjoyed his retirement at another farm, but we are bringing him home to be buried here at First Choice. Please see Curly - In Memory for more on this special horse.

August 10, 2007

Big doings going on here at the farm - that is for sure! Many things to talk about especially as it has been so long, but I have not known what to say for a little while. There are a few things to talk about so I think I will start with the hardest one first. As most of you know we have been dealing with some sort of fever for 5 of the horses. This has been a very trying time as we have not been able to really isolate the cause or the exact organism that has done this to our horses. For a long time, I had no news to tell anyone, so I did not explain. Now as we come to a hopeful close on this chapter of the life and times of FCRA, I have some answers to tell. Sit down, get a cup of something to drink, and I can try to explain.

Within a 5 day period, 5 horses came in with fevers. Not all had any direct relationship which is something that still stumps us. I thought that we were in for the worse case scenario of a barn nightmare. Fortunately, due to the vigilance of the owners of the horses, and that of Dr. Barb LeClair, and all of the help we have gotten from Dr. Bartol at NEEMS in Dover, we are finally able to breathe just a little easier. What was the fever? We still don't exactly know. Could it be caused by a strep infection known as strep equi with the horrible layman's name of Strangles? Possible. Is it something worse? Nope. One horse has had some tests coming back showing that it could have been an atypical presentation of strep equi (Strangles-scary name, not so scary disease, but still not pretty). That horse is being followed closely by the vets and is isolated at the moment. As for the others? The vets continue to use the terms Fever of Unknown Origin. ARGH. We have treated the horses though, and they are on the up swing, and doing well. The farm is undergoing individual sterilization, although as soon as we are fully over it we will disinfect the entire facility with a steam pressure washer and veterinary disinfectant.

I have my first day today of not feeling completely sad and frustrated. The best news is that we are going to be safe and fine to travel next Weds, barring any unforeseen changes, and we are fine to accept horses as well, just in time for our 3rd home show!!! Students - please realize that we are hitting the road next week with a vengeance. Community - please know that we are doing so safely and without hazard to any of our friends, neighbors and fellow competitors. Hallelujah!!

Second big topic - the well. Can you imagine that we dug the well that supplies the farm its water in November of 1999, and now, 8 years later we get the diagnosis of collapse? It seems that the earth has moved in some fashion which cut the electric cords of our pump, humph. What has happened now is that we have been on a 2 week process of no water coming from our well directly! Try to run a horse farm on that bit of news. Thanks be to Louise Meyer, owner of the house next door and builder of the farm in the first place. She has been so gracious as to let us connect to her house!!! That takes care of much of the water needs, but not all. Thanks also be to Bob, tireless water giver to the horses via tractor, truck and bucket. Also to all of the helpers of the farm, thank you from all of the not thirsty horses. The well people finally came on Weds and re-drilled the well, which was great, but on Thursday morning it was blocked again. Today is Friday, and we still don't have a well that works and pumps water, but there is nothing more we can do until next week. Hopefully, next week this will all be fine in time to bathe for our shows!!!

Next big topic - I can't believe that next week is the last week of summer camp and barn rats. Wow, what happened? The whole summer is yet again racing by!!! Time to pick dates for beach rides and winter clinics. No, I don't have any of the dates yet, but I will be sure to post them. With the end of the barn rats and such comes the fall schedule. Dale, Wendy and I have been plotting away trying to figure out how to best manage the schedule for the fall/winter. If you have not already been contacted, please know that we are trying to fit everything together. Don't hesitate to call and remind us that you need a spot. We are doing our best to include everyone in this schedule, but simple reminders are a great tool. Some of you also take two lessons in the summer, but cut back to one during the winter or vice versa, so please remind us of those changes. You may not believe this, but my brain at times feels in neutral!

The last big topic is a little combined topic. Horses. You may see that we have a very long sales list. Please know that we have to get down to a certain number of horses in order to go into the winter safely. I have a few horses for sale that I am hoping will sell, and some that I am on the fence about and of course the standby schoolies are never on that list. As I have told a number of people, I am not going out of business!! I'm just cutting back the numbers as I always do in the fall. We are lucky to get to have so many horses in the summer, but come winter I can't get this many horses ridden, so they need homes of their own. If you know anyone in the market for a horse, let them know! We have never had SUCH a great selection of horses at so many different jobs. If you have enjoyed your lease, we definitely offer half leases through the whole year. Please see me if you would like to continue your horses half lease program. It is similar to the summer plan, and a bit easier to manage in many ways.

I hope your questions are answered and if they are not, please email me with more.

See you in the aisles!

Heidi

July 17, 2007

It finally happened!!! I got a couple of beginner school horses! I couldn't be more excited about it either. What a relief for Murray and Melody - they just got a little break. "Topsy" and "Silky" are two new mares. Stay tuned to the school horse area of the Farm page and you will be able to learn all about them. They arrived on Sunday evening, and by Monday afternoon they were already teaching their first lesson. Speaking of horses, congratulations to Taylor for being the proud new owner of Dillon! What a birthday present! Also exciting news for Julie for her first training project, "Daisy Grey". She is a charm and Julie is so excited to be her trainer, and what a wonderful mare! Kate also has a new training project, "Bailey Bob Special" (lets get that name changed!) and who ever gets to buy that horse is going to be one lucky person too! They join Leah, trainer of Kota, and Lexie, trainer of Trio. The summer just keeps getting more fun!

On the camp front, we are having a boys camp starting July 30, and there is still room, so if you know any riding boys, let us know! They will get to do some western riding, and they will learn about some of the boy oriented disciplines. Don't forget Dressage is a man dominated sport too! Ok, so maybe they will have to round up a barn rat or two. We will only have two more weeks of summer camp after that - seems way too short! On the 19th we will be headed off to the youth dressage festival and then what is left is only one more week of August? Where does it all go?

Heidi

July 6, 2007

So many times I have wanted to start this entry, and so many times I have been too busy to make it happen! Summer is in full swing, and everything that we hoped for has started! I don't think I have ever seen the farm so busy, with so many excited, yet guided kids. This year's busy is far from the chaos we have felt in years past. Show camp was a huge success and we got to cover SO many things. The kids worked so hard polishing skills such as equitation and course jumping, and they had to add learning how to prepare and handle a horse for showmanship, and how to negotiate a trail class. The effort they all put forth was genuine, so it inspired Kara, Wendy and I to put all of our energy into it as well. Campers, trainers, and horses alike were exhausted each night, but looking forward to the next day. I know we will do that again. The camp ended the week with our first home show. Another really fun day at the farm!!! The kids rode well, the horses behaved well, and the judge came to me after to be sure I heard her say that she was impressed with improvements the kids had made!!!! I was so happy and grateful to hear such nice words; it just keeps me confident that our mission here at the farm is coming true - a really big deal to both Bob and I.

Over the last couple of days the barn has been working at full capacity, kids, horses, trainers, even farriers everywhere, and when new people have come to the farm to look at sales horses, or watch friends, I get the comments "what great energy!" or "what a super place for these kids to learn." I was afraid that the comments would be "are you nuts"? But I guess they could see that each person had a direction and a plan and that even though there were seldom less than 10 horses being ridden, they all had plenty of space to do what they needed to do, and a point to what they were doing. I am looking forward to next week though, things get a lot more sane, barn hours will be much more normal, and the work load will be quieter. Even though our second home show is next weekend it now seems like child's play to get ready for it. Hopefully, by next weekend we have a few new horses as well. I look forward to seeing you in the aisles. Please never hesitate to email me if you have questions or comments about anything you read here, or hear about in the barn, I am always glad to keep people up to speed.

Heidi

June 13, 2007

June is always a busy month at the farm. We have already had a number of kids qualify for the Youth Dressage Festival. Congratulations Kate, Alicia, Lexie, and Jess - are you reading your books? The first home show is around the corner with entries coming in and yet more things to do in preparation, and the horse show camp full and ready to go. Soon ends my quiet training sessions, and quiet time at the farm, to be replaced with the hustle and bustle of kids and horses everywhere. I can't wait to see how all of my planning turns out this summer - I hope it works!

Show season is in full swing. Almost everyone has been to their first show, and done well, but come back home planning an attack for the summer training. Speaking of training, we have had two clinics already. Keep an eye on our clinic schedule as we have new additions frequently! It was great to see Cindy Sydnor at the farm just last weekend. We got to work hard riding our horses, and she even got on 5 of them to get a feel of what we are working with. Everyone ended the day with improvement and positive thoughts. The next trainer to come is Jane Savoie, and we are so lucky to get her with her busy international speaking schedule. She is coming on July 6th. There will be room for auditing, but riding spots are very limited. She will be back in August as well.

One more thing to say before I sign off is CONGRATULATIONS to Cora and Alicia on your new horses!!!! Also, congratulations to us on my new school horses! Nutmeg and Socks are lovely and sweet and will be wonderful additions to the school. I have to say that I wonder what horses we will have in the fall. I don't even think we have met all of our school horses yet. One of my favorite things is getting new schoolies, and this is going to be a year of new horses for the school - what fun! On July 8th, I am going on a buying trip to find training projects and schoolies!!! One of my favorite things to do! The hard part will be bringing the numbers of horses back down to 30 or less by fall. Hmmm, that will be interesting! See you in the aisles!!!

Heidi

June 3, 2007

This is my first journal entry, and I am very excited about the idea. I would like to use this forum as a way to communicate my thoughts to people as if we were in the aisle chatting, hopefully answering questions that you may have as well as spreading the news of new things. I am sure they won't all be as long as this one but we have to start somewhere! I am so excited about the launching of the new site, I really think this is a new beginning for us to share more information and keep everyone posted on the developments of the farm. Kudos to Karen Neumann (mom of Kate and "owned by" Razz) - this is her website and she has done a fantastic job, day after day. This has been in the works for a very long time, and it is her perseverance that has given it the quality and ease of use that it has, THANKS KAREN!!!

There are a few things that I want to let everyone know. First of all we have hit the horse show scene with three shows under our belt. The first one was May 5, and 6 with a dressage show at GMHA. What a great way to enter the show scene, horses were polished, riders were dressed and educated, what a great way to start the year. It was fun to go to a show and look down a row of stalls and see such a number of horses from our farm, all looking peaceful and content. The second show was at Dartmouth. Way to go, kids, so many blues, and Champions and Reserve Champions! Then I was off to a show with Mollie, yet another great weekend, and what a great place! We went to Saratoga Race Course for the first of the really big dressage shows in the North East. The really great part of this show was the atmosphere, and grounds. The whole thing is done on the race track, yep, we were doing our tests on the backstretch, while the Grand Prix and other FEI levels were in front of the grand stands. Warm up? That was in the "shoot", standing on hand were the starting gates, I just can't imagine going into one of those things not knowing exactly when it opens. All day for the three days we were there, there was a parade of race horses, one after the other on their way to train at the other track. Riders in "breezing" garb and short stirrups, whips in their back pockets, and horses prancing past dressage horses strutting, and riders in top hats and tails, each as intent that they were doing the ultimate for their horse, really fun to see. I think it would have been a blast to trade and just try each other's sport.

On the business front, Dale, Wendy and I have been working very hard to make the summer schedule. I have to say this has been the hardest schedule to set, and I am grateful to Dale for never showing irritation at me for saying "Well, I don't know if that will work, what about...." or "Can you let this person know..." THANKS DALE! We are all trying very hard to continue the progression of riders, and I have to say that I often get to know about every student in the farm and make check ins with the other trainers about them. This has been especially helpful in overseeing the development of the academy and its riders. When Dale comes to you to offer lesson thoughts, please know that we are really trying to consider rider, horse, and family schedule. Often Dale has had to hear me say "No, I think that her brother has a swimming lesson" or "they work until ..., so they can't get here before ..." So if she asks you about a schedule that does not suit you, please simply let her know, and we will continue to look for an appropriate place. In this development of schedule, the time has come for me to step back and review what I am doing and where I am most productive. As I am taking on more horses to train, I have made the decision to change my role in the farm teaching. As I have let some of you know, I am going to discontinue my jumping training and let Wendy have all of my fantastic students that want to jump. It is so exciting to have her here with her passion for jumping and training jumping riders and horses. She continues to train over fences herself, bringing a wealth of new exercises and ideas to the farm. Trust me when I tell you that you will be so glad to have her training you, your child, or your horse, as she will bring results.

On a sad note, I have to let everyone know about my dear Tonka. Tonka passed away at the hospital on Friday night. We lost a wonderful soul when we lost him. He had been battling a lung disorder that came on strong and fast. Not only did we do everything we could for him at the farm but we also had the blessing of help from Tracy, his true mom. Tracy sponsored his stay at the hospital, authorizing chest x-rays, ultra sounds, tracheal washes, biopsies, and a whirlwind of treatments that I never could have been able to give him. The frustrating part was every time I talked to his vet, Dr. Bartol of New England Equine Medical and Surgery, she said the same thing, "Tonka continues to be a puzzle, but what a good boy he is." They began to call his lung disorder a cancer-like consolidation of the lung. I can't even express how sad I was when I got the news. Dr. Bartol noticed that he was in more significant distress on Friday evening and moved him to a cool air conditioned room. She made him comfortable there and went to make some calls. When she came back about 30 minutes later, he had passed. She said his stall was in good order, letting us know that he simply laid down and passed. Tonka has been such an integral part of this farm, I am not sure how to even begin to say how I feel about that boy. We will be spreading his ashes at the farm with his other old men buddies, so he will always be here with us. We have a cemetery for our best friends, so if anyone wants to know where or even bring a flower to plant I can show you. Many people have been a part of this project, loving the school horses, Amanda has planted Daffodils for Petie, Jessica has planted lilies for Maggie, and Audrey planted clover for Jazz. People really love these horses, and I really love these horses.

On another note, I want to welcome Socks to the riding program - what a good boy!!! I am on the hunt for some new school horses, so we can fall in love again. I hope you will notice lots of new faces at the farm. Also, if you have any photos please email them to Karen with a caption, we will put up as many as we can. We will try to keep a limit of how many are in the gallery of any one person, so if you have more than three, please let her know which one to remove as well. Also, there is a place to put any writing that you girls want to put, not a blog, but a place if you have written a poem, or a short story about one of the horses or your experience here at the farm. We are also looking for testimonials to place on the web site, if you have anything in particular that you want to say, just email it to Karen. Off we go to a really exciting summer!!! More next week.

Heidi