Welcome to the Sunny South!

First of all, I really need to thank some people for making the trip to Aiken possible this year. Angela Hambrick and Marian Shaughnessy have generously sent their horses for training, and continue to support our endeavors. This year we are doing some USDF shows in Ocala Fla, which is an added treat! I also have been given the opportunity to have Theodore aka Arriba come and check out the sand and sun courtesy of his owner Becky Salinger and a sponsorship by Jessica Maggard-Hart. Thank you to these ladies for helping to make the trip a reality!
I need to thank Kathy Goss for the use of her trailer again this year, and Tracy, Liz, and Mandy for all the hard work they will be doing in my absence at the farm. Furthermore, to all the clients who stayed home; thank you for your understanding and allowing me to pursue further training opportunities.
I am most priviliged to have my sister Mary with me this year as well, and would not have been able to make all our plans work if she were not here to help take care of the horses.

Now, on to the horses...
the "boys" as we call them, Z, Goodman, and Theodore arrived on Sat night around 7:45pm. They all travelled very well, and were bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning. Z especially was "up" and literally "rearing to go"! We turned averyone out in the 71 degree sunshine and they kicked their heels up and had a good roll in the dirt! The horses had the day off to acclimate and recover from their journey so Mary and I finished setting up the barn, got groceries, and prepared for the busy month to come. We are feeling pretty organized and ready to take on the world, or at least Aiken, SC. Tomorrow all the horses will hack and hopefully Tsjesse will be arriving either Monday or Tuesday.

We are looking forward to Jessica coming down for some horse shopping, and doing some cross country schooling, so stay tuned for more fun updates!

Rule Changes

The USEF annual convention was this weekend and they passed several important rules to note. You can see all the specifics at www.usef.org, but here's a quick synopsis as it pertains to us...

-all riders at USEF sanctioned horse trials are required to wear approved helmets while mounted at all times. This excludes FEI sanctioned horse trials at the upper levels. (Meaning you can wear a top hat in dressage at the FEI level for dressage)

-all riders Fourth Level and below are required to wear a helmet at all times while mounted at USEF sanctioned competitions

-all anabolic steroids are prohibited beginning Dec 1, 2011.

-The description and eligibility have changed in the Hunter Very Green Divisions.

There are several other things in the works, so be sure to check out the new changes.

Coming Together....

As we count down to the last two weeks before leaving I feel like there is still quite a bit to pull together. I am happy to report that Z is feeling great, and he is getting his checkup on Tuesday from Doc. We will be evaluating his soundness before ramping up for the show season and deciding if we should do hocks etc. I have been very lucky this far in that he has required no maintenance whatsoever, so now that he is coming 12 (hard to believe) I thought we should take a closer look. Everybody has had their shots, Coggins, the shipper is booked and we are almost ready to roll. I have been looking for a truck so that we can haul a few more horses around at a time, and I think I have found a pretty nice one...an F250 V10 Super Cab. Its a 2008 with around 35k miles and should do the job nicely.

I am pretty excited about the new horse in the barn and after only a week he has made startling improvements. I jumped him around a baby course yesterday, and he jumped a bit better. Tuesday is the deciding factor, so everybody cross your fingers.

Truth be told, I would like to be bringing a few more horses with me this year, but at least it will give me lots of time learning at Silva and Boyd's (hopefully) and between the eventing and dressage, we will be showing almost every weekend. My awesome sister is coming this year too, so it is going to be loads of fun!

I will be posting the show schedule on the website later today, so check it out and come cheer our riders on!

Preparations!

After an amazing trip to Switzerland visiting my brother and his beautiful family I am feeling very refreshed and have a renewed sense of focus. I hit the ground running and am excited to announce (and congratulate) Marian & Michael Shaughnessy on their purchase of Tsjesse, a 13 yr old Friesan that has competed to I1 in Florida. I am sure Marian will have many wonderful years of enjoyment with this horse and look forward to seeing her move up the levels in dressage.

I am also thrilled to say that Zigzag is getting back to competition form and is very happy after his little vacation as well. He had a great flat yesterday, and is ready to start gearing up for the show season in February. I am hoping he will be joined in the eventing ranks by a new horse named Theodore currently owned by Rebecca Salinger. He is a top quality Canadian Sporthorse with a great future ahead of him. I think Goodman is coming along very nicely and is ready for some serious work with Silva Martin in Aiken and moving up to Fourth Level. His changes are getting very reliable to the 3s, and I am hopeful that we can get a Prix St.George by the end of the year.

We also have some new/"renewed" faces in the barn that I am looking forward to bringing to some horse shows; more about that in the next Blog. The race is on to get organized for Aiken, and we are still taking reservations for anyone that would like to come and get some focused training or just have a good time riding the vast trails! Its going to be a fun new year with lots of great stuff going on, and I can't wait to get started.

I should also take a moment to thank all our current and past clients and owners for a very successful 2010, and for all the support you have given me over the last year. I could not do anything that I do without the amazing assistance of all the clients, friends, and staff at White North, so to everyone, THANK YOU!
More to come Soon!
Therese