Speaking of babies...

Jlo's filly Shorty is now 3 years old and will be shown for the first time this year! She's proving to be very much like her mom, but a little stockier.

We don't have any pictures of Blondie's yearling yet, but here is the 2 year old by Mr. Boomerjac. This filly has been handled a little bit, lunged and had a saddle on. She will be coming in for more training in the next couple weeks.

Peanut UPDATE!

6 weeks have gone by with no signs of heat so...

PEANUT must be PREGNANT!!!!!

In the next few weeks the vet will be out to do a little check up and check to see if everything is happy and healthy and hopefully not twins! Keep your fingers crossed for us, and let's hear some name suggestions!

In case you've been out of the loop: Peanut, my show horse from last year was bred in the middle of March. The first breeding wasn't successful as she had a cluster of eggs. Fertility of a cluster of eggs is inprobable, so we took the safest bet and put her on a drug that would do two things. The first was to decrease the chances of aborting a possible pregnancy (even though unlikely). The second was to regulate the heat cycle and increase the chances of fertility from a second breeding. The second breeding took place and as of right now all systems are go!

We decided to breed Peanut to a stud called Genzanit. Genzanit, or "Dunnit" as we call him around the barn, has an extensive show record, a fabulous mentality and hopefully some physical attributes to offset some of Peanut's weaknesses.

We are waiting for the appointment with the vet before we start an official countdown...stay tuned!

Remember Twist?

The ORHA Spring Thaw Horse show at Fletcher's Horseworld on May 8th and 9th was the beginning of a brand new season on a brand new horse!

"Twist" or "Peppy" as we call her around the barn is a bronze winner at just 4 years of age. Due to very petite bone structure, Peppy was given most of her two year old year off. Training for any horses, and especially for young reining horse can be very stressful on young bones, so in this case it was decided to let Peppy have an extra year to grow up.
Look kind of familiar? Yes, Peppy was in training with me as a yearling. Now, three years later, I have the opportunity to ride her and show her!
The show at Fletcher's HorseWorld was a great experience for us. Peppy got to see all the sights and sounds of the horse show, LOTS of riding (even through the torrential downpour and high winds...), and got to be in the ring by herself in the Rookie Professional class.

Other than a few minor distractions, we had a pretty good run. A few more shows are lined up for Peppy and I this season, we will keep you updated on her progress!

Click HERE to view video!

Check out this video from Congress '09. Think out horsemanship patterns in preparation for the horse show coming up are complicated????? Think again!

CALLING ALL HOST FAMILIES!

Our group of riders from Florida will be here June 25th-June 28th for their first trip to Canada! We will be hosting riding lessons, some fun horsey-events and a trip to Niagara Falls. We are looking for a couple of volunteer host families to give these girls a place to stay for a couple nights. Got an extra room? A pull-out couch? Please contact me if you are interested in finding out what would be involved.
Thanks!!

Reining Clinic

The reining clinic last weekend was a huge success. Jordan Larson, NRHA's youngest Million Dollar Rider, who also holds an NRHA judges card was a fantastic clinician. We got to see a little bit about how Jordan coaches his non-pro riders, and watch him ride a horse owned by the facility owners who had a first place finish at Congress last year!
Guess who was participating in the clinic?????
Blondie!! And her new owner Lisa! Blondie is doing very well and so is the baby, we are hoping to get some pictures soon...

Spring Horse Show/Exhibition

We have confirmed the date for our Spring Horse Show/Exhibition! May 16th we will host a show just for our own students at Briarquest Farm (our home farm).
Classes will be run the same as last time, youth in the morning and adults in the afternoon. There will be a lunch break with fun events, food and an opportunity for riders bringing their own horses to warm up in the ring. Each competitor will enter the ring individually and perform a rail class and a pattern of their choice for the judge. Score cards will be made up by the judge and available the week after the show for each rider to review with their coach.
This is a fun, low key event! The idea is to get the opportunity to practice the riding skills you have learned in lessons, in a show setting. For riders with green horses, the idea is to start to expose the horses to some different surroundings and get to know them better by testing them with a rail class and pattern.
Riders are expected to wear appropriate show attire, and ideally practice once or twice in lessons in their "show clothes".
Supporters, fans and observers are invited to this event as well. Anyone who would like to volunteer their time for the horse show please contact us. Prizes were a huge hit last show and we would love to offer them again for this show. Please let us know if you have something you would like to donate.
More details to come!