Weather and HST

Just a quick note to let everyone know that lessons are still a go for this week despite the heat. Inside lesson plans are in place, we can even stay cool in the viewing area for those of us who can't stand the extreme heat (and for the horses sake).

Also a reminder that our prices will remain the same with the introduction of HST. The HST will be absorbed into the current fees, the amount you pay for lessons will NOT change.

Thank you and keep cool!

Surgery and Phone

Thanks to everyone for your support and positivity over the past few weeks. My surgery was June 30th at 10am and I'm pleased to report that all went well!
It was quick and painless. I'm at home resting (or trying to...) for a few days and should be back to teaching on Monday. I'm still unsure of the length of time off I will need from riding, but should have a better idea after the stitches are removed July 12th. The results from the tissue that was taken should be in around that same time frame.
Thanks again for your flexibility and support through all of this!

Please accept my apologies for anyone who has not received a response for any messages sent from June 26th to June 30th. My phone went on the fritz on Friday and I have been unable to retrieve any messages during that timeframe. I have a phone on loan right now and can accept calls, voicemails and text messages. Emails are still accessible from my computer.

Happy Canada Day and I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Hayes Horsemanship welcomes South Florida Equestrian Center!

Thursday June 25th marked the start of the first leg of our International Exchange 2010/2011!
Teresa Belanger, coach, trainer and owner of South Florida Equestrian Center, and 6 of her riding enthusiasts participated in the four day long weekend in CANADA!

Riders of all ages and levels of experience enjoyed our "cool" summer weather, great horses and fantastic facility.

Friday night after a long day of riding lessons and a trip to Port Stanley, we relaxed on the hill beside the arena to watch a reining demonstration and Teresa try out a potential show horse "Baylee".

We had to make a little stop to see the momma and baby that were being boarded there temporarily until the mare was re-bred for next year.

Sof made everyone feel right at home back at Briarquest on our second day of lessons. Saturday morning we had been in Strathroy to watch a horse show. We made a quick stop at Crinklaws for some real maple syrup. Later in the evening we dined at the Great Canadian Steakhouse and went to one of our gracious host families homes to make smores at the campfire.

Sunday morning we packed up the rental cars and drove to Niagara Falls for the day. We took a walk down the white water rapids and an unbelieveable ride on the Maid of the Mist. We also checked out the caves behind the falls and a 4D experience illustrating the creation of the falls.

Monday morning we did our last riding lessons. Everyone did a fabulous job in their lessons and made significant improvement over the four days that seemed to fly by. Thanks to our host families and thanks to our gracious guests. We hope to see you soon for the second leg of our exchange when we visit Fort Myers, Florida during March Break 2011!

We Welcome South Florida Equestrian Center!

This weekend we are thrilled to be hosting 8 riders from South Florida Equestrian Center as part of our 2010/2011 International Exchange! The riders fly in Thursday night and will be staying until Monday afternoon. They will be taking part in riding lessons at our home farm each day, and staying with volunteer host families each night. We also have planned a trip to Port Stanley for lunch to see the lake, a riding/reining demonstration in Granton, a daytrip to Niagara Falls and of course a meal or two at Tim Horton's!
The second leg of the exchange will take place during March Break 2011 when we fly to Fort Myers, Florida to reunite with our guests for a week of riding in the sunshine!

A huge thank you to our host families for opening up their homes for 4 days.

Scheduling for June/July

As many of you know, last week I was diagnosed with a melanoma on my left calf. My appointment today with the plastic surgeon confirmed that I will need to have a border of tissue removed from around the original incision. The good news was that the melanoma seems to have been caught in the epidermis (the top layer of skin) and there isn't any worry at this point that it has spread to the dermis, the muscle/fat or the lymph nodes. The rest of the cancerous cells will be removed along with a 5mm border of healthy tissue.
The surgery is booked for Wednesday, June 30th.
I should be able to walk and stand to teach lessons regularly by Monday of the following week. Nicole will be available to teach the regularly scheduled lessons on Wednesday, June 30th, Thursday, July 1st and Friday, July 2nd as discussed.
Thanks for your understanding and flexibility with all of this. If you are concerned, or interested in finding out more about melanomas and skin cancers my doctor recommended www.mayoclinic.com.
Thanks again and please contact me with any further questions,
Lindsay

Horse Show on Sunday

Anyone interested in coming out to a horse show on Sunday?? We will be dong some schooling and coaching at the Triple C Saddle Club show in Shedden this weekend. The performance events like western pleasure, trail and horsemanship will all take place throughout the morning. The gaming events like barrel racing and pole bending will be in the afternoon. The reining will be somewhere in the middle of the day.
The Triple C Saddle Club has a website www.triplecsaddleclub.com as well as a Facebook page where you can find a more specific class list.
The address for the show ground is 35921 Talbot Line, Shedden ON.
See you there!

If you are not able to come out this weekend to the show, there will be plenty of other opportunities this season. Ask us about our plans and check back to the website and Facebook page regularly.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Hooray for everyone who participated in our Spring Horse Show/Exhibition May 16th!!!
Exhibitors did a fantastic job and learned some great lessons!



An extra special thanks to the volunteers and sponsors. Heritage Country Gardens came through for us again with some flowers for our beautiful winner's circle. Teresa Corrigan very generously donated sunglasses for every exhibitor! Thanks to Cathy and Olivia Coish for their prize donations, as well as for their help in the kitchen with the food booth. Thanks to Karen Pratt for her prize donations and for her help all day until the very end. Thanks to Legg's General Store in Lucan for their generous prize donations, and to Cathy Haggarty for her leg work for these prizes. Thanks to Keith Hayes for providing some fabulous gift card prizes for our Egg n' Spoon challenge as well as to the Ferguson family once again for their great horsey-prizes. Thanks to the Karlsons for use of their karaoke machine and for the special snacks they brought for the volunteers at the end of the day. Thanks to Simply Candy for some yummy treats. Thanks to everyone who pitched in and helped out: Monique Hoffer, Emily Ponte and Martha Zimmerman, Lindsey Tapp etc etc etc.
Another congratulations and thank you to Presley Delellis and Sydney Karlson for their fantastic rendition of OH Canada to start out our day! Great job girls!
A HUGE thanks to Nicole Van Esch for her help and support all day and throughout the week leading up to the show.
Thanks to our photographer, Teresa Gilroy for her hard work the day of the show. Teresa has got pictures ready for us to view at the barn, in a photo album. Teresa has given us some very special rates for this show, and the photos look great! Please make sure you get a chance to view these at the farm before the end of June to make your orders.

Once again: thank you, thank you, thank you!!! And Congratulations!