Speaking of winter clothes - Sinatra/Titan received a wonderful donation from the folks at S.A.F.E. and now gets to join the rest of the Sundance crew with a nice warm blanket for outside - as a side note, we are hoping he may stay a little cleaner - however, if he talks to Phalcon, he'll find a way to be just as dirty even with the clothes! Never the less, we love his new blanket! We are thinking about using some of Danika's hard earned cash for him to invest in a cooler unless someone has a pony cooler they would like to donate - just let us know - we are always up for Titan donations!
With the rain committing, we have closed the grass gates for the winter to allow the grass to get strong for next year. Never fear, they will be open again once the weather clears up, the leaves get cleaned up and the grass gets a nice strong foot hold. The horses aren't convinced, but seem to all have accepted their shortened turn outs for the winter with a good attitude - they know it'll be back! In other winter projects, thanks to the efforts of our great Sundance Team, with the hill being weeded, we have purchased all sorts of new plants from Vibrant Plants to get out there. Expect to see some new greenery this week - and fewer weeds next year!
With the winter months coming, now is the time to get out there and get educated!! It can be hard to keep motivated and focused on your riding goals during the off season, but there is never a better time - you don't want to start behind the ball in 2011! Make sure you ride or audit at least ONE clinic before the show season in February starts. We have three riders for the upcoming Susie Hutchinson clinic, so that would be a great one to come out and support your teammates and see what Susie has to say. The flier will be posted in the barn, so check it out and get signed up to watch at least some of the clinic - consider it your horse homework!
It is also that show time of year for those of you interested in Thermal - and if you can't show there, you should consider coming down to watch. Thermal is a show unlike any of the shows we can offer here in WA and an amazing chance to see some of the best riders our sport has to offer. If you are interested in showing, make sure you talk to the staff ASAP - if you are interested in coming down to watch - try and coordinate your dates with us so you have a chance to hang out with your barn buddies at some of the great events they host at the show.
In other barn news, in order to keep up with the "continuing education" theme, Jasmine went down to OR to visit Rich Fellers at his barn, Whip n' Spur, in Wilsonville and had the chance to buddy it up with Flexible and McGuiness - make sure to ask her all about her experience!! She had the opportunity to jump outside over the banks, table top and wooden gates and came home fired up and ready to head to the show in CA next year - hopefully she'll get the chance to travel back down there again before the show season starts.
As the holidays approach, if you have been thinking of a gift for your favorite horsey fan, now is a great time to order barn jackets and other items for the show season for both horse and rider. If you are looking for ideas, check with Staff and we will be more than happy to help get that information out to you - we have people clothes and horse clothes that will get you prepared not only to be awesome in 2011, but look as good as you feel!
Hope to see you all out at the barn - remember, with holidays, etc. during this month the schedule is a little bit different so please check with Staff about any potential date conflicts.
