January - world's fastest month??

Woosh! There it goes! As long as it seemed to take to get to the New Year, January has come and gone so quickly it has left us wondering if Spring will show up next - wait, let's not get too excited....

We've enjoyed some lovely sunny days at the barn - and even a week of one less layer for our ponies as they enjoyed some warmer temperatures. In true, WA winter fashion, they are bundled up again against the cold, but stay tuned to your SE Facebook page as there may be a blanket change for your horse before the month is over - we can hope!

Last month, after attending the TCP clinic (see last blog post for details), Katherine completed the process and became the 4th Trainer in WA state to get her certification (and the 9th in Zone 9). More bragging rights for a barn that is already SO cool! We've enjoyed the process, and, as the USHJA continues to work on the program, we will be investigating Level 2 for 2012.

We all had a long, but fun night, at the WSHJA banquet. Hopefully everyone had a chance to check out the photos - especially of the new trophy that Chelsea brought home this year. As a hint, it will be available in 2012 for the top 1.0M Open Jumper rider so..... Hopefully another Sundance rider can bring it home again!

In terms of shows, we went to our first one for 2011 at GCEC. We took Sinatra/Titan with us and he and Dankia were great in his showing debut! We are hoping to be able to take him again in February and see how he does - he handled the chaos of the schooling ring, the scary jumps and crazy jumper patterns like an old pro - who doesn't want this adorable pony? The folks at S.A.F.E. came out and took some more video as well, so we are all hoping, at some point, someone will step up and adopt him - he really is very deserving of a nice permanent home. The other riders had a good show as well - both Kristin and Ella stepping into the jumper ring for the first time, and already excited about doing it again in February! Aubrey and Finesse put down some great rounds and a special "Atta Girl" to Chelsea and her baby girl - Maia galloped around the ring over the bigger jumps and the exciting courses like she was born to do it (ok, she was!). We are looking forward to letting both Maia and Sinatra/Titan try some bigger classes at the next show.

Speaking of shows - February includes one GCEC jumper show on the 19th - if you are interested, let us know ASAP! We will also be heading to CA at the end of the month. Make sure you touch base with Staff about the changes in schedule during the last part of CA and the first part of March while we are away - hopefully you are coming down to CA to watch!

In other barn news, Richochett Rabbit returned home - we miss his cute little face, but are excited to have Pink back in the mix. Ella is hoping to start a 1/2 lease on her this month, so, if anyone is interested in leasing the other 1/2, make sure you let us know ASAP.

Fingers crossed that we can continue to enjoy some of this nice warm weather for awhile before the rains return! Come on out and enjoy your horse and some sun while it is still here!

See you at the barn!