'Tis the Season!

The holidays are officially upon us & 'tis the season to celebrate! We are very excited as our WSHJA Year-End awards have been finalized and we have lots of fun prizes to go pick up from the banquet next month! An extra BIG congratulations to Aidan & Phalcon for their Reserve Championship in the Children's Hunter division this year! Aidan has been working very hard to move up into this division and it is a tough group of horses and riders - to do so well in her first year is amazing!! We are very excited and very proud of both of them! All that hard work pays off! We are also excited about our own Super Pony, Finesse, and her two riders Chelsea and Nicholas on their Reserve Championship in the .90M Open Jumper division. This was also Nicholas's first year moving up into the .90's and another large group of competitors. Of course, WE all know Finesse is amazing, but someone has to do all the riding too, so it's a great award for them both. Look for the Sundance ad in the Flying Changes next month showing off our star performers and, of course, our ad at the WSHJA banquet in January where we get to brag about all of our year-end success! As a side note, all of our riders participated in the National division of the WSHJA which is a larger and more competitive group - so give yourselves another "high five" for sticking it out against some tough competition!

Nicholas & Finesse strut their stuff at the Finals in Monroe. Thanks to  Pink's Pride Photography for this shot!

In barn news, all of the horses are up to date on their shots and we will start having their teeth done next week. Several horses made the list this time but we should have them all done by the end of the month. A happy horse is a healthy horse! Thanks to all of our vet and shoeing support teams out there that keep the ponies in tip top shape! We are planning on getting Sam back out to see the horses after the holidays to start the year off with a nice adjustment as well - 2012 getting off on the right foot - or hoof!

In other news, the yearly barn holiday party is NEXT Saturday the 17th! Make sure you put this one on your calendar! We have a lot of fun every year and it is always exciting to get to have a horse party INSIDE during the chilly weather. Bring a gift for the gift exchange if you think you are up to the cut throat, "happy holidays, no I want that sweater", competitive gift giving! It is always exciting to see what you may go home with at the end of the evening!

The last two weeks of this month are horse "down time" and a great opportunity for you to come out & spend some extra time with your favorite equine! Let us know if you want to get some extra practice rides in on your pony (or our's!) during the holiday season. Now is a great time to practice all of the skills you've been working on AND stay in shape for that pending no stirrups lesson!

Speaking of no stirrups; Toby and Katherine just came back from the George Morris clinic in Wilsonville, OR. They had a great time and George loved Toby calling him "A GREAT horse" "Smart" "Catty" "Careful and Brave". All pretty high praise for a horse that started the year in the .90M division. We are very excited for Toby and are looking forward to share all the challenges George put them through with all of our riders at home! We are very excited to see how our riders have stepped it up this winter by attending clinics and working hard at home - your dedication to your sport is what makes it fun for us!

As we get to the end of the year, start thinking about your goals for the 2012 season and make sure you take the time to chat with your trainers about them! We want to help you get where you want to go in 2012!
Stay bundled up this month and we will see you all out at the barn!!