Hiting the New Year, Hard!

After a much needed, and enjoyed, couple of weeks of downtime, we are looking forward to returning to the ring, refreshed and ready to work! A few of the horses spent Christmas playing with their riders and out in their fields, while others enjoyed extra trail rides and attention from their people. It was a great way to wrap up a busy, and productive, year, and we are excited to get back to our normal schedule - lots of hard work, flat work, maybe some of that no-stirrup work (maybe? how about, "of course"!) and a couple of jumps thrown in there as well. We hope everyone is as excited about 2015 as we are!

Can hardly wait to get back to the shows!

We are wrapping up our preparations for both Thermal and San Juan Capistrano this week. Horses will be getting all their paperwork done next month, as well as their routine care - we also expect to have Sam out this month as we look to start the year with everything in place - in mind AND body! We are excited to offer several great shows this year, including: HITS, Thermal, CA., Blenheim, San Juan, CA., Thunderbird, Langley, BC and the Cascade Horse Shows, Cle Elum, WA. We have group housing available for Thermal, San Juan and Cle Elum on a first come, first serve, basis, so make sure you let us know if you are interested in sharing the housing. These are only a few of the shows that will be on the table, so make sure you look at your calendar now as we will be entering the majority of these shows well in advance this year.

We had a lovely time at the Barn Christmas Party this year, and truly enjoyed all the lovely gifts we received, and, of course, Katherine was blown away by the new trunk (& cover!)! What a surprise and an amazing gift! Thank you to everyone who donated and, of course, a huge thank you to Chelsea for, once again, putting it all together. You will all be thought of each time it is used - and let's face it, that's a lot! We are all looking forward to seeing it, in all its glory, at the shows this year! We were also excited for the annual unveiling of the Year-End Video! If you haven't seen it yet, make sure you check it out! And if you have seen it - why not watch it again! Thanks to Rory for all his hard work putting it together and to all our photographers and videographers as well!

As an added perk to our riders without "standard sized" trunks, this year we have an extra trunk for riders to rent during show weeks. Outside of looking great, this will reduce the clutter in our Ready Room at the shows and allow us to all use that space more efficiently. This is a great way for our riders to have access to a trunk, while saving up to get their own. This is also a great time to make sure you have your show supplies order in at Olson's. Make sure your horse has a name plate for the shows and we would like everyone to look into the halter boards as well. We have a very limited supply, and halter boards keep your nice show halter off the ground and away from curious pony teeth. Please contact Mike at Olson's and he can get you set up - do this early so it is here for the shows! We are also in the process of ordering barn jackets - please let us know if you need one! One must wear all the cool clothes, after all!

Wednesday lessons will be returning to our schedule in February, so please look ahead at your calendars and let us know if this is something you would like to utilize. This will be a temporary addition, so if you have been dying to ride on Wednesday, make sure you let us know so we can get you on the schedule! As a reminder, during the wet weather, if there is flooding in Duvall, traffic is quite bad coming out to the barn as the second bridge floods. Please allow extra time to get here!

We are looking forward to the WSHJA Awards Banquet this weekend and want to remind everyone that now is the time to re-new your memberships! Riders should have memberships in the WSHJA, USHJA and USEF. If you have questions or are unsure what to sign up for, please check with your Trainers. As a reminder, horses need memberships too, so make sure your four legged friend is up to date! We also want to congratulate all of our riders on their year-end awards! Too many to list here, but check out the Sundance Ad in the Flying Changes to see your name in lights!

We have two fun clinics for riders so far this year. Jay Duke will be returning to the barn on February 7th and 8th and, rumor has it, George Morris will be at Potcreek this summer. Space is very limited for both these events, so sign up now to make sure you are able to participate.

We are excited for another fun and competitive year in 2015, and can't wait to spend it with all of Team Sundance!

Stay warm, stay dry, and we will see you at the barn! 

We're Back!!

Just like the snow, your trainers came back to work after the holidays and then left for the weekend for a trip to AZ, only to reappear again this week. Unlike the snow, we came and went for an educational experience, and not just to make everyone's life a little more messy!

a shot of the pool (we didn't get to use) at the hotel :)

For those of you who do not know what your trainers have been up to, both Katherine and Chelsea participate in Continuing Education (CE) Clinics every year. The USHJA - which is the governing body of our sport - now has a program wherein they are certifying trainers in order to make sure every trainer has the proper amount of education necessary to safely teach their students. Although we have always worked to continue our education at this barn, there has never been a requirement from "the top" to do so, and, although the USHJA is not currently requiring trainers to take part in these classes, the idea is, some day trainers will be regulated - fortunately for our clients, we have a strong belief in CE here and are already ahead of the game! We had a great time with a wonderful clinician (Geoff Teall) and encourage you all to watch the Sundance Facebook page for some great clinic quotes. We have already enjoyed putting some new ideas into play in the lessons and hope everyone has enjoyed it as much as we have!

In other barn news, show season is officially here! After wading through the winter weather we have something official to look forward to as the show calendar is up and posted in the tack room. The best idea for a successful show season is to plan NOW, so make sure you make the time to chat with either Katherine or Chelsea about the shows that are available, your schedule, your budget and your goals and we can give you a realistic approach to the 2011 season.

Speaking of shows - we are underway and have officially signed up for Thermal in 2011! Best of luck to Toby, Jasmine and Jill's Vince on their upcoming trip down south and a fun filled (hopefully) start to the show season! To those of you not showing, this is a great show to come and watch, so plan on making some vacation days in March and heading down to the sunny skies in CA to cheer on your teammates!

In other show news, GCEC is underway starting in January. There is a jumper show that we are able to attend, but we need at least two riders willing to show in order for us to put it all together - make sure, if you are interested, to touch base with Katherine or Chelsea ASAP.

In barn news, our new ponies are an adorable hit! CJ (or "The Rabbit" as we call him) is super fun to ride and about as adorable as can be! He is still looking for a lease, so if you have been thinking about showing this year, grab this little guy while you still can - he is a winning ride! Our other new pony (Abby) has been lucky enough to secure a lease already! Congratulations to Teague on her new lease with Abracadabra! Can't wait to see the two of them in the show ring!

In sad barn news, Wally left for his new home in CA. Although we are super excited that he gets to go live with his mom, Laura, we will definitely miss him here. Laura promises to keep in touch and we all enjoyed getting to see her video of him enjoying his first roll in the sun! We're sure he'll be making new friends soon!

Farley also left the barn for a temporary job up in Canada. He moved to the Milner Downs stable for the next month as they try out some riders who have been looking for a fun horse to ride. We're sure that we'll see him again soon, but hope he is having a good time up North!

Lastly, this weekend in the WSHJA banquet. Congratulations, in advance, to all of the Sundance riders on their upcoming awards this weekend. We're looking forward to a fun evening of getting to dress up in something besides breeches and barn boots! Hopefully we will all recognize one another!

Hope you all had a wonderful New Year and are as excited about the upcoming year as we are!

See you at the barn!

The Weather outside is....

Since our last post we have seen rain, snow, ice, some very chilly nights and some lovely sunny days! Hopefully you all stayed safe, warm and dry and have had a chance to come out and ride in-between snow days. There is a possibility that we may have some interesting weather this winter so some winter tips for the barn:

1) Our hill is SLICK. If it starts to snow while you are out riding, feel free to end things quickly if you are concerned about making it down the hill. Although we don't encourage you to leave your horse wet and chilly, keep an eye on the weather and make your ride shorter if you need the time to get down the hill safely.

2) Coming up the hill isn't too much easier. If you are concerned about being able to make it out to ride your horse or take your lesson, feel free to call. A happy barn is one filled with safe and happy clients, so don't worry about sending a text or calling to check on conditions. We can, quite often, have more snow and ice up here than they do "down below", so feel free to check. We do continue to teach and ride in the colder weather, but if you can't make your lesson due to icy roads, let us know as soon as possible.

3) When it gets cold, we turn the water off down at the barn - this keeps our pipes from breaking in the chill and keeps the water flowing during the day. If you are at the barn in the evening after we have closed or in the morning before we have started the hoses up, expect to not have running water and plan accordingly. You can bring some bottled water or cleaning wipes for your tack and there is hand sanitizer in the tack room.

4) Parking! Tis the Season for the neighbors to get their Christmas display up and running! Hopefully you will all enjoy the chance to get to see (& hear) it, but please remember, as we get closer to the holidays, it can get busy up there at night. It is important, if you are the last one out of the gates in the evening to close them behind you - otherwise we can get a lot of people thinking we are a parking lot for the event. If there aren't any cars up top when you go to leave, just close the gates - if you aren't sure, feel free to ask.

5) Our pastures will get snowy, but generally not slippery - however, the same is not true for some of the pathways - the one down to the barn in particular. There is a yearly stream that runs down the hill and it can make for ice under the snow - please walk carefully down to the barn - even after the snow has gone - just in case.

6) Riding in the snow! Although this sounds romantic and fun, remember snow can be slippery! Feel free to take your horse for a nice hand walk if you would like, but keep his (and your!) safety in mind! We don't want any ice injuries!!

As always - any questions - just ask!

We also have some other fun events:

The Susie Hutchinson Clinic - this was a great weekend for all horses and riders! Hopefully you had a chance to come out and audit and if you didn't, never fear, we took some great notes and will be practicing all of it on YOU!! Winter lessons are all about flat work and details as we prepare our horses for the 2011 show season - expect to work hard on the "little things" this winter!

Year End Awards - the results are in and, once again, Team Sundance had a great turn out for the WSHJA awards - the highlight going to Chelsea and Farley who were Champions in the 1.0M jumpers for the year! This division was HUGE so we are very excited that these two were able to dominate - even with a run in with hives for poor Farley!! Great job to them and everyone else who placed in the Top 10 for the end of the year - look for your name in lights coming soon to a magazine near you!!

Holiday Party - it's back!! We will be having our yearly Holiday Party at Katherine's house on Saturday, December 18th. The fun starts at 7pm and includes the annual SE Year-End awards for Most Improved Rider and the Sportsmanship award, as well as a slideshow and lots of yummy treats. Mark your calendars now!

The 2010 Survey - this is our yearly survey which we ask you to all fill out so we can plan the 2011 show calendar. This is YOUR chance to let us know what shows you liked/didn't like and which ones you want to go to in 2011. This is also a great time to talk to your trainers about YOUR goals, so start thinking on what it is you want to do with your horse in 2011 and beyond and fill out at survey ASAP. Look for the link on the Sundance Facebook page ASAP.

Lastly, we have started our plans for our final two fields up by the parking lot. If you see some posts sticking out of the ground up there, don't move them!! We have measured the fields out and are preparing to order supplies this month and are excited about having more fields for our horses to enjoy!

Hope you are all enjoying the Holiday Season - and, as a personal plug, that you have all had a chance (or will make the time!) to go out and cheer on the drummers (Nicholas in particular) at Snowflake Lane at Bellevue Square. It runs every night from now until the New Year at 7pm and is a fun, Christmas Cool Holiday event! 

See you at the barn!

Another Horse Show? What?!

Yes, we have officially wrapped up the away season, but for those of you that can't get enough of horse showing fun (who can, really??), Gold Creek is this weekend - hopefully we will see all of you there, either cheering on your teammates or riding in the show ring with us for the first time. We have riders in the X-bars, 2' & 2'3" divisions, so come on out & enjoy the fun! Danika will also be setting up her donation booth for Titan (aka; Sinatra) & his growing stash of items, so come on out and help her sell some goodies for his cause! I would love to see a nice indoor sheet for our boy for the winter!

Speaking of our favorite foster horse: the girth continues to be a success & is holding that saddle firmly in place! After spending the week on the line getting used to saddle and rider, Titan graduated to some trotting and was great. He is very quiet and has relaxed so much - we are so glad we had the time to really work through his fear on the lunge line and it seems to have paid off as Danika was thinking she'd probably need some spurs to get him to actually keep going - a great quality in a kids' horse! Hopefully we'll have some video up on FaceBook soon of him trotting around like a pro - it is fun to see him making such great progress - fingers crossed he can find a home that will keep working with him and enjoy his funny little personality!

As for other barn news, all the horses had their shots on Monday and had their teeth checked. Only two made the list this time around for tooth work and the vet will return on Monday to take care of them, remove Phacon's stitches and give us our Fall wormer - it is nice to get everyone all set up for a healthy winter.

Speaking of winter, although it is nearly impossible to predict the weather in this area, the big fuzzy coats some of the horses are starting to sport make a chilly winter seem likely. Now is a great time to check your winter blanket supplies - right now all of the horses at the barn should have one outside sheet, one inside sheet and a cooler - if the last time you brought a blanket out to the barn was the beginning of the summer, now would be a good time to send them away, get them cleaned and waterproofed before the rain sets in for a stay. Your horse, and the people that touch those blankets, will appreciate it!

In other barn news, Boo has finally been given the go-ahead for some canter work and longer outside time - something we are all excited about for her and her Mom! It is fun to get to have her be able to work like a "real horse" now! All the other horses are working toward the Gold Creek show this weekend or starting on winter projects to prepare for next show year. If you have any interest in riding in a clinic this winter, make sure to let us know - we are considering riding in the Susie Hutchinson clinic in November and it would be a great opportunity for riders to either ride or come out and audit - any interest, let us know and we can get you all the details! Clinics are a great way to hear new ideas and refresh your technique and keep the winter fun and interesting while waiting for the sun to join us again!

Don't forget, the barn work party is October 10th - this is an all day, yearly tradition where YOU get to come out and help make your barn beautiful for winter. Everyone is invited! We will be working on painting the jumps, digging up some weeds and overall cleaning - the more the merrier and the faster the work goes - and yes, there will be food! Sign up in the tack room and just ask if you have questions!

 Make sure you all come out to the barn and enjoy the beautiful fall weather before it goes away for the winter! See you there!

Summertime at the barn

Well, we are back from Thunderbird and getting ready to head off to The Emerald Classic! This is our first year showing at Emerald, so we are excited to see how the show goes!

Thunderbird was a ton of fun - not only in the show ring, but at the exhibitor's bar-b-que and bull riding and the horseless foot race as well! Our group won in both the bull riding and the foot race so we had some other fancy items to add to our Thunderbird weeks - as well as 3 Reserve Championships: Chelsea and Finesse in the .90's, Vera and Finesse in the Pony Jumpers and Aidan and Phalcon in the Short Stirrup Hunters - a great couple of weeks for all!

At home, Farley continues his struggle with his "lumps". He is quite bumpy for anyone who hasn't seen him, but is under the care of several different vets - hopefully they can all decide on what will return him to show form before the shows are over for the year! We are truly blessed to have Finesse to take over for him while he recovers.

Jasmine tried her hand out in the Grand Prix field at Thunderbird - although she was quite sure some of those jumps were out to get her, the experience, over-all, was a good one and hopefully we will get some fun pictures out of it as well!

Titan/Sinatra has progressed so much on the line! We are so exited about him! He is now able to canter calmly and quietly as well as trot like an old pro -we are all very proud of him and the work the Danika and Chelsea have put into him. With the addition of his new bridle, we were able to add the rig into his routine this week - readjusting him to work with bridle and tack in order to prepare for the day we can hop on for real! Danika is planning on trying to raise some more money in order to purchase a girth to fit her saddle - if anyone has a size 40 that they would like to donate or loan to a good cause, we'd love it!

Everyone else is getting ready for the Emerald Classic this coming week, followed by Wild Waves on August 6th and The Evergreen Classic in August - make sure you get signed up at the barn if you haven't already!!

We are breaking out the fly masks and fly spray so that means summer is officially here! Enjoy it while it lasts!!

See you all out at the barn!

Horse Shows are here!

It was cold, wet and rainy - but it was almost June - what else were we to expect at the Gold Creek Show on May 29th? Despite the wet weather, however, horses and riders had a good day - lots of horse show ups & downs, but a good time was had by all!

Chelsea's horse, Maia, proved to us all that she isn't just a silly baby, and she went out in her Walk/Trot classes with Danika and cleaned house! She was super cute as she trotted around and whinnied her concern at being alone, but not one bad horse moment out there and she won each class she was in and brought home the Championship for the day!

Cookie and Finesse were both fired up - yes, Cookie too! and they greeted the wet weather with enthusiasm! Both mares showed in the 2' division with Aly and Caroline who were moving up to this division for the first time. Both girls brought home some nice ribbons - a couple of firsts for Aly and some seconds for Caroline - and also learned some lessons about remembering your course and keeping that paint mare cantering ALL the way to the fences! But overall the girls did well and the horses had fun.

Lisa also showed at her first show, taking Cookie into the 2'3" division where they did everything from Hunter Hack, flat classes and Over Fences. Cookie, unlike her normal self, continued her speedy ways, but Lisa did a great job working on the walk in her flat classes and keeping Cookie organized for the jumping ones - they had a great first show and placed in all of their classes and, by the end of the day, Cookie remembered she had done this all before and was settled into her happy place - just in time to head home!

In other barn news, Sinatra/Titan has continued to enjoy his time off. He is so quiet you hardly know he is there sometimes and he is just waiting to get his feet trimmed so he is good to go. We are going to test him out on the line again and see if he is feeling 100% again. No new tack on the horizon yet as Danika wasn't able to show and sell cookies at the horse show BUT, Vera donated a bridle that we are going to try & see if it fits. Fingers crossed as it would be great to get to do something with that little guy! He also manged to tear up his sheet as well (it was just too big & finally got tangled) so he will have to add that to his growing shopping list. But otherwise, he is great - happy and hoping to get noticed out there so someone will give him a permanent home!

Barry continued to work on the  burn pile while it wasn't raining and, with that gone, we are hoping to finally spread the dirt up there by the parking lot. We know some kids will miss playing "King of the Hill" on it, but we are excited to see it go! One step closer to more turn out paddocks!

Bainbridge Island horse show is next week, and we are doing Thunderbird show forms this week so check your calendars and sign up to join us at a horse show! That is what summer is for after all!

See you all at the barn!!

Hey - what's the wet stuff in the sky??

Well, the rain returned and it was suddenly cold and wet after such a nice break, but, lucky us, today the sun is out again and the horses are all back out and soaking it up before it disappears!

In Sinatra/Titan news, he is doing great! The lunging is going really well, and, even though he is taking a week off to get some foot care done, we are impressed with what a fast learner he is - he will truly be a great little horse for someone wanting a buddy for anything! He was very soft - even at the canter - the last week and is understanding that the lunge line is a safe place, not a "run and pull" place - yay! Props to Chelsea and Danika for their time and patience while he works on new skills! I hear rumors of a girth coming his way and hopefully, after a very successful bake sale this weekend, maybe a small bridle in his future so he will be dressed and ready to go with his next steps - we are looking forward to doing some line work with him under saddle next!

For the rest of the barn, thanks to the sun, Barry is out chipping away at the massive burn pile out front! The pile has lived with us since the big storm a few years back and we are so glad to see it get smaller. This will open up the fields up top and allow us the room to build some new turn outs which is a long term goal out here - fingers crossed the sun stays out while he burns today!

Cookie, Finesse and Maia are preparing to go to the Gold Creek show this week with Caroline, Lisa, Aly and Danika - good luck to all of our Sundancers and for everyone not showing, make sure you come out to the show and support the cookie cause for Team Titan!!

Looking forward to some great summer horse shows!! See you all out at the barn!

Welcome Sinatra

Well, the new horse has arrived! Sinatra pulled into Sundance on that very chilly Sunday, and, even though we were afraid he wouldn't acclimate to being in a stall, he has settled in very nicely.