Bring on 2012!

Happy New Year, Everyone! Hopefully this writing finds you all happy, healthy and well on your way to a wonderful 2012! We are excited about the upcoming year!

We ended last year with our favorite Holiday Party - the highlights included the wonderful year-end video put together by Rory (thank you! thank you!) and our annual in-barn year end awards. The video included tons of highlights from the year at shows as well as at home, and some great photos of everyone enjoying their horses. If you haven't seen the video, make sure to check it out! And if you have seen it, watch it again and share it with your friends! What a great way to show everyone how much fun we have - and all the work too! As for our barn awards, every year we have a tough time picking out our barn winners - and this year was no exception - but we were excited to give Aidan and Ella their awards in Most Improved and Sportsmanship, respectively. Aidan and Phalcon have had a long road since coming to the barn and we were delighted with their accomplishments this year. Not only did they do well at the shows, but Aidan was able to reach her own personal goals of showing in the Children's Hunter Division this year - which not only did she do, but she did well, and earned the Reserve Championship in the WSHJA National Awards Program - a pretty big deal for their first time over the bigger jumps! Aidan's commitment over the years truly paid off and we were very proud to be able to help her achieve her goals! As for Ella, anyone who has been around the barn at all, knows that we have a big fan in Ella! Ella is always happy to be at the barn, tries her best (no matter how hard Katherine pushes her) and is always at the back gate when she isn't riding, taking great pictures and videos. Ella is always the first to ask questions about what is coming up in the future and is more than willing to catch a ride with anyone who is driving to the show even if it is to just "hang out". We love her enthusiasm and can't wait to see her get a chance to ride in more shows this year with her favorite pony, Pink.

December was also Christmas time and, of course, all of our ponies were good - enjoying some nice treats and special magnets in their holiday stockings. Jasmine had an extra special present this year - a new home! Although we miss her terribly at the barn, we were very excited about her new owner, Emma, who received Jasmine as a Christmas present - we can't think of a fancier Christmas present for a little girl! Emma and Jasmine will live in Ellensburg where they will continue to pursue Emma's dreams of eventing. Look for photos of Jasmine and Emma on Facebook soon.

January brought the WSHJA banquet and the snow. More and more snow.... Chelsea, Katherine and Nicholas held down the fort as everyone else was stuck (or sick!), and ponies stayed warm, cozy and ridden during the time off from lessons. We're not sure if anyone was happier to see all that white stuff go then this small group of workers, but it was sure pretty while it was here - let's hope it is gone for awhile!

The banquet was a lot of fun - it's a rare chance for us horse people to get all dressed up, so it was great to see everyone looking so lovely! Hopefully you all had a chance to see some of the photos online - it was a fun evening, the food was great and the company even better! Congratulations again to all of our SE winners!

The beginning of the year also brought a new horse to the barn. We are excited to have Heidi and her horse Avram at the barn. Avie is off the track and very green. We have enjoyed getting him started in some of the lessons and watching him try and learn some very new skills! He seems to be learning fast and has a kind, calm disposition. Anyone knowing of a potential new home for Avie should let us know as he is going to turn into a pretty nice ride with some training.

Sam came out and adjusted all the horses - everyone needed an adjustment this time around and several of the horses felt pretty amazing the next day - ahhhhhhh - thanks to Sam for coming out and keeping our ponies in tip top shape! Next on the list for February is more worming as we get the horses ready for the warming weather.

Speaking of warming weather, be prepared for some blanket changes at the barn in the near future! Now is also a great time to wash those saddle pads if you haven't done so recently - not too mention a nice bath for your four footed friend! They can get a pretty solid layer of grunge built up after all the cold, and a nice bath can help make them feel a whole lot less itchy.

We have really enjoyed working so hard on some complicated flat work over the last couple of months and hope you have all noticed a change in your riding. We're excited to start getting back into more jumping as we prepare for the upcoming show season! Hopefully you are all prepared for the show season as well! Remember to talk with Staff about what shows you would like to aim for this year and find out which memberships you should be signing up for for the year.

Lastly, trainers and riders are getting ready to head to Thermal later this month for the first show of the year! Horses and riders are working on getting prepared for some big, tough classes, but are excited to see some warm weather as well! Make sure that you have touched base on the schedule as we are doing extra rides/lessons before we leave/after we get back so that everyone stays current - AND, make sure you keep up with our days in CA while we are gone by checking out the SE page on Facebook! Better yet, book your tickets now and join us for some fun in the sun!!

What they use for "flowers" in Thermal, CA.!

Hope you all have had a chance to take advantage of some WA sun while it was out this week! Enjoy it while it is here and we will see you all out 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!

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!

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.