Photos from Clinic

NWHA Dressage Clinic

Had a wonderful time at the NWHA Dressage clinic last weekend in South Carolina at George and Betty Rugman's beautiful farm in Camden. Clinician was Mary Werning, a European trained Grand Prix level instructor. Mary is a wonderful teacher and is so down to earth and encouraging. I really enjoy riding with her each year!
I took both Corey and my new mare, Ryanne. They both worked well and I was proud of them. Despite the bitter cold weather everyone had a good time visiting with friends and I enjoyed meeting some folks from South Georgia.

New Addition at Green Ridge Farm

I am pleased to announce the acquisition of "U Gotta See This", aka Ryanne. She is a 7 year old Tennessee Walker mare. I am very grateful to Ed and Teena Anderson and Mikal Spooner for making this possible. Ryanne's former owner, Christy Anderson passed away last year at just 28 years old from a lifelong battle with Leukemia. After losing my beautiful mare, Penny, from cancer recently it was difficult to think of getting another horse, but I called upon my friend and fellow trainer, Mikal Spooner to see if she had something suitable for me, not knowing that Christy's mare was at her farm. When I arrived, Mikal informed me that she had spoken to the Andersons and they graciously decided to make Ryanne available to me. Needless to say I was thrilled, as I had admired this horse for years at the shows. After riding Ryanne it was an easy decision to make arrangements to purchase her and make her a part of our family. No horse will ever take Penny's place, but this seemed like it was "meant to be". I think maybe Christy and Penny had something to do with Ryanne becoming my new partner! So look for me, Corey and Ryanne at the shows this coming year.

Dressage/CT Show Report

We all had a great day on Saturday at the EDCTSA Dressage/CT Schooling show in Washington.

Jen Gurley and her Spotted Draft mare, Ginger, competed in their first Combined Training competition. She won her class and was Champion Combined Training of the show, as well as taking second place in Dressage Training Level test 1. Congratulations to Jen and Ginger!

Sally Yeagley had two nice tests with her horse, Sirus at the Intro level, then graciously allowed Sue Morgan to show Sirus in the Training Level test 1 class, which she won.

First timer Junior Rider KK and her pony "Spirit" put in a great performance at Intro level and gained some valuable experience. This combination has a bright future with further training. Thanks to Janine Wilson for mentoring KK and Spirit!

Next show will be Whinstone Farm on December 6th.

In Memorium

I am saddened to announce the passing of my beautiful Walker mare, "Penny", due to cancer.

She was a very special horse and will be greatly missed!!

Whinstone Farm Dressage Show Report

It was a beautiful day for a show on Sunday. We again attended the Whinstone Farm Dressage Schooling show. Sue Morgan and her mare, M&M, moved up to Training Level and gained some valuable experience under judge, Susie Wiedman.
Sally Yeagley and her nice QH gelding, Sirus, were competing in their first Dressage show and did very well, posting scores in the mid 60"s and placing in both Intro classes.
Beth Calloway also rode in her first Dressage show. Sally was generous enough to let Beth ride Sirus in the Training Level 1 test, which she won with a score of 67%.
Well done riders!!
I also competed with my Walker gelding, Corey, in Third Level Test 1. He earned a respectable score of 63.5%, even though he had a pesky bee buzzing in his face during the test, which caused his some loss of focus. I was riding HC since the Judge is my trainer.
It was another fun day at Whinstone and we look forward to the next show in December.

Eventing Clinic Report

Jack participated in the Steuart Pittman Eventing Clinic at Falcon Park Farm on Saturday. He had originally planned to ride Fiona, his Dutch Warmblood mare, but she was a little tender on her feet from a bout of scratches. So, he decided to take Vickie, his Warmblood cross mare instead. She had never seen any cross country jumps like these and was scared at first, but by the end of the session she was jumping and having fun. Steuart was a really good trainer and also very nice. Jack gained some valuable knowledge and it was relly fun to see the beautiful new facility at Falcon Park Farm in Clayton.

Fall Morning

Another beautiful fall morning at Green Ridge Farm

Jack and Fiona at Jumping Clinic

We had a fun weekend at Equine Country in Jacksonville. Jack participated in a 2 day jumping clinic with instructor Annie Lane-Maunder. Annie is an International caliber Eventing trainer from England and she now resides in Tryon, N.C. She has a unique teaching style that mixes ecouragement, british humor and lots of hard work.

Thanks to EDCTSA for sponsoring this clinic and specifically to Libby Kachmor for her great organizing skills. Everyone had a great time and learned a lot!

Congratulations

Congratulations to Sue Morgan and her mare, M & M, on winning the High Score Championship at the recent Dressage at the Preserve show, with an excellent score of 74.5% .

Great riding girls!!

Dressage at the Preserve Show Results

Green Ridge Farm students and friends had a successful day at the beautiful Dressage at the Preserve show on Oct. 10. Everyone had good rides and many ribbons came home, several of them blue!! Congratulations to the following horses and riders:

Sue Morgan and M & M, Karen Louya and Gus, Debbie Dufresne and Penny, LaRita Johnson and Krissie, Jen Gurley and Ginger, Jenn Wallace and Maxx, Kim Dome with Raben and Fiona, and last of all was me with Corey.

Although we ended up soaking wet by the end of the day, we all had fun!

Please join us for the next Dressage show at Whinstone Farm in Zebulon on November 8th.

We will also be attending the Horse Trial on November 1st at Five County Stables.

Great Week

And in the end, a great time was had by all this past week!

Maxx Has Fun

Jenn's Walker gelding, "Maxx", enjoyed his stay at "Camp Green Ridge Farm"!

Kim and Madison

Kim had a blast riding our neighbor's jumping mare, "Madison".

This talented mare is for sale, please contact Green Ridge Farm for more information.

Good Learning

Several Green Ridge Farm students and friends enjoyed their lessons. The following people took advantage of this unique training opportunity. Sue Morgan, Debbie Dufresne, La Rita Johnson, Jennifer Batts, Jack Coombs and Ken Dome

Schooling Horses

Jenn and Kim enjoyed some time riding Claudia's Third Level Gaited Dressage horse, "Corey".

Kim and Fiona

Kim Dome enjoyed jumping Dutch Warmblood mare, "Fiona", owned by Green Ridge Farm

New England Trainers Visit Green Ridge Farm

We had a wonderful visit this last week with New England based trainers Kim Dome from New Hampshire and Jenn Wallace from Massachussetts. Their husbands Ken Dome and Craig Wallace were also able to join us for a few days. The week was filled with good riding and enjoying helping each other school and train our horses.
Several Green Ridge Farm clients enjoyed the opportunity to have lessons and learn from these talented ladies.
Jenn brought her beautiful Walking Horse "Maxx" with her for some training and to enjoy one of our local Dressage shows.
The following are some photos from the last week.

Green Ridge Farm Improvements

We have finished some improvements here at Green Ridge Farm. Construction is now complete on a new 14 X 28 run in shelter with large paddock.

We have also added a 2 horse groom area with rubber mats. This makes grooming and tacking horses much more efficient.

Whinstone Farm Dressage Show Results

It was a beautiful day for our return to Whinstone Farm in Zebulon, N.C. for their Dressage Schooling Show series.

My student Jen Gurley and her big mare, Ginger, competed in their first Dressage show. She had two solid, mistake-free rides and got respectable scores for her first time out.

I rode my Walking Horse mare, Penny, and we had a couple of nice tests. She scored a 72.5% for the high score of the day, and the only horse to score in the 70's. Not bad for an "alternative" Dressage horse!

LaRita's new horse

Congratulations to LaRita Johnson on the purchase of her new Walking Horse mare. She is a beautiful 6 year old and is a perfect fit for LaRita. She is destined for a career as a show and trail horse.