SMF Summer Sizzler Dressage Schooling Show July 16, 2011
WOW....did this show live up to its name!! But WOW....what a wonderful group of participants who came out and had fun even in the heat and we had very few scratches. Results are posted via the link below.
Congrats to all and to our high point winners
Open - Pernille Andree riding Cabriole in Training 3 with a 77.2% AA - Joanna Kowalewski riding All Dad's Money in Intro B with a 76.3% JR - Morgan Staudinger riding Iron Pyrite in Training 3 with a 62.4%
We have some great clinics and schooling shows coming up!
SMF is very pleased to have both Cathy Jones Forsberg and Laurie Hedlund returning again this year
May 28 & 29 - Clinic with Cathy! clinic is full :) August 20 & 21 - Clinic with Cathy! clinic is full :) click here for more info :)
July 23 & 24 - Clinic with Laurie! clinic is full :) October 22 & 23 - Clinic with Laurie! click here for more info :)
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We had just a great Winter Warm-Up Dressage Schooling Show on March 19, 2011!! Even with some rain in the afternoon, everyone had fun and made the best of it.
Knowing that this time of year is just not predictable enough to count on our outdoor, ride times were scheduled in groups of 5-7 followed by a warm-up break for the next 5-7 riders. That made dealing with the rain so much easier.
Once again we have had to turn riders away and we feel so bad doing so!! Entries for our next two shows - July 16 and Sept 24 - will be limited to approximately 80 rides. Don't wait until the last week to get your enteries mailed. Both these shows last year closed early!!
Check out the March Show Results below!!!
Congrats to our High Point Riders Pernille Andree - Open Joy Grisafe-Gross - AA Morgan Staudinger - JR
2011 is off to fast start with clinics, schooling shows and a very full barn!!
Check out all the events on our Calendar Tab!!
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Once again my wonderful job has provided a larger than expected bonus....and guess how I spent my bonus??? At SMF of course!!!
The paddock renovation project has long been high on our list of priorities but one that lacked the funding. It has been extremely exciting to secure bids, order supplies, watch all the old wood paddocks be torn down, the releveling of all the footing, the installation of new footing and then finally, the new fencing installed :)
Thanks to all our clients for your patience during this major project. We celebrated with a PARTY on May 7th and had a wonderful turnout. Everyone had a great time with good food, lots of wine and good friends!!
Check out the pictures below.....
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Just had a great week of training with Laurie Hedlund courtesy of The Dressage Foundation Carol Lavell Gifted Grant.
Holly Bizzell Linz completed her USDF Bronze Medal at the Lazy E Dressage Classic in October....and she did so with style. She and Klass were also the 3rd Level High Point Champion for the show.
This is a major step in Holly's career and we are very proud of her, and of course of our pony, Klass Act.
Gabel and I have just had a wonderful year and have learned soooo much along the way. We showed PSG and I-1 this year and had some highlights and some so-so lights. We competed at the Region 4 USDF Championships at both levels and we had a 'yellow' weekend finishing 3rd in
Midwest Championships AA PSG
USDF Regional Championships AA PSG
USDF Regional Championships AA I-1
We finished the show season at the Lazy E Dressage Classic with some improvements and were the Great Plains Champion AA I-1.
Gabel and I have moved very quickly up the levels and are going to spend the winter working on basics to improve the quality of we do. Our focus for 2010 will remain at I-1 with a goal of consistently scoring more towards 65%.
We successfully made our debut at I-1 this spring and are now qualified for Regionals at both Prix St Georges and I-1. I continue to be so thankful for all the gifts Gabel gives me everyday and I am so lucky to have this rock star of a horse!! He continues to teach me so much and make me the best rider I can be.
We'll spend the summer getting better and stronger so that we can go to Regionals ready to compete :)
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Gabel and I had a wonderful opportunity to ride with Steffen Peters for a second time in 6 months when invited to be a demo rider at Equifest of Kansas in February. We rode both Saturday and Sunday.
With the Equifest schedule, we did not get to ride in the arena prior to our session. Gabel was a ROCK STAR! He never even blinked at the 200+ spectators as well as a hundred or so vendors. Equifest said they had 17,000 people through and it was loud, crowded and busy.
When I rode with Steffen last fall, we worked on better throughness and self-carriage. Steffen started off the lesson by riding Gabel to check out his responsiveness to the aids. I was pleased that he saw and felt improvement finishing with "I have checked your homework and you have done well". We then moved into improving the canter pirouttes as Gabel tends to hollow as soon as I start the movement.
We continued this on Sunday and of course, Steffen helped us make a big difference that we have been able to continue.
Gabel and I will travel to California in October to work with Sue Halasz. After Equifest I decided to ask Steffen if I could come spend a few days with him as well. We will finalize as we get closer but it looks like Gabel and I will get to work with Steffen again when we are out there.
WOW!!!!
What a great year Amy's students had in 2008. Two students earned their USDF Gold Medal, two earned their USDF Silver Medal and one earned their USDF Bronze Medal. This is in addition to the numerous other awards and championships!!
Check out all the accomplishments on Amy's Page by clicking below
Because G and I only showed a few times this year and we moved up levels quickly, I only qualified for 3rd level for the Regional Championships. Amy and I traveled to the Lazy E Arena in Gutherie OK. Nice stabling with a quaint 1/3 mile bridle path from the barns to the arenas. Good thing the weather was beautiful as it would have been a drag in the rain!
I hadn't ridden third level since May and I put some very high expectations on myself. The 3rd level AA championship class with large with 12 riders...12 very talented riders making for some tough competition. I set my goal to finish in the top 5 with a score over 65%. Scores are usually a little tougher at Regionals and I thought a score of 65% would be very respectable regardless of where I placed.
Our warm-up ride on Friday was not great. I was nervous and tentative in my riding. Even so we finished 3rd in the Great Plains Champsionship class. But on Sunday I kicked myself in the butt to ride more assertively and effectively. Of course G was wonderful and responded to my requests :)
We had a very good ride in the Championship class with just one bobble. I was quite happy to score a 65.9% and waited patiently for the final rider's scores to come in....as I was sitting in first place. I knew the last rider was VERY strong with a lovely horse and just could not be too disappointed when she posted a 66.3%.
So we finished as the Reserve Champion capping off just an unbelievable first year with Gable.
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September 2008 Gabel continues to show his stuff!!
Deciding to challenge ourselves in 2008, I entered my first Prix Saint Georges (PSG) tests at Green Country Fall Classis I & II in Claremore OK. I've been to this show several times and it is a nice show with very nice management and hospitality. I was so excited to 'wear my tails' on my wonderful boy. I have no great expectations except to have fun and learn from our first PSG outing.
Actually, I think Amy was way more nervous than I was :)
But what a wonderful weekend it was!! Gabel was absolutely fantastic and he loves to show-off. When we halted at X to finish our very first PSG, I had to fight back tears as I knew it was about as good of a test as I had ever ridden. Had no idea how it would score but I was so proud of Gabel and I. And when I got my score I did cry - 62.75%!!
Sunday I was nervous and excited at the same time. Our test had some mistakes that we did not have on Saturday but I was still so proud of our ride. I didn't let the mistakes take away from the other parts of the test and I knew it was still a very respectable ride.
Amy came walking back to the barn about an hour later just smiling. We received a 60% to cap off an incredible first outing at PSG. What Amy did not realize is that I also just earned my USDF Silver Medal....and she could not stop smiling after that :)
So the weekend was the great learning experience that I expected it would be but it was even better than I could have even hoped it could be!
On with our winter training....
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Fabrianna B Sept 7 2008 photo used w permission of A&A Photography
************************************************ Sept 2008 Fabrianna continues to ROCK!!
Fabrianna and I ventured down to the Silver Creek I and II Breed shows held in conjunction with the MidStates Breeders Championships.
Handled by Jana Wagner, Fabrianna was an absolute princess all weekend.
Fab placed third in the Fillies Champsionship class at Silver Creek I on Saturday.
On Sunday at Silver Creek II, Fabrianna was named the Fillies Champion!!
She finished off the weekend by going 3rd place in the Midstates Breeders Championship.
Our only mishap of the weekend is while grazing Fab, I wasn't paying attention to what she was doing and unfortunately my little toe paid the price....totally crushed and mangled! The drive home was excruciating but I was still quite happy with how great Fab presented herself all weekend.
Fab will head off to Jana shortly to be started under saddle!
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**************************************** September 2008 Way to go Luna!!!
SMF Lunar Imprinted won both the Kansas and Missouri Breeders Futurity Championship - Early Weanlings going 1st under all judges.
What a great show debut for this outstanding filly....we are so proud.
Thanks for Clint Fullerton and Olin Parker of Fullerton Management and Training for their outstanding training and handling of Luna.
