Snow and looking forward to the rest of 2013!

Well, it's been quite the winter so far. Even though the clocks changed today and spring can't be too far off, it still feels like winter when you've got a foot of snow on the ground! As usual, the weatherman was a little off, but instead of the usual overestimating, last week we got way more than predicted. It's warm and sunny today, so I know that spring flowers (and mud) are just around the corner. Of course, what better activity when it's snowing sideways than to hop on your horses and make them stand for photos?

Luckily we have a full roster of springtime activities to look forward to at Course Brook Farm. Our shows and clinics calendar has been posted, so it's probably time to think about addressing your horse's bushy mane, dread-locked tail, and six-inch whiskers. I can't wait until I can bathe my grey's tail; I just hope it isn't permanently stained yellow...

New for this year is our combined test series. We'll be offering one per month in April, May, and June with great end-of-series awards. These are the perfect pipe-opener to remind Bucky what the inside of a dressage arena and the outside of a flower box look like before you drop $200 on a recognized horse trial, or to test the waters to see if you're ready to move up. Each show will feature divisions for elementary through prelim as well as the option to do multiple dressage tests and jumping rounds.

May 27th, we'll be offering a spring Stephie Baer cross country clinic, which is a perfect opportunity to tune up over our banks, ditches, water jump, and permanent and portable cross country jumps. We can't say enough good things about Stephie, so if you haven't worked with her before, come out and give her a try.

A few things to look forward to this summer, if you can stretch your imagination beyond snowdrifts and long underwear:

Another new activity on our calendar is our adult rider camp, which will be July 5-7. This will be a fun and educational experience for any adults wishing to hone their skills in dressage, show jumping, or cross country, so stay tuned for more details. Highly recommended for those of us who loved summer camp and still remember all those campfire songs. Okay, so it's not really that kind of camp, but it will still be an unforgettable experience.

Finally, August 17-18 we're extremely excited to be hosting a SJ/XC clinic with superstar eventer Will Faudree! I'll be posting more information on that later in the spring, but mark your calendars now.

I'm not even going to get into our annual USEA-recognized horse trials (Oct. 12) or any of our other fall activities because just reading the above has probably made our shows and clinics committee members' blood pressure spike, but rest assured you'll be hearing about that and more before you know it.

So, keep an eye on our webpage and, if you haven't already, like us on Facebook!

-- Casy