What a Season!

Ben inspecting one of the training level tables

Greetings from chilly Sherborn! I can’t complain too much since it’s been lovely weather recently and particularly because we miraculously never lost power or suffered any major damage during Super Storm Sandy. I wish I could say the same for everyone else. All I can say is how thankful we are to have come out the other side unscathed and that our thoughts are with everyone in the Northeast that was affected. A few of our boarders had major damage inflicted on their houses and we hope that that their lives can go back to normal sooner rather than later. 

The fact that life at CBF has been blissfully uneventful (pardon the pun) since the beginning of November is a stark contrast to the month of October, which is always our busiest month since that's when we have our recognized horse trials. This year it was even more hectic since we decided to add an unrecognized horse trials at the end of October to make use of the cross country course that was already up and, more importantly, to give people an excuse to dress themselves and their horses up in totally bizarre costumes. More on that in a minute.

Our October 13 recognized horse trials went off beautifully. We can’t say it enough, but THANK YOU to all of our tireless volunteers! I’m not just saying this: we really couldn’t do it without you. A special thanks to some of our younger boarders, who had a particularly good time painting stadium jumps…

And then there was a temporary lack of focus... :)

And, of course, none of this would be possible without Matt and Nancy Mayo, the owners of Course Brook, who put their hearts and souls into this place. Without them, it just wouldn’t exist! Another thank you must go to Stephie Baer, who held a fundraiser clinic at CBF to help us raise money for improvements to the cross country course. Stephie has been a part of the CBF family for decades and we are all so grateful for her support. 

A Stephie's-eye-view of the little drop log

Apparently this happened at the clinic, too.

Thanks to fundraisers like Stephie's, a lot of improvements have been made over the past year, from firming up the footing on parts of the cross country track, to a new location for dressage so that stadium could be held in our large outdoor sand arena. The changes really paid off; it’s been a pleasure to see this event grow and evolve every year. Thanks to our competitors for supporting us and, in turn, the sport of eventing.

Now, about the costumes. For our unrecognized horse trials October 27, the organizers naturally chose a Halloween theme and invited riders to dress up themselves and their horses for the dressage phase of the show. Who would have imagined the effort and imagination that went into these costumes. I think the pictures speak for themselves...

You can find professional photos of both horse shows at www.prestigesportshots.com and at http://www.amandasylvia.com/Equine-Events/Course-Brook-Farm-Halloween. Thanks to both photographers for doing such a great job of capturing the events.

So, now that the horse show season is over, everyone is sitting back, taking a deep breath, and… planning for 2013! Keep an eye on our website (www.coursebrookfarm.com) as we post information about new clinics and shows. Knowing Sharon and Erika, it won’t be long before they’re cooking up something else!

Finally, the word on the street is that Matt will be selling Christmas trees this year. There will also be hay rides at the farm every weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you’re interested in taking part, or in purchasing a tree from Matt, he can be reached at coursebrookfarm@aol.com.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

-- Casy

P.S. Special thanks to Lauren Murphy for all of the photos used in this post. I promised her I'd include a photo of her horse, so here's Ami (ridden here by Caitlin Calder), heading to cross country at our October 13 recognized horse trials:

Summer Combined Test and More!

CBF's Jillian and Ariana hacking back from the outdoor jumping arena July 22. Photo by Kim Eagan. 

As usual, it's been a busy summer so far here at Course Brook. It's hard to believe it's almost August and the Olympics are finally here! I don't have any kind of NBC services at home, so while everyone else is watching eventing, here I am, writing about it... Please, no spoilers until the DVD comes out. 

Our summer combined test was last weekend, July 22, and it was an excellent day! The weather was perfect and a good time was had by all. Full results can be viewed here, but a special shout out to CBF riders Ariana and Rica, who won their respective divisions! I told Ari that she better watch out because if she keeps winning everywhere she goes, she's going to get banned from certain horse show circuits.

A special congratulations also goes out to our own Paige Garson and her horse Combalache (known around the farm as "Sam"), who won the USEA Area I preliminary championships last weekend at Fitch's Corner! Paige and Sam have been through a lot together, so it's great to see them back on top of their game. 

Now that the combined test is over, we're getting excited for our August 16 jumping clinic with Bobby Costello! Bobby is a favorite of many riders here at CBF and around the world, so if you're interested in riding with him in our clinic, you can find more details and registration information here. 

Also on our website is information about a new fundraising initiative we're launching to raise money for improvements to our cross country course, which includes a raffle. Click here to learn about the many ways that you can help to support not only our farm and the expansion of our cross country course, but also the sport of eventing!

Finally, we're already gearing up for our fall horse USEA recognized trials, which will be held on October 13. If you're within 250 miles of Sherborn, go ahead and mark your calendar because if you aren't riding, volunteer coordinator Janet Sinclair will have you roped in before you can say "NOONDAY DE CONDE" (Okay, maybe I've peeked at the scores.)

That's all the news for now! Please be sure to check our website for the latest announcements, shows, and clinics. Our cross country course is open for schooling, so please email us if you'd like to come out and jump around. 

See you all soon and GO TEAM USA!

--Casy

Combined Test Photos and Jan Conlon Fix-a-Test Clinic

Hello! 


I've got some news about an upcoming clinic with Jan Conlon, but first, a couple photos from our spring combined test, courtesy of Michael of Prestige Sportshots at www.prestigesportshots.com. As always, Michael and his team did an amazing job of capturing our event and is so kind to share some photos with us for our blog. Thanks, Michael!

CBF's own Paige and her lovely horse Sam doing their prelim test

One of the many adorable palomino ponies that competed that day

Now, down to business. The next big thing coming up at CBF is our fix-a-test clinic with monthly CBF clinician Jan Conlon, and cross country and show jumping schooling day, Sunday June 17. The closing date for registration is June 11 (MONDAY). See our fabulous new website (Thank you, Sharon!) for more information and entry forms: http://www.coursebrookfarm.com/index.php/shows-clinics

Have you ever ridden a dressage test and asked yourself “just what was the judge looking for?”  Or have you ever been a spectator or onlooker and wondered just what was going on in that little ring?  If you have asked these questions, then this clinic is for you!  This is a great learning experience even if you can’t/aren’t able to ride because you will be able to see things from a judge’s perspective.  Auditing fee for this clinic includes use of judge’s booklet containing judge’s diagrams of tests, judging terms, glossary, methodology, and pyramid of training. The clinic will also include one or two brief question and answer sessions with Jan in order to ask all those burning questions about riding a successful test and maybe pick up some tips!

Jan is an “R” rated judge with much experience training, competing, teaching and judging actively in both disciplines of eventing and dressage including the upper levels of both. She is well versed in judging in-hand and under saddle classes including YEH, FEH, all sport horse divisions and dressage equitation This is a great opportunity for the person just practicing tests, or in hand/under saddle classes for the first time all the way to seasoned riders/competitors.

So please join us either mounted or dismounted for a great dressage clinic and get some jumping practice in too!  Both stadium and XC courses will be open to participants for an additional fee.

-- Casy

Spring Combined Test!

Course Brook Farm’s annual spring combined test was held Sunday, April 29. We offered pre-elementary through preliminary divisions as well as dressage-only and extra jumping rounds. The beautiful weather, smiling faces, and a herd of palomino ponies in the elementary division made the day an enjoyable one for everyone involved.

Starting the day off as the sole competitor in the preliminary division was CBF’s Paige Garson and her lovely horse Sam. They may have been guaranteed the blue ribbon, but they put in a great dressage test for a 33.9 and then pulled only one rail in show jumping for a solid final score of 37.9. 

In the training level division, Jeanie Clarke and her elegant mare Summer Solstice won the dressage with a score of 30. A green runout at the fan jump in stadium turned the round into a schooling session, and by the end of the second optional jumping round, the pair were looking full of confidence. The division was won by Grace Pilkington on Hershey with a score of 39. Second place went to Anna Billings riding Hastening Rue (45.4), and in third was Corey Mordas with his big bay gelding Soto Marino (47).

Mary Lee didn’t have much competition in the novice division either, but that didn’t stop her from putting in a steady show jumping round to finish first in her division of one on her dressage score of 40.

In the beginner novice, Anna Billings led from start to finish on Ben There Done That, winning on her dressage score of 35.7. Second place went to CBF's Brett Piercy and The Rooster with a score of 39.5. No one believes that Rooster is only 4 years old! In third was Erin Cheever on Tameeko (41), followed by Katelyn Dudley riding Headliner Chas, who scored 46.1 to finish in fourth place. Bella Sovrano, ridden by Bethany Jubert finished out the division in fifth place with a score of 60.

The elementary divisions were a blur of palomino ponies. Elementary division A was dominated by CBF’s own Jennifer Chong on Julliard, who finished on a score of 31.5. Second place went to Sonia Williams and Winston with a score of 45. The yellow ribbon went to A.L.F. Aumara, ridden by Jessica Schabert (47.5), and Emily Pip Block and Candee finished in fourth on a score of 48.5.

Eliza Santin won Elementary B on Peter Finnegan with a score of 36. Jamie Lance rode Marlines Magic to win the red ribbon with a score of 39. In third was Michele Foland with Chestah (41), and fourth went to Katie Santin on Dietz (45).

Top honors in the pre-elementary division went to Emily Young on Elliot G.S., with a score of 39.3. In second was Does Her Justice, ridden by Jocelyn Pierce. Third went to Lilah Whitcomb riding Junkyard Treasure (41.88). In fourth place was Happy Meal ridden by Audrey Weyler, also on a 41.88. Fifth went to Mary Bovaconti riding Immortal Honor (47.5).

In the dressage-only division, CBF-ers Jennifer Harrison and Anything Goes (aka A.C.) as well as Marian Bourgeois riding Liam put in excellent tests!

Stay tuned for photos...

-- Casy

Eventers in Paradise!

Those of you (meaning ALL of you, I'm sure) who follow Course Brook on Facebook will recall that our own Rica T. and Janet M. made all of us jealous by taking a riding vacation in Costa Rica this month. They had a blast, as you will see in the guest blog report that they kindly wrote for today's post. It sounds like they had an amazing experience. Take it away, ladies!

*********

Casy asked Janet (Dev’s mom) and I (Jazz and Ginger’s mom) to share a little about our riding vacation in early February to Costa Rica. We flew into Liberia, rented a car and drove about an hour to a little village on the Pacific coast called Playa Junquillal (hoon-kee-al).

Janet had been there before and arranged our trip with Erika a German transplant to Costa Rica for 16 years (www.paradiseriding.com) Susan, our guide, was from Switzerland and spoke English, Spanish, and German. Each day we rode for about 6 hours, including lunch. We had the same horses every day. I rode a nice quiet bay with a floppy ear called Bugs Bunny and Janet’s horse, Fandango, was a frisky grey. They were criollo, the local breed, and somewhere around 14 – 15 hands.

The first day we rode along the beach to the north. We rode through Playa Junquillal, Playa Blanca (white sand), Playa Negra (black sand) and Playa Avellana (pink sand). There was no one on the beach in Playa Junquillal and Playa Blanca so once we were acquainted with our horses we did a nice gallop along the beach. The saddles were endurance ones and the horses’ trot and canter were so comfortable – even I could sit to them. Playa Negra and Avellana are big surfing beaches, so we rode along the beach watching the surfers catching waves and wiping out. In Avellana we rode through a little estuary and went onto to the road to stop for lunch-fresh mahi mahi the fisherman caught that morning! We went to a restaurant, tied up the horses up to a tree, gave them some water and their treats - bananas.

After lunch we saddled back up and rode through the towns. The highlight was seeing the howling monkeys at a creek along the side of the road. We were lucky and saw a baby monkey that looked pretty young – only 5 inches or so. ( The howling monkeys make this incredible noise – the first night it was a little unnerving.)

The second day we rode inland into the hills. Since most of the roads around the area are unpaved, we rode on the roads. We saw some of the indigenous trees such as guancaste (also the name of the province we were in) that are huge and grow in clearings, acacia, and a wide variety of papaya trees. We stopped for lunch at this lady’s farm where she grows and cooks all the food herself- some of the chickens lost their buddies for our lunch. She had picnic tables and chairs and the some of the locals stopped by for lunch as well. The food was delicious, but surprisingly enough, it was not spicy. On our way back, we saw two kids riding a horse back to school – no saddle, books tied with a piece of string hanging over their shoulder.

When we got back, I think all 3 of us were pretty sore. Thank goodness the next day was a day off from riding. Janet and I went zip lining and boogie boarding.

Thursday was our last day of riding. We rode along the beach to the south. The beaches were absolutely deserted and we had some incredible views of crashing waves on volcanic mountains. We passed a few fishing villages and noticed a few families out on the rocks harvesting some type of scallops or mollusks from the ocean. This ride had quite a bit of cantering along the beach – we went about 30 kilometers in 4 hours. Portions of the ride included going over rocks and the horses were amazingly sure-footed. Throughout the rides Janet and I noticed how incredible the horses were. They handled all sorts of terrain so well – deep sand, packed sand, up steep hills / trails, rocks, waves, trucks, motorcycles, cows, and even other free roaming horses. This ride ended with lunch at a restaurant and the horses were trailered back home. Interestingly enough, the trailer is just a pick up truck with a large enclosed bed. They back the truck up to a hilly area and the horses just walk on. They thought it was funny that we have trailers with ramps and even $150 coconut fiber pads for the horses to walk onto the trailer. Lunch again was amazing - they’re very much into the organic, local food movement and everything is incredibly fresh.

The rest of vacation was spent snorkeling and boogie boarding at the beach. Hotel was terrific and in a location with infinity pool and hot tub. Local bars were really fun with people from all over the world. If anyone is interested stop by and talk to us. --Rica

Spotlight on Jennifer Dow Olsen

Today we have the next installment in our spotlight series where we feature a member of the Course Brook Farm community. Jennifer Dow Olsen is slightly in the minority at CBF as she's a hunter/jumper rider, and a very successful one at that. She has two horses of her own at Course Brook, A Priori (a.k.a. Lucy) and Big Man on Campus (a.k.a. Fitz), as well as a handful of students and their own horses. We are, of course, welcoming of all disciplines, so I'm pleased to feature Jennifer in this blog.

Jennifer and A Priori in the pre-green hunters at Vermont Summer Festival in 2011

Jennifer grew up riding at her family’s hunter/jumper farm, the Westbrook Hunt Club in Westbrook, CT and trained there with Jane Dow. Jennifer has also had the unique pleasure of training with the great Hall of Fame trainer, Victor Hugo-Vidal, as well as being invited to teach alongside him as a professional. She had a successful Junior career, including qualifying for Indoors with her Junior Jumper, Hill Street. Jennifer stayed on at Westbrook Hunt Club after turning professional, continuing to bring along young horses from basic ground work to competing on the “A” circuit and teaching students to numerous championships. She has competed up to level 7 in the jumpers with horses like Westbrook and Hill Street. Jennifer has shown successfully in the hunter and jumper rings at both local CHJA and NEHC levels, as well as winning Year End Zone Championships on the National Circuit from Pre-green through the Regular Working Hunter divisions. Most recently, Jennifer qualified for the 2011 World Championship Hunter Rider’s emerging pro finals at Capital Challenge with A Priori, a horse she has trained since she was a 3 year-old. Jennifer has trained riders of all levels, in Equitation, Hunters, and Jumpers from start to year-end championships and to finals.

Jennifer was kind enough to respond to a few of the questions that I like to pose to our featured riders. Thanks for sharing, Jennifer.

1. How old were you when you first started riding? I was far younger than my memory. My family always says with a chuckle that it was before I could walk.

2. What is your greatest extravagance? My horses.

3. What other talent besides riding would you most like to have? I wish I could dance. I think those that are familiar with my dancing enjoy the entertainment value of bad dancing, but I have a great appreciation for people that can dance well.

4. What do you consider your greatest achievement (riding or otherwise)? The family my husband and I have created together.

5. If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what would it be? A Grand Prix horse. I'd love to experience what it feels like to be that powerfully athletic, brave and careful, and tremendous heart.

6. What is your most treasured possession? My grandmother's horse head necklace. She wore it every day and it reminds me of her great strength, will, and positive thinking that made her successful.

7. Who are your favorite writers/artists/riders? W. B. Yeats is my favorite poet. There are so many great riders I admire. Scott Stewart and Sandy Ferrell are my favorite hunter riders. Beezie Madden is my favorite jumper rider.

8. What is your motto? All your dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them.

9. Have you ever ridden sidesaddle? No.

10. What is your favorite riding moment (competition or anything else)? My favorite riding moments are always had in the summer time, riding as the sun is just coming up, just me and my horse.

11. If you could live anywhere, where would it be? I'm not sure I could do better on how fortunate I am to live in such a great area.

12. If you could do any job besides teaching/training, what would it be (doesn't need to be realistic). Novelist.

Jennifer is accepting students and horses in training. She can be reached at: olsenjennifer@me.com.

Winter is here!

Brush Hill Road, like the olden days.

Well, it's official. Winter is finally here. Today we got anywhere from 2-4 inches of snow and I guess we can't complain since it's been such a mild winter so far. As usual, the horses don't seem to mind nearly as much as we humans do, probably because they're four-wheel-drive and we're not.

Everyone has been deep into the usual wintertime activities (besides shoveling snow): working on gymnastic exercises with Stephie and Erika, lots of dressage, and I've seen plenty of riding without stirrups going on in the indoor recently. I know I'm not the only one feeling jealous of the small herd of CBF boarders who will be heading south in the next week. Nici with Minga, Janet with Pogue and Jamie, and Ashley with Paddy, among others, will be heading to Florida and Aiken and they've got the smug smiles on their faces to prove it. Of course, the rest of us wish them the best for their winter show season down south, even if we are incredibly, profoundly jealous. They're going to miss out on some wicked snowshoeing and sledding!

We finally had our CBF "holiday" party last weekend, and although the holiday season was technically over, we still managed to have a good time and completely overeat. We also had a small but strong showing for the Yankee Swap and I'm happy to say that Janet S. was successfully matched with the purple polos for her new girly girl mare, Cleo. Adorable. All in all, it was a good time. I'm always blown away by the caliber of cooks that we have at Course Brook. We're very, very lucky.

In totally unrelated news, I'm extremely happy to announce that one of our favorite people, Phoebe, and her husband Russ have had a baby boy! Congratulations to you both and we can't wait to meet Avery.

Finally, for you Bostonians who aren't heading south, but would like to have an indoor and fun people to play with, we are currently offering a winter boarding promotion: for new boarders, your first month is half price! Please contact us at info@coursebrookfarm.com for more information. We'd love to have you.

Until next time,

Casy