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

Erika Hawkes on showing in Singapore, Kate Middleton, and, of course, Mark Todd

This is the first installment in a series of features on some of the people who make Course Brook Farm the vibrant place that it is. It's only natural that we begin the series with our resident trainer, Erika Hawkes. Erika agreed to answer some questions for me and share some insights into what drives her personally and professionally. I've included her bio below, but let me just say that Erika is one of the most patient and thoughtful instructors and trainers that I have ever met. I don't think I've ever seen her lose her temper, and she really does embody what all horse people should aspire to: a calm and quiet approach to teaching and riding. Thank you, Erika!

-- Casy

Erika is a MA licensed instructor with over 20 years of teaching/training experience. She is a graduate Pony Clubber who has competed through Intermediate level eventing and successfully completed several CCI*'s including an 8th Place at Radnor. She has started and trained several ex-race horses to be successful eventers. Erika teaches Tuesday-Saturday and is available for coaching at shows. Training packages are availa

ble and beginners are welcome. For more info on working with Erika at CBF, see: http://coursebrookfarm.com/instructors.htm

1.How old were you when you first started riding? I was seven when I started taking lessons in Laguna Beach, California.

2.What is your greatest extravagance? You mean besides my horses?! Probably getting my hair done.

3.Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Probably “again.” I seem to find myself saying that a lot while I am teaching.

4. If you could do any job besides teaching/training, what would it be (doesn’t need to be realistic)? I have always wanted to write so being a novelist would really appeal to me.

5.What other talent besides riding would you most like to have? Singing opera or playing the piano. I am always amazed at people who possess those gifts. I mean where does that come from?

6.What do you consider your greatest achievement (riding or otherwise)? Running my own business.

7.If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what would it be? Kate Middleton!

8.What is your most treasured possession? Can a dog be a possession because it would definitely be my dog!

9.Who are your favorite writers/artists/riders? I love to read all sorts of things, but one of my most recent favorites is Jeanette Walls’ The Glass Castle. I love Andrew Wyeth as an artist because I basically spent a lot of my childhood in Maine and love it dearly. One of my all time favorite riders is Torrance Watkins. She was just sooo classy. I also love Mark Todd.

10.Who are your heroes in life? Any surprise – horses! I really think they are truly heroes to do what they do for us. Also, my mom, my dad, my husband and of course our troops, of which my brother is one. I would also have to include my vet, Dr Liz Maloney, who has been unbelievable in helping me rehabilitate several OTTBs and turn them into successful eventers. She is the best.

11.What is your motto? Treat other people (and horses) the way you would want

them to treat you.

12.Have you ever ridden sidesaddle? No but have ridden bareback, western and done some driving.

13.What is your favorite riding moment (competition or anything else)? When I was fifteen, my father was working for a company that relocated us overseas to Singapore. I joined the riding club there and became part of the international team competing against other Southeastern Asian nations. Onetime we competed in Kuala Lumpur and we had to draw horses’ names out of a hat and then compete them in a 3’9” jumper class. I drew an awesome horse and ended up winning the class and beating my instructor! That was definitely a high point that stands out in my life. I also remember competing at Radnor Three Day Event and being thrilled after dressage and x-country to be in third place ahead of Karen (Lende) O’Connor!

14.If you could live anywhere, where would it be? Somewhere with a warm temperate climate all year round – maybe Southern California or Hawaii.

CBF fall USEA horse trials photo montage!

The second-annual fall CBF USEA-recognized horse trials was a huge success this year! We were fully subscribed with entries, lucked out with fantastic weather, and everyone had a smile on their face at the end of the day.

We're already looking ahead to 2012 and thinking about what worked this year and what can be improved for the future. Our number one priority for our next competition will be to improve the footing in our grass show jumping field to make it firmer and hold up better under heavy use. We'll be sure to keep you updated on this and other improvements and additions to the plan for our third-annual recognized horse trials, tentatively scheduled for October, 2012.

For now, enjoy these photos of the day, courtesy of our own Lauren Murphy, Janet Sinclair, and Rica Trujillo…

A new addition to our show jumping course this year

One of our two dressage arenas

Don't forget to have your bit checked!

Our intrepid secretary, Erin.

She returned for a repeat performance this year, so she must like us at least a little bit!

One view of the show jumping track

Show jumping on the left, warm up on the right, spectators in the middle

One of our bank complexes on the left

A fabulous runner, doing what he does best

New last fences for novice and training

Our own Paige G. and her horse Sam

clearing the last fencing on the training course with room to spare

See you next year!

Karen W. steps into the hot seat

In my last post, I challenged CBF boarder Karen W. to try to sneak a guest blog post about her trailer-buying experiences by me. Well, I am nothing if not gracious, so here you have the first installment of what promises to be an informative series of articles on buying a new rig (Spoiler alert: the story has a happy ending). Take it away, Karen!

Hello, I’ve been asked to write something from my horsey experiences for the Course Brook Blog. I’m a fifty-something, female boarder at CBF who is mostly interested in dressage and trail riding.

My most recent experience was this fall when I attempted to buy a used horse trailer.

Part 1: the Search

I talked to a few trailer experienced friends and read a few articles. Here is the link to a particularly good one: http://www.equispirit.com/info/articles.htm which stated that one should get the trailer before getting the tow vehicle, because you need to know the weight of the trailer plus horses and luggage in order to get a vehicle powerful enough to haul safely. It’s a lot of math so have a calculator handy. I also needed a trailer to show my husband that I was serious when said I needed a truck to replace my aging Jeep Cherokee.

Then I got on my computer and searched “used horse trailers”. I found many fine sites and then there is of course Craig’s List. I found some bargains, but remember if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I emailed a few—three to be precise—and the replies were almost identical: These trailers were purportedly owned by military personnel and even though were advertised as being in the Boston area, they were not. According to the email the military would ship the trailer to me for free and all I had to do was give them lots of personal information. On Craig’s List there is advice on how to avoid scams and apparently this is a typical one. Who knew that people would prey upon our patriotism and current love for the armed forces to scam prospective buyers of horse trailers? I do now. Fortunately I didn’t give out any info other than my email address.

Local sites like Equinesite.com were very helpful and I did not encounter any scams. But I did not move fast enough for many of the ads that I thought were good deals. By the time I made arrangements to go out and see them, usually more than an hour away, they had already been sold.

I stuck with Equinesite.com because they had the most listings in my location. One had listed several trailers and I inquired why. The reason was she turned out to be a consignment dealer so had a choice on hand. She was located in NH about three miles from my brother’s house where I was going the day before Thanksgiving to pick up my mother. How convenient for me! But the day before I went someone posted an ad for a ten-year-old Kingston with a dressing room and it was just one mile off Route 95, which is my path to NH. Since I ran out of time picking up Mom, I did not go to the consignment place. I ended up only seeing the one trailer, which I ended up buying the day after Thanksgiving, for better or for worse.

Stay turned for Part 2: Getting the trailer home.

And... we're back!

After something of an extended summer vacation, the Course Brook Farm blog is back in action! As for the renegade post from March, if Karen wants to write about buying a horse trailer, she’s going to have to get through me first and I’m bigger than she is…

The most exciting piece of non-vehicular news around here is the fact that our October 8^th USEA-recognized horse trials are right around the corner. It seems like just yesterday that we were gathered around the back of the Gator, celebrating Erika’s birthday after the last competitor had gone home and eating cake with our fingers, but September is NEXT WEEK and that means horse show preparations are ramping up all over again. We’re offering BN-T levels again this year and entries are open now!

As the cross country course comes together over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting photos of some of the jumps, and maybe even a jump-by-jump course walk. The new footing in the large outdoor area that we added before last year’s horse trials is riding even better after wintering over, so no matter what the weatherman is calling for there will be good footing for dressage. Ozias has been building new stadium jumps, too. I can testify that the wings are incredibly fancy, and also incredibly heavy.

Also back and better than ever is volunteer coordinator, Janet Sinclair. You may remember her as the woman with the clipboard and purposeful walk if you volunteered at last year’s event. She’s basically a one-woman coordinating machine and thanks to her, all of last year’s volunteers were organized and deployed appropriately. I can attest to that since I was one. I can also attest to the awesomeness of the gift bags that Janet puts together for every volunteer.

If you’d like to come and volunteer, Janet has lots of jobs to fill, even for those who aren’t horsey. For instance, if you’re a kid who is planning on competing at the show, why not volunteer your parents? That will get them and their cameras away from the trailer on show day and maybe they’ll give you one of their free volunteer t-shirts when the day is over. That’s even better than a ribbon! If you want to volunteer yourself or a loved one, you can reach Janet at janetsinclair1@live.com. Operators are standing by.

That’s it for today. Stay tuned for photos, highlights of the boarders’ achievements through the summer show season, and some special guest bloggers in the coming weeks.

--Casy

News at the Farm

Hi Everyone!

Well, we're finally heading out of winter towards spring (I hope!) and it's time to start thinking about our summer schedule.

The big news is that we have booked Bobby Costello to come do a 2-day clinic on July 9th and 10th. Day one will be show jumping/gymnastics and day two will be x-country. Bobby is a Massachusetts native and currently resides in Southern Pines, NC. Bobby was a member of the 2000 Eventing Team at the Sydney Olympic Games and was part of the team that won gold at the 2003 Pan American Games. He is heavily involved in the governance of both the USEA and USEF. We look forward to having him and will have more info on signing up soon.

We will be running a Combined Test and Dressage Schooling Show on May 1st. This will be a great opportunity to get ready for your first recognized event or just to get out and do something fun!

And don't forget our annual Memorial Day X-Country Clinic with advanced level rider Stephie Baer. This is a chance to get quality instruction while schooling our x-country course before our sanctioned event.

Our next blog post will be written by one of our boarders, Karen, who will talk about the trailer buying process. Keep a look out for that!

Horse Trial Recap!

Well, it’s taken a month, but I’m finally here to give you the skinny on CBF’s first annual USEA recognized horse trial! I’ve been travelling, I’m jet lagged, and I’m in the mood for a photo montage, so that’s what you’re going to get. All of the professional photos (you'll be able to tell the difference, trust me) are courtesy of Prestige Sport Shots (www.prestigesportshots.com). Michael and his crew are regulars at all of our events, large and small, and their work speaks for itself.

But before I get to the show, here is a picture of Jim Wofford, laying down the law at our clinic this summer:

If you turn your head and this is what you see as you’re getting ready to jump an exercise, you better turn up your hearing aid. Despite his intimidating appearance, Jim was very encouraging and positive to all of our riders. It also helps that he doesn’t freak out when a ride isn’t working out exactly as planned. I guess when you’ve been in the game as long as he has nothing surprises you anymore.

Now, to the show. As a dedicated reader of this blog, you already know that Course Brook Farm hosted our first-ever USEA nationally recognized horse trials on October 9. It was a huge production, and also a huge success. We had over 90 riders over the day, fantastic weather, and 4,000 pumpkins scattered about the property. In fact, they continue to appear here and there, emerging from secret hiding places.

All levity aside, it was a great day, mostly due to the dedication of our organizers, officials, and competitors. I saw a lot of smiles that day, and heard competitors saying that they would be coming back next year.

Of course none of it could have been possible without Matt and Nancy Mayo, the owners of the farm. We are all so lucky to be able to ride (and in some cases, live) on this beautiful piece of property, and all of us were proud to be able to share it with a bunch of new people.

Finally, BIG THANKS to everyone who volunteered! We know you didn’t do it just for the free hand sanitizer and t-shirt and we hope you’ll want to come back and help again next year.

Now, for the good stuff. Let’s start with some photos of the set-up process...

Here Laura and Ozias are painting showjumping rails and standards. As you can see, there were lots.

Reinaldo and Wilson were instrumental in making the farm look its best.

Assembling the new dressage arena was one of the crowning achievements of Laura’s life.

Having extra pieces left over is always a little worrying.

Moving on to the professional shots of the day of the show...

Outside the porta-potty next to stadium warm up was apparently the place to see and be seen.

Stephie Baer teaches at Course Brook weekly, and brought several horses to compete. Here’s her training level ride.

Our neighbor and honorary boarder Caroline Twining competed her horse Robin in the BN division.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more in the coming weeks!

--Casy