Get well soon Lucy!!!

We'll be heading out to Shelburne Falls early tomorrow.  Biscuit Hill horse show:

http://www.biscuithillfarm.com/show_schedule.html

Chuck alerted me that Lucy fell off Dixie yesterday and is recovering at home ... hope she is okay and feeling 100 percent soon.  We have lots of committed riders who like to come and help at the barn, but Lucy is the most committed of them all. 

Here is Lucy helping with Mr. Tee this winter.  Get well soon Lucy!!!!

Next week will be busy with landscaping and sprucing up in anticipation of Linda & David's wedding on the weekend.

Fun picture from one of the early summer programs.

A quieter week

We only have the full access lease program running this week so the barn should be a quieter place.  We do have several summer residents/tourists booked which is always welcome.

Just got the new fliers in and must say I am really satisfied with the quality.  Will have Jenna and the girls bring a few down to the Chamber office.

Hopefully, the rain will hold off so Chuck can finish the fence in the blue paddock.  If you haven't walked over there, go take a look.  The fencing is going up about 8 feet off the stone wall -- making a nice 'trail' that will be perfect for riders to cool down their horses or for beginner trail lessons. 

We are also getting the siding stained on the barn ... it matches the original building quite well.  And maybe the fences will even get stained in August .... never a shortage of stuff to do around here.

Here is a nice picture of Dixie.  You can also see the area I am referring to for the trail/fence in the background where the stone wall is.  Dixie continues to be a great beginner horse.  I wonder how many riders have cantered for the first time on her?

Dixie and Patty have been hanging out a lot in the black paddock.  It is hard to tell here, but Patty is almost as big as Dixie these days.  She is going to be a very BIG girl.  And hopefully a good one.

Yes, we have horses

I have been posting lots of pictures of the activities at the barn but thought I'd put up a few of actual horseback riding!

We have had quite a few summer visitors this year which is great.  There are many people who relocate weekends or weeks at a time to our beautiful region and this year quite a few of them have found us and are enjoying our lesson program as well as our wonderful views.

This week will be Linda's last week doing lessons at the barn.  We are happy for her and David and wish them lots of happiness in their new life together.  I think Chuck and I will be spending all our 'free' time landscaping and weeding in the next two weeks till the wedding!

As many of you know, the barn bought Bradley from Linda and he will be a significant part of our lesson program -- especially for the more advanced riders and those who want to jump.  We are also going to be keeping Blue on a free lease until Linda gets settled -- at least through the summer. 

Karrie has agreed to take over some of the administrative responsibilities for scheduling lessons, etc... but we both agree that will be a collaborative process over the month of August. 

Yahoo, more pictures

Weather has definitely moderated but my travel hasn't.  Jenna finally got to ride this week!  She looks a lot less confidence on a horse than on skates!  However, she claims to have enjoyed it. 

Love these pictures because it gives a great view of the arena (and the NEW footing -- if you are counting, yes this is the 3rd try at something that is good to keep the dust down and appropriate on the horses hooves -- no more overdone pedicures).

And lastly, doesn't this make you want to be a kid again  (or a dog).... outdoor lunches in the summer!

For my frequent followers, I attempted to add some features so these posts can be more easily 'followed' and shared on facebook, etc....  Another experiment.  I still harbor a dream of making the website both a valuable source of information and a source of some income to offset the costs of our riding programs!

Far from Farm

Spoke via phone and email a lot today but am stuck out on the West Coast.  Flight delays have me on a redeye (overnight flight) to Philadelphia tomorrow.  I have several meetings, 3 hours of driving to and from the capital of Pennsylvania (quick, who can name it?) and then a late flight home.  Ugh.

Figure I might as well post a few more of Krissy's pictures as I enter my 9th hour in the San Diego airport.

Buddy once he's worn himself out tugging on baling twine.  He is such a funny dog -- will run and play and jump forever then just snuggle in and cuddle.  I suspect he is under Sarah's covers sleeping soundly right about now!!

I hear there was more water balloon activity today at the barn.  Here, Z is filling the bucket last week!

Great picture of Buck and the two point.  If you don't ride, you would not believe the core strength and balance this requires.  No wise comments about Buck's short tail, please .....

Twin Mania

As I started organizing for the upcoming programs this week it occurred to me that we have had an extraordinary number of twins riding at the barn.  Most of you know that our family has a set of fraternal nine-year-old twins:  Lauren and Sarah.  This past week, we had both an identical set of twins in the 3 day learn to ride program and a younger set of fraternal twins who returned for a second year of pony rides while visiting their grandma.  Earlier this year an older set of fraternal twin girls began taking lessons at the farm and this week we will have another set of identical twins in the Life on a Farm program!  That is 5 sets of twins!!!  Amazing.

These two -- Buddy and Robin -- are NOT twins.  Robin belongs to one of the farriers and has been visiting since we started our riding program.  Most of Buddy's neighborhood dog friends are also black and white dogs so Robin is a nice change of pace!  Here is Buddy's newest friend:  Gurl.  She is Karrie's new puppy.

And this is Buddy's best friend, Maxwell, who comes over every day from East Mountain Farm (next door).  Maxwell is on vacation this week.   Gurl, Buddy and Max could almost be triplets!

New Pictures!

Well, the heat didn't diminish too much but we did get a little more much needed rain.  We have pulled the horses off the lower pasture for the past two weeks to let it grown back up.  It also is a nice break for the adults and riders who put horses in and out not to have the long, uphill walk to the barn in this oppressive heat!

Here is a beginner trail lesson!  New riders love it!

Making horse treats downstairs!!!

Jacki in a rare moment of relaxation.

Keeping the horses clean and the riders cool.

Treats

The horses all got horse treats made by summer riders today.  We actually had to cook them but it was pretty cool in the downstairs apartment at the house.

Jacki and Jenna also came up with the idea of rather than making horse magnets, we are making electrical outlet covers with a horse on them.  They look great!

And once again, we have very good horses.  Pretty clear why we call her VIXEN.

Monday! More new riders

Welcoming four new riders to our programs this morning.  Here is more of a look at the fun stuff that have happened in the summer programs so far this summer.

Hopefully, the weather will be nice and not quite as humid!

Pony Club information

The barn is exploring and likely to initiate the process for becoming a Pony Club Center.  Several of our parents and adult riders have participated in this program and are very enthusiastic about having it offered in our area.

You might begin hearing about this opportunity around the barn.  Karrie and Janette Dudley are leading our exploratory efforts and of course you can always speak with Chuck or Jane about this or other thoughts and ideas on programming.

Here is a link to some information about the program:

http://ponyclub.org/ridingcenter.htm

As always, let us know what you think!