4th of July Parade

Linda, Karrie, Jacki, Jenna and I met yesterday to discuss the upcoming week's summer programming.  We decided to combine it with our decision to participate in the Williamstown 4th of July parade.  We have thought about getting involved in one of the local parades as many of the local farms do it and feel like we have a lot of help this week and should be able to pull it off.

Any riders or friends of Cobble Hill should shoot us an email (chuck@cobblehillfarm.com) if they want to participate.  We will probably bring 4 or 5 horses (Blue, Dixie, Hercules, Zeus, Mr. Tee) and have a leader and a rider on each horse.  But we are also going to fire up the tractor and pull the wagon so that we can have other Friends of the Farm riding and (of course!) tossing candy.

Chuck actually ordered something a while ago that we hope arrives in time .... meanwhile, the summer riders this week will be working on tye dye t-shirts for the riders to wear and 'jingle' bells for the horses.  We want to make those anyway after the bear cub sighting by Sandy over at Oak Hollow a few weeks back.

Should be a fun week here at the barn with lots going on with this first full week with all schools out.  I hope to get home by Wednesday late afternoon to at least observe some of the fun.

Gymkhanna tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the annual Gymkhanna event at Oak Hollow farm sponsored by Equus.  With the spring horse show next week, we only have 5 riders and four horses entered tomorrow.  Lizzie will be entering with Zeus -- his first show as a Cobble Hill horse.  She practiced the barrels, poles and flag events today and Zeus is doing great for a young horse.  His overall demeanor is pretty chill, so we are hoping all goes well tomorrow.  Also, it will be the first official event for Jacki's kids so we are hoping the rain holds off and a fun day is had by all.

The 3 day riding program this week was a smashing success.  Besides the smiles on the riders who jumped or cantered for the first time, the next best outcome was how great (and groomed!) our horses look.  Dixie looks about 10 years younger and quite svelte with the loss of all her winter coat and the nice trimming.  I am told that Jay was groomed for almost 2 hours straight ... not sure if that is totally true but he is looking shiny!

The only odd-man out is Buck.  I am in deep doo-doo around here for chopping his tail a wee bit too short.  I had an inspired idea of making braiding 'boards' so that the younger riders could practice their mane and tale braiding on a piece of board before working on a real horse.  Buck happened to be in the runway last weekend when I appeared with scissors and the rest is, as they say, history.  I am sure Krissy will capture a picture of it for posting soon.  I still think it was a great idea even if the execution was a bit flawed.

Pics and results tomorrow!

Welcome MCLA riders!

This week we have started welcoming two classes of riders from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Jeannie is doing an early evening class that had four students in it on Monday and they all seemed to have a great time. This Friday afternoon Linda will do the second class.

This is exciting for us for several reasons. First, it is a different kind of class. Most of our classes are filled with riders of similar ability levels. Because the first priority for these riders is college class work, their schedule dictates that they come when there is a driver available in a slot that works with their other commitments. The Monday class had a very experienced rider, an intermediate rider, and advanced beginner and a true beginner. This is great from the barn's perspective because we can mix up the horses we are using. So Boo, Mr. Tee, Dixie and Hercules were used Monday -- I don't think we have ever used that combination in another class! And because these are young adults, it is easier to manage the different ability levels and have everyone enjoy their experience.

The other reason I am so excited is that it is just fabulous to have these young women in the barn to set a great example for our younger riders. I have seen this phenomenon in other sports in town where the Williams teams come and assist -- kids in elementary school just respond so positively to college students.

So, Welcome MCLA. We are delighted to have you riding at our barn! (And if you want your pictures on the blog, sign a photo release!)

Anatomy of a Successful Birthday Party

We had a very, very successful first attempt at a Cobble Hill Farm birthday party. Harper turned four and a dozen of her friends helped her celebrate!

We kicked the party off with the much anticipated pony rides. I had set up two craft tables with a fun decoupage horse jar project so that the kids who weren't riding could stay busy. I was very surprised that most of the kids preferred to watch the pony rides ... even after they took their own turn. Hercules and Dixie were, as we'd hoped, really calm and cooperative.

Some of the kids were hesitant but others were ready to go. A few progressed to putting their hands on their hips while the horse was led around and a few even did a lap riding backwards.

The birthday party guests were so captivated by the horses that I made a spur of the moment decision to bring Vixen and Patty into the ring to do the lunging demonstration for them. They really loved it but some of our new horses in the back paddock got all jazzed up by the action in the ring and came galloping down to observe and then try to join in the celebration.

The scavenger hunt was next up --- ten clues like "Where Jay might find a drink of water" (the clue was taped to the waterer in his stall). The clues each garnered a letter in a baggie and when collected spelled: C*O*B*B*L*E**H*I*L*L

Then, before breaking for the pizza, fruit, cake and juice that Harper's mom brought, we did our own variation on finding a needle in a hay stack. I was thrilled to find a perfect use for the bags of hay chaff that the summer camp kids had scooped up (here is a picture of that activity). I dumped it in the back of the barn near the wash stall and hid a bag full of double bubble gums (individually wrapped) in it. The kids loved digging through the hay ... and for a few of them, it was their first ever experience with gum -- Double Bubble is definitely a great first gum!

While the revelers stopped for refreshments, Chuck dumped the water out of one of our wagons and hooked it up to the tractor. We made seating with hay bales and backed the wagon into the entrance to the barn. All the kids (and a few lucky dads who were pressed into duty to sit at the end of the wagon) happily climbed aboard, the rain and mist let up for long enough for a 15 minute hay ride. I am hoping one of the moms who took pictures will send them along.

It was a fun day -- and amazing that it was not so hard when the birthday child is not mine. I had a blast and wasn't stressed at all. The Hunt girls were a HUGE help (I did bribe them with a promise to pay them $10 each if they helped ... which they each earned) and of course, my mom was once again the special sauce ... chatting with everyone and generally keeping the craft tables humming.

If you know anyone wanting a special pony birthday -- send them our way. Saturday late afternoon and Sunday mornings will be the blocks that we will schedule events.

Horses!

Haven't done pictures and a post lately only about the horses! Now that I am riding a bit, I can actually talk about my impressions of the horses. Looking forward to my lesson tomorrow.

The three horses that beginner adult riders use (for the most part) are: Sweet Pea, Buck and Dixie.

Dixie is a really interesting paint horse. She is older and very well trained. She is a complete witch when it comes to getting her out of the pasture when it isn't feed time. In fact, many months ago when I was out in the big pasture trying to catch her, she stomped on my foot. It was a good reminder of why you wear sturdy shoes around horses, but it still hurt. Dixie can also be a bit hard to bridle. Yet. the minute you ride her, she is the most gentle, predictable and well behaved horse we have. A real steady-eddie. The biggest challenge when you ride Dixie is to keep her moving, especially at the trot.

Sweet Pea is another contradiction. He would be just as happy being in his stall all day. You have to be really careful not to bother him when he is eating as he gets a little aggressive. Yet, put a saddle on him and again -- he is well-trained, and a really fun ride. He consistently performs well at the little shows the riders do. He will keep moving better than Dixie.

Buck is really 'forward' and responds best to short reins. Buck was a barrel racer and I have aspirations to do a barrel race some day. When Buck is trotting I think he has the nicest, smooth trot. I haven't been cleared to canter him yet as he is really fast, but he really is a comfortable and fun horse. I think/hope I am riding him tomorrow.