October

I'm not sure how it is already October. Where did the summer go? 2010 has flown by! The summer has been spent teaching lessons and summer camps at California Riding Academy, a lesson program based out of the Portola Valley Training Center. I am teaching there for those students who do not own there own horses. In addition, I'm happy to report that I am teaching and training several clients at Portola Pastures. Please contact me for more information on lessons or training at either of these places or at any other facilities in the bay area. I am willing to travel!

The summer show season had it's ups and downs. I was fortunate enough to take my young horse, Izzy, to Inavale (Oregon), Rebecca Farm (Montana), and Woodside. We began the year with a 3rd place at Ram Tap in BN and finished the year with a 3rd place at Woodside in the TRAINING HORSE division! Needless to say, I am very proud of my young girl. Izzy is now enjoying a winter break in Washington state where she's in pasture with her mom and baby brother.

A big congratulations to all of my students for a great Fall Woodside. Becky and her mare were 3rd in their first ever event, Tricia and Somer 4th (also their first event), with Pam rounding out the BN in 5th, and Cynthia making her Novice debut with a clean x-c.

Additionally, Cynthia purchased a new horse just 2 weeks ago. A 4yr old Hungarian Warmblood who I'm very excited to work with. This young horse has only been ridden a handful of times so the winter will be spent establishing solid basics. He will be one to look for in the show ring next year.

Congratulations to all on a successful season.

- Meg

Clermont Equestrian Center!

Now offering lessons at Clermont Equestrian Center! They've got plenty of lesson horses and ponies plus summer camps and horses/ponies for lease. Covered arena, lights, mirrors, big paddocks, pasture and MORE! Very excited about this new opportunity!

Check it out www.clermontequest.com

General Updates...
Just a few quick notes on the happenings at Tally Ho Farms. Spring is well under way and while rain is in the forecast for tomorrow, it's already May and the Woodside Horse Trials are just around the corner.
THF took a trip the first weekend in May to Twin Rivers for a hunter/jumper show on Saturday, followed by x-c schooling on Sunday. All the horses and riders were great and there are plenty of pictures and videos posted on the Facebook page, be sure to check it out!
3 THF riders are entered in the Woodside HT, Inavale is less than a month after that, followed by Montana! I don't know where the time goes but I am excited about the new group of horses and riders and there is more in the works...
If anyone is looking for lessons, training, needs horses ridden, conditioned, you name it, contact me.
Enjoy the sun!
-Meg

Ram Tap Recap!

Izzy competed at her first event this weekend at Ram Tap in Fresno, Ca. Friday's dressage was better than I could ever have imagined. She was so relaxed and steady in all her gaits, gave me the best free walk to date, earning us several 8's in our test. We finished the dressage with a 33 to put us in 1st!
I was most worried about stadium, as Izzy has had very little arena jumping in her very short career. Leading up to the weekend we'd not even done a whole course. I was lucky enough to get some help from Heather Bailey (of Phoenix Farms) and she helped us both relax in the warm-up, giving Izzy lots of confidence. Once on course Izzy was all business. She never even looked at the fences! We had fence 3 down, got in a bit deep and I picked at her, taking her focus away. I should have just let her do her job :) The rail down dropped us to 3rd.
X-C came soon enough and Izzy happily galloped around the course like a champ. She thought nothing of the fences, went through the water bravely, and made the jumps all feel easy. The grin on my face could be seen for miles as I crossed the finished. I have finally brought along one of my own from birth to competition and couldn't be happier. Looking forward to a FUN summer of showing. I know Izzy will keep surprising me with how much she already knows.
- Meg

Rain?

Don't forget that this unseasonable wet weather can cause our horses to not drink enough water. Try adding electrolytes to their grain or give them a sloppy bran mash as a special treat. Be on the lookout for signs of colic!

Twin Rivers h/j show May 8th!

I'm going to the Twin h/j show on May 8th. May stay overnight for some x-c on Sunday. If anyone is interested in going or just needs a ride let me know! I have made a hotel reservation (just in case).

Conditioning!

There's a great article about conditioning in the latest issue of "Eventing" (USEA magazine). Check it out!

Ram Tap schooling April 17 and 18th

I'm going to Ram Tap for some much needed fun cross country schooling on April 17 & 18th. It feels as though this winter just won't end, I am so ready for a good gallop! I still have space in the trailer and am happy to trailer, teach, or offer training to anyone interested, contact me for more details/info and a special weekend pricing package! - Meg

California Trail Ride

Izzy and I hit the trail today with Tricia and her horse Somer. This was Izzy's first trail ride in California and she handled the bikes, hikers, dogs, and traffic like a pro. Looking forward to many more rides with good friends this summer!

"Just One More" aka Ian

Spending a few days at the farm. Bought grain, did some spring cleaning, and took a few minutes to play with my horses. Ian, aka "Just One More", my 2009 Formula One foal will be 1 on March 29th. He's certainly a typical boy, into everything, and follows his big sister around like she's the best thing since bran mashes!

Changes!

2010 has started off with a bang! Lots of winter training in Ocala, Fl, and then Aiken, S.C. Lucky doesn't even begin to describe how I feel for having had these opportunities. When I returned home in February, I realized that there were some key elements that weren't being focused on in my training program. With all of that in mind, I'm refocusing my business and will now be teaching/training from a variety of facilities, vs running my business exclusively from Stanford. I'm also going to do my best to update my blog on a more regular basis so please check back for updates soon! I'm excited for the 2010 season to begin. Be sure to look for "Cimply Spot On" in the show ring.

Sunny Florida!

I've been in Florida for 2 weeks now and the experience has been amazing to say the least. I've been very fortunate in my riding career to have a great support system, one that allows me to call upon old friends, no matter what. Eleven years ago, I worked for Cathy Wieschhoff in Lexington, Ky, as a working student. At the end of 2009 I felt the need to improve and refresh my own riding skills. I called Cathy and without hesitation she graciously offered for me to come to Florida for some winter training with her. Cathy trains from the beautiful Longwood Farm, located next to Karen and David O'Connors winter training facility. I've been spending my days helping care for Cathy's horses, getting lessons, galloping in the fields, and the best part, watching riders of the highest caliber take lessons. I'm looking forward to the Ocala Eventing clinics this week, which will be held at Longwood where Cathy is based. I feel so incredibly fortunate to have had this experience and am so glad I've got the best clients in the world who encouraged me to go and do this.

- Meg