August 28, 2001:
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So, everything worked out and I am very happy to announce that Mikayla
has been purchased by Canadian Dressage Investments, a new
syndicate, and will remain at Porcupine Hill for me to ride. I can't even begin to
tell you all how excited I am about this mare and her future. You know that she has
done very well in 2001, her first show season, and I have great hopes and expectations for
2002. Thank you all for your support and faith! You can click on the link at
the left of your screen to go to the new page I have set up for the syndicate. |
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We are preparing to move Ryn to Ridley next
week, and after that Fran and I will head off with Dancer, Tali and Miki to the
Regionals at York. |
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Hope you are having a great week, and enjoying these last (!) few days
of summer. |
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August
20, 2001:
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Things have been kind of quiet at the farm
these days, a lovely bit of down time during that really hot spell! We have a few
new horses in for training, and our friend Fran Sirsly is back with Dancer for a bit,
although we are missing Louisa, who is in Nova Scotia for a visit with her parents Allan
and Lydia. It has been a pleasant couple of weeks in spite of the heat and humidity.
It rained a bit over the last two days, so the humidity is less now. |
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In this "quiet time", we have been thinking
about the future and where we go from here with the horses. Since Bear
is for sale, and Carlisle is still too young to ride, I have been looking around for a
nice prospect to develop. Watch this space for some exciting news in the next few
days. I am still looking for a PSG/GP ride, so if you know of one that might suit,
please let me know! |
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Yes, we still have 2 kittens left who are
looking for homes ... |
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We will be heading to York on Sept. 8/9 for the Regional
Championships with Tali, Mikayla and Dancer - then I am off to Virginia
to teach a four day adult camp. I am really looking forward to that! It was
great fun last year, and I hope to see some familiar faces and enjoy a few laughs with
these great folks. |
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I am planning to offer a few "camp" like training
opportunities for people at the farm. Several of my students have
indicated they would like to do this. Tentaively the format will be a three or four
day program of lectures, group exercises, Tai Chi, video and pot luck supper ... let me
know if you have an interest - it will help with the planning. |
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Have a great week! |
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August
7, 2001:
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Mikayla and I just returned from
the York Equestrian Centre show, where Miki was a good girl and was 1st or second in every
class, with scores ranging from 66% to 74%. What a star! But boy! was it hot.
And dusty. But we had a good time. |
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On August 4, Adam and I celebrated 22 years of marriage.
He was in Brockville, I was in Newmarket. Maybe that's why it works so
well :-). Seriously, Adam is a wonderful man, and it's been a very *short* 22 years.
Thanks for everything ... here's hoping for another 22 at least. |
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Kittens. Let's talk about kittens for
a few minutes. I know you need at least one kitten. A very cute, orange
kitten. They already catch mice. They are truly adorable ... |
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I'll be at home now for a few weeks, as the show season starts to wind
down. So it would be a great time to visit ... |
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July
31, 2001:
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Blainville was quite the show. We
arrived on Wednesday, to find our stall and get the horses settled. Then I had to
school all three horses before the FEI Horse Inspection, in
which Taliesan participated (his very first FEI Horse Inspection!). All was well,
and competition began on Thursday. As usual, we had Taliesan and Mikayla at the
show, and this time Sambuka was also along for more experiences. The horses did
quite well. Mikayla was the star of the show, with four
first places (all scores over 70%), and was Basic Champion.
Taliesan won two Basic 4 tests and showed himself reasonably
well in the FEI Young Horse Tests. Sambuka earned a 65%
in one of his tests, and learned alot in the others! |
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My student Francesca Sirsley and her mare Dancing
Queen also particpated at Blainville, and put in several very good tests to
end up the AA Basic Reserve Champion. It was great having
Franny along - sometimes she translated for us, when our rusty French proved inadequate!
But mostly it was just great to have her along. Dancer behaved herself very
well also. |
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The competition itself was another stunning success
for the Blainville Organizing Committee. The CIDRA party on Friday night
was tremendously popular, and a rousing auction of seats on the judges stand for
Saturday's GP Freestyle netted CIDRA $1350. The Saturday "Gala des
Kurs" was a sold out event, and, even with the hot conditions, was a
very enjoyable evening, as we watched 21 FEI level Freestyles, some of which were
extremely good. It was great to see Shannon Dueck win the
GP Freestyle with her DWB Korona (although she just edged out
Neil Ishoy on Andiamo Tyme). Jacqui Brooks (Finnigan) and Jaimie
Irwin (Waldano 20) both provided extremely popular freestyles in the
Intermediaire 1 level. The first leg of the Intramural Team
competition got off to a great start with four teams competiting for $4000 in prize money.
The next leg is at York Equestrian Centre, August 3-5. |
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And we will be heading to York on Thursday for the August
show there. Taliesan and Mikayla will make the trip. |
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Here's a neat picture taken at the farm - the end of the
rainbow ("Pot of Gold"?) appears to terminate in Carlisle's
stall ... maybe significant? Let's hope so. |
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I have three kittens to give away -
really, really cute kittens ... just let me know! |
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The NNEP show took place this past
weekend. Christel, Ron, Renee and Sandra all competed,
with some good successes. Kate and Santana were not able
to make the trip, as Kate was not feeling well enough to ride. Neither was Joanne,
as Nautical was recovering from an allergy attack. |
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Hope to see you at York! |
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July
12, 2001:
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We had "one of those shows" at
Palgrave the first weekend in July. Mikayla was a very
good girl, and came away with some very high scores, a first, a second, a third and two
fourths. Taliesan was also very good on Friday, scoring
66% in the FEI test for 5 year olds. But late Friday evening Tali developed a high
temperature and had to be scratched from the rest of the competition, which was very
disappointing. He is fine now, and back in work. |
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Chris and Bear did very well at Palgrave
too, and have been named the reserve rider for the Ontario Young Rider's Team. They
will participate in the YR Training Camp at the end of the month, which will be an
excellent opportunity for them. |
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This week we are working the horses lightly and preparing for the
CDI Blainville. I am trying to teach Tali all about the Horse
Inspection procedures - he keeps looking at me as if I am nutz. Taliesan, Mikayla
and Sambuka will make the trip to La Belle Province. |
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Louisa arrived back at Porcupine Hill after
a six week sojourn in Italy, where she was taking a history/art course. She brought
fourteen rolls of film and memories that will last forever. Welcome home, Wheezie
:-). |
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OK, wear your running shoes and stay well back from the warmup ring at
the NEP show the end of July, because Kate is taking Santana to his first show.
He's going quite well, and last week dragged Kate into the open horse trailer, so
we are guessing that he wants to go to a show. We hope that what he wants!
Christel, Joanne and maybe Dana Mae will also make the trip. Renee, Ron, and Sandra
will also participate from the Ottawa area. |
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The kittens are SO cute! You should
see them. |
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Hope you have a great week. Don't look for an update here until
after Blainville! But feel free to email me :-). |
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