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It appears that winter has arrived in full force and will be rearing its ugly head later this week. Based on the forecast calling for single digits Thursday night through Monday we are preparing to cancel all lessons after Thursday December 22nd and hoping to resume with the regular schedule Tuesday the 27th of December. If your lesson falls on Thursday/Friday please reply to this email with re-scheduling options. Stay warm y’all and thank you 🥶
It was the show of many firsts…
First trips in the Jumper ring for Nicolette and Max. First trips in the 1.0m Jumpers for Chuck & Lauren and Liam & Lisa. First Adult Equitation trips for Lauren. First horse show for Brian to show in 33 classes in 2.5 days! First show for me having walked an average of 13.4 miles per day over the course of 6 days! The days were long and exhausting but good times were had and everyone got rewarded by showing us the ribbons (see link below). Thank you for your stellar performances, the great company and sharing your memories with us.
Team Sport Horse rocked it again, finishing off the local show season with plenty of good times and ribbons. Congrats to all of you including our fearless leader and thank you for sharing your memories :)
Congrats to the Sport Horse Team for their efforts at the H&H September Schooling Show! We had quite a few new faces representing our barn including an equine one, Mr. Captain Wink himself. But despite the big turn out and the hot weather y’all did it again… SHOWED US THE RIBBONS! Thank you for the memories and to those of you who shared them. 📸 Enjoy and we hope to see y’all at the final local schooling show coming up in October!
It was the show of “firsts”…
Brian’s first trip in the ring since his injury of this summer. His first trip in the ring with Lucky at that height. And his first trip in THAT ring since showing Playboy in 2014… Congrats on their 8th place finish in the Young Jumper Finals!
And celebrating more firsts… It was Lauren’s first show with her newly imported mare, A Girl Named Chuck. And Chuck’s first show since arriving in the U.S. Both were rewarded for their stellar performances with several ribbons including a blue in the Low/Adult Jumpers.
Y’all rocked it and were a joy to watch! Can’t wait for 2023 Finals!!!
It’s been a crazy couple of months to say the least, but y’all have pitched in to get us over the hump so to speak and we are so grateful for that. We may have missed some great summer shows but no sense in looking back, we’re excited for the fall plans and enjoying being able to eat! 😅
The Show and Event Calendars have been updated to reflect the remainder of the year. Tentative plans include the October 8 & 9 weekend at H&H (formerly Wild Air) in Zionsville, IN. This show may be canceled based on entries, so we’ve added the September 17 & 18 show at H&H which will also host the IHJA Medal Finals that same weekend and is expected to sell out. Another tentative is the Brownland Farm show, for any updates refer to the calendar as I will post them there first.
Please be reminded that all boarders are automatically signed up for the event calendar, all lesson students must request access and will be given such via an email invite link. We are in the process of switching from the iCal format to the google format exclusively in the next month so if you haven’t “joined” the google calendar please consider doing so today. The google calendar is able to be imported into various calendar platforms including iCal but the iCal format is difficult if not impossible to be exported to another platform. If anyone has any difficulties with the calendar including access to the attachments (typically prize lists, schedules and estimated costs) or the reminders created by such events such as for stall reservation due dates, etc. please reach out and let me know. If no feedback is given I must assume all is well and everyone has access to the information as I intended.
Happy planning y’all!
I have been made aware that some of you have either never received the email invites or are unable to access the events calendar without an Apple I.D. In an effort to streamline access to all boarders and potential interested show participants I have created a duplicate of this calendar with google calendars and all email invitations to this calendar were sent through sporthorseinc@gmail.com in the last couple of days. Please let me know if this link to the calendar is working for you as my intention is to phase out the iCal version of this calendar in the near future. Please also consider this your reminder that access to the show schedule is via subscription only. The link will be sent via email and includes an estimate of costs, schedule and a prize list. By default all boarders will be invited, any lesson students will receive an invitation upon request. The calendar will now also include vet, dentist and other pertinent upcoming barn events. Happy planning y’all!
Every night makes for a beautiful walk through the outdoor arena…
Every few years the jump course gets a new addition or two… And so it begins…
With trailers fully loaded it was a good decision to head to Worthington OH Monday afternoon to unload and set up, temperatures fluctuated from the sweltering 90s upon our arrival to the much appreciated 70s by latter part of the week. It certainly made for a long show, but left Tuesday to just school all horses and riders in preparation for classes starting Wednesday. Our fearless leader had the unusual and painful experience of starting the week off by hitting the dirt, getting bucked off the four year old he refers to as “babe”. A testament to the thinking that horses do have a mind of their own and will be unpredictable at times regardless of their usually kind nature… Or maybe just a reminder to put your horse on a lunge line after being stalled for 3 days prior to the show for a lost shoe...🤦♀️ Air vests were dusted off and utilized for the remainder of the show, money well spent for safety! In the end the results were impressive, Team Sport Horse rocked it! Congrats to all :)
Summer has arrived and show plans are in full swing. This is your reminder that access to the show schedule is via subscription only. The link will be sent via email and includes an estimate of costs, schedule and a prize list. By default all boarders will be invited, any lesson students will receive an invitation upon request.
All billing for traveling shows is invoiced in advance and includes splits for shavings and trainer lodging based on customer participation, all of which require pre-payment to the show venue. Payment for these invoices is due the day prior to our departure to the show to cover all traveling and pre-paid expenses. If you are in the unfortunate position to be unable to attend a planned show, horse show venues will not refund reserved stalls nor will they accept returns/refunds for shavings ordered regardless of your reason for being unable to show. Please be prepared to cover your expenses for shavings and splits for trainer lodging unless another participant is able to take your place.
Each show on the calendar will include an estimate of costs including a minimum daily schooling requirement. This minimum day requirement includes the initial stall and tack set up and tear down as well as schedules and prize lists as they become available.
All rated show venues now require pre-registration for a fee on some level to limit direct contact and long lines in the horse show office. This process involves hours of coordinating all show organization registrations for you and your horses so effective immediately all horse show participants will be required to complete their own registration and class entries with whatever registration service the horse show requires (typically found in the prize list). Once you have registered for the show please forward your entries via email for Brian to utilize. We will continue to handle registration and show class scheduling for any horses shown by Brian exclusively. Anyone requiring assistance please email or schedule an assistance call. We will continue to coordinate Veterinarian Certifications required for travel and entry to the show.
Our goal is to provide you with as much accurate and pertinent information to assist you in the show planning schedule.
The week leading up to the first outdoor show of the year was filled with rain and cold wind, making for an interesting beginning to an otherwise great weekend. With no turn out prior to our departure the horses were a bit “lively” and as a result two students were injured and unable to compete after the initial schooling of Friday. A reminder of the realm of possibilities in the life with horses, some lessons are more painful than others but at the end of the day everyone prevailed and memories were made. After the dust settled the Sport Horse Team showed us the ribbons. LOTS of ribbons! A few new pony/jockey teams worked hard giving it their best efforts and spreading team spirit all weekend long… Ya’ll rocked it, thank you for the great weekend and enjoy the memories. 😉
What a great time we had last week with the entire Sport Horse crew! Congratulations to all for their efforts, check out the list of rewards…
If pictures are worth a 1000 words, what more needs to be said????
It’s hard to believe we started this project January 11th, completely stripping the indoor of the old footing and installing a rub rail for the drag… And yet here we are, beginning of March and it’s finally somewhat complete. Many many hurdles had to be dealt with, the main culprit of weather related issues and other factors beyond our control in dealing with trucking and quarries. Never intending to work on this project during the winter months would have saved a lot of gray hairs but, as the saying goes “sometimes life happens”. That being said, it’s time to enjoy it :)
We’ve been following this issue of “sanctioning drama” since last year and have mixed feelings about the following announcement from WEC earlier this week:
World Equestrian Center to Offer USEF Sanctioned Shows
February 23, 2022 – The World Equestrian Center has reached an agreement with the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) to offer horse shows sanctioned by the national governing body. After much discussion between the organizations, both parties agree that working together is in the best interest of the sport and will provide exhibitors with a safe and level playing field at both venues. In addition, the move aims to provide WEC customers with access to the best facilities and the ability to earn points for both invitational events, Indoors and year-end points-based awards supported by the USEF.
The Wilmington, Ohio, facility will begin with week XII (March 2-6) of its Winter in the Midwest hunter/jumper indoor circuit as a USEF sanctioned event, and for the remaining weeks of the shows which run through April 10, 2022.
We wanted to send out a huge shoutout to our Beginner Rider Ladies who managed to “show us the ribbons” a couple of weekends ago during their first tour of duty at the biggest Midwest venue, the Ohio World Equestrian Center! Congratulations ladies, that was an awesome start!!!
After just completing morning chores we wanted to give everyone a quickie update. There are a few deep wind drifts in the driveway and between the combination of wind and volume of snow falling we cannot keep up with plowing for easy access. We will keep everyone advised as the day unfolds and the situation should possibly change. Until then all the horses are happily munching hay in their stalls and lessons are canceled for today, possibly tomorrow.
To start the year off by traveling to WEC in balmy Wilimgton Ohio last week with a great group of horses and people was definitely a good idea! Competition was stiff but we managed to hang a few ribbons on the old banner! Congrats to our team for their rewarded and un-rewarded efforts, in our usual style we worked long hours and didn’t give up!
The long hours and balmy temperatures of last week sent us home sick by the time we arrived Sunday evening but our fearless leader didn’t miss a beat. The indoor arena needed his attention, desperately! We discovered after utilizing our new wonderful drag the latter part of 2021 that half of our indoor arena had no base. Instead of just softening the packed footing it dug up rocks where a base should have been. Fast forward to the beginning of this week and our return from WEC… Stripping the old footing over 2 days with the tractor and front loader, spending an additional 1.5 days fixing only the base of the walls which were initially built with the improper plywood thickness and finalizing the project with the new footing delivery today. Progress had been made and we could see the light through the tunnel… A 1/4 into spreading the last load the entire project came to a screeching halt! ROCKS! MIXED IN WITH THE LAST LOAD OF NEW FOOTING!!! Cussing commenced… Emails and texts were sent, phone calls were made and the management team of Sport Horse almost cried. There’s a (very) slim chance we’re able to get a replacement load in the morning but we’re not holding our breath. The gist of this story is… The indoor is not complete, we hope to do so (best case scenario) tomorrow morning and worst case scenario Monday (we hope). End of story (for now)…
We’re excited about the progress of the indoor arena project and the descent temperatures this week! The new footing will start arriving tomorrow and we’re hopeful to have it spread and level by Saturday morning. In light of this there will be no lessons with Brian tomorrow (Friday) or Saturday, the regular lesson schedule will commence next week with Tuesday the 18th of January. We will send out another notice when the indoor project is complete and ready to be enjoyed!
Located just 2 miles from State Road 334 and Interstate 65. We are within 20 miles of all the local amenities Carmel, Noblesville, Zionsville, Brownsburg and Lebanon have to offer and yet secluded enough to provide a peaceful and serene setting for your riding enjoyment.
