Hello All,

I am raising money for Circle F Horse Rescue Society in Abbotsford, BC (www.circlef.ca). This rescue is governed by a board of directors, and run mostly by volunteers.

The Circle F Horse Rescue Society is a registered charitable organization established in 1997.

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My sister and I took Tuesday off to ride, and what a pretty day it was.  The temps were warm and it was sunny.  First, we took Cruise and Ranger out on a 1.5 hour ride with a lot of walking so we could talk and just enjoy the day. 

   When I got back, I took Cole out on the same ride, but as always, when I take Cole out, it is a training ride.  He actually was a little balky at the beginning of the ride, and I had to tap him with the whip to explain that stopping wasn’t an option.  He…

We welcome clinician Siobhain O’Connor Saturday, December 10 



https://sites.google.com/site/hopewellcreekstable/eventsatthestable/siobhain-o-connor-clinic



Siobhain O'Connor has been invited to work with Buck Davidson over the winter in Ocala, Florida. Siobhain is very excited to have this opportunity to work with…

Sarah Van Der Walde of Ann Arbor, MI won the $10,000 North American League Children’s Jumper Finals at the 66th annual Pennsylvania National Horse Show.  Riding Vigo, owned by Thinkslikeahorse, the 15-year-old rider edged out Madison Lawton and Juliette by a fraction of a second for the victory.   

“It was such a surreal moment,” said Van Der Walde of her win. “I never even wanted to ride jumpers and then when I learned I thought that it was so much…

Inaugural Event at Las Vegas National Horse Show is Huge Success

Competitors hit the jackpot at the inaugural North American League (NAL) West Coast Finals and none of the nearly one hundred exhibitors went home empty-handed. Every NAL member who competed in one of the five classics on “NAL Day” at the Las Vegas National Horse Show on November 6 received a gift bag and an NAL embroidered saddle pad. Those who earned a trip to the victory circle…

Patricia Hennessy of Kintnersville, PA, won the $10,000 North American League (NAL) Adult Jumper Finals riding Little Tom at the 66th Annual Pennsylvania National Horse Show.

“It was exciting because I had never done that well before and it was like, finally! I did it!” said Hennessy.  “I knew I was able to do it I just had to execute it.”

The course designed by Steve Stephens proved to…

Kelsey Thatcher of Bluffdale, UT won the $5,000 North American League (NAL) Low Junior/Amateur Owner Jumper Finals on Klotaire Du Moulin, owned by Pony Lane Farm, at the 66th annual Pennsylvania National Horse Show. 

“It meant a lot to win here,” said Thatcher.  “I am so grateful to my mother and the Jaynes of Pony Lane Farm for making this all possible.”       

 …

Kelly Champion of Washington, NJ rode her horse All In to victory in the $10,000 North American League (NAL) Adult Hunter Finals at the 66th annual Pennsylvania National Horse Show.    

The win was bittersweet for Champion, who was on tap to show at the Capital Challenge two weeks ago, but was unable to compete because her husband, Tony, suddenly fell ill and was rushed to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a…

Double Down gave Elizabeth Adelson of Tulsa, OK a belated birthday present with a win in the $10,000 North American League (NAL) Children’s Hunter Finals at the 66th annual Pennsylvania National Horse Show.  Adelson just turned 14 last week and she had even more reason to celebrate in Harrisburg after receiving a score of 90 points in the first round of competition, the highest of the 29 qualifiers in the class.

“The…

Noah Buehler of Wall, NJ, took top honors in the North American League (NAL) $5,000 Pony Jumper Finals at the 66th annual Pennsylvania National Horse Show on Thursday evening riding Porsche, his 11-year-old Quarter Horse.                       

Buehler was the only rider out of the field of 16 that negotiated a clear round to win the class.  Elizabeth Shaffer and Styled with Perfection managed to leave all the rails up on the Steve Stephens designed course, but the pair…

    When the news of Hickstead's death reached me, the first thing that came into my mind was denial. There was no way a great horse such as him could have an end such as it was. Hickstead was a horse that deserved another Olympic performance, a retiring ceremony, and many more years relaxing on a stud farm. But when I watch the video, the great horse sinking to the ground, carefully rolling as if to set Eric safely down, I realized there was no denying it. Hickstead's death had really…

Henk writes:

More new horses! So much for the quiet country life. I think Lil’s losing her mind. But, hey, she’s the one who has to feed everybody and make sure we get turned out and our stalls get cleaned, so I guess it’s her prerogative. And anyway, at least these last two are only visiting. Good…

I was riding Cole in the arena the other night, and a really nice boarder at our barn brought her horse in to lounge.  She has a sweet Paint mare, that I have never seen truly misbehave, but her owner is afraid to ride her.  She needs to lounge her a lot before she will ride her, and with her busy work schedule, she usually doesn’t have the time to both lounge and ride.  As we all know, fear isn’t logical, and it certainly isn’t in this case. 

I thought that demonstration of…

It is a cleansing feeling to let go of anything we are carrying in our lives that no longer serve us, that were put upon us by others, or that are harmful to us on any level - self limiting beliefs, relationships, behaviors, thoughts..things that are life effacing. White Horse Coaching offers an activity (or ceremony, if that word is meaningful), with the presence and support of a horse, to release these things and then to reclaim what affirms a person's life, desires, visions and passions.…

We are truly blessed by the presence of horses in the world. My vision is that every person's life can be touched by the grounded presence and body centered awareness of a horse. In the work I do in Equine Facilitated Learning and Coaching, the horse is the teacher.  Horses model mindfulness, authentic relationship, partnership, community and being congruent. As a coach my wish is for clients to learn to be like a horse. When a person is body centered and present, they can access higher…

What a perfectly pretty November weekend in northeast Ohio.  Of course, you could find me out on the trail with my Morabs.  I love this weather.

 Friday, I took my very last evening trail ride of the year.  The time changed this weekend, and I no longer have the daylight to ride on the trail.  Anyway, Cruiser made it a good one.  He was energetic and silly.  What else would I expect from him on a cool evening…?  I rode Cole in the arena, and he wasn’t too keen on working.  Before the…

First of all I need to apologize to my regular reading audience for the somewhat irregularly appearing blogs for the last month; October is always the absolutely busiest month for Schleese and I have been home three (!) whole days this past month (and honestly, November is not looking much better...) I am presently in Germany working on my book with my publisher and learning about an exciting new measurement tool that is truly state-of-the-art when it comes to determining the 3-dimensional…

Last week, riding on three horses, I tried out the new (for me) technique for turning described in Jean Luc Cornille's blog "Lateral Bending and Transversal Rotation Part 2." 

When riding Forward Seat turning is rather simple, the rider uses the inside leading rein for gradual turns, the inside rein of direct opposition for a sharper turn, always advancing the outside rein, and using…