2009 VHSA Pony Medal Finals

Chelsea showed IBA Blue Diamond at the 2009 VHSA Pony Medal Finals, Sunday, June 14th. It was not a day for the large ponies, as only 1 got around and none ended up in the ribbons. Deno was the only large that does not complete at the "A" shows, so we left knowing that it will only get better. He jumped his heart out, but was a little over-faced since he's only used to showing at 2'6" and these fences were a big 3'. He gave Chelsea clean changes (something we've really been working on) and was a very good boy except for one fence (all the larges had problems with a very up-right fence that was hard to ride to for the bigger ponies). We were just thrilled to be there in such good company and Chelsea plans on qualifying for next year ASAP!

The 2009 Upperville Colt and Horse Show

The Locke Meadows Show Team had a great showing at the 2009 Upperville Colt and Horse Show.




Larry was one of the only amateur handlers in a huge class of Non-TB Three Year Olds. His filly Private Diamonds showed like a million bucks and they were rewarded with a First Reserve out of 14 entries!

When I handed the lead to professional handler Charlie Brown for the Non-TB Foal Class, he asked the name of my filly. I replied "Sinsational" and he looked and me and said with a name like that, she better be damn good. The judge must have thought she was Sinsational, because she won the class out of 10 very, very nice entries!! There were some pretty fabulous foals in there and I'm beyond thrilled we were handed the blue!

Silvation also showed, but has had a rough few months. He was gelded in mid-April and ended up loosing a lot of weight. We skipped Devon with the hopes he would be ready for Upperville, but he just wasn't quite ready. Right now, we have our sights on the Warrenton Horse Show and the VHSA Futurity.

Chelsea and IBA Blue Diamond showed earlier in the week. Although they didn't get a ribbon out of 29 entries, they put in a lovely trip; hit every spot, got every change, and had a beautiful pace. There were some other very nice trips, so although she didn't take a ribbon home, we were still thrilled with the day!

Up-Date On The Show Season

I have not up-dated the blog in several months, so here are a few high-lights:


Silvation pulled a second place at Maryland Nationals with handler Oliver Brown out of 7 entires. They were also second at the Showplace Spring Festival out of 6 entries.

Kaitlyn and Bellaruby are kicking pony tail in the Green Pony Hunters. They already have several clean sweeps behind them and are getting better by the week. They're getting their flying changes and starting to do some tougher Eq courses. Of course, Kaitlyn is growing like a weed, but at least the pony has some body and can take up her leg.

Caitlin and Three Tricks have become the stars of the show. Tricky has won almost every hack class entered and is putting in some pretty fantastic trips over fences. They won the hack and then earned a first and third over fences out of 16 entries at Sandstone a few weeks ago in the Children's Hunter. Tricky is starting to school 3' and we're starting to look towards the VHSA Finals with this horse. The way things are going, I think they will be ready to take on the world in a few short months.

Chelsea and IBA Blue Diamond are having a blast this year. They put in a lovely, lovely trip at Upperville and should be very proud of themselves She's getting ready for the Pony Medal Finals at Loudoun on June 14th.

Stephanie injured herself (non-horse related) and is slowly getting back into the saddle.

Dawn injured herself in December on the slopes and is also slowly getting back into the saddle with the help of PT and injections.

Connie, Eryn, Dana, and Olivia are taking it easy so far this year and just hitting a few shows here and there.

That's what been going on with the team these past few months.

2008 Short Circuit Awards Banquet

What a day! The 2008 Virginia Short Circuit Awards Banquet was held at the gorgeous Arlie Convention Center outside of Warrenton, VA. The setting was perfect for such a prestigious dinner and the fellowship could not have been better. It was a day that I will not soon forget!


The Arlie Convention Center.


The final award for the evening will be the first award on our blog. The dissertation for the Distinguished Horseperson started off as many do; listing the positive attributes and accomplishments garnered by the recipient. As I listened to the speech, I thought to myself, wow, that sounds like a really neat person! Then, the MC began talking about how this person divides her time between training horses and riders and working as an RN in the Emergency room. At that point, I began to cry because I realized it was me they were saying all those nice things about! There is nothing like getting up in front of hundreds of people and crying your eyes out.


Chelsea also walked away with a plethora of awards and ribbons. Her pony Callihan Rose was the Reserve Champion Pleasure Pony and Reserve Champion Pony Hunter. Her other pony IBA Blue Diamond was Champion in the VPBA Division and Reserve Champion Large Pony Hunter. Chelsea was also the Champion Pony Equitation Rider and was the Short Circuit Best Young Rider for 2008. She will have several trophies to engrave this year!


Kaitlyn was Reserve Champion in the VPBA division and got to take home a beautiful ribbon and quarter sheet.

Dawn was Reserve Champion in the Green Hunter Horse division with Silver Masterpiece and 4th in Adult Equitation!

Stephanie was Reserve Champion in Adult Hunter with Sophisticated Lady and Adult Equitation.

Chelsea and her mom Jane having a mother/daughter moment.

Chelsea was also the proud recipient of the Real Estate Award for the best fall at a Short Circuit Show. Look closely at the picture; it was all caught on film!

Stephanie and Dawn won the Early Bird awards for sitting around at the Sandstone Farm shows all day and then having daylight run out before their classes went. They received neat prizes for their dedication.

2008 VHSA Awards Banquet

Each year, one of my favorite weekends is the VHSA Convention at the Homestead, in Hot Springs, Virginia. Although the trip is close to four hours each way, it is well worth the drive.

The main hallway at the Homestead.

Dawn and Kaitlyn having a mother/daughter moment.


Chelsea receiving her High Point Equitation trophy.

Chelsea and Rachael with the Pony Pleasure trophy. Chelsea was also Reserve Champion in the Small/Medium Pony Hunters and was 3rd in the Large Pony Hunters with IBA Blue Diamond.

Stephanie receiving her High Point trophy for Adult Equitation.

Stephanie and her 3rd place ribbon for Adult Amateur Hunters.

Dawn and the 5th place ribbon for Adult Equitation.

The Gang from left to right: Chris, Stephanie, Rachael, Hoss, Sandi, Jane, Caitlin, Chelsea, Kaitlyn, and Dawn. Larry is taking the picture.

The Girls from left to right; Chelsea, Caitlin, Rachael, Stephanie, Dawn, and Kaitlyn.

December Classic "A" Show - December 5th, 2008

Our first show of the year started off better than anticipated. IBA Blue Diamond or "Deno" made his "A" show debut in the Large Green Pony Hunters with Chelsea. After getting his permanent card at 14.1 1/2 without shoes (much to my relief), we waited for hours for his classes to go. Normally, I don't mind the wait at shows, but I was diagnosed with pneumonia the day prior and felt like someone had kicked me in the ribs. Luckily, Deno needed very little prep and walked into the ring without even a warm-up trip. The first trip, he earned a fourth out of 7, the second trip he pulled a 3rd, and the third trip he got a 5th. By the hack class, he was done and Chelsea could hardly get him to move forward. All in all, I was pleased as punch. I bred Deno. His dam was my Large Pony Hunter and I stood his sire at stud for seven years. It's neat watching a pony you've bred do well at an "A" show.

Sorry for the bad pictures. My husband was taping the trips and it was so dark the pictures didn't turn out well.

VHSA Championship Lexington, VA 2008

We had such a great time that I don't even know where to start! After driving down in the rain Thursday, we arrived in one piece. The horses were glad to get off the trailers and we began setting up the seven stalls. We schooled the horses for a bit and even the green beans were on their best behavior. I was so worried about how the OTTB and neon green pony would act, but they could not have been any better.


This year, we purchased stall drapes that made the tackroom look beautiful and provided a perfect dressing room. Everyone brought food and we ate like kings all weekend without breaking the bank. We even had a fridge and crock pots with soups, chili, and nacho cheese.


My dear husband goofed off with Maggie's tail and I reminded him that in a few years, his entire head of hair would be that color. He took the tail off very quickly after that!

Chelsea H. had the show of a lifetime with her lovely medium pony Callihan Rose. They brought home top ribbons in all of the Medium Pony Hunter classes including a third place in the hack. Rosie tied for Reserve Champion with 16 points! Chelsea also pinned fourth in the Pony Equitation class. This was Rosie's last show with Chelsea and they went out with a bang! In 2009, Rosie is expecting a foal with Empire's Power. That should be one fancy baby!!

Chelsea also showed IBA Blue Diamond in the Large Pony Hunters and Pony Pleasure. Deno took home ribbons in both divisions, including a 2nd place in the Large Pony Hack. I almost melted when they called him number; that was a very tough hack class with some very, very nice ponies. He hacked like a million bucks and was rewarded with an excellent ribbon! Although still green over fences, he jumped a "10" and should go on to do great things in 2009.

Kaitlyn H. and her large pony Dare To Dream surpised us all with their two trips over fences. Daisy has been under saddle less than a year, but went around like a made pony. She didn't even offer to refuse and even offered a few lead changes (something we've just started with her). I could not have been more proud of this team!

Dawn H. and Silver Masterpiece also offered some surprises. This was Maggie's first time showing in the Coliseum, but she walked in like she owned the place. Each trip was better than the last and she even remembered her lead changes! Dawn rode her corners very well (something we've really been working on) and did a great job getting Maggie to go forward. At home, Maggie usually does the adds, but Dawn moved her up and did the real strides.

Stephanie T. and Sophisticated Lady had a great time this year. Sophie rode a little hot and started leaving strides out, which is not the greatest thing to do in a Hunter trip. However, Sophie will be 22 years young in January and we were thrilled she came out of her stall and felt that good! By Sunday, Sophie started to slow down a little bit and earned a call-back in the Adult Amateur Stakes.

Caitlin M. rode Stephanie's gelding Above and Beyond in the Special Hunters. This was Chip's first time jumping around in such a scary environment and he behaved like a champ! His first time, he was a little slow and missed a few spots. In the second trip, Caitlin got him moving forward and hit every spot and got every change. This was the first time Caitlin ever had to jog and it was so neat seeing the smile on her face!

Stephanie rode Above and Beyond in the Pleasure Horse Adult division and could not have been prouder of her boy. He kept his brain, stayed relaxed, got all of his leads, and didn't take one wrong step. When I pulled up next to Stephanie after the final class, she had tears in her eyes. I asked her why and she said they were tears of joy because he was such a good boy.

This was my first time showing in Lexington in almost ten years. I saddled up my mare Silver Masterpiece and went in the ring to have a great time. Everyone was laughing at me, because I was singing to the music during the classes. Maggie and I didn't go out there to win anything, we just wanted to have some fun. I guess the judge didn't mind, because she gave us a 7th and 8th place ribbons!

Needless to say, we can't wait to get back next year. There were some very nice horses and ponies there this year and it was nice to see we were in the ribbons right along with them. These next few weeks are going to be spent going on trail rides and maybe do a little cross country jumping. Heck, I wouldn't mind going Hunting a time or two just to give the horses some "fun" time. They were so good, they deserve some time out of the ring.