Garner Creek Farms

Wish we had good news..

2009-12-15T14:01:00.000-08:00

The Hanoverian Society did not give enough points to Born in the USA to be Licensed. Most importantly, he was considered too small- both in height and in body type- to look like a stallion. We knew this was a problem going in and we have no idea whether he will grow more in the upcoming year. They mentioned that we could have him re-inspected next year if he grew in to a "Stallion type". The other disappointment was his free jumping. He acted like he had never seen a free jumping chute and he was scared to death to go through it. It just goes to show you never know how they will perform no matter how much practice these youngsters have had. He was great at free jumping at home and he took us all by surprise on Sunday. Although he missed being Licensed by less than 1/2 a point, it doesn't matter anyway. We will probably geld him sometime after Christmas. The good news is, he will make someone a wonderful riding horse one day. We think now we will get him out and show him this year and maybe even look at the 4 year old test. You might want to know that we almost froze to death while we were in Oklahoma and that weather just added to our dismal attitude. Now we are trying to make a plan for the future since we only have 1 stallion and he will be coming 17 in 2010. It is a rather precarious situation for us to be in considering the number of mares we have. It is a concern and a dilemma and we certainly hope that Bonheur will maintain his health and fertility while we stumble around making plans for the future. You can put the violins up now as we are beginning to accept this disappointment. The one thing that keeps us stumped is the surprise that Born stopped growing when he did. Since Whirliegirl is 17h and Bonheur is 16.3h, it's always surprising when an offspring comes up so small. It just goes to show and remind us that shuffling 6 generations on both sides of the pedigree ultimately determines the size of the offspring. Incase you didn't know, Born's full sister, 2 year old Belle Starr, is already 16.2h. Go figure!

We took yesterday off (we needed it) and it was absolutely beautiful weather. We woke up this morning and it was in the low 20's again. We got tough and rode anyway and the horses were all pretty good.

Sharon's husband Lynn, called her right before lunch and said we had an unidentified horse on the back part of our property running with the cows. We couldn't fathom that since our property is fenced and we are not aware of any horses very close by. We thought he just didn't recognize one of them but when we got out there and saw the horse, believe us, no one would have confused it for one of our horses. We were going to take a picture of it to put on the blog but it was just too cold to go back out there. We will post a picture tomorrow and let you be the judge of what breed it is! Patrick thought maybe Appaloosa, Alyssa suggested some sort of

Draft cross, and Sharon was completely baffled. It could be an Icelandic Pony with the amount of hair it has. We weren't able to catch it so we will again try to find its owner tomorrow. We hope somebody didn't just find a way to put it in the pasture as an abandoned animal but it did cross our minds.

We thought you might want to see a couple of the pictures from the inspection.

Count down begins!

2009-12-09T15:06:00.000-08:00

Patrick and Alyssa are packed and ready to leave in the morning for the trip to Oklahoma for Stallion Licensing. We all, of course, are nervous about the Licensing but we thank all of you who have sent us good wishes. It looks like the weather will be OK for driving.

It was miserable today for us and the only horse that got worked was Born. Did we tell you that we are taking Tom (Born's mini) with us to Oklahoma? We know that Tom would be terribly sad for his best buddy to leave without him.

Wish us luck and we will blog as soon as possible with the results!!

Cold, wet, nasty day!

2009-12-07T15:11:00.000-08:00

It has not been a particularly happy, uplifting day here at Garner Creek Farms considering the weather was just downright ugly, uncomfortable, and unpleasant all day. We all managed to get some riding done but it was not one of those fun experiences, to say the least. We hope your weather has been better than ours, wherever you are. So far tomorrow is not looking a whole lot better- although it seems to indicate that tomorrow afternoon we should get some sunshine and it should, indeed, warm up.

The Chronicle of the Horse arrived today with an article featuring Bonnie Canter and Fancy This GCF. You can see this article here:FancyArticlepg1.pdf and FancyArticlepg2.pdf. We are very proud of both of them and it was nice for one of our homebred horses to be featured in such a nice article.

We are counting down until Thursday morning when we are off with Born in the USA for Stallion Licensing. We certainly hope the weather cooperates for the drive up there since it is at least 6 hours. We are anxiously awaiting the outcome and it could be a very proud moment for GCF. If anyone will be up at the Licensing we would love to meet you.

The stars for the day were Dreamie and Romance.

A good friend of Sharon's from Houston called today because she wanted to get information about the Kindle since she is thinking of buying one for her husband. Sharon absolutely loves her Kindle and doesn't think she could live without it now. She has had hers about 9 months and wants to let you know that it is a great Christmas gift for someone who likes to read.

That's all for now!!

A quick blog for the weekend

2009-12-05T15:11:00.000-08:00

It was still really really cold today but we battled the elements and rode in spite of it. One of the main reasons we wanted to blog to you today is to tell you that if you get bored this weekend, look at the new video of La Coruna. Also, look at the video of Augustus Magee and tell us if you laughed at the music. We think it is so cute (we call him Gus you know). He is just a great little mover for a Connemara pony. Also, you probably don't realize that we have a new video up of the stallion prospect (For Edition X Zeus), For the Future, who is still in Germany. He is really a nice mover and we think he looks super. Sharon is really anxious to see him since it has been over a year but will have to settle for videos for the time being.

We are looking forward to our day off tomorrow. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday will be busy in preparation for our trip to Oklahoma with Born in the USA on Thursday.

Have a good one!!

Winter is here!!

2009-12-04T15:09:00.000-08:00

We have had very cold weather since we last blogged. It has been mainly in the low to mid 30's which makes for pretty frigid riding here in Texas. The snow that was predicted went South of us so we didn't have to deal with that. We know you folks and friends up North get lots of cold weather but we think you are better prepared for it- with enclosed arenas, radiant heat, etc. So much for the weather.

Something dead is obviously laying not to far from Patrick and Alyssa's house. They know this to be true because Rowdy, Tonya, and Girl have tried rolling in it, throwing up leftovers from it, and dragging bones up to the porch. It has been pretty gross and they are now wishing for more vultures to clean up the mess. Such is life in the country with dogs.

We have religiously worked with Born through the week and he has made great progress handling the in hand work in a calm fashion. Of course, Patrick will continue the lessons tomorrow and next week before he leaves.

The electricians have not put our lights up yet so we still have no holiday spirit around here. Hopefully, he will get them up Monday or Tuesday.

We finished our Christmas Cards (the first time we've sent them) and we'll mail them out next week.

Alyssa and Sharon went out today to give Pearl her last Pneumabort shot. We can't believe she is actually due February 10. We should have a foal on the ground in less than 2 months.

Unfortunately, we do not feel very optimistic about breeding season. All indications are that people are still worried about the economy and the future and are not going to be breeding many mares this year. We can't blame them because we feel concern and apprehension about the future ourselves. With the way the government is spending money, we can only worry how we will pay for it all. It seems everyone we talk to is equally concerned and it certainly impacts the horse business. We are planning on breeding our mares, optimistically hoping that things will improve and there will eventually be a market for them.

The stars for Wednesday were Bling, Grapette, and La Coruna. The stars for yesterday were Glenda & La Vienna. The stars for today were Romance, Dream Girl, and Born.

Patrick and Alyssa were very sad the "Sons of Anarchy" show ended, but the season finale was very suspenseful!! They also agreed with the outcome of the 1st half of the season finale of "Top Chef" this week. They can't wait for the final one next week and they think that Kevin will win it.

Talk to you soon!!

Back to work!

2009-11-30T15:12:00.000-08:00

We are all back to work after Thanksgiving and hop you all had a good one too. Sharon and Lynn had a nice time in Santa Fe and the weather was really quite good there. Of course they ate so much that Sharon is complaining about it and now has to really be careful for the rest of the season. Alyssa and Patrick found their rack of lamb at Sam's in Abilene and Patrick cooked it and reports that it was great. Along with the rack of lamb, they fixed au gratin potatoes, corn, along with some leftover biscuits. The weather was nice here too and they enjoyed their time together. Although Patrick and Alyssa worked on Friday and Saturday, it was reduced hours and laid back efforts.

They put Born in the USA through the jump chute again and practiced his in hand work in preparation for his December Licensing. Although everyone is extremely pleased with his free jumping, his trotting in hand needs some work. We just can't believe that he will be leaving for Oklahoma a week from Thursday.

It was pretty cold this morning and has stayed that way most of the day but the forecast is that we might even get a little snow tomorrow. We are really, truly, not ready for Winter here. We know many of you live up North and think our cold weather is nothing, but it definitely bothers us a lot since we are not used to it.

Patrick and Alyssa put up their Christmas Tree yesterday and decorated it with newly purchased ornaments. The electricians will be coming out later this week to put up Christmas lights on our big barn as well as some of trees. We put the lights up last year and, not only did we and our workers and families enjoyed them, but many people in town or coming down 571 mentioned that they enjoyed them.

For those of you who are procrastinators, we are here to tell you that none of us have made a single Christmas gift purchase yet. Alyssa reports that she and Patrick have some good ideas on what they are going to buy but Sharon is clueless.

While Sharon was gone for Thanksgiving, Alyssa spent most of her time (when she wasn't eating) reworking our website. We think it's going to look great and we hope you will give us some feedback. We just think that every now and then it is time to make a change. We will try to have it up by the end of the week.

For those of you who read our blog about Gotti's incident, we want to report that he is doing great and he thinks he is ready for us to back him and start his career. We still have the other 2 year olds that we have to start and we need to make a game plan.

Sharon spent the day writing her inspection article for the AHS winter magazine. She said it was like writing a term paper and was grumpy as she sorted through and tried to recreate her 2 month old notes. The good news is, she finished it so it is one more thing off her plate.

Sharon is looking forward to "Dancing with the stars" as this is the Finals.

That's all folks!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-24T14:52:00.000-08:00

We got through the day, enjoying the weather and a nice visit from Hillary Andrews who purchased Bethesda from us months ago. Her husband is in the air force and they have been stationed in Tokyo for a while. Today was her first day to actually meet and greet Beth. Her three children and her mother, who is also a horse person, came with her and it was a treat for all of us. We wanted to post a picture because Hillary and Beth look beautiful together.

Sharon is excited about leaving tomorrow for Santa Fe and she was especially glad that she had a really good ride on Romance today before she leaves. You know how that is- you never want to leave on a trip after a bad ride. It worries you the whole time.

Patrick and Alyssa have decided to go to Sam's Club in Abilene tomorrow to get the rack of lamb that Patrick is hell bent on cooking for Thanksgiving. We are sure it will be great if he could ever get his hands on the actual meat. As we do this blog, Sharon said she has everything done except for packing. Trudy came and picked up her dogs today and took them in for a holiday bath, just bringing them back a little while ago. We are lucky to have Trudy in our "neck of the woods" because she can also braid and do other horsey things to help us. She grew up and lived in Australia and her kids participated in Pony Club there for years. She met and married her husband, Tommy who is from Ranger, and we are lucky now to have her here.

The stars today were Romance, Glenda, La Vienna, and Born. Patrick says Born is beginning his lengthening at the trot which he will need in 2 weeks at Licensing. We must say that Sharon is getting very anxious about Born's Licensing which is coming so soon. It is her first attempt to present a stallion prospect and, as many of you know, it is a very tough process and most of the time ends in disappointment. Patrick is working hard with him these next couple weeks and he reports that things are going well.

We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and hope you are joined with your family and friends and remember- don't eat to much or you won't be able to get into your breeches!

Busy Day!

2009-11-23T15:57:00.000-08:00

The sale weekend was very tiring for all of us as well as being a bit of a disappointment. There were absolutely no dressage people at the auction- only jumper people. Maybe the dressage people were at Stargate. We just don't know. We did sell William to a jumper rider because he jumped really well. We were pretty happy about that and Sharon let him go fairly cheap because she knew the rider was capable of riding him well etc. As for the other horses- Gotti didn't make it past the first day we arrived. For some reason, he tried to jump out the stall window and got himself hung up his stifles on the door. Hind feet off the ground, etc. Totally trapped and unable to extricate himself. We were all gathered around near hysterical, realizing there was nothing anyone could do to help. He stood very still and stoic, obviously knowing he was in real trouble. Finally, he struggled enough to fall to his knees but the hind end was still trapped. He was obviously in pain. He even knocked out a baby tooth. Honestly, we've never witnessed anything so grim. Finally, after about 10 minutes, he slid over the stall and tumbled over himself to the ground. He proceeded to stand up and we walked him to the waiting trailer to go to an emergency clinic. He stayed at the clinic for 2 days while they x-rayed knees, patella's, stifles, and monitored for internal injuries. Believe it or not, he is now home and fine. He is sore but no major injuries. It's a miracle for sure. If he didn't have such a good mind, he probably would have killed himself in panic. It wasn't a great start to a long weekend.

The sale was very professionally done and drew quite a few people but not the crowd that would come to buy dressage horses. Sharon had a reserve price on each horse and, although they got some bids, did not meet the reserve and we brought them home. It was an experiment and we don't know if we will do it again.

We all kind of crashed on Sunday and it was well needed rest.

Today the farrier for trims was here but thankfully all the horses cooperated and were easy to catch. We did 20 trims before lunch which is a record for us we think. In the afternoon Sharon and Alyssa caught up on paperwork and invoices which was needed badly!

We are all looking forward to a little time off at Thanksgiving. Sharon and Lynn are leaving Wednesday to go to Santa Fe. Her son and daughter in law will meet them there and it should be a quiet and relaxing time. Patrick and Alyssa are looking for a quiet time alone after his parent's visit and the sale. Patrick has been trying to find rack of lamb to cook but he has not had time to follow up on any of his leads. So who knows what they will eat!

We promise to blog one more time tomorrow before Thanksgiving. It will probably be very boring but we can at least tell you whether or not our outdoor arena waterer is fixed yet. Don't we have a glamorous life? Talk to you tomorrow!

The eve of the sale!

2009-11-18T15:20:00.000-08:00

We spent the entire afternoon today bathing, pulling manes, training 2 year olds to the bridle, training 2 year olds in hand, braiding, and otherwise doing typical horse chores in preparation for our trip to Weatherford tomorrow for the beginning of the Candy Store Sporthorse Auction. It will certainly be an interesting next 3 days and we have no idea what to expect. We hope somebody out there reading this blog is planning to attend or at least watch the auction online. Another good consigner signed up recently. It is a nice Holsteiner breeding farm in the Houston area and they are bringing some horses to the sale also.

Patrick and Alyssa had a super visit with Patrick's dad and step mom. They had an early Thanksgiving dinner of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, garlic broccoli, rolls, and pan gravy. Patrick's dad is an excellent cook and we think Patrick got his interest in cooking from him. The whole weekend was a little bit of a cooking marathon. Patrick is now planning spending his and Alyssa's Thanksgiving dinner to be a rack of lamb and we are sure it will be very good. At least you all can rest assured that Patrick and Alyssa are not going hungry.

We have all been riding and the horses have been pretty good even though it has been pretty cold in the morning when we start. Sharon complains about Romances cold back but with patience she works out of it OK. Patrick is happy will all of his horses and they are all progressing to the next level better then anyone has expected. La Vienna's canter has really developed recently and her simple changes are progressing by the day.

The stars today were Glenda and La Vienna.

Vicki's horse, Winnergirl, arrived here Sunday because Vicki has decided she wants to turn her into a broodmare. She hasn't had the time to devote to the riding because of their busy travel schedule and this seemed the best option for Vicki. Unfortunately, she had just been body clipped so she has to stay in the stable at night and Alyssa has had some fun riding her the last 2 days. She is ready for Third Level with good changes and all of the other work in place. When Equine Express brought Winnie, they picked up Lash LaRue and he left for his new home in Houston with his owner, Dawn Sabo. The last we heard, everything was fine and he was being a good 2 year old.

We will try to post some pictures of the horses and what is going on at the sale when we get home tomorrow so keep watching our blog!!

Early Thanksgiving for Patrick and Alyssa

2009-11-14T09:35:00.000-08:00

Sharon spent Wednesday in Fort Worth with old friends and mothers of her old friends as they celebrated the birthdays of these ladies in their 80's. They had a party at Cafe Aspen in Fort Worth and it is always nice to get out of Ranger for a good meal. Shortly after she got home from the party, Brad and Vicki arrived for a 2 day visit. Patrick and Alyssa spent Wednesday riding and setting up the free jump chute for more training in preparation for Licensing for Born in the USA. Sharon and Brad and Vicki (Lynn was still in Houston on Wednesday) went to the famous cafe in Strawn named Mary's for chicken fried steak Wednesday night. It is the best anywhere. After they got home they watched Black Hawk Down. It is the first time Brad and Vicki have ever seen it and they were amazed that it is a true story.

Thursday, in addition to riding, we brought up Bonheura for Vicki to see since she is the half owner, as well as Bobbie Socks. We did new videos on both of them and we are very pleased with their development. Be sure to take a special look at Bobbie Socks on YouTube because this is our first video of this wonderful yearling. Thursday afternoon, we free jumped Gotti and Born. Gotti caught on really quickly but we didn't raise the fences much because we wanted him to maintain his confidence because he is only two. Born in the USA was very excited and happy and decided to free jump himself several times through the chute. He has nice form, boldness, and enthusiasm about jumping. He also seems to have a lot of scope. He will need to do pretty well on the free jumping portion of the testing in order to be Licensed. So far he is showing that it is no problem for him. Lynn got home on Thursday so was able to visit with Brad and Vicki.

Friday was another farrier day at Garner Creek Farms. This time it is trim day with Jacob Valentic and more or less takes up all of Alyssa's time. Patrick is working on putting finishing touches on horses that are going to the sale and working on Third Level with Glenda and La Coruna. Sharon is trying to polish up Romance for Second Level next year. Vicki's horse, Winnergirl (aka Winnie), is being shipped here from Houston on Sunday to prepare for a career as a broodmare.

Today has been another regular Saturday morning- riding and catching up on a little paperwork. Patrick and Alyssa are taking off now at noon to go to Fort Worth to meet Patrick's dad and stepmom at Central Market. His parents will be driving from the airport to meet them at Central Market to get plenty of good food for their early Thanksgiving. We are all ready for a little R & R and we will check back to you on Monday with our final preparations for the Candy Store Sporthorse Auction that will be going on next weekend. Have a good weekend!

String of beautiful weather!

2009-11-10T14:52:00.000-08:00

Believe us, we are enjoying the beautiful weather we have had the past 5 days. We could not order better riding weather. We hope the rest of you are experiencing wonderful riding weather as well.

Patrick decided to introduce Glenda to the double bridle today. She watched him put it together and sensed that something was up. Glenda doesn't care for change and she was very suspicious of this new bridle process. She did fine in it but Patrick will make some adjustments to the bridoon until it suits her well . He also needs to start to prepare La Coruna in the double bridle because, she too, is working 3rd level. Sharon reports that Romance was very good today and feels completely recovered from her soft tissue problem. She will begin to work in earnest on Second Level work again now. Alyssa had a good riding day on Mamie- working hard to polish First Level and Dede, schooling generally while we decide whether or not to breed her this year to a nice German Riding Pony. If anyone has any suggestions we would love to take them into consideration. As you can imagine, we are in major phase of deciding on our breeding program for this Spring.

Sharon's friends, Brad and Vicki Wertman, are coming tomorrow for a little visit. Vicki owns Bonheura with Sharon and she hasn't seen her in quite sometime so it should be fun for her. They will leave Friday but it is always good to have friends come to visit the farm.

We had fun today going through some old horse and people photos and, as soon as Alyssa has the time, we will post "A trip down memory lane".

Patrick reports that the stars today were Flori and La Vienna.

Patrick's dad and stepmother will arrive Saturday for a pre-Thanksgiving visit for 4 days. They're coming from Kansas City, Missouri. Sure he and Alyssa have a lot of things to do to get ready for their visit.

Sharon is eager to watch "Dancing with the stars" tonight as it is elimination night. It is really getting down to the "nitty-gritty" now.

We will blog again soon!!

Bye Bye Beemer!

2009-11-07T14:57:00.000-08:00

Beemer's new owners, Tim and Evelyn Cudd of College Station came to pick up their new BMW today. We're excited because he is getting a very good home and they are getting a very good horse. He is actually going to be Evelyn's dressage horse but we are sure Tim will get an occasional ride on him also.

We got a few horses ridden today after they left and Patrick continued with his grooming crusade by pulling Romance and Bonheur's manes. They were both in dire need and we tried to make sure Bonheur knows we still care about how handsome and well groomed he is. We think a stallion should know that he is the "MAIN MAN" and now he looks spiffy. Sharon and Alyssa decided to clean and try to organize their office here in the barn. Things were starting to pile up on top of other things to the extent that we needed to clean out. It is always rewarding to get some horsekeeping and housekeeping done. The Championship show horses will get back to work Monday and begin training and polishing the next levels.

We want to remind everyone that we have some very nice horses consigned to the Candy Store Sport Horse Auction on November 21st at October Hill Farms in Weatherford. Specifically for riding horses, we have La Vienna, Dream Girl, and William consigned to the sale. For young horses, We have consigned 3 two year olds- currently, Gotti, Lamborghini, and Linebacker. This is an experiment for us and I am sure that many of you feel that it is an experiment for you as well. It can be a great way to find that perfect horse because you can see many in one venue. Full x-rays will be available for anyone to look at or send to their veterinarians. So, that should be comforting knowledge for all of you. We know that many of these sport horse auctions draw a very small crowd and are not very successful. But, since this one is only 50 miles from us and being hosted by a very competent and experience warmblood farm, we thought we would give it a try. We hope y'all will consider coming and you will be able to see and try horses on Thursday and Friday before the auction.

We are looking forward to the weekend. Sharon is happy that Arkansas beat South Carolina today because it will make her husband, Lynn (who went to the game), very happy. Have a nice weekend!

Back to normal!

2009-11-06T15:03:00.000-08:00

Patrick and Alyssa had a well deserved Tuesday off. Sharon didn't do much either except help see Bobby McGee off to his new home with Michele and Larry Spears. He was such a good boy and led around and loaded like he was an older horse. Reports are that he travelled really well and settled in quite easily. Michele has an older gelding that is going to be his babysitter and they have already bonded. They are in pastures next to each other now and will be turned out together after the farrier removes the geldings hind shoes.

Wednesday was very busy as you can imagine since we have all been gone so much. We rode in the morning and then took some horses to Weatherford for pre-purchase exams and took Mamie to have the growth on her ear removed. We received photos of Bon Davidoff from his new owners in WA state and it looks so beautiful there we decided to show you all the picture.

Sharon went to Fort Worth with a good friend on Thursday to do some shopping and to help her friend prepare for the big birthday party for the mother's who are in their 80's which they are having next week at a nice restaurant in Fort Worth.

Equine Express called this morning to say they are coming to pick up Lash LaRue to deliver to his owner in Houston and we realized he doesn't have a coggins since he hasn't been off the farm so his trip will have to wait another week. The last 2 years seemed to have flown by and it is hard to believe that he is all grown up and ready to be started under saddle!

This morning our vet came and castrated Wrenegade and Biale. We decided to wait on our purebred Connemara Pony, Augustus Magee, as well as Barnaby Wilde.

Patrick decided to body clip Farina yesterday because she was very wooly, we thought you would like to see the hair pile. Glenda was Patrick's body clip victim today and it took 2 hrs to complete the job. We hope that our horses hair growth is no inclination to what sort of winter we will have this year. At least we have had perfect weather this week.

That's all for today!

Finally Finished!!

2009-11-01T15:31:00.000-08:00

We are so tired of horse shows and horses at this moment you can't believe. But--- we are very happy with all our horses and we actually had a great time even though we won't realize it until a few days have passed and we have gotten settled back in at home. We will try and recount todays results.

Alyssa and Mamie had a great score of 62.4% in Pony Championships today and were placed 5th. It was a great ride (actually one of their best) but Mamie was a little too unruly in her canter departs both ways. She did, however, show that she can be a good show pony. Sharon feels that Alyssa did her best ride today and it was well ridden, accurate, and pleasant. We will build on this for next season at First Level. Congrats Mamie and Alyssa! Cute photo included.

Patrick had another excellent day. Even though he and Alyssa shot out of bed when Sharon called them at 10 til 7 because their phones failed to alarm, with 10 mins of prep and no shave, they were at the truck and ready to go to the show grounds. Here are the results:

La Coruna- She got first place ribbons on both rides with scores in the high 60's (as we write this we are pretty brain dead and can't remember the correct scores).

She did several perfect flying changes and a couple that were a little late behind. That is no problem since we only started schooling flying changes 2 weeks ago with her. She was really relaxed and Patrick was thrilled with her Third Level work. In fact, one of the judges made a comment that she had true FEI potential and capability.

La Vienna- She was High Point Hanoverian of the show and was High Point First Level horse of the show with scores to 72.3% and we were very excited with her and she continues to show great promise. She continues to confirm her great talent and true FEI ability. She really relaxed and settled in and it reminds us how good it ultimately is to have a 4 or 5 day horse show instead of just a weekend.

Dream Girl- She was a pill to get to the rings but once she did we were really quite happy with her. Her scores were really good and she excited us with her great elasticity and super beginning of lateral work. She had scores to 65% today at First Level and nothing under 63%. She has been scoring consistently in the mid 60's in First Level and has to reduce her tension level to get higher scores. We think that will come with time and mileage.

Glenda: She ended up being Reserve High Point Champion at Third Level which we think is a big deal.

Patrick completed all of his show rides and we estimate there were 23 of them. He never had a bad ride nor did Alyssa. We also think that it was great to be there and remind people that we are still around selling and breeding good horses. We are very glad to be finished and can't wait to get home tomorrow. Patrick and Alyssa are going to stay at the hotel and order pizza and drink a few beers and Sharon is going out to dinner with her good friends from Houston, Brad and Vicki Wertman. Vicki is looking at a horse and we will inform you of that as it progresses.

We won't blog tomorrow because we will be on the road nor will we blog on Tuesday because we will all be brain dead. We are taking 4 horses to Weatherford for pre-purchase exams on Wednesday. Now don't think that we are complaining because we love to sell young horses but, it will be a long day on our feet and not what you would expect for a fun day. We will keep you posted on how all of that goes. Thank you everyone for your support!!

Championships Update!

2009-10-31T16:22:00.000-07:00

We have pretty good news to report from Thursdays Championship rides. Patrick was in the Championship ribbons in 4 of his 6 rides and the other two he barely missed. The Championship ring was very scary and Glenda and La Coruna had a few tense moments and bobbles at Second Level. They didn't make it to the final ribbons but their scores were very respectable considering the "I" and "O" judges. Both mares received scores in the mid to high 60's. At Training Level Open GAIG, La Vienna was 5th place and Grapette was 8th place with scores just a couple of points below the winning rides. But, you know, at Championships, every one tenth of a point matters. At SWDC Champ Training Open, La Vienna was 4th and Grapette was 6th place so we were very proud of Patrick. Unfortunately, Dream Girl did not pin in the Championship rides but her scores were respectable in the 60's. She just needs more mileage so she can cope with a show this size. Patrick and Alyssa got their steaks and fine dinner Thursday night at an old and well known restaurant called Brenner's Steakhouse. It was wonderful but we had to travel through monsoon rains going and coming to enjoy that meal. Thank goodness, Sharon's husband Lynn was still in town and drove all of these tired horse show idiots.

After some nourishment and a good nights sleep, Patrick and Alyssa had some very good rides on Friday in the open show. Alyssa moved Mamie up to First Level and received a score of 59% from an "I" judge and we were pretty pleased with that. Patrick won all of his classes and most excitingly, Glenda got scores of 65 and 64% at her first time at Third Level. She got very nice comments and did an excellent job. Grapette also moved up to First Level receiving scores of 65 and 64% as well. We were all tired but we went to the "Masquerade Party" at the show grounds. Sharon saw many old friends and Patrick and Alyssa met many of them as well as seeing some friends they have met at horse shows in the past year and a half. The big deal yesterday was that Patrick purchased a top hat. We are posting pictures of him proudly wearing his top hat.

Today was another successful day in the open show. Mamie got over 60% in the Open First Level today and had a very nice test. We were very happy with Dream Girl because she got a strong 63.8% at First Level Open and had a very nice test. La Vienna moved up to First Open and received a huge score (under these judges) of 72+%. Patrick was very happy with that and it puts him in the running for High Point Hanoverian. La Coruna did one of her most relaxed tests ever at Third Open. She got confused over her changes but still received a 66.5%- another first place day for Patrick and Third place for Alyssa and Mamie. We will take a picture tomorrow of our tack stall so you can see all the ribbons we have won.

Another exciting thing for us is that Bonnie Canter was the Training Level Amateur Champion on Fancy This GCF against 38 other competitors. As you know, Fancy This is our homebred and she did us very proud today.

We are tired now and Alyssa has her Pony Training Level Champ class tomorrow and Patrick has 6 open classes with La Vienna, La Coruna, and Dreamie. We are about to go have a nice dinner and crash so we can "hit it" another day.

Thanks for all the comments and support from all of you. We really appreciate it and we are excited about our overall success.

We're at Championships!

2009-10-28T15:26:00.000-07:00

We left Ranger yesterday around 10:15 and arrived at Great Southwest Equestrian Center around 4pm. It was a long haul but the trailer pulled beautifully even loaded down as it was. We set up our tack room and put up our curtains and we are pleased with our presentation. What do you think?

We had a nice meal last night and started the day at a reasonable hour. Patrick started schooling La Coruna and she was really nervous and worried- especially at first. She was the only horse around and the vendors were setting up and all the other things that go into preparing the show grounds. After doing a couple of caprioles, she finally settled down and worked pretty good. Next was Dream Girl, who decided she didn't want to get near the schooling arena, it took Patrick a full 5 mins to persuade her that she will survive if she crossed the imaginary threshold leading into the arena. With frazzled nerves Patrick boarded Glenda and as expected, she felt like a freight train out of control when she is excited. And excited she was. When he asked for flying changes he got REAL flying changes. The good news is, he stayed on! We decided it was time for a break and we went to lunch.

After lunch we found out that there is a brand new covered arena at the show which Patrick had not schooled in. He was very upset to learn that his Championship rides would be held in that new and very scary arena in which he had not schooled the three lovely ladies. He calmed down and boarded Grapette, the most reliable of the group. Without going into tedious details, she hated the new Championship arena. She could see the children at the school playing football in their bright yellow uniforms and was none too happy about that game- among other things. She was fine in the other arenas but only time will tell what happens tomorrow. Finally, he schooled La Vienna and she, too, hated the scary new arena with all kinds of horrible kids and games going on right outside.

The next bad news was Patrick realized he had to get on La Coruna and go on a re-ride to the new, scary Championship arena. Surprisingly she was great. She just had to get her excitement and jubilation out of her system this morning.

Alyssa schooled Mamie today and she was a star! She had just enough excitement to make her more sensitive, uphill, and forward. Alyssa doesn't ride her until Friday so this was just a light school but we were all very happy with her.

Patrick starts his rides tomorrow at 8:00 am on Grapette. Wish us luck!!

Sharon was so excited to see Bonnie Canter (a dear friend she has known for a long time) and her wonderful horse Fancy This GCF. Sharon bred Fancy and Bonnie was lucky enough to ride and train the dam, South Ridge Bliss, and Bonnie knew the sire, Fred Astair well. We want you to see this picture of this lovely pair and we think great things will happen this weekend with these two!

We are going to have a nice dinner and a good nights sleep tonight in preparation for the big day tomorrow.

For those of you who have told us you read our blog religiously- this blog is for you!! We really appreciate it and just wanted to keep you posted for your loyalty. We promise to try to blog tomorrow and tell you how Patrick does. Alyssa and Sharon think he is a star just for getting through today!

All packed up and ready to roll!

2009-10-26T15:34:00.001-07:00

Our new trailer is all loaded and ready to accommodate our 6 girls tomorrow on our way to Houston. We even managed to pack 18 bales of hay! Wish us good luck and much power with the dually! We figure we will be pulling at least 12,000 lbs including all tack, feed, 4 people, etc.

As you can imagine, a big part of the day was spent packing the trailer, pulling manes, and otherwise preparing for our almost week long absence from the farm. Patrick is trying to get his morale up to ride 10 Championship rides on Thursday. We have promised him his choice of restaurant for dinner on Thursday night. He says he is going to want a big juicy steak. We have decided also that if he comes in last in every class, it will be on the order of a flank steak! If he does well, a 12 oz ribeye will be on the plate for him.

Our little yearling, Bon Davidoff, left for his new home in WA state today. As you can imagine, he was pretty scared of the whole process, wondering what in the world was happening to him. Thankfully, he is getting a great home and should be there by Thursday afternoon.

The stars for today were La Coruna and Glenda.

As promised we will blog from the show and keep you posted on our scores!! So keep watching the blog!! We again hope to meet some of you that follow our blog while at GAIG!

2009-10-26T15:34:00.000-07:00

Moving Pasture Madness!

2009-10-24T15:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we moved all the horses around into different pastures. At weaning time, it is always necessary to make a lot of changes and swaps. It is always a BIG project and takes everyone to get the job done. Everybody has settled into their new digs finally and no major incidents occurred.

Today, we put finishing touches on the horses going to the show and we entertained a nice couple from College Station who came looking at our horses. Hopefully they found something they would like.

We want to tell you that Sharon has purchased three miniature jennies. We are very excited as they will arrive after Thanksgiving. They are just for fun and a spirit lifter. When you see these pictures you will see what we mean. We are pleased we purchased them from Circle H Ranch in Blanco, TX. Another place that has good miniature donkeys is Marion Soul at DaddysDarlinDonkeys.com. Marion didn't have any spotted donkeys like she wanted but both farms have excellent quality.

We hope that some of you will look us up at the Championships in Katy, TX we will be in Barn B (left). We would love to have visitors come by and introduce themselves because we will be there almost a week!!

For any of you that are interested, we will blog while we are at Championships and will let you know the results on our horses as they are unfolding. We also promise to blog Monday before we leave.

Gearing up for Championships

2009-10-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

All the horses that are going to Championships are getting their final tune up days tomorrow. Fortunately, all seem fit and ready and all systems on go. We think it would be of interest to you to know that Patrick has 10 Championship rides on Thursday alone. Yes, 10! He has a total of 25 rides through the course of the show. Hopefully, he can keep up the pace and continue his successful trend. Alyssa has a more reasonable schedule and Sharon has no one to show. It does seem a little lopsided doesn't it. Wish him luck because he'll need it!

We pulled blankets and sheets out yesterday and Winter is upon us. Sheets are going on the horses for the first time and we kind of dread the extra work associated with blanketing. The lows are supposed to stay in the 40's the rest of the weekend.

Today a vet from ESMS in Weatherford came out today to take Born in the USA's x-rays that are required for Licensing. All looks well so we are ready to go!!

We brought in Barnaby Wilde and Augustus Magee yesterday and took new videos and pictures. You can see the videos here- Augustus Magee and Barnaby Wilde. So what do you guys think? Isn't Gus the best moving Connemara you ever did see?

The foals we weaned on Saturday are doing well and it has been one of the easiest weaning times. The foals all seem quite content and happy. Tomorrow we will separate the colts from the fillies and that entails moving all the horses and pastures around to accommodate the new horses.

The stars for today were La Coruna and La Vienna.

Hope all is well and we will blog again soon!

Windy Acres!

2009-10-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

We have had a lot of wind the past few days but otherwise the weather is nice. Our horses are actually getting used to strong winds for the most part. We have an 80% chance of rain tomorrow and we wish it would hold off a few days.

Little Bon Davidoff will be leaving for his new home in WA State on Tuesday. He is getting a very good, serious dressage home and will be in good hands while he finishes growing up. Bourbon Street is also sold but he will be staying with us until the end of the year.

We are pleased to announce that Melinda Walton's Bonheur colt was the Champion foal at the AHS inspection yesterday in Houston. She was very excited as well she should be.

Perhaps the most important thing that has happened recently is that a wonderful 4 year old gelding out of a Bonheur mother is the #1 entry in the famous Kasselmann PSI auction in Germany. For those of you who are interested in seeing him, named St. Pierre, the link is here. He is a super horse and it is always an honor to get any horse selected for the PSI auction.

All our horses are going well and getting their last minute tune up for the Championships. Romance is back on track and is working perfectly sound and should be totally rehabbed by November. Everyone else is doing OK thank goodness!

At a potential clients request, we did a free jumping video of Bling. Since we had the jump chute up we also free jumped Born in the USA, Dream Girl, Lamborghini, and BMW. Born in the USA shows tremendous talent in jumping which is good because he has to free jump at the Stallion Licensing in December. Dream Girl, Lamborghini, and BMW all did respectively well. We didn't put BMW's up because there are clients coming to look at him Saturday so we didn't take the time at this point. Tomorrow we will free jump Linebacker and Gotti. It is important to have free jumped the horses that will be at the Candy Store Sport Horse Sale in November.

Our farrier was here doing shoes today and you all know how we complain of "farrier days" because it takes our help away and we all have to suffer a little bit.

Patrick reports that La Vienna and Dreamie were the stars for the day.

Sharon is happy to report that she is finally rested and back to her normal life. In fact, she is eagerly awaiting tonight's "Dancing with the Stars". Patrick is upset that one of his favorite shows "Hells Kitchen" ended last week and now he is struggling with what to watch. Alyssa was into "Army Wives" but it is over for the season but now she is watching "Vampire Diaries" on Thursdays. Are any of the rest of you "Dancing with the Stars" fans?? If so, enjoy tonight and we'll blog again soon!

Home again!

2009-10-17T15:14:00.000-07:00

Sharon arrived home around 1:30 am Friday morning from her strenuous judging tour. She arrived at the airport in Abilene at 11:00 pm only to find a dead battery because she left her car lights on the whole time she was gone. It was definitely one of those days. Then, to add insult to injury, she had to leave Friday afternoon with Lynn to go to San Angelo for a surprise birthday party for one of her oldest friends. They spent the night after the party and came home this morning. Sharon is really looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow. She said she saw some very nice horses and foals and had a great and educational time judging. All of the sites were well prepared, well run, and had great hospitality. She will be writing an article for the American Hanoverian quarterly magazine with much more detail about her tour. There was a lot of air traveling and auto traveling and she, Volker Ehlers, and Hugh Bellis-Jones were definitely sleep deprived and physically exhausted by the end. It makes us all remember how big the US is and how many people wish to have their mares placed in the Hanoverian Stud Books- which is a good thing for the AHS.

While Sharon was gone, Patrick and Alyssa held down the farm and kept the horses going in preparation for Championships coming up soon. We will leave with our 6 horses for Champs in Houston on Tuesday, October 27. Patrick will be riding 4 horses and Alyssa will be riding 1. This year, Sharon will be horseless but will then have the time to fully enjoy seeing her old friends again, and calling tests for the open show, etc. We are excited to take our new 6 horse trailer.

Also, while Sharon was gone, Patrick rode La Coruna in the Heike Kemmer clinic and it was very instructive and gave him lots of good things to work on. He will be debuting La Coruna at Third Level at the Open Show in Houston in 2 weeks. She has mastered her single flying changes with ease and the rest of the Third Level work is ready for her first round in the show ring.

Sharon was very excited to find out that she may be able to take Born in the USA to Stallion Licensing at Silver Creek in Oklahoma at the end of the 70-day Stallion Test that is being held at that farm. There will be the required German Stallion Judges available to License him if he passes. Needless to say, that would be SO MUCH EASIER for us then dragging him all the way to Maryland next summer. If this is approved by the AHS and the Verband, he will be presented on December 13 in Oklahoma. We will keep you informed on the results of this plan.

Alyssa and Patrick were planning to take 2 mares and foals to Stargate today for the AHS inspections which will be held tomorrow. Unfortunately, both foals have snotty noses and we had to cancel because we don't want to spread this to any other unsuspecting horses. Because we were not going to Stargate, we decided to wean the rest of the foals today. As usual, we take their mothers with them to the pastures across from them, and then, when the foals are in the new pasture, we quietly move the mares back across the way. It was a perfect weaning as no one really cared one way or another. The foals were fine after about 3 mins and the mothers just seemed grateful. We plan to move all the horses and pastures around in the next couple of weeks which is quite a project. We are also in the process of planning when and how to start the 2 year olds which will soon be coming 3.

Most of you have heard that Lyndon Rife, one of our clinicians and trainers, was bucked from a horse and hurt rather seriously. Apparently he is going to be OK and we wish him and his wife, Julie Madriguera, all the best and a speedy recovery.

Have a great weekend everyone and thanks for reading our blog! Sharon ran into numerous people during the tour who commented that they read our blog. It makes us feel that it is worthwhile to continue!

Alyssa holding down the Fort!

2009-10-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

Patrick left today for the Heike Kemmer clinic. Of course, Farina had an injury today and has to be laid up for about a week while her cut heals. Wouldn't you know- right before the clinic. Instead, he loaded up La Coruna, took the new trailer and off he went. He is the first one to get to pull the beautiful new trailer.

Sharon is leaving early early in the morning for her AHS judging session and she will be gone until next Thursday evening. Alyssa worries that if we had an emergency, the truck and trailer are gone. Never fear- we have a contingency plan for that situation. We have an old Garner Environmental 250 Chevy pickup (could have qualified for Cash for Clunkers probably) and we have the cattle stock trailer. Believe us, it would get us to the clinic in Weatherford. Alyssa might look like the Beverly Hillbilly but hopefully it won't be necessary.

Alyssa will be busy with her riding, preparing videos, photographs, doing paperwork, and all the misc other things that have to be done during the regular week.

Romance started a little canter for the first time today from her rehab. She is doing great and we expect she will be back to full work in a matter of weeks. Alyssa is going to ride her while Sharon is gone. The good news is since she has been stall bound, her coat has turned a deep, rich black.

We will close now so we can get back to our final projects and Sharon has to pack.

Honeymooners finally home!

2009-10-07T15:58:00.000-07:00

Patrick and Alyssa got home in the wee hours of the morning yesterday after a super fantastic honeymoon in Jamaica. Seriously, they had a fabulous time and highly recommend Couples Tower Isle in Ocho Rios, Jamaica to anyone wanting a serious R & R. Now they are back to the nitty gritty and the rest of our hectic month. Alyssa will post a few pictures for those who may be interested in that resort.

We started out with a bang this morning with Vets from ESMS in Weatherford here to do radiographs on our Candy Store Sport Horse Sale consignments. They did radiographs and 2 pre-purchase exams on a couple of yearlings. It was a day long event and all we can say is- thank goodness for digital radiographs. We were glad all the horses passed with flying colors with very minor issues, the radiographs and physical exams were great. That is always a relief.

Since our day was taken up with veterinarians, tomorrow will be a frantic day for Sharon and Alyssa to get things done before Sharon leaves early Friday morning to go on her judging excursion.

Patrick will be leaving early Friday morning for the Heike Kemmer Clinic because he doesn't ride until early afternoon. Patrick will have the opportunity to be the first to pull our new Elite 6 horse trailer that was just delivered last week. We are excited about the trailer because it seems like a real step up in quality from our old 4 Star 4 horse stock combo.

The good news is, Sharon was able to manage everything while Patrick, Alyssa, and Lynn were gone and all the horses cooperated by maintaining their health and not doing anything too stupid.

She had farriers, vets, and routine worming and vaccinations but it all went off without a hitch. Even the weather cooperated for the most part.

We did get a little rain last week and everything is beautifully green here. The horses are in heaven and getting fat. But, today was back to work for them too. Everyone was pretty good considering they have had 10 days off.

Oleg, our PSG horse that was here on consignment, was sold and left for Canada last Tuesday. He should arrive in his new home in Toronto tomorrow evening. We always hope that new owners are pleased and happy with any horse they buy from or through us. Bourbon Street, the adorable Connemara/Hanoverian cross yearling, was sold today. He will be going to a great dressage home in the Houston area.

Thanks for reading our blog!!

Busy Day!

2009-09-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

Today was busy as expected since we are trying to catch up on a few things from last week as well as get things done before the newlyweds leave on their honeymoon. Specifically, we had the trim farrier here today which, as many of you know, is a day we dread. It means being out in the pastures trying to catch the youngsters, worming, and otherwise vaccinating very unhappy clients- the weanlings, yearlings, and 2 year olds. But, we got the job done for the most part. Unfortunately, Jacob, our farrier has to come back Tuesday to finish up all the youngsters. So, Sharon is definitely not looking forward to that.

We finally got invoices done as well as all paperwork and entries for championships etc etc etc. Sharon's husband, Lynn, left for a week today and Patrick and Alyssa will be leaving Monday. Hopefully, nothing too difficult will occur while everyone is away.

Our dog, Girl, who was bitten by the snake, is doing really well and is almost back to normal. Hopefully she has learned her lesson about snakes.

Needless to say, Patrick and Alyssa are very excited to get on with their honeymoon and lay on the white beaches of Jamaica, sipping Pina Coladas. The only problem is that our calender in October looks hideous. We are going to all be passing each other in the night as we attempt to handle all of the things on our plate such as; Honeymoon, prep and x-rays for the Candy Store Sport Horse Auction, Heike Kemmer Clinic, Sharon's AHS judging schedule, AHS inspections at Stargate, weaning foals, accommodating people who wish to come and look at horses and, finally, Championships in Houston. It is really going to be tight. Unfortunately, November doesn't look much better at this point. The good news is that December looks pretty quiet at this point- other then Christmas of course.

We had clients here from Canada Tuesday and Wednesday and we will post the final outcome of that visit when all the details are finished.

Our wonderful little Connemara cross yearling, Bourbon Street, has a buyer! We will let you know who it is once all the details are complete. We are excited because he is getting a really good dressage home.

We will be sure to blog tomorrow before Patrick and Alyssa leave!!