August Farm 5/25/08
We had a great day at the first August Farm show of the year. The weather was perfect and so were the horses. Elizabeth and Roger started off in some tough leadline classes. The judge tested the young riders knowledge with many questions about horses and riding and Elizabeth was great getting 2nd places in the Equitation and Pleasure and winning the Poles Class! That earned her the Championship Ribbon and Trophy. Alicia dominated the Walk/Trot Equitation division winning all three classes with Little Max and took home our second Champion ribbon of the day. Fran entered the flat classes in the Walk/Trot divisions and proved that all of her hard work over the winter is paying off with a 3rd in the Equitation Class. Julie finished up the day for us in the Low Hunters and did well in her first outing with Omar. He was a little excited to be at a show again but calmed down and got some good ribbons and ultimately earned the Reserve Champion Ribbon for the division. Way to go everyone!!!!!!
 
Clarion Farm Schooling Show
The Clarion Farm Equestrian Team is hosting a Schooling Show at the Farm on Sunday June 8, 2008. The show will have classes appropriate for every level of rider. For more information of a class list contact Carly. After the conclusion of the show we will have an informational meeting for anyone who is interested in joining the team for the 2008/2009 season. We also have some fun team activities planned for the summer. We encourage anyone who has an interest in the team to attend.
Welcome to the Barn!
Clarion Farm welcomes Kaitlin Fraser and her horse Sterling to the farm. Kaitlin is an accomplished rider on the National Paint Circuit and is now looking to add some hunter/jumper shows to her resume. We also welcome Susan Stewart and her horse Toby. Toby is 4 years old and was here for a month of training. He is a splashy looking paint and was a favorite with all the kids in the barn.
CONGRATULATIONS CHELSEA IEA NATIONAL CHAMPION IN THE INDIVIDUAL INTERMEDIATE ON THE FLAT!!!!!!
The IEA National Finals were held in Springfield on April 18-20. The weather for finals was great and all the horses were excellent. Little Max went and after being a bit impressed in the first class settled into the groove and was excellent. Chelsea showed in her flat class on Friday. She pulled a nice horse in the preliminary round of the flat class and easily got into the final. Then she got lucky and pulled Chip for the final. Chip is from Stoneleigh Burnham and is a Cadillac of an equitation horse. The class was long and hard including 2 tests of the top riders, but when it was over Chelsea emerged the winner of the National Championship!!!! That afternoon Chelsea and Kelsea both took the written horsemanship test. They had respectable scores and learned a lot from the experience. Saturday was jumping day. Chelsea once again pulled the 1st slot. The horse she rode was a little too fresh and we were granted a re-ride. The horse we got for the re-ride was great and Chelsea placed 8th in the class. She was one of only 2 riders in the nation to qualify for both Intermediate classes and ribbon in both at the finals. Kelsea came along and helped out for the weekend. She was a great help and learned a lot during the weekend. All in all, we had a great finals and hope to qualify even more riders next year. We plan on getting the team together for some fun and educational outings this summer. We will be having and informational meeting in early June for anyone interested in joining the team.
IEA Regional and Zone Finals
There were so many qualifiers in the JV Novice that Zone 1 needed to hold a Regional Final. We made the trip to Boxford on 3/30 and were not disappointed as Julie took home the 2nd place easily qualifying her for the Zone Finals. The Zones were held at the Stoneleigh Burnham School on 4/5. It was exciting to attend the Zone Finals in our first year of IEA Competition. Chelsea had to go 1st in her jumping class, but drew a great horse. She had a good course and we watched the rest of the class go. When the class was complete they wanted to test Chelsea and one other rider to see who would get the 5th place and the chance to compete at the National Finals. They had to switch horses and complete a shortened course. Chelsea kept her cool and completed the test flawlessly. She also rode well in the flat placing 3rd and advancing to the National Finals in both classes. Julie rode well too but unfortunately didn’t place high enough to advance to the finals.
 
Show News
The show season is starting up again and Clarion Farm riders are off to a great start. Kristin and Flair attended the March Saddle Rowe and were rewarded with 2 1st's and 2 2nd's. Kristin qualified for the Bay State Medal and is well on her way to qualifying for the Mass and New England Adult Medals.
On 3/29 we attended the Cape Cod Hunter Show also at Saddle Rowe. Chelsea showed JJ for the 1st time since last fall and picked up right where they left off. They won the Stake class in the Children's Special Hunters and were second in the other over fences class. This earned them the Reserve Championship in the division out of 20 horses! She also won an equally large Flat Equitation class and was 5th over fences in the Children's Eq. Kelsa went with Flair and came home with thirds in the Bay State and Mass Adult Medals.
Congratulations Clarion Farm Equestrian Team on a great 1st Season!!
We closed out the IEA Season at The Volo/Concord Show on 3/16. The show went great with both Kelsea and Julie winning the over fences and taking the 2nd place in the flat of their sections of the JV Novice. Chelsea was 4th over fences and 3rd in the flat in the Intermediate. This gave her enough points to qualify for Zones in both the jumping and the flat. Julie also qualified in the jumping and was 1 point away from qualifying in the flat. Kelsea also came close missing by only 2 points. Their great rides also helped the team take home the 5th place out of over 20 teams even though we only had point riders in 4 of the 7 classes.
Happy New Year!!
We hope everyone has a great Holiday and wish them the best in the coming year. We are very excited to get strarted and have a number of things already planned and in the works. We had a great year in 2007 and think that 2008 will be even better.
Our IEA team is doing great. We already have 2 riders qualified for the Zone Finals in April and have high hopes of getting to the National Finals that are being held in Springfield this year. Even more impressive it that out of the 3 shows Clarion riders have gotten ribbons in 17 of 18 individual classes including 3 1st places 2 second places and 1 third place. These girls have proven that although our team is small they should not be dismissed.
Clarion Farm is hosting a workshop with Doris Worcester of The Performance Edge on February 24 from 11:00 - 2:00. We all know that riding is a tough sport both physically and mentally and while we work on our physical skills constantly many of us don't spend much time on the mental aspects of riding. This workshop will help us explore how mental preparation can help us ride better. We are really looking forward to it and think that it will help all of our riders whether they compete or not. You can find more information about Doris at her website Equestriansuccess.com. See Carly for more information and to sign up.
We have put a Mom's riding group together. We think that this will be lots of fun. All skill levels are welcome and classes will meet on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 and Sunday afternoons at 3:00. Moms can attend any classes that they would like and there is a sign-up in the barn.
We are also getting a order together for Clarion Farm Jackets. Jackets are Burgundy with a black lining and will have the Clarion Farm Logo in the back. You can add your name or initials to the front if you would like. The cost is $65 and there is a sign-up in the barn.
Welcome to the Barn!
We would like to welcome some new faces to the barn. Kasey Suitor and her horse Nemo arrived at the end of August. Nemo is a beautiful bay TB and the kids all love his name. Kasey and Nemo had a few setbacks in the last year but look for them to back in the swing of things soon.
We would also like to welcome Megan Gillard and Omar. Megan is leaving soon to take a job in Connecticut and Omar will be looking for someone special to lease him. He is a great Children's or Adult Hunter. He has a loveable personality and very flashy markings being a bay with a blaze and 4 white socks that all come to points hence his show name "To The Point".
Show News
August Farm 8/5/07. We headed back to August Farm for their August Show. Sarah took Roger again and had quite the day getting a two 1sts and a 2nd in the Leadline and tieing for the Championship. Roger was especially excited about the baggies of horse cookies that came with the blue ribbons. Fran was next in the walk trot with Sundance. They are starting to look so good you would never know that they only started jumping at the last show. Jayne and Cruise and Julie and Max did the low hunter division and the Novice Equitation. Max and Julie were excellent getting a blue ribbon and the Reserve Championship. Cruise and Jayne were also excellent in their first show over larger jumps. Cruise is doing great in his first year of showing.
July Saddle Rowe show. This time we had 3 new horse and rider combinations. Everyone had a good day and Clarion Farm riders won 6 of the 8 classes that we entered. Jayne and Cruise swept the Elementary division. No one watching could believe that this is only Cruise's 3rd show ever. Then we had JJ & Chelsea, Julie & Max, and Robin & Caddy in the Low Hunters and Children's Equitation. Everyone rode well and the horses were great. Chelsea won a Low Hunter over Fences and the Children's Eq on the Flat and was 6th in the other Low Hunter class. This was enough to take home the Reserve Championship. Caddy once again had his game face on and cruised around to a couple of thirds in the Low Hunters and a 4th place in the Children's Eq on the Flat. Robin and Chelsea both did an excellent job in their first show on horses after moving up from a pony. Julie and Max were also good and took home the 3rd place in the Children's Eq on the flat. Max has been really consistent this year getting ribbons with 4 different riders. We hope he gets a new permanent rider soon!
  
Saddle Rowe June Show. We again had another new face in the leadline division as Jacob made his debut on Roger. Jacob did a great job paying attention through the large classes and got 2 6th place ribbons. Jacob is our youngest leadline rider at just 3 years old. Emma who seems to be a pro at showing already also competed in leadline with Lady Mae. They were great and received 2 4th places. Thank you to Laurie and Chelsea for lending Max to Kristin for the day. They were excellent and took 3rd and 5th over fences in large Low Hunter Classes and hacked 2nd. This was enough for the Reserve Championship! Once again the weather was great and everyone there had lots of fun!
Photo Credit: Jeff Anderson
Kristin and Max
Clarion Riders continued their good work in June at August Farm. Sarah attended her first show ever on Roger and received a 4th and 2 6ths in a very large leadline class. The judge even asked some questions that our more experienced riders had trouble with. Next was Fran and Sundance. They were excellent and even went in their first jumping class ever and came home with 2 6th places in the over fences classes. Jayne and Cruise finished the day off for us in the First Look division where they took home a first and second and the Reserve Championship.
Next Stop was the spring "A" Show at Fieldstone. The weather was hot but the horses didn't seem to mind as they were excited to be there. After they settled down and got to business we had some excellent results. JJ was a consistent ribbon winner in the Schooling and Special Hunters winning a couple of thirds out of very large classes, and Max was 2nd in the Children's Ponies over Fences and got a 5th in a very large hack class with some stiff competition.
Chelsea and Max
On April 21 we attended the show at Saddle Rowe Farm. The day was beautiful and the horses were excellent. JJ had a stellar day winning both Low Hunter over fences classes and taking home the Low Hunter Division Championship with Carly Riding. Chelsea and Max also had a good day receiving a 2nd place in the Children's Equitation over fences and 5th and 6th in the Children's Hunters over fences out of large classes with 20 or more entries. Kelsa took Maddie to see how she would be at a show seeing that Maddie has been on "materity leave" and hasn't shown in a few years. She was great and cantered around the warm-up as if she had been doing it all along. We would also like to thank everyone who came to cheer us on and Laurie for packing us an awesome lunch.
 
Max JJ Maddie Chelsea and Max
On May 6th we attended a show at August Farm. The day was a bit on the chilly side, but the Clarion Farm riders came prepared to show off their skills. We started the day with the leadline division. Roger and Mae were (as always) true professionals and helped their young riders Lizzy and Emma win a bunch of ribbons. Emma even won a class and received the Championship for the division in her first show ever. Next up was Fran with her horse Sundance. She was a bit nervous but didn't let it show in the ring and received a 3rd and 4th place in her classes. Then came Kelsea and Caddy. Caddy loves the limelight of being at the show. He knows he is beautiful and likes to show off. They showed in the Short Stirrup Equitation and came home with 2 4th places and a 6th place in the flat class. It seemed like the wild ponies were out to get Caddy in the flat and Kelsea did a good job of keeping him out of trouble. Julie and Rocky finished off the day for us. This was Rocky's first show with us and Julie's first show in 5 years. You wouldn't have know it though as they cantered around in style and brought home a 3rd and 5th place over fences and won their flat class! This earned them the Reserve Championship award for the division. We would like to thank everyone who brought food and coffee to help keep the riders (and Trainer!!) going all day long, and of course our groom Kristin who keeps us organized and looking good.
 
Lizzy/Roger & Emma/Mae Sundance and Fran
Look for us Next at August Farm on 8/5, Fieldstone on 8/11 and Cape Cod Hunters on 8/18.
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