On to Monroe

We are done with our Lake Washington weekend.  The clients had a lot of fun (including braiding their own horses)...We are now moving to Monroe for the Pacific H/J show this week.

We hope your weekend was fun-filled as well!  Come out to watch our riders compete, from Children's Ponies, thru Juniors.  The show begins on Wednesday with Pro-divisions.

Reflections from your trainer

My day for the LWSC bridle trails show started off with my alarm going off at 3am on Saturday morning. Too early! Reminded me of my junior years when I would get up in the middle of the night to braid as a way to earn money to help support the horses.Down I went to the barn to get equipment and ponies loaded in small horse trailer and haul them over to the show. We arrived at 5am when it was just starting to get light out.  Krista and I were on clue and Maggie by 6am to school ponies in the show ring. Jenna and Payton arrived with Clare by 6:30 so Payton could organize to show in her scheduled classes by 7:30. Thank heavens for Starbucks and for my Mom delivering it.

After the ponies did their classes I drove them home and then came back for our other riders whose classes went in the afternoon. Of course on the way back I stopped for our second round of Starbucks!  We wrapped up around 7pm and once home  Payton and I showered and climbed into bed from exhaustion. Back up Sunday morning at 4:15 to repeat the process again and will step right into our show in Monroe next week.

It may not be glamorous but it's my life and I love it!

Corey ♥

Congratulations riders

The kick off to our 2010 show season was superb! Everyone was very diligent about their training and practice leading into the show and it definitely showed through.  I also want to acknowledge those who did some of their own braiding.  Although it makes for a long day it is good quality time with your horse. Our successes ranged from the Short Stirrup all the way up to the Grand Prix.  Jil competed in her first Grand Prix and rode fantastic.  Thanks to those who came and rooted for her on Saturday night.

So, as we reflect on the shows it's important you appreciate your triumphs and learn from your struggles.  Back to training and practice to continue improving on your riding skills in preparation for your next show.  To those who we did not have with us, we look forward to having you with the Archway Team at the upcoming horse shows.

Great Job Everyone!!

Sisters, Sisters

♫ Sisters, ♪ Sisters, there were ♫ never such devoted ♪ Sisters....You can always count on family.....On Tuesday morning at 5:00am. The first day of the second week of our three week run at Monroe it happened. Brandan let me know that Corey had been up all night with the stomach flu and although she would most likely try to go to the show he was making an executive decision that she remain in bed and get well. Now, I am a morning person. I accomplish my best work in the morning but I have to admit it took a few jolting minutes for me to wrap my head around this.....what am I going to do? We have four horses ready to show today and no rider?? How do I come up with a solution at 5am??? Is this something I can GOOGLE??? Ok, I thought,  GET A GRIP. There is always a solution if you go one step at a time...1st solve the immediate problem of getting horses in the ring this morning ..

KRISTA! Call KRISTA! (Krista volunteers each Tuesday at Evergreen Emergency Room). So I pick up my problem solving iphone and dial Krista. She picks up right away with a slight tone of concern. "Corey's sick", I begin. I'm not even able to finish the sentence when Krista interupts: "I'll call and cancel Evergreen and I'll head right out to the show..I have all my show clothes here  and I will take care of the horses, see you there and bring me Starbucks". And that was that. In her calm emergency focus she took over for Corey and got the job done. The horses were wonderful, Corey got well and I was pretty organized all day. Ok, I'll admit Corey was texting us by noon with additional instructions but hey, we were great (or that is Krista was great). And so as the sayng goes " the show must go on."

Thank you Krista for being there you are the BEST!!!

Love Clare

a PS from your newsdesk.  The photo above from Ervin Berlin's White Christmas
Fun fact for the day -  In the movie the song "Sisters" was sung by Rosemary Clooney only and multitracked for the movie.

From your coach

Our first show of the season started off fantastically! After a long winter of dedicated work by our riders all our girls excelled this week. We had many new partnerships and riders/horses moving up to new divisions. It was inspiring how everyone met their personal challenges with dignity and determination. We believe horsemanship/sportsmanship is of the utmost importance here at Archway and both these qualities were demonstrated throughout the week. The support team was apparent all weekend until the last class was pinned. I am honored to be able to coach these talented individuals and look forward to many more shows this season!

Go Team Archway!!! See you all next weekend!!

Clare

Show season has begun!

Join us for the first week in the Spring National series!  We will be at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe with professional classes starting Wednesday.  The Junior and Amateur classes will begin on Friday-Sunday.  Stop by our barn and say HELLO!

Remember to check back often (or subscribe to our Blog so you don't miss a single post).  We will be updating results and pictures from the show often!

Great schooling show riders!

Our back gate workers.  We also had Hannah T. and Payton volunteer their time at the back gate!

What a beautiful day we had for a schooling show!  It reached a cozy 56 degrees and the horses and ponies showed how much they enjoyed the sun by behaving wonderfully.  So many people were responsible for such an organized show that I will have to thank them in a separate post.

Our concession stand was full of yummy home-baked goodies and even had hand-packaged horse treats to buy.  Riders, parents and siblings kept a constant stream through the cafe door and we made a brisk business. Each of our divisions filled and everyone won their fair share of ribbons.  Some great outside horses attended and we were excited to see new faces from our industry.

We love seeing the support the riders have. From younger brother or sisters staying all day to watch,  to moms or dads busily videotaping rounds, to dads just holding precious ribbons.  Riding is truly a family affair.  Our riders couldn't do it without the financial and emotional support of their exended family. We applaud you - the support team outside of the barn that help our riders!

We had ponies, we had horses.  Some jumped small.  Some jumped big. Some rode their own horse,  some rode on borrowed mounts. We had beginner riders to the advanced rider.  What a great day to get some practice in for the show season,  or just get in some practice. The older riders got to help the younger ones and the horses all got BATHS! Until next time... The team at Archway.

Schooling show

photo by jmoore (c)2010

Preparation is underway for our next schooling show on February 21st.  Our riders had a lot of fun, as well as the visiting barn riders and their coaches. We will again offer our concession, with proceeds to go toward our Archway Scholarship Fund. Give us a call for more information or go to the our WEBSITE to get additional information, an entry form or a schedule.

Reflections on our schooling show...

Wow, what a weekend! A great, successful weekend but a long one.  Although the highlight of the weekend ended on Sunday with our very successful schooling show, it began for me on Thursday. Thursday is the day the Krista and I spend a lot of time schooling horses/ponies over the course to prepare them for their riders on Friday.  It's quite a lot of horses to jump if you add them up.  The unique thing about this Thursday is we had all our newly painted brush boxes (with brush) and new bright colored flower boxes added in.  The first few horses were good with not a lot of drama (I expected drama).  But then I got on a handsome burly dark brown gelding who I won't name but his name starts with a G.  Now I knew that this particular guy had a little issue with the girly pink flowers a couple days prior.  So I was prepared  for a potential confrontation but was going to give him the opportunity to prove me wrong.  Well, he was totally fine about the pink flowers...... but...... he had a big problem with the outside line that had the brown brush boxes.  Now of course I took it slow and let him take his time to walk by it both ways and go up close to sniff it out.  But he was a little too persistent about making a big deal out of this line and started to hop up and down.  Now all this was about not wanting to walk up to the jump and take a closer look.  As he continued to hop up and down I decided I better let him know who's boss.  Let's just say I don't respond to small threats very well so I proceeded to take him in a tight spin to the left and then to the right and the whole time I'm thinking of Angelina Jolie in the movie "Mr & Mrs. Smith"  (I'm Mrs. Smith in this scenario :) saying out loud "who's your daddy Now!"  Well he got the point.  He may be the cool kid in Junior High but he sure does not know how to handle a confrontation especially when it's a girl.  Turns out he jumped around the course after that just beautifully and was glad to hear a good report about his Friday Lesson.

So Saturday was the next day of preparation for the Schooling show. When I headed down to the barn mid-morning it was absolute chaos in the wash racks as all the riders were waiting for the opportunity to give their horse/pony a bath.

Later in the day was spent going to Costco to buy food for our concession stand "The Archway Cafe".  After delivering that to the clubhouse and doing the necessary set up in the kitchen it was time for a break.  Then Clare and I went back down to the barn to set a course for Sunday.  We wrapped that up at about 8pm.  Big thanks to Brandan for helping with the concession set-up and the course set. I slept real good that night!!

Sunday my alarm went off at 5am.  Felt so wrong for a Sunday, especially in January, but up I rose.  First thing first was to do the Starbucks run.  Thank goodness for Starbucks!! Then down I went to polish my boots and check in on everything. Then I went in to start up the Archway Cafe.

It was wonderful to see our students out hacking their horses before sunrise to prepare for their classes. A few students braided their horses as well.  Let's not forget the Dad's who brought their daughter's for their early arrival.

The show was a great success and our horses and rider's all did fabulous.

Words of wisdom: "Eyes up and heels down"

PS I slept great on Sunday night too!!

~Corey

Corey's post // musings on the Maclay class

IMG_1560After our 2:30am school in the show ring we went back to the hotel to retire to bed at around 4am.  Then back up at 5am to get to the show for a 6am course walk.  Hannah and Leslie arrived early as well so Hannah could walk the course with us.  The back gate was a mob of riders all looking for their copy of the course.  After the walk we retired to the stands to watch the first horse go at 6:30am.  Dave was kind enough to make our Starbucks round for us.  Thank goodness for Starbucks!! We needed the caffeine after practically pulling an all nighter. IMG_1550After the first 15 horses went I headed to the barn to get on Parker for a hack.  When I felt confident that he was quiet enough for his class we headed back to wash legs and clean him up.  Coach/rider/professional groom all in one. :)  I got the call from Clare giving me an update where they were in the order and that it was time for Amanda to get on.  Amanda and I got Parker ready and walked down the parking garage ramps to the 1st floor.  (We were on the 3rd).  Out to the sidewalk in the stormy weather and into the warm-up ring.

After a very good school we headed over to the next building where the show ring is.  At the backgate we patiently await for the blue curtains to open before entering the ring.  Amanda was very calm and cool, if she was nervous you could not tell.  I think being on Parker, her reliable mount for 3 years, gave her the confidence she needed to go in and get the job done the best she could.  Parker went into the ring impressed and ears perked but went right to work.  He was late to get his eye on jump 3 and a little rough at the oxer in front of the judge but was solid every where else.  He boldly jumped the big ASPCA wall jump away from the gate.  Amanda was very pleased coming out of the ring and proud of her horse for doing the job she needed him to do.

IMG_1629We finished watching the rest of the class and then stayed to watch the World Cup Qualifier Grand Prix.  That didn't start till 7pm and eventhough we were all exhausted we were very excited to watch this class.  After watching the the Grand Prix we went back to the hotel at around 9:30pm.  A little late night room service and packing our suitcases we retired to bed at around 11pm.  Back up at 3:30am to get to the airport for a 5:30am flight.  Parker got on the van to head to the airport at 4am and he arrived in Seattle on his flight at 6pm.  We arrived in Seattle at 10:30 am and looked forward to a little R & R.

As always a crazy schedule and not much sleep but an adventure that is well worth it.  So the question is "who is going next year?"

Zazou Hoffman wins the 2009 ASPCA Maclay National Championships

Syracuse, NY - October 31, 2009 - The 2009 ASPCA Maclay National Championships have come to a close, and it was 17-year-old Zazou Hoffman of Santa Monica, CA, who prevailed through three rounds to win this year's coveted equitation final. The ASPCA Maclay National Championships are the highlight event of the 126th National Horse Show. The 126th National Horse Show is featured at the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament, which holds jumpers classes through Sunday, November 1 in the War Memorial at the Oncenter Complex in Syracuse, NY. In the first round of competition, 150 riders were tested on a course designed by the judges, Bill Moroney of Middleburg, VA, and Jack Towell of Camden, SC, in cooperation with course designer Richard Jeffery of Dorset, England. The course featured an option two-stride and multiple opportunities to make inside turns. The riders who rode the course smoothly, out-of-stride, and with style were the ones called back in the top 30 to test on the flat. Three groups of 10 were tested, and from there the judges called back the top 24 riders for a second round over fences.

The top 24 returned in the following order, with Samantha Harrison of La Canada, CA, called back on top.

1. 18 Hayley Barnhill 2. 83 Michael Hughes 3. 53 Laura King 4. 29 Tina DiLandri 5. 40 Hasbrouck Donovan 6. 106 Victoria Birdsall 7. 95 Lillie Keenan 8. 57 Samantha Schaefer 9. 90 Molly Braswell 10. 136 Julianna Richardson 11. 47 Quincy Hayes 12. 139 Lucy Davis 13. 1 Amber Henter 14. 99 Christy DeStefano 15. 129 Chase Boggio 16. 76 Christina Lin 17. 132 Sara Green 18. 142 Morgan Hale 19. 147 Alexandra Arute 20. 21 Jennifer Waxman 21. 77 Laura Pfeiffer 22. 145 Catherine Pasmore 23. 131 Zazou Hoffman 24. 69 Samantha Harrison

The course for the second round was a unique design, with 12 jumps available for riders to make their own nine-fence course. The trot jump was required, as was a hand gallop to a fence of their choice. Judge Jack Towell explained, "Years ago Ronnie Mutch had done that, so I give him credit for that. We didn't have a course made up ourselves. I thought everybody did a fantastic job." Moroney added, "That was the beauty of the second round. Every rider could create a course that best showed off their strengths and their horses and hid their weaknesses, hopefully. They're learning to be horsemen."

Hoffman chose to take turns off the left lead, which is Ivy's strength, and to keep everything moving forward and fluid.

Hoffman explained, "I tried to do as much as I could off the left. It's my better lead on Ivy. I kept it open and flowing and did things that would make sense. I didn't take too many ridiculous risks. I hand galloped the brush jump because I was less likely to have a rail there. The rest just worked out."

Third place finisher Morgan Hale explained her decisions on course, including why she did the trot jump first. "My horse jumps really well off the right lead, so we did a lot of right leads and kept it more flowing. We wanted to get the trot jump over with and out of the way!"

The judges made the decision to call back four riders for a test after the second round. The test included a broken line, two rollbacks to oxers, and a bending line down the long side of the ring to finish. While the test looked relatively simple, the catch was that the riders had to do this without stirrups.

The first rider called back was Samantha Harrison on Triple Lutz. Harrison had a smooth round, but had several rubs at the jumps.

Following her was Hale of Odessa, FL, on Urco. Hale had a very solid test and performed a nice slice across the third jump after the first rollback. "We definitely do a lot without stirrups, and I'm really tight, so I felt like this was an advantage for me," Hale admitted. "I felt like I rode really well."

Hale's trainer, Don Stewart, noted, "I really felt like she was knocking at the door. She had two solid rounds last week (in Washington). She was called back tenth in the Medal Finals, and she ribboned in our (ASPCA Maclay) Regionals. She's been very consistent, and I thought it was all going to happen for her today, which it did."

Fifteen-year-old Chase Boggio of Canton, GA, was next in on Golou II. While he had some slight rubs, his body stayed quiet, his leg was solid, and his pace never wavered.

In addition to today's second place finish, Boggio won the North American Equitation Championship at the Capital Challenge Horse Show, was seventh in the USEF Medal Finals, and placed second in the WIHS Equitation Classic Finals. However, those ribbons were on his usual horse Graphiq. Today, he rode Golou II, owned by Horizon Hill Farm.

He spoke of his decision to ride a new horse and said, "The Lubranos lent me their really great horse, so I took that opportunity. It was the first time I've ever shown him. Today was only the third day I've jumped him around a course. It just felt great to keep putting in consistent round after consistent round."

The last to test was Hoffman, who had to feel the pressure of being on top. Hoffman placed third in the National Championships last year, and this was her last competition as a junior rider. She and Ivy, the horse she rode last year, performed a smooth test and made the work without stirrups look very easy. The crowd erupted after she jumped the final fence, but she would have to wait for the awards presentation, and the countdown of the top ten riders, before she knew the outcome.

On riding without stirrups, Hoffman said, "I wasn't too concerned. We do enough of that at home, but Ivy does have a big enough jump that it could have been bad!"

Hoffman and Ivy showed sparingly together this year while Hoffman qualified for the most part on other horses like Catwoman, who Laura Pfeiffer showed tonight to fifth place. Hoffman feels that she and Ivy have a special relationship. "Ivy is just amazing. He's the coolest horse I've ever ridden. Missy owns him and he's a little older, but he still feels amazing and perfect. He has such a great canter and the best rhythm. I get along with him great. He's a little bit more sensitive, and he doesn't need much leg. He's really soft and has a great jump," she described.

The judges rewarded Hoffman's style and consistency with the honor of winning the longest-running and most historical of the equitation finals. She said through tears, "It's unreal. It's nice to see that I've improved that much over last year. I was just so excited that it finally happened and that I finally did it."Picture 2

Hoffman trains with Missy Clark, John Brennan, and Kristy McCormack at North Run and spends much of her time on the East Coast as a working student. The North Run team was in tears when Hoffman was announced as the winner. Clark said, "I'm so thrilled for Zazou. She's worked so hard. She's such a great worker and really devoted to the whole part of horsemanship. It isn't just about riding for her. It's the whole picture, which is really refreshing and unusual. She's in the barn working all day. She really deserves it, and I'm very proud of her."

Judge Bill Moroney pointed out that Hoffman made smart decisions that eventually put her to the top of their list. He commented, "She was consistent. In the second round, she created a course that suited her horse. They had a shot to show off, and it did change the order a bit. That's what we liked about her. She continued to ride forward. She didn't get overly conservative and try to play it safe." ~reprinted from the Phelps Media Group Press release.

Syracuse // getting ready for the Maclay

photoWe had an action packed day. Headed out at 7:30am to watch the Juniors, had a good time, met up with Dave and he began documenting the trip. (follows us around with the video camera).  We had to wait for the hunters to finish before Parker could move in. So there we were running around bugging the stall attendants until,  just to get us out of their hair,  they let the truck pull up on the street and unload Parker. Oh did I mention that we are The Grooms! Amanda was able to ride and bathe before heading to the 4:00pm Riders Meeting. Luck was with us and we were not in the dreaded top ten, we drew 97 out of 151. Back up to finish  taking care of Parker and then to the hotel for a relaxing dinner. In bed by 8:30 because we leave the hotel at 1.30am for a 2:30am practice ride in the ring. We hope to get back for a nap at 3:30am and back to the show for a 6:00am walk. We are tired but excited for tomorrow. We anticipate Amanda will go around 7am Seattle time. Send us positive energy and watch live on the internet at  http://www.equestriansport.tv/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

photo[Photo here and above] Our insistant questions for the ever-patient Kevin, stall assignment employee.

photoDave, the videographer

photoHotel view of the horse crossing.

photoWalk from the parking garage 'barn' to the arena.

Picture 38One end of the arena. The fact this arena is small, increases the difficulty of the course.

photoThe arena.