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A HUGE congrats to Pam Domash on her 1st place in the ARIAT Adult Medal 3’, her 2nd in the THIS Adult Medal and Aila McKeown 2nd place in the NHS Medal 3’3” during week 13 of WEC! Nice job ladies :)
Pam Domash & Playboy
The dust has settled, the trailer is unpacked and all the boys are back safe and sound. The only thing left to do is share this past week of a great WEC show with everyone! Every horse reached their milestone in different ways, some of the highlights included Heartrock and Erin making their tribute in the jumper ring with a couple of clear rounds in the Intermediate Jumpers and with Brian a clear in the Medium Schooling Jumpers. Playboy won the Ariat Adult Medal and placed second in the THIS Adult Medal with Pam and was second in the NHS Medal with Aila. Ride the Lightning and Brian put in a few stellar trips in the Intermediate Jumpers with time faults only and Sandro, “the baby”, placed 2nd and 3rd on his best day in the USHJA 2’6” Hunters. Congrats to all and now enjoy the show :)
With spring officially arriving today traffic to the barn will increase exponentially as it does every year with the arrival of sunshine and warmth. Everyone will be busier, schedules quickly filling with outdoor projects, extracurricular activities and just plain more work that the changing of the seasons inevitably bring along with it. And that means more driving, spending more time in our vehicles, hurrying along and trying to get to where we need to be. We too face this dilemma, running from one activity to the next from sunup to sundown. We also understand that the driveway to the barn is a bit longer than the average home driveway, making the temptation to speed down to the barn a bit more enticing than we’d like it to be. We’d like to remind everyone that our home shares the driveway to the barn, our driveway that we utilize to ride our bikes down, our driveway that our dogs run across to the outdoor ring to say hello and chase squirrels and rabbits when the opportunity presents itself. Not to mention Ted is probably running out of lives, he’s used up two since November. So please, drive down to the barn as if you’re pulling into your driveway. Thank you!
It looks like we survived another winter :) Spring is ALMOST here and that means projects and improvements will commence!!! That also means opportunity… Opportunity for someone who would like to spend more time in the saddle but their budget won’t allow it. We spend a lot of time making improvements but don’t always have the time to keep up with those improvements, mainly cleaning. And as anyone knows who’s spent any time at the barn… There’s ALWAYS cleaning to be done. So, in that light we are searching for an individual who doesn’t mind cleaning (yes, bathroom included) in exchange for an extra lesson per week. The perimeters are as follows: This person has to currently lesson with Brian or would like to, has to pay for one lesson per week (yes, we have a mortgage to pay) and provide 5 hours per week of cleaning duties in exchange for joining an extra group lesson. This “opportunist” has to be able to work independently and efficiently, duties will include cleaning bathroom, tack room furniture and floors, lawn furniture, cobwebbing, scrubbing water buckets and water troughs, lesson tack cleaning/conditioning and horse laundry, assisting with pressure washing projects, cleaning out hay loft… You get the idea. Anyone interested please email SHiEvents@me.com.
Thank you and happy cleaning everyone :)
Our thoughts are with Audrey while she mourns the loss of her dear old friend XL. We both stood at the end of the isle yesterday afternoon and watched this 28 year old man not miss a beat when the sound of her voice made him come running to the gate. Sometime last night/this morning he made his way to greener pastures.
Enjoy them. Enjoy them everyday!
Most of you that have been to the barn these past few days have noticed the absence of Ted and have heard the story that goes along with that absence. First, let me clarify that yes, Ted is still among us. He’s resting and healing, looking quite cute despite the un-fashionable collar he is required to wear temporarily.
I’ve had a chance to think about the incident that has brought us to this point quite extensively over the past few days and no matter how I spin it, the fact of the matter remains that it could have so easily been prevented. After all, taking your leashed dog(s) on a walk at a horse show shouldn’t be an overly traumatizing experience… Unless you’ve been to USEF rated shows, with lots of horses that are brought by lots of horse people with lots of dogs. Loose dogs. EVERYWHERE. Would you believe that every single USEF rated show we’ve attended, at least one dog (or several) have “come after us”?! Thanks to my sharp ninja skills I have managed to keep the boys safe, until now.
And it only took 5-6 seconds. That’s how long that English Bulldog had Ted’s ribcage in his jaws, shaking him like a rag doll. I have no doubt had Brian not intervened as aggressively and quickly as he did, Ted would have died from this incident.
His injuries were severe, but he got lucky! All of his major organs were in tact and untouched by dog teeth. The pressure of the Bulldog jaws inflicted an abdominal hernia and a diaphragm hernia, entrapping his pancreas and partial small intestine.
A huge SHOUT OUT to the Herrmann Vet Clinic staff for their quick assessment and the MedVET staff at Carmel, IN for their phenomenal job attempting to right all the trauma within this little boy’s body. He has been a stellar patient, recovering as well as we could have hoped for.
Did I mention this could have been prevented??? Did I mention “Dogs are not permitted to be loose on competition grounds and must be held on a leash or otherwise restrained” per the USEF rules??? To say that this experience will have a lasting impact on our family is an understatement.
Yes, we will be “those” people at horse shows. Those people who loose their cool and minds when we see loose dogs running around. Yes, we will take whatever action necessary to protect our dogs. Our dogs who are walking on a leash, attached to their owners, owners who take their responsibility of co-existing safely in a horse show environment seriously.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to Ted’s recovery, your well wishes and thoughts. He will be back, hopefully the same Ted he has always been!
Yes, yes he has and apparently we are not in Kansas anymore… Assuming this will not be the last blast of subfreezing ridiculousness before spring gets here, check with us before heading out for your regularly scheduled lesson. For the sake of your toes and fingers, not to mention your awesome instructor, it will need to be above 20 degrees and if it’s a close call shoot us a text/email!
Did we mention 50 more days and counting??? Oh and it’s supposed to rain with possible thunderstorms this weekend…
In an effort to streamline and consolidate different information packages we've revamped the Riding Instruction and Liability Release for all lesson students. Please complete and return the attached form either in person or via email by April 1, 2018! Additional paper copies are also available in the tack room of the old barn.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us either via the comment section of this blog or email SHiEvents@me.com.
Thank you and happy riding everyone!
As I sit here writing this blog I am watching the snowflakes whirl around wishing I was home to enjoy the first snow at our new facility. But, instead I'm enjoying the sun like rays of the LED lights and a comfortable 65% of this beautiful place called the World Equestrian Center. Nostalgia is setting in, another year almost gone by and whilst sitting here videoing all week, I've been reflecting all the 2017 events that have brought us to the here and now. Gratefulness comes to mind.
Gratefulness: feeling or showing an appreciation of kindness; thankful: I'm very grateful to you for all your help.• archaic received or experienced with gratitude; welcome: enjoying the grateful shade.
Grateful for our new home which as most of you are aware was a HUGE undertaking and accomplishment. Grateful to those of you who have endured this undertaking, supporting Sport Horse through it's instruction with lessons, clinics and horse shows and accepting your riding accomplishments and failures with grace and personal responsibility as part of the enjoyment of this equestrian journey we all share. A great quote of a good friend comes to mind: "Some people make excuses, other people make progress. You get to choose."
Grateful doesn't begin to describe the feelings Brian and I share for the horses we have in our current care, we are lucky indeed! Playboy coming back to us appears to be a true testament to Brian's teachings, training and care. Watching the videos I've managed to capture of him this week needs no commentary, no explanation, the expression of this amazing horse speaks volumes! Congrats to our team representing Sport Horse at WEC this week, all rounds were rewarding to watch. Some were rewarded with ribbons and some are still a work in progress. "All progress begins with the truth." Dan Sullivan
A special congrats to Aila & Playboy on their win of the NHS 3'3" Medal and their second placing of the THIS 3' Children's Medal. So without further ado, enjoy:
So much to be grateful for! Wishing all our fellow horseman a wonderful holiday and safe travels!
True security in life comes not from the things we have as much as from the things we choose to do without... Og Mandino
The signs have been posted about the closing of Main Street (also known as East 650 South) just north and south of the Sport Horse entrance. Upon further investigation I found the following link describing the details, please plan accordingly.
Located just 2 miles from State Road 334 and Interstate 65. We are within 20 miles of all the local amenities Carmel, Noblesville, Zionsville, Brownsburg and Lebanon have to offer and yet secluded enough to provide a peaceful and serene setting for your riding enjoyment.
