summer updates

by Lauri.

wow, it’s been ages since anyone’s posted to Legacy’s blog. I guess we’ve all been busy with sumertime–extra chores since the stalls must be cleaned the instant manure hits the ground or else flies come and I go insane, showing, and, biggest of all, baby training!

yes, it’s true. my little babies are all grown up! well, almost. Azereos, Iliachenva’ar, Kirsdarke, and Lorelia have all been started under saddle within the past few months. as usual, the job of training was divided up amongst several of us, to keep the work load manageable–and hopefully keep us all in one piece. Macy (O’Shale) took on the job of riding her darling Iliavchenva’ar, who’s been an angel as expected. Karai (Marcani) has handled Kirsdarke since birth, and was beyond thrilled that she was able to start him–he’s the first baby she ever trained from the ground up. Lorelia doesn’t quite have the substance necessary to carry her usual handler, Derian, so he’s been handling her groundwork while Haylie has served as her first rider.

naturally, it’s fallen to me to ride my dearest Zee (Azereos L). in all seriousness, he’s been a surprisingly uncomplicated guy to start–all four of them have, actually. the first day I climbed into the saddle (and by that I mean for real, feet in stirrups, butt in saddle, hoping he wouldn’t throw me sky-high), he was too busy chewing the bit to care that I was up there. (ever since the first time I bridled him–that was over a year ago–he’s convinced that all bits should taste like molasses, even though he hasn’t had molasses on his bit since that first time.) he never even needed to be led: he had enough experience ground-driving that it took very little encouragement at all to get him to walk out, and he found his balance quickly, with no spooking or bucking. he’s already well on his way to being a fantastic riding horse: we have our first under-saddle show, at which we’re doing an intro level walk-trot dressage test, less than a week from now, and less than 90 days since Zee first carried a rider.

hmm, what else is new here? well, Katie (Had Me At Hello) has finally made the big switch: she was our one and only western horse, but she was sorely neglected and getting a bit fat, so she joined the ranks of the English mounts. to nobody’s surprise, she didn’t even blink an eye at the discipline change. one day she was chasing down cattle (or whatever it is that Jared used to do with her), and the next, Macy had her hopping cross-rails like any old schoolmaster. she’s been for sale for some months now, but that may change now. it turns out our newest event rider, Lindzey Bryant, has a younger sister who adores horses. when Lindzey asked if she would like to join our show team, it was an enthusiastic yes! Katie and her new friend Mikayla will be making their grand debut in the Short Stirrup Hunter division at Riverwalk’s Hunter Schooling Show on August 6th. I think Lindzey is more nervous than Mikayla, and Katie’s just in it for the pats and carrots.

HOW COULD I FORGET? we also have NEW BABIES at Legacy! Ramadi (Silverdown x Kalaja) arrived at the end of July, and Zayna (Silverdown x Zytka) followed this morning (August 2nd). we had planned all along to keep Ramadi, but Zayna was for sale in-utero… unfortunately no one bought her. and now she’s here and she’s WAY TOO CUTE TO SELL.

okay, that’s enough updates for now. I need to go make sure no flies have arrived while I’ve been typing.

taking over the world, one rider at a time.

by Lauri.

ah, sweet success! yes, it’s true: I have successfully converted another equestrian to dressage. I should perhaps make a disclaimer: I am not a fanatic who thinks dressage is the only true discipline (even though it is) and shuns all other sports. however, I DO think it’s largely under-rated (especially thanks to a Sports Illustrated poll, in which it was voted the most boring Olympic sport), and I strive to demonstrate that it’s really a challenging and rewarding discipline, just like the more action-intensive and fun-to-watch equestrian sports.

THAT SAID. Jared Sheldon has been riding for us for some years now. his background is Western, and when we acquired our Quarter Horse mare Katie (Had Me At Hello), he took it upon himself not only to learn the discipline of Reining, he trained Katie in it, as well. the pair has had some success on the local circuit in both Reining and Working Cow Horse classes. since we have no Western trainer at Legacy, the closest thing Jared could get to Reining lessons were dressage lessons (in a Western saddle). and now, he’s decided to make the full transition. this just isn’t the right place for a Western horse to thrive, and Jared has decided it’s in her best interest to let her go. so, Katie has been listed for sale, and Jared had his first official dressage lesson (in an English saddle!). much to the envy of everyone else, he’s learning on our beloved Metta (Medieval Magic), and he and Luke will be sharing Metta-competition duties in the future.

new racepony!

by Lauri.

I’m insanely excited that I am now the owner of three raceponies! Toffy (Getoffmycloud) and Essie (Ess You Vee) have now been joined by Bella (Jerusalem Bells), the sweetest and most dainty little racer I’ve ever met. I was afraid my trainer, Donald, would have a heart attack on the spot when I told him I’d purchased another filly from this year’s annual CCRA auction. (last year, he was all about me buying a two-year-old filly, until he met Essie. he has since declared her the devil’s spawn and every time he rides her he insists he’s loading her on the next van to anywhere but here.) however, he took her out the morning after she arrived, and she earned his full approval: in his words, she’s “Toffy’s easy-goingness with Essie’s speed and the delightful addition of a sweet personality.” she’s got me half convinced to give up the sport horses and become a jockey just so I can ride her. is it bad that I’m practically drooling over the day she retires so I can have her on my show string??

Odds and Ends March ’09

by Lauri Kiger

wow, it’s been awhile since anyone has blogged for Legacy. actually there’s like three drafts saved that no one ever finished… apparently we’re all easily distracted around here?

anyway, 2009 is FLYING for us. we took some time off at the beginning of the year, since frozen ground made schooling difficult and we all run into each other if we all try to ride in the indoor. but it’s warming up here in PA (a high of 63 tomorrow!) so we’re getting back into shape and preparing for the spring and summer show seasons.

pretty much the biggest news around here revolves around our babies. first off, congrats to Katie Sheppard on her purchase of one of our youngstock, König L. we hope to see them in the Grand Prix arena one day! our youngstock have been keeping us on our feet. the two-year-old colts seem to have, er, “woken up” this spring. they all think they’re stallions and have become more of a handful than ever before. to my shock, Zee has undergone the most drastic change, and his was downward: he QUIETED DOWN. he’s still a dork and will yank an arm out of its socket if a mare gets too close while he’s being led without a shank, but he’s actually quite the personable young thing, and has decent manners. I confess that one of my biggest worries for the past two years has been breaking Zee to saddle, and I decided to be ahead of the game. he’s growing like a weed and I don’t want to deal with trying to saddle a jumpy 17-hand three-year-old, so I’ve been saddling him up this year and leading him around in full tack. he looks hysterical, since he’s so slender that he has to wear a pony saddle, and he’s nearly 16 hands and it looks ridiculous on him, but he wears tack like a pro. I still think he’ll be an adventure to ride, but hopefully now it will be a side effect of his personality rather than his dorky spooking habit.

is it obvious that I have a favourite baby horse?

our other youngstock deserve a mention, too. Alleria L (Excalibur x Altara [Zee's momma]) has lived up to her family name: she was visited by the farrier for the first time this week, and he issued a desperate plea that she develop manners before he visits again. I wasn’t present for her trimming but apparently she pulled a total Zee, spooked at every tool he approached her with, flat out refused to lift her feet for anyone other than Derian (he was not thrilled), and got so upset that she spooked forward at one point and pulled free of the cross-ties. frankly, though, I was surprised by this news. Alleria is very well-mannered usually, and not at all spooky like her big brother… usually.

what else to report? we have a new horse in our hunter string, a gorgeous (I guess the hunter world would say “fancy?”) Holsteiner mare called Vienna. Macy (O’Shale) is utterly thrilled with her; they’re debuting the RWH division at the WEF Tournament of Champions in April. we actually have a decent string of hunters now: Haylie and Paradigm are moving up to the Small Juniors this year (though Haylie says it’s just an experiment; she’s considering quitting the hunters altogether to focus on her jumping and eventing careers, much to Macy’s dismay), Macy is taking Paradigm to SYG, and Silver is continuing in the RWH. oh, and Haylie is competing in the Large Pony division with Sir Robin again. (I suggested that if she wants to get out of hunters we should consider either leasing him out or trying him as a jumper, but she refused. sometimes I wonder about that girl.)

but I digress. if you’re still reading this by now, you deserve a cookie (out of Zee’s nipping range), because I’ve rambled.

happy almost-spring! (Derian says “false.”)

Lauri

St. Nicholas 2DE

by Karai Marcani.

Let me start off by informing you how freaking cold Wisconsin is. It is COLD. I don’t know HOW Veerle and her crew live up here through the winter. I almost froze just riding here for two days!

Anyway, yes, we (that is, all of the Legacy crew, pretty much, since it takes a lot of us to handle the whole eventing string) are in Wisconsin, at Valiant Equestrian Centre. We’ve just wrapped up the Saint Nicholas Two-Day Event and found out our final placings, and I was shivering so badly that Lauri told me to come inside and warm up before we all load up and head out. So I’m blogging for you! First time ever!

Lauri’s royally grouchy right now because of how poorly all of our upper-level competitors did. I blame the cold, but of course Lauri loves cold and snow so much that she wouldn’t dream of incriminating it in that matter. Even always-cheerful Journey pinned his ears, swirled his tail, and trudged his way around the show jumping course, taking rails down in his wake… I really think it’s just too cold here. Our horses are used to the PA weather, where it’s barely below freezing and we’ve only had three inches of snow so far this season!

Speaking for myself, I am not disappointed with today’s results. Beauty and Betrayal and I did the Beginner-Novice, and it was a blast. We all take turns showing Beauty, because she is technically Haylie’s horse and Haylie is not old enough to show in recognized events yet, so Lauri wants her to have as much experience with as many riders as possible before Haylie takes over. As far as I know, Haylie will start riding when she turns 13 (next year!), and I’m hoping I will get a few more rides on Beauty before that happens. She really loves to event, and is visibly frustrated by the slow pace and low jumps that she encounters at BN–but she’s such a sweetie that she won’t do anything more than swirl her tail and jump higher than necessary. We took first overall for our level, and Anna and Keeper finished a respectable fourth.

I also rode Bakari at Training, as usual. To no one’s surprise, Bakari was as miserable as any member of the string (she’ll take any excuse to be a brat), but she’s such a trooper that she still performed to her normal level. We finished first. Andrea and Truth were third, and Lindzey and Boston landed seventh.

The Future Event Horse class was a little… embarrassing… at least for me. Kersey (Kirsdarke) has discovered his inner “big stallion” and is experimenting with it. He hit a growth spurt over the summer and is nearing 15 hands (as a coming 2-year-old!!), so he’s incredibly awkward, which doesn’t help his looks OR his coordination. He’s started paying more attention to things other than his handler, which leads him to lose concentration, which leads him to trip, which leads him to spook, which causes a burst of excitement that he has a hard time settling down from. Lauri’s not concerned, so I’m pretty sure she considers this normal for a yearling stallion. It’s just weird to me because he’s always been such a chill dude… but hey. He’s still decent to handle and nowhere near dangerous, so I guess we’re all right. Needless to say, we finished last in the class. To rub it in a little more, Lauri and Zee (Azereos L–who isn’t having the same behavioural changes as Kersey, though Lauri says it’s just because Zee was born an idiot and if he got any stupider he’d implode) took second behind Derian and Lorelia’s first.

Finally, I took Bakari in the Young Event Horse class, where she made it very clear that she was done for the weekend. She’s always a brat and I’m used to it, but I was truly shocked in the dressage test when I asked her for a canter transition and she bucked. Aria’s Legacy-bred mare Tzigane took first in that class, and Anna and Keeper got third.

Needless to say I am thrilled that it’s time to load up and head home. I will never think Pennsylvania winters are cold again!!! My only complaint is that we’ll be back up here soon for more trials. Sigh.

Updates, 27. Oct.

by Luke Badolato.

I can’t remember what all people have written since the last time I blogged, so forgive me if I update you on things you’ve already been updated on. There really has been a lot going on around here, even though I guess we’ve been lying kinda low for awhile.

Our most recent update is a little black mare called Medieval Magic. Actually, she’s not really so little; for a Morgan, she’s quite large. If you know anything about Lauri, you know she’s got a secret love affair with the Morgan horse. Apparently she used to own one (or two? or three?) years ago, but for some reason or another, doesn’t anymore. So, when we made our monthly visit to the Adoption Shelter to see what they had to offer, you’d better believe there was mass excitement when the little Morgan mare was spotted. To make things even MORE exciting, she’s sport-bred (Lauri’s favourite) and has show experience in both dressage and jumpers. If you’re not getting the import of all this… it’s like someone put money into a horse dispenser to create “the quintessential perfect horse for Lauri.” I’m pretty psyched about her, too, because it means one more horse for me to ride! Let’s face it, I’m not the best rider on the planet. It  takes a pretty forgiving horse to put up with me, and so far, Kalaja’s the only one who a) tolerates me, and b) Lauri doesn’t think I’m ruining. Medieval Magic will be the second! I’ve already ridden her, and we got along famously. She’s one of those older horses who’s a) got the experience to know what I want even if my aids aren’t perfect, and b) got the temperament not to take advantage of my mistakes.

I guess I’ve talked about her enough, but really, I’m excited. She’s a total sweetheart, gorgeous to boot, and, Lauri says, a prime prospect for a Morgan or half-Morgan baby at Legacy next spring!

Has anyone posted a blog about Keeper yet? I can’t recall. If not, here’s the quick overview: We have a new pony, and her name is Quidditch, but she’s called Keeper. She’s adorable; honestly, I wish I were a smaller person so I could ride her, but if I sat on her, I’d look extremely silly. She’s buckskin, which just adds to her uniqueness, and a brown buckskin to boot. Really, she’s the perfect little pony, I think. I’m pretty sure Lauri plans to breed her in the future (but not right now; her rider, Anna Benton, is having too much fun with her, and Lauri feels bad putting her out of commission for a foal), and that’s a really exciting prospect. A Keeper baby would be so much fun!

What would be even MORE fun would be if the Keeper baby were sired by our other new pony, Sir Robin. Sir Robin’s another one I’m too big to ride, but he looks like loads of fun. He’s a true-to-life purebred Arabian stallion, but he’s pony-sized. What fun! Haylie is to be his official rider, but for now Lauri’s been riding him mostly–she says she’s conducting “extensive temperament testing” to make sure he’s safe for her daughter, but I’m pretty sure she’s just monopolizing on the opportunity to ride the fun new pony.

We Hit the Board!

by Lauri.

first things first. TOFFY WON HIS FIRST GRADED STAKES RACE! I don’t know that I’ve ever mentioned Toffy in our blog before, so in case you don’t know who, Toffy is my spoiled rotten Thoroughbred colt formally known as Getoffmycloud. he’s an absolute puppy dog to work with (I don’t ride him or anything, of course, but I frequently head over to the Clip Clop Racetrack to give him carrots and kiss him a lot) but he’s had mixed successes on the track up until now: he broke his maiden in his first start as a 2 y/o, but has been without a win since then. finally, after finishing behind the leader (and sometimes at the back of the back) 10 times, he’s WON… and in style! he went out in a field of 7 in the G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup on the 21st, and loved the distance (10f), conditions (sloppy), and apparently most everything else about the race.

to top the day off, Essie (Ess You Vee) won her starter allowance! this little filly (actually not little, she’s 16.2) has been an absolute wonder since I won her at auction early this year; her lifetime record is 4-2-2-0-0, and she’s only a two-year-old! I’m really looking forward to seeing her mature on the track. a filly for the Triple Crown next year?? okay, now I definitely just jinxed her

HITS Week 4 Summary

by Lauri.

I know it took me awhile to get around to this, but we’ve been busy around here. even just one person being away (i.e. Haylie going back to school) makes us have to shuffle to adjust our daily routine, covering her chores and doling out some of the horses she no longer has time to exercise daily.

anyway, HITS Week IV results! Day One was by far Legacy’s best day, in which Derian and I competed in the Level 6 and Level 7 jumpers on Magic and Altara, respectively. Derian and Magic had a bad first round, finishing sixth, but really pulled it together to finish third and first in the second and third rounds. Altara was on the whole time. she’s really learned to focus herself over the past season, and I was thrilled with her attitude during this event! not only was she alert and responsive to my every movement, she has really learned to carry herself well. riding her no longer feels like dragging a half-ton weight around a course; she now works for herself, respecting my authority without waiting for my every signal to make a move. (it’s about time.) we finished first, second, and second to be level Champions… just ahead of the Reserve Champs, Magic and Derian! we’d been hesitating whether to try going at Level 7 this time, and decided to go for it. Altara was beyond ready; Magic was not. once again, Altara was right there; I don’t think she even noticed the jumps were any higher than the last time out; and we took Reserve Champ for that level. I’m really starting to enjoy my girl!

after we went, Mark and Krieger were up for Level 8  jumpers. they’re both still new to this–Krieger obviously had plenty of jumping training before we got him, since he came to us ready to hit the Grand Prix, but we have no idea how much actual competition experience he’s had. and Mark, though he’s an experienced competitor, this is his first Grand Prix mount. they did well, as always; third, second, first, to finish in a a three-way tie with the other two competitors. definitely a fair showing for that pair. unfortunately, on the last day of competition, they just weren’t together, and finished 6th in the Grand Prix.

later in the day, Haylie and Anja took Katja and Kindia out in the Low and High Pony Jumpers. both did fairly well, though neither managed to be a division champion. it’s okay: we’ve learned not to expect consistency with our ponies!

the next day Haylie continued with the jumpers, taking Nostalgia out in the Children’s Jumpers. they also did well, though not fabulously; they are still getting used to one another–Nostalgia is definitely very different from Paradigm and Katja, the horses Haylie grew up on.

on Day Three, Macy and Paradigm showed in the FYGs. they didn’t do anything outstanding in any one class, but they were consistent, and ended up reserve champs for the division. Macy switched horses in time to ride Silverdown in the RWHs, once again showing good consistency for another reserve championship award. yay for Macy and her hunters!

Day Four saw more hunters, with Haylie taking Paradigm in the Children’s. they started out well, winning their first class, then inexplicably lost their flair and finished last in the remaining classes. no comment from Haylie. they did, however, come back in fine form to finish second in the Children’s/Adult Hunter Classic. see, they’ve got it where it counts!

we’re hoping the next hunter/jumper show we compete in will see Legacy with an even bigger crew: we’re looking at a large pony. wanna know a secret? he’s another Arabian!

New to Legacy!

Wow! Lauri wasn’t kidding when she told me that riding for Legacy would mean I am now “part of the gang.” I’ve been here less than a week, and she already has me blogging for the farm!

Well… I suppose I should start by introducing myself. My name is Madeleine Drescher, but if we ever meet at shows, clinics, parties, or whatever… please call me Maddie! I can’t really think of a snobbier-sounding name than Madeleine, and I wonder every day of my life what my parents were thinking. I am 19 years old, and I plan to be an Olympic gold medalist one day.

My discipline is dressage, and that is why I am at Legacy. I know there are bigger and more serious dressage barns out there in the world, but I’m not a “big barn” type of girl. And to be completely honest, I’m here for Malkieri. I saw him at an Olympic trial I was a spectator at, and I absolutely fell in love. I immediately found out who owned him, and called to find out what my chances would be of riding for her. She told me they were slim, and I was highly disappointed. But only a few weeks later, she called me back with an offer bigger than I could have hoped!! No, she didn’t want to take me on as Malkieri’s new rider (darn!), but she was looking for an FEI-eligible rider to take on a Lusitano mare she had recently acquired. I admit, I was hesitant–that was a LOT more pressure than I had anticipated her placing on me–but she really seemed to want me to come try the mare. So I did. And now I am officially responsible for schooling and showing a stunningly gorgeous smoky black Lusitano mare called Avelina.

The biggest shock of all? Lauri wants us to go out in an Olympic qualifier. I am so not ready for that, but she insists the worst that can happen is we place poorly and it’s just another show.

Olympics? Now? Eek!

Olympic Fever at Legacy

by Lauri.

yes, as the title implied (actually, explicitly stated), we’re getting excited for the Olympics! three qualifiers have run so far, two of which hosted Legacy horses… and two of which saw us screaming our heads off with excitement at the results.

most exciting for me personally, JOURNEY AND I QUALIFIED AGAIN THIS YEAR. for those who may not remember–though seriously, you SHOULD remember–we won the gold in Eventing last year. we haven’t had the greatest year since then, but we’re working hard at getting back into form, and my little pony and I are ready to show the big guys who’s boss again this time.

to everyone’s excitement and, yes, surprise, our 17-year-old duo Jared Sheldon and Had Me At Hello (“Katie”) qualified for Reining! our old-horse, young-rider team has been competing contentedly for some time without ever making huge strides in the competition ring, but they really cranked up their performance for the Olympic qualifiers… to obvious success.

Derian and Rhapsody qualified for Dressage. Derian’s not too thrilled… he says there’s not enough dressage competition out there for this to be anything that special… but the rest of us are excited for him.

finally, Andrea Lee and Rhetorical qualified to compete against Journey and me in Eventing. last year, a bad cross country run destroyed their chance at a medal (they definitely would have been in the top three–maybe even in line for gold–otherwise, finishing third after dressage and coming first in show jumping), so Andrea is really looking forward to showing the world that that was just a fluke; they really are a force to be reckoned with. of course, she’s going to have to reckon with my pony if she wants to win.