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Spotlight

Jester — Best Trail Horse!

July 4, 2016 //  by admin

“Jester (Exotic Explosion) a 25 year old American Saddlebred on a beach ride on Hunting Island South Carolina. He is the best trail horse ever! Bold, forward and smart.”

Laura Henderson

jesterinwater
Laura Henderson and Jester.

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Category: News, SpotlightTag: Trail Riding

Inflammatory Asset

August 24, 2013 //  by admin

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Inflammatory Asset

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For the beginning rider, for the rider who wants to hone her basic skills, for the rider who wants to bring
a horse up through the ranks in the dressage world, all while providing a fun and safe ride, Frieda
(aka Inflammatory Asset) will take you there! Frieda has been at my house for two months and has provided
me and my friends– of all skill levels– countless hours of enjoyment. She has a big, booming canter and an
easy, regular trot; she enjoys working at home as much as she enjoys competition. She is the proverbial
“Steady Eddy” who can pack a rider and enhance confidence yet allow a more advanced rider to boost her skill
set to make her even more pleasurable to ride.

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Category: News, SpotlightTag: Dressage

Once In A Lifetime

November 16, 2012 //  by admin

Me and Lightning 1980

I grew up riding horses. It was in my blood from the very beginning. It was all I ever thought about or wanted to do. If I wasn’t riding horses I was pretending I was a horse or playing with my toy horses or reading about horses, you get the picture. I got my first Shetland Pony, Lightning when I was three and before that I was riding double with my mother on her Saddlebred stallion. My mom also had a 5 gaited Saddlebred mare that I loved to ride. Lightning was a bit stubborn for a little kid, he never wanted to leave the barn. I figured out the only way I could get him to run at all was if he was headed back to the barn. I would drag him to the end of the field and then run all the way back to the barn, then turn around and drag him back down the field again. I would do this over and over, kind of like sledding. I had a couple other ponies throughout my childhood as well, there was Princess the slowest pony ever and Black Magic the jet black five gaited pony. Magic was a very cool pony and was perfect for my headless horseman Halloween costume.

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I got my first Saddlebred when I was 9 or 10. A bay mare named Rose Mars Glow. She was 4 years old and unbroken. My dad traded some embroidered caps for her. She was never easy, crazy some said, but she made me tough and a good rider. I’m not sure how we got into Saddlebreds, we lived in Quarter Horse country and there wasn’t a Saddlebred show or trainer near us. I took some saddle seat lessons from a trainer that was about 60 or 70 miles away, too far to keep up for very long. We trail rode and I got into jumping and dressage but we had subscriptions to the Saddlebred magazines and kept up with what went on in that world. We would go to the shows and watch whenever we were in the Atlanta area.
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Me and Rose Mare 1988

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In 1988 when I was 13 I saw an ad in Saddle & Bridle Magazine that William Shatner and his wife at the time Marcy, both breeders and promoters of Saddlebreds, were having a contest to give away one of their young horses. This was a promotion of the American Saddlebred as a western pleasure horse suitable for young people. It was coordinated by the American Saddlebred Horse Association and Saddle & Bridle Magazine. The contest rules explained that it was only open to kids under 18, each contestant had to make a video about why they should win the horse, show where the horse would live and demonstrate their knowledge about horsemanship and riding skills. I was home schooled and my Mom thought the project of writing and producing my own video would be a great project for me. I wrote my own script and my Dad used our old super huge VHS video camera to tape me. I did a demonstration on grooming, showed off our very modest barn, and galloped Rose Mare around our field. My Dad took me to a camera store that had video editing machines in the back and helped me splice it together into a 10 minute presentation that I titled Saddlebred Dream. Then I mailed it off, really not expecting to hear anything else about it.

About a month later I got a letter in the mail that said my video was picked as one of the five finalists and me and a parent needed to fly to Saint Louis, MO to the St. Louis National Charity Horse Show where the winner would be presented with the horse. We didn’t have much money and my parents ran their own business so at first they said there was no way we could fly to Missouri, but with a bit of begging they decided that it was pretty awesome that I had been picked and they would figure out a way.

Contest Finalists in St. Louis

My Mom and I flew out together, my first time flying ever. Things were a lot different then, the Captain of the plane heard it was my first time flying and personally showed me the cockpit of the plane. When we landed in Saint Louis it was very late at night and took us a long time to collect our luggage and find a shuttle to our hotel. I think I was asleep but my mother tells me the shuttle ride was very scary, she said she didn’t think it really was an airport shuttle because it was full of chains and the driver took over and hour to find our hotel. I don’t really remember that part though. We were in Saint Louis for two or three days. The contestants were all introduced, we were photographed, interviewed and shown around Saint Louis. We did a tour of the Arch and went to the top in an elevator that resembled a washing machine. It was too foggy that day to see anything from the top though. Finally, we went to the stables and met the horse, Gambler’s Habit. A glowing chestnut gelding, 3 years old. Sweet and calm but distracted by all the people and commotion.

Then the final night of the big show arrived. There was the Championship Western Pleasure Saddlebred class that showcased this new style of riding Saddlebreds. Then William Shatner rode Gambler into the arena and did a little demonstration on him. Then the contestants all walked into the arena. Each of our names were put into William Shatners hat. I was really nervous about having to stand in the arena with introductions being made over the loudspeakers and all eyes on us. My Mom was somewhere in the crowd but I couldn’t see her. Then a single name was drawn out of the hat. Honestly, I don’t even remember my name being called. I was too nervous and it never dawned on me that I could possibly win so I guess I wasn’t listen very close. Then everyone turned to me and was congratulating me and I heard my Mom yelling from the stands. I didn’t pass out but I don’t remember anything about the rest of the night. Sadly my Mom’s camera broke so we only have one photo from that night that we bought from the show photographer.

Me winning Gambler with Marcy and William Shatner

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The next day we had to fly home. We were busy packing and getting to the airport. My mom was calling home and telling everyone the news. I wanted to go back to the stables and meet MY HORSE, I couldn’t believe it still, but there was no time. We flew into some bad weather and fog in Atlanta and were delayed in the air for probably an hour. I got motion sick from all the dipping and circling.

Once we were home we had the challenge of figuring out how to get Gambler home. Shipping was not included in the deal and shipping a horse can be very expensive. My mom took care of most of the details. They had moved him from Missouri to Kentucky and were stabling him there until we could have him picked up. We ended up having him put on a truck line that was moving a bunch of race horses from Kentucky to Ocala, FL so we got a little discount. The truck wasn’t going to go out of his way though to drop Gambler at our farm so we had to meet them somewhere near an I-75 exit. We drove down to Lake City, FL and met them at a farm called Valhalla, about two hours from home. It was a very quick exchange, they were in a hurry to get back on the road. It was a little embarrassing getting him off that snazzy horse semi full of glossy race horses and loading him on to our rusty open stock trailer.

Gambler 1988

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On the way home we had to stop at the agricultural inspection station and since Gambler had traveled such a long way and was crossing the state line into Georgia once more the inspectors were very thorough. He had shipping wraps on and the inspector told me I had to get in the trailer and take off the wraps so he could make sure all his leg marking matched what was on his paperwork. I was a bit uncomfortable, I really didn’t know this horse at all and crawling in the side hatch door of the trailer and basicly under him to remove the wraps was scarey. He didn’t move though and was a very good boy. I think that was where a lifetime of trust started.

Me and Gambler 1988

Once home he had some serious adjusting to do. Culture shock. I don’t think he was very happy with his new home for quite a while. He came from southern California, a super snazzy stable with climate control and no flies. He was strictly stall kept and that is the way he liked it. Our horses lived outside in the weather, had to swat their own flies and only came into their stalls to eat or if the weather was really bad. He didn’t like being outside and had to be dragged out of his stall, he quickly developed a fly allergy, was hot in the summer and shivered in the winter and had no idea how to eat grass. Seeing a horse that didn’t know how to graze was actually pretty funny. He had some instinct that made him give it a try but he would pull the grass up by the roots and then end up eating dirt and then spit the whole mouthful out and look like he just didn’t get it. Eventually he got better at it. I got the vet to give him allergy shots, I bought him a big warm fleece lined blanket for winter but he always did like being in his stall better than being outside.

He was trained in western pleasure, a new class in the Saddlebred world. The contest was actually intended to promote this new way of using Saddlebreds. The problem was in my part of the country the only western pleasure classes were for Quarter Horses and anyone who knows a little bit about horse knows that these two breeds are about as different as they get. I had never ridden western either and it really didn’t appeal to me. I had been taking dressage and jumping lessons on Rose Mare so I gave that a try with Gambler. He was a natural jumper. Jumped like a deer and loved it. The dressage wasn’t as easy for him. He had been trained his whole life to take tiny short steps for the western classes and carry his head long and low, not at all typical for a Saddlebred. Saddlebreds normal carry their heads high and are high stepping as well. He was so easy and smart though that he could learn anything you wanted to teach him.

I was in Pony Club from the age of 11 until I graduated out at 21. I took Gambler to all the rallies, Dressage, Jumping and Eventing. And though we never got the best scores in the extended movements in dressage we always did well with accuracy and collection. We also had fun learning some advanced moves like flying changes and the pirouette.  We did fun shows with costume classes, sit a buck, pole bending and barrel racing. I took a polo clinic on him. I also took him to police horse training school and shot guns off him. In 1996 when the Olympics were held in Atlanta, GA I lent Gambler to the Pentathlon athletes to train on. We trail rode all the time with groups and off by ourselves. We had many adventures exploring our woods or neighboring farmland. Gambler loved to go swimming and would lay down in any puddle we came to if I wasn’t paying attention. He was also a form of transportation before I could drive. I would ride him to my friend’s house if no one could take me. I rode him in parades and use him to calm or pony other horses. I could ride him with no saddle or bridle only a string around his neck. I have never trusted an animal as much as I trusted him. I could put any non-rider on him and know that they would be fine. In his old age I let my little niece and nephew ride him around the yard or practice cleaning out his hoofs. I knew he would never step on them or do anything stupid. They liked riding him much better than their own cantankerous ponies.
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Me and Gambler on stadium in Ft. Rucker AL 1991
Me and Gambler on cross country in Ft. Rucker AL 1991

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Enjoying a beer on his 26th birthday

He loved beer, broccoli and pepper mints. He would knock you over for a beer and we could put it in his water at shows to get him to drink more. That caused a few problems at the Pony Club rallies where no one in the barn was over 21 and I show up with beer. Trying to explain it was for my horse proved difficult. He always got candy canes in his stocking at Christmas and would eat the wrapper and all if I wasn’t careful. He drooled when he slept and sometimes there would be a strand of drool that went from his mouth all the way to the ground. He love his ears to be rubbed and his belly scratched and would groan and lean into me almost falling down. He loved the ladies too and would get terrible crushes on any new mares that came to our barn.

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My niece and nephew going for a ride 2011

Gambler passed away on June 3 2012. He was 27 years old. He had been in good health his whole life, he was never lame and only had some mild colic a few times. Over the last 6 months though he had become very thin, despite all the extra feed, alpha, weight gainer and corn oil I gave him he still lost weight and didn’t have much of an appetite. The vet said he had developed Cushing’s Disease which is very common in old age so his coat was shaggy even in the summer. He had gotten very weak as well, I didn’t let the kids be around him very much because he tripped a lot and I was afraid he would fall. In the end he did go down and was too weak to get up. He was too weak to even lift his head but not too weak to drink one last cold beer before he went. That day was one of my worst. The grief is no different than losing a family member or a best friend, he was both. We had been together for 24 years, two thirds of my life. Those years were the best times of my life as well. Not just because of him but those were the years of riding every day, being a kid, horse shows, Pony Club, high school, college, best friends and big dreams. So his passing is also an end of an era for me as well. It has been over for a while, I have had plenty of years so far of work, bills, marriage and mortgages. But it really seems over now. I spent weeks going through old photos of my riding days and the magazine articles about the contest. All my memories of him are now in a storage box in my closet at my Mom’s house. This is the first time in my life I haven’t had a horse, no reason to go to the barn. I haven’t ridden in years because he was too old to carry me but I still went to the barn almost daily just to brush him, scratch his belly or share a beer. I might get another horse one day but none will ever compare. I miss him every day.

Winning Gambler was a once in a lifetime experience, but the best part was getting to spend 24 years with my once in a lifetime horse.

Gambler’s Habit – May 24th 1985 – June 3rd 2012

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Category: News, SpotlightTag: Dressage, Eventing, Hunter/Jumper

Virtuoso – UPDATED!

October 7, 2010 //  by admin

American Saddlebred Sport HorseI found Virtuoso on Equine.com in August of 2004.  He was only four years old then, broke to be ridden.  Today, we are great partners, and he is a favorite horse of both the vet and the farrier.

Virtuoso is a very busy horse as we ride together almost daily.  I take dressage lessons, and we often participate in dressage schooling shows within 100 miles of our barn.  Virtuoso is a good student, and he always tries very hard to do his best.  Sometimes we bring a ribbon home from the show, and sometimes we don’t.  But we always have fun and get a lot of compliments; he is a gorgeous horse !

We also do a lot trail riding.  We have completed many timed trail rides with the Yadkin Valley Hunt Club in Advance, NC, where we’ve earned blue ribbons.  Virtuoso is a great horse with a good brain and a big heart.
He will be my partner for the rest of life – – his or mine 🙂 !

Radka H.
North Carolina

Photos above: Virtuoso and Radka competing at the Yadkin Vally Hunt club.  Both photos were taken by Christie Snyder of High Time Photography.

UPDATE Photos below: Virtuoso and Radka at a September 11, 2010, dressage show.   They earned 63% on both tests – Training 3 and 4!

American Saddlebred Sport HorseAmerican Saddlebred Sport HorseAmerican Saddlebred Sport HorseAmerican Saddlebred Sport Horse

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Photos below: In February, 2010, Virtuoso and Radka scored in the low 60’s at Training Tests 1 and 2.  By July, they were showing Training Tests 3 and 4, with scores in the low 60’s.

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Category: News, SpotlightTag: Dressage, Trail Riding

William Pendleton

September 22, 2010 //  by admin

We bought “William” at the Saddlebred sale at Tattersalls when he had just turned two years old.  My plan initially was to gait him and show him saddle seat, but he was so much happier with a plain snaffle and working in a lower frame that I began preparing him to show hunt seat instead.  His four year old year, he earned his first blue ribbon in the second class we entered, and although I find it difficult to set aside time and money to compete these days, we keep in show shape schooling basic dressage.  William has excellent breeding and was an embryo transplant foal from a large breeding farm.  His half brothers and sisters are winners at the biggest Saddlebred shows in the country, but William Pendleton is happy galloping through the cornfields at our family farm.  There aren’t many prettier personal riding horses out there.

Brita B. a.k.a. “SmartAlex”
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Thank you to Brita for this news.

Category: News, SpotlightTag: Dressage

Poizen Premier

September 1, 2010 //  by admin

BZ carrying 8 y.o. Chaney over her first cross rail!

Owned and bred by Julie Lynn Andrew of Bryn Dewines Farm, Poizen Premier (known as “BZ” around the barn) is out of Phun in the Sun, and sired by Preferred Poizen.   BZ is enjoying his job teaching and instilling confidence to several riders.  Lillian, BZ’s caretaker, says about BZ “He takes good care of Alexa and she has even been able to go over some real jumps this summer thanks to his care.  She’s gone with me a couple times to the eventing barn to school with their trainer and she’s had her jumping small coops, brush boxes, gates, and walls.  The trainer there thinks BZ is fabulous.  She says he’s so honest and careful of his rider.  The other lady I let ride Beez is a very timid adult rider.  She was able to do her first show ever on him.  (She’s in the photo with the blue shirt.)  Anyone I let on him, loves him.”

Preferred Poizen
Phun in the Sun, dam of BZ.
Preferred Poizen, sire of BZ.

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Thank you to Lillian for this news.

Category: Breeding, News, SpotlightTag: Breeding, Julie Lynn Andrew

Willoughby Wallaby Woo

September 1, 2010 //  by admin

Willoughby and Julie Lynn Andrew at Dressage at Devon 2003.

Willoughby Wallaby Woo, with Hilda Gurney judging, placed third with a score of 70.3% at Dressage at Devon, in 2003.  Willoughby is owned by Julie Lynn Andrew of Bryn Dewines Farm, and is shown being ridden by working student Ashley Rafferty.
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Willoughby and Ashley.
Willoughby and Ashley.

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Rafferty

Category: News, SpotlightTag: Dressage at Devon

Spirit

August 29, 2010 //  by admin

Borealis, sire of Spirit.

Spirit, sired by Borealis and out of a National Show Horse mare, turned three years old on April 24, 2010.  Amy, Spirit’s owner/rider, tells us “I long lined him as a 2 yo, and in these pics he has only been under saddle 9 times!  He is about 16H, super intelligent and constantly needs interaction and mental challenges!  He bathes, clips, loads and hauls great, is great for the farrier and vet.  He is beautiful mover.”
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Below:  Spirit and Amy


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Thank you to Amy for this news.

National Show Horse mare!

Category: Breeding, News, SpotlightTag: Borealis, Breeding

Spotlight — Beauty and Sarah

August 5, 2010 //  by admin

Not to sound like a total cliché, but every single picture I have taken with my horse, I look like a giddy 12 year old girl with a smile from ear to ear.  That could be because that’s how she makes me feel.  At the age of 26 I finally realized my dream of owning my own horse.  What I didn’t anticipate was that she would be one of the safest and honest horses out there.  Or that she would be a Saddlebred sport horse. Because before 4 years ago, I never even knew that Saddlebred’s existed.

Growing up, I dabbled in English and Western riding lessons here and there – when I could afford them.  Once I moved to York, PA I was desperate to get back into riding seriously.  I was at  the point in my life that I had the financial stability to pay for riding and shows and I was itching to find a barn where I could hang out at and not only enjoy the horses but the atmosphere as well.  Since I was new to the York community, I scoured Craig’s List looking for advertisements for riding lessons.  One ad caught my eye – riding lessons in exchange for barn work.  It sounded like the perfect situation and it ended up being one of the best decision I have ever made.  The ad was for Sorrelstone Farms – a huntseat focused barn that happened to specialize in Saddlebred Sporthorses.  Now, as a riding novice, I didn’t know a Saddlebred if it snorted on me, however, as soon as I was introduced to the farms resident Saddlebreds, George, Oscar and Alice – there was no way I could forget them.

As I grew in my riding capabilities and horse care experience under the guidance of Lillian, owner and trainer at Sorrelstone Farms, she and I both came to realize that her horses were not the best fit for me.  They were all very well trained, but just took a little bit more skill then I had under my belt.  And while I wasn’t the most timid person around horses, there were still some situations that made me question my aptitude – on the ground and under saddle.  But, at the same time, there was no way I was abandoning Lillian’s farm or the Saddlebred breed.  I wanted to become the owner of my own horse but the horse had to have the right personality – forgiving, personable and ready to catch me when I fell.

Although Lillian had a small farm compared to other big name Saddlebred trainers, she had the contacts and she made a few calls on my behalf.  A week later, Mirrored Beauty showed up at Sorrelstone Farm on a two week trial basis for me.  Beauty, whose name was very fitting, was a five year old, green broke, liver chestnut Saddlebred Sporthorse and instantly became the love of my life.

I quickly found out that the love of my life had quite the personality and she knew exactly what buttons to push, but she never went too far.  Besides her lovable personality (depending on who you asked) Beauty had two characteristics that are a testament to her breed – she was smart as a whip and at 5 years old she was as trustworthy as Lillian’s 17 year old packer.

In the past 3 years since I’ve own Beauty we’ve gone to breed shows and trail rides, I’ve ridden her in new “strange” indoor rings and we’ve gone galloping in an open field; she’s been used for camp, in lessons, and packing my non-horsey boyfriend around in 2 feet of snow.  She is a treasure and exactly what a Saddlebred Sport Horse represents – versatility.  One day we’re taking dressage lessons and the next day, I’m riding her bareback in the field with nothing but a lead rope tied to her halter and she’s the same horse. I never worry about my safety when I’m on her.  Beauty’s never going to be the fanciest horse.  She’s never going to make people go “wow” when they see her move in the ring.  But that doesn’t matter to me.  She’s irreplaceable in my eyes and I know I’m lucky that she found me.  I can’t wait to see where the rest of our journey takes us because I know it’s going to be a blast! And with her, I will always be that giddy 12 year old girl that beams with pride and joy when talking about my Saddlebred.

Sarah
Pennsylvania

Category: News, Spotlight

Spotlight — Pamina and Gabrielle

August 5, 2010 //  by admin

At recent trail riding clinic we attended, where we're both snoozing in the sun waiting for other clinic participants to get done working in the round pen!

I have owned an ASB mare for the past year and a half.  She’s very smart, confident, high-energy (without spooky), curious and and awesome – a solid, big-boned, 16 hh, gaited, old-style saddlebred – click here to view pedigree – I called her Pamina.

I bought her last May at the age of 7, had 60 days training put on her (she was just green broke, came from a breeder here in Alberta that had wonderful bloodlines in his herd when he gave up breeding and sold all his ASBs) and have used her in the Rocky Mountains since.  We’re going to spend the next few years up in the hills.   She really seems to enjoy it, and is such a lovely ride, with beautiful, elastic, expressive movement and a forward manner.  I just enjoy her a lot, and am currently looking for a trainer locally that works with gaited horses to help me work with her more this winter.

Buying her and having her registration papers transferred to me meant becoming a member of the ASHA, and boy was that an eye opener!  The breed seems to really struggle to diversify this great horse, which can do anything!  (I’m going to have a local trainer teach both of us to drive one of these winters.   I’d love to have a sleigh – LOL.)

I’d love to be involved a little more, but Saddlebreds are nearly unknown in my area – there aren’t more than a handful of breeders, and I’ve only ever met two three other people in person that own one.  One of them (ironically) is my friend and neighbour, whom I’ve known for a few years now, and from whom I’ve since purchased a foal in uetro. She breeds warmbloods and ASB-warmblood cross sporthorses for amateur riders.   I’m looking forward to the new foal next summer, an ASB/Consul baby I hope will be my jumper in 5 or so years!

Gorge Creek, Kananaskis Country, Alberta Rocky Mountains, where we're resting at the top of a ridge enjoying the view.

Gabrielle K.
Alberta, Canada

Category: News, SpotlightTag: Trail Riding

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Recent News

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  • AAHC Sport Horse Versatility Series

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