ELLENWOOD EQUESTRIAN CENTER
2010 was also Leah's best show season yet. She trained a beautiful 4 year old Dutch warmblood gelding from the ground up, showed it lightly to very good results, and then sold it to a local Grand Prix rider who can't say enough good things about the horse. She campaigned a gorgeous 10 y.o. Dutch mare (the gelding's mom) at Training and First level, winning numerous champion and reserve champion ribbons at each show, with scores ranging from 67 - 74%. The horse is for sale but in the mean time Leah's still training her, schooling 2nd and 3rd level, and will continue showing her in the spring if she's still here. On her own new warmblood Casin she showed First and Second level with scores in the consistent middle 60's, including a 7th placing in the regional championship class out of 18 riders. Her success on these warmbloods is considerably significant due to the fact that neither horse had done any dressage before Leah started riding them - with only about 5 months in a dressage saddle they earned such show ring success. And then of course there's Dartagnan. After a year off from showing he came out swinging, scoring in the consistent middle 60's at 2nd and 3rd level, with a personal best of 68% at 2nd 4. Culminating this great year was his first place win at regionals in the 2nd level championship class, a cool 66% above the next horses 62. He held his own again with the big boys in the 3rd level championship class getting 5th place, right in the middle of the pack with a high 63, just under the other's scores. He is an entity unto himself, now schooling 4th level and Prix St. George. Who would have thought the raggedy little rescue horse would ever go so far and accomplish so much.
Its been almost 2 years since the last update despite my determination to keep it current! A lot has changed around the farm, we've added stalls and paddocks, and of course have done the usual horse roulette - saying goodbye to some and hello to others. Some beloved lesson horses have earned their due retirement, so Pretty Boy and Goggles are now living on a wonderful farm in south Georgia, enjoying their days on wide open pastures. Since Leah is not showing Shadowfax anymore he has moved to a new stable where he being ridden by a young lady who adores him. Sadly we lost several of the ancient lesson horses to old age, and had to say difficult good byes to Sunny, Cassie, Egg, and Moonshadow. It's always hard, but the ponies are probably the hardest, when you think about how many kids they taught to ride. They lived long happy lives though and that's all part of owning animals. We have several wonderful new lesson horses that have been acquired over the last few years, and we welcome them to the roster of sainted horses that make this stable what it is.
2010 was a great year for the show crew. We attended the New Classic schooling shows once a month in Gainesville, with as many as 12 horses and students. We had some of the veteran students who have shown for years as well as some bright newcomers joining them, and each show brought more ribbons and great learning experiences. Most of the kids showed at Intro and Training level, and they're all ready to move up a level next year. Jessica moved up to the recognized competitions with her thoroughbred Gary. She began showing First level with scores into the middle 60's. We are very proud of all the students and their accomplishments, both in the show ring and here at the barn.
The lesson program is going well and continues to grow. We're gearing up for a great summer camp season and expect to be very busy. We are changing the website format a bit but all the camp forms will still be available to download as usual. New campers are encouraged to visit if they'd like to see the facility and meet us, just call ahead of course. We're looking forward to warm weather and lots of smiling new faces - c'mon summer!