Closing Out The Year

By |2016-02-14T05:49:59-05:00December 29th, 2015|COTH Posts|

ellasmoochI came home from the National Finals and braced for impact. Two things happen to me every autumn: first, things slow down. People give their horses, and themselves, a break, and it means that I don’t teach as much; combine with the holidays, and my whole world hits the brakes.

It’s fun for a few days, but then I start to twitch, as idleness does not become me, but I’m so tired that it’s sort of frantic, directionless energy. And that’s usually when Thing Two happens: I get really, really sick.

But 2015 was different, for whatever reason. Things didn’t slow down. I got to teach some clinics in some incredibly cool places, and made wonderful new friends along the way. Thanks to an amazing client, I’ve got an opportunity to shop for a young horse for us to own together, so I travelled around meeting baby horses. And my clients kept riding, bolstered by a big group that are all in the Prix St. Georges 2016 Or Bust Club, as well as by unusually balmy Virginia winter weather.

Read the rest at The Chronicle of the Horse!

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Congratulations, Barbara!

By |2015-12-25T15:01:19-05:00December 25th, 2015|News & Events|

1927727_10153661689831999_9191471792782365431_nWe love helping our clients find the perfect horse. We love selling wonderful horses to great people. And so when we can help a wonderful client find a fantastic horse right in our own barn, we’re thrilled beyond words! What a wonderful Christmas present to have Barbara and De L’Amout come together under our roof. Congratulations to Barbara, Dela and to seller Belle Gray Farm. It’s a pleasure working for all of you!

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Overheard In The Indoor

By |2018-01-11T10:16:18-05:00December 18th, 2015|COTH Posts|

A collection of any of the number of things that get said while riding at my farm on any given day:

Dude. Dude. Dude. DUDE.

Listen: I’m sorry. I really am. But this is the hand you were dealt. This is how it’s going to be. The sooner you accept this, the sooner I put you back in your field and give you a cookie.

By all means, keep whining. But the only person making your life hard right now is you.

My right leg is not. coming. off. Get used to it.

GOOD BOY DANNY OMG you’re a GENIUS you’re a ROCKSTAR you’re going to the OLYMPICS oh whoops there it went.

You’ve lived here since 2007. Does the corner have to be scary every day?

Read the rest at The Chronicle of the Horse!

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What Makes The Best In The Business?

By |2017-07-14T20:37:03-04:00December 8th, 2015|COTH Posts|

facebookHow we all come to find our trainers is a personal journey. Some folks get it right right off the bat, but more often than not, we’ve all kissed a few frogs along the way to finding our educational Prince (or Princess!) Charming, and we’ve also inevitably outgrown perfectly good programs and needed to seek out something, someone else.

I see lots of folks out there getting downright bad help, and I’m always struck by why anyone would tolerate trainers who tell them they’re stupid, or trainers who are awful riders, or trainers who are bad to their horses. But I also see lots of folks out there who don’t get enough help, and I wonder if it’s because they don’t know they need more help, or if they don’t know how to find more—or better quality–training.

When searching for a coach or trainer, here are some things I encourage folks to consider.

1. Has your coach done what you want to do? This seems like a no-brainer, but I can’t tell you how many riders I meet in clinics who are riding with people who haven’t competed at the level they themselves are striving to compete, or ever dealt with a horse or rider issue like the one their student is experiencing. Whether that’s youth riders with the NAJYRC working with trainers who’ve never shown the FEI levels, or adult amateurs working on bringing their horses up the levels working with coaches who’ve only ridden trained horses themselves, if your coach hasn’t done what you want to do, look elsewhere.

Read the rest on The Chronicle of The Horse!

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Ride times for this weekend’s Michael Barisone clinic

By |2015-11-22T05:18:25-05:00November 20th, 2015|News & Events|

Auditing is available at $40/day, with lunch provided. Come on out!

SATURDAY
9:15 Lisa Hellmer & Stratocaster, 9 yr Oldenburg Gelding, Intermediate I
10 Tiffany Catledge & Cherto, 8 yr KWPN Gelding, Third Level
10:45 Lauren Sprieser & Danny Ocean, 7 yr KWPN Gelding, Prix St. Georges
11:30 Lauren Sprieser & Ellegria, 14 yr Westfalen Mare, Grand Prix
12:15 Lunch
12:45 Kristin Hickey & Capital Call, 10 yr KWPN Gelding, Fourth Level
1:30 Heather Richards & Hastening Cardoon, 13 yr Welsh Cob/TB Gelding, Fourth Level
2:15 Kristin Hickey & Zarco, 5 yr KWPN Gelding, First Level
3 Lauren Sprieser & Dorian Gray, 7 yr KWPN Gelding, Fourth Level
3:45 Jean Loonam & Red Hot Chili Pepper, 9 yr Hanoverian Gelding, Second Level
4:30 Kristin Counterman & Three Times, 15 yr KWPN Gelding, Young Riders

SUNDAY
7:30 Lauren Sprieser & Dorian Gray, 7 yr KWPN Gelding, Fourth Level
8:15 Kristin Counterman & Three Times, 15 yr KWPN Gelding, Young Riders
9 Lauren Sprieser & Ellegria, 14 yr Westfalen Mare, Grand Prix
9:45 Jennifer Mutchler & Floete, 18 yr Hanoverian Mare, Prix St. Georges
10:30 Lauren Sprieser & Danny Ocean, 7 yr KWPN Gelding, Prix St. Georges
11:15 Tiffany Catledge & Cherto, 8 yr KWPN Gelding, Third Level
12 Lunch
12:30 Jean Loonam & Red Hot Chili Pepper, 9 yr Hanoverian Gelding, Second Level
1:15 Kristin Hickey & Capital Call, 10 yr KWPN Gelding, Fourth Level
2 Heather Richards & Hastening Cardoon, 13 yr Welsh Cob/TB Gelding, Fourth Level
2:45 Judy Sprieser & Stratocaster, 9 yr Oldenburg Gelding, Third Level

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2015 USDF National Finals Part II: In The Books

By |2015-11-16T06:42:34-05:00November 8th, 2015|COTH Posts|

On Sunday afternoon, I was sitting in the warm and sunny concourse of the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park, charging my phone and killing time while I waited for Fender’s Prix St. Georges awards. This is the one thing I don’t love about the USDF Finals—it seems like no matter what I qualify for, it will be on Sunday afternoon, and a part of the 5 p.m. awards ceremony.

Fortunately, this was our third year here (and our third year in the same boat), so we’re pretty much professionals at it. After my ride, my working student, Daisy, and I ran off to lunch at the movies (we saw The Martian; it was fantastic), where I surreptitiously checked my phone every few rides to see if I stayed in the top 10, and that led me to the sitting, killing time.

I had to keep my eye on that scoreboard because Fender gave me the best 10 minutes of our career together… in the warm-up. It’s a struggle with any young, still-developing horse—how to make them fit without burning them out—but I’ve had another factor to consider over the last few months for Fender. That this is our last show together, before his new owner takes the reins. I wanted Fender to stay fresh and fun to the work, and not be too fit coming into winter.

Read the rest at The Chronicle of The Horse!

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2015 USDF National Finals: Who Needs Pants?

By |2015-11-16T06:40:59-05:00November 7th, 2015|COTH Posts|

I LOVE the USDF Finals. This is our third trip here, and once the scary drive through the mountains of West Virginia is over, it’s just the best show. The Kentucky Horse Park is lovely. The staff running the show is an all-star team, hand picked from the country’s best. The decorations in the indoor arena are left over from the previous week’s National Horse Show, and it feels huge and prestigious and special.

So it’s worth extending our long competition season for, even though this time of year I’m at the tail end of about a month of wall-to-wall insanity, teaching clinics, riding a ton, starting a whole bunch of young horses on their changes (who all insisted on leaping around this week, making my back sore as hell, grumble), and just generally running around.

But I felt really good about both Ella (who qualified for the Grand Prix and Freestyle) and Fender (who qualified at Prix St. Georges and Intermediate I), and how they prepared for the show. So we were off!

Read all about the rest at The Chronicle of The Horse!

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Eight Years Ago

By |2015-11-22T05:05:23-05:00November 1st, 2015|News & Events|

Sprieser Sporthorse signA month ago, Sprieser Sporthorse turned 8, and with all our successes at the Region 1 Finals, all the clinics and lessons and just running around doing what we do, I forgot to post something to celebrate.

Today, I ran a few numbers. In 8 years, the team and I have:

– finished four horses to Grand Prix, two from scratch
- finished an additional 4 more to Prix St. Georges, all from scratch
– put riders on three NAJYRC teams (including one Team Gold)
– sent riders to 10 USEF National Championships
– helped 3 riders earn their USDF Silver Medals, and 8 earn their Bronze
– taught clinics in 5 states and 2 countries
– published 7 articles in 4 national magazines
– sent 2 students to the Rolex 4*
– qualified riders from Training Level to Grand Prix; Open, AA and Jr/YR; at the Region 1 Finals and BLM Finals every year
– and helped countless horses and riders, from the grassroots to the international levels; in dressage, western dressage, eventing, foxhunting, endurance, hunter/jumper, Pony Club and driving; ponies to drafts, imported warmbloods to rescues; free to six-figures; Mustangs, Arabians, Saddlebreds, Thoroughbreds, Freisians, PREs, Tennessee Walkers, and so, so many more, and each has been a JOY.

It’s been an amazing journey. Here’s to the next eight, and beyond!

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