Clover Ledge Farm

After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time!  most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the...

With my show season with Ellie over after the RABT fall XC derby, it was time to enjoy the fall foliage and do something fun to end the crazy dumpster fire of 2020. Margaret and I decided to take our two older mares out to a hunter pace put on by a local fox hunt.  It was a perfect fall day to enjoy being out and about with each other. Rejoice is the best trail horse ever and Margaret's horse Ladyhawke is always brave, too. Being out with the two matriarchs was so much fun! of course, we matched keeping a close eye on the sheep in the field

Of course, none of us had any idea if we would be able to compete in 2020. I will say that my big goals for the year (which were sitting in an unpublished post from January 2020!) were to keep my horses healthy, happy, sound, to move up to BN with Ellie, and to complete one recognized horse trial at BN. And despite all of the COVID-19 protocols and cancellations over the year, we did meet our goals (mostly). Many of the local barns here in Maine took on the challenge of bringing us safe competitions in 2020. Ellie and I started the year by competing in a little schooling 2-phase and debuting at BN. It went well and it got me excited about the year's possibilities.  We had a great dressage test (placed second in our division) and then had one rail in our show jump course. The rail was totally my fault and for our first ever BN outing, I was pretty excited! We ended up fourth in a mid-sized division. And because I do not remember much else for specifics, here's a big old photo du...

I had many great horsey experiences in 2019!  I am really pleased with how the year went overall; nothing is ever perfect, but both horses are sound, happy, and healthy, which is really what matters to me. Some of my 2019 goals were met easily or with lots of hard work, and a few of them were utter fails haha.  C'est la vie! Let's recap! Happy, health, sound Both mares are doing well in this regard!  Dreamy will be 29 this year, and while she definitely shows signs of her age at times, she overall looks and acts much younger than she really is!  Ellie has really matured this year, filling out as well as mentally becoming more comfortable in her own skin.  As she will be eight this year, I feel like we have moved through the baby phase. having this photo shoot was definitely a highlight of 2019! Continue lessons with Beth and Babette This goal was met and then some!  I took almost weekly dressage lessons with Beth and monthly jump lessons with B...

For the fourth year in a row, I participated in the Equestrian Blogger Gift Exchange , which Tracy so kindly hosts (and has for seven years)!  I love choosing gifts for a fellow blogger, trying to find just the right thing to match their likes and interests.  And it is definitely fun to come home from work to a surprise package of horsey things for me! This year, I received my gift quite early!  Thank you so much Eventing Saddlebred Style for the two surprises this past week!  She must have been checking out my Pinterest board I indicated I have, as these are both from my "want" category haha. Plus, this is a new-to-me blog, so as soon as I finish this entry, I plan to tag along as a follower.  I like adding to my reading list, even though I have been terrible at commenting lately. The cute little fox mug just makes me laugh.  I definitely cannot bring it to the middle school where I teach hahahaha, but I have already used it here at home a few...

On the last day of September, I received an email from the Vermont Morgan Horse Association asking if I would be interested in bringing Ellie to Equine Affaire in Massachusetts from November 7-10.  I became a member of VMHA this year when I decided to compete at Vermont Heritage Days; so even though I live in Maine and not Vermont haha, I made a snap decision to say yes!   Our VMHA booth in C Barn Honestly, it was 21 minutes after the email came in that I responded yes!  Then I had to figure out how to actually make it all happen hahahahaha.  Typical. All set up! I attended Equine Affaire as a spectator a few times way back when and then for many years I ran the breed booth for the Standardbreds, including a four-day stint in C Barn with Dreamy back in 2013 .  It is fun and exhausting to travel 4+ hours one way from home to talk with thousands of people, walk thousands of miles around the venue (ok, not that far but close), and ride in demos on a ...