A Fresh Look

Hello all, I have some exciting news to fill you in on as well as give you something to look forward to reading!

For those of you who follow my personal Instagram you know I have applied to be an equestrian blogger for Heels Down Magazine. I am ecstatic to announce that Heels Down has chosen me along with 3 others to blog for them.

With that being said, I bring to you my first equine fashion post!

We all know horses are expensive. I mean really expensive. Even if you don't own a horse you still understand lessons and time in the saddle are costly. With this costly habit we have, sometimes our wardrobe's suffer. Not to mention equine companies feel the need to  charge us $15 for a pair of socks! So how do you stay stylish in the barn and still have enough money to get buy? I'm here to let you in on a few of my secrets to riding in-style without breaking the bank.

A few months ago a barn friend introduced me to shopping on Facebook. We use social media for just about everything these days but shopping.... on Facebook? I was a bit leery to order my first pair of breeches but after realizing how quick and easy it was, I was hooked. So how it works is you can search different groups or pages pertaining to equine apparel. Once you have been added to the group people from all over the country will post things they are looking to sell. Some of these posts come from actual tack stores as well as individuals looking to sell personal items. The best part is you can find what your looking for at almost half the cost! If you aren't afraid of clothes that have been worn once or twice you can usually find even better deals!  

 I payed $65 for these Grand Prix breeches. These were brand new and came from a tack store with the tags still on them! Originally $104!

These are a pair of Pikeur breeches I picked up used for $75. New these are around $300! If I hadn't been told these were used I wouldn't have noticed!

Recently I went on a breech buying binge but there are so much more on these pages. Everything you can think of, from tall boots to riding shirts, to jackets and more. You can find some helmets for sale on these pages as well. I don't recommend buying a helmet from a private seller even if they say its brand new. You never know, and you don't want to take those kind of risks when buying a helmet. 

In our area rescues and local farms will often put on tack sales. If you can find the goodies you are looking for at one of these you can bet it will be dirt cheap. Sometimes, especially at the rescue sales, people will donate brand new items to be put in the sale.

My last suggestion for staying stylish without breaking the bank is to do your homework. Search the closeout sections on websites and wait for sales. Have a price in mind of what you want to pay for something and keep searching until you find what your looking for in your price range. Its out there, you just have to be willing to put in some elbow grease. Nothing is more exciting then looking amazing in the barn and paying half the cost anyways! 

Happy shopping!  

The links for my favorite Facebook Shopping pages are below. If you have any questions or concerns about ordering over Facebook (believe me I was there) drop me a note in the comments and I can help you out! 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/EnglishRidingApparel/

This link is mostly tack but super quality stuff. You can occasionally find apparel on here as well.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/618096061597779/

This link again is a mixture of tack and apparel. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/EnglishTackTrader/

Equine Comeback Challenge 2015

Tomorrow night around this time yet another horse and trainer combination will be named Equine Comeback Challenge champions. As sappy as it sounds, the moment the 8 horses for this years challenge went home, they became champions.
 3 Trainers from last year's challenge as well as 5 new faces will be taking on a new challenge. This year all of the horses are not only from local rescues but all off the track. Whether it be Standardbred racing or Thoroughbred racing, each of these horses at one point was destined to have a racing career.

Returning trainer, Shane Ogden and Cupids Cowgirl:

 Cupid's Cowgirl is a 4 year old Throughbred mare from Akindale Thoroughbred Rescue in Pawling, New York.
          















New this year, Sky-Anna Smith and Scooter:

 Scooter is a 4 year old Thoroughbred gelding who was bred and broke to race but never made it to the track. Scooter is from Second Chance Thoroughbreds in Spencer, New York








Returning trainer Joel Miner and Sitra Sweets:

Now if you have been following my blog for awhile you may remember a post about a Lollypop horse that was supposed to come in for training with me named Sweets.... Well, needless to say Sweets didn't end up in my hands for training but Joel's for this years challenge! Sweets is a Thoroughbred from you guessed it,  Lollypop Farm, Humane Society of Greater Rochester. Yes, I am totally rooting for these two!

New Trainer Josie Howard and Simon (previously known as Chinglish):

Simon is a 7 year old Thoroughbred gelding from Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program in Farmington, NY.


Returning Trainer Missy Rothfuss and Stormy:

Stormy is the only Standardbred in the competition and had an extensive, successful career on the track. Stormy is an 11 years old mare from New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program in Laura, Ohio.

New trainer, Kelsey Parisi and Indian Rain Dance:

Rain is a 5 year old Thoroughbred gelding from  Akindale Thoroughbred Rescue in Pawling, New York.


New trainer, Sabrina Asper and Platinum Bombshell:

Platinum Bombshell is a 5 year old  Thoroughbred mare from Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program in Farmington, New York.





New trainer, Lucretia Galbraith and Buck's Wink:

Winky is an 8 year old Thoroughbred Gelding from Second Chance Thoroughbreds in Spencer, New York.














Tomorrow evening at 7:00 you can cheer on each of these teams! Eqsportsnet will be streaming the event live on: https://eqsports.net/live

If you would like to check out any of the rescues that each of these horses came from you can find the links below.
Lollypop Humane Society of the Greater Rochester Area: http://www.lollypop.org/site/c.clKUI9OQIoJcH/b.7792273/k.8CFC/Adoptable_Animals.htm#.VhxrMCse0ZM

Second Chance Thoroughbreds: http://secondchancethoroughbreds.org/

Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption:  http://www.fltap.org/

New Vocations: http://www.horseadoption.com/

Akindale Thoroughbred Rescue: http://akindalehorserescue.org/



Also if you are interested in adopting any of these horses, please drop me a message either here on this blog or on my facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/ECClouieandcourtney?ref=hl
I would be more than happy to send you the link to each horses adoption page but to link them all here, it may take me all night. :)

Its sad to not be among the trainers this year, but I am looking forward to cheering everyone on and watching the progress they have made! Congratulations to everyone and GOOD LUCK! 


 

Give It a Try

As summer is starting to slow down and fall is in the air, I've been thinking about a topic for my post. When the year begins I have all sorts of goals and plans for the summer. By the time fall comes around, I'm either disappointed  in what I didn't accomplish or over joyed with the goals I achieved throughout the year. As fall 2015 comes around I decided to try my hand at a new discipline.

Dave Minteer had graciously started teaching me the basics of roping and I couldn't wait any longer to try my new skills on horse back. Now mind you I had only swung the rope for maybe a week before I pulled Simon out of the pasture and went to town! 

Trying something new got me thinking about how we not only limit ourselves but our horses with our sometimes all to focused goals. I have chosen to ride and show hunter jumpers from a very young age. My goals and dreams have always been centered around the hunter jumpers. When I purchased my green, OTTB, Simon my goal was to turn him into an equitation/jumper to show. I've owned Simon for 5 years now and I cant say he is the equitation horse I set out to have, nor has he proven himself in the jumper ring. 

With that being said I wouldn't have traded the journey that I've had in retraining Simon for the world. When I picked up a rope and hopped in my English tack for a few hours I forgot my equitation, jumper goals for Simon and we both enjoyed trying something new. Not only was it refreshing for myself, Simon thoroughly enjoyed himself too. The next day when Simon and I went back to our daily flat work lesson I was happy to have a refreshed partner who was more willing to do what I asked.    

I think we all get into our showing mind set or even a simple goal driven attitude and forget why we ride horses in the first place. Its always good to take a step back and even try down a new road to see if you actually might like something different! I don't think Simon and I will be handing in our short stirrups and Charles Owen helmet for a cow any time soon but I would gladly jump at the chance to try working a cow or chasing a dummy any day.

On a different note, Lollypop farms Judge has found a new home!

 

I am so happy to see him happy with a fellow buddy from Lollypop as well! Best of luck to Judge with his new family!

All roads lead to home

It always blows me away how quickly time passes when the weather gets nice out! Longer days, more sunlight, and before you know it it's 9:00 pm and I'm still riding! It seems like just yesterday we were unloading Miss Ava in the snow and now she is on her way home with fresh skills and ready to be adopted!

In the final weeks Ava went above and beyond what I could have asked of her.  I continued to throw new things her way and she took everything in stride.Creating trail blazer Ava was our first order of business. I would begin by going down our driveway away from her friends just until I could feel her get a little nervous and turn around and come back home. I did all of this on a lose rein walking at an enjoyable pace. After a few days of back and forth Ava was feeling good and I decided to see how far into the woods she would go. Tromping along she continued to go where I asked. She didn't even bat an eyelash when a little fox ran across our path. I'm pretty sure I came out of those woods beaming ear to ear. Proud? That was an understatement!

I even felt confident enough to pull out my phone and take a short video of her in the woods!

Ava is one of the more brave Thoroughbreds I've met. While my OTTB spooks when the wind blows a different direction I can't say there was anything that truly spooked Ava. Ava's biggest struggle was keeping her mind on her work and off of her friends. (Sounds like most teenage girls in school!) The more Ava progressed and was worked, the less of a problem this was. Occasionally she would have a moment and I would work consistently with her until she gave up her attitude and we would move on like everything was okay!

I also decided to take Ava over a small fence to see what she would think about a jumping career. As I suspected she didn't even think twice and hopped right over the jump. Flower boxes and all!

Ava's last ride was one that truly showed me how far she had come. It was pouring rain and we had to complete our whole ride in the indoor out of sight from her buddies. She began a little tense but spent the whole ride in the ring without a melt down! Although that sounds like nothing to most people, from where we began, that was a huge leap for Ava!

Ava is currently back at Lollypop and looking for a home! If your interested in more information go to their website and schedule a time to go out and meet her! http://www.lollypop.org/site/c.clKUI9OQIoJcH/b.7792273/k.8CFC/Adoptable_Animals.htm#.VYrB4EYe0ZM 



In other news, I am happy to report our superstar and former student Kory has been adopted!!

This is him in his new home with his pasture buddy! We wish Kory all the best with his new owner!

Ava

I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather that has finally found its way to our part of the country! In one of my last updates I mentioned the new additions from Lollypop farm would be coming in for training. With a minor change in plans neither Lexi nor Sweets came, but walked off the trailer was miss Ava.

Ava is a Chestnut Thoroughbred mare who has been off the track since 2010. Ava came with a willing attitude to work but many habits still ingrained in her from her life on the race track. Ava was very attached to her herd and struggled working on her own in the indoor arena alone. After our weather turned nicer I began working Ava mostly in our outdoor and finishing our ride in the indoor away from her friends.

After a few weeks Ava really started to transform. Her track life is now becoming a distant memory and shes working towards a new career in hunter jumpers or dressage. She is talented enough with some finishing to compete in either. Although Ava has excellent movement for the show arena she has a great personality to be a fun horse to have in the barn. She now stands excellent in the cross-ties for grooming, farrier, and tacking. She will go into the wash stall for a spray without hesitation. It has been so encouraging to work with Ava and watch her truly make a 180 change.She has become more bold and confident in her work and looks forward to her job.

For information on adopting Ava: http://www.lollypop.org/site/c.clKUI9OQIoJcH/b.7792273/k.8CFC/Adoptable_Animals.htm#.VV04A5Me0ZM

Ava will be staying in training for the time being. I am going to continue working on her separation anxiety as well as getting her out on the trails!



In other news, with a heavy heart I will not be competing in the Equine Comeback Challenge this year. There are times in our lives when we know its not meant to be and this is one of those times for me. I truly want to be all in for this kind of competition and I don't feel all in for this year. I am looking forward to whatever God has in store for me this fall instead of the challenge! There will however be three returning trainers this year! Shane Ogden, Joel Miner and Missy Rothfuss. Be sure to look out for their facebook pages and cheer them on as they take part in a first ever all OTTB challenge! 

Until next time enjoy the sunshine and our summer days yet to come!

Stars in My Eyes

Hello all,

If you happen to have a Practical Horseman magazine subscription you may have noticed a familiar face in the "My Life" section!

As I mentioned in a previous post, the editor of Practical Horseman contacted me while we were in Harrisburg for a video interview. At that time she also asked me if I would be willing to write a "My Life" article talking about my experience training Louie and what it meant to me to train him all the way to Harrisburg. It was really nice to look back and take time to reflect on the challenge and how far Little Louie came.

Our article is in the March issue so be sure to pick up a copy! The article will be archived online and when it is, I will be sure to post a link. The video interview is still in the works and we are looking for that to come out in May!  

I hope you are all starting to feel a bit of spring! We had one particularly warm day and took the horses down to our small pond........ Needless to say, they loved it!

Enjoy your muddy horses this weekend!

Learing to love and Let go.

From the beginning of time, we feel love and understand how to love. We love our furry friends and our families. We have a love for our passion and what drives us to reach our dreams and goals. The past few weeks I have been overwhelmed with love. I have really questioned what it is and what I truly love.  Three weeks ago one of my best friends passed away surrounded by love. Erika was in a sever ski accident and was taken from us unexpectedly. I could take hours explaining what Erika means to me and the friendship we share.

 As a fantastic rider and outstanding artist, I had asked Erika a few weeks before her accident to design a new logo for Train to Trust! I had shared my basic ideas with her and told her to surprise me! Less than a week before the accident Erika sent me her rough sketch of the logo and needless to say, I was blown away! 

This will be the first T in Train to Trust. She perfectly encompassed everything training and my business means to me. I am blessed to have this treasure from her and can't wait to get it embroidered!










  On another note, the Lollypop boy's have made their trek back to Lollypop and are waiting for their forever homes. Here is their final update before leaving!

Kory: I know there are 1,000 horses online for sale and for adoption all over the place and most people will talk about how wonderful their horse is (even though their selling it........ Who in their right mind would tell you the horse rears bucks or bites in a sale add??) But this horse TRULY is a complete gem. I have seen a lot of horses come across my path and Kory made me consider taking another one into my herd! So you can trust me when I say he's a good horse....... HE'S A GREAT HORSE! Just before he left I decided to take Kory over a few fences to see what his potential as a jumper would be. Here is a short clip of his 2nd time over a fence!!!!

By this point I'm sure your sick of me talking about how amazing Kory is..... but seriously..... He's amazing!



Judge: Judge continued to improve every day and gained a lot of confidence in me and began looking to me for his confidence and the task I was putting in front of him. I noticed Judge seemed mildly uncomfortable over his back when I was grooming him. Although it didn't effect him under saddle we decided to have massage therapist Pamela Rossmann-Bray(Blue Horse Massage and Wellness) out to work on Judge. This was my first time working with massage therapy and I was very impressed with the results. Not only did Judge eat it up, his work under saddle improved tremendously. Judge became much more relaxed and flexible than he had been previously.

For more information on Blue Horse Massage and Wellness, or to contact Pamela and book an appointment, Please follow the links below!
https://www.facebook.com/BlueHorseMassageWellness?fref=ts&ref=br_tf
http://bluehorsemassageandwellness.abmp.com/

This Saturday I will be beginning with two new horses from Lollypop farm. Lexi and Sweets will begin evaluation and training! I am excited to see what theses two will become in the time they will be with me.

I hope you are all enjoying the hair coming off your horses as spring is FINALLY HERE!

Until next time,
show some love to those around you!

Lollypop Horse's Update

Hello all. I trust you are not too buried in snow and haven't lost sight that summer really does come around! Some of the snowbanks in our area could engulf a small pony, seriously. Enough depressing talk and on to updating you on the bright students I have in my barn!

Kory has made leaps and bounds since he first arrived a month ago. I am continually impressed with this horses willingness to learn and how calm and cool he takes everything in. I took Kory on his first trail ride through the snow with another horse almost a week ago and no surprise to me, he handled it like a champ! We went through the woods, leading, following, and even watched a flock of geese fly up out of the field. Kory took it all in stride and moved on like nothing had happened.

I also had a friend get on Kory to see how he would deal with another rider. Of course he was great with her and went about his job like a good boy.

 






















It has been very exciting to watch Judge transform in the last month as well. Both of the horses have put on a lot of muscle and are looking handsome as ever. Judge is learning to trust and build confidence more and more each day. I was able to get some video's of Judge under saddle last week.

With consistency and time Judge is proving to be a great horse. He enjoys his job and loves when you talk to him and tell him how cute he is. (Don't they all love that?) Judge is different in comparison to Kory as he always needs a boost of confidence. With that continual confidence he is becoming braver and braver by the day. He is a very rewarding horse to work with. You can see the progress daily and when he accomplishes something small, willingly and on his own you can see the bold horse coming through!  It is Super rewarding for any trainer to watch!

Such a handsome roan he is!! (He truly is a TB promise!)

I know you are all probably loosing faith in me that my exercise blog is ever going to show up, but just like summer will eventually will come around.... It will be here soon :)


Until next time, keep up the good work hearty horse people!!!

New Adventures of 2015

Hello everyone! I'm excited to tell you why I haven't had a chance to post my latest exercise! There is an exciting new partnership in the works that I have started, and have been extremely busy with that. But before I get to that, I mentioned in my last post I would be ordering a Personally Preppy Sticker!!!! Showing up at my door step this super cute pink envelope held my new sticker. I'm not an obsessive pink person but I have to say it was super cute! I'm anxious to watch over time if the sticker will peal away from the helmet but I was very happy how it stuck right onto my vinyl schooling helmet.

 Now onto the exciting news! After the Equine Comeback Challenge, Lollypop Farm Humane Society contacted me about working with some horses they have for adoption. We chose two geldings to send to me for a few weeks. One needed a total evaluation and the other they knew had been ridden but needed some tuning up. So, I present to you my latest projects!

KORY: http://www.lollypop.org/site/c.clKUI9OQIoJcH/b.7792273/k.8CFC/Adoptable_Animals.htm

 Kory is a 16 year old Thoroughbred. He was previously raced but has been off the track for many years. Kory hadn't been ridden in several years. He needed a full evaluation when he came in as Lollypop didn't know what kind of potential he had under saddle. Right off the bat Kory was a very sweet and willing horse. After having so much time off I wondered if we would need to start at ground zero with saddling and riding. To my surprise Kory took every thing in stride as if he had been ridden every day for the past month.

Kory's biggest struggle right now is muscling and that will come with time and consistent riding. He is a very easy horse to ride and willing to do whatever you ask.

 JUDGE:http://www.lollypop.org/site/c.clKUI9OQIoJcH/b.7792273/k.8CFC/Adoptable_Animals.htm

 Judge is a 17 year old Thoroughbred. Judge never raced and has been a pleasure horse his entire life. Judge hadn't been ridden in a few months and needed some tuning up. With time Judge is relaxing into a consistent schedule under saddle and we are working on building his confidence. Judge looks to his rider for confidence and with time I hope to make him a bolder horse without depending on his rider so much. He is a very smart horse and handsome mover. He loves standing in the cross ties for grooming and is the first one to greet you in the barn. I am anxious to watch Judge transform in the next few weeks.

 I'm working on getting a video of Judge under saddle, but walking over the bridge was a huge accomplishment for him. This was a great confidence builder and he will now happily walk across it on the ground and under saddle.

So there you have it! The adventures of 2015 have begun and I am so blessed and excited to get started! Tomorrow Lollypop will be out to do a short update video on Little Louie and I will try and post a few pictures on his Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/ECClouieandcourtney?ref=hl If you live in the area and are familiar with Lollypop Farm, their yearly telethon will show all of Little Louie's video's as well as clips from the Equine Comeback Challenge. I will be sure to post closer to the telethon dates and remind you all to check in! As for now, I haven't forgotten about posting the latest exercise but as time allows (or doesn't allow) I will try and get it to you all!

Here in NY we ended up with close to a foot of snow today so stay safe and keep wishing for summer. (I know I'm ready to ride without 60 layers on!)

Until next time,
happy riding :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a blessed day remembering Jesus birth, ringing in the new year and spending time with family and friends. Here is a look at the top 10 new and exciting horse items I found in 2014.

1. Personally Preppy Monograms: This is something that I have watched EXPLODE on the hunter jumper circuit this year. 
   
   Helmet monograms are only one of the equestrian monograms you can order. They have everything from laptop decals to iron on breech monograms. I haven't personally ordered one of these yet but I plan on ordering one for my new schooling helmet I acquired this Christmas! Check out their full website here: http://personallypreppy.com/

 2. Tail Spin Bracelets: I came across these awhile ago and really didn't like the idea of them until I met a barn friend who makes them herself! I hadn't come across anyone who could make wearing horse hair (we all know It comes with the territory of loving our furry friends but choosing to wear hair by choice........ no thanks!) a tasteful fashion until I saw her work! Needless to say I am now a huge fan! I think this is a really cool way to show off mane or tail from an old horses that have since passed on or even our horses we love now!

 If you are interested in having a bracelet or key chain made, comment  below and I can get you in contact with her! All of these pictures are her work!












       3. Samshield Helmets: Ahh yes, each year hunter jumper riders everywhere join the fad of buying the latest greatest helmet. This year its the Samshield. This helmet comes in black, blue, and brown.

 

            4. Ogilvy Half Pads: I was first introduced to these memory foam half pads at a hunter jumper farm I previously worked at. They weren't very common but I have recently watched these show up everywhere.... and I mean EVERYWHERE!

They have cleverly come up with endless color combinations for you to choose from.  Not only are they popular for there color coordinating looks they are also excellent for your horses back. You can purchase a half pad, square pad, dressage pad, even dog beds all with the Ogilvy memory foam technology. Even Brandi Cyrus has one!

To shop or order one check out there website:https://ogilvyequestrian.com/en 

If you are on instagram you can follow the Ogilvy page at:                  ogilvyequestrain
http://instagram.com/ogilvyequestrian/?modal=true











                          5. Dubarry Boots: These have been around for years and I know they have been in the horse industry for years as well but this year especially I have watched as more and more people begin wearing them. Aside from the Samshield helmet this is the in style thing to wear!

   

                   6. GoVelope Pro: This is something I haven't personally seen in action yet! I stumbled across this on Facebook and wanted to know what it was. This is a case to keep your smartphone safe while riding. I really like the idea because I have tried countless cases to keep my phone on myself while I ride that don't work and my phone ends up in the dirt anyways. This one is specifically designed for equestrians!

      7. Go Pro. I know this isn't something new and exciting for 2014 but I have seen more and more uses of the Go Pro for riders! How would you like to ride a cross country course with an Olympian? Thanks to modern technology of the Go Pro, Now we can!

 

Check out this winning hunter derby ride!

               8. Struck Breeches. These breeches haven't hit our local area yet but I suspect they soon will. These breeches are made in Canada and have taken over the hunter jumper circuit up there. I have heard a lot of great things about them but again, I don't have any personal experience. To order a pair or check out there apparel click here:http://www.struckapparel.com/

                    9. My Barn Child: I've watched these little charms become more and more popular in the horse world this year. From bridles, and boots, too bracelets, and earrings they carry different accessories to show off your stylish bling at the barn.

Check them out here: http://www.mybarnchild.com/

    

                  10. Free Jump Stirrups: Lastly these stirrups are becoming more common in the show jumping ring. I believe George Morris himself screams every time he sees a pair of these stirrups but none the less the are becoming more and more popular. These stirrups are designed with an open top to let your foot slide out easily in the event of a fall. They are light weight and have a wide tread to make them comfortable and easy to keep your foot in the stirrup.

And we have reached my capacity of coming up with new and exciting things for 2014! I have been extremely blessed in 2014 beyond what I could imagine. Between starting my training business, going to Young Jumper Trainers school, and competing in the Equine Comeback Challenge I'm not sure anything can top the year I've had. I give God the glory for the life and abilities he has given me. I am looking forward to 2015 and what may come this year! What are your riding and horse related new years resolutions? Comment below and let me know!

My next exercise blog will be up soon!


Until next time, Keep warm and keep riding!