[Archived] The Stable “View” – 8th Edition

[Archived] The Stable “View” – 8th Edition

To-date this has been a very busy summer at Stable View.
Projects that are progressing are as follows:

The Boyd Martin, ETB Schooling Field at Stable View (BM, ETB SF @ SV) is now completely cleared of relevant trees and shrubbery. By the time that you read this the irrigation system will be in and we hope that the entire area will be seeded with Bermuda. Eric Bull is building the jumps and Boyd is coming to inspect the area during the summer. When the facility opens in January it will be covered with Winter Rye and we hope that the Bermuda will grow and allow year round usage. The challenge is going to be to constantly move the Jumps around to ensure even wear.

Signage project. Due to its growth we have been reluctant to invest in new signage at Stable View but at last have decided to take the plunge. The number 1, 2 and 3 outside on the grass verge denote our Entrances. More signage will follow as we gradually work out which signs should go where.

The second cross country course is now cleared of Oats and is being prepared to be seeded with Bermuda. Some of the fixed assets are in place.

Our proposed Pavilion is now fully designed and ready for our ground breaking ceremony. We are well inside the requirements for LEED Gold. We anticipate this project taking a year. Upon completion Aiken will have a new facility for Weddings, Corporate Retreats, Family Reunions and Conferences. This will also be our VIP and Owners Lounge when the property is in use for Equestrian activities.

Our bird project is covered elsewhere in this newsletter, having said that we are working on a part of Stable View becoming a home for the Red Cockaded Woodpecker……we also had five Kestrels this hatching season.

Weddings have become a staple at Stable View. We have been hosting brides and grooms just about every weekend. The Main Barn is the place to be and they also really like to use the Derby Field.

Our Trails System is coming along nicely and is around 25% complete. This is going to be a very popular addition to Stable Views facilities.

We are in the early stages of designing a Gallop. The challenge is to find over a mile of gentle gradient with straight lines and gentle curves – its more difficult than you might think.

That’s all for now, we hope to see you during the summer

Regards Barry and Cyndy

Connecting you to Stable View

Stable View supports many activities including equestrian events, weddings, volunteer opportunities, and environmental initiatives. We are also involved in a number of business development initiatives. To keep you updated on the ongoing progress of Stable View, we have created multiple Email Lists, each with a different focus. You are welcome to click as many or as few as you wish.
The following are some insights regarding what these lists will keep you up to date with:

The Stable ‘View’ – A quarterly newsletter that updates interested parties regarding what’s going on at Stable View, including new buildings, projects, events, volunteer corner, and our program of events

Eventing – Information on Horse Trials, entry deadlines, and Eventing clinics

The Eventing Academy – Information on our new Schooling Horse Trial Series starting in 2018, including updates on the format, price, dates, and the new course

Dressage – Information on our recognized and schooling dressage shows and clinics

Boyd Martin, Eric Bull Schooling Field @ Stable View – Updates on the progress of the new schooling cross country field

Environmental – Updates on Stable View’s environmental initiatives including the South Carolina Bluebird Society Project, Red Cockaded Woodpecker Project, Long Leaf Pine Alliance, LEED Gold Certification for the new Pavilion, relationship with Birds and Butterflies, and the South Regional Land Conservancy

Volunteer – Information about volunteer opportunities at Stable View events

Bird Update

Stable View’s efforts extend beyond equestrian events to include a variety of environmental, conservation, and wildlife aspects. One of the projects Stable View has participated in is the South Carolina Bluebird Society by including twelve blue bird boxes and five screech owl boxes on the property. As part of the Bluebird Society, Stable View has been able to gain a greater understanding of how to best protect and promote the species that naturally inhabit our land.

During this year’s bluebird nesting season, Stable View has hosted 65 bluebird nests, and 83 bluebird young. To date, 80 bluebirds have fledged the nest. Because the bluebird breeding season extends through August, bluebirds will continue to build new nests with more young throughout the season. Final bird counts for the entirety of the season will be available in future correspondences.

In addition to the bluebird boxes, Stable View also has five screech owl boxes. One female screech owl, named “Stable Who” through the Stable View Facebook contest, built a nest and laid three eggs in one of the boxes. Unfortunately, the owl eggs were lost to a potential predator, but Stable View is hopeful that more screech owls will take advantage of the habitats in the future.

Another exciting part of the 2017 bird season so far was when a female Kestrel, named “Kessie” by a recent Stable View Facebook contest, nested in one of the screech owl boxes. This was the first documented nesting Kestrel for the South Carolina Blue Bird Society. In May, five Kestrel eggs hatched and the young are growing quickly. For more updates on the birds at Stable View, check out the weekly bird updates, pictures, and video footage on our Facebook.

Events Recap

Tracie Robinson Clinic
Stable View was able to host Tracie Robinson, Great Britain’s Eventing Dressage Coach, for a two-day clinic. Tracie was enthusiastic throughout the three days of dressage lessons and gave the riders hands on coaching. Hear what these participating riders had to say about the clinic:

“I had the wonderful opportunity to ride two horses in the Tracie Robinson Clinic at Stable View in March, and it was an inspiring and enlightening experience. I rode Marian and Michael Shaughnessy’s Flambeau, a 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding, who is competing at 3rd and 4th level and schooling Prix St. George. Tracie’s positive, direct, and detail oriented approach to riding specific exercises targeted greater thoroughness, elasticity, and impulsion as we worked through lateral work in trot and canter. We worked an exercise leg yielding to shoulder in to half pass that developed an elasticity and thoroughness I had never felt in half pass before, and allowed me to merely “point and shoot” the half pass to the mid line. Flambeau’s gaits became more dynamic and surprisingly more relaxed and rideable as he became more impressive and powerful. I also rode Clover Joe, a 10-year-old ISH owned by Sarah Cherry, Lynn Giltinan, and myself, who is a Preliminary level eventer and has completed a couple CIC *’s and will be moving up to Intermediate this year. I specifically wanted to work on his canter as it tends to be a bit downhill. After a brief warm up she got straight to work with an exercise designed to increase his carry of the inside hind leg all the while concentrating on the elasticity of his body and connection to the bit. The difference was remarkable, and I never would have thought Captain could be so uphill and light in the bridle. Tracie’s expertise was invaluable with this horse, and it translated into a personal best dressage score of 22.8 at our next horse trial. Thank you to the horse owners, my sponsors (Antares Saddlery & Middy n’ Me), and Angela Hambrick for their support and making special training opportunities like this one possible. Special thanks to Tracie for her time and fabulous coaching, and to Stable View for bringing such a distinguished clinician to the United States.” –Therese Evans

“I give her all of the credit for my horse’s recent Top 3 FEI finishes including a win at The Fork! I think she had a real gift of not altering the relationship between a horse and a rider but rather using their strengths to enhance the whole picture. I have been recreating her exercises on all of my horses and with all of my students with a lot of success to show for it! Please have her back next year and give me a spot every day- kidding but not kidding! -Valerie Vizcarrondo

March HT
Our Spring Horse Trials was a great success with riders competing in levels from Beginner Novice to Preliminary. The event ran as a two-day with Dressage and Cross Country running Tuesday, and Stadium Jumping followed by award ceremonies on Wednesday. The cross country courses designed by Captain Mark Phillips were a great preparation for the spring season for riders. The show jumping track designed by Chris Barnard proved to be a challenge and changed up the ranks on Wednesday.

This show kicked off our 21 Challenge Series. Holland Garrett took home the blue at Stable View, adding just a few cross country time penalties to her dressage score of 33.40. There is more information about the final results of the 21 Challenge Series later in this newsletter.

The March Horse Trials was also the second leg of The Mary Alice Brown, DVM – Amateur Master Rider Series. Jane Manetta and her mount George took home the win again, ending on their dressage score of an impressive 27.80. Jane has now won two of the three shows in the series. The final trophy presentation will be held at the end of our Summer Horse Trials in June, including the presentation of a cooler graciously sponsored by Attwood Equestrian Surfaces.

USDF Dressage
Our first weekend two-day dressage show was a success! We are so thankful to all who came out and spent Easter weekend at Stable View. We hosted classes from Training Level all the way to Grand Prix. We had a wonderful freestyle performed by Melissa Vaughn, as well as an impressive Pas De Deux from Laura Klecker and Sarah Odem. Four Star eventer Kristen Schmolze also practiced her dressage test before heading off to the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.

Many special awards were presented during the weekend. Congratulations to Doris Westhoff for being the High Point Adult Amateur and to Richard Taylor of Richard’s Equine Video for sponsoring prize money and a beautiful ribbon for Adult Amateurs. Also, congratulations to Kimberly Keeton and Keysoe on being our “Spring Fever” Dressage TIP (Thoroughbred Incentive Program) Award Winners! Laura Abner was our High Point Winner for the whole show with a 75% in her Training Level test. We even had a century ride on Sunday (read the following article to find out more about a Century Ride).

Century Ride
The Century Club recognizes dressage riders and horses whose combined ages total 100 years or more. In addition to having ages totaling 100 or more, horse and rider perform a dressage test of any level at a dressage show and are scored by a dressage judge. The Dressage Foundation provides a Century Club ribbon and wall plaque to each horse and rider pair.

The Century Club was formed at The Dressage Foundation in 1996 per the suggestion of noted dressage judge and instructor, Dr. Max Gahwyler, with the intention to encourage older dressage riders to remain active in the sport. Since that time, the Century Club has grown into a meaningful and popular endeavor and has over 275 members to date. Stable View has been lucky to host two century rides. The first century ride took place on October 12th at our Dressage Schooling Show. Conni Purciarele, from Trenton, rode Connie Jarznik’s Aladdin. Aladdin is a 29-year-old Arabian gelding and Conni is 72, making up the 100 years of combined age required for the Century Ride. Our second Century Ride took place April 15th at our Spring Fever Recognized Dressage Show. Judy Hinson of Aiken, SC was inducted into the special group of senior dressage riders and horses. Judy rode her horse, HTH Hungarian Rhapsody, in a Training level test.

21 Challenge Series
The 21 Challenge Series targets Young Riders at the Preliminary and 1* level. Competitors rode for the top cumulative results throughout the series which included Stable View’s March 21st – 22nd Horse Trials, Fair Hill International on April 14th – 16th, and Plantation Field’s May 13th Horse Trials.

Holland Garret, 19, won the series aboard her own LA Lux, 13 abs received second place in the series on her other horse Indian Mill. She grew up in Los Gatos, California, but relocated last year to Kennett Square, Pennsylvania to train with Phillip Dutton. Growing up, she did a few horse camps over the summer in elementary school, but a trip to England in 6th grade to see the Grand Nationals made her want to take riding lessons and be more serious about the sport. In her sophomore year of high school, she traveled to Ireland to look for a horse to move up the levels with. This is when she found Lenni. He’s an Irish Sport horse and “has a little bit of a diva persona,” Holland says. The pair started off together at novice, and he took her to her first training, preliminary, and even intermediate events. The pair attempted a CIC2* this time last year but had a bad fall on cross country. Since then, the two have been rebuilding confidence and taking things slowly.

Holland Garrett aboard LA Lux took home the blue in the Junior Young Rider Preliminary Division at Stable View on March 21st and 22nd. She began the show with a 33.40 in dressage and only added 8.40 of time penalties after cross country. A double clear show jumping round on a tough track sealed her win. Holland reflects on competing at Stable View by saying, “The opening event at Stable View for the series was my favorite event I’ve been to so far this year. I love it because it’s local to Aiken, and the courses were really well thought out. The cross country was slightly more technical, causing some issues in all preliminary divisions, and it made you ride tough. I thought the show jumping required you to ride off of your eye, which I really enjoyed. You could go in with a plan, but it really depended on how you rode into everything and how you reacted.”

Holland again rode LA Lux at the Fair Hill International Event, this time in the CIC*. She started off in 11th place after dressage with a score of 49.90. Double clear cross country and show jumping rounds moved her up to a 6th place finish. When looking back at Fair Hill, she says she “thought the show jumping required a more forward ride, which set me up to keep thinking forward once I got out on cross country. I usually struggle with making time on Lenni, but the open feeling of the course made it easy to keep kicking on.”
While Holland withdrew from Plantation Field Horse Trials, she still took the lead in the 21 Challenge series with her impressive results at Stable View and Fair Hill International.

Holland believes “this series did a really great job setting up challenging, yet confidence building events for both horse and rider.” She won up to one month’s free board with use of the equestrian amenities, on-site apartment accommodations, and training sessions at Stable View during the 2018 winter season. However, Holland would love to give back to the eventing community by donating the board at Stable View.
“I keep my horses with Phillip year round, so I think it would be nice to give back to another young rider who could use the help, plus it’s an amazing facility. I am super excited to get a chance to expand my riding knowledge and be able to participate in the training sessions offered. I think this series is a great new addition and does an amazing job targeting young riders to set goals and give us some great opportunities to learn and keep advancing in our sport.”

Featured Sponsor – Sharer Dale

Sharer Dale, Associate Broker/Owner at RE/MAX Tattersall Group in Aiken, South Carolina has been a strong supporter of Stable View. She is not only a sponsor and a competitor, but also the agent who helped find the property which is now Stable View. Sharer was originally born in California and raised in Ohio, but attended the University of Vermont, where she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Property Management and Development.

She is now proud to call Aiken, South Carolina home for nearly 10 years. Licensed for 30+ years, Sharer combined her passion for real estate and horses, allowing her to specialize in fine equestrian and recreational properties. Sharer currently owns three horses; Fellow, Olivia and Faith, that she competes in the jumpers. You can find her at many local horse shows competing or spectating.

Sharer says she sees “the significance of sponsorship as one’s community commitment or obligation.”
“I see it as my way of giving back to a community that has been so generous, supportive, and the very reason for my success as a Realtor! I serve the Equestrian Community – whether they are buying a high end horse farm, or a more modest in-town patio home. Sponsorship is my way of showing gratitude! I personally want to thank and recognize Barry and Cyndy for their contributions and significant commitment to Aiken’s horse community. Stable View is a marquis facility with the state of the art facility and upper level venues, as well as world class training facility. That energy is contagious and draws more great folks of many disciplines to our community. It is the ideal ‘GATHERING PLACE!’ Not only do I receive exposure from my sponsorship, but I also receive valuable face time and ‘front row seats’ with Olympians, top-notch clinicians, community leaders, and specialized professional vendors – all of which are beneficial in my line of work, as well as for future references. I consider myself a resource for my equestrian clients. Stable View has the best of the best – never hurts to rub elbows with those who know more or are better at it than you!”
For more information, visit http://www.housesforhorses.com/. E-mail: SharerDale@gmail.com Phone: (803) 761-0678

Featured Volunteer – Sherry & Brian Higham

Sherry Higham was a rider and trainer in the New York/New Jersey area when she traveled to England to look for horses. When she asked for recommendations on who to go to, the name Brian Higham kept being mentioned. This is how Sherry and Brian first met and eventually the two got married and had a successful buying, training and selling business in England. Brian had a good eye for buying horses and Sherry would then ride them to sell. The couple said they had great customers from America that would fly over to England to buy horses from them. They mention that the ideal sales horse would be one suited for an amateur that is easily ridable, preferably something like an Irish Draft rather than a warmblood because the warmbloods are harder to ride. According to them, the ideal hunt horse is a “middle weight horse that gallops.”

Brian has an extensive background in horses. After his National Service at 19 years old in Germany, Brian then truly began his horse experience. He always wanted to ride and work with horses, so Brian worked very hard to learn and get rides. Badminton was his first proper horse job and he worked his way up to head Stable Manager for Badminton. He worked for the 10th Duke for 25 years, and then the current Duke for 26 years. Brian’s horse experience also includes training many point to point horses as well being a very well respected judge. He has judged in such places as England, Dublin and Wales and he says that in England they don’t get paid to judge they do it for the honor. Through his judging experience, Brian notes that the horses he sees have changed. More warmbloods are appearing in shows which has led to a decrease in substance in horses that many got from the Irish Draft. Also, due to the change from the long to short format, the type of horse needed has changed. When the sport switched to the short format, the German’s dressage really changed the sport. The horses use to have to be much more fit for the old format, and in those days the American’s even won large titles. However, many of the riders wanted the short format and thus the sport and the horses both had to change. Brian is also on many riding and confirmation panels.

Brian states that the horse industry has changed in several other ways since he started. At first there were no women in the industry, however, now girls are taking over the industry. Brian also says that manners have changed and labor has become a problem. Taking the time to groom a horse properly is a long lost art. Brian mentions his grooming pet peeves, including bridle paths that are too long, tails not cut properly, over all bad clipping, and that the withers on a horse should never be clipped. Also, in England, eventing seems to be more popular partly because of the more rural area and the fact that many things center on the hunts. This allows the general public to be more involved and interested in horses. Many kids grow up with Pony Club and there are even riding clubs for adults. There are a lot more kids riding and competing in England than there are in the States.

The couple found Aiken on a trip down the east coast. They enjoyed the weather and friendly people so much that they made Aiken their second home. Currently they split their time between Aiken and England. Sherry and Brian own a horse that Waylon Roberts is competing here in Aiken. They imported the horse from Ireland and he recently did his first ever show at Paradise. Waylon competed him Novice and had a score of 24 in dressage, ending the day in 5th place! Sherry and Brian love how Aiken has so many great places to school and compete.

Sherry and Brian recently fence judged at our Winter Horse Trials and reflected on their time by saying Stable View was a “beautiful setting” and they were “impressed.” Most importantly, they “felt welcome and like Stable View wanted us there.” Brian says that Stable View is on the right track with the new course and having the right people, such as William Fox-Pitt and Captain Mark Phillips.