Well, we’ve had our first of hopefully many beautiful, cool mornings here at A Bit Better Farm. The horses are really enjoying the break from the summer heat and humidity and so are the humans! I think we had a lovely wrap-up to the summer season with Ella Riley making a successful transition to the UK with her Lotty and enjoying her first trip to the AECs during her first week of classes as a college freshman! We are so happy to see Lotty and Ella thriving in the beginning of this HUGE journey!

August also brought a big first for long-time friend and ABBF rider Barbara Miller and her Fizz. It has been a slow, steady journey that led her and this lovely young horse to their first proper show at Full Moon Farm, and both really showed and had a great time! I am so excited for their future together!

Speaking of “firsts,” I am the “first” one to say that the placing doesn’t always represent the effort or ultimately the success we should feel when we finish up a long day of showing, BUT a big blue ribbon does make you smile! Haley Miller and Kristen Parris each had a very well-deserved 1st place showing this past month, so I wanted to extend a special congratulations to them! GREAT job!!!!

Lastly, we have had some of the team wrapping up their qualifications for my favorite event of the year….The Waredaca Classic Three Day Event! If you have not been, I cannot recommend it enough. If you are wondering if you should give it a try, just ask me why I find it so valuable for a horse and rider to do together! This year we have a good group headed that direction, so look for Team ABBF on the 4th weekend in October at the Waredaca Classic! 

Fall season is full steam ahead! Good luck, everyone!

Week of August 27-30

Seneca Valley Pony Club “Fall” Horse Trial (August 29-30)

• Katie Murphy Mayo on Mr. Mayhem owned by Katie Murphy Mayo in the Modified Rider placed 4th
• Haley Miller on Most Divine owned by Haley Miller in the Novice Rider placed 1st

Week of August 13-16 

Waredaca Farm H.T (August 15-16)

• Kristen Parris on Platinum Edition owned by Kristen Parris in the Open Beginner Novice placed 1st
• Julie Augustine on Chess Not Checkers in the Open Beginner Novice placed 4th
• Haley Miller on Most Divine owned by Haley Miller in the Novice Rider placed 5th

It’s hard to believe that the summer is coming to an end already! 

This summer has been a bit of a whirlwind for me personally and around the farm at ABBF. We have had the fortune of welcoming several new farm family members, and I can’t tell you how excited I am to see each of them and their horses progress! Team ABBF has had some really great outings at some of our favorite events this summer. I think it’s safe to say that whether it’s been a top placing or an experience that offered a few really valuable lessons, everyone has had a lot of fun in the show ring this summer so far!

Of course, not all of our biggest wins actually happen in the show ring, and so I have particularly enjoyed spending time this summer helping a number of students get a feel for the process of bringing along a young horse or even redeveloping and perfecting some parts of the performance of their older partners. These at-home wins will make it so they can ultimately produce the results they are looking for in the fall! 

With that said, we are looking ahead to the fall and some big goals! First up will be Ella Riley as she moves into her new home away from home at the University of Kentucky AND tries her hand at the AECs all in the same week! GOOD LUCK, Ella!!!

The Maryland Horse Trials at Loch Moy Farm (July 10-12)

• Kristen Parris on Platinum Edition owned by Kristen Parris in the Open Beginner Novice placed 3rd
• Ella Riley on Master of Illusion owned by Ella Riley in the Junior Beginner Novice placed 7th
• Ella Ruth Goodman on Irish Encanton owned by Ella Ruth Goodman in the Junior Open Novice placed 4th

Full Moon Aloha’s Horse Trial (June 28)

• Amy Gaynor on Studly Dudley owned by Amy Gaynow in the Open Novice placed 6th
• Ashley Gross on State of Lux owned by Ashley Gross in the Open Novice placed 5th
• Ella Ruth Goodman on Irish Encanto owned by Ella Ruth Goodman in the Open Novice placed 3rd

Loudoun Hunt Pony Club H.T. (June 20-21)

• Haley Miller on Most Divine owned by Haley Miller in the Novice Rider placed 9th
• Ella Riley on Master of Illusion owned by Theresa Riley in the Beginner Novice Junior placed 6th

The soggy weather didn’t keep team ABBF from enjoying the weekend at Loch Moy! Good job to everyone who braved the conditions!

Dover Saddlery Highland Starter Trial at Loch Moy (May 23-24)

• Vera Fontana on Olympiad owned by Vera Fontana in the Open Novice placed 6th
• Julie Augustine on Chess Not Checkers owned by Julie Augustine in the Beginner Novice placed 4th

We had a lovely trip to Fairhill this past weekend! This is such a wonderful venue with courses that really allow the horses to get in to a good galloping rhythm and to really build confidence of both horse and rider. On top of that they have some of the most friendly volunteers around.

Fair Hill International Recognized Horse Trial (May 16-17)

• Haley Miller on Most Divine owned by Haley Miller in the Beginner Novice Rider placed 5th

• Ella Riley on Master of Illusion owned by Theresa Riley in the Junior Beginner Novice placed 6th

The ABBF crew had a fabulous time at the Waredaca Horse Trials this past weekend! We are so lucky to have such a lovely place to ride and compete just down the road!

Waredaca (May 2-3)

• Kelley Williams on Valfreyja owned by Kelley Williams in the Open Training placed 4th
• Cynthia Mackey on Seattle Reign owned by Cynthia Mackey in the Novice Rider placed 3rd
• Katie Murphy Mayo on Mr. Mayhem owned by Katie Murphy Mayo in the Open Modified placed 4th
• Haley Miller on Most Divine owned by Haley Miller in the Beginner Novice Rider B placed 6th
• Ella Riley on Master of Illusion owned by Theresa Riley in the Beginner Novice Rider A placed 2nd

Team ABBF had a lovely weekend at Loch Moy this past weekend. Even though the weather says it’s summer, we are still in early season for most of our horses’ riders. This weekend shows a lot of promise for the season ahead!! Great job everyone!

My girls had some fun this weekend! Freyja really enjoyed getting to stretch her long legs out on XC. We are both loving that she is getting to be so much more rideable, so I can start to let her actually cover some ground out there! Lani just might be considering that maaaaaybe perhaps someday she will agree to consider jumping all the things the first time she is asked. She really has been so much fun, but SUCH a puzzle to produce. One step at a time with this beautiful girl!!

MDHT Highland Series Horse Trials (April 11-12)

• Kelley Willaims on…
  • Valfreyja owned by Kelley Williams in the Open Training placed 4th
  • Liliuokalani owned by Kelley Williams in the Open Beginner Novice placed 7th
• Ashley Gross on State of Lux owned by Ashley Gross in the Open Novice placed 2nd
• Haley Miller on Most Divine owned by Haley Miller in the Open Beginner Novice placed 6th
• Ella Riley on Master of Illusion in the Junior Beginner Novice placed 1st 
• Cyndy Macky on Seattle Reign in Open Novice A placed 4th
• Megan Reuwer on Some Me Time in Open Novice A placed 5th
• Kristen Parris and Platinum Edition in Open BN placed 8th
• Mickey Willie and American Dream in Junior Starter placed 1st
• Leila Riazi and Lego Technic in Starter placed 4th

After a long winter, the girls and I had a really fun outing last weekend at the first of MDHT’s Highland series to get the season going! We are so lucky to have a place like Loch Moy to help both horses and riders stay sharp through the winter months so we can come out ready to go in the spring!

MDHT Highland Series Horse Trials (March 21-22)

• •Kelley Williams on…
  • Valfreyja owned by Kelley Williams in the Open Novice placed 1st
  • Liliokalani owned by Kelley Williams in the Open Beginner Novice placed 9th

We certainly all know how hard it can be to keep reaching for your goals. Sometimes they can seem so far off that they are unattainable BUT if you keep your chin up and your eye on the prize you can get there! Congratulations to Rachel on reaching a lifelong goal this weekend by completing her first preliminary horse trial we are all so happy for you and share in your delight!!

Seneca Valley Pony Club HT (August 30-31)

• Rachel Narrow on Sushi in the Open Preliminary placed 9th

A big congratulations to Rachel and Sushi on finishing in style at Waredaca this past weekend. Their partnership has been really fun to watch develop this year!

Waredaca Horse Trials (August 15-17)

• Rachel Narrow on Sushi, owned by Edaward Ewbank, in the Modified Rider placed 1st

A few of us dodged the raindrops this weekend to have some fun at Middleburg Horse Trials this past weekend! A special congratulations to Rachel on her very successful move up to Modified!!

Middleburg Horse Trials

• Kelley Williams on Valfreyja in the Open Training placed 6th
• Rachel Narrow on Sushi in Modified Rider placed 3rd