Here you will find archived news from 2007, reports and editorials from the board of directors. An archive of the Equestrians’ Institute e-Flash can be found here. Timeless stories about and by members can be found here.

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Eventing Report
By Penny Leggott
‘Tis the Season…..
for Clinics and working on our basics. The competition season is behind us but a variety of clinic opportunities are available to help eventers improve their skills. The final session of the E.I. sponsored Instructor Certification Program with Lilo Fore was held December 8-9 at The Back Forte in Enumclaw. This was a marvelous chance to audit and listen and learn from a world class dressage rider and teacher. Looking forward, E.I. Eventing will be holding a Combined Test Clinic on March 29-30th, 2008 with Jen Verharen and Carrie Carstairs. This format was a big success in 2007 and we plan to improve it further for next year. On the Saturday, Jen will give private dressage lessons and Carrie will teach jump lessons in small groups. Where possible, riders’ dressage lessons precede the jump session. Ride and Review is held on Sunday and participants ride their test for Jen (with a scribe recording as usual); Jen gives immediate verbal feedback and suggestions for improvement; the participant rides the test again and gets a second score. Approximately an hour later participants will warm up with Carrie in their group for the jump test and then jump the course, get feedback from Carrie, and ride the course again. Participants may choose to clinic at the level they are working towards, and do Ride and Review at a lower level if he/she wishes. More details to follow on the E.I. web site. Olympian Bruce Davidson will be at Tall Firs in Redmond Jan 12-13, 2008. The clinic is full at time of writing but this is another great auditing opportunity.
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President’s Report
By Jana Steffen
This last weekend (Nov. 3 – 4), one would have found me auditing the Instructor Certification Training Workshop. Rachael Saavedra, the Workshop Instructor, did a terrific job. The material was well presented, and theories well explained with wit and good humor infused throughout. The Participants really stretched themselves and were clearly focused on learning. The good sense of camaraderie and mutual support created a wonderful learning environment. Participants completed the two days with healthy egos attached and also an additional arsenal of training tips and tools. My only wish is that more trainers and instructors could have attended. This was a terrific learning opportunity from an accomplished Grand Prix trainer.

Next month on Dec. 8th -9th we are holding the final Workshop. The workshop will be completely devoted to teaching. Lilo Fore is conducting the workshop. So, if you know of a couple of trainers, please pass this invitation to attend along. Or better yet, buy them an audit slot for the holidays. Have a wonderful holiday season.
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2008 E.I. Auction
By Jana Steffen
Time to start getting prepared for the 2008 Annual E.I. Auction on March 8th! We need volunteers to help get the ball rolling or shall we say get the donations rolling. Do you like creating and managing successful events? If so, we need your help. We are looking for an Assistant Project Manager to help with entire event, help with gathering donations, preparing materials and lots of help the day of event for set up/teardown, etc. If you are interested in helping please contact Carolynn Bunch at her email

Upcoming E.I. Events
Dec. 8-9, 2007 Instructor Certification Teaching Workshop, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, Back Forte Equestrian Center, Enumclaw, WA
Jan. 20, 2008 Annual Meeting, 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm, Sammamish Valley Grange, Woodinville, WA
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Eventing Report, October 2007
Penny Leggott
The Equestrians Institute Horse Trials was held at Donida Farm near Auburn WA on September 22-23. This is a recognized competition with divisions up to Preliminary. The show secretary received almost 200 entries, which was full capacity. We were fortunate to have excellent eventing weather, that is to say it was not too hot, so that warming up for dressage in a black jacket was quite bearable and riding cross country in a heat holding protective vest didn’t give one heat stoke; no wind meant no flapping flagging to spook excited horses; and the expected deluge of rain failed to transpire. Donida footing on cross country was excellent this year, but heavy rainfall can turn it into a boggy mess in short order. Everything ran on time with the exception of a half hour hold on cross country for a junior competitor who had a nasty fall (she went home after being checked out at the hospital and is doing fine).

Last year, the show organizer (Mary Brumder) implemented a new format: dressage and cross country on Saturday, and show jumping on Sunday with awards ceremonies between each division. Competitor feedback, especially from trainers, was very positive, and the format was repeated this year. Four dressage rings ran simultaneously, all on sand. The large fenced sand arena held 2 rings and the adjacent newly enlarged area held 2 more sand rings and a warm up area. Riders could also warm up for dressage in the large covered arena and a hogs fuel arena. Gwen Blake, Donida’s owner, has spent much time, effort and money on the new sand arena in preparation for the dressage championships which were held the weekend after the Horse Trials and we certainly benefited from this!

The Trewin-Thurston team did it again this year - the cross country courses looked wonderful and rode really well. E.I. has been extremely fortunate to have Todd Trewin design and build the cross country courses for some years now with additional input from John Williams. This year, Todd reversed much of the course and the bank complex became the final combination on course instead of the first. This added interest and of note Preliminary ran uphill through the keyhole in the last part of the course and flowed especially well. I thought the changes were terrific for spectators – it was easy to see the flow of the course and follow riders’ progress. New questions and combinations were added to the courses and were much appreciated by riders. Competitors thought the courses were “stout” (not wussy) but fair and appropriate for the levels. Several trainers told me they thought the courses were beautifully built and presented so that horses could see and understand the questions.

Sunday dawned crisp and dry and stadium started promptly at 8.30am with Preliminary competitors. Dorothy Hamilton was the course designer and her courses rode beautifully with excellent questions, and were quite decisive at each level. Dot’s Mum (Barbara Flynn) came to help and I discovered that she had been the President of E.I. several years ago. We were honored to have her present the ribbons and prizes for each division. Although it takes it a bit more time, giving the awards by division is very much appreciated by those who receive them, as well as their support teams and families! I can’t resist mentioning that Kelly Lynch rode Shay (my 20 year old little guy) to 3rd place in Junior Training. They had a great ride and were double clear on XC and stadium

It takes a small army…to put together a recognized event like this and to have it run smoothly. Among the many whose generous and hugely appreciated efforts made the Horse Trials a big success this year were the following:
Mary Brumder - as the show organizer she puts many pieces in motion almost a year in advance.
Leslie Thurston organizes and coordinates the work parties to prepare and help build the courses and spends countless personal hours in addition. This year Leslie had four work parties over a couple of months. Volunteers are given tasks appropriate to skill levels (I was the designated weeder at the ditch!) and issued with hoes, rakes, pruners and weedwackers etc. Leslie also provides an excellent lunch which keeps workers’ energies fired up. Leslie’s remarkable team this year included two farriers, a Microsoft senior executive, a geriatric pharmacologist, a professional trainer, a CPA, and so on. The mind boggles somewhat at the real world charge-out $$ for course preparation this year!
Cross country work crew folks who put in amazing effort included Polly Kranick, Gail Magnuson, Dawn and Jon Dofelmier, Tom Blank, Peggy Lynch, Denise Green, Robbie Harris, Jackie Robinson, and Alex Trewin.
As the competition date draws close Leslie buys interesting plants and shrubs to enhance the jumps. Competitors and spectators alike have come to count on her beautifully decorated and presented courses as a highlight of the eventing year in the Pac NW. The plants then do double duty on the stadium course on Sunday, after which they enter the annual plant sale which allows E.I. to recoup some expenditures.
Jana Steffen, our E.I. President, spent many of the wee hours of the night working on volunteer coordination in the weeks leading up to the Event.
Jeff Roberts worked on the XC work group and then stepped up as jump judge coordinator (that’s about 15-16 judges per course for 4 different courses!) and didn’t sleep the night before cross country because this was a totally new area for him. He is a detail person and his efforts made a very big difference to the smooth running of the XC divisions. The many wonderful jump judges are our unsung heroes!
Dorothy Hamilton not only designed the stadium course but put together a team of volunteers to build and take down the courses, and fielded a jump crew.
Chris Cardwell crossed over from our E.I. dressage division to help with dressage volunteer coordination.
Maggie Rikard donated, and had delivered, the straw bales which we used at the Derby and then at the H.T. She and Mary Decher were the bit check crew for dressage for 6 hours on Saturday.
Mary Brumder’s sister and her friend did a tremendous job in the hospitality tent and had a wonderful selection of treats and drinks and nutritious sandwich fixings to sustain our wonderful volunteers.
Chlo Shapiro did the timing for cross country and stadium – yet again!
Martha McReady, Stacey Wuscher, Michelle Pestl, Lou Leslie, Blair Howland and Susan Miller gave generously of their time.
Joanna Herrigstad was as usual heavily involved with judging and officiating– we are SO fortunate to have her in our area.

There are many whose names I haven’t mentioned but who helped so much and without whom we would have been up a creek!

Musings:
From time to time I have wild ideas on how to increase volunteer participation among eventers. It’s really hard work to put volunteer groups together for these events. We have much more difficulty with eventing activities than the dressage group do and while I think I understand the reasons for this, I still try to grapple with solutions.

My latest scheme is to consider requiring mandatory cross country work party experiences for all novice riders before they are allowed to move up to training. Or perhaps it could be BN riders moving to Novice, but you see where I’m going. It would not apply to trainers or professionals. The amount of work required to get approximately 88 fences looking good, and complying with safety regulations, is amazing and I think being required to pick up stones off a bank complex for 4 hours would give a rider a totally different perspective on what is involved in building a good XC facility!

Three of us spent over an hour pruning back the willow tree and the brambles at the out field water complex to improve spectator visibility. The same group worked for an hour raking leaves, picking up stones and pruning back tree limbs, nettles and weeds at the up bank into the woods. It took two of us well over an hour to weed the in-field big ditch and clear the ground lines and rake the gravel. [The reason we do this is safety – for example a young horse coming down to the ditch and initially seeing flourishing weeds, doesn’t realize until the last second that there is in fact a ditch in which there could be a tiger ready to pounce. A well prepared ditch with a clear ground line gives the horse time to assess the question as it approaches]. Many of the cross country jumps need painting or treating with preservative to protect them and keep them looking good. Each jump takes about an hour to paint. Wouldn’t it be terrific if trainers encouraged this participation as an important part of horsemanship! I look forward to readers’ comments and suggestions.

End note:
Back to the 2007 EIHT – I was struck by the caliber of horses that we see these days. It seems to have changed even over the last five years. A good dressage score is critical in order to be competitive and there are some very lovely movers out there now. However, XC and stadium can turn the tables in a blink of an eye and we saw some exciting competition this year. Kudos to all our competitors and thank you for making this such a great event!
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USDF Instructor / Trainer Lungeing Workshop
Michele Nolte

The pounding rain and howling wind could not break the focus of the ten Participants at the USDF Instructor / Trainer Lungeing Workshop held Saturday and Sunday, Oct 6th 7 7th at The Back Forte in Enumclaw WA. Faculty Christine Rivlin-Henke’s passion for the USDF Instructor / Trainer program was evident by her willingness to work the long hours necessary to add two additional Participants to the Workshop. Lunch and an endless supply of hot drinks catered by Carol Baker of Park Bench Café of Orting WA kept everyone at ringside so as not to miss a word of lecture.

Saturday after the video & lecture, each Participant lunged their horse for ten minutes, then gave an oral evaluation of the horse’s schooling and what they intended to do on the lunge line to improve the horse. After the lunge schooling, the Participant gave another oral evaluation of how well their plan worked or didn’t work followed by Christine Rivlin-Henke’s evaluation of the Participant’s ability to safely and effectively handle the equipment, evaluate the horse, and to execute an appropriate schooling plan.

A similar schedule was followed on Sunday. After a video and lecture, each Participant gave a demonstration rider a lunge lesson. For the first ten minutes of the 45 minute individual session the Participant lunged the rider for evaluation, then gave an oral explanation of what they wanted to focus on during the lunge lesson. At the conclusion, the Participant gave another oral evaluation of how well their plan worked or didn’t work followed by Christine Rivlin-Henke’s evaluation of the Participant’s ability to safely and effectively handle the equipment, evaluate the rider, and to execute an appropriate lesson plan.

Each Participant received a written evaluation of each session plus a summary with comments for improvement. Jane Judson and Christine Headley were both recommended to attend the Pre-Certification in February 2008 and Jennifer Verharen was not only recommended to attend the Pre-Certification in February 2008 but also the Certification in May 2008.

The next Workshop will focus on the Participants riding skills. Faculty Rachael Saavadra will follow a similar schedule. On Saturday November 3rd, the Participant will have ten minutes to evaluate a familiar horse, present their evaluation, execute their plan then finally giving their evaluation of the out come of their plan. On Sunday November 4th, the Participants will be riding unfamiliar horses to evaluate their training ability.

The last Workshop December 8th & 9th with Faculty Lilo Fore will be devoted to teaching, both in private and group lesson conditions.

Although all eight Participant and four Auditor slots have been filled there is seating for Spectators. Reserved seating which includes lunch, is $85.00 for non-EI members and $75.00 for EI members,. Seating is available at the door without lunch.
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Region 6 Mini-Convention

With the support of USDF, Region 6 Director Donna Longacre is kicking off the first ever Region 6 Mini-
Convention. The mission of this event is to foster and improve communications between USDF, regional
representatives, Group Member Organization (GMO) officers/chapters, national convention delegates and
general members.

It is being held in conjunction with a Continuing Education opportunity for “L” Graduates,
speaker Trenna Atkins has geared topics of interest to Judges, Instructors and Dressage enthusiasts alike.

See the flyer and signup form here and more information posted on the Region 6 Website in the following weeks

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Last minute volunteers for the Regional Championships!

Hello Everybody, this is the last call for volunteers for the Regional Championships. We are less than a week away and there are still some slots to be filled. Many of us have a keen interest in this successful show coming back to this area, so lets all help make it a big success again!

As of Monday night, the show secretary is still looking for the following kinds of help:

SCRIBES:

1 Fri morning: T-1st levels
1 Sun afternoon: T & NAJRC QUALIFYING
STEWARDS:

5 Fri am 4 Fri pm
4 am & 4 pm Sat & Sun
BIT CHECKERS:

3 ams & pms each day
RUNNERS:

2 ams & 2 pms each day
If you are interested, please e-mail ASAP: Lisa Lynes click to email Lisa) or Lothar Pinkers (click to email Lothar) or Robin Strange (click to email Robin) straight away!

(NOTE: Your Internet browser may ask you if you want to execute scripts or active content on this page. The email links listed above in parentheses will only be visible if you say ‘yes’)

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Education Grants for 2007
Beth Glosten

E.I. is happy to announce the recipients of Education Grants for 2007.

In the Dressage Division, the recipients include: Peter Larsen, Hanna Ferguson, Heidi Gloudemans, and Cathleen Vanzwol.

For the Eventing division, Kelly Lynch will receive an Education Grant.

The recipients were selected by review of their applications by a committee unaware of the applicant's identity. Look for the reports from these individuals in upcoming issues of Flying Changes. And remember, you could be a grant recipient next year. Let E.I. say ”thank you” for your help with E.I. by funding your educational goals.

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Karen Robinson Freestyle Clinic

This is the tenth clinic in a series of freestyle clinics organized by Equestrians' Institute. The purpose of these clinics is to offer access to the Musical Freesyle design process to riders of all abilities.

The clinic will be hosted at Pacific Moon Equestrian Center in Arlington, WA on October 12-14, 2007. The clinic begins Friday evening at 6pm with a three hour presentation covering the freestyle design process and what judge's look for in a good freestyle. Recently, Karen covered the Pan Am Games as a journalist and may have insights from that competition.

Saturday, the session begins at 9am as riders work with their horses on music selection. Karen determines the beats per minute for each gait and then begins to match music with each riding team. Each of the riders work with Karen for 45 minutes. Lunch break is at 1pm.

Sunday's session is spent working on choreography and some additional music selection. Auditors are encouraged to attend the evening presentation and these informative sessions. We have many levels participating in this clinic. Audit fees are $10/day for E.I. members.

Karen Robinson has designed freestyles for riders around the world. In 2006, her client Bernadette Pujals, finished 10th at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany. Despite growing international demand for her work, Karen enjoys working with the more fun-less pressure clients she has locally.

Find the full flyer here.

For directions visit www.Pacific-Moon.net For more information about the clinic, please contact Kathleen Doyle at Equita8@comcast.net or (425)681-7811.

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President’s Report October 2007
By Jana Steffen

This past month (Sept.) I have been working with the Eventing team as the Volunteer Coordinator for the Horse Trials. As I write this the event is two weeks away and we are dismally low on the volunteers. I don’t mean to rant, but maybe I do. I have to say that it is extremely frustrating to be part of a small team that is busting their bums to put on an event for a community that does not seem to be willing to support it from a volunteer standpoint. My life is full with family, work, training two horses, being the President of E.I. in addition to helping out as the Volunteer Coordinator. I had often heard of this phenomenon, the difficulty in finding volunteers, but this is the first time that I have so greatly felt the pain. I sit racking my brain about how to approach this, what can be said to encourage folks to help, how to let people know how much their help is appreciated and that if we don’t have volunteers we cannot put on events.

Then I ask myself why is this? Do volunteers not have a good experience and therefore are not willing to step forward to help again? Is everyone just so overwhelmed in this day and age that it is just impossible to add one more thing? Or is it apathy? Or the thinking that I don’t have to contribute, someone else will step forward and I don’t need to do anything. Of course everyone has a busy life and some folks would really like to help but already have commitments that they need to honor.

I think for the most part, our members and colleagues in the equestrian community like to have these shows and events available. As I have said many times before, these events are possible because of the volunteers who step forward to help make them happen. For those who are helping, thank you so much. I cannot express enough my gratitude and appreciation. Your support and time is a gift not only to your fellow volunteer comrades but to the competitors and broader sport.

To those who find it challenging to help out with volunteering; we are all part of this equestrian community, we all need to support the activities. Any support that you can provide is helpful. What would happen if we did not offer these events? What would be the ripple effect through the community? Trainers make less money, competitions are harder to get into, become more expensive, competitors have to travel farther, have less options to choose from and costs increase.

Hats off to those who volunteer, you are my heroes and the heroes of the community!

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Eventing Report October 2007
Penny Leggott

August was a busy month for eventers: Young Riders Benefit Horse Trials was held August 10-12th at Donida Farm and Caber Farm HT was two weeks later, August 24-26th.
We had great weather for both events and both were very well run and well attended.
Young Riders could be re-named the Grandia event – Annie, Linda, and Mark were to be seen everywhere and Annie certainly didn’t let the small matter of broken vertebrae slow her down!

John Camlin’s cross country course at Caber asks some really good questions and this year he had made some changes which added new interest. Building a good quality cross country course takes a lot of time and effort, as well as the cost of materials. We’re very fortunate to have Donida and Caber in our area. I really enjoyed watching the Intermediate division at Caber. Even though it’s exciting to watch at Rolex and Badminton and Burghley, there’s something so much more personal about watching riders you know competing over challenging courses, especially when you’ve watched the progression of the horse and rider partnership over time. It’s easy to forget that the road to the top is usually rocky, and rarely smooth! I remember being told that Gina Miles’ horse McKinlaigh spent two years at Training before she was able to move him up!

This year E.I. held its Second Annual Event Derby at Donida Farm on Labor Day weekend. Last year we held it the weekend after the E.I. Horse Trials but this year the Dressage Championships are taking place on “our” weekend so I had to take Labor Day weekend instead. This turned out to be a much better choice for our stalwart team of volunteers and we had 100 entries, so it seemed to work for riders too!

On Saturday we held a cross country Clinic and I was fortunate enough to persuade Todd Trewin to be our clinician. Todd is a terrific teacher and horseman and we had 24 riders sign up within 2 weeks of the notice going out.

One of the things I most enjoy about helping to organize things like this is the opportunity to meet so many interesting people and to get to know more folks in our eventing community. We had a great group with a wide range of horse and rider experience and abilities, including two D.Q.s (dressage queens) who had never been over a cross country fence! And wouldn’t you know it, one of them, Stephanie Daifuku, went on to win her division in the Derby with a sickeningly excellent dressage score!

I was in the same group as E.I. Board member and Treasurer, Laura McGillicuddy and her TB, Loyal, who was new to cross country but they took to it like the proverbial duck. My pony, on the other hand, decided to be a complete nitwit. He warmed up very sensibly, much to my relief, and we started our session in fine style leading the way through the water (small puddle really). After about 15 minutes he started to come unglued and gave a creditable imitation of a lunatic Arab on amphetamines. His previous owners had come to see the happy new partnership in action, and boy did they see it: spinning, traveling backward at high speed, and totally refusing to go in a straight line. I was mortified, Todd was mystified that I had saddled my self to such a beast, and the previous owners hid behind dark sunglasses! Oh well, as Todd says, horses are humbling. And I did come away with a pearl, I learned to sit really deep and in the middle while pony spun this way and that, and we did stay together through it all.

A hundred entries for a Derby, with lots of extra rounds, especially when 45 of the entries arrived after the closing date, made for some very late nights in the run-up to the day itself. Next year I will learn to say NO. However, we had a great event yet again and I think the riders had a really good time.

Huge thanks are due to my co-organizers Gail Magnuson and Polly Kranick, Course Designer Joanna Herrigstad, Judges Beth Glosten and Joanna, Lou Leslie, with incredible help and support from Denise Green, Julie Thayne, Gail’s friend Jan who ran scores all day, Wendy Harms at the start box and Lindsay Garske and friends at the finish line, Marcia Jimenez and Lesley Moore in the dressage warm up, scribes Laura McG and Susan Miller, Laura’s friend Jack who helped in so many ways on both days, and stayed until the bitter end to clean up, Liz Rummage who took Hospitality off my hands entirely, Linda Allen who helped with parking, Annie B and crew who stuffed the packets, Megan and Lauren Plog who tacked up my pony for me, and so many others who pitched in and helped out – these events takes a village. They really are a lot of work.

Organizing the Derby has made me understand what a need there is for lower level activities such as this – we had 26 Hopeful entries (18 Junior) and 33 BN (15 Junior).
I rode in BN – I can see I will be dowager duchess of this division if I’m not careful. We had a calm warm-up – this was a good start. I can rev up the calmest horse in no time but we got to the last diagonal before we varoomed up to danger speed and Joanna was kind enough to give me my very first 8 – for a canter circle. At the end of the test Joanna suggested I try breathing while riding, but this may be a vain hope.

We warmed up for the jumping phase by ourselves, Carrie was elsewhere with a couple of younger students. I was feeling lost without instructions but we managed to pop nicely over a few fences before we went over to the start box. I told Wendy my heart was going to fly out of my chest and she said soothingly that I looked lovely. Only a DQ, and a friend, would say that but it made me laugh and off I went. Of course we had fun and I wished I’d signed up for a second ride.

Joanna had designed and put together really fun and inviting courses utilizing many of the solid fences on site and adding in several stadium jumps with straw bales and panels which caused many of the problems. The great thing about a Derby is that the rider can eliminate but keep going, and as long as a rider catching up can get by safely, this works very well. Time penalties are given for BN and above at a penalty per second over, which can add up quickly, as some riders found.

All in all, it was a very successful event and we are already working on plans for improvement for next year.

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E.I. Driving Report October 2007
Gwen Bassetti

The NW Driving competitive season wound down in September at Happs with the Saturday/ Sunday “Driving TrialsTwice”… an abbreviated competition that provides an opportunity for folks to repeat Saturday’s course on Sunday or to try bumping up a level on the second day.

Events throughout the season boasted record or near record entries of ever increasing competitiveness. It is clear that the growing numbers are proof an ever increasing interest in the sport of Combined Driving and that much credit for the growth goes to the increased participation and success of the VSE divisions. “Mighty Minis” are surely making their mark!

Watch the calendar for a regular series of Arena Driving Trials scheduled at a variety of venues in Oregon throughout the fall and winter . A great way to keep your horse or pony going out of the rain and mud! For information contact Frances Bowerstock (beesock@colton.com)

And, if you really want to keep up on all driving activities throughout the region, get yourself on our NW regional Director Ann Davis’ amazing e-mail list! Contact Ann by e-mail to send a note, make a request, submit an ad or ask to be added to her list! anndavis@ix.netcom.com

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Karen Robinson Freestyle Clinic
by Kathleen Doyle

I would like to remind everyone of the upcoming Equestrians' Institute's Karen Robinson Freestyle Clinic, Ocober 12-14, 2007 at Pacific Moon Equestrian Center in Arlington, WA.

Friday evening the 3 hour presentation covers: Freestyle design, what judge's look for in a good freestyle and how to be a good freestyle rider.

Saturday we have 10 riders working on music selection.
Sunday we have 10 riders working on choreography

There has been great interest in this clinic and I have 8 riders confirmed with deposits for their riding spots in hand. I plan to start a wait list if the clinic fills. Auditors are encouraged and welcome.

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Volunteers needed for E.I. Horse Trials

We need people to help in various slots during the weekend.
In addition, we are looking for volunteers to help modify, clean up and dress the cross country courses on Aug 18, Sept. 8 and Sept. 15.
We have three key positions to fill:

Dressage steward - coordinates the dressage phase includes organizing tests by ring and assigning volunteers and being there on Sat. to make sure that everyone knows what to do and is doing it, as well as handing out radios and the like.
Cross country judge organizer - helps set up jump judge training, recruits judges, and assigns jump judges and radios on the various courses, as well as ensuring that scoring sheets are collected and taken to scorers.
And we are looking for someone to assist with hospitality.

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2007 Summer Champagne Classic, Donida Farm Equestrian Center
Lothar Pinkers

Rain, rain, go away; come again some other day! We sang it on Friday. It Rained. We sang it on Saturday. It Rained! We sang it on Sunday! It RAINED!

I cannot remember when we had such a wet Champagne Classic, since we moved it to July!.

The two sand rings remained useable, all through the show, although sometimes with large puddles. The two cedar hogged fuel rings worked fairly well on Friday, and most of Saturday for the Freestyles. But Sunday! Gwen Blake’s farm manager Julio shuttled between the two hogged fuel rings with tractor and heavy-duty roller, trying to keep them useable. Some riders really didn’t like them. Other riders managed to get some fairly decent scores, despite the rings.

EDITORS NOTE: Shelly, Lothar and all the volunteers got great kudos from riders verbally and in email. Despite the harsh conditions, this was another well run run show. The picture is from the packing-up of the Beaujolais show.

Management rotated all levels of riders through all the rings, spreading the hazards and benefits as equally as possible and not favoring any one level of rider.

Now for the good news.

All the results are listed here and the special awards were:

The Adult Amateur Dover Medal was won by Jabuticaba, ridden by Kathryn Gruenefeldt with a Great American/USDF qualifying score of 69.048

The Equestrian’s Institute - Harmonia Body Balance Dressage Seat Equitation medals were won in all three classes.

DSEQ, Junior Rider, 13 & Under
Gold Medal - Christina Thomas riding Oberon
Silver Medal - Rebecca Blake riding Strike It Blue
Bronze Medal - Katherine Mayhew riding Conversano II Catrina

DSEQ, Junior Rider, 14-18
Gold Medal - McKenzie Lane riding Teddy
Silver Medal - Cassandra Cummins riding Cabare
Bronze Medal - Emily Logan riding JAS Robin’s Ink Spot

DSEQ, Adult
Gold Medal - Sheila Buchanan riding Okarina
Silver Medal - Martha Anderson riding Jaybird
Bronze Medal - Vanessa Nelson riding Dartagnon

The Equestrians’ Institute awards special trophies to members owning and riding horses at various levels. These are perpetual trophies, with representations of the trophies presented at the annual meeting, the following January.

Carlene C. Coffin First Level Trophy
Lily Wilson on Gem’s Amigo with a score of 72.737%

Suzy Moery Second Level Trophy
Sheila Buchanan on Okarina with 72.619%

Mary Dodd 3rd Level Trophy
Cassandra Cummins on Cabare with 66.923%

Mead’s Half Penny Highest Scoring FEI Ride
Lily Wilson on Oman with 70.250%

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E.I. Cross country clinic and Derby with Todd Trewin
Donida Farm Sept 1-2, 2007

Todd Trewin is one of our Northwest Treasures. He was a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Eventing team in Barcelona and was also a member of the 1991 Pan American team. He has contributed to the eventing community in our state in multiple ways: he is a wonderful clinician who coaches riders to the 3-day level; he is the course designer and builder for the E.I.. Horse Trials; most recently he took on the Chairmanship of the Horse Park Authority.

Saturday,: Cross Country Clinic with Todd Trewin:

Get the clinic entry form here.

Sunday, Event Derby:

See the full Event Derby flyer here.

Get the Event Derby entry form Here

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USDF Instructor / Trainer Workshop

On August 1st, after two years of planning, the USDF Instructor / Trainer Workshop will enter the final phases as the Participants and Auditors are selected for the October, November and December sessions. Late applications will of course be considered if openings are available. A limited supply of the USDF Lunging Manual will be sold at the October Workshop and orders will be taken at all Workshops for the USDF Training and Teaching Manuals. The Recommended Reading List for Workshop Participants is on the USDF web site. There will be apply seating for spectators to view the Faculty videos on Saturday morning as well as the teaching sessions throughout the weekend. A catered lunch is also being planned. Directions to the barn are on The Back Forte website www.theback40.net.

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Eventing Report, July
Penny Leggott, Eventing Director

The competition schedule is now in full swing and the highlight of the June calendar is the popular Inavale Farm Horse Trials in Oregon (June 15-17). Luigi and his family always put on an excellent event and make competitors and their support teams feel so welcome. This year they accommodated almost 350 entries, and the efficient and organized staff made sure the event ran like clockwork. As in previous years, several riders came up from California, which indicates the caliber of the event. The addition of a new piece of land last year on which the stabling was sited, and where the dressage and stadium were held, decompressed the layout and was much appreciated. It was clear that a tremendous amount of work had been done on the footing in the “new” field since last year and competitors were very complimentary about the footing in the dressage and show jumping arenas. There were interesting course changes on the cross country to keep up the riders’ interest and excitement, and as usual the fences were beautifully constructed.
Kudos to Luigi and his team – and thanks for another excellent event!
Congratulations also to E.I. members Brittany Weede on Grease (2nd in YR Open Preliminary) and Jordan Beckingham on Latour (3rd in TR rider).

Whidbey Island Horse Trials are a week later than usual this year (July 13-16) followed two weeks later by Rebecca Farm in Montana. If any of you reading this haven’t been to watch cross country at Whidbey on the Saturday – let this be the year you treat yourself to the visit. The weather is almost always wonderful; Whidbey is lovely; and sitting on the grass at the water jump complex between about 11-2pm will give you such vicarious thrills as the upper level riders come through! Dogs (on leashes) are welcome, there is a great party atmosphere, and the concession stands serve up great burgers. Saturday night there is music and a buffet for which you can buy a ticket on site. Do bring a sun umbrella and sunscreen and a folding chair to sit on.

In addition to the recognized shows, our area (V11) offers a number of unrecognized events. These are lots of fun, and a great way to get show experience with a little less pressure and $$. The Pony Clubs put on many of these – so check out the web sites. I’m taking my fearless 15 hand pony to Caber Farm (Chehalis Pony Club) to a 1-Day on July 22nd. It will be our first outing together IN PUBLIC, so I’m already doing my Nervous Nellie, what if?, panic stuff. Then I remind myself that my biggest highs in life have come after completing a cross country course – there’s nothing quite like it, no matter the size of the jumps.

I’m looking for a date for the second annual E.I. Derby which I hope we’ll hold at Donida Farm in September. Stay tuned for more information.

Enjoy the season and enjoy the journey. This isn’t the dress rehearsal.

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Beaujolais Show Report
by Lothar Pinkers

This year’s Beaujolais started with a smile and ended with a BANG! We were all fearful that the weather predictions would give us a repeat of last year’s almost rained out show. Friday was a bit cloudy. Saturday was a nice summer sunny day. Sunday was greeted by wet streets and a few sprinkles. Most of the day went well, but storm clouds gathered as the last classes started. Disaster held off until the very last ride of the day when a ferocious black cloud appeared overhead with strong winds. Thunder and lightening began at a distance, but came closer and closer. With the last rider making the seventh of her fifteen moves, lightening and thunder were about two seconds apart and the show was called. With the last thunder crash, her horse said “I’m out of here” and headed out of the ring, rider intact.

I guess we sort of “brought this on ourselves.” Friday and Saturday ran so comfortably and smoothly, we began to look for “the shoe to drop.” Show Secretary Kellie Larsen ran such an efficient office that most of those still on the wait list found a place to ride. Heidi Gloudemans, volunteer coordinator, had such a well-organized group of volunteers that management relaxed. Too well, I guess, because one shoe dropped Saturday afternoon, shortly before the freestyles. Our amplifier, which was put into storage last winter working well, came out of storage with a channel missing. Oliver Dreitzler, the son of our long time announcer Ralph, has been our freestyles sound manager for many years. He saved the day with his car. Oliver had installed an amplifier in the vehicle, capable of 1000 bone rattling watts. He just hooked the speakers up to his car stereo and away we rode! Oliver reminded me that he had been helping EI shows since 1998. He remembered the troubled, but short-lived adventure at the Puyallup fairgrounds, where we were with the Champagne Classic for two years, before going into hibernation for several years.

Now for the results. They are all posted here and on www.Foxvillage.com.

Special awards were achieved by:
Dover Medal: Kelly Ries riding Pasadena and a score of 65.238
Adult Amateur High Point: Dixie Montgomery riding Wester, 76.429
Junior/Young Rider High Point: Amelia Boyles riding Heineking, 71.304
Open High Point: Shaun McLaughlin riding Versache, 74.400

Equestrians’ Institute and Beth Glosten, M.D. have been encouraging excellence in equitation for several years with the Harmonia Body Balance Dressage Seat Year End Award, recognizing excellence in three age groups at the annual meeting with riders attaining cumulative scores in Dressage Equitation from the l’Aperitif, Beaujolais and Champagne Classic shows. EI also gives cash awards to Gold medal winners at each show.

The awardees are:
Dressage Equitation 13 & Under:
Gold Medal – Christina Thomas on Oberon
Silver Medal – Rebecca Blake on Strike It Blue
Bronze Medal – Katherine Mayhew on Conversano II Catrina
Dressage Equitation 14-18
Gold Medal – Cassandra Cummins on Cabare’
Silver Medal – Madison Cushman on Caruso
Bronze Medal – McKenzie Lane on Teddy
Dressage Equitation Adult
Gold Medal – Heidi Gloudemans on Mandela
Silver Medal – Becky Copeland on Tuff Love.

Congratulations to All of our riders.

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Eventing is looking for volunteers

E.I. Eventing is looking for a dressage coordinator and chief cross country jump judge
Please contact the Eventing Director Penny Leggott, click to email ,

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E.I. Merchandise on display

Check out the E.I. Merchandise which is available for sale at the Beaujolais show. You can inspect all the items online on these pages.

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Whatcom County Dressage and Eventing Association Report
June 2007

The Whatcom County Dressage and Eventing Association just finished a weekend of fun in the sun (okay, it was the liquid kind... but, hey...) We managed to put on a successful "Ride a Test" Clinic with Beth Glosten on Sunday 6/10. At the same time, a "Haul it in Tack Sale" was going on at Sunset Farm Equestrian Center (a Whatcom County Public Park) Both the clinic and sale proceeds will benefit the Park later this summer when we have Steve Buckman here again for a "Cross Country Jump Building and Course Design Seminar" on July 7-8.

In August, the WCDEA will host an "Adult Eventer's Camp with Jessica Heidemann". This will be held at Sunset Park Equestrian Center and is a perfect preview to the Third Annual Kay Lowery Memorial Horse Trial being held on 8/26.

Please visit our website: http://wcdea.org for more calendar items and entry forms.

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Eventing Report from Badminton, England.
Penny Leggott

On the national and international scene, the Eventing year, for me, gets underway at the end of April with Rolex –Kentucky Horse Trials followed a week later by Badminton Horse Trials in England, and NWEC at Rainier, WA the week after that. I’m sure that many of you who are reading this column have been fortunate enough to go to Rolex, and perhaps Badminton too. The experience of going to one of these four star events is a really special and I was fortunate this year to go to Badminton with my friend Lorane.

We arrived in England on a Sunday morning and drove up to Stanton, a village in the Cotswolds where my brother has a cottage. We settled ourselves in quickly before walking through the churchyard, over a field and down to the “yard” (stables). The yard belongs to Jill Carenza who has a very nice facility with an outdoor ring, a field with cross country schooling fences, more fences up on the hill on her adjacent property. There are two extensive private schooling/competition courses nearby. Approximately half the horses are at livery (privately owned) and the others are hirelings (rentable).

I booked a two hour hack and four riders and our guide set off up the village street on a lovely sunny afternoon heading up Shenberrow Hill. I’d warned Lorane to be prepared for some speed and Mike, our guide, took us on some great gallops. The vistas across the green Cotswold hills with lambs playing beside their ewes, the scent of golden rape, and the Vale of Evesham and the Malvern hills in the distance. It’s the perfect cure for jet lag!

We spent a couple more days enjoying the local villages, went on a wonderful three hour hack, and then set off to Badminton on Friday to watch some dressage and do some serious shopping. As at Rolex, there are two days of dressage (Thursday and Friday).

When you arrive at Badminton you have a real sense of occasion. For miles before you arrive you see yellow direction signs on the roads, there’s Badminton radio commentary on the car radio as you drive in, and huge lines of cars arriving from all directions. This is the Eventing pinnacle for upper level riders. As an example, Hawley Bennett from Canada completed her first Badminton this year and said she’d dreamed of doing it since she was a little girl.

As Lorane and I walked the impressive cross country course on Friday, we talked about the tremendous effort and skill it takes to qualify for this event, let alone manage the potential injuries these exceptional athletes are at risk for. In addition there are the normal soundness problems one has with horses such as stone bruises.

The horses are stabled at the main stable block area and the public can’t get near them without a special pass for security reasons. You can watch them in warm up areas and we saw several (eventing) household names riding: Kim Severson, Lucinda Fredericks and Jeanette Brakewell to name but a few. We also saw several riders doing course walks – Claire Phillips for one. There is a feeling of tremendous intensity and focus and professionalism in the air.

We selected several dressage tests to watch and were impressed with the high standard; it has really improved over the last 10 years. Since roads and tracks were dropped and more riders have warmbloods or crosses, some horses look as if they’d be competitive in the pure dressage arena. It’s a very imposing atmosphere for the horses and some showed their tenseness. There are three judges so the three scores for each movement pop up on an electronic board. We each had a Badminton radio ear piece and listened to excellent commentary which made it even more interesting. The commentators also give out bits of gossip and interview competitors during the riding breaks. Quite fun!

And then there is the shopping. It’s amazing, you could spend an entire day shopping at Badminton and not see every stall or shop! There are hundreds of stalls - whatever your heart desires: jewelry, furniture, sculptures, paintings, antiques, prints, kitchenware, delicatessens, linens, china, crafts and, of course, about two dozen tack shops! It was busy on Friday. Lots of shops had sold out of high demand items. At lunch time we picked up baguettes at a food stall in the beer garden area and sat on the grass with a cider and watched the huge screen showing the dressage tests. Very civilized.

On Saturday, the English arrived in force with their dogs, picnics and champagne to enjoy a day of thrills and spills in a park like setting with Badminton house as the imposing backdrop. We got there before 9am and the parking was already filling up although the first horse on cross country was not until 11am. Approximately 200,000 people come on cross country day.

Most of them walk the four mile course, with about 32 fences. This has the advantage that when you get to a jump, even if a few people are in front of you, you’ll get to the front to watch as the next rider comes through. Spread around the course are metal bleachers so you can stand a bit higher to get a better view and even more importantly, food and drink wagons so one can pick up a Pimms if feeling a little peaked!

It was an exciting day, and we saw wonderful riding, brave horses and riders, and technical expertise. The footing had been a concern but the ground crew worked all through Friday night and had it in good shape on Saturday.

Unfortunately, several riders had withdrawn horses by start time on Saturday, which was disappointing. One rather bizarre and sad accident marred the day. Jean Lou Bigot’s gelding Icare D’Auzay was speared as he broke the jump flag post at the Vicarage V. The vets tried to suture the rip on site but from what we heard, the femoral artery was too badly damaged and they were not able to save him.

We arrived on Sunday just in time to watch the top 20 competitors’ show jump rounds. It was a nail biting finish. Kim was in 2nd, had 2 rails and dropped to third. Andreas Dibowski’s mare FRH Serve Well jumped a beautiful round to finish 2nd, and Lucinda and Brit (Headley Britannia 15.3) won the trophy although they had a rail and the mare was very much on her toes.

Lucinda and Brit won Burghley last year (August) and husband Clayton won Rolex the week before Badminton, so the commentators were talking about the Family Grand Slam!
This was the first time a mare has won Badminton since 1954, indeed the first two placings went to mares – another record. It was an emotional finale.

After the prize giving ceremonies, two significant retirements were recognized. Jeanette retired the evergreen Over To You from four star competition – he’ll do one-day competitions now. The pair has completed Badminton seven times and the horse is now nineteen. They have four European Gold Medals and two Olympic silver medals. He flew around the course this year. I have vivid memories of watching them as pathfinders on the big screen at Badminton a few years ago – they were so in tune – he made those huge courses look like pony club outings. The audience gave them a huge hand as they galloped around and as I wiped tears I saw I had lots of company. The second retirement was Ian Stark, the Scot who has contributed so much to the sport. If you ever get the chance, watch footage of him riding Murphy Himself; that was an amazing partnership.

Another Badminton behind us and another year that proved there’s no certainty with horses. The best laid plans don’t always work out, perhaps especially at the top. Zara Phillips withdrew after an excellent dressage test because of footing concerns, Andrew Hoy withdrew his entries with mild soundness issues, William Fox-Pitt withdrew one horse prior to the event. Riders had unexpected falls and run outs, and so on. However, Lucinda’s success has been a long time coming and she has paid her dues. This was a terrific Badminton result for her and so well deserved. I felt very privileged to be there and to enjoy the pageantry and atmosphere that is Badminton.

Footnote:
As well as the Badminton site – here’s another good link with photos: http://www.nickperryphotography.co.uk/section103910.html

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Equestrians Institute L’Aperitif 2007 Report
Prepared by Shelly Navarre

While the official motto for the United States Postal Service is: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” The 2007 L’Aperitif rider and volunteers’ motto could read something like: ‘Neither rain, then more rain, then misting rain, then wind, then a little sun and then back to continuous rain stays these brave dressage riders and mounts (and volunteers) from the swift completion of their appointed tests”. That being said we didn’t have snow, locusts or an earthquake, so hey! it wasn’t all bad.

At the May 27, 2007 L’Aperitif show E.I. awarded the following High-Point trophies:
1. Open rider= Paige Ruhl riding the Freisan Reinout scored 73.241% at First Level-Test 4.
2. Adult Amateur: Maxine Reid riding the 4 y.o. Oldenburg gelding Respekt scored 77.5% in the Training Level TOC class.
3. Junior/Young Rider= Paige Romney riding the Westfalen gelding Dan O'Brien scored 68% riding Training Level Test 4

In addition, E.I also hosted our first IPEC competitor at the L'Aperitif. Her name is Eleanor Robinson. Should rode Dusty in IPECA and IPECB tests scoring 65.294% and 63.889% respectively. Great job Eleanor!

For the Adult Amateur Dressage Equitation class the Gold Medal went to Siggi Wolff on Eiswein, the Silver Medal to Martha Anderson on Jaybird and the Bronze Medal to Sheila Buchanan on Okarina. In the Junior Dressage Equitation class Emily Logan was the winner on JAS Robins Ink Spot, with second place to Abbey Williamson on the mare Crescende. Congratulations to all of the Dressage Equitation medal winners.

Our high score at Training Level was Max Reid on Respekt, for First Level it was Paige Ruhl on Reinout and our Second Level high score was Peter Larsen riding Pharoah's Prancer (score of 64.048%).

The Dover Medal was awarded to Martha Anderson riding Jaybird.

No show is ever accomplished without a dedicated group of volunteers. With jobs from ring set-up, processing entries, directing parking, scribes, stewards and tear-down folks the man (and woman) hours necessary for success of the show is huge. To that end we extend a colossal THANK YOU! to the following individuals:

•Kathryn Carter
•Andrew Cushman
•Indra Krastins
•Margaret Logan
•Susan Lucas
•Laura McGillicuddy
•Susan MIller
•Shelly Navarre
•Ginny Rathburn
•Peter Rothschild
•Laura Scholten
•Susie Sharp
•Pam Thornlow
•Holly Williamson
•Lothar Pinkers
•Julie Scott
•Kellie Larsen
•Jana Steffen
•Heidi Gloudemans
•Sue Eldridge
•Donna Kachinskas

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WCDEA ADULT EVENT CAMP, Aug 4 & 5 2007
This year's WCDEA ADULT EVENT CAMP is on for Aug 4 & 5, 2007 at Sunset Farm Horse Park with Jessica Heidemann! (Entry Form) This clinic is open to all levels, grasshopper on up. Join us for a fun, low-stress weekend of flat work, stadium and cross-country experience. The Park is located at 7981 Blaine Rd, Blaine, and has obstacles up to training level, a water complex, bank and ditches. Outdoor paddocks available, also limited box stalls. Camping available on site (no hook-ups). Entrants are limited to 12, so don't delay! Entries available on our website, www.wcdea.org click the "Calendar" button.
Contact Linda Cain, lindac@recivil.com or 360-380-1237 for more info.
New Dates for the 2007 Succeed/USDF FEI-Level Trainers' Conference

Lexington, KY (May 10, 2007) - United States Dressage Federation (USDF) announced October 27-28, 2007 as the new dates for the 2007 FEI-Level Trainers' Conference to be held at Starr Vaughn Equestrian Center in Sacramento, CA. The conference will feature Jan Brink who is currently ranked sixth in the world for FEI dressage riders. In addition to the two-day riding conference, a lecture will be held on Friday, October 26 with Jan and the sponsor of the event, Freedom Health, makers of Succeed digestive conditioning system. Immediately following the Friday night lecture, there will be a welcome reception, sponsored by Schleese Saddlefit 4 Life, with both of these events being held at the Marriot Sacramento Rancho Cordova. NOTE: There are some restrictions on attendance.

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Secretary for the Horse Trials Needed Now!
If you are up for the administrative challenge, we need you to help by applying to become the secretary for the Horse Trials. Apply by email to the Eventing Director: click to email

President’s Report
Jana Steffen
Calling all volunteers! We need you! It is that time of year were we need help with our shows and events. We have volunteer opportunities that range from scoring and scribing, to helping with awards, etc. We need help at our recognized dressage shows, schooling shows and Horse Trials. There are also opportunities within the organization that enable an individual to contribute across the membership. This includes; Vice President, Auction Committee, Co-Director for Dressage, Education, and Website. If you’d like to contribute on a broader scale, feel a hankering to make a difference in your equestrian community, one of these positions could be a perfect opportunity. Please see the E.I. website for more details and to sign up as a volunteer with our new volunteer software! Here are some other reasons to volunteer.

Top Ten Reasons to Volunteer:

I am a really great person.
I want to continue to see the shows and events occur.
I want to support E.I. and our riding community.
I want to support the sport of dressage, eventing or driving.
I want to start accumulating E.I. Bucks.
I want to meet new folks and see old friends.
I want to be part of helping an event or show be successful.
I am building up my bank of good karma.
It is a great excuse to hang out at a horseshow all day.
I can do something with my time between classes or while watching the show!
Thanks to all who have already signed up, who are putting the shows and events together and to those who will be helping in the future. Again, as I have said many times before, our volunteers are the life blood of this organization, without them (you) we would not be able to do what we do.

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E.I Driving Report
Gwen Bassetti
May 3, 2005
Most of you hard core web junkies probably know about and subscribe to the “CD-L”, or Carriage Driving List and there may be some drivers who, overwhelmed by e-mail messages have said thanks but no thanks – but, for those of you who might not be aware of the site I send along the following information:
“CD-L is an automated Internet mailing list. It is an open forum for the discussion of all topics relating to the sport of carriage driving. Our membership is worldwide, and currently has over 800 members. The nations represented are Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States of America.
There is absolutely no fee charged for subscribing to CD-L, and all you need to participate is an email account. I liken CD-L to a cross between a daily newspaper and a group of pen-pals.”
To subscribe log on to : http://www.CarriageDriving.net/cdl
At this time of year, I find my self logging on site to look for results as most often some good soul posts CDE results almost immediately – often the day of. Overlook some of the trivialities and you may find the site a useful forum for comment or interpretations of rules, or simply a great place to get feedback for your questions.

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Noble Horse Gallery opens in Pioneer Square, Seattle
Noble Horse Gallery, which you might know from Wildwood Farm, has opened a combination Equine Art Gallery and Equine Lifestyle Boutique nestled in historical Pioneer Square. The vision of the owners, Gregg Lanza and Heather Carder, is to provide artisan crafted equine-inspired products including clothing, designer jewelry, fashion, chocolates, collectibles, handbags, scarves, belts, books, gifts – all celebrating the horse.

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President’s Report – April 2007
Jana Steffen
Spring is here and we have kicked off the start of the show season with a bang! We had a very successful freestyle clinic with Karen Robinson at the end of February. Kathleen Doyle, as always, did a super job organizing and managing the clinic. Thank you Kathleen. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped. The clinic was filled and we had a terrific turnout of auditors (actually ran out of seats). Our next freestyle clinic is October 12-14, if you were not able to attend this one, mark your calendars, you will not want to miss it!

The first weekend in March we hosted the annual auction and our first schooling show. Both events were sold out and a huge success. We held the auction at the Red Hook Brewery, changed the format to more casual. The theme of the evening was to relax and have fun. And fun we had! The food was tasty, plenty of it and beer and wine to go around. There was an excellent assortment of items to bid on, the dessert competition got a bit competitive, David Stutz did a super job as our MC and live auctioneer and of course the great company of all who attended. Julie Bennett and Cindy Bucceri were our lead organizers along with Carolynn Bunch. Hands down they did a terrific job. I have received multiple compliments on what a great event it was and how much fun folks had. Julie, Cindy and Carolynn thank you very much. Super job!

I would also like to mention a few other folks who really put in a ton of time to help make this happen as well. Carolynn had a family emergency and Shelly Navarre and Les Norten took over the remaining preparation work plus helping with set up/tear down. We could not have done it without you thank you so much! Of course Lothar Pinkers managed the money end, receiving the guests and closing out the auction tickets. Lothar, thank you!!! That is a ton of work. David Stutz, our MC and live auctioneer, did a terrific job. Thank you David helping make it so fun! Wendy Meyers provided a tremendous support to Cindy and Julie in preparing for the auction, during and after. Thank you Wendy! We had a great number of additional volunteers who helped, there were the husbands, mine, Peter Gowell who helped Lothar with check in/check out, Wendy’s and Julie’s husbands helped with set up, and tear down, Jane Judsen for doing the 50/50 draw, Mary Frizzell for managing the drink ticket sales, Holly Rogge for being our equestrian gear model, our Board Members, Peter Larsen and Lezlie Wolff for helping with set up/tear down, and the many others who came early to help set up and stayed late to help with clean up. Finally, a very big THANK YOU to everyone who donated items and procured donations! Your donations were critical in helping make the auction such a success.

The schooling show was held at San Sebastian on March 4th. Molly Martin was the judge. The show was filled, folks had a good time. Lisa Copeland, the owner of San Sebastian, has a beautiful place with wonderful views of the mountains. It is a nice setting to hone your dressage skills! Thank you Lisa for sharing your facility with us and thank you Molly for being the judge. A special thank you to Kellie Larsen for organizing and managing the show and of course thank you to all the volunteers who helped make it happen!

Our Eventing group has also kicked off the show season with two great educational activities: the Dressage and Stadium Jumping Clinic, March 17-18 and the Steuart Pittman Clinic, March 31-April 1st. Both clinics were filled and a huge success. A special thanks to Penny Leggott, our Eventing Director, in making this all happen and thank you to all the folks who volunteered. A special thanks to our clinicians, Carrie Carstairs, Jennifer Verharen, and Steuart Pittman. It is great that we are able to offer more educational opportunities for our Eventing members and the broader Eventing community. Thanks again Penny for doing such a great job!

Good luck to all with the up coming show season and happy trails!

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Dancing Queen Partners with EI Again
Katheleen Doyle
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers had choreographer Hermes Pan. Gene Kelly did his own choreography in “Singing in the Rain.” But the dressage world, and participants in last month’s Equestrians’ Institute Freestyle clinic, have Karen Robinson.

The clinic, held February 9-11 at Bear Creek Farm in Redmond, was the ninth that Robinson has held in conjunction with E.I.

The format was similar to previous clinics. Friday was a seminar for riders and auditors where the concepts of freestyle are introduced along with video clips. Saturday was used to find Beats per Minute (BPM) for each gait and to choose music. Sunday’s focus was choreography.

“The format hasn’t changed, but I hope that with each clinic I bring a bit more knowledge and experience to share with people,” Robinson said. “One thing will never change: I want the riders to enjoy riding to music, so much so that the auditors wish they were riding too.”

Before choosing music, Robinson asks about the horse duo history, goals and any particular musical preference. Robinson brings a portion of her large musical library on the road with her for clinics. Rider Katie Schiller had only one request when choosing music for her 10-year-old Trakehner, Brazil.

“ Brazil takes herself so seriously,” Schiller said. “We need something fun.”

After measuring her BPM, Robinson smiled, dug in her box of music and put on an instrumental version of Bobby Darin’s “Splish Splash.” The entire audience burst out laughing, and even after trying a few more songs, it became clear that would be her trot music.

“She loved it!” Schiller said.

Robinson occasionally drew on audience opinion to assist with musical choices, asking for a “vote.” But she said it often is apparent which musical choices are the best.

“I haven’t invented a term yet, but I recently stumbled across a description that I think hits the nail more or less on the head,” Robinson said. “When the music really suits the horse it’s as though the music is coming from the horse.”

Robinson encourages riders to make unexpected music choices.

“There are definitely trends. For example right now the trend is to push the envelope with vocals and to use oldies or very familiar themes.” Robinson said, “At the same time, good freestyle music is always just that, and sometimes it’s better to take the road less traveled. It reduces the chances of turning up at the show only to hear a song you are using being played for someone else’s freestyle.”

With the move into Sunday, the big focus was choreography. Riders are highly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the minimum requirements for each level.

“The easiest (mistake) to avoid is not to end up halted with your horse’s front legs at the fence and your music still wrapping up, “Robinson said. “Never plan to halt at G at the end. Plan your halt at I and then you know you have at least another 12 meters in case you are ahead.”

Robinson worked with the riders to identify which movements they did best at their level, and then worked with them to create a pattern that showed off those strengths. She also worked the pattern to make sure certain weaknesses were set up better for success. But according to Robinson, overly creative choreography is not a requirement for a successful freestyle.

“It’s really all about the music,” Robinson said. “Take Anky van Grunsven’s freestyle as an example. Her choreography is actually very simple and she uses the same basic ground plan for all her freestyles.”

Once the ideas for choreography were chosen, riders take away the base plan of their freestyle. They can either assemble it themselves via editing software or Robinson’s company, Applause Dressage, can also be used to create the final product for a fee.

Applause Dressage’s client Bernadette Pujals, finished 10th at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany. Despite growing international demand for her work, Karen enjoys working with the "more fun, less pressure" clients she has locally. And clearly, the local clients enjoy Robinson as well.

“The best part was Saturday after lunch, there were so many auditors we ran out of chairs and bench seating,” clinic organizer Katheleen Doyle said. “I hope the E.I. Shows are ready for some great new freestyle rides this season.”

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Eventing Report April
Penny Leggott
Eventing Director
Musings of a Middle Aged Eventer
I had originally intended to write about the joys of camaraderie and eventing but I had very sad news this week and decided to remember Sock instead. He was a chestnut Thoroughbred whom I owned for a couple of years before selling him to a Young Rider in Texas. I’ve kept in touch with his owners and had been to see him only six weeks ago when I was in Dallas at a conference. It was so reassuring to see him again, same calm Sock, checking my pockets, and snuffing me all over. When I got the email telling me that he’d broken his leg playing in his paddock and had been humanely euthanized on Monday Feb 26th I was devastated but so thankful I had seen for myself that he was at a really good facility, and well looked after. He was 18 when he died.

Sock was my second horse; the first was CB, a little Arab/QH cross who taught Alison Ashbaugh’s girls to ride before he took on a 45 year old beginner rider (me!). When CB retired I found Sock on Whidbey. He was registered as Wineshire, an appropriate name for a wine-drinking Englishwoman, and known as Bobby. He was by Desert Wine out of Amerigo and since I wasn’t much taken with Bobby as a name, I called him Bobbysock which seemed very American and a good play on names. In no time he became just Sock.

Sock was an ex-racehorse and a good natured chap who never saw a jump he didn’t like. He loved trail riding, but dressage wasn’t his thing, and he was a bit hard to package for a not very good rider. He bounced calmly through one stride combinations and took 2 strides in 3 stride lines. I bobbled and clung and somehow stayed on but eventually decided I needed a schoolmaster and he needed a more capable rider.

Todd (Trewin of course) rode Sock at NWEC in Sock’s very first Preliminary competition. They had a terrific cross country go coming home with a blue ribbon.

A few months later Sock went off to Texas to Erin, who renamed him Smooth Operator and moved up through the levels with him, eventually taking him Intermediate. In recent years he’s taught another young lass to go Prelim and his newest family had bought him to look after their daughter at Novice.

I’ve thought about Sock a lot since I got the news. Even though he went to Texas a few years ago he has kept a special place in my heart and his loss reminds me that each of our horses brings individual gifts and lessons to us in our equestrian journey. I’ve gone through my photos and enjoyed the many memories they have brought back. There are so many special things I remember about Sock: I never fell off thanks to him, not me; he adored fresh shavings which he’d roll in his stall as soon as we got to a show; he’d stand like a statue with his hoof in my lap while I sat on a stool putting in studs; he liked to lie down and snooze in his stall and would put his head in my lap when I went in with him; he had more heart than innate physical talent and he seemed to accept change with equanimity.

One memory is most clear in my mind - galloping on the hard flat sand of the Oregon beaches at low tide on a grey day, with the wind in my face, the rhythmic sound of Sock’s hooves and the push of his powerful rear propelling us forward for mile after mile. I had bridged the reins and sunk in my heels while he settled into his old racehorse gallop and ran effortlessly as we both relaxed. I felt suspended in time, riding an amazing athlete who was born to do exactly this. I knew then what I know now, when I am very old, I will still remember the feeling of one-ness with him, and the feeling of privilege to experience it.

Goodbye Sock.
Caption for the photo: Erin Roof on Sock at his first intermediate

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E.I. Driving Report April 2007
Gwen Bassetti
As we get back into harness after a long wet winter our resolve to get our horses and ourselves in shape is always given a boost when we pull out the calendar and count the days and weeks running up to the first event. A record number of clinics and schooling opportunities are available to NW drivers in 2007, in addition to a full competitive schedule to choose from. A full listing and contacts are available by visiting the E.I. website or e-mail by contacting the NW ADS Director, Ann Davis anndavis@ix.netcom.com. (Ann operates a NE Driving “E-Mail Central” and if you wish to be on her list you will receive postings of interest to NW drivers: events, want ads, and listings of items folks have for sale.

An Introduction to Carriage Driving Clinic: The E.I. Driving committee is especially excited about their plans for a weekend of driving fun and learning which will take place June 29th – July 1st at the McBride Farm in Duvall, WA. The centerpiece of the weekend will be an Introduction to Driving Clinic on Saturday, June 30th. On Friday there will be an opportunity for individual lessons and on Sunday we will host an Arena Driving Trial.

We are thrilled to have Francine Dismukes as clinician and judge. Francine hails from Luling, Texas and returns to us by popular demand. She is a well-known international judge and acclaimed breeder/trainer in many disciplines. A championship driver herself, she has trained hundreds of successful horse and driver combinations. Francine has gained a following in the Northwest. You hear such comments as… “She is fun!” “She makes the fundamentals make sense!

The Saturday Clinic will be a comprehensive introduction to carriage driving, geared to any and all who may be considering driving for pleasure or competition. It will include demonstrations of training techniques and exercises to assess the suitability of your horse or pony for carriage driving. Participants will have an opportunity to observe ground driving, harnessing and hitching. A variety of carriages, harnesses and related equipment will be available to see and discuss with the clinician as well as with experienced drivers at a variety of levels . Participants will go home with a comprehensive resource guide to go along with their newfound enthusiasm for getting started driving.

Clinic registration, and entry forms are available by contacting Linda Mackin by e-mail at Driving@equestriansinstitute.org or by post at 12230- NE 32nd Street, Bellevue, WA 98005
Entries open May 1st, 2007.

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The Olympic Dream Program for Advanced Young Riders
--funded and administered by The Dressage Foundation
The Dressage Foundation Advanced Young Rider Olympic Dream Program is ready to go for the seventh year! The concept of the program evolved as a result of former Olympian Michael Poulin’s wish to offer an opportunity for gifted Young Riders to enhance their understanding of dressage theory through a European tour. The program is both funded and administered by The Dressage Foundation of which Poulin is a National Board Member.

The program is open to USDF Advanced Young Riders (riding at Fourth Level or above) who are 16-21 years of age and 22-year-old graduates of the 2006 Advanced Young Rider Program. Participation in the North American Young Rider Championship is not required.

Read more details here.

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President’s Report – March 07
By Jana Steffen
Our annual meeting was held at the beginning of January with Jennifer Schrader-Williams as our guest speaker. We watched some wonderful DVD’s of her and Wistar competing. Overall we had a good turnout due, in part, to Jennifer. Her insights on their journey to becoming top Grand Prix competitors were enjoyable and interesting.

This year we had some changes on the Board, several of our Co-Directors stepped into the Director roles and we have a new Promotions Director. Before going into details about the new Board members, I’d like to recognize the contributions of the outgoing Board members.

Wendy Meyers had been our Education Director for the past two years and prior to that was the President. It has been wonderful working with Wendy and during her tenure she has implemented some excellent educational seminars and events and was an overall terrific contributor to the Board. She brought strong leadership and business skills, good horse sense and great ideas and insights. I will very much miss having her on the team.

Peter Rothschild had held the position of Vice President. His tenacity, clarity and willingness to question the obvious (and not so obvious), lead to some great out of the box thinking and ideas. He was critical in making the survey happen and headed up the revision to the by-laws. His good sense of humor and willingness to challenge our thinking will be missed.

Liana Antanovich stepped up to the Promotions Director position the beginning of last year. During her time with E.I. she increased the business memberships by 43%, increased the amount of E.I. promotional collateral material, and helped communicate a clear E.I. brand/offering. I will miss her terrific business sense, knowledge of promotions/marketing and her direct and diplomatic approach.

Carolyn Cole had done a good job as our Dressage Director. The Dressage Division is going strong and offers terrific educational opportunities through the schooling and recognized shows. In addition, Carolyn partnered with Wendy on putting on additional educational seminars and spearheaded the instructor certification program which will be rolled out in the fall of 2007. Carolyn was always fun to work with and brought a good sense of perspective with a can do attitude; all of course will be greatly missed.

Jenny Nell was our Promotions Director during 2005 through the first of 2006. Jenny created the survey questions and brought terrific insight into what it takes to have a good, sustaining non-profit organization. I will miss her upbeat attitude and sound thinking.

I am pleased to welcome the new folks to the Board:

Michele Nolte is the new Dressage Director. She has jumped in with both feet and is currently heading up the instructor certification program. Michele comes with a strong background in horse show and general business management (is currently an accounting executive with a local firm). She is lots of fun to work with. She has a strong work ethic and does what it takes to get the job done. I am looking forward to working with her.

Laura Scholten is the new Promotions Director. She has lots of real world experience in this area and excellent skills (not to mention a great sense of humor). I know that the organization will very much benefit from her contributions. She is a terrific addition to the team.

Lezlie Wolff is the new Education Director. Lezlie brings a strong knowledge of all three areas; dressage, eventing and driving. Over the past year Lezlie has been our Editor for Flying Changes. She will continue as our Editor (she has terrific writing skills) in addition to leading the teams in the rollout of seminars and clinics. I know she is going to do a great job.

Thank you to all who came to the annual meeting and thank you to all the members, competitors and sponsors. You help make it happen.

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How to Scribe clinic
By Beth Glosten
E.I. is holding its yearly "How to Scribe" clinic on Thursday March 22, 2007, from 6:30-9:30pm, in the lounge at Simpatico Stables (18669 NE 106th Street, Redmond, WA). The seminar covers in detail the requirements of a scribe. The participants then practice their skills by scribing for videotaped dressage tests judged in real time by a USDF "L" graduate. Past participants have felt prepared to scribe at both schooling and recognized dressage shows after this seminar. Participants must bring a clipboard and pens. Test sheets are provided. Fee is $10 for E.I. members and $20 for non E.I. members. Space is limited; pre-registration is required. To sign up contact Beth Glosten: bglosten@aol.com; 425 881 6112

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EI Eventing Report
Penny Leggott
The Area V11 annual meeting was held on a drizzly Saturday (February 3rd) at Newcastle Golf Club – what a wonderful venue! A full agenda included a panel of our local top trainers (Amy Tryon, Jonathan Elliott, Lexi Lind, John Camlin and Michelle Pestl) who answered training questions from the audience. The panel gave us a lot of helpful information and a few of the highlights that I took home were:

Getting your horse fit
You need to use hills! You can’t get a horse really fit on ring work alone. Horses need to “leg up” on firmer ground (and be comfortable on slightly uneven terrain) to avoid injury on a cross country course.
Horses that stop at jumps
Make sure the horse understands the question. With a young horse, take a training step back and rebuild. Sometimes the rider needs to take 3 steps back and one step forward. Some horses need more time. Over-bitting can contribute to stopping.
Bitting. Amy was told by George Morris that you need to use enough bit so that you can ride with a soft, light hand. Experiment with different bits. Amy keeps certain bits for competition only, and at home uses mild bits (snaffle). In general it takes an experienced rider with very good hands to ride with a leverage bit.
Horses for amateurs
Green horse / green rider isn’t a good mix. An amateur rider should be encouraged to look for a more mature, experienced horse. With modern veterinary medicine approaches, such as joint injections, acupuncture etc., one can accept less than perfect vet check. Size – rider and horse partnership should be appropriate.
Amy gave a very interesting presentation after lunch about her World Equestrian Games (WEG) experience in Aachen, and the ups and downs of getting a place on the team, and the challenges of keeping an injured horse fit. I have the DVD of the WEG Eventing highlights and it shows a lot of footage of Amy on Poggio. What a round! – they were amazing, and they also had one of the very few clear rounds in stadium. Lucinda Green (commentating) says that Amy’s XC round was just tremendous and will be regarded as “one of the classic cross-country rides”.

At one of the Area V11 sessions, attendees made a plea (yet again) for a comprehensive list of unrecognized, as well as recognized activities. It’s time consuming work tracking down the various opportunities (Eventers want to take advantage of dressage and show jumping too!) so having a central location would be a big help. E.I. is in the planning stages for a Comprehensive Calendar which would be a service offered by E.I. in its efforts to inform and educate. As we progress with design plans for this – we’ll keep you posted. Meanwhile – please post your activities on our web site Bulletin Board – we want to help keep our equestrian community informed.

Spring is coming! E.I. is sponsoring two eventing clinics in March which will help you get ready for the 2007 season.

Combined Test Clinic:
The first clinic is scheduled for March 17-18th at Tall Firs Equestrian Center in Redmond. This will be a Combined Test clinic with Jennifer Verharen and Carrie Carstairs: jumping and dressage lessons on Saturday, with “ride and review” on Sunday. “Ride and review” is a format in which you ride your dressage test, get immediate feedback, and then ride the test a second time. A little later you do the same with the jumping course. Both the clinicians are experienced and lots of fun. See the E.I. website for more details! http://www.equestriansinstitute.org

Please call me if you are interested; at the time of going to press the clinic is full, but we will have a waiting list.

Steuart Pittman Clinic:
Our second clinic is scheduled for March 31-April1st, also at Tall Firs. Steuart is coming back by popular request. He is a very positive instructor, who makes horse and rider feel good about what they are doing while at the same time promoting improved technical skills. He is one of the small group of instructors who have participated in the U.S. Eventing Association instructors’ certification program. Saturday will be a jumping clinic with small groups and Sunday will be private lessons (riders may opt for jumping or dressage). See the E.I. website for more details. http://www.equestriansinstitute.org

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Dressage Directors Report
By Michele Nolte
The 2007 show schedule under Lothar Pinkers & Kellie Larsen has been mapped out and planning for 2008 is under way. New for 2007 will be the USDF Teacher/Trainer Certification Workshops.

The Lunging Workshop will be held on Oct 5-6, 2007 with Gehard Politz as the faculty member; the Riding Workshop on Nov 2-4, 2007 with Rachael Saavedra; the Teaching Workshop Dec 7-9, 2007 with Lilo Fore; the Pre-certification Workshop Feb 16-17, 2008 with Maryal Barnett and the Certification May 2-4, 2008 with Cindy Sydnor and Debbie Bowman.

The Lunging, Riding and Teaching Workshops are open to 8 participants and 4 auditors as well as spectators. Details have been posted on the E.I. website, USDF Region 6 website, ODS website as well as the USDF website
where applications can be found. Actual sites are still being reviewed.

If you would like additional information or have comments on a possible site, please e-mail Michele Nolte at dressage@equestriansinstute.com.

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The E.I. Annual Meeting
If you missed the Annual E.I. Meeting, here is the presentation from the board of directors and the slideshow of pictures from the year gone by.

Minutes prepared by Shelly Navarre, Secretary

President’s Report: Jana made a welcoming statement and briefly went over some of the board activities for 2006.

Minutes: The minutes from 2006 were read. A motion was made from the floor by Lynne Flaherty to accept the minutes as written. This motion was seconded by Susan Miller and approved by a voice vote.

Treasurer’s Report: Laura gave an overview of the various account balances and income/expenses for the end of 2005 and 2006.

Dues: Wendy Meyers made a motion to keep the dues the same for 2007. This was seconded by Peter Rothschild and approved by a voice vote of all members present.

Bylaws: Peter Rothschild presented details of changes proposed by the by-law revisions. Lynn Flaherty made a motion to approve the revised by-laws as presented. This motion was seconded by Wendy Meyers. The motion was approved by a voice vote.

Dressage Report: Carolyn Cole gave an overview of the activities accomplished in 2006 and plans for 2007. In addition the new Dressage Director, Michelle Knolte, was introduced. Michelle gave details of the USDF Instructors Certification program which will begin in 2007.

Eventing Report: Penny Leggott went over details of the three events put on by the Eventing group in 2006. This included the Steuart Pittman clinic, the Horse Trials and the Event Derby. All were well attended and received very well by the competitors. Penny also went over details of a new Spring Eventing clinic and revealed the Event Derby will be repeated depending on facility availability.

Combined Driving Report: Mary Decher gave her report of the activities within the driving group and stated the group will be meeting shortly for planning for 2007.

Education Report: Wendy Meyers presented details of the Ride and Review clinic conducted in April and the various other scribing and saddle fitting clinics completed. She also gave information regarding a possible symposium in late 2007/2008 with Conrad Schumacher and a new ‘Get A Life’ program being created for young riders.

Promotions Report: Jana gave details of the activities in this area including an increase in our Business Memberships and other initiatives to elevate EI’s recognition.

Webmasters Report: Peter Larsen presented information on updates to the website, the use of E-Flash to broadcast information to members and gave details of new areas for the website in 2007.

Volunteer Report: Heidi Gloudemanns provided details of the new volunteer management program EI will be implementing in 2007. This new program will enhance volunteer experiences and provide greater control over the assignment of volunteer duties.

Elections:

The following positions were open for the Board:

1. Dressage Director - Nominee = Michelle Knolte
2. Eventing Director - Nominee = Penny Leggott
3. Education Director – Nominee = Lezlie Wolff
4. Promotions Director – Nominee from the floor = Laura Scholten
5. Vice President - No nominee came forward

Ballots were distributed to all members present. The members voted and the votes were tallied by the Secretary. The results showed that each nominee was unanimously approved by the membership present.

Guest Speaker:

Jennifer Schrader-Williams gave a presentation about her participation in the Bretina Cup at the USDF facility in Gladstone.

Meeting adjourned at 4:40 p.m.

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E.I. Spring Clinic
with Jennifer Verharen and Carrie Carstairs
Sat March 17th – Sun March 18th, 2007
Tall Firs Equestrian Center, Redmond WA
Sponsored by Equestrians’ Institute
OPEN TO ALL

Read Flyer Here
Get Entry Form Here

THIS COMBINED TEST CLINIC is an excellent opportunity to prepare for the upcoming competition season! Jen is a dressage instructor and rider who is also an L judge. She is an excellent clinician who, as a former eventer, understands the importance of dressage in conditioning and training our horses to be supple, balanced and obedient for the jumping phases.
Carrie is an eventing instructor with a special interest in dressage, who is also an active competitor through advanced level on her own and clients’ horses. She is a very positive instructor who helps riders bring out the best in their horses as well as themselves.

Saturday:
dressage lesson (30 mins private or 1hr semi-private) with a focus on riding a test – rider’s choice
stadium jumping (75mins) – small group sessions (3-4)

Sunday: Ride and Review
Ride your dressage test for the judge/clinician. Receive your score sheet and feedback.
Ride your test a second time and receive a new score.
Ride a Stadium course. Get feedback from the clinician – ride a 2nd time
Combined score on each of 1st and 2nd rounds – with chocolate prizes!

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President's Report
By Jana Steffen
The Washington State Horse Park is making progress and is at another critical junction. The Governor has included $3.8 million in her budget for the horse park. This is good news. The next step is to have the budget be passed by the Legislature and is were we need your urgent help.

In order for the budget to pass, they need to know the horse park has the support of the horse community. As an E.I. community - we are 425 strong. A letter of interest from each of us will have a significant impact as to whether or not the Legislature sees value in the project.

Please send a letter to your Legislator requesting their support of the horse park. Go to this website for a list of the Legislators by District: www.washingtonstatehorsepark.org. If we get the $ this spring, construction will begin! If we don't the 106 acres donated by Suncadia will revert back to the resort, a loss we won't overcome. So, please join me in writing those letters! Thank you for supporting the horse park and being part of the E.I. community.

Sincerely - Jana

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Karen Robinson Musical Freestyle Clinic
February 9-11, 2007
Read the full flyer here, or get the big hi-res version here.

The Karen Robinson Musical Freestyle Clinic will be hosted at Bear Creek Farmin Woodinville, WA, February 9-11, 2007. Friday evening begins at 6pm with a three hour presentation, where Karen offers insights into the freestyle design process, what judges' look for in a freestyle, and how to ride better freestyles.

Saturday's session begins at 9:00a.m. as riders work with their horses on music selection. Karen determines the beats per minute for each gait and then begins to match music with each riding team. Each rider works with Karen for 45 minutes and there are typically 10 rides each day.

Sunday is spent working on choreography and additional music selection. Auditors are encouraged to attend these informative sessions. We typically have horse and rider combinations from First - FEI levels of dressage. Occasionally, we have a team working on a Pas de Deux.

This is the ninth clinic in a series of freestyle clinics put on by Equestrians' Institute. The purpose of the clinics is to offer access to the musical freestyle design process to riders of all abilities.

Karen has designed freestyles for riders around the world. In 2006, her client, Bernadette Pujals, finished 10th at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany. Despite growing international demand for her work, Karen enjoys working with the "more fun, less pressure" clients she has locally.

For more infomation about freestyles, visit Karen's website www.Applausedressage.com . For more information about the clinic, contact Kathleen Doyle Equita8@comcast.net or (425) 681-7811.
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