Classical Dressage Art in Motion

The marketplace for horse boarding services has changed in the post-Covid era. A lot. The rising costs that are hitting the farming community in general are no joke. Willowview Hill Farm, Stamford NY   The other day I had a call from a lady who sounded very 'sound', with good horse knowledge that was looking for a straight boarding option for a couple of pleasure-riding horses. Nothing wrong with that. Or with the fact she wanted a boarding space with good standards of horse care and a well-run facility. Trouble is, can she afford it. Are the prices for horse board that people may be used to paying even last year or the year before, realistic in today's marketplace? At our dressage yard at Willowview Hill Farm, pictured above, we have a small barn and an indoor arena, access to 26 miles of trails, and plenty of turn-out, and organic home-produced hay for feeding our performance horses. We offer dressage training services, with boarding only being available for horses in tra...

It was inevitable that the avid reader and writer that I was as a horse crazy child, would eventually become an author and release a book that includes some horsey fiction. The Dutchess of Chadwick - Literary romance set in the Gilded Age While many of my wonderful dressage and eventing/showjumping clientele know me as their trainer/clinician/coach, and my horsey endeavors reached the climax of international level Grand Prix competition and breeding high caliber performance horses, the realm of writing fiction has always been on the books. I am thrilled to announce my first published work under my own name, The Dutchess of Chadwick. has arrived. While as many of you know I am a professional content writer and have written under pseudonym and ghostwritten for several celebrity clients, this is my debut novel and it is a very exciting time indeed. Beth and Gary Lerner - the 1st to buy!   People talk a lot about bucket lists, and I suppose for me this is certainly one of them. A red-...

Working horses long hours The reality of living year around in the North-East USA is that snow and cold weather are coming to visit. This year has been particularly difficult for working the horses in our care, as the temperatures have been wickedly cold and snow has been on the ground for many days since November 15th - before winter season was even supposed to begin.  This coyote in our side field, is also perplexed by winter. On the hunt for something to eat...   For folks that are setting up a horse facility, the indoor arena is not something to overlook when mapping out needed structures. It will earn its keep (given you maintain it well and properly utilize it). We have conducted many lessons, training sessions, and clinics under its roof, among other things. As equestrian professionals that offer dressage training services 365 days of the year, hubbie and I are well-used to schooling horses all day and sometimes into the evening hours if necessary.  The very first ...

Over the course of my professional equestrian and writing careers I've had my fair share of exposure to the ubiquitous equine feed supplement market. I've learned much along the way and I figured it might be information worth sharing with you, my dear reader. Willowview Hill Farm's Home Bred Gambol's Georgy Girl   There are so many myths that surround the 'magic' of adding one or another or a cocktail of supplement to the horses' feed rations so let's bust a few of them out and make sure money spent is not being poured down the drain and that our beloved equine partners are truly getting what they need to optimize their mental and physical health. Something we all care much about. Myth 1 Horses need grain.  DO they though? Check out this conversation on point. Learn what might be causing EGUS (ulcers) and hind 'leaky gut' syndrome. Think about how horses lived when they could freely access what they needed grazing thousands of acres. Sure we ne...

Organic Horse Hay Makes A World Of Difference To Horse's Health It's been a busy hay season at our organic hay farm between dodging the rain deluges earlier in the year then the dry weeks late in the season. These elements all combined to provide a very up and down experience.  For horse owners as the summer season ends the season of stocking up on forage supplies is just beginning. Question is, how many horse owners are aware of just what their hay contains and of what negative effects it is having on their horses' health? Bottom line up front - horses do better on small squares of organically grown and produced hay than hay produced by commonplace farming methods that include use of preservatives. And here's the reasoning behind that statement. Working Hard To Do Better Why did we begin this endeavor of hay farming in the first place? And what difference has it made to the health of our horses? I think a LOT. We've been producing our own hay at our farm in the C...

Hosting a clinic is a three-sided triangle, and each corner has to be in concert with the other two in order for the event to be the best it can be. It is expensive and time-consuming to host a clinic, but it can also be extremely worthwhile. It can drive business to your barn, increase the talent level of your resident horses, riders and on site trainers, and provide valuable insights into what the world of competition is currently favoring from the judge's box, if that is what make your horse world tick. It can also net you some good income. Paul Alvin-Smith teaching advanced showjumping student   The three corners are the host, the clinician and the rider. Each party has to be tuned in to the other for the event to work. As an experienced clinician as part of the Grand Prix duo that is my hubbie and me, I find the travels (sometimes extensive to other countries), hours of almost non-stop training and the effort that we put in very rewarding. For the most part anyway. We work wit...