Important Dates

With schedules as they are, we all need to know as soon as important dates are known. Here is what we have for now for 2011. Notice there are a few "tentative" dates. Merry Christmas everyone!

January 15 – UMH Banquet – Natural Bridge, Slade, KY
March 5 & 6 – UMH Judging Clinic with Wayne Hipsley
April 1 – UMH NC State Championship, Fletcher, NC (tentative)
April 2 – UMH Al Prewitt Memorial Championship Show, Fletcher, NC (tentative)
April 7 – 10 Equine Affaire, Columbus, OH
April 9 – ACTHA Ride sponsored by the Three Phase Event, Shaker Village
April 24 – Easter
April 29 – 30 UMH Carson Masters Spring Premier, Winchester, KY
May 14 – UMH North Middletown Charity Horse Show (pending)
May 21 – 22 Three Phase Event, Shaker Village
June 10 & 11 - UMH Ladies Auxiliary Show, Prestonsburg, KY
July 1 & 2 - UMH KY State Championship, Winchester, KY
July 15 – UMH TN State Championship, White Pine, TN
July 16 – UMH Great Smokey Mt. Championship, White Pine, TN
Aug. 5 & 6 – UMH Summer Celebration, Winchester, KY
Sept. 5 (Labor Day) – UMH Breeders Cup
Sept. 5 – 10 UMH World Show

KMSHA International Grand Championships

October 27-30 found the Stoner Ridge crew at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park for the final show of the season. What a phenomenal facility! Both the arena and the barns are heated. Our stalls were in a perfect location - near the restrooms and arena and there was a large common area where we could cook and visit with friends. We got to visit quite a bit with Doug and Jill Drenik from Dry Ridge and Joe and Sandy Minard from Waterloo, Iowa. It was so much fun to get caught up with how their horses and families are doing. They had rented a Sky Box in order to view the show from the third floor. The boxes are actually enclosed, carpeted rooms with televisions, a refigerator, and comfortable furnishings. It was great to see so many folks showing this weekend. Both the Amateur and Novice Trail classes had to be split. That is good news for the Mountain Horse Industry! We had a good time watching Ella Tillery show outside the lead line class for her first time in the Pre-Juvenile class. Handlers walked beside the kids but were able to offer assistance if needed. We were proud of everyone's performance. Eleven year old Thomas Howard put in some good shows as did our amateurs Tim, Marcia, Nancy, and Kim. Our trainers did well also. Charlie won the driving class with Nugget who is undefeated this year. Mike had a great show winning with Diamonds in the Rough in the 2 YO Trail class. He also won the Open 4 Gait class with Wrangler which led to his Al Prewitt Versatility Award. Way to Go! Another highlight for us was little miss Jazzy. Not only did she win a tough Trail Obstacle class (SRF had 11 horses in that competition)she was awesome in the Natural Horsemanship class. Robert went through the course with Jazzy wearing a halter as designated by the class description. When he was done, he removed Jazzy's halter while still on her back. Then he went through as much of the course as he could with only a rope around Jazzy neck in the 2 minutes that was allowed for his freestyle. It was so cool! The goal of the class was to demonstrate true harmony between horse and rider. Robert definately accomplished that element. Mike also did a great job in that class placing second with Wrangler after cantering him bareback and standing up on him as well. Hats off to all these great horses, their trainers, and owners! Salute!

Georgetown Equine Expo

Here is a quick reminder about the Georgetown Equine Expo. Robert's time has changed. No Clinic on Thursday. There has been a time change for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. He will be working the colt starting at 12:00 NOON Instead of the later time)! Come out and see what he can to with this colt in only a few short months.

Big Winners at the 2010 World Show

The 10th annual United Mountain World Show was an exciting time for exhibitors and spectators alike this year with everything from concerts, to catered meals, to great competition. The horses this year were spectacular and the competition was awesome! Our congratulations go out to all the winners.

Seve Heuslein on SRF's Silver Sunown - Regional Trail Pleasure
Charlie DeAtley - Open Driving (unanimous) with Nugget
Lauren Hickey - Showmanship with Jazzy
Thomas Howard - 11 & Under Country Trail Pleasure
Charlie DeAtley - 1st, 2nd, and 6th in Trail Obstacle
Michael Butler - Open Four Gait (unanimous) with Wrangler
Michael also won the best dressed gentleman exhibitor!


2010 Western Grand Champion: For the second year in a row, SRF’s Silver Sundown is the UMH Western World Grand Champion! Congratulation to Silver, Charlie and to Steve Heuslein on this unanimous first place win.

2010 Super Horse: Congratulations to MX Wrangler the UMH 2010 Super Horse winner, his owner Kathy and Jim Wilkerson, and trainer Michael Butler. Super Horse classes include Trail Obstacle, Under Saddle age division, Conformation, Pro Am, and an optional class: Open 4 Gait, Western, or driving.

Rocky Mountain Horses at the World Equestrian Games

Exciting news! We have our performance schedule for the World Equestrian Games! A general admission ticket will get you in to see the demo at the Dressage Complex.

Saturday, 9/25/2010 12:00 Noon
Sunday, 9/26/2010 6:30 P.M.
Monday, 9/26/2010 11:30 A.M.
Tuesday, 9/27/2010 11:30 A.M.

You won't want to miss this exciting sporting event that is being held for the first time outside Europe. It's gonna be awesome!

SRF's Silver Sundown Wins 2010 RMH Rea Swan Versatility Award

Congratulations to SRF’s Silver Sundown on his outstanding performances at the RMH International this year. He won his conformation, stallions trail, and western classes. He went on to place second in trail obstacle and pole bending. In the classes that counted toward the award, Silver had 48 out of a possible 50 points. His owner, Steve Heuslein also placed reserve in his amateur class and Charlie placed third in the water glass class and in the Western Grand Championship. Way to go Silver and Charlie! It is Charlie’s second time to win the Rea Swan Versatility Award and Stoner Ridge Farm’s fifth time to achieve this honor.

Southeast Mountain Horse Club State Championship White Pine, TN

The hooves of a horse! Oh! Witching and sweet is the music earth steals from the iron-shod feet; no whisper of love, no trilling of bird, can stir me as hooves of the horse have stirred.
- Will H. Ogilvie

SRF crew and company were on the road again this past weekend. We traveled with Tim, Marcia, and GiGi to White Pine, Tennessee. We had a great time! Marcia brought some home grown green beans and homemade cole slaw made with cabbage fresh out of the garden - mmmm good! We got to see friends that we hadn't seen for quite awhile and we had a good time visiting. Maevis Solomon got to come by. Bob Morris from New Bloomfield, PA was able to come and watch his horses show this weekend but Marty had to stay and manage their farm at home. Nancy and Steve had obligations at home as well and we sure missed them!

We had several winners in our line-up at the Southeast Mountain Horse Club Show. The horses performed really well with everyone that showed bringing home ribbons! Woo Hoo! Congratulations as well to Tim and Marcia who showed Pepper's Just Plain Pretty. It was one of their best shows with Tim placing 3rd and 4th in really large classes and Marcia placing first in both her novice classes. Way to go! Congratulations to Cypress Addagirl for her first blue. She is the little engine that could placing well all her classes in TN even being awarded the Trail Pleasure Reserve Championship honor on Saturday and winning her Open Four Gait class. She's doing very well for a 3 year old! Silver had a great show. We really appreciate everyone's help with all that you do! The list of wins is below

UMH Great Smoky Mountain Championship
UMH Tennessee State Championship

SRF’s Silver Sundown
UMH Great Smoky Mountain Championship - Open Western - 1st
UMH Great Smoky Mountain Championship - Stallions Trail - 2nd
UMH Great Smoky Mountain Championship - Trail Pleasure Championship - 5th
UMH Tennessee State Championship - Open Western - 1st
UMH Tennessee State Championship - Stallions Trail - 1st
UMH Tennessee State Championship - Adult Trail Obstacle - 1st
UMH Tennessee State Championship - Trail Pleasure Championship - 4th
UMH Tennessee State Championship - Adult Versatility - 2nd

MX Wrangler
UMH Great Smoky Mountain Championship - Classic Pleasure Stallions - 4th
UMH Great Smoky Mountain Championship - Classic Pleasure Championship - 3rd
UMH Tennessee State Championship - Open Four Gait - 2nd
UMH Tennessee State Championship - 4 YO Stallions and Geldings - 2nd
UMH Tennessee State Championship - Classic Pleasure Championship - 5th
UMH Tennessee State Championship - Adult Versatility Award – 4th

Pepper’s Capital Venture
UMH Tennessee State Champ
Geldings Classic Pleasure - 2nd
UMH Tennessee State Championship - 4 YO Stallions/Geldings Classic - 1st
UMH Tennessee State Championship - Classic Pleasure Stallions - 5th

Pepper’s Just Plain Pretty
UMH Great Smoky Mountain Championship - Amateur Trail - 3rd - Tim
UMH Great Smoky Mountain Championship - Novice Trail - 1st - Marcia
UMH Tennessee State Championship - Amateur Trail - 4th - Tim
UMH Tennessee State Championship - Novice Trail - 1st - Marcia
UMH Tennessee State Championship - Adult Trail Obstacle - 4th
UMH Tennessee State Championship - Adult Versatility - 5th

Mountain Vista Diamond
UMH Great Smoky Mountain Championship - SE Regional Open Trail - 5th
UMH Tennessee State Championship - SE Regional Open Trail - 5th

Cypress Addagirl
UMH Great Smoky Mountain Championship - Mares Trail - 4th
UMH Great Smoky Mountain Championship - Trail Championship 4th - Mike
UMH Tennessee State Championship - 2-3 year old Open Trail 2nd
UMH Tennessee State Championship - Open Four Gait - 1st
UMH Tennessee State Championship - Trail Pleasure Championship - 2nd - Mike

Branson Blue
UMH Great Smoky Mountain Championship - 2 & 3 YO Conformation - 2nd
UMH Tennessee State Championship - 2 & 3 YO Conformation - 1st
UMH Tennessee State Championship - 2 YO Stallions/Geldings Classic - 2nd

Blueberry Wine
UMH Great Smoky Mountain Championship - Mares Classic - 4th
UMH Great Smoky Mountain Championship - Classic Pleasure Championship - 2nd
UMH Tennessee State Championship - 4 and Older Conformation - 6th
UMH Tennessee State Championship - Classic Pleasure Championship - 2nd
UMH Tennessee State Championship - Adult Trail Obstacle - 2nd

Stoner Ridge Farm Shines at Three Phase

Congratulations to the riders from Stoner Ridge Farm. Everyone put forth a great performance for this year's Three Phase Event. As most of you know, the Three Phase Event is a versatility venue that challenges horses of all breeds in dressage, stadium obstacle, and cross country. We have competed for the last four years and have found the practice leading up to the competition has brought additional softness and skill. This year's gaited horse division Beginner Novice was won by Michael Butler on Lillie Bean owned by Martha Gilley. Mike won the stadium obstacle in this divison and placed 2nd in dressage. His cross country time was 34.06 with a target time of 34 minutes. Way to go Mike. In the Novice division, Mike (riding David James another horse owned by Martha) and Charlie (riding SRF's Silver Sundown owned by Steve Heuslein)were tied after the dressage and stadium obstacle. Mike had two seconds and Charlie won stadium obstacle and placed 3rd in dressage. We were all excited to see what would happen with the cross country. It was amazing. Both horses did wonderfully well on the trail. Charlie, however, came in a few seconds sooner which gave him the edge. He won the over all high point for the Novice Division, stadium obstacle, cross country, and the AGMH high point as well. That's not bad for a stallion that was bred three times last week! Robert was fourth with Gaitway's Jasmine Joy also. In the Training division, Robert came in 4th with Silver's Blue Plate Special owned by Don and Nancy. She was fabulous on the 6 mile cross country course but had really stiff competition in dressage and stadium obstacle this year. Fourteen year old Lauren Hickey also rode Jazzy in the Novice Youth division and won. Congrats to everyone! We also want to thank Kristie Whemeyer. Carolyn Kenton, and Kevin Kiper for all their hard work organizing the event and marking the trails. Each division has a separate stadium obstacle lay-out and a separate cross country course. It takes hours and hours of planning to complete. If you have never ridden in this type of competition, it is really a great learning experience for you and your horse. In dressage and trail obstacle competition, you get feedback from the judge about your perfomance. Make plans now for next year! More information and photos will be available in the next newsletter.

RMH Youth Round Up

We are looking forward to hosting the RMH Youth Round Up on March 22nd. Robert and crew will be helping youth and adults with many topics. Just go to our web site and click on the link to see the flyer. Hope everyone can come!

Monsoon

We consider ourselves fortunate to have survived Kentucky's torrential rains with only a wet basement. Over 6 inches of rain fell in our area in just two days. Robert added some downspouts to the barn and had some excavation work done to allow for water run-off just last month. Fortunately, our stalls stayed pretty dry this time. Thanks to the generosity of our neighbors, we had a pump that removed the standing water at the foot of our outside basement entrance. A wet/dry vac removed most of the water from the carpet. While it is a smelly mess, nothing down there was destroyed. Robert, Mike, and Charlie are all outside riding horses today in the sunshine.

Silver's Blue Plate Special Wins American Competitive Trail Horse Competition

Congratulations to Robert and Silver's Blue Plate Special for their outstanding ride at the ACTHA ride held April 17th at the Kentucky Equestrian Center. Kudos to Erin as well for her ride on Pepper's Just Plain Pretty. They placed 5th out of 18 riders in the Open Division. Out of 120 points, there were only 7 points that separated the top 5 horses. Four of the five were gaited horses (way to go!).

ACTHA, American Competitive Trail Horse Association, is a brilliant concept. Anyone can put on a ride. The goal is to have at least a 6 mile ride with at least 6 obstacles. The rides are for all breeds of horses both gaited and non-gaited. Registration is on-line. Horses earn life-time points and rewards. Groups can ride out together regardless of their division. Horses and riders receive points separately. Robert and Erin were just planning to go for the experience and were pleasantly surprised with the result. If you'd like more information, log on to www.actha.us. We'd like to participate in future rides. It was a lot of fun! Way to go Robert and Erin.

Equine Affaire 2010

April 2nd - 4th found Stoner Ridge Farm at the Equine Affaire in Columbus, OH. Even though we had planned to attend without horses this year, we were called on to help out due to a last minute cancelation. Fortunately, we are blessed with some wonderful horses to train and enjoy. Blueberry Wine and SRF Silver's Sundown were excellent representatives for the Mountain Horse breeds throuh United Mountain Horse. They had three opportunities to help educate folks about how wonderful these horses are due to their four beat lateral gait and their phenomenal dispositions. The most exciting performance was on Sunday morning. Blueberry, Silver, and Blue on Black (owned by VBF) did their demo between Stacie Westfall and John Lyons. John had sevral obstacles in the arena for his performance so the fellas (Robert, Mike, and S.T.) took full advantage of the opportunity. The three horses also rode around the ring right beside each other - the mare between two breeding stallions. You would never have known though because they were perfect gentlemen (and Blueberry was a perfect lady ). They were awesome! After the performance, John shook Robert's hand and said, "Good Training!" He also complimented Blue on Black for his beautiful canter. It was a great experience and a wonderful opportunity to share the umbrella of services that UMH provides the Mountain Horse community.

North Carolina Championship and the Al Prewitt Memorial

Congratulations to everyone who did well at the shows in North Carolina. There were some really good horses there. It was great to get to fellowship with all our horse show friends after the long cold winter. We especially want to congratulate Blueberry Wine on her Classic Pleasure Championship with Robert on board. We also extend our sincere congratulations to RRF Gold Nugget for winning the Adult Versatility Award and the AL Prewitt Memorial Award with Charlie DeAtley up. What awesome performances!

Success is not a destination, it's a journey.

Check out the winnings for Stoner Ridge Farm:

NC State Championship
Al Prewitt Memorial Championship

Blueberry Wine
Al Prewitt Memorial - Classic Pleasure Championship - 1st
Al Prewitt Memorial - Pro Am Classic - 2nd - Robert & Nancy
Al Prewitt Memorial - Mares Classic Pleasure - 5th
Al Prewitt Memorial - Trail Obstacle - 5th
Al Prewitt Memorial - Adult Versatility - 5th


Cypress Addagirl
Al Prewitt Memorial - Open Four Gait - 2nd
Al Prewitt Memorial - 2-3 Year Old Open Trail Pleasure - 2nd

Gaitway’s Jasmine Joy
NC State Championship - Open Western - 3rd
NC State Championship - Country Trail Pleasure Mares - 5th - Steve
NC State Championship - Country Trail Pleasure Pro-Am - 2nd Steve/Robert
Al Prewitt Memorial - Trail Obstacle - 3rd
Al Prewitt Memorial - Open Western - 3rd
Al Prewitt Memorial - Country Trail Pleasure Mares - 3rd
Al Prewitt Memorial - Pro Am Country Trail - 3rd - Robert/Steve
Al Prewitt Memorial - Amateur Country Trail - 3rd - Steve
Al Prewitt Memorial - Adult Versatility - 3rd

Pepper’s Capital Venture
NC State Championship - Classic Pleasure Championship - 4th - Mike
Al Prewitt Memorial - Geldings Classic - 2nd - Mike
Al Prewitt Memorial - 4 Year Old Stallions/Geldings - 2nd

Pepper’s Just Plain Pretty
NC State Championship - Country Trail Pleasure Mares - 4th - Tim
NC State Championship - Country Trail Pleasure Pro-Am - 3rd - Tim/Marcia
Al Prewitt Memorial - Country Trail Pleasure Mares - 6th - Tim

RRF Gold Nugget
NC State Championship - Open Amateur Classic - 3rd - Steve
Al Prewitt Memorial - Adult Versatility Award
Al Prewitt Memorial - Al Prewitt Memorial Award
Al Prewitt Memorial - 4 and Older Conformation - 2nd
Al Prewitt Memorial - Trail Obstacle - 2nd
Al Prewitt Memorial - Geldings Classic - 1st
Al Prewitt Memorial - Non Pro Classic - 3rd - Robert/Steve


SRF’s Silver Sundown
NC State Championship - Open Amateur Trail - 2nd - Steve
NC State Championship - Trail Pleasure Championship - 3rd
NC State Championship - Open Western - 2nd
Al Prewitt Memorial - Trail Obstacle - 1st
Al Prewitt Memorial - Open Western - 1st
Al Prewitt Memorial - Trail Pleasure Championship - 3rd
Al Prewitt Memorial - Adult Versatility - 4th

Abigail Ruth Sharp is Here

Congratulatons to Bobby,Eyvonne,Rachel and James Sharp who welcomed Abigail Ruth into their family on March 14 at 10:17 P.M.- Sunday evening. She weighed 7 pounds and 13 ounces and she was 20 1/2 inches long. Both Momma and baby are doing great! We are so excited about having another grandchild to get to know and love!

2010 World Equestrian Games Try-Outs

Congratulations to RRF Gold Nugget for being selected to participate with the Rocky Mountain Horse demo at the World Equestrian Games! Blueberry Wine is also in a group of alternates. We've been at the fairgrounds in Richmond today where over 40 horses tried out for the 14 slots that are available. We also want to congratulate Judy Brummer and Legendary Lady for making the cut. Several other horses were selected. I'll try to confirm my list and make another post. The RMH demo will be Sept. 25-28. We do not yet have the times but will post those as soon as we know. It is exciting to be part of this awesome event.

Sonny

Our friends and clients Scott and Barrie Hughes lost their gelding, Sonny, to cloic Friday night. They found him in distress, got the vet, and treated him with the routine procedures for colic. Unfortunately, it was just too severe for Sonny to survive. We started him here a couple of years ago. You all probably remember Scott and Barry's filly, My Best Friend Gail. We never had the opportunity to show Sonny. He was a nice looking gelding - red chocolate with lots of chrome in his mane. It's so sad when this happens. Our hearts go out to them.

2010 Mountain Horse Youth Clinic to be held at Stoner Ridge Farm
March 13
9 A.M. - 4 P.M.

Get a jump on your show season from a variety of talented individuals who have skill in:

Trail Obstacle
Western
Equitation
Showmanship
Judging the Mountain Horse

There will even be an opportunity to test YOUR judging skill with a licensed gaited horse judge. Everyone is welcome - all ages. It it not just a youth event but proceeds will go to our youth exhibitors.

Cost $20 at the door

Advertising opportunity: $50 sponsors receive a business card sized ad on the UMH Youth Page.

Everyone come out for breakfast, lunch, prizes, and fun! Call Terry Kleier for more information at 859.991.0876. RSVP if possible by March 6.

The Cross Filly

It was with a sad heart that we read the email from Dale Honn today. The Cross Filly, that was here last year and shown by Mike Butler, was caught in the fence last week. The injury was so bad that she had to be put down. We are so sad for Dale and Edwina at the loss of this fine filly. She was resesrve KMSHA High Point 2-3 Year Old Trail Filly/Geldings division. She had also been bred to SRF's Silver Sundown. Please keep these folks in your thoughts. We get close to our horses as they learn and grow right along with us. We will keep Dale and Edwina in our thoughts remembering this sad loss.

SRF's Silver Sundown Now Registered Mountain Pleasure

In addition to his Rocky Mountain, Kentucky Mountain, and American Gaited registrations, SRF's Silver Sundown is now also registered with the Mountain Pleasure Horse Association. For those of you looking for that outstanding stallion that can bring quality traits to your herd, look no farther than Western World Grand Champion SRF's Silver Sundown. His accomplishments are many. From the time he began showing as a three year old, he has shown unlimited potential. He's risen to the challenge every time. He has earned High Point awards every year he's been shown in many different divisions with a variety of riders including:

Amateur Classic
Men's Open Trail
4 YO High Point Classic Stallinons & Geldings
Three Phase High Point (dressage, stadium obstacle, cross country)
Stallions Trail Pleasure
Trail Pleasure Championship
Open Western Trail
High Money Horse

Silver has a phenomenal temperament! He is the horse chosen for the least experienced trail riders in our group and he was even the first horse that Baby Ruby ever got to 'ride'. His gait and conformation are excellent as well. Silver is the complete package. These fine qualities and traits have been passed on to the foals that have begun arriving. When you're considering a stallion for your mares this year, you can't beat SRF's Silver Sundown. See the Stallions page of the web site for more information about this outstanding stallion.

UMH Judge's Seminar

The UMH Judge's Seminar will be January 23rd and 24th. The classroom portion of the seminar will be at the Fairfield Inn in Lexington, KY NOT the Holiday Inn North as stated in our newsletter. The live judging will still be at Mastersonstation Park on the 24th. It is an unheated arena. If you have not contacted the UMH office to sign-up you need to do that ASAP. Judge candidates are $80 and auditors are $50. I understand that fee will include the UMH Judging DVD. The educational opportunity for exhibitors will be very beneficial even if you do not intend to actually become a judge. Wayne Hipsley is easy to listen to. He's respectiful and an excellent teacher. He has traveled all over the world conducting seminars and clinics for a variety of breed organizations. If you need additional information, contact Cathy at the UMH office 859.842.0270.

Happy New Year

We want to wish everyone a blessed and happy new year!