And it goes out like a lamb...

Remember March 1? A snow storm? Well March did come in like a Lion and it went out like a Lamb. It was beautiful today, 60 degrees in bright warm sunshine. I have a lot to catch up on with the blog from March 12th! I will bring you up to speed on the updates tomorrow.

I *DO* have an update on our wild kitty for you! How's that for the teaser?

NVS Summer Day Camp Dates

Horsin' Around- Summer Fun!

SUMMER DAY CAMP DATES

Monday-Friday FULL DAY Cost: $350 HALF DAY $200
the weeks of:
July 6
July 13
August 3
August 10

Tiny Tots Mini Camp 6/29, 30, 7/1 ages 7 & Under HALF DAY $100

For more information, to register call 860-535-1038

Kitty Cam?

I have had requests for Kitty Cam! Well, wow, that would be hi-tech for the fields and rock walls of North Stonington, so I'm blogging an update.

A friend thinks that due to the color, possibly a tri-color, we have a she-kitty on our hands, first of all. Secondly, I was out there over the weekend and our wild kitty went FLYING out of the highest level of the hay feeder. She was sleeping in the hay there while the horses ate, so that must be her house!

I'll keep you posted...

Visitor

For the past week or so we've had a visitor- a tiny and wild adolescent grey striped tiger kitty. Nicholas keeps tabs on his whereabouts and said he thought he was living out by the lesson horses somewhere. Well, as evidenced by photos (albeit far away!) I took this morning, he's turned one of the lesson horses into a cat condo!

Beautiful coverage of the February UPHA Winter Tournament by Mary Beth Alosa Photography

I had a wonderful time last Sunday officiating at the UPHA Winter Tournament horse show held at Cater Stables. Kristen, David and Mary are great hosts. There was a great turnout and Mother Nature blessed us with mild temperatures. I had great fun working from the center of the ring with ringmaster Gary Saccocia, Jr. who many of your know is half of our amazing dental team of Dad and son. Gary Sr. and Jr. are the finest professionals and wonderful friends.

Mary Beth Alosa photographed the event and proofs can be seen at http://www.alosaphotography.com/

"MB" worked so hard all day to get it all right: the timing, the light, the emotion, the moment that we all love to see captured (especially Moms and Dads- I can say this as a horse show Mom!). You can lose yourself in all of MB's beautiful images, take some time to check out her portfolios.

Check out the future of equitation! All of these tots were able to tell me where their heels are supposed to go, what those funny silver things their feet go into are called, and what color their horses were. More than a couple looked at me like they were surprised a grown up didn't know what color their horse was, which was unexpected and made me laugh!

Maggie has everything in place perfectly! Mom & Instructor Kim Timmons of Afterthought Farm brought several riders out who showed equal form and poise.

Johnny Lettre showed us all how hard he has been working on his posting this winter. Mom Sarah looks on- in a rare moment of holding still! Sarah does a phenomenal job organizing and coordinating the Chapter 14's Winter Tournamnent Series.

All business!

All photos are courtesy of Mary Beth Alosa and Alosa Photography. http://www.alosaphotography.com/

Oh except for this one below of "Baby Girl" Cater! I took it. Hence the tail only half in the photo. Horse show fans, do you remember the tiny days old abandoned kitten found abandoned out behind one of the back barns during Big E 2008? Kristen adopted her and literally brought her back to life. As Mrs. Spann explained to me that she's become "half dog and half human". She is a member of the family, is thriving and adorable!!!!!

Fun with the NVS Ladies

If you haven't made it to Ladies Night here's what you missed! Please join us at the next one, taking place on March 19th. We've been having a great time, improving our riding in a supportive fun environment, working on strength and balance exercises to launch us ahead for show season and trail riding days ahead.

Jaclyn from Nutrena speaks to an enthusiastic crowd.

Ladies Night featured a seminar with Jaclyn Gallant, our Equine Nutrition Specialist at Nutrena. She explained the choices we make for our horses and the superiority of it over other programs based on predispositions and needs of performance show horses. Jaclyn offers us wonderful support. One of the services she offers is testing the quality and composition of our hay, which we appreciate. Kit took home information shared by Jaclyn. A majority of our Ladies Night participants are horse (and donkey!) owners, who not only keep them here but set up horsekeeping at home.

Every one very much enjoyed the information she shared with us on Thursday and left with all of our questions answered.

Gretchen is all smiles after her ride!

Shanafelt. Caity Shanafelt 007.

Jane had a blast & did not complain even one time about the english saddle.

Patti & her 4 legged friend both have their ears up!

Jaclyn and Tiffany were pretty as a picture.

Annie not only found time to laugh, ride and have fun but cater the party with her delicious Cajun sweet potato and crab bisque.

Kit and I discuss if there is life without donkeys...

Trust me, you don't wanna know.
There was a red wine spill here moments earlier. In yet another educational moment brought to you by NVS Ladies Night we learned to assist in cleanup pour a little (eek!) white wine (trust me it was a sacrifice) on top of the red wine to dilute it and you're on the road to NO stain!
See you on March 19th! Advance reservations are required, email Sharon @ villastables@gmail.com or call: 860-535-1038.

And we close with the smoooooth sounds of Mr. Zac Casey who popped in to serenade us. It takes a brave man to drop in on Ladies Night, ground where even Nicholas fears to tread. Enjoy!

www.wagonteamster.com

This is about the saddest thing I've heard in a long time.

A man named Bob Skelding, from Deerfield, NH where we travel frequently to horse shows, went off last fall in a custom made wagon and 4 Percherons to travel across the country. He was struck by a tractor trailer in Mississippi yesterday, two of his beautiful horses were killed & the other two trapped in the wreckage for some time. Bob is in critical condition and family members are lucky to be not severely injured.

Here's a link to some of the news footage: http://www.mahalo.com/Bob_Skelding

and a link to his blog, which is entertaining as well as inspiring. Chillingly it ends abruptly on 2/9.

http://www.wagonteamster.com/index.html

Get well, Bob and our prayers are with you.

This weather! Don't leave home without this!

Girls, don't head to the barn without this. As a former Burt's Beeswax lip balm fan, I'm onto something far superior- it's like a pamper and a spa treatment each and every time you use it! We're all miserable in this humdinger of a winter but do we need chapped lips on top of it? I don't think so!

Smith's Rosebud Salve

Congratulations, Caity!

Congratulations to the Shanafelt family on their acquisition of Charm's Choice!

This expressive youngster is no stranger to the winner's circle in the Pleasure divisions up and down the East Coast. We are pleased to have him in our program and welcome "Junior!" Thank you to former owner Erika Faulkner and former trainer Rob Turner and L.M. Turner Stable for their assistance in the sale.

New owner: Caity Shanafelt

Proud Family: Mr & Mrs Tab Shanafelt and Mr & Mrs William Fraad, Greenwich, CT

A New Way to Long Line (hardy har har)

Forget bicycles, I'm getting Nicholas a Unicycle!

The Deep Freeze!

It's been a couple days of preparation, unhooking hoses, checking windows for seals and drafts, giving extra hay and making sure everyone has fresh running open water and so far so good! Our barn has not dipped inside below 35 degrees which is wonderful and the horses' exercise and work can continue business as usual. A routine is important with horses and keeping a regular turnout, feeding and work schedule is your best friend during crazy weather fluctuations.

The worst business has been outside. We got a couple hours of rain on Tuesday night that flash froze later in the evening and left a glaze on everything out doors. Everyone is watching their step & it looks like that won't melt anytime soon.

I learned that I fumble unloading grain sacks with winter gloves on- is it just me? Am I the only one who can't get the usual grip and positioning to get the job done? Is this a phenomenon? Probably just me and a habit. In the end I ditched the gloves and had it unloaded in half the time. Think of those August days where we hear "Ugh it's so humid! It's too hot to ride!" haha

Have a great day. Stay warm.

It's Ladies Night!

"If you hear any noise, it ain't the boys
It's a Ladies Night!"



Happy Instructors grateful for their hot chocolate! !?!

"Oh yes it's ladies night, and the feeling's right" Go Wendell!

"Oh what a night!" Erika and Bobette compare notes on wonderful Willy
"You can fulfill all your dreams" I think this thumbs up is for no stirrups!
"Steppin out on Ladies Night"
"Come on you Disco Laaaady" Best of Friends Kim, Erika and Willy

Happy New Year, welcome 2009!

Whew- it's been a whirlwind the past couple weeks with a lot to catch up on. Our 2008 barn Christmas party was loads of fun- with a Yankee Swap

peals of laughter as we played Nicholas' favorite game: Kick The Broom (James, you definately won!),

a warm fire, the annual DVD slide show (trying to figure a way to upload that here-would love suggestions), and yum-O eats on the new portable Weber gas grill- thank you so much that was a wonderful surprise! "Santa" brought Nicholas a new grill, a new bicycle for me, and Sam a John Deere Gator just in his size. How's that for a trifecta?

It was a fun fun night and a pleasure to see everyone.

With this cold the horses are definately needing their layers and I always like to praise a product when I can- especially one that's durable, practical, and well priced. JP's North in Greenville, NY sells a 1200 Denier nylon/med weight poly fill turnout blankets priced at 2 for $125. They have cushion at the withers, leg straps, heavy front and surcingle buckle hardware and are waterproof. Similarly priced at other places for $100 and up for one alone. I can always get at least 2 seasons out of these blankets under heavy use and the worst of conditions, leak proof- I love them. Check em out at http://www.jpsnorth.net/

Here our old friend Spirit models his JP's North blanket on his third season in it.

The bad news of 2009 is that Penn National Horse Show dropped all American Saddlebred divisions. When the call sounded to rally around it we did- and enjoyed doing so GREATLY and we're extra sad that it's going to be gone. If you're reading this, please consider showing this year at Devon- as valuable an experience as Penn National was, Devon is all of that and then some and needs your support as well. Please come and fill the classes I guarantee you'll be glad you did.

Ladies Night is in a week! See you on January 8th, I have only about 4 slots remaining we'd love to see you.

We wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! We hope you meet a wonderful 2009 that sees you safely and successfully meeting your goals in your equestrian pursuits. It's this time of year we ask our riders to examine goals. January is time to sit down and think- map out what your aim is for the year-bounce it off of your trainer/instructor- take what did work last year and build on it or try something new- the choice is yours. Carpe Diem!

Happy New Year!

LADIES NIGHT January 8th

Our next Ladies Night is Thursday- 1/8/09 6:30 PM. Please RSVP to Sharon!
See you there!

Jessica Moctezuma is USEF's Junior Exhibitor of 2008

Jessie has been awarded the top honor as Junior Exhibitor of the year by the US Equestrian Federation, our national governing body for all equestrian sport in this country. Truly this is a distinguished honor and one deserved in full by this wonderful young woman we are proud to call a friend and consider call a member of our extended family. She's means a lot to all of our riders** for her support, sportsmanship, friendship and cheerleading. **(Ask Portay about "channeling her inner Jessica Moctezuma" prior to heading thru the gate! )

This year, at Louisville as the riders rode for their ribbons in the esteemed Senior Equitation Championship, Jessie displayed the most outstanding display of horsemanship I saw thoughout the entire week long 2008 Kentucky State Fair World's Championshp Horse Show. After a grueling class of more than 45 minutes of length consisting of rail work, periods of retirement and individual testing- her young, new equitation partner tested her the most at the very end- during her individual work- "Elvis" lost his concentration a bit- perhaps saw the outgate as they were headed in the direction, I am not sure -Jessie read it- stopped in between elements and before pushing him to the next one- stopped under the biggest pressure of her life, breathed, and put her hand on his neck for a couple of moments, gathered her reins and went flawlessly into the next move. That bloggers, is HORSEMANSHIP. The horse first. Without the horse as priority # 1, the ride is nothing.

The last few years of her practice have been hundreds of hours on hundreds of throwaway horses- American Saddlebreds that were plucked from the pipeline for slaughter. Saddlebred Rescue Inc. picks these animals up, sick-thin- and down on their luck- then rehabilitates and schools them for placement to good homes as solid citizens. Jess's mom Nealia McCracken houses a branch of SBR at their farm in New Jersey and Jessie has been an important part of the process to save them as SBR's #1 "Crash Test Dummy" test rider.

When Jessie rode out of that class back in August, she did so, with her 8th place (oh someone will correct me if I am wrong here I don't remember the color) to an ovation rivaling a rock star- good girl, Jess. Congratulations on the final award of your Junior Exhibitor career being one exemplifying the most important thing of all- your horsemanship over a period time. Congratulations to Nealia and Mark and Mayo and everyone at Northwind.

Check out this article from nj.com

http://www.nj.com/sports/njsports/index.ssf/2008/12/moctezuma_is_a_winner_on_or_of.html

A Funny Thing Happened at The Feed Store

A funny thing happened at the Feed Store.





The following phone call came in from Fleming Feed & Hardware-our feed store- home of the best support best team on earth- Jim, Rob and Sean at the Stonington branch & Jaclyn from Nutrena make my life easier on more levels than I can describe. I see them more frequently than my family, my vet, and my blacksmith combined.





"Hello?"





"Sharon, it's Jim, I have some fantastic news."





"You do?"





"Yes, you won the drawing."





"The drawing." ???





"Yes, you won the raffle!"





"The raffle." ???





"That's what I said! You're the big winner of a big prize!"





"Big Prize." ??? "Jim, are you feeling all right?"





You get the idea here. Jim insisted I won the raffle and to leave room for a large pick up when I came in on Wednesday. Naturally my radar was up and suspicions heightened but no amount of my grilling got him to fess up.





The next day on a run to the feed store, Jim presented me with the raffle ticket. (see below)

As tempting as the diet soda was, I went with the 48" barn wreath.

Thank you to my "Secret Santa", I love you (whomever you are) for knowing where I shop, for the gesture, for making us feel appreciated, shopping locally, and most importantly making me LAUGH!

Thank you & Merry Christmas

In appreciation of another successful year,

Nicholas Villa Stables invites you to join us

for Dinner, Drinks and some Holiday Cheer!**

December 20th at 5:00 p.m.

Nicholas Villa Stables

75 D Reutemann Rd.

N. Stonington, CT 06359

Please RSVP by December 15th 535-1038

**To participate in our Yankee Swap (teens/adults) or Kids Gift Exchange bring along a wrapped gift!

Ladies Night Report!

Our inaugural Ladies Night was a BLAST! Patti and Erika gave us an impromptu Yoga lesson that went down for the record books!

Our next one is planned for January 8th. For $40, the regular cost of a riding lesson* (*non-riders give a $10 donation to Saddlebred Rescue) you will receive:

a fun group riding lesson with emphasis on core principles, balance and strengthening

an informational seminar with our equine nutritionist

time with a licenced personal fitness trainer who will give us some homework for our important muscle groups we use for riding

refreshments, laughs and social time you won't soon forget!

Please RSVP to Sharon - everyone is welcome

See you January 8th!

Save the Date! December 20th

The barn Christmas party will be December 20th, 2008- watch this space for more information! Come one, come all!

'Oh yes, it's ladies night'- Oh what a Night!

ANNOUNCING LADIES NIGHT- December 4th 6:30- 9pm

We're excited to announce the first of our Winter Ladies Night series beginning on December 4th. Ladies Night offers a great opportunity to practice your riding with friends in a fun group lesson setting under the supervision of multiple experienced instructors.

Fees: $40 includes lesson, refreshments and the evenings events

Non-Riders: $10 donation to Saddlebred Rescue

*We will work on the building blocks of the basics: your seat, balance and developing strength and confidence in a fun casual setting.

*Beverages and canapes will be served later next to a roaring fire in our heated Great Room.

Please join us for an evening of laughs, fun and learning in a supportive group setting, to RSVP call the barn at 535-1038 or email Sharon at villastables@gmail.com

Ladies Night will continue into Winter 2009-gift certificates are available in time for Christmas. Everyone is welcome, this is definately an event where the more, the merrier!