News Around the Barn

Verrill Farm Stable’s Newsletter August, 2009 Vol. 2

Welcome Emerson Alyce Clemens!!

On May 19, 2009, Sam and Ann Clemens welcomed their daughter, Emerson Alyce Clemens, to the world. Alyce, her namesake, reports that, “Sam, Ann and Miss Emmy have an active schedule and the child is well socialized. Not sensitive to noise or people.” Alyce says they are great parents! Congrats!

New Owners - Congratulations to Morgan Kelly, Caroline Glen and Ina Kamenz on their new horses. Morgan now owns Watching, Caroline now owns Salutation and Ina now owns Delilah.

Concord Equestrian Team Boot Camp— The CET Boot camp will run for 3 weeks starting August 10th. CET members are required to attend at least one of those weeks. Everyone should have received the letter/information by now from Alyce and the team captains. Good luck to the CET for their season ahead.

Mack’s new home—Best wishes to Masters Choice -“Mack” - at his new home in Hollis, NH at Apple Tree Farm. Some of us saw Mack at Apple Tree Farm’s 2 Phase Event on June 30th where he was ridden by his leaser and looked happy and healthy.

In Memoriam - Sadly, one of the barn favorite horses, Cosmo, passed away in June at Tufts Veterinary Hospital. He will be missed around the barn and in the

lesson program.

Barbara—For those of you who have never seen Barbara not In her working attire, check out this photo!!! Alyce and Barbara went shopping for new clothes for a family wedding that Barbara went to in July. She had a new outfit and necklace. She even got a manicure, pedicure and new haircut.

Competition Corner

Eventing News

Groton Pony Club 3 Phase— May 19, 2009— Amy Walker on Chandler and Polly Gilbert on Miss Manners (Maggie) both braved the driving rain for the GPC 3 Phase. Julia Graham went along as their coach and Emily Gilbert as the groom and photographer. Both competed in the Advanced Elementary Division at the GPH 3 Phase on May 19th. Horses and riders did well. Polly and Maggie came in second and Amy and Chandler placed fifth.

Mystic Valley Horse Trials— May 30, 2009—Sue Boquist on Class Act, Mary Lee on Shao Lin Finn, Kate Trieschman on Aille Coretca and Julia Graham on Watching all competed at the Mystic Valley Hunt Club Horse Trials in Gales Ferry, CT. Sue and Classy placed third in the Novice division with a 30.0 dressage score! Only .5 behind the leader. Julia and Watching placed second in the Beginner Novice division and Mary and Finn placed second in another Be-ginner Novice division. Kate and Crysty also received an amazing 28.4 for their dressage score. Congrats to all the riders and horses!

Valinor Horse Trials—June 14, 2009— Mary Lee on Shao Lin Finn, Kate Trieschman on Aille Coretca, David Edell on Just’N Time, Julia Graham on Tyber and Polly Gilbert on Miss Manners all competed in the Beginner Novice Division at the Valinor Horse Trials in June. Mary and Finn placed second and Dave and Justin eighth out of 18 starters in the BN Sr division. Kate and Crysty placed third in the BN Jr division. Julia and Ty and Polly and Maggie were elimi-nated on the XC course. Emily Gilbert and Cora Chen did a fantastic job taking photos and videos of the event—thank you both!!

Groton House Farm Summer Classic—June 21, 2009— Amy Walker on Chandler, Polly Gilbert on Maggie and Caroline Glen on Salutation braved the worst driving rain storm to date with Alyce as their coach. Amy and Chandler competed in the Elementary Division and placed Eighth. Polly and Maggie competed in the Beginner Novice Division and were eliminated at the last jump on the XC course. Caroline and Salut completed several schooling Training level dres-sage tests.

Great Vista Horse Trials—June 28, 2009— Caroline Glen on Salutation and Susan Boquist on Class Act competed in the new Great Vista Farm Horse Trials in New York. According to all, the setting and views were spectacular. Sue and Classy finished 8th in the Novice Division, coming in exactly on the optimum time for cross country. Caroline and Salut finished 7th in the Train-ing Division and had quite a cross country run (see amazing photo!). Salut obviously cleared every obstacle he faced—even ditches.

Apple Tree Farm 2 Phase —Hollis, NH—June 30, 2009— VFS riders competed in this schooling 2 phase event hosted by Apple Tree Farm. This was a great learning experience with feedback from the dressage judge. Chloe Howes on Sable, Emily Gilbert on Blackjack, Morgan Kelly on-Watching, Anna Selian on Puck and Polly Gilbert on Miss Manners all participated and all had a successful day! Chloe placed 4th coming in after 3 adult riders. Emily placed 2nd and was very happy with her 27.5 dressage score.

Scarlet Hill Farm XC– The Third Phase —Groton, MA—July 1, 2009— The following day, Scar-let Hill Farm hosted the Cross Country phase of the event. Mary Lee on Finn, Dave Edell on Justin, Morgan Kelly on Watching, Polly Gilbert on Maggie and Anna Selian on Puck all went and competed. All completed a XC round and a stadium round with Alyce coaching.

ENYCDTA/Old Chatham Horse Trials—July 12— Susan Boquist on Class Act and Caroline Glen on Salutation competed in the Old Chatham Horse Trials. Sue and Classy were in the Area 1 Novice Division Championships and faced a notoriously tough dressage judge. Despite this, they scored a 27.4 on their test!! This put them in first place as they headed to the cross country course where an unfortunate side step by Classy at the water complex caused them penalty points. A clean stadium round kept them in 9th place overall out of 21 starters. Caroline and Salut com-peted in the Training Division. With an impressive 31.1 in dressage, they ended up in 3rd place out of 14 starters. Congrats to you both!

Riga Meadow Horse Trials—July 19, 2009— Mary Lee on Shao Lin Finn, Dave Edell on Just ‘N Time, Morgan Kelly on Watching, Kate Trieschman on Aille Coretca and Polly Gilbert and Miss Manners all competed in the Riga Meadow Horse Trials on July 19th in Salisbury, CT. Mary and Kate were both in the Area I Beginner Novice Championships. Mary and Finn ended up in 12th out of 25 starters in the championships. Kate and Crysty ended up 18th. Morgan and Watching had a great day in the Novice division coming in 1st. Polly and Maggie ended up 8th and Dave and Justin 9th out of 16 starters in the Beginner Novice Division. It was a beautiful setting and a gorgeous day.

Fitch’s Corner Horse Trials—July 25,26, 2009— Millbrook, NY— Susan Boquist, Class Act, Caroline Glen, Salutation, Morgan Kelly and Watching all went to Fitch’s Corner to compete. Sue and Classy came in FIRST in the novice division out of 11 competitors. This qualified Sue and Classy for the American Eventing Championships in Illinois in September! According to Sue, the highlights of the weekend for her (besides a huge blue ribbon, a pair of horse clippers and a silver cup from Tif-fany’s) was the “9” they received for their free-walk in dressage. Sue also said that Classy (who is known for her fear of the water) went right through the water complex. Also competing at Fitch’s, Morgan and Watching were in the training division and ended up in 5th place out of 15. Caroline and Salut competed in the junior open training division and ended up 3rd out of 10. Another nota-ble highlight was when Salut was waiting in the start box for cross country —apparently so keen to get going— rocked back on his hind legs with his front legs in the air and waited until the count-down and then took off. Unfortunately, there are no photos or video. Everyone was impressed. Congrats to you all. Millbrook Horse Trials—August 6-9, 2009 — NY— At press time, several VFS riders and horses were gearing up for the Millbrook Horse Trials in New York. Morgan Kelly and Watching, Caroline Glen and Salutation, Mary Lee and Shao Lin Finn, Kate Trieschman and Aille Coretca will all be com-peting in this three day event.

Horse Show News—

Norfolk Hunt Club Horse Show - Blackjack was the STAR of the show Memorial Day Weekend at the Norfolk Show. Chloe Howes, Jake and Emily Gilbert competed on him on Saturday. Chloe Howes rode him in the Short Stirrup Division where they won Reserve Champion. Jake and Alyce then were in the Leadline Division where they won a 4th and 6th— only after having to answer some very tough questions from the judge and having to actually trot (to Jake’s horror)! Emily then rode Blackjack in the Walk Trot Equitation and Walk Trot Pleasure Divisions where they won Cham-pion and Reserve Champion! Kate Trieschman rode Aille Coretca (Crysty) in the Children's Pony Hunter Division and placed very well in all classes. Polly Gilbert and Miss Manners (Maggie) rode on Sunday in the Amateur Adult Hunter Division and Bay State Medal Class. Maggie did well and came in 3rd or 7th in every class… including third in the Bay State Medal class. Great weekend for all VFS riders and horses at a great horse show.

NSHA Twisdenwood Farm Horse Show - Georgetown, MA— July 30— Anna Selian/Puck, Cait-lin Sanders/Delilah, Kaitie Dougherty/Moonie, Emily Gilbert/Blackjack, Emma Parker/Ruby, Polly Gilbert/Miss Manners and Julia Graham/Tyber all went to the North Shore Horseman’s Association Horse Show at Twisdenwood Farm in Georgetown, MA on the 30th. Despite the downpours, humid-ity and heat, it was a great day for everyone who came home with lots of ribbons!!

Lessons/Camp News— VFS Summer Camp is in FULL swing now. This means lots of kids and ponies around in the mornings having fun. Meg and Morgan have been keeping them very busy. See photos below. Camp runs through mid August and operates from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm.

Housekeeping Matters—

• Please remember to return your “Rules & Conduct” agreement (signed) to Alyce if you have not already.

• College Departures —please say goodbye to Morgan, Emily, Kathleen and Julia be-

fore they leave for college!! Kathleen leaves for her freshman year at Purdue Univer-sity on August 7th. Em Haartz leaves for Cazenovia for her sophomore year on Au-gust 30. Morgan leaves for her sophomore year at UVA on August 20. Julia Graham heads back to Mt. Holyoke for her sophomore year in September.

• If you are the last one out of the barn at night, please turn ALL the lights off!!!

Classifieds

Horses—Stella: 14.3h, 11 yrs. bay mare, shows and events, sound, no vices—$10,000. Also, Moonie and Tyber are for sale. Please email Alyce for details— AlyceLM-cNeil@aol.com Show Coat — Navy Grand Prix hunt coat, for sale. Child’s size 14/16. Only worn a few times. Email Anna Selian for price and more information. Aaleh@comcast.net. Various Horse Items— Priscilla Clark has various items for sale in her trunk in Love Shack (first on right) and foot locker below: She has asked that people take items they want and then leave money in envelope in the desk drawer in the warm room (top left drawer). Prices marked to sell - but everything is negotiable: (these are all horse/large items). Items for sale include— Navy rain sheet: $20, Girths (various 52-58): $10, Bits (5 1/4 to 51/2): $7, Reins: $15 (one new set leather, one nonslip xc pair), Bridle: $20, Fairly new hunt breast plate (elastic side pieces): $25, Show martingale: $20, Jammie - used once (retail $88): $30, Nice leather galloping boots: $25, Spurs: $5 per pair; 1 pair straps $1, Misc. grooming brushes/stuff: $1 per item, Saddle pads: New Medallion: $25; Others - Medallion fitted and dressage - all in good condition: $15, 1 jockey helmet - new 7 1/4 (my colors included, or buy your own): $15, 1 canvas bag for horse stuff: $3 (well used but very handy...), 1 nylon bag for horse stuff: $1, 2 "event" fleece-lined green carry-alls for saddle and tack (use 1 for dressage, one for jump stuff): $20 each, Nonslip saddle pad: $5 , Tack trunk (wooden, handmade): $75 obo, Footlocker underneath: $5, USEA arm patch/medical card: $1, USEA sticker: $1, Various boot socks: $1 pair (used but in good condition), Various gloves (Women's #7-8 or Men's Med/Large): $5 (used but in very good condition), Stock tie: $5, New Charles Owen black velvet show helmet 7 1/4. In troxel bag: $25 Hunt horn pin: $1, Rein stops: $1, D-ring brass clips: $1.