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RST Newsletter
November 2011
In This Issue
Become a Fan
Congrats to New Owners!
Come to Aiken!
Stay Warm This Winter!
Fall Results
Welcome Voltaire Design
Become a Fan!
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Tweet on Twitter!
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RST SPONSORS:

EquStem

NetPower Consulting, LLC

Newport Saddlery

Stablemates, Inc.


 

CONGRATS to new owners!
 
Godiva Chocolate
Congrats to Sue Ward on the purchase of Godiva Chocolate ("Tish").


Congrats to The Meunier Family on the purchase of Serendipity ("Sara").


Come to Aiken!
 
It looks like I will be heading down to Aiken for much of February. There's room for more people and horses on this trip, so let me know if you're interested. 

Going to Aiken is the perfect way to get a jump start on the spring season. With shows every weekend, and schooling shows during the week, plus cross country schooling opportunities around every corner ... it's an eventer's paradise!   
 

Come board with us this winter!
 
With the two horses sold, there are a few stalls available at Rock Solid Training.  Come spend the winter with us and don't miss a day of riding, thanks to our fabulous indoor arena! Facilities include: 25 acres of turnout, 1-mile galloping track, 11-stall barn, indoor arena, and lighted outdoor arena.  Check out the Training Page of the web site to learn more about our Full, Half, and Short-term training board options!
 

Rock Solid Training
Katie Wherley
6950 Burkittsville Road

Middletown, MD 21769

Barn: (301) 371-9036

Cell (301) 606-5436



Greetings!

Wow! This fall has really flown by!  A lot has happened since the last issue.  We competed a bunch this fall, finishing up at Virginia Horse Trials this past weekend. I'll have a full competition recap later on.

 

I've continued with my training with both Stephen Bradley (jumping) and Beth Barritt (dressage), and it's been great to see the horses progress throughout the season. On the flip side, it's been equally as fulfilling to see my own students progress through the season.  

 

Currently my plans are to stay home for most of the winter, with a trip to AIken for the month of February. So please let me know if there's something I can help you with.  Whether you just want to come over to the farm to use the indoor for lessons or want to go down to Aiken, I'm here for you! Now is the best time to reflect on your past year, and then make goals for the next one. 

 

 

Fall Results Recap
Waredaca Horse Trials 
We had a great weekend at Waredaca in August. It was a quieter weekend with just Mr. Indiscretion ("Trip") and Miss Texas ("Texas") competing. Trip had his best go yet at Intermediate, and Texas was green, but good at Training. I also competed the Jones' Back in Black at Novice. He had a good showing to finish just outside the ribbons.  Special thanks to student Suzannah for coming to help and video!  
Trip on cross country at Waredaca. 
Trip on cross country at Waredaca.


Seneca Valley Pony Club Horse Trials
I always love going back to Bittersweet Field for the Seneca Valley Pony Club Horse Trials. It was a bit of a crazy Saturday, with four horses competing, making for 12 rides between 8:07am and 3:57pm. Trip had another go at Intermediate, while Texas, Bob Wherley's Jet, and Mike Hillman's Wesley all went Training. Thankfully I had good help to make the day go smoothly.  Trip had another good go at Intermediate to finish 7th. Wesley is still a bit green at Training, so he had an educational day to finish out of the ribbons.  Jet and Texas were great all day to finish 7th and 9th, respectively.  Student Demery and her mare Athena had a great event to finish 8th in their Novice division.  Mike Hillman also competed at Novice with his super horse Scotty to finish 7th.
Texas showing her scope at Seneca.

The Marlborough Horse Trials
We had a quieter weekend at The Marlborough Horse Trials. Student Demery had a great go at Novice with her mare Athena. And the Jones' Back in Black continued to improve at Novice. I also brought Trip along to practice dressage in a show environment. You can just imagine how pleased he was to find out that there was no jumping that day!

Middleburg Horse Trials

By the time we got to this event, we were quite used to the rain. With the competition spread out over two days, Trip, Texas, and Mike Hillman's Commander Scott were veteran "mudders" by the end of the weekend. Trip put in another solid round at Intermediate, Texas was a star to finish 3rd in her Training Horse division, and Scotty made his return to Training level to finish 8th. Mike also competed his horse Wesley in a competitive Novice Horse division to finish outside the ribbons.

Trip in stadium at Waredaca.
Trip in stadium at Waredaca.

The Maryland Horse Trials III 
As always, Carolyn MacIntosh and her crew put on a great event at her fabulous facility. Trip finished 11th at Intermediate, Texas finished 11th and Mike Hillman's Scotty finished 12th at Training, and Julia Scherschligt's project horse Don't Blink finished 13th at his first Novice. Students Demery and her mare Athena finished 2nd at Novice, and Suzannah and her horse Toby finished 5th at Beginner Novice.

Virginia Horse Trials
This event was quite interesting, as we competed during the Halloween weekend snow storm. I don't think I've ever had a delay to allow the snow to melt before! Trip finished up the season at Intermediate with another good round. He has all his qualifications together for a spring two-star. Texas made the move up to Preliminary. She was quite good for her first Prelim dressage test, and tried her heart out on cross country.  She wasn't feeling quite right on the last day, but neither myself nor the vets could find anything wrong with her, so I decided to try stadium and see how she felt.  Once in the arena, she knocked a few rails which is unlike her, so I decided to retire.  Once we got home, we figured out that she had a hot nail.  I can't tell you how proud I am of her for working through the pain.  She'll get a small vacation, and then start working towards more Preliminary level success in the spring.  Student Demery also made the trip with us for her first Training event. They had a fantastic weekend to finish 5th!

Welcome to Voltaire Design!

VoltaireDesign-logo I'm so pleased to welcome Voltaire Design as the newest sponsor of Rock Solid Training. I recently got their Adelaide dressage saddle, and absolutely love it. I'm so impressed with their attention to detail and how well my horses responded to it. Next time you're at the farm, be sure to take a peak at it in the tack room.

The mission of Voltaire Design is to help everyone fulfill their full potential. Their goal is to not only sell high-end products to their customers, but to work with each rider to craft for them a product that will help improve their riding.

If you're interested in trying one of their saddles, let me know and I'll put you in touch with your local rep.  You can also click on their logo above to view their current collection.   
 
 
Stablemates royal logo

Stablemates, Inc.
November Sales Event

 
Buy any ONE item ~ 10% off
Buy any TWO items ~ 15% off
Buy any THREE items ~ 20% off

Any combination of the following items:
Shirts  |  Jackets & Vests  |  Riding Pants
  |  Sweaters & Hoodies  |  Boots & Shoes
 
Discount offered on regular priced items. Exchanges are not accepted for sales discount. Stablemates will be closed Thursday, November 24th for Thanksgiving!