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WELCOME
Eneya Jenkins!
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Eneya comes to Mill Creek with two horses: Star, an adorable gray Welsh Pony and her new horse, Cash (show name Warrington), a lovely Oldenberg show gelding that she is learning to ride at Mill Creek.
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Holiday Hours & Classes
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 On Saturday, Christmas Eve (12/24) and New Year's Eve (12/31), the barn will be open until 1pm. We will teach the following groups:
8:30 a.m. - Dressage Group
8:30 a.m. - 4th Level
9:30 a.m. - 2nd Level
10:30 a.m. - Intro. Beg. Nov
10:30 a.m. - 3rd Level
11:30 a.m. - Beg. Nov & Nov
11:30 a.m. - 1st Level
We will also have limited availability for private and semi-private lessons those days.
On Sunday, Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the barn will be open from 11am - 2 pm for boarders to care for their horses.
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Congratulations Paulina Montgomery & Lorie Fee!
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Paulina won the Junior Training Rider Championship on King's Cross at the Area VI Championships for 2011.
Lorie Fee and Good to Go won the championship class in the Beginner Novice Division.
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New Coffeemaker!
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We will have a new coffeemaker in the office very soon. It makes one cup at a time and will be available to parents and adult riders using the honor system for payment. We hope you enjoy!
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Clipping & Blankets
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 Clipping
Many owners now have their own clippers and are clipping their horses themselves. This is great! Make sure you have your own clipper oil! You should be sure to sharpen your clippers after 2-3 uses. Cory recommends having two sets of blades so that you have one available while the others are being sharpened. Never use the small clippers on the legs; they clip too close to the skin. The small clippers should be used for the face and ears only.
Blankets
All boarders should only have the blanket their horse is currently using on their stall door: no others! At this time of year, you should be using your heavy winter blanket and all others should be cleaned and put away. If you have multiple blankets out, it is difficult for the staff to know which one to put on your horse and it makes the barn aisles look cluttered. Thank you.
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A Message to Boarders
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To help out the office staff, please stop by the office at the end of the month to pick up your lesson/ training schedule for the next month. We will no longer be calling you with your schedule.
Thank you!
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Looking for Some Local Equestrian Fun During the Holidays?
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Check out the Tournament of Roses Equestfest at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on December 30, 2011 from 11am - 4pm.
More information is available online.
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| Upcoming Shows | | EVENTS/HORSE TRIALS
Ram Tap Combined Test, January 28 - 29 (Entries due January 10)
Galway Downs Winter Horse Trials, February 4 - 5 (Entries due January 17)
Ram Tap Horse Trials, February 18 - 19 (Entries due January 31)
Twin Rivers Horse Trials, March 2 - 4 (Entries close February 14)
Flintridge Horse Trials & Combined Test, March 10 - 11 (Entries Close February 21)
DRESSAGE SHOWS
Dressage Holiday Special (LAEC), December 11-12
L.A. Winter Dressage (LAEC), January 28-29
Don't forget you can always visit the Mill Creek Calendar for the latest information on upcoming shows. |
| Mill Creek Marketplace |
We always have items listed for sale on the Mill Creek Marketplace page! This is a great way to get excellent deals on tack and riding equipment. Have something to sell?
Just email us with details of any items you'd like to sell. Photos will be included if you send them. |
Featured Photo: Bambino
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As you can see, Bambino is looking well and enjoying his new life at Shepherd Ranch in Santa Ynez!
Photo Courtesy of Nancy Poertner.
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| Got Stories? | Submit stories or photos for future newsletters by email or by bringing them to the office.
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Greetings!
 Seasons Greetings! Thank you to everyone for helping to make 2011 such a great year. I very much look forward to 2012 and spending another year with my Mill Creek family!
I wish you and your families all the best for the holidays and the New Year.
Cory Walkey
Mill Creek Equestrian Center
(310) 455-1116
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Billing & Pricing Changes
All changes are effective January 1 Beginning January 1, we will be instituting a new payment procedure. We will be asking riders of school horses to pay for the upcoming month's lessons at the time of turning in the schedule. If you do not pay when your schedule is turned in, we will reserve your lesson in the book, but you will not be assigned a school horse until payment is received. We are sorry to have to do this, but we routinely run a monthly deficit of around $9,000 due to non-payment.
In addition, we will be unfortunately need to increase our boarding and lesson prices. We regret the necessity of doing this, but the prices for both shavings and alfalfa have increased dramatically. Shavings have become more expensive due to increased fuel and trucking costs and alfalfa hay prices have gone up to due to increased exportation to Asian countries. The price of grass hay, however, has stayed the same, so we have lowered the additional cost of feeding grass hay by 50%. We appreciate your support and understanding. Beginning January 1, prices are as follows:
Lessons: 45 min. private lesson (private horse): $80 45 min. private lesson (school horse): $85 30 min. private lesson (private horse): $60
30 min. private lesson (school horse): $65 45 min. semi-private (private horse): $60
45 min. semi-private (school horse): $65 Group lesson (private horse): $30
Group lesson (school horse): $40 School horse use w/ Robyn or Mette: $25 Day Camp Lessons:
Sun. 1st level (school horse): $50
Day Camp (private horse): $70
Day Camp (school horse): $90
1/2 day camp (private horse): $40 (with or without activities)
1/2 day camp (school horse): $55 (with or without activities) Training/Grooming Rates:
Training: $1000 Full Care: $1500
Grooming: $250 Grooming daily: $20 Lease Rates:
Tu, We, Th, Fr (3 or 4 days): $325
1 week day, 2 weekend days: $375
2 week days, 1 weekend day: $350
1 or 2 days per week: $30/per ride (paid in advance, no make ups)
Full lease (6 days): $700 Boarding Rates:
Box or pipe stall: $610
Stall/Paddock: $650
Grass Hay: (lunch only): $50 extra
Grass Hay: (breakfast &/or dinner): $100 extra |
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Welcome New Trainer, McKenzie Rollins!
McKenzie will begin working at Mill Creek in January
 Mill Creek is pleased to welcome McKenzie Rollins, who will begin teaching and training with us this January.
McKenzie began riding at the age of 5 at the Stoneleigh- Burnham School in Greenfield, Massachusetts. She graduated from Stoneleigh where she was very active on her high school IEA team and Interscholastic Dressage Team. She then attended the University of Vermont, where she graduated with a BFA in Studio Arts and a Minor in Film Theory. She also studied Equine Management & Equine Training Techniques and rode on the Equestrian Team, which is also where she began her teaching career under the tutelage of Madeline Austin.
Upon graduation, McKenzie worked briefly in New York City in fashion and photography, yet still rode whenever possible and taught periodically at the Stoneleigh-Burnham School. She then found herself employed by The Ethel Walker School in 2007 and was very involved in many aspects of the Equestrian Program as an instructor, trainer, adviser to Middle School students, manager & instructor of the IEA team (which she brought to numerous National Championships) & manager/trainer of the Eventing program and The Summer Riding Experience.
McKenzie organized the USEA-recognized Horse Trials held at Ethel Walker each fall, and is an active competitor on the Eventing circuit. She also led numerous trips to North and South Carolina with her Eventing students.
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Mill Creek Fall Horse Show
It was another fun horse show day at Mill Creek on November 13!
| Name | Horse | Class |
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| Maxine Hoesdorff-Rosen | Barney | 4th Level Equitation | | Romy Leyon |
Zory
| 4th Level Equitation over Fences | | Maxine Hoesdorff-Rosen | Bows | 4th Level Timed Jumpers | | Bambi Logue | Zory | Adult Equitation | | Bambi Logue | Zory | Adult Equitation over Fences | | Tabitha Ellin | Brady | 2nd level Equitation | | Gizelle Whaley | Gimli | 2nd Level Equitation over Fences | | Emma Dunn | Cid | Beg. Novice/Novice Equitation | | LuLu Shamberg | Maizie | Beg. Novice/Novice Eq. over Fences | | LuLu Shamberg | Maizie | Beg. Novice/Novice Timed Jumpers | | Olivia Palermo | Simba | 1st Level Equitation - Group A | | Sophie Bluhm | Brady | 1st Level Equitation - Group B | | Laken Wilson | Brady | 1st Level Equitation over Poles | | Mira Domberg | Zory | 3rd Level Equitation | | Mira Domberg | Zory | 3rd Level Equitation over Fences | | Niki Leshgold | Diego | 3rd Level Timed Jumpers |
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Tabitha won the 2nd Level Equitation Class on Brady.
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IEL Tips with Robyn Fisher Nash
IEL is back in full swing and Robyn has some helpful tips for a successful show season.  School is back in session and that means that the Interscholastic Equestrian League is also! We have already had one IEL show day in October which was a great success for Mill Creek Riders, and we have two more that Mill Creek will be attending. Unfortunately the 4th and Final IEL show falls on the same weekend as our Twin Rivers International event, so I will be unavailable to take students. I want to take the chance to go over a few things with everyone intending on attending IEL: the first is signing up. Mill Creek will post a sign-up sheet at the end of the L-Barn for riders attending the show. It is the rider's responsibility to sign up for both the show and trailering on our sign-up sheet. I organize the trailering to make sure all the horses get there in time for the first riders first class. When you trailer your horse to IEL, you must bring a hay net filled with 2-3 flakes of hay for your horse to eat during the day, a water bucket so your horse can stay hydrated and a cooler for your horse if the weather decides to get chilly. If multiple trailers are hauling horses, it is your responsibility to get payment to the hauler the day of the show. The haulers are doing us a service and we need to make sure they are paid in full on the day, so that we can hire them again.
Secondly, show attire is very important. If you are riding in Dressage you must have your show coat, show shirt, stock tie, stock pin and shiny polished boots. Your horse does not need to be braided. If you are just riding jumpers, you must wear an ironed polo shirt, preferably black or white, or whatever polo shirt your school provides. If you are signed up for hunters, or equitation YOU MUST have a show coat and show shirt with a rat catcher and stock pin. For all the disciplines you must have your hair up in a hair net under your helmet. If you do not know how to do this, then the girls at Calabasas Saddlery can teach you when you go buy your show clothes. Thirdly, as much as IEL tries to stay on a schedule , the day can change. Only the dressage tests get a scheduled time, the jumper classes give a window of time in which you the rider is supposed to sign up. I ask you the riders to find out from me, Robyn when the best window to sign up is since I do have the Dressage riders that have a scheduled time that cannot be changed. The hunters and equitation rings also give you sign-up windows of time. If possible you want to sign up for the earliest window possible. If you can sign up the night before or have someone sign you up the night before then we will have a better chance of getting the times requested. Fourthly, it is your choice to get a stall or not. If you would like to have a stall for your horse for between classes or while waiting to go home, then sign up for it on your entry form. If you do not get a stall then the horse can stand tied to the trailer. It is then the rider's responsibility to make sure they have a filled hay net and water given regularly. Also no horse should be left unattended at the trailers since they can be spook and pull back. If you or your friends horses are tied to the trailer, then always make sure someone is appointed to watch them. Remember, you can all take turns! Finally, IEL is chaotic with hundreds of horses in six different show rings. I typically have 6-12 riders at the show competing in multiple rings so I do my best to get to all the riders for a warm up. The better we can stay on schedule the more time I will be able to designate to you and your warm up! I wish everyone the best of luck in the 2011-2012 season!
~Robyn Fisher Nash |
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Recent Show Results
Mill Creek riders were extremely successful at the last two Horse Trials Galway Downs Int'l Event & Horse Trials Results, November 3 - 6, 2011 | Rider/Horse | Class | Place |
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Elle de Recat & Pacino
| Jr. Training Rider
| 1 | Sadie Buchenau & Puddles
| Jr. Training Rider
| 3 | LuLu Shamberg & Amarna
| Jr. Training Rider
| 5 | |
Robyn Fisher Nash & Cornell
| Open Training
| 2 | Madelyn Holzman & Ringwood Murphy
| Jr. Novice Rider | 2 | Tessa Robinson & Vanity
| Jr. Novice Rider | 9 | Cara Julian & Wonder Schon
| Open Novice
| 5 |
Training Team Champions: Robyn Fisher Nash, Sadie Buchenau, LuLu Shamberg & Elle de Recat.
Ram Tap H.T. Results, October 22 - 23, 2011 | Rider/Horse | Class | Place |
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Jordyn Horwitz & Nicodemus
| Jr. Training Rider
| 2 | LuLu Shamberg & Amarna
| Jr. Training Rider
| 3 | Elle de Recat & Pacino
| Jr. Training Rider
| 7 | |
Robyn Fisher Nash & Cornell
| Open Training
| 5 | | Madelyn Holzman & Ringwood Murphy | Jr. Novice Rider | 2 | Brittany Clark & Porter II
| Jr. Novice Rider | 4 | Lindsay Clark & Prestiges Town Gypsy
| Jr. Novice Rider | 8 | Emma Dunn & Southern Comfort
| Jr. Beg. Novice Rider | 1 | Sofia Guarachi & Merry Go Round
| Jr. Beg. Novice Rider | 3 | Tommy Greengard & Pippy
| Jr. Beg. Novice Rider | 9 | Madison Weselis & Beau
| Jr. Beg. Novice Rider | 11 |
At Ram Tap we had the following Team Results: Champion Training Team: Jordyn, LuLu, Elle & Robyn Champion Junior Novice Team: Emma, Sofia, Tommy & Madison Reserve Champion Novice Team: Madelyn, Brittany & Linsday |
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School Horse News
We have many new school horses!
Amber is a 16 hand Chestnut mare. She is half Belgian Warmblood and half Thoroughbred (what we would call an American Sport Horse). She is good for all levels of riders, she jumps, does dressage and has wonderful, comfortable gates.
Doc  Doc, registered name Big Medicine, is a 6 year old bay Thoroughbred Gelding who came from the track. He has competed twice at the Novice level already. Doc is being leased by Sam Ottavi-Perez and will also be ridden by Haley Berman. Sam placed well with Doc at the Fall Mill Creek Horse Show (both pictured above).
Miss Kitty Miss Kitty is a 20 year old Buckskin mare who was a gift to Mill Creek. She is very sweet and will be a walk/trot horse for our tiniest little children riders!
 Milo
Milo is a 13 year old, brown, 16.2 hand Irish Sport Horse gelding. He is on loan to Mill Creek by Dr. Toni Hubenette. He is good for 4th level and above riders and will hopefully go to shows. (Milo and Dr. Toni pictured left.)
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About Mill Creek Equestrian Center
Mill Creek is a full service boarding and training facility in Topanga, California. We specialize in Eventing and Dressage training for all levels of horses and riders. Mill Creek Equestrian Center
1881 Old Topanga Canyon Road
Topanga, California 90290
(310) 455-1116
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