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Dear CLS Family and Friends,

I always get excited about the new year -- new possibilities, lots of new goals, the chance to lose the 20 pounds I set a goal to lose last year ... and this year, "twenty-twelve" seems especially exciting.

Our beloved Sondra Hodgson, who just earned a business degree from Salem College, will be heading up our office staff in 2012. She also will continue to teach a limited number of very lucky students. Jeanne Willard, aka Granny, will run the CLS office on Saturdays and also work with us on Mondays and Tuesdays. She will head up special projects, and work with Ms. Kim on the CLS scrapbook. Longtime friend and rider Mary Rose Biallas will run the CLS office on Sundays.

And man, oh, man do we have big plans underway! Expansions, new staff members, new horses, barn improvements, our conservation and going green initiatives, international mission trips, camps, clinicians . . . stay tuned!

We're so glad that you're part of the CLS family. We know we can make a difference in this wonderful big world if we do it together.

We'll see you soon, at the barn!

Pictures on the right: from the rockin' Christmas party.  Thank you all so much for coming out and making it the best party of the year! 

Shop Now at our Annual Consignment Show!!!

Daily Riding Clothes:

Friday, Jan. 6-Sunday, Jan. 8

Great deals and even some free stuff is available! So stop in and get some nifty riding duds!

Show Clothes: 

Monday, Jan. 9-Friday, Jan. 13
New and used show clothing are at the barn and ready to be consigned! We have everything from boots and jods to helmets, gloves and show suits!  

Sellers:  Bring your show clothing in with your name, phone, email and asking price attached to Parker BY SUNDAY JANUARY 8.  Dry cleaner bags recommended to cover and protect all clothes. Boots should be shined.

The Becker Brothers will be here on Friday, Jan. 13 and Sat. January 14 to alter clothing and sell new custom pieces. Please contact Parker as soon as possible to schedule an appointment time.

P.S. Please bring cash or check for the consignment show.

P.P.S. CLS does not take a cut of any consigned clothes -- it all goes straight to the seller. Thank you! 

Make-up for the Mandatory Safety Meeting Will Be Held This Sunday 

Sunday, January 8 from 1:00-3:00 pm
If you missed our first safety meeting, COME TO THIS MEETING!  The safety meeting is mandatory for ALL CLS riders.  Why?  Because safety is at the top of our list.  ALL RIDERS are welcome and encouraged to attend.

CHANGE IN SCHEDULE!! Becker Brothers Will Be at CLS To Alter Show Clothes - Reserve Your Time Slot Immediately

Dale will be here now FRIDAY and SATURDAY, Jan. 13 & 14.

This is a critical and wonderful opportunity for current and would be show riders. These guys are the best in the business and we appreciate them coming for two days!  

Now this is important:  the Becker Brothers' time slots will fill up quickly. Please call the barn to schedule your appointment today. 

All Academy Team Members and Show Horse Riders Can Sign Up Now for the First Horse Show of The Year!  

ASAC Winter Tournament at Latta Park Plantation

Saturday, January 21st - The show begins at 11:00 am

SIGN UP SHEET IS AT THE BARN 

We'll be taking our Academy Team Group Pictures so please join us! 

The Winter Tournament is always fun, casual and OK, sometimes a little chilly since it's outdoors!  But we snuggle up and have a ball!  Join us for the first horse show of the year! We'll be wearing our aqua blue vests, regular riding pants and a white knit shirt or turtleneck underneath.

Note to new Academy Team Members - You can purchase an aqua vest or gorgeous, slimming pull-over fleece in the tack shop!  

Our Sondra Hodgson  Now Full-Time at CLS!  

Sondra - our straight A, Salem College graduate - will be helping with every aspect of our barn life.

She'll be teaching, managing our appointment and billing system, and planning future expansions.

Sondra started her college career at William Woods and transferred to Salem to work at CLS while she studied. She is engaged to a great guy, Zack, who manages Genghis Grill. Her future is so bright, and we're thrilled to have such a wonderful roll model for our youngsters.

She now has a brand new job and we couldn't be more excited for her!  Congratulations, Sondra!  

Update on Cash and the Show Horse Barn

Cash and Buddy out for a spin. You should see Buddy cruising I-40!

As many in our barn family now know, Cash has been diagnosed with a form of dementia called Frontotemporal Degeneration. In a nutshell, this means that the front part of his brain is going away, the part that controls speech, emotions, judgement and personality. We don't know what the future holds, but we know we will face it as a family. For more information about this disease, please click here: http://www.theaftd.org/

As Cash concentrates on living his best life, he is stepping back from the day to day training of the show horses. Longtime friends and incredible horsemen Steve and Julia Joyce will take over the day to day training responsibilities.

We feel incredibly blessed and heartened that Steve and Julia would interrupt their retirement to help us through this transitional period. We've been overwhelmed with the outpouring of support and offers of help we've received from across the show horse world. We are so blessed and thankful.

Winter at CLS!
Winter is the time for focus on training, conditioning and fun. For academy team members and show horse riders this is the perfect time to schedule lunge lessons and video tape reviews of rides. 

It's also a great time for first time riders who have been thinking about taking lessons to come on out!    

What to wear for riding lessons in the winter:  Stay away from bulky coats and layer your clothing for riding lessons.  Zip-up fleece jackets, dry-fit turtlenecks and other layered pieces are great choices.  This time of year we see lots of young riders shed their coats and ride with just a t-shirt in the very cold air -- A better idea is to have long sleeves and layers. 

We Have a Present for You! All Riders Please Pick up Your Free T-Shirt -- a Gift From Your CLS Team!

If you haven't already picked up your new CLS t-shirt, please do so. You'll find them in the lounge on the counter. Right beside the peppermint bowl!

Now Billing for January
Everyone thank you so much for your patience as we learn to work with the new system.  We've received a lot of great feedback from many of you -- and some great suggestions, too. Thank you!

A Couple of things to note:

1. If you are a regular CLS rider and you haven't figured out how to get into the log-in system, please let Ellen Bassett help you. It is really easy and we have had a whole slew of our rider families who say they absolutely LOVE IT!  Email Ellen by clicking here.

2. Our next billing cycle will occur on February 4, 5 and 6.  

One quick and important note: if you are a rider at CLS, we already have an account set up for you. You don't have to go through the registration on the website.  Just call us and we'll be happy to help you figure out how to work this high-tech wonder! Thanks so much!