Whewwww...it has been a while! Sorry about that!

First off, I have to apologize for the lag time in posting any farm news. You can blame the heat and humidity, a general lack of motivation combined with no photographs to share...it was a true 'dry spell' in my creativity and I feel badly for not communicating more with you all about what has been going on here on the farm.

Our indoor has 55 tons of new footing mixed in. There is now lots of 'fluff' to the footing and it is retaining moisture beautifully! We are very happy and it is getting quite a bit of use as the young horses are all making great progress in the jump chute!

The inspection was a solid success. Wizard's filly Wendolyn WF rocked out an 8.0 for her overall score and earned a Premier and the Site Reserve Champion. There were several horse foals, lots of pony foals and just super participants. The clinic was also a good experience for the handlers, the horses and auditors. I am still waiting on a final list of scores/bloodlines from the office and then those results will go up.

Bill has been busy all this week baling our 2nd cutting of hay. The guys have been busy stacking and unloading all the wagons. We are experiencing a bit of a drought which is good for hay making but has turned the ground to concrete. So with that in mind, our farrier is quite busy putting shoes on the horses that had done so well all year barefoot...but we must keep their overall well being in mind while they are in full work.

We went over to Meghan Mendenhall's lovely Springdale Farm today for the DVCTA Dressage Schooling Show. It is a fabulous facility with a 100x300' indoor with fantastic footing. We did ask and yes there are stalls available for those who might be interested in boarding. Karin rode her lovely Adelaide WF (Adamant x Aly Alice xx) in Training 2 with good scores. They are gaining lots of mileage and gaining confidence as a pair - it is a treat to watch their progress as a team!

There was an adorable 10 week old Corgi puppy on site. Who can say this isn't a cute face????

Don William WF and I had another lovely ride in the USEF 4 year old test. He's really come on beautifully in the last month and the judge was curious why we are not doing a push for the big class at Dressage At Devon. When I tried to explain my leg is holding us back I was chastised for not getting a dispensation from USEF and going out to compete at the top level again. So I am going to mull that over for a bit and see how things feel in a few days. If the ankle lets me walk without meds in the morning, I guess it is time to renew my memberships and find a recognized show to see what the big judges think of our tall fellow. *sigh* It is quite frustrating to know that the horse has the talent, gaits, mind to show in the big arenas but to know deep down that a part of your body will not 'let' you help him to shine to his full potential. The leg is such a constant ache (about a 7 on the pain scale) but I can not get enough cardio into my exercise routine, so about midway through the test I feel like I am sucking smog into my lungs and struggling to ride effectively...which is not good. But enough of the negative. Liam is a rock star and just a joy to ride! He handled a(nother) strange indoor arena with great aplomb and really is showing his potential in the test. :) And it was kind of fun to have the judge ask why I wasn't doing a push for Devon!

With the upcoming heatwave that is predicted for the Mid-Atlantic area - stay hydrated this week! Stay cool! Be safe! Try to ride early or late and I will do another update ASAP!