It's here! It's here!

Remember a few posts back when I went on a tirade about helmet safety, expiration dates and being responsible???? Well, I am the proud owner of a new One K Defender Helmet in Navy Blue Suede. It is a serious upgrade in fit, comfort and safety from my old GPA! (no offense GPA - your hat just gave me a headache all these years!)

So check out the photos below... (and advance apologies for looking all stiff and formal here in the living room with a helmet on! It felt a tad awkward!) ;)

Thank you Skylands Saddlery! Your booth at DAD allowed me to learn about your awesome product line and then TRY the helmets on in a low pressure environment! You guys Rock!!

I left this image a slightly larger size. I wear a 52 in a GPA, so I have a tiny pin sized head. With the awesome sizing system and shape of the One K, it doesn't dwarf my face and look ridiculous. Allow me to pull up some examples of "where is Ellie under all that hat?" from the past...

1992 or 91? when the first ASTM hats hit the market

1994 and this thing flopped around like a bowl on my noggin

the Original GPA 

So you see what I mean? They're pretty ridiculous looking!  I promise new photos on the horses tomorrow with my hair tied up properly! And then in the not too distant future - show photos with my spiffy blue tail coat! :)

THANK YOU ONE K HELMETS!!!!

Check it out!!

The Website is almost current!!!!!

I say almost because about 3 minutes have passed, so that means I could go in and update another page!!! :) But I won't tonight...

 But there is new cover art on the FB page -

However, we have a very large breeding special about to happen, so keep an eye here on the blog, the Stallion Page or our Facebook Page for the announcement. It is a big one, so definitely something to consider for your personal stock of frozen swimmers!

Speaking of frozen - here are a few of our youngsters - not all from Frozen Semen but quite a few of them are...

So the vast majority of these horses are for sale. If one of them catches your eye, please email Anne@watermark-farm.net for more information and pricing. Speaking of horses for sale, our Wall Street WF has joined the Under Saddle Horses for Sale Listings. Check our his new videos!

12,500 Fans, new video and then the Group Lessons

So it's been another busy week here on the Farm! All of the riding horses are going very nicely, the youngsters are coming along in their development and we have a few projects that are also making progress! Lots of positive energy and good fun!

Oreo has kept a close eye on our training regimen!

We've also had a stretch of beautiful weather - brisk but gorgeous!

With perfect footing, ideal lighting for photos and lots of smilies for the happy riders!

 

We had beautiful weather on Saturday for the first of our group lesson sessions. It was a bit breezy but very doable in terms of the conditions and the fine company! So as it stands now, we'll be offering the lessons every Saturday starting at 2PM from now until the beginning of December. If the weather is poor the group size will reduce to 4 horses in the indoor so as to give everyone plenty of room to ride. But if it is nice....we can accommodate up to 7 riders per group.

The Farm Page has motored right past 12,500 Likes and is well on the way to cracking the 600 mark in the next few hours - or at least before the end of the day tomorrow! Very exciting!

One of our 'returning to work' horses is doing so well it almost brings tears to our eyes. Here are some videos of her first ride back in the outdoor arena with Francisco...

and these are my favorite photos - 

 Millie is by Waldaire out of mom's favorite mare Lily by Again and Again, so having her back as a riding horse gives us a lot to look forward to - especially when her fancy way of going is taken into account. :)

Happy riding!

12,400 and counting!

A big THANK YOU shout out to all of our family, friends, supporters and fans on Facebook! We rolled 12,400 yesterday and are well on the way to crossing the threshold to 12,500! Thank you!!! It is quite fun to be able to share our horses with people from around the world! :)

There is one album up already and we'll be adding more over the weekend of our foundation broodmares and their produce. Have a look at Today I'm Trying xx and her collection of beautiful foals and their descendants.

Speaking of beautiful foals, here are some new videos of Wall Street WF (who was certainly one of our prettiest babies!) He is still growing and maturing but we are pleased to see how settled he is when there are some small jumps involved. "Hansel" will be joining our Sales List shortly, so check back for pricing and discipline suitability.

(please note - Francisco is not a trained jump rider! He starts youngsters as a profession - so no critiquing his skills!)

So I think that catches things up for a day or two. Stay warm tomorrow morning! It is supposed to be extremely chilly!! Blanket your riding horses so as to ward off any chilly back muscles! Happy riding!

Group Lesson Time Available

First Group Lesson Opening -

Saturday October 13th with a start time of 2PM. Up to 6 riders in the ring at a time. Runs until 3PM.

$35 per horse/rider. Add $25 if using a WF horse.

Please factor in driving time, time to tack up and acclimate your horse to the arena area.

Waivers must be signed in advance.

Please email Ellie@watermark-farm.net to reserve a space or post on the Watermark Farm page on FB.

Videos! Sales Horses!

That's right! It was a gloomy Monday, so we got some updated video of the 2008's! They are getting back into the intensity of an undersaddle program, so check back in a few weeks for some more new footage!

For whatever reason, she's hard to get a good photo!

Joy is on the left. 

First up is Westerleigh WF. She is by Waldaire out of our lovely Southern Leigh WF (South American Way x Aurora by Abundance). "Joy" has an older full brother who is busy in VA pursuing a career in the A show Hunters. We have high hopes as a hunter as well! 

Next was our Dream Girl WF aka "Daisy". Or perhaps we should call her The Diva! For those of you who enjoy our Wyatt WF, well Daisy is his younger sister. Like their brother Don William WF - she is by Dressage Royal and out of Savannah WF. 

Daisy enjoys grass

And last but not least for the day was Dreamcatcher WF aka Derek or McDreamy. He might not be as robust as the two ladies but he makes up for it with plenty of style! 

My apologies for not shooting video of Wolfgang WF. He wore tack and I had forgotten to bring the camera out! Next time...

So if any of those horses tickle your fancy, drop Anne@watermark-farm.net a note!

On the road to recovery!

Now for any of those who have had a young horse that gets injured in the training process - you know how tough it can be to take those important steps back from serious goals and allow TIME to work it's magic!

We were bitterly upset when our Waterlily WF was injured several years ago (that's a given, right?) but like any low in life, we are on a euphoric high today! "Millie" is back on track and fully undersaddle!

So check out a bit of video from today -

Sorry for the rough editing! The light in the indoor was set up for riding, not iPhone taping...but she was doing so well that we took the risk!

Yay Millie!! More videos and photos when they're outdoors tomorrow! 

Safety around horses

So at DAD the professional handler Phil Silva broke tradition and wore a helmet while handling horses in the arena. There was quite a bit of chatter as it is a first (to my knowledge) but it is honestly extremely dangerous to take on the job of being a professional handler - they have limited knowledge of how their charges behave normally, a lot of them are very young and over stimulated and BIG! So putting on a bit of headgear is not only a wise choice - it is the BEST choice.

That brings me to a subject very near to my own life - wearing a helmet while riding. As many of you know, my dad had a fall in the 80's and broke his neck. Thankfully he survived but that is entirely due to the quick actions of those around him and the fact he was wearing a top of the line (for that time) skull cap. He was a competitive jumper and eventer in his day and had always maintained that since he had a family and a full time job to go to on Monday morning, a helmet would be a standard part of his wardrobe for each and every ride. Other competitors often made fun of him and my mother for wearing a helmet in all situations with our breeding stallions and youngstock. The comments ranged from "your horses must be dangerous" to "you all are chicken and afraid of your horses" - especially for the stallion advertising photographs and videos. Mom always was thinking of responsibility to not only her family but her obligations here as the farm manager, so it was never an option to "go without." Dressage has been one of the last hold outs for making a helmet an acceptable option for the uppermost levels but it is no less dangerous to ride "only" on the flat.

Thankfully that ignorant machismo attitude has faded with time for the most part. Helmets are appearing in all sorts of styles - from the very conservative matte plastic shell to more elaborate and decorative Swarovski crystals lining the seams or even having patriotic shells with your home country's flag!

At this year's Dressage At Devon I was browsing for some new breeches at a good price and visited the Skylands Saddlery booth. They had a lovely display of the new arrivals from the One K Helmet company. Now having never heard of this company (long time GPA wearer), I halfheartedly listened to the spiel that was coming out of the rep's lips. But then she said something that really caught my attention - they were/are a motorcycle helmet manufacturer that has branched out into the horse world. (brace yourself for the inner dialogue) So I lurked behind a clothing rack and listened for a bit...

Self: "Motorcycle helmets? Wow. Those guys are nuts. They go FAST and pavement is totally not forgiving. Hmmmm..."

One K rep: "Now you can remove the liner, wash it and it is easy to replace when/if it wears out!"

Self: "Holy Moly. Your GPA STINKS and is absolutely disgusting to put on each and every day with the grime and dust that has worked into the liner. Remember last week when you were scrubbing at it with that rag - it was all nasty and gooey after a few swipes. Vile!!! Go over and at least try one on NOW! You know that nasty thing hits its expiration on the first of October! GO!"

So after having been shamed so thoroughly by my Self, I did go try on the Defender helmet and was pleasantly surprised how much more comfortable it is than my GPA. The profile is much lower and it fits my peanut-sized head more comfortably. The pressure headache in the center of my forehead (a classic GPA complaint) was gone...and it FIT! There are more vents in the helmet, the interior is more form fitting and I feel more secure with it one than I do in my GPA. (sorry GPA)

The newest offering from One K

Needless to say, I did not splurge and buy the fanciest of their offerings. I went with the suede in Navy to match my short coat and tail coat. The newest helmet is not available until January but I was very pleased to see that the One K line is priced significantly lower than a GPA and a better, more comfortable fit for the shape and size of my skull. Another bonus is that they have a very nice replacement warranty that can be acquired at the time of purchase.

This is the new line with the crystals. It is SHINY! :) I do want one. Someday!

In the meantime, I am strongly recommending to all my friends and associates PLEASE check your helmet for the expiration date. If you can not find it - count backwards and if it is more than 5 years old (so 2007), it is time to replace your helmet. If you do not wear a helmet, please make sure you are sitting on several million dollars as your post head injury aftercare will be pricey if you survive a TBI and blow to the skull. I do not care if it is a $50 Troxel or a $700 GPA...check the date. Do the right thing and make sure you are protecting yourself, your family and loved ones. It is the least you can do as the sport we all participate in can have deadly consequences even on or around the most reliable of equines.

Oh and if you think I'm over the top dramatic on this subject - CHECK OUT what the FEI has to say about it. And the USEF.

Time for the equestrian community to band together!

The Equestrian Community has a wonderful opportunity to show it's support for one of it's own! Trainer Eddo Hoekstra suffered a stroke in June 2012 and while his speech is not affected, his mobility is. So the Leg Up organization has put their efforts towards helping out with a benefit auction with Sonesta Farm in TX. The auction details can be found HERE. 

Please consider donating to help Eddo. He is a wonderful human being, a proud father and great horseman. If you can not afford to donate, please just spread the word about the auction and Leg Up.

Thank you.