Dressage Clinic with Silva in Aiken this Week

We’d like to invite everyone out to the farm in Aiken this Wednesday and Thursday to watch Silva’s first clinic of the year at our winter training facility in the Bridle Creek development in Aiken, SC. It’s a sensational farm with a state-of-the-art dressage arena, (pictured above), the perfect venue for Silva to coach some of the finest riders in eventing, including developing riders Jennie Brannigan and Lillian Heard, Canadian superstar Kelli Temple and recent California transplant Nick Cwick. It will be fun to see Molly Rosin bringing Havarah’s Charly back after he was injured last year.

This will be the first of a series of clinics, so if you can’t make it this time be sure to check our website for future dates.


The clinic will be held at 1051 Clear Creek Court, Aiken, SC 29803


The schedule is as follows:


WEDNESDAY


8:00 Jennie Brannigan

8:45 Laura VanderVliet

9:30 Lillian Heard

10:15 Caroline Cadier

11:30 Caroline Cadier

1:00 Kelli Temple

1:45 Nick Cwick

2:30 Kelli Temple

3:15 Annika Lipsky


THURSDAY


8:00 Boyd Martin

8:45 Molly Rosin

9:30 Boyd Martin

10:15 Lillian Heard

11:30 Densey Juvonen

1:00 Laura VanderVliet

1:45 Annika Lipsky

2:30 Jennie Brannigan

Rose's First XC School!

Hey guys,

We have the competition horses settled in in Aiken.  They all shipped well, and are gearing up for the first start of the year next week at Pine Top, GA.

Meanwhile, up in Unionville, there was a slight break in the weather.  Caitlan, super groom/top knotch event rider, Silliaman gave Rose her first ever x-country school.  Kristen and Andy Sparks mare is slowly starting to look the goods.  She has a really good jump in her, careful and plenty of scope. 

The plan with Rose is to leave her in PA with Silva doing the flatwork, and Caitlan lightly jumping her until I get back from Aiken.  I think she will be good to start her eventing carrier at Plantation in early April.

-Boyd

Boyd and Silva's Sponsor, Nutrena Feeds to be featured on RFD-TV

Sponsor of Boyd and Silva, Nutrena® Feeds, will be featured in an RFD-TV "Chris Cox Horsemanship" episode focusing on equine nutrition.

PRESS RELEASE: RFD-TV viewers will get a lesson in Optimum Nutrition for Performance Horses in an upcoming episode of "Chris Cox Horsemanship." Cox's guest will be Abby Keegan, Nutrena® equine nutrition consultant. The show airs Tuesday, January 19th at 12:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. CST.

The one-hour program will cover a range of topics, including identifying key nutrients and selecting a winning formula for your performance horse, and our quality Nutrena® equine feeds.

"If you can master the formula of combining high-level performance horses with good genetics, great training and optimum nutrition - plus the skill of the rider, of course," says Cox, "you are well on your way to success both for your animal and yourself ."

At home in Texas, Cox feeds his horses SafeChoice® from the Nutrena® line, a controlled-starch formula that is scientifically balanced for horses in all life stages. He has a special interest in optimal nutrition and its effects on performance - competition is a huge part of his life - so he really depends on his performance horses to do their best. "I've seen the difference that the SafeChoice® formula has made with my horses, and I'm proud to have Nutrena® as a sponsor," says Cox.

Well folks, we are off to a very cold start to the year!!

Well folks, we are off to a very cold start to the year!!

It's great to have the whole crew back together (Silva, Lillian, Shannon, Caitlin and myself) working again. We all took a week's vacation, one by one, starting in the middle of December until last week. Everyone seems fresh and eager to get 2010 started!!

Unfortunately with this cold weather we have been stuck doing all of our training indoors. So with the event horses we have been focusing on jumping, dressage, trot sets, long walks and slow canter sets around and around in the indoor. One thing is for sure, you learn to keep your eyes up when you ride, or you find yourself in a few crashes. I suppose the other positive is that it keeps the day very social. Sometimes there are 12 horses going around inside at the same time.

Lillian, Shannon and I head down to Aiken, S.C. at the end of next week to set up camp with the competition event horses. We have rented out a five star barn facility in the Bridal Creek Development that joins Phillip's and Dr Kevin Keane's. So it will be all the same faces, hopefully a lot warmer and a bit more sand about.

Silva and Caitlin will be staying here in PA with the dressage horses and the horses coming back from injury. Both Silva and I are looking for a working student each (one for PA, and one for S.C.) until April if any youngsters out there are keen to get some help in training in exchange for a bit of hard work.

My first competition is at the end of the month down in Georgia with the young horses. I took a few snaps at the barn today with Caitlin's fancy Iphone. I hope you enjoy.

All the best for 2010,

Boyd

Dates and Locations Announced for 2010 Eventing High Performance Training Sessions

From the USEF Eventing Department

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has announced the following dates, locations and details for the 2010 Eventing High Performance Training Sessions. Training sessions are for A and B listed riders unless otherwise noted.

DATE LOCATION

January 24-25 El Campeon Farm Training Session, Thousand Oaks, CA
• Mark Phillips

February 4-5 Ocala Training Session, Ocala FL (Location TBD)
• Mark Phillips

February 6-8 Three Runs Plantation Training Session, Aiken, SC
• Feb 6: A listed riders only (12 noon) with Mark Phillips
• Feb 7-8: Oded Shimoni and Mark Phillips

February 10-12 El Campeon Farm Training Session, Thousand Oaks, CA
• Sandy Phillips

February 15-16 Three Runs Plantation Training Session, Aiken, SC
• Katie Prudent

February 19-20 El Campeon Farm Training Session, Thousand Oaks, CA
• Mark Phillips

February 22-24 Three Runs Plantation Training Session, Aiken, SC
• Oded Shimoni and Mark Phillips

February 25-26 Ocala Training Session, Ocala FL (Location TBD)
• Mark Phillips

March 10-12 Three Runs Plantation Training Session, Aiken, SC
• March 10: A listed riders only with Mark Phillips

March 15-17 Three Runs Plantation Training Session, Aiken, SC
• March 15-16: Oded Shimoni with Mark Phillips
• March 16-17: Katie Prudent with Mark Phillips

The 2010 High Performance Training Lists are available here

Auditors are welcome and encouraged, but please be respectful of the lessons and the property. USEF reserves the right to change the dates and locations. The lesson times have not been finalized, but in general, lessons run from 8:30am to 4:30pm. If you have any questions, please contact Sara Ike: sara.ike@usef.org or 908.326.1164.

Boyd as a Disco Elf??

Ho Ho Ho!  Check out this video, compliments of Eventing Nation!!

Boyd to Appear at the Md Horse Expo!!

The Horse World Expo offers the Best of the Best in the horse industry. Top quality seminars and clinics - meet and learn from industry professionals from all over the country. The experts will join us to discuss topics covering virtually every aspect of horse care and training. There are two arenas and two seminar halls, which will have activities scheduled continuously throughout the weekend.

Boyd will be presenting on Friday January 22nd & Saturday the 23rd.  His presentations are as follows:

Friday Jan 22nd
2 - 3pm, Main Arena - Eventing - Fine Tune Your Horse's Rideability & Adjustability Over Fences
6-7pm, Main Seminar Hall - Finding Your Next Event Horse & Getting Fit for Competition

Saturday Jan 23rd
11am - noon - Main Arena - Training for XC at Home, Steps for Building & Using a Home Course

1 - 2pm - Main Seminar Hall - Training Techniques to Get Your Young Horse Started in Eventing

Topics in the arena are mounted, topics in the seminar hall are lectures only.

Come enjoy an educational day of teaching seminars and shop till you drop!!
For a full list of the Expo's seminars, please visit their website.