Our Attwood Arena Withstood the Storm Perfectly!

Thanks Attwood Equestrian Services for our wonderful arena, which held up perfectly through the storm. The only damage was a broken mirror at the end of the ring, but that is easily replaced. Here's a photo of Stately having a school this morning, after we had about half a foot of rain.

Stately

Edwin from Attwood sent us an email on how to prepare the arena before the storm - its amazing how they're always looking after us! He suggested that we roll the arena so the water would just roll off, and it worked great. Edwin is the best!

Thanks for everything!

-Boyd and Silva

Juno W At Her New Home

Baby Juno

 Boyd and I are always so happy to see the horses we sell, especially our home breds, go to good homes and also to hear great news about how they are doing.

 

Juno is one of the fillies that we bred in Australia and imported to the USA. She has the biggest personality and a lot of talent. I meet Doug and Sasha Walsh about a year ago and Doug asked me at one of the Blue Goose shows if I would be able to help his wife Sasha with her big horse, Chancellor .

 

I started teaching Sasha and also Doug on one of his horses. Sasha is a very talented and ambitious dressage rider and it is fun to see her improve .Sasha was looking for a talented young horse to bring up the levels so I told Doug and Sasha about Juno and that I thought that Juno would be a great match for Sasha.

 

Silva and Juno

 They fell in love with Juno and bought her a few months ago. Juno has a lot of quality but she is still very young and a little spooky. Doug and Sasha work with a natural horseman at their farm in Nothingham, PA . They decided to spent a few months getting Juno used to everything before we start with the dressage training together, and I thought that was a very good idea since Juno is so young .

Juno on stool without saddle

 

 

A few weeks ago Sasha send me the above picture; I think it's so funny, and amazing at the same time. I think it is so great how much time Doug and Sasha have spend with Juno to get to know her and for Juno to trust them as much as she does now.

Sasha and Juno

 

Last week I received another picture from Sasha of her on Juno. The text with the picture said : "We are ready for the dressage saddle now!"

I could not be happier with Juno's new home and owners . I think Sasha and Juno are going to have a great future in the dressage ring together! We will see her out showing in the spring!

 

-Silva

Thank You Purina & Oxford Feed and Lumber!

The Crew at Oxford Feed & Lumber!

This past Tuesday, Purina and Oxford Feed and Lumber, hosted a fun evening at the Stone Barn, with Boyd and Silva!  The whole family at Oxford Feed and Lumber did a knock out job getting ready for the evening, setting up the room with great decorations, some yummy food, and of course their full line of Purina products!

The room was packed with local supporters, and a lot of new faces.  It's so enjoyable to see a different crowd of people come out to support Boyd, Silva and their sponsors!  We even had a good show from the younger generation, with plenty of adoring little girls hanging on Boyd's every word during his speech!  We've got our next set of up & coming eventers on hand.

Photo Credits Jennie Brown!

Boyd did an ace job talking about he and Silva's arrival in the US and the history of their business.  He also spoke about his Olympic experience and how the US could benefit from breeding and producing higher level horses here in the states.  After his talk the audience was encouraged to ask questions, and their was no shortage of an exchange between Boyd and the audience.   It was a lively evening!

We'd like to thank Purina and Oxford Feed and Lumber for a fun filled evening.  They are wonderful sponsors and instrumental in the success of Boyd and Silva's business and training program.  Their full line of feed and supplements help keep all the horses in top form, and we look forward to helping promote their new line of products (which is to be revealed shortly).  Stay tuned!!

They also did a wonderful job with their photos.  Enjoy!

Photo Credits Oxford Feed & Lumber

Silva Featured on Dressage-News.com

Thanks to Dressage-News.com for the article about Silva's remarkably successful year since the tragedies of 2011. Please click here to read the article or follow this URL: http://www.dressage-news.com/?p=18196. Great photos, too!

Partyboy Sold: New Career as a Showjumper!

Partyboy

After a very, very successful eventing career with us, it was sad to see Partyboy sold today. Curtis, as he was known in the barn, is an extremely athletic, scopey, jumping machine that has all the wonderful ingredients of a top class horse. His one chink in the armor was his lack of love for the dressage phase. Both Silva and I gave our absolute best to train Curtis on the flat, but he was just one of those horses that found it very tough to be soft, supple, and obedient for the judges. It was absolutely worth the amount of effort we threw towards him because he was so brilliant in the cross-country and show jumping phases.

After a disastrous dressage test and a phenomenal cross-country and show jumping round at the Plantation CIC 1*, we decided that Curtis needed a new career. Local show jumping guru Michael Walton placed him with one of his show jumping clients here in Pennsylvania.

I would like to thank Partyboy's previous owners, Fernanda Kellogg and Nick Myers, for allowing me to train and compete this horse over the last two years. They have been a joy to ride for and have been very patient and understanding as we came to this tough decision. We are all looking forward to following Curtis' new career.

Boyd

Great Finish at the BLM Championships on Sunday!

 

 I have to say, we are on a roll! We had a great day on Sunday at the CBLM Championships in Lexington, VA and I could not be happier with how my horses and my students finished!

 

Rosa Cha

Rosa was first on at 8am, Sunday morning. She was much more relaxed than on Saturday. - she is always better on the second day. After winning the warm-up class on Saturday she went on to win the fourth level championship on Sunday. She really was amazing and I am so proud of her.

 

Duvent

Duvent was in the fourth level championship as well. He did a great test and I am so happy with him staying focused even though the championship classes were in the big coliseum . He kept it together and finished just behind Rosa as reserve champion!

 

Zoran

Zoran

 

 

I rode Zoran and Likely Story in the first level championship in the afternoon. That was a huge class of over 40 riders. Story was awesome: she tried so hard for me and scored 70%, which had her finish eighth in the class.

 

Zoran went at the very end of the class and he just smoked it! He did an awesome test and we won with 74.8% . He is a very powerful horse and he showed everything he had!

 

Kymmy, Sheelagh and Paul

Kymmy and Markie showed in the fourth level A Championships and did a great test to become reserve Champion with 66%.

Gracia and Dia

Gracia and Dia showed in the Junior first level championship and had a great result, finishing 

fourth.

 

Amy and Cece

Amy and Cece had such a great weekend: they won for the very first time on Friday and finished third on Saturday in a very big class. On Sunday they showed in the training level championships in the indoor. Amy was very nervous because she is very competitive and wanted so badly to do well. 

 

They had a great warm up, but then unfortunately Cece was a little spooky in the indoor, which Amy did not expect. They had a few mistakes and did not place this time. Cece is only six years old and Amy has come such a long way with her riding. They are going to be great next year!! I am very proud of both of them!

 

-Silva

Benny and Hayden: A job well done!

Fair Hill Wrap Up

Crackerjack XC, Steve Berkowitz photo

 Once again, the Fair Hill International Three-Day Event hosted an exciting few days of sporting action. The weekend gave me fantastic rides on two of my up and coming, 8-year-old horses in the CCI** and both are showing plenty of promise for the future.

Crackerjack XC, Hannah Bennett photo

Crackerjack completed his year at the two-star level with a strong finish, in 5th place with 49.7. Throughout this year this horse has turned from a very difficult, hard to ride, crazy man into somewhat of a reliable competitor. The downside to his weekend was a huge discrepancy of 10% in the dressage judging, which is quite disheartening for a competition at this level. Once again, Crackerjack showed his quality in the jumping phases, jumping the courses with ease. Lucy Boynton, Crackerjack's owner and breeder along with her late son, Colin, has been a joy to ride for this year and I can't wait to get her horse out at the advanced level next year.

Crackerjack SJ, Hannah Bennett photo

Master Frisky, with whom I've had a short relationship so far, also showed moments of brilliance throughout this very grueling event, finishing 6th with 52.0.

Frisky Dressage

 I'm very grateful to Steve Blauner, from New York, for purchasing this promising gelding. Throughout the 8 minutes of Derek DiGrazia's cross-country course, Frisky felt green but dug deep and took on all the questions with courage.

Frisky XC, Hannah Bennett Photo

Like Cracker, I am very very excited to see what this horse has in store for us next year at the next level.

Frisky SJ Hannah Bennett photo

I'd like to thank Silva and Michael Barisone for helping me prepare so thoroughly for the dressage phase. I would also like to thank Lindso for doing an unbelievable job in the care and presentation of these horses on the weekend.

-Boyd