Saturday, January 15, 2011

Show Jumping Boot Camp for Remington

Today Remington XXV, otherwise known as the "Hanoverian Hurricane", headed down to the Mecca of the show jumping world, Wellington, Florida. He'll spend three weeks in the sunshine in show jumping boot camp with the US eventing team's show jumping coach Katie Prudent. Boyd will head down for the third week of training after Katie has unlocked all of Remi's secrets and teach Boyd how to bring out Remi's best.

Katie advising Boyd (on Neville Bardos) before Show Jumping at the 2010 American Eventing Championships and WEG selection trials

It was the show jumping phase that caught Boyd and Remi, owned by Ron and Densey Juvonen, out at the Pau CCI4* in France last fall, costing them the win at their first European four-star, and Boyd is doing everything he can to ensure that all the bases are covered in preparing for this very essential phase of the three-day event.

Photo from 2010 Pau CCI4* courtesy Kirsten Selvig

After the three weeks in Florida Remi will head to Aiken, SC where Boyd and Silva are based for the winter and begin preparing for the Rolex Kentucky CCI4* in April where all this hard work will be put to the test.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Sea Lord SOLD!!!

Today was a very sad day for me: my partner and friend Sea Lord was sold today to Charish Campbell from Easton, MD. Even though I am very sad , I am very, very happy for Charish to have such a wonderful horse!

Sea Lord, known affectionately around the barn as Big Bird, has been such a joy for me over the years. He came to me about 4 years ago after Boyd and Phillip were trying to make him into a event horse. Big Bird did not want to be a eventer but he always loved dressage. He is a incredible dressage horse with amazing movement and an amazing mind, especially since he is a Thoroughbred.

Big Bird has been very, very loyal and honest to me right from the beginning. He tried 110% for me every day and we had a lot of success up to intermediaire 1. He now is schooling all the Grand Prix movements and I was planning on showing him in Grand Prix this season.

Big Bird was owned by Shannon Stimson and her husband Joe. Shannon and Joe have been very good to me over the years. Big Bird came to me to be sold in the first place, but when I worked out what an amazing horse he is Shannon and Joe supported me and let us go on for four years. We had a lot of fun together and Shannon and Joe enjoyed watching us go up the levels and did anything they could to help us in any way.

Now it came time to sell him and I cannot thank Shannon and Joe enough for all of their support over the past 4 years and for letting me train and show such a wonderful horse. I feel very lucky that I was able to ride him and train him to what he is now!!!

It was very important for me that Big Bird will go to the best home possible. This horse means a lot to me and he deserves to be treated like a king. That's why I thought of Charish: I have known her for a few years now, I have had her horses in my barn for training and I have been teaching her for a while. I know that Charish cares for her horses very much and she will do anything to make them as happy as possible. She is an FEI rider and I knew that Big Bird and she would get along great. Charish also has some very nice horses for sale and runs a beautiful barn in MD.

I am so happy that it worked out this way and I am excited to be a part of Charish and Big Bird's upcoming success together!

Silva

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Last Monarch


Last Monach enjoying the snow in PA

I am very honored to say that I have Last Monach, also known as "Super Stew," in work thanks to the pregnancy of Holly Hudspeth. Unfortunately Stew will be only with me for the next few months until Holly pops out her first bambino....congratulations to her and Chuck!


Holly's Baby Bump

Stewy is a top class 4-star event horse that Holly bought off the race track out in Seattle many years ago. Holly has produced him from racehorse up to advanced event horse in only a few years. He is currently one of the best horses in the country. Last year he was on the short list for the US on the WEG squad.

I have had him in training for the last month, and I have been working on basically getting to know him. He is a super talented jumper that seriously cracks his back when he is in the air! My main focus has been the dressage, with figuring out which buttons to press to ask for the changes and the half passes. He is a very fit horse currently, cantering five miles twice a week and doing it without even raising a sweat!

I would like to thank Chuck for "knocking up" the bride, and giving me this great opportunity to ride this champion....

My first outing will be on him next month in the Intermediate at Pine Top down in Georgia.

Boyd

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Nutrena: The Feed Choice of Windurra USA, LLC!

The Nutrena® brand offers a complete line of feeds and supplements designed to provide optimum nutrition for horses, livestock, pets and more. Boyd and Silva have had all of their horses on the Nutrena line of feeds for the past 2 years and know that their customized nutritional program is responsible for their horses optimal health & competitive success!

Boyd and Silva work closely with their own feed consultant, Shelly Chase, who I recently had the opportunity to chat with regarding their feeding program.

"I work closely with with Boyd, Silva and Caitlin so that if there is ever the simpliest of questions about the feeding program they can call or text me and we work out the details immediately. I recommend feeds based on the horses nutritional requirements which includes their work level and the riders expectations of the horses performance.

At anytime, a horse owner can go to the www.nutrenaworld.com and put in a request for a consultant to contact them- I think this is important to note. This is for customers looking for specific information or even a place to purchase Nutrena products etc."

About Nutrena® Horse Nutrition

Optimum Nutrition

At Nutrena, we know it takes optimum nutrition to help your horse to develop properly, stay healthy and perform to the best of its ability. While others only consider ingredients – we focus on nutrients. That’s why our equine nutritional solutions are formulated to deliver the right balance of nutrients your horse needs every day.
Sound Science

Nutrena is unique in its disciplined, scientific approach to animal nutrition. At the Cargill Animal Nutrition Innovation Campus located on 900 acres of land, our expert team of scientists includes more than 25 PhDs from all over the world focused on one thing: using sound science to create superior nutritional solutions.
Peak Performance

Peak performance means different things to different horse owners. If you ride a horse in competition, Nutrena has a feed that will help your horse achieve peak power and stamina. If trail riding with a companion horse is more your style, we have the perfect feed to keep your horse in tip-top shape and ready to ride.
Customer Focus

Nobody knows horses and the people who own them better than Nutrena. We use the latest technology to connect with our customers, collaborate and develop the nutritional solutions they want and need. To discuss your horse’s specific nutritional needs, visit the Nutrena® dealer near you, call us at 1-800-367-4894 or ask a Nutrena® consultant.

Boyd and Silva want to thank Nutrena for their continued support and partnership with Windurra USA LLC. Without this partnership, they realize that it would be difficult to keep their horses at their peak comfort & performance level.

Many thanks to Shelly and Team Nutrena!

Amazing result for LAURA STIGLER (Silva's sister) at Muenster CSN\CDN

My little sister Laura had an amazing result last night at the CDN in Muenster, Germany, one of the biggest shows in the country.Laura was riding the German gelding Buddy Holly, who is by Brentano II out of a Weltmeyer mare, in the Grand Prix. It was a big and very competitive field.

Laura and Buddy were first in the arena and finished in second place with 68.7% behind Brigitte Wittig with 69.1%!

I am very proud of my little sister - this is a very big result!

Check out the results:

http://eventcontent.hippoonline.de/544/sta_erg/19_ergDEU.htm?style=hippo
http://eventcontent.hippoonline.de/544/544zeitplanDEU.htm?style=hippo
http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2011/01/07/scores-2011-cdn-munster


Silva