2011

Winter

It has been a very interesting winter that is for sure... Much to our disappointment the roof on our 2 year old barn collapsed in the middle of February!  After hiring a structural engineer we have learned that the roof was not built properly.  We were very lucky that the horses were not hurt.  Flambo has taken up residence in our garage and I was forced to send my client horses home as I can no longer ride without a heated barn.  Hopefully McDiarmid will step up and repair the building that we trusted them to design and build.

built by McDiarmid

With everything under control at the farm Lee and I managed to escape to Florida for 2 weeks the end of February and we enjoyed every minute of our vacation.

Lee and I at Busch Gardens

In March Flambo travelled back to Franklands Farm in Brockville, Ontario to begin training with Gina Smith. We are so thankful that she made room for him as he was getting pretty restless in our garage at night (our garage is attached to our house... and our bedroom wall is next to the garage... this meant long nights for all).

Although the circumstances of Flambo’s departure were not ideal it turned out that this trip was a great check-up for both of us! Since our partnership began in 2009 we have only been able to attend a handful of clinics so two months of intense training was very much appreciated. I was able to fly out to train for two weeks in March and another week in April and I learned a great deal. I can’t wait to hit the show ring this year. The plan is to show third level and maybe move up to PSG by fall. Super excited to put on tails again!

Spring

In May our 3 year old Andalusian/KWPN gelding Everett CF relocated to his new home in Tenessee! No more winter for this boy... Congratulations Cathy Niebank Burdick! I know you will absolutely adore this talented and sweet boy.

We also received word that Karat CF (Sired by Lepanto and out of Kourante-Kendal’s full brother) is doing extremely well in the United States.... He is currently ranked 14th in the Four year old USDF Young Horse rankings! Wow!! We are so proud of Karat and excited to hear more about his adventures.

In June Flambo and I competed in our first show of the season in Saskatoon and it was a huge success! Flambo was super consistent and did not have a mark below 67% at 3rd level. He even achieved over 69% in 3rd test 3!! This was a personal best for me and I could not be more pleased.

Two weeks later, during our second show in Winnipeg Flambo stepped it up a notch... During the first day he achieved 68% in 3rd test 2 and 71% in 3rd test 3! Another personal best for me!! The second day he was even more brilliant achieving 71% in 3rd test 2 and 74% in 3rd test 3!!! What an amazing horse!! I am so very proud of him!

Shannon and Flamboyant