Fritz cleans up!

Congratulations to Kathy Pittman and First Class Image on winning at Regionals and Sport Horse Nationals! Fritz has had a stellar year on the show circuit. First Class Image is by the Five star Oldenburg stallion Frohwind (Woodridge Farm), and out of our Oldenburg approved Arabian mare Flash Ofan Image. Fritz, along with his full brothers Frankie & Faxx, have proved that this is a winning combination!

First Class Image show record:


Green Country Arabian Classic Tulsa, OK 5/9/09 - 5/10/09
First place HA/AA Geldings 2 and under
Reserve Champion Sport Horse Geldings In Hand Open
First Place HA/AA Sport Horse Geldings In Hand Amateur to Handle (ATH)

Region 9 Sport Horse Championships Waco, Texas July, 2009
First Place HA/AA 2 yr old Sport Horse Geldings In Hand Jackpot

H/A A/A Sport Horse National Championship Show Lexington, KY 9/22/09 - 9/27/09
National Top Ten 2 yr. old Sport Horse Geldings In Hand Jackpot

Tulsa State Fair Arabian/ Half-Arabian Show 10/1/09- 10/02/09
First Place HA/AA Sport Horse Geldings In Hand 2 and Under
Champion HA/AA Sport Horse Geldings Open
First Place HA/AA Sport Horse Geldings Amateur to Handle (ATH)

Candy is out of commission!

Candy broke her foot 2 weeks ago and her Doctors still haven’t decided if she needs surgery. Until then she has to take care to stay off her foot to keep the bone from displacing. She is back to work at the Vet School, but is confined to a desk job. Anything to get out of the house, she was going stir crazy! Training of the youngsters has been put on hold for now.

Congrats to Carla & Matt!

Congratulation to Carla & Matt Gudorf on the purchase of Chocolate Delight. CD is a Dutch Warmblood gelding by Iron Spring Farm’s Sir Sinclair, out of a Fairplay mare. They have been so impressed with his temperament, and that he is just so easy to work with. Carla said he gets brushed every morning and he thinks he is royalty already! She said that, of course, she plans on treating him that way. Carla trains with the USDF Gold medalist Lyndon Rife. CD will be her next upper level dressage prospect.  We hope the two of them go far together.

Piney Creek Horse Campout

Candy and I have always wanted to take the horses camping, and the weekend of October 3rd was the weekend our dreams came true. Candy organized a weekend retreat for women & their horses!

Neither one of us wanted to tether our mares all night at the campsite, so we both hauled panels to make pens. Candy some had some brackets welded on her trailer so she could attach the panels to the side. Everyone was jealous they want a set on their trailers too!

We arrived at the Piney Creek Horse Camp around 11a and set up camp really fast so we could hit the trails. There are 54 miles of horse trails in the Davey Crockett National Forest. The woods were so beautiful, and we saw lots of deer. We had ridden 2 hours when the weather started to turn south; when we checked our map we realized we weren’t even half way along the orange trail. That’s when we made the decision to turn back. As soon as we did it started raining on us. For the most part, the forest kept the rain off us, but we still looked like drowned rats when we got back to camp. All in all we spent about four hours trail riding with some pretty amazing scenery and covered approximately 12 miles.

At the horse camp there was a small pavilion, which we had all to ourselves seeing as we were the only ones to brave the weather. Candy brought old smokey and we had hamburgers for dinner. Sheila brought out her fire pit so we could warm ourselves by the fire, and of course, make s’mores. We had our bible lesson & spent the rest of the evening enjoying good company.

When it came time to hit the sack Candy hung her hammock from the pavilion rafters, but Marissa had to help her in that night & Heidi had to unzip her & let her out in the morning!

I was the only one that actually set up a tent, in the rain I might add. I guess some of my husband’s boy scout training rubbed off on me because I managed to set it up without it leaking. It was nice to fall asleep to the sound of the rain on my tent.
Sunday we were up bright and early for breakfast & bible study. We had planned a second trail ride for Sunday, but after checking the weather radar and finding a huge storm heading our way we decided to break camp and head for home.

Best Teacher Award

Candy just won the Award for the Best Teacher at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine. It is National Veterinary Tecnician Week and all the Veterinary students at the College vote in each category for the technician of their choice.

Faxxsimile at Arabian Regionals

Cyndi Craig sent us an update on Faxxsimile. In 2009 Faxx was Reserve Champion Sporthorse Under Saddle ATR out of 15 horses. This was the largest class at the Regional Championships. This was only the second time for him to compete in a group class. Faxx was Top 5 in the Sporthorse Under Saddle Open Class, with 11 entries. He also got a Reserve Champion in Open Dressage Training Level. Faxx is just 6 points away from earning his Legion of Supreme Honor (+/). Cyndi says he is a wonderful horse and that no one can believe that he is just 4! Congratulations to them both.

Bono in Training!

Bono has now moved to College Station for Candy to start his training. This past weekend marked a new chapter in Bono’s life, he has now started working for his supper! We have been waiting for Bono to mature physically before starting him under saddle, he is still growing so we will take it easy on him. Candy is very impressed with his mind. His first working sessions have gone beautifully. He accepted a saddle pad and a surcingle without batting an eye. All he did was look around at the surcingle once it was tightened and smell it. He went to work in the round pen like it was old hat for him.

College Station Visit 9-12-09

We arrived in College Station to the first rain they have had in months. For some reason I always seem to bring the rain with me. Plan a trail ride, it will rain. Plan to video tape the youngsters, it will rain. It hasn’t rained for most of the summer and College Station has been in the middle of a severe drought. So, even though we had plans for the weekend Candy wasn’t sad to see me bring the rain yet again!

I got to visit Dr. Cliff Honnas’ new clinic, Texas Equine Hospital, opened in Jan 2009. Dr. Honnas is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons & is Board Certified in Equine Surgery. Dr. Honnas was an Equine Orthopedic Surgeon at Texas A&M and was a professor at Texas A&M for 18 years. Dr. Honnas was among the excellent professors that taught me as I went through vet school at Texas A&M.

In between the showers, we did dash out and try and take pictures of our mudpuppies. No video though, the ground was slick.

We took Candy’s 4 Runner mudding through the back roads and she’s still getting mud clods out of her undercarriage!

On the return trip, we passed through Madisonville and what did I see but two Painted Ponies before my eyes. Anyone that knows me, knows that I am an avid Painted Pony collector so this was a real treat for me….

Candy's visit

Candy came to visit last weekend. We had a great time catching up. It was a short trip, and we spent most of the weekend taking video of the 2 year olds. It was well worth it though, we got some good footage and some nice pictures. Saturday night my husband made his famous fajitas and we were in heaven. Cd really showed off for the camera.

Congratulations to Faxxsimile++ & Future Image++

Congratulations to Cyndi Craig of Donnerail Farm. Faxxsimile earned his Legion of Merit at Regionals. Faxx was Reserve Champion Sport Horse Under Saddle, Top 5 Sport Horse Under Saddle Open, & Reserve Champion Dressage Training Level Open. Congrats are also due to Future Image, owned by Dona Hoffman, who received his Legion of Merit to go along with the Legion of Honor he was awarded in 2008. Both geldings are by the Five star Oldenburg stallion Frohwind (Woodridge Farm), and out of our Oldenburg approved Arabian mare Flash Ofan Image. A Legion of Merit Award means that they will now have the distinction of a ++ after their names.
Below are some highlights of their accomplishments:


Faxxsimile++
2007 & 2008 Region 9 Champion Half Arabian Sport Horse In-Hand, Amateur to Handle and Open.
2009 Top Five.

Future Image++
2005 Champion Sport Horse In Hand at the Eastern Arabian Horse Show & East Coast Championships. He placed 3rd at Arabian & Half Arabian Sport Horse Nationals in the 2yr old Sport Horse in Hand Jackpot.
2007 Placed 3rd at Nationals in the Sport Horse in hand Championship
2008 Placed 1st at the Virginia Arabian & Futurity in the USDF Intro Level Tests A & B, and at the Arabian Fall Classic Training Level Tests 1&2.

HOT WEATHER RULES FOR RIDING

With the heat index increasing and the humidity as heavy as it is, be
sure to watch your horses.
If your total adds up to 180 or above don't ride, if it is 130-170 use
caution, 130 or below ride!
Determine: Temperature (F) + relative humidity (%) – wind speed
For example:
Temperature (F) 79
Relative Humidity (%) 58
Wind Speed 4.6 (MPH)
Answer = 132.4
Less than 130: All go—horses can function to cool themselves assuming
adequate hydration.
130 – 179: Caution—a horse's cooling mechanisms can only partially
function as intended. Some cooling management procedures will need to
be performed.
180 or above: Stop—a horse's cooling systems cannot and will not
function adequately. All cooling procedures will need to be utilized
SO IF THE TEMP IS 90 degrees or above and Humidity is 90 or above - DONT GO!

NAJYRC Benefit Schooling Show May 30th

On a beautiful Saturday, May 30, Topsider Farm in College Station hosted a dressage schooling show benefiting the Region 9 FEI Juniors & Young Riders. The show profits were donated to the Region 9 Advanced Juniors and Young Riders and our North American Junior /Young Rider Championship (NAJYRC) Team. The proceeds will help fund the Team at the Championships in Lexington in July. Our Region 9 Juniors & Young Riders rank among the nation’s top 12!

Show results are as follows:
Vixen, ridden by Kelly Sulik
Training Level Test 1, 1st place
Training Level Test 2, 1st place

Nanja, ridden by Candise McKay
Training Level Test 4, 1st place

A Southerly Breeze?

I came home from the Emergency Clinic Wednesday morning to find that a tornado had passed through early. Even though I missed the tornado I didn’t miss all the action. The house was buffeted by a torrential downpour & there was an awesome electrical storm. Of course there was the inevitable power outage. Which, when I called my husband to tell him about it was, “I told you I should have showed you how to work the generator!”. Hindsight is 20/20. There is a reason our farm is called Southern Breeze!

BACH Spring Dressage Schooling Show

The Brazos Association for Classical Horsemanship held their Spring Dressage Schooling Show at Topsider Farm on April 11th. Vixen, ridden by Kelly Sulick, was entered in Training Level Tests 1 & 2. She placed 4th in both classes. This was the second show Vixen had ever been to she and she did beautifully. Congratulations!

Topsider Farm Spring I Schooling Show

I thought I would start a little blog to keep everyone updated with the goings on at the farm. I have been having trouble lately with my webhosting service and have been scared to update my website. Every time I change anything on the website I have a problem with the older version “ghosting” on their server (it superimposes on the current version). So here we are!

This year we are giving Nanja the year off from broodmare duties to focus on her dressage career. Her first show this year was the Topsider Farm Spring Schooling Show, February 28th. The day was a bracing 50 degrees and there were 35mph winds. And to top it all off Nanja was in season and in love with one & all! Everone was bundled up in their jackets and gloves (this includes the riders). Despite the conditions they placed well. Candy entered Nanja in the Training Level Test 4 and placed 3rd, and she placed 2nd in the First level Test 1.


We entered Vixen (ridden by Kelly Sulik) in the Green as Grass 3, USDF A & B. She placed 1st in a three classes. Overall it was an excellent day and we sure cleaned up!