Awards for the Winona Horse Trials

Check out the awards for the upcoming Winona Horse Trials:

*  All division winners will receive a Winona Horse Trials award and a gift certificate for a pair of    Equiflexsleeves courtesy of Mary Leibold.  Be sure to visit Mary's booth in the 'dome' and click on the logo for more information.

www.flexsleeve.com

                                                                                                            

* TIP

*   TIP Awards are back again at the Winona Horse Trials for the best TWO TIP registered Thoroughbreds at each level. In addition to the prizes, winners will be receiving a check in the mail after the event directly from the Jockey Club.  Click here for more information about the program and registering your horse.

The following are some special awards:

* The best dressage score will receive a gift certificate from Equine Icing by Jamie.  Be sure to stop by here table in the 'dome' and check of Equine Icing on  Facebook

* The rider who comes closest to the Cross Country  will receive a gift certificate to the GoVelope cell phone carrying case donated by Joanna Grossman.  I will be sporting my GoVelope over the weekend and for the first time in years I hope to NOT loose my cell phone right before or during a competition.  Be sure to check out their website for more information and to check out the color choices if you end up being the lucky winner.

 *   Patty Keim has made to lovely saddle covers to be awarded to the top scoring Adult Amateur at the Beginner Novice and Novice Levels

*   The Visiting Vet will be sponsoring awards to the best scoring Pony Club member at all levels.  If you are a member of Pony Club; be sure to let the secretary know.

    

 *   The final award goes to the spouse, parent or groom of the best scoring horse of the show for a gift Certificate to A Better Blanket for a free laundering of a blanket which includes a treatment with Nikwax

It’s Officially Spring and Opening Date for Winona is Just Around the Corner

 Although yesterday was the first day of spring it doesn’t quite feel like it but the birds are singing and the horses are shedding so good weather can’t be far behind and of course the ‘Eventing Season’!!  Just a reminder that the 29^th Winona Horse Trials OPENS next Tues March 25^th!  Don’t let the fact that it is snowing yet again deter you from taking advantage of the ‘early bird special’.  If you enter between the opening date and April 8^th you get a $20 savings and if for whatever reason you have to scratch you have one week after the closing date to withdraw & get a full refund less the $25 office fee. 

Earlier today

A few hours later ;)

Be sure to check out the NEW Stone Gate Farm website.  The Horse Trials page has a lot of information on it that should answer most of your questions and links to many useful sites.  Below are a few reminders before you make your entry:

• If you enter via X-entry, which is the preferred method of entry, don’t forget that your entry will not be considered compete until a signed entry form, coggins and payment is received. If not received within FIVE days of making an on-line entry; the entry will be removed from the entry list until complete
• Entry checks and stall cleaning deposit checks must be separate checks. The deposit check will be destroyed if stall is stripped. 
•  Separated checks per horse entered is preferred
• Western Reserve Pony Club is offering a stall cleaning service again this year as a fundraiser.  If you pay for this service with your entry you don’t NOT have to send the stall cleaning check 
•  Chopped straw will be put in stalls unless otherwise indicated.  If you would like to order shavings you may order when making your entry or order anytime using the on-line order form. 
•  All TB owners who would like to be eligible for TIP Awards must submit their horses TIP number before the start of the competition  
• All Beginner Novice horses and riders must have ID 3’s.  There is no charge …. Read more         
• The Starter test will run all 3 phases on Sat and do not have to pay association fees

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Click on icon to Sign Up

·         If you can’t make it to compete; we are always looking for a few good volunteers.  For more information check out the Volunteer page on the website and sign up using the new sign up genius where you can pick the job and time you would like to work.

We’re looking forward to the arrival of spring and your entries ;)

Jackie

Horse Trials "Nighhtmares" Start Early this Year

No this is not the kind of night mare where you wake up because you can't remember your dressage test or you forgot to pack your medical arm band or some other necessary piece of equipment; it's the kind of nightmare that all Event organizers experience before, during or even after their event is over.  In any case I had one of those nightmares the other night.  Maybe it's just my mind's way of telling me that spring is right around the corner.  But in reality it was probably because I was at the Ocala Horse Trials when it poured rain on Sat and turned Show Jumping arena into a lake!!  Or maybe it's because only a couple of days after leaving Aiken the disastrous ice storm hit just days two before the Paradise Horse Trials who somehow managed to pull off the event!! Oh how I empathize with the organizers and all the many people who are a part of running an event.

Lake Ocala

Aiken Ice Storm followed by and Earthquake!!

Interestingly enough this particular nightmare wasn't weather related; it was lack of help related.  I won't bore you with the details but suffice it to say when you don't have any of the show jumping course set up and you only have TWO fence judges and the event has already started; that is a nightmare that wakes you abruptly from a sound sleep to find yourself in a cold sweat!  I tried to tell myself that it's just the middle of February and not to worry but then the "Upcoming Events" on our website up popped with the 'opening date' for Winona coming before the last day of the Winter Lesson Series !!

It's not time to panic yet, but definitely time to get started.  So here's my first plea for volunteers for Winona and all the other competitions we have scheduled for the year.  Please take a few minutes to check out the calendar and see if anything might fit into your schedule this season.  Then go to the volunteer page on the website and see what you might be interested in doing.  If you're ready to take the plunge then fill out the  Volunteer form.  This does not commit you to anything, but it puts you on the volunteer list for future communications.

Riders, please remember that we cannot have competitions without volunteers and without competitions you have nowhere to compete.  So please consider helping out when you can. You will have the undying appreciation of the organizer and I guarantee you will never get the 8:00 ride!!! Keep in mind that 90% of the work is BEFORE the event. For those of you who will be busy riding, consider coming down with a few friends before the event.  As my mother always told me 'many hands make light work' and who knows ... a little fun too.  One of the perks about helping before the event is that you can get a sneak peek at the cross country & show jumping courses while setting courses, flagging and decorating the courses.

OK... end of the guilt trip; blame it on my nightmare. To my regular volunteers, and you know who you are, I just want you to know how much I appreciate your support over the years and I'm hoping you will be able to join us again this year.  Thank you in advance to all who will be helping us to provide the opportunity for riders to ride, compete and hopefully fun for all.

Jackie

The New Website & Blog

Three years ago I started the Stone Gate Farm 'blogs' as a supplement to the SGF website since I wasn't tech savvy enough to make updates on the website myself. It became increasingly difficult to keep the website up to date with the ever increasing additions and / or changes to the SGF schedule and activities and it was my hope that the blogs would bridge that gap.  Unfortunately it was a little confusing to have one thing on the website and something else on the blog.  It was very apparent that ALL the information need to be in ONE place & that place was the website.  As a result I decided it was time to get a website that I could maintain myself.  With the help of Emma Knight I now have that capability.  Many thanks to Jennifer Milliner who developed and maintained the original website for years.  Jennifer will continue to do the artwork for our horse trials program covers and other graphic art work that we may need.  For those of you who don't know, Jennifer has done the farm logo and the recent revision, the Area VIII logo and she has designed and maintains the NEOMTA website.  Be sure to check out the Milliner Concepts  for any of you graphics, website needs and much more.

The new SGF website is currently being updated but there is a lot of information to check out.  All the information regarding competition, clinic, and volunteer schedules etc will now be posted directly on the website.  You will also note on the Home page, in the right had column, the following: Upcoming Events: Latest News and Latest Blog.  This way you will have the latest information on the Home page to keep you up to speed.  You will note the there will still be blogs, but now the blogs will be used for the purpose of blogging about activities at the farm.  There will no longer be separate blogs for clinics & camp, volunteers or competitors; all the blogs will be on the SGF blog page and linked directly to the website. You will still be able to access the old blogs in case you're really bored some day and would like to check out some of the archived blogs ;).  Stay tuned as I will be blogging a little later today.

That's it for now ....THINK SPRING!!!!

Jackie