NC Sporthorse- Cornerstone Farm

09/01/2024

Terrific start to the fall season at Thoroughbred Training Center (TTC) yesterday. We love the Combined Tests in the morning and Jumper show in the afternoon.
Amelia and Tango were 1st Training with an exuberant jumping round 😎
Ashley Colburn and Remus were 2nd with an exuberant dressage test 🙄
Karen Draper Ge**er and Leo were 1st Beginner Novice after their 57th rehab.... with a very happy show jumping round.
Ruby and Cappy had a great day with a lovely sj and 2nd in Moving Up.
In the jumper show, Maddie and Pepsi got a 2nd and 3rd in her first show!!
Sofie and her new pony Amelie also got a 2nd and 3rd after only being together 2 weeks.
Pepsi also did a couple round with Rebecca and they were 1st and 2nd.
Remus and Lauren also got a 1st and 2nd.
The courses were really nice and everything looked beautiful.

08/25/2024

The week in review.
Lessons, Yadkin Valley Hounds Pony Club clinic at Forerunner Farm . A trip up to see the McNeelys. Pre purchase on the new Pony!

08/18/2024

We had a great trip today to the beautiful Kingfisher Park Equestrian .
Everything was extra spiffy today!
All the boys were good, gearing up for Five Points.
Remus doesn't not like ditches and he jumped the scary, huge one!! Such a good boy for Ashley Colburn !
Amelia and Tango were awesome. Karen and Leo had an easy outing for a fun day.

08/17/2024

Fun morning at Combined Test!
Ashley Colburn did a lovely job at Training. Jo and Pepsi did their first Starter together and had a terrific show jumping round.
A few not great pictures were taken...

07/21/2024

Welcome! Christin and Ashley and I went and tried this lovely mare last week. We all fell in love right away. Thanks to McKinzie, Savannah and Bonnie Mosser Equestrian B ME !

06/27/2024

Acupuncture treatment for Cappy yesterday and jumping good today with Zoe.
We also rescued some baby birds.
Thankful for the rain!!!🌧

06/17/2024

Perseverance was the word at Horse Trials.
Two good boys. Best dressage score and all clean jumping for Remus and Ashley, for 6th in Novice.
Leo and Karen were good in all three phases in Training/Novice for 5th!
All in all a good trip, well worth it!

06/15/2024

Ready for Full Gallop! 95 degrees.

05/30/2024

Um, yeah.

If you want to make progress as a horseman, you have to hold yourself accountable.
An instructor can tell you to open your left rein, but only you can actually open your left rein! I can tell you to step right. I can tell you to step right more, or reword it until you do it enough that your right seat bone drops down where it belongs. I can remind you to do it every 30 seconds. I can remind you again every time we change directions, or change gaits, or after your horse tripped. But none of my riders take a lesson with me every day! At some point you have to remember it and execute it all on your own. And isn’t that the type of rider you want to be???
I mean, When you are doing a dressage test, I can’t remind you to sit back in the corner or to not over bend the neck in the shoulder in.

The only time I am the head trainer is when I am instructing myself. Otherwise, I am always the assistant instructor and YOU, THE RIDER, HAVE to be your own master. I am merely the Layman who tells you where we are at in this project, and what step needs to happen next. You are the lead contractor who needs to make sure it gets done. (I know enough people who have major projects going on at their facility that maybe this is a really bad example! Lol but you get my drift hopefully)

I’m not sure how I made it through the levels as far as I did knowing how long it took me to get accountable on actually keeping my inside rein open 🤦‍♀️. Now I’ve realized how often I, just for a moment, open my outside rein when I’m supposed to be using my inside leg. I’m NOT letting this habit go on for years. I’m not. I’m not. I’m not working on anything else until I’m so consciously competent when I do allow my subconscious to take over, it sticks! Even then, I’ll be checking in regularly.

I had an adult student say that she’s always ride with puppy paws/piano hands (thumbs turned in, fingernails posted down) and “good luck changing it”. My tone was light hearted, because that’s who I am, but I basically told her that if she can’t hold herself accountable for something so easy to fix, get off the horse- why bother! It helped that I gave her the REASONS why it was important- it isn’t just to be pretty. But fixing it was hard for her because it’s so tough to turn her wrist- it was “hard” because it took focus.
Put in the focus. Hold yourself accountable.

05/26/2024

I'm too lazy/tired to make a post about today. But Rebecca and Pepsi were 3rd in their division and lauren and Remus won all three classes in the jumper show. Grumpy about his picture...
The end

05/18/2024

In the pouring rain...
"Do you want to quit?"
"NO!"

05/13/2024

Home from a great War Horse.

04/20/2024

Great morning with the pony club today! Three students passed their certifications! Charlie had to do all the riding part. Thanks to Charlie, Ashley Colburn and Lynn.

04/13/2024

Beautiful day at Carolina Horse Park

03/24/2024

Jolene and Say Pepsi Please rocking it at a soggy Hillcrest Horse Trials! Ended up being a nice day.

03/23/2024

Great school at the wonderful Kingfisher Park Equestrian !
I took only two videos and these were the screen shots that had everybody's heads in them🫣

03/22/2024

02/28/2024

Lots of fresh jumping boys yesterday!

02/17/2024

This week at the farm. Lots of good boys. We are enjoying the weather and the good footing.
Barney is enjoying his best buddy feeling better after a fever earlier this week.

01/26/2024

Some pictures of the week. Great to go to Thoroughbred Training Center (TTC) today and Jump!

01/19/2024

Great read.

USDF gold medalist Barbro Ask-Upmark explains how unlocking your wrists can create softer contact

01/12/2024

We've been working hard to fit things in around the weather 🌧☂️
Yesterday the girls learned some new skills.

01/03/2024

Ready to go in 2024! Yes, I take nerdy pictures of our full parking lot.
Baby Tink helping guard the arena from I don't know what, but it requires barking.

12/25/2023

Must be Christmas 😊💚❤️💚

12/22/2023

Trainer quote of the day....
Tragedies have been written about the speed of ( Charlie, Pepsi, Cappy)'s trot.
Some of you should recognize yourselves here....

12/19/2023

Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄 ❤️

12/13/2023

Horse women..