Hidden Brook Farm

12/25/2023

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

12/24/2023

Wishing all of our friends a very Merry Christmas!!!

12/17/2023

08/07/2023

https://www.facebook.com/100064094430769/posts/681500740663068/?mibextid=aE13LE

BY Maddy Brown One of my biggest frustrations in this industry is the lack of understanding and consideration for the role that lesson horses play. So often, I see riders complaining about lesson horses for a huge variety of reasons: for their perceived lack of quality or value, for having to ride o...

08/02/2023

One of my biggest frustrations in this industry is the lack of understanding and consideration for the role that lesson horses play. So often, I see riders complaining about lesson horses for a huge variety of reasons: for their perceived lack of quality or value, for having to ride one they don’t like, for not getting to ride the one they do like, for their trainer not having enough lesson horses, or for the lesson horses not being available at their convenience when their personal horse is out of commission. I’ve dealt with all of the above and I know I’ll continue to do so, but I think it’s important that people understand the reality of lesson horses, and that’s that they aren’t here for your kid to ride forever and climb the levels with your one or two lesson a week commitment. They’re here to get you started, safely and productively, while you decide just how far you want to take this.

Lesson horses are incredibly special creatures. They have to be easily caught by beginners who don’t know how to properly approach a prey animal. They have to stand like statues on the crossties while tiny kids take the better part of an hour to get them clean. They have to hold their head still while beginners jam the bit into their teeth for the fiftieth time in a row to put the bridle on. They have to stand still at the mounting block while someone stands for too long with all their weight in the left stirrup and then slams down on their back with no consideration for their comfort. They tolerantly teach riders who are unbalanced, uncoordinated, and unclear, who catch their mouths and bounce on their backs and kick at their sides, and every single time, they are expected to just come again without so much as a swish of their tail or pinning of their ears. And any time one of these horses has a moment where they act like a regular horse or force the rider to really ride, they’re labeled annoying or rude or bad or lazy or whatever.

Lesson horses are not intended to take you up the levels and jump big jumps and win all the classes. If these horses were this beginner-friendly and this tolerant AND the hack winner with an auto lead change, you couldn’t afford them! That’s not to say these horses can’t be winners if you ride them well and pull your weight, but their ability to win in the show ring is not where their real value lies. Lesson horses exist to bring new riders into the sport. To teach them the ropes and get them started, lay a foundation and prepare them to make a bigger commitment to the sport by leasing or purchasing the next step horse. Lesson horses are not responsible for chasing your Olympic dreams for you. They’re responsible for getting them started in the first place. For riders to act like a lesson horse isn’t valuable because he isn’t the winner in any company is ignorant and unfair.

Every horse you ride has something to teach you. Whether it’s the crotchety old school pony who likes to root when you’re not paying attention, or the younger lesson horse who will only pick up the right lead if you ask *just right*, or the ultra reliable skip-change king, they all will add to your toolkit that you can one day apply to the fancier model you get to take you to the next level. Don’t forget about all the lessons you learn along the way and remember that without lesson horses, you wouldn’t be riding at all!

07/15/2023

https://www.facebook.com/100045530872171/posts/833854944808860/?mibextid=cr9u03

Horse Show Photo of the Day from the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival!!! We all know that Leadline is the real show and the Grand Prix is just extra entertainment...

07/09/2023

Congrats to Marin and Infinity winning their low child adult jumper class at GLEF today🥇🏆🦄🎉

04/16/2023

***Important read!!! Sharing from a friend

Things your riding instructor wants you to know:
1. This sport is hard. You don't get to bypass the hard…..every good rider has gone through it. You make progress, then you don't, and then you make progress again. Your riding instructor can coach you through it, but they cannot make it easy.
2. You're going to ride horses you don't want to ride. If you're teachable, you will learn from every horse you ride. Each horse in the barn can teach you if you let them. IF YOU LET THEM. Which leads me to…
3. You MUST be teachable to succeed in this sport. You must be teachable to succeed at anything, but that is another conversation. Being teachable often means going back to basics time and time and time again. If you find basics boring, then your not looking at them as an opportunity to learn. Which brings me to…..
4. This sport is a COMMITMENT. Read that, then read it again. Every sport is a commitment, but in this sport your teammate weighs 1200 lbs and speaks a different language. Good riders don't get good by riding every once in awhile….they improve because they make riding a priority and give themsevles opportunity to practice.
5. EVERY RIDE IS AN OPPORTUNITY. Even the walk ones. Even the hard ones. Every. Single. Ride. Remember when you just wished someone would lead you around on a horse? Find the happiness in just being able to RIDE. If you make every ride about what your AREN'T doing, you take the fun out of the experience for yourself, your horse, and your instructor. Just enjoy the process. Which brings me to...
6. Riding should be fun. It is work. and work isn't always fun.....but if you (or your rider) are consistently choosing other activities or find yourself not looking forward to lessons, it's time to take a break. The horses already know you don't want to be here, and you set yourself up for failure if you are already dreading the lesson before you get here.
7. You'll learn more about horses from the ground than you ever will while riding. That's why ground lessons are important, too. If you're skipping ground lessons (or the part of your lesson that takes place on the ground), you're missing out on the most important parts of the lesson. You spend far more time on the ground d with horses than you do in the saddle.
9. Ask questions and communicate. If you're wondering why your coach is having you ride a particular horse or do an exercise, ask them. Then listen to their answer and refer to #3 above.
8. We are human beings. We make decisions (some of them life and death ones) every day. We balance learning for students with workloads for horses and carry the bulk of this business on our shoulders. A little courtesy goes a long way.
Of all the sports your child will try through their school years, riding is one of 3 that they may continue regularly as adults (golf and skiing are the others). People who coach riding spend the better part of their free time and much of their disposable income trying to improve their own riding and caring for the horses who help teach your child. They love this sport and teaching others…..but they all have their limits. Not all good riders are good coaches, but all good coaches will tell you that the process to get good is not an easy one.

04/10/2023

01/26/2023

No truer words!!!

12/15/2022

**Important read!!! Sharing from a friend

Things your riding instructor wants you to know:
1. This sport is hard. You don't get to bypass the hard…..every good rider has gone through it. You make progress, then you don't, and then you make progress again. Your riding instructor can coach you through it, but they cannot make it easy.
2. You're going to ride horses you don't want to ride. If you're teachable, you will learn from every horse you ride. Each horse in the barn can teach you if you let them. IF YOU LET THEM. Which leads me to…
3. You MUST be teachable to succeed in this sport. You must be teachable to succeed at anything, but that is another conversation. Being teachable often means going back to basics time and time and time again. If you find basics boring, then your not looking at them as an opportunity to learn. Which brings me to…..
4. This sport is a COMMITMENT. Read that, then read it again. Every sport is a commitment, but in this sport your teammate weighs 1200 lbs and speaks a different language. Good riders don't get good by riding every once in awhile….they improve because they make riding a priority and give themsevles opportunity to practice.
5. EVERY RIDE IS AN OPPORTUNITY. Even the walk ones. Even the hard ones. Every. Single. Ride. Remember when you just wished someone would lead you around on a horse? Find the happiness in just being able to RIDE. If you make every ride about what your AREN'T doing, you take the fun out of the experience for yourself, your horse, and your instructor. Just enjoy the process. Which brings me to...
6. Riding should be fun. It is work. and work isn't always fun.....but if you (or your rider) are consistently choosing other activities or find yourself not looking forward to lessons, it's time to take a break. The horses already know you don't want to be here, and you set yourself up for failure if you are already dreading the lesson before you get here.
7. You'll learn more about horses from the ground than you ever will while riding. That's why ground lessons are important, too. If you're skipping ground lessons (or the part of your lesson that takes place on the ground), you're missing out on the most important parts of the lesson. You spend far more time on the ground d with horses than you do in the saddle.
9. Ask questions and communicate. If you're wondering why your coach is having you ride a particular horse or do an exercise, ask them. Then listen to their answer and refer to #3 above.
8. We are human beings. We make decisions (some of them life and death ones) every day. We balance learning for students with workloads for horses and carry the bulk of this business on our shoulders. A little courtesy goes a long way.
Of all the sports your child will try through their school years, riding is one of 3 that they may continue regularly as adults (golf and skiing are the others). People who coach riding spend the better part of their free time and much of their disposable income trying to improve their own riding and caring for the horses who help teach your child. They love this sport and teaching others…..but they all have their limits. Not all good riders are good coaches, but all good coaches will tell you that the process to get good is not an easy one.

12/14/2022

It doesn’t get any cuter than this💕🦄

11/08/2022

People always asked "Why do you pay so much money for your kid to do sports”? Well I have a confession to make; I don't pay for my kid to to do sports. Personally, I couldn't care less about what sport she does.

So, if I am not paying for sports what am I paying for?

- I pay for those moments when my kid becomes so tired she wants to quit but doesn’t.

- I pay for those days when my kid comes home from school and is “too tired" to go to her training but she goes anyway.

- I pay for my kid to learn to be disciplined, focused and dedicated.

- I pay for my kid to learn to take care of her body and learn how to correctly fuel her body for success.

- I pay for my kid to learn to work with others and to be a good team mate, gracious in defeat and humble in success.

- I pay for my kid to learn to deal with disappointment, when they don’t get that placing or title they'd hoped for, but still they go back week after week giving it their best shot.

- I pay for my kid to learn to make and accomplish goals.

- I pay for my kid to respect, not only themselves, but others, officials, judges and coaches.

- I pay for my kid to learn that it takes hours and hours, years and years of hard work and practice to create a champion and that success does not happen overnight.

- I pay for my kid to be proud of small achievements, and to work towards long term goals.

- I pay for the opportunity my child has and will have to make life-long friendships, create lifelong memories, to be as proud of her achievements as I am.

- I pay so that my child can be in the gym instead of in front of a screen...

- I pay for those rides home where we make precious memories talking about practice, both good and bad.

-I pay so that my child can learn the importance of time management and balancing what is important like school and keeping grades up
..I could go on but, to be short, I don't pay for sports; I pay for the opportunities that sports provides my kid with to develop attributes that will serve her well throughout her life and give her the opportunity to bless the lives of others. From what I have seen so far I think it is a great investment!

09/23/2022

Research reveals that horses can copy tasks they watch humans perform. As you go about your daily barn chores—opening gates and turning on lights—keep in mind that your horses may be watching, and possibly learning how to do these things for themselves.

09/22/2022

WhAt an inspiration, every horse girl should read this and dream big and work hard!!

BY ANN JAMIESON Like so many of us, Margie Goldstein Engle’s love for horses came from out of nowhere. Although her family is athletic and enjoys sports, no one else had ever fallen in love with horses. But Margie’s best friend, Andrea Marks, did. Gladewinds Andrea rode at Gladewinds, a local ....