Westphalen Farms

06/18/2026

Some good reading 😊

Welcome to Trainer Tuesday! This week’s question posed is: What are the most important elements to finding a good distance?

“Pace and track. If you have those two things correct, you will almost always have a good distance to the jump. Your horses stride must be rhythmic, and your horse must be straight to the jumps. The goal is to always keep the speed and rhythm the same and try not to make too many adjustments. When the rider has an accurate speedometer, they can rate the pace much easier so they can make sure the speed always gets reset back to the ‘right’ pace for the horse in between the jumps.” – Stevie McCarron Wigley

“I think the narrative around finding a distance needs to be changed to learning more about a quality canter. As a rider, you are always responsible for your horse’s pace, path and their balance. These three things will lead you to a quality canter. When a rider has learned to control the canter, the ability to find a distance will become drastically easier.” – Kari Briggs

“A horse carrying the rider to the jump (not behind the rider’s leg) continuing to the jump. Straight and balanced canter with one rhythm (I think 110 strides per minute but I could be mistaken) a clear track to the center of the jump. Once you have the right connection with your horse, and the right canter, the horse should show you the distance so you won’t have to work so hard to find it.” – Stefanie Mazer

“The most important elements to finding a good distance are: having a good canter, having the proper track & approach to the fence, and having your horse in good balance and connection so they are with you!” – Michael Tokaruk

📎 Continue reading more trainer answers at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2024/06/17/trainer-tuesday-what-are-the-most-important-elements-to-finding-a-good-distance/
📸 © Heather N. Photography

06/12/2026

Our extremely long day at Briarwood’s Derby Day did not disappoint! The girls all rode beautifully and we came home with some impressive ribbons and prizes!

Shannon Powell and “Forever Oz” started it off by taking champion in the low children’s hunters out of a large competitive group. They also took third out of 14 in the 2’6 children’s medal.

Next, Katie Brown rode “Dark Side of the Moon” to reserve champion out of a very large group in the 2’0 hopeful hunters.

Nora Stashefski and “Rugged Remixdoesit” brushed the dust off, taking on their first outing in months due to Nora being away at college. They managed to ribbon in every class out of a substantial group of horses.

Well done ladies!!!

06/12/2026

A little late with the posting, but congrats to our riders who competed at Lotus in May.

Nicole Boulton and her “A Touch of Sunshine” competed in their first show together, earning great ribbons in the hopeful hunters. A job well done and worth the long wait!

Katherine Brown and her “Dark Side of the Moon” took top ribbons in the 2’3 hopeful hunters.

Shannon Powell and “Forever Oz” moved up the the 2’9 hunters, riding beautifully and holding their own against a group of mostly professionals.

Great job team!

04/19/2026

Congrats to our students on another successful show day.

Stella Clevenger and Dark Side of the Moon debuted in the 2’0 hopeful hunters. They had 3 excellent rounds over fences and hacked beautifully! We are so excited to see this young green bean’s transition to hunter land!

Shannon Powell and Forever Oz were reserve champion in the low children’s hunters!

Sofie Stancavish and McIlroy received great ribbons in the low children’s equitation, including a win over fences!

04/14/2026

This past weekend we kicked off our outdoor show season at Four Seasons!

The 12 hour show day was worth it!

Shannon Powell and Forever Oz were reserve champion in the low children’s hunter out of a large competitive division.

Shannon also won 1st in the 2’6 M&S medal out of 12 entries, and placed 4th in the M&S 2’6 classic out of 18 entries.

Sofie Stancavish and her horse McIlroy earned 6th out of 21 entries in the 2’6 jr/amateur hunter derby. They also were 3rd out of 12 entries in the medal, and ribboned in every class in the very large and competitive low children’s equitation division.

So proud of these girls and the hard work they’ve put into preparing for this show season! Congrats!

03/22/2026

Another great day at Lotus Show Stables starting our 2026 show season off with beautiful riding, and the horses were great!

These girls have been working hard over the winter!

Shannon and Forever Oz were champion in the low children’s hunter, including a win over fences.

Sofie and McIlroy got great ribbons in the low children’s equitation in a big competitive division. They also had great trips in the hunters. This was a successful second show for this new partnership.

We are looking forward to a great year!

09/24/2025

So incredibly proud of Shannon and Nora, and their wonderful horses. Marshall and Sterling Finals was a blast, and the girls came home with top ten ribbons In the 2’6 hunters out of very large groups.

Well done ! 👏

09/08/2025

Great job Carsyn Westphalen and Nora Stashefski ! Another successful show at Lotus Show Stables in great company!

Carsyn was champion on “American Girl” in the 2’0 hopeful hunters with a win over Fences!

Nora and “Rugged Remixdoesit” were Champion in the Low Adult hunters, winning the hack and an over fences class!

08/25/2025

Another horse show weekend on the books!

For the first time, the whole crew competed against each other !

The girls all rode great- so great in fact that they almost triple tied in division points!

In the end, Nora and Rugged Remixdoesit won reserve champion, with just half a point more than the others!

Great riding as well Hannah and Shannon!

Next stop, Marshall and Sterling Finals!

08/23/2025

Beautiful time of year on the farm 😍