Maine Equine Sports at Crystal Lake Farm

02/08/2025

We had a great Horsemanship Group today! Participants focused on solidifying their knowledge of bridle parts, worked on bridle assembly, and practiced bridle sizing under the instruction and coaching of Kate and Nik!

01/20/2025

A 12 hour difference brings a beautiful fresh layer of snow to the farm ❄️

01/12/2025

Congratulations team Maine Equine Sports for a wonderful 2024 season! Also a huge congratulations to all MeHJA competitors 🎉 ⁣
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Last night was a wonderful evening at the 2024 MeHJA Year End Awards Banquet celebrating both our students’ accomplishments and those of fellow MeHJA competitors! ⁣
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Here’s Maine Equine Sports’ results: ⁣
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🏆 𝟰𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 in Hunter Breeding Ponies - 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗲 shown by Maddie Lancaster⁣
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🏆 𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 in Hunter Breeding Ponies- 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿 shown by Liliana Dudar⁣
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🏆 𝟲𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 in Hunter Breeding Ponies - 𝗣𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗼 shown by Grace Lindner⁣
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🏆 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻 in Leadline Equitation - 𝗚𝗮𝗯𝗯𝘆 𝗚𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗻 with Spicy Pickle, Moon Affair & Pistachio ⁣
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🏆 𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 in Leadline Pleasure - 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿 ridden by Gabby Gagnon⁣
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🏆 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻 in Walk Trot 11 & Up Equitation - 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗻𝗲𝗿 with Spicy Pickle & Moon Affair⁣
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🏆 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻 in Walk Trot 11 & Up Pleasure - 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗲 with Grace Lindner⁣
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🏆 𝟲𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 in MeHJA Vet Fund Pleasure - 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗲 with Maddie Lancaster⁣
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🏆 𝟰𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 in Puddle Jumpers - 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿 with Kate Bennett⁣
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🏆 𝟲𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 in Puddle Jumpers - 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗲 with Maddie Lancaster ⁣
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🏆 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘇𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗹 in Walk Trot Poles Medal - 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗻𝗲𝗿 with Spicy Pickle & Moon Affair⁣
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💛💙𝗠𝗲𝗛𝗝𝗔 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 - 𝗡𝗶𝗸 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝘀💙💛⁣
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💛💙𝗠𝗲𝗛𝗝𝗔 𝗝𝗥 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 - 𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿💙💛⁣
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The 2024 season brought many ups & downs, it was a season of growth & many personal accomplishments. This crew deserves the recognition for all their hard work, time dedicated, and the love they have for these animals! ⁣
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We’re so proud of our students & horses at MES! Thank you all for choosing MES not only for competition opportunities but to learn all about equine behavior & why we do what we do with horses. ⁣
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Looking forward to an exciting 2025 ahead continuing to integrate R+ training with sport!⁣
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Kate & Nik

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us at Maine Equine Sports! The herd enjoyed a special holiday breakfast today topped with some of their favorite snacks ❤️

12/25/2024

A Merry Christmas Eve from the herd, Nash, Kate & Nik to you! ❄️🐴💕

12/19/2024

This happened to us this summer with strangers coming by and feeding the herd. We manage our horses’ feed meticulously and after large carrots were fed to our senior guy without permission at night he choked resulting in an after hours emergency vet call. Thank goodness he’s okay. One of many reasons we do not allow our herd to be fed without permission and we’re a private barn. It’s not okay to feed other people’s animals.

12/08/2024

We have 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 & December is the 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 time to get on the schedule before lesson spots fill up in the new year! ⁣
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𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗡𝗶𝗸 teaches beginner through intermediate students ages 7+. Nik is a wonderful teacher for learning the basics of riding (steering, walk, trot) & groundwork with clicker training! He offers knowledge in creating a strong foundation for both western & english riders! Nik has space for new students on Saturdays!⁣
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𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗲 specializes in teaching intermediate & advanced students (teens & adults) who are interested in learning anything & everything about training with R+ and applying it to both groundwork & riding! Students lessoning with Kate must be interested in the process of training with food rewards. Kate only has space for 1-2 new students on weekday afternoons at this time.
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𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲? ⁣
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Explore our website: www.maineequinesports.com⁣
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Then schedule a Meet & Greet lesson to get started!

12/07/2024

The UNH Jumper Show today was an absolutely perfect way to wrap up the 2024 season!⁣
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It was an incredible successful day both goal and ribbon wise. There were 6, 1sts among this group in classes filled way past the placings. Their rides were so deserving of such! ⁣
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One thing sitting with me this evening is the incredible sportsmanship & horsemanship these riders demonstrated all day under ALL circumstances. ⁣
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I texted Crystal a couple weeks back to see if she’d entertain the idea of hauling two of my ponies students to show today as we had many variables preventing us from hauling ourselves there. She met my ask with so much enthusiasm & also wanting to join in on the show fun! She brought Spumoni & Wild (of the lovely .equestrian ) along with their kids to jump around too. ⁣(Gabby not pictured due to nap 💤)
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So fun & what a cool dynamic! These kids & ponies have met in passing most of the season & have been competitors at some point or another but instead I believe new friendships were made. I was reminded of the strong power of horses to bring us together. I’ve seen so much divide in the industry lately with so much discussion around equine welfare, ethics, sports, and opinions..it’s reassuring to see that it is possible to have a fun, supportive community in horse sport! ⁣
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We all helped each other out & came together to be a team for the day. It was so much FUN 🤩 cheering each other on, watching each kid & horse reach milestones & just absolutely enjoy the journey together! ⁣
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These kids bent over backwards to take care of the horses today. Every horse in this group was pampered and cared for beyond words without any prompting…the best interest of the horse always went without question. ⁣
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What an absolutely perfect show day to end the 2024 season with! Thank you all for making is such a fun day! ⁣
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Thank you so much Crystal for the haul today and helping us out when Pickle wasn’t feeling fabulous at the end of the day. Thankfully he’s back to himself but hasn’t been a fan of this cold.⁣
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Thank you to UNH Equine (UNH Equine Program University of New Hampshire IHSA Team)for running such a well run & fun show! We appreciate all the hard work you put into it and can’t wait to return!⁣
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~Kate

11/04/2024

What a fun Saturday of Groups!

The theme was confidence building with cone sending in a small group!

Each small group delegated tasks requiring clear, consistent communication among people.

This was a fun challenge for students!

11/03/2024

What an incredibly good day 🤩

These kids have worked SO FREAKING HARD for today! After our recent shows focusing on lots of schooling and working through challenges, it was so rewarding to see it all come together today and the hard work pay off. They absolutely crushed their goals, have improved tremendously in riding proactively & with the horse, their cues & effective riding have come so far. I watched them make so many smart choices for both themselves & the horses and bounce back from mistakes on their own. I love seeing them put their skills to use & be able to ride in and large open space independently.

In a large division of 11 (I think..maybe more?) they scored in both their Hunter & Handy rounds and placed!!!

💛Maddie & Spicy Pickle 3rd in the Ground Hunter Division💛

💚Lili & Moon Affair 6th in the Ground Hunter Division💚

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t emotional after this one. To see my Pickle pony rise through the ranks with his lease kid who absolutely adores him after his first season showing was absolutely incredible. Just back in April a flat class was too overstimulating, now he’s placing 3rd out of 11 in a hunter derby 🥹 And just ONE year ago I was slowly restarting him tackles, just walking for the months of Nov & Dec 2023. My eyes have welled up with happy tears many times today.

Pharaoh crushed it of course and enjoyed strutting his stuff in a bigger space! Lili & Pharaoh have worked through so much this season. Pharaoh’s been the PERFECT teacher for helping Lili develop a stable lower leg & balance energy. Today was a HUGE accomplishment for them as a team!! 🎉

Wonderful work today ladies! I’m so proud of y’all & the ponies! 💚💛

~Kate

10/31/2024

👻 Happy Halloween! 🎃

At the show this past Sunday, 3 of our students entered the costume class! They designed costumes based on the horses names.

👑 Lili & Pharaoh were Pharaoh 👸

🥒 Maddie, Gabby & Pickle were Spicy Pickle 🌶️

So much fun!! 🤩

09/12/2024

Sunday was such a fun day full of 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗘 classes and fun with the ponies! It was very windy but our ponies stayed their usual selves and crushed it! ⁣
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⭐️𝗚𝗮𝗯𝗯𝘆 & 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗲⭐️⁣
•2nd Leadline Hunter Seat Equitation (Riders 7 & Under)⁣
•3rd Leadline Hunter Seat Pleasure Horse/Pony (Riders 7 & Under) ⁣
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⭐️𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗲 & 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗲⭐️⁣
•3rd Hunter Breeding Ponies⁣
•8th 18” (0.45m) Baby Green Puddle Jumper A⁣
•6th 18” (0.45m) Baby Green Puddle Jumper B⁣
•4th 18” (0.45m) Take 2 Baby Green Puddle Jumper A⁣
•1st 18” (0.45m) Take 2 Baby Green Puddle Jumper B ⁣
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⭐️𝗟𝗶𝗹𝗶 & 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿⭐️⁣
•6th Hunter Breeding Ponies ⁣
•4th 18” (0.45m) Take 2 Baby Green Puddle Jumper B⁣
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⭐️𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 & 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗲⭐️⁣
•3rd Ground Poles Jumpers⁣
•3rd Walk-Trot Equitation (11+)⁣
•5th Walk-Trot Pleasure (11+)⁣
•1st (out of 16!!) MeHJA Walk-Trot Poles Medal ⁣
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⭐️𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗲 & 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗲⭐️⁣
•2nd in a large Easy Does it Hunter Under Saddle Class⁣
•7th in Easy Does it O/F (18”)⁣
•5th Easy Does it Hunter Stake (18”) ⁣
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⭐️𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗲 & 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿⭐️⁣
•3rd 18” (0.45m) Take 2 Baby Green Puddle Jumper A⁣
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A bit of a surreal experience for me wrapping up the day completing the Easy Does It division on Pickles who just 5 short months ago we were introducing to showing. At Pickle’s first off farm show in April, he was quite overstimulated. We did one flat class with 3 other horse/riders in a large arena, he quickly went over threshold. I dismounted and stood in the middle feeding him treats from my pocket & bringing him back down quickly on the ground. I knew I had my work cut out for me but stayed determined and calm.⁣
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Each show Pickles has made incredible progress and quickly has surpassed all expectations and goals this season! Students have been a big part in his success, contributing to his training at home and making smart choices at shows to set Pickles up for good experiences. Thank you to every student who’s appreciated him and taken care of him as if he were your own!⁣
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Great job team! Your horsemanship and sportsmanship continues to impress me and make me so very proud to call myself your coach & trainer!⁣
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~Kate

09/12/2024

A great explanation of why we choose mainly food rewards. Here at MES we certainly mix in scratches too, but it’s important to understand the value and how it’s understood to the horse.

Why don't we just use scratches with positive reinforcement instead of food? Well, in real life practice is becomes a clumsy, messy, inconsistent reinforcer to use alone.

Most horses either find scratching low value or extremely high value. If they aren't particularly itchy, scratches don't mean much to a horse. We can often train basic behaviors like standing for grooming or basic targeting/leading skills with scratches, but its not a reliable reinforcer when things get hard. It may be strong enough to maintain a behavior that is easy for the horse, but if its something they don't want to do or if there is competeing reinforcers available (like grass) its often not strong enough to maintain the behaviors. Then we end up mixing in R- again to make them listen.

Or horses find scratching too high value. Horses who are terribly itchy and love scratches. But they get distracted by wanting more scratches, they feel punished when we stop scratching and get frustrated when they aren't finding the clear path to more scratches. Sometimes the horses who like scratches the kost are the worst candidates for scratches as reinforcement.

Scratches are slow to deliver. We need to scratch for a sufficient amount of time that the horse actually appreciates it and feel satiated, for the reinforcement to be of value. Which is slow and exhausting for us. This would stretch a 1 minute training session with food with 10 reps of a behavior, 10 clicks+treats, to a 20 minute session. Its slow and interrupts the horse's natural training flow. They are thinking about the skill, get the click, then spend 2 minutes being scratched they aren't likely to jump right back into doing the goal behavior for the next loop. We want to be able to loop through the cue-behavior-reinforcement loop fairly smoothly and quickly so the horse can keep focusing on the task and the increasing criteria. Without interrupting it for frequent breaks.

We can however, use scratches as a great way to let a horse know when they did an extra good job. With a large reinforcement, a break from the repetition and a moment of being thoroughly appreciated. But food is safe, convenient, fast, adjustable value, and effect

09/12/2024

Unfortunately, we’ve had to postpone the Shawna Karrasch Equine clinic due to limited sign ups. We plan to reschedule to early summer 2025 and will announce a date once a new one is established. Sorry y’all! We were looking forward to it, hopefully there will be more interest early summer.