High Standards Stables

11/14/2024

Barn family, Please keep Sloane and her family in your thoughts and prayers as they had to say goodbye to Newb today. He was a really good guy and will be dearly missed.

10/28/2024

It was a great, and emotional day as Kate and Posh Opulence took their final rounds together at WIHS, but they went out with a bang! They put in a beautiful round in the WIHS pony medal, scoring an 84.6, which got them into the flat phase, and they finished in the ribbons! Receiving a ‘Best Turned Out’ award was icing on the cake. Nugget is truly the best boy, and his next kid will be SO lucky.

Both ponies tried their hearts out this weekend. Kate and Beaverwood’s Hydrangia finished up great as well! In all the goodbyes with Nugget, Heidi kind of missed the photo opps (Sorry Heidi!!!!), but we’ll have lots of photos of her to come this year as we released this wonderful girl for another season 😊😊😊.

I’m SO proud of Kate and all the hard work she put in to achieve and exceed her goal of making it to indoors.

Thank you to everyone on our team for their part in keeping our ponies happy, healthy and performing their best at home and at shows! Special shout out to Voltaire Design USA & Canada for being SO fast at getting to us this week when we had a bit of a saddle fitting emergency. Your support and customer service was exceptional.

What a great indoors season!! November brings some actual down time for the humans and horses, but we’ll be back at the horse shows for Presents Under the Tree week at WEC. Until then, ✌🏼.

10/28/2024

❤️❤️❤️

The final award for The Clothes Horse Best Turned Out Horse was actually presented to a pony on Sunday, October 27. Posh Opulence, or “Nugget” in the barn, swayed the judges with a beautiful coat, dapples, and an adorable face, some of which is attributed to his groom, Christina McPhie. It’s a family affair, as Christina’s daughter Katelyn is the rider and owner, and they train with Stephanie Framer.

The pair picked up ribbons in the Medium Pony Hunters and placed tenth in the WIHS Pony Equitation Finals, presented by Huntland. The family, from Wadsworth, OH, has owned Nugget for three years, and this was Katelyn’s final show with the 11-year-old Palomino Welsh Pony gelding by Posh Opposites Attract. Nugget was bred by Ron Dickey DVM.

Typical for a pony, Nugget “eats anything” and loves his food. “He actually really enjoys licking. He likes peppermints, and he loves a salt lick in the barn,” said Katelyn. “My favorite quality about him is how sweet he is. He'll always snuggle, and he's always there to cheer you up.”

This is the pair’s first time at WIHS, and Katelyn enjoyed having her mom groom for her at the show. “She's always there for me,” she said. “She'll have the ponies ready, even if it means that she doesn't get to watch me warm up or be with me all the time, and they always come out looking just the way they should. She always knows what the ponies need.”

10/27/2024

❤️

This image captures the essence of the relationship between a coach and an athlete. It shows how coaches invest pieces of themselves—knowledge, experience, passion—into their athletes, helping them grow, excel, and reach their full potential.

Behind every great athlete is a coach who believed, guided, and gave more than just instructions. They pour time, energy, and heart into molding not only the athlete’s skills but also their character, resilience, and mindset. Coaches are mentors, motivators, and sometimes even life-changers. They give so much of themselves to see others succeed.

To all the coaches out there—thank you for your selflessness, dedication, and unwavering support. You shape not just athletes but also leaders and strong individuals for the future. 🙏

10/22/2024

With simultaneous joy and sadness, it is time to bid Buddy the happiest of retirements. I met Buddy when he was four years old. He came in to the barn to be a school horse in the program I grew up in. I think I was 14. A couple years down the road, Kiersten bought him to be her bffl, but for a lot of her years with him, she’s shared him with the rest of us. And we are so greatful she did!! In the 20 years I’ve known this guy he’s done saddle seat, learned to jump, played IHSA, been the steady eddy beginner lesson horse, been the SMOOTHEST horse to take your first canter on, played babysitter to younger horses in the field, and been a trail horse extraordinaire. Talk about the versatility of the Morgan horse. I will forever love the breed because of him. As a program favorite, I’m sure a lot of riders are going to miss this boy in the barn, but at almost 25, we all know he deserves to hang his bridle up, and go play in field for the rest of his days. Buddy goes to his retirement home on Friday, so any of my students who’d like to bid him farewell, please stop out before then. He’ll gladly accept all your treats, pets, hugs, and well wishes ❤️. And nobody worry, buddy will not be far away. He’ll be down the road in Valley City, kicking it with Wizard (yes, Wiz is still trucking). The two boys have been seperated and reunited several times over their lives, and I’m very excited for them to see each other again. Thank you, Kiersten, for sharing your unicorn with us for so many years. He holds a special place in so many hearts because of you. And thank you, Buddy! For EVERYTHING 💕💕💕💕.

PS- Please share your Buddy memories and/or photos in the comments. We’d LOVE to see them! Below are Bob and Jan. Two of Buddy’s long time riders and fans😊.

10/21/2024

Moments from Harrisburg 😍.

10/14/2024

What a great time we had at Harrisburg! So much love for these ponies who were amazing. What else is new though? We do have some great ponies ❤️. And one more congratulations to Kate for exceeding her goals this week! Thank you to everyone who went out of their way to send us congratulations! Home for a week for some r and r (for the ponies anyway 🤣). Then on to
Washington!

10/12/2024

😍😍😍🎉🎉🎉

Congratulations to Posh Opulence. 5th place in jumping round today. This boy has ribboned in ALL jumping rounds this week at PNHS.

10/12/2024

Big Congratulations to Katelyn McPhie and Posh Opulence on a second place finish in their conformation round and fourth in the handy. SO proud of this pair.

10/06/2024

We’ve been really busy all season working towards achieving goals, competing, and learning. I decided it was time to do something that was just for fun. And today was definitely stupid fun! We had a great time riding in the haunted hunter pace at Bath Pony Club!!! Featured below are team ACOTAR, team Pink Pony Club, and team Sharks. Happy Halloween!! 🎃 👻

09/21/2024

The time is quickly approaching for Nugget to find his next kid 😭❤️. A fantastic home is a must!

Medium, Children’s- Division pony proudly offered to borrow after WIHS.
Posh Opulence (USEF 5659803) is truly a once in a lifetime pony. His highlight real includes:

⭐️Ribbons in the model and under saddle in the medium greens at pony finals 2021.
⭐️Ribboned in the M&S Pony Medal Finals at PF 2023
⭐️Qualified for Devon, Harrisburg, and Washington 2024.
⭐️Countless champion, reserves, and top derby placings at venues like WEC Ocala, KHP, Lamplight, WEC OH, and more.

“Nugget” is easy to live with at home, and simple to prep at shows. He's brave to the jumps, takes a joke, and will march around any venue. He has a big stride and carries his own rhythm without being “quick.” Nugget will be your kid’s best friend, and allow them to learn and be competitive anywhere they’d like to go. If I had a kid in the barn for him, he would never leave! His current kid ages out of the mediums at the end of this season. Nugget is available to be tried now, but is taking his kid to her first indoors and will be available to borrow only, in November. He is also qualified for PF 2025! To inquire or set up a trial, please PM or contact Stephanie at (330)322-7760.

09/20/2024

The beginnings of fall around the farm 🍁. I often feel like Snow White walking around this place. Though. . . I probably work as hard as all 7 dwarves combined 🤣. In one week, I saw Mamma and Pappa Swan with their 3 babies (these guys were small enough to fit in my hand in May 😳), Mamma deer and her twin fawns, a Great Blue Heron, and a Bald Eagle, all while riding ponies in beautiful sunshine as the leaves change colors. What a fairy tale 🧡🧡🧡.

09/18/2024

This duo is headed for Harrisburg and WIHS!! Some crazy trainer (🤚🏼) thought it would be a good idea to get her kid qualified for indoors right after she’d finished chemo and major surgery 🤣. It’s been a busy year of horse showing for sure, but goal accomplished ✔️. We even made it to Devon along the way. Congratulations Katelyn McPhie and Posh Opulence ❤️.

09/16/2024

What a great time at Brave Horse Ohio this week!!!! We got off to a chaotic start. Our hotel reservations were cancelled two days before leaving. But this forced us to get a big air bnb together, and it was SO much fun. The girls camped out in the basement together all weekend, and we had lots of “family dinners”. As for the horse show, the girls and horses were awesome this week!!

Sloane and Newlin were 2,4, and 5 in the 1.00 Juniors, and had a fantastic clear speed round this morning.

Adriana got back to horse showing for the first time in a couple years and took Champion in the limit hunters AND reserve Champion in the Limit Eq.

Austin and Patty cake were 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4 in their jump rounds in the limit hunters and eq, and 2 in the eq on the flat. This pair makes progress everytime they go out!

Kate and Heidi D'Angelo’s Greenlights took Reserve Champion in the USHJA 2’3”, and received 1 and 2 o/f in the pre children’s 2’3”. Thank you, Heidi, for trusting us with your boy this weekend. We had so much fun with him!

Kates stellar weekend continued . . .

Beaverwood’s Hydrangia- 1st in the pony derby, Champion in the Large ponies and 2nd in the WIHS

Posh Opulence- 2nd in the pony derby, 1st in the combined pony classic, 1st in the M&S medal, and champion in the medium ponies. Also- CONGRATULATIONS to this pair on qualifying for Harrisburg.

Viva Valerius- Reserve Champion in the USHJA 2’6”

Revita Belu- Champion in the Children’s hunters, 1st in the THIS medal, second in the combined child adult classic, and 7th in the USHJA National derby!

Thank you Kelci and Hannah for your impeccable grooming and horse care.

I really do have the greatest team. We slow down for a little while now, but we’ll be back at the horse shows before we know it!

09/09/2024

The kids having a safe place and wanting to hang together at the barn has always been such a large part of my vision. This makes my heart smile so big.

Just 5 girls fishing…….. love our place 💕🐴

09/07/2024

SF Quandary Peak and me at the HEC schooling show a couple weekends ago (I’m way behind on my horse show posts and will catch up this weekend!). This is almost exactly a year after my last chemo. Boy, a lot can change in a year ❤️. It’s so good to feel like I’m “back”, and to be back in the ring. I’m so thankful for the ride on this boy.

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08/13/2024

Tonight, Carly Akins and Lindsay Hofmeister had their last lessons before leaving for college. I’m sure gonna miss these two! Go kill it at Miami girls! I’ll see you soon ❤️.