Clayton Ridge Horse Farm

07/02/2024

05/17/2024

04/12/2024

Spring cleaning is upon us! 🌺🐴 Check out these new tips to get your grooming brushes ready to give your horse that perfect show ring shine. 💫🏅

03/09/2024

Baltimore County 4-H is partnering with Harford County 4-H for a horse workshop on April 28th at the Harford County Equestrian Center from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. Topics: How to take (TPR) temperature, pulse & respiration, what are normal TPR's, internal parasites, deworming practices, how the digestive system works, equine dentistry and more! Registration & fee due April 15th. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QOo-YbJaAoBXkamjtj_wqg3KZyqAkDMy/view?usp=drive_link

10/30/2023

One of the many brilliant costume ideas. Happy Halloween 👻👻👻

10/29/2023

Thank you to everyone that attended our 21st annual Halloween Show. We saw a lot of great costumes and great riding. And as always, thank you to Rebecca Briggs for organizing another perfect show. Please post all of your pics and Happy Halloween 🎃

01/23/2023

‘Let your child have a bad ride.
I know you want to protect them from the hardships of this world.
I know you want to give them success and good experiences.
I know you don't want to see them get hurt. To see them fall. To see them fail.
But, hear me out, let your child have a bad ride.
Let them cry the tears of frustration.
Let them shake the sand out from the inside of their riding pants.
Let them face the fear building inside of them.
Let them step back on again.
Yes, let your child have a bad ride.
Let them hate the horse that challenges them.
Let them learn what fight and passion and ambition mean.
Let them realize that when they refuse to quit the horse will take the time to listen.
Grant them the joy of realizing that they are connecting with another living being.
Grant them the joy of realizing that they, although they are small, can be powerful.
Grant them the joy of seeing their hard work pay off, through the days of tears can come a love unspeakable.
Yes, let your child have a bad ride.
Afterall, life will grant us plenty of them.’

By Sarah Crouse

01/10/2023

We love these Reflection Questions on 2022!

1. Identify 3 things you’ve improved the most or learned and 3 things your horse has improved the most or learned this year.

2. What problems/challenges did you and your horse overcome?

3. What do you have to be particularly grateful for about this year?

4. What has been your favorite activity with your horse this year? What activities made your horse happy? Why?

5. What has been difficult to do together with your horse this year? Why?

6. What worries did you have that turned out to be unnecessary?

7. What did you do together for the first time ever in the past year?

8. If you could change something about this year what would it be? What do you hope to change about yourself or your horse’s training for next year?

9. What knowledge did you gain through books, coaching, or classes that helped you become a better version of yourself?

10. In what ways did you contribute and give back to help others this year?

11. Who in your equestrian sport sphere has had a positive impact on you this year? What impact have they had?

12. What little things together with your horse gave you the most day-to-day pleasure?

13. What was your biggest goal for 2022? Did you achieve it? Why or why not? How will you use this information to help plan goals for 2023?

14. What has been your favorite activity with your horse this year? Why?

15. What compliment would you like to give yourself and your horse?

16. Of all the things you’ve achieved, what are you most proud of in the past year?

01/06/2023

For anyone feeling frustrated with the rain and not being able to ride/train/improve right now...this is from the blog of a dear mentor 💜🐴💪 The power of rest....
"Horsepeople tend to be driven, a bit Type-A. Our work is never done. We eat holiday meals quickly so we can do chores. Even when we are in limbo between holidays we feel guilty about not doing enough. We have a pile of should related to tasks we haven't gotten to, not because we're lazy, but because we take on too much to start with. Mostly we feel bad that we aren't getting as much done with our horses as we should in this arctic void between holidays.

Just a friendly reminder. Your horse's memory is much better than yours. They do not forget their training. When it's cold, they spend more energy staying warm and they don't miss us. It's their season to half-hibernate, standing in the morning light. They are resting deep inside. It's a healing rest that changes them come spring. We don't feel we have time for that kind of rest and we fight the idea we need to heal. Well, we probably do, and rest doesn't mean we are wasting time. Horses don't keep time, she says checking the time. Just stop. Horses. Don't. Keep. Time.

The world will hold your place in line. Curl up in a dogpile with your head next to the dog who tilts his head far enough back that his lips part and you can see his teeth. Listen. Let a cat perch on your chest like a warm meatloaf. Let your heart soak up the juice. Let yourself feel exhausted because denying it won't make it go away. Sometimes it's healing to finally admit the truth.

It's also true that we are strong and capable and have been dancing backward in muck boots long enough that we have nothing to prove. Let your scars show. Smile so big your teeth get dry. And for crying out loud, stop apologizing all the time. Finally give yourself the credit you deserve. We are here to change the world. Nothing less. But first we nap"

Credit: Anna Blake

01/06/2023

For this week’s tip I’d like to share with you how to develop your self confidence. Many riders aren’t pursuing objectives out there because of self limiting beliefs and their fear of the judgment, defeat and embarrassment.

Self confidence is not something that you inherently have or don’t have! Self confidence has nothing to do with talent. Many of my students in clinics think that self confidence comes from the achievements and basically having proven that we are good at riding having achieved a certain level or earned certain awards. But I want you to consider that many riders don’t pursue things in the future or don’t set challenging objectives for themselves because they don’t yet have the experience to be good at riding at a certain level. But how can you reach that level if you don’t even attempt to try things you haven’t done before?

Self confidence doesn’t come from experience nor talent, but comes from our willingness to experience vulnerability. It comes from our willingness to experience judgment from other people, failure and embarrassment at a show, at a clinic or at your barn. We are worried ahead of time about the emotion on the other side of that attempt, we don’t even want to try because we don’t want to feel such negative emotions.

I made a shift in my life by applying the following process: instead of avoiding feelings of failure or embarrassment ahead of time, preventing me to put myself out there at a show, a championship, a symposium or even posting a video of myself on social media and exposing myself to critics...I rehearsed ahead of time what I would feel if I would fail and actually be embarrassed. Having a bad score, a bad ride, having people criticizing your riding, or even worse: your horse, are things that will happen to any rider at any level. There is an army of people waiting to tear anyone appart behind their phones. Regardless if you are an Olympian or a backyard rider. This is a circumstance we can’t change nor control, and it is nothing personal to us.

What hurts and holds you back is only what you make it mean for yourself. The fact of getting a bad score at a show is harmless, the only thing that makes it painful is what you make it mean.

By rehearsing the worse that can happen in any given situation, in my mind, I realized that what I was actually afraid of is the judgment from other people of me making that attempt and miserably failing. But what I also noticed is that none of those people really matter in my life. None of those people truly support me, and genuinely care about me. None of those people we are anticipating judging us are true friends, mentors or family.

The secret to develop more self confidence and allowing yourself to grow and chase your dreams as a rider is to stop anticipating opinions of people that don’t matter to you, and more importantly starting to have your own back. We are terrible support to ourselves! We actually are the first ones to beat ourselves up for a failed attempt. The key is to develop the willingness to have your own support. Regardless of what happens to me at a show, a symposium, a clinic, I don't make it reflect bad on myself as a rider or a trainer, I create a soft landing for myself. Even if I fail miserably, I only make it mean that I tried my best and that I will get back up. The same way, I will never be disappointed in a student putting himself or herself out there trying and failing. They have to go through the process of failure and defeat to build their own self confidence, get out of their comfort zone and grow as a rider. Self confidence is not a talent, it is something you can create in your mind to fuel your journey towards whatever success you envision for yourself.

Photo credit: Susan Stickle

01/04/2023

A tip we hope you don't need...

12/19/2022

This is impressive...sigh...thankfully not one of ours.

12/06/2022

TRUE story 😁
credits: Pinterest

12/01/2022

We hope you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving!! If you may have over did it with Thanksgiving dinner.....head out to the barn and work that second helping off!

11/26/2022

Every time I mount a horse, I’ve started do this new thing. It began with my own horse, back in the early days when I was newly pregnant, and he was an athletically inclined seven-year-old. Shortly after mounting, before we picked up the trot or started our work, I would run a hand down his …

11/24/2022

If you give a kid a pony...

If you give a kid a pony, they will need a saddle to go with it...

You’ll buy them the best saddle you can afford and then they will probably want a bridle and a saddle pad and some boots too…

Then they will probably spend hours begging you to go to the barn even though there are other things that you need to do. They will insist and their insistence will win.

And when they get their first show shirt, they’ll need a belt and spurs and a hat… And a TEAM, a Barn Family… And then, life as you know it is over.

No more lazy weekends or holidays for you, my friend. You will see more sunrises than you ever thought possible. Every spare minute will be spent hauling kids and dogs and boots and tack all over tarnation for hours to practice for their sport. The sport that will drive their very passion.

And your house will be a mess. And your car will be dirty. All because you gave a kid a pony…

Your weekends will be spent freezing to death or burning up as you hang out in the barn or arena. And their weekends will be spent gaining confidence and friends and learning new skills that will stick with them for the rest of their lives. They’ll be having fun and getting dirty… So dirty that you will be doing laundry in a whole new way - possibly at times involving a pressure washer.

And you’ll be there the day they learn to lope, the day they win their first ribbon, win their first class, get their first Circuit Championship… And you will be SO proud. The other parents will Congratulate you… But you know, it’s the hardwork and determination that they have invested into this pony that deserves the congratulations. As a team, they have done this…

And right before your eyes, your little one will be transformed from a small fry who be bopped along on that little pony with their little bum bouncing out of the saddle into a little horseman. And you will be proud… So proud.

When you give a kid a pony, you give them more than just a four legged furry friend. You give them a sport, a talent, hopes, dreams, and friends - friends who become family, a place to learn about life, room to grow as a person where they can push themselves to their very limits, and bravery, and courage, and memories… Oh the memories that will last a lifetime. And a LIFE. They will have ALL THESE THINGS simply because you gave a kid a pony…

Because you gave a kid a pony, you too will develop new lifelong friendships, developed solely from the same passion for the sport and the love of your barn family and team. You will root together. And cry together. And laugh together. All because you gave a kid a pony…

Then one day - years from now… They will be in their room and a picture of that pony will catch their eye. When they look at it they at it they will know instantly that when you gave that kid a pony you gave them a childhood that they will never forget. They will realize that everything YOU gave up along the way… was worth it.

All because you gave a kid a pony…

~ Anna Ingram Knowles

📸: .the.equestrian on Instagram