Clairvaux LLC

01/02/2025

Our riders finished out 2024 with a successful outing to the Swan Lake Holiday Blast. We had some riders move up to new divisions and new heights, some show with new horses for the first time, and others continue their work in familiar divisions.

💙Carrie and FreeG won the Gittings, placed 2nd in the NHS, and 3rd in the USHJA Jump Seat Medal.

💙Eden and new mount, Charon, were 5th in the MHSA and 1st in the USHJA jump seat. Eden also showed Understated, finishing 1st in the Ch/Ad Equitation on the Flat, 6th in the Gittings and 4th in the NHS.

💙Natalie showed her new horse, Oden, for the first time, placing 3rd in the Gittings, THIS, and Josey Mohler.

💙Kenenger and To Be Frank earned Reserve Champion in the 2’9” Child/Adult Equitation.

💙Reese and Dockside put in productive rounds over fences in the USHJA 2’6”, and earned a 7th place in a competitive under saddle.

💙Taylor and her new partner, Vegas, figured each other out with good rides at 1.20m and 1.25m.

💙Grace and Crack the Shadows continued their work at 1.10m with strong rounds.

💙Alexis and Mr. Fahrenheit showed well in the 0.90m, earning 5th in the Classic.

Congrats, riders! We’re excited to keep learning and growing in 2025!

12/31/2024

Thanks, 2024, for a great year. We learned a lot, we had some big wins and impressive shows, saw our riders meet and exceed their goals, and, as always, we got to spend our time with the best horses around ❤️

11/28/2024

11/25/2024

What a great weekend for our IEA teams! We hosted our second home meet of the season on Saturday and both teams earned reserve champion, despite having incomplete teams. Then, we had a successful show at Full Moon on Sunday. Some highlights from the weekend include Chloe winning the sportsmanship award at Clairvaux, Jocelynn winning all 4 of her classes for the whole weekend, Reese winning the Varsity Intermediate under saddle at Clairvaux, Amelia winning her WTC class, Izzy winning both the warm-up and Future WTC on Sunday, Victoria winning her Walk/Trot class, Riley winning the Open Over Fences, several riders qualifying for Regionals, and our horses getting compliments from the Steward on how well they all did 💙❤️

11/18/2024

Watch Richard Vogel’s body control in the air, as he handily wins with the uber-talented United Touch S.

11/11/2024

Another late update to share: we had 3 riders compete at the WIHS regional show, and all 3 came away with huge successes! Carrie earned reserve champion in the Gittings Equitation final with Freedom G, Grace and Crack the Shadows were champion in the 1.0m with a win in the classic, and Reese and Dockside continued their progress together at 2’6”, with good trips over fences and a win in the under saddle class. Carrie also earned 2nd place in the MHSA horsemanship test. Congrats, riders!

11/11/2024

We have so much good IEA news to catch up on. In the last few weeks, our team has competed at Wulfcrest, Garrison Forest, and Woodpecker Farm.

At Wulfcrest, our high school team came away with reserve champion, with Meghan winning both the Intermediate over fences and flat classes, Riley winning the Open over fences, Sarah winning her section of the Intermediate over fences , Chloe placing 2nd in the JV Novice flat. In middle school, Vivian took 2nd place in both the Intermediate over fences and flat, Yulia was 2nd in the novice over fences, and Minaahil, Maddie, and Victoria took the top 3 spots in the Walk/Trot.

At Garrison Forest, Alexis placed 1st in the Open over fences and Riley was 2nd on the flat. In the Future Intermediate, Vivian took 2nd over fences and Kenenger placed 2nd on the flat. Finally, Blakely finished out the day for us with a 3rd in the Future Walk/Trot.

Yesterday at Woodpecker Farm, Alexis was strong and put in impressive rides, placing 6th in the Open over fences. Meghan also earned a 6th over fences and rode beautifully on the flat in the Varsity Intermediate. Chloe had some of her best rides yet. We were so impressed with her decision making over fences and her position work and accuracy during her flat class. Isabella placed 2nd in the JV WTC. Our middle schoolers were able to earn good ribbons on the flat, with Kenenger winning the Intermediate under saddle, Isabella and Amelia both winning their sections of the WTC, and Minaahil and Victoria taking 1st and 2nd in the Walk/Trot.

We feel so lucky to be able to show at so many different barns and ride so many different types of horses. This is why we love IEA, because there’s always learning to be done!

11/02/2024

Happy Halloween! We had a great time at our annual Halloween parade, which has become one of our favorite traditions at Clairvaux. We saw a boat and Nemo, a Christmas tree, a knight, 2 Chappell Roans with pink ponies, Uma from the Descendants, a referee and lacrosse player, a cow, a kissing booth, 2 unicorns, and Zuko and Aang from Avatar the Last Airbender. Thanks to all for a fun day!

10/14/2024

Congrats to our IEA riders for 2 successful shows this weekend! On Saturday at Little Clovelly/ Havenshire, our high school team earned reserve champion, with Riley placing 1st in the Open under saddle, Chloe earning 2nd in the JV Novice over fences and 1st in the under saddle, and Victoria winning the Future Walk/Trot. On Sunday at Full Moon, Riley placed 2nd in the Open flat, Carrie won the Varsity Intermediate Flat, Vivian was 2nd in the Future Intermediate flat, and Eden won the sportsmanship award for her positive attitude and productive mindset. We’re so happy with our teams!

10/02/2024

We have a late update from a successful Maryland Horse and Pony show! Our riders made good progress throughout the show. Some highlights were Carrie winning the MHSA and Riley placing 3rd, and Vivian and Pardon My Dust taking 1st in a class at .80m and 2nd at 90m their first time showing at that height. Congrats!

09/30/2024

We had a great week at Piedmont Jumper Show. Grace and Crack the Shadows had good trips at 1.10m, placing 2nd and 3rd. Alexis and Mr. Fahrenheit had several strong trips with consistent improvements throughout the week. Riley and Marque My Points also spent the week making good progress and ending up with some solid ribbons. Leigh Ann made it back into the show ring on Naomi with some great rounds, including a 10th place finish in the .06-.75m Classic. Finally, Nancy showed some great riding and horsemanship with NovaStar AP as she navigated their classes. Overall, after this weekend, we are most proud of our riders’ positive attitudes and smart decision-making. Thanks to all for a great show and a fun time!

09/26/2024

Congrats to Carrie on her 3rd place finish a Josey Mohler Equitation finals this past weekend. We’re so proud of the work you’ve done this past show season. Thanks to for the support for Carrie and FreeG 🌟

09/23/2024

Today’s IEA rider profile is Riley. Riley is one of our Open riders and a team captain. She’s excited for another season of IEA because she likes figuring out new horses and she loves how supportive our team is.

Riley’s favorite horse is Covey, because he’s kind, forgiving, and absolutely adorable. She also loves YooHoo because he was the first horse she rode at Clairvaux and he helped her grow as a rider and build confidence.

Riley says her greatest accomplishment in riding is working on her mindset. She says she has gotten much better at treating all her rides as learning experiences. She is proud of herself because she now feels that she can be productive and positive when working with any horse. We think that outlook is so helpful in riding and showing, and this is one of the many reasons we’re lucky to have Riley has a team captain! 💙❤️

09/22/2024

Our IEA rider of the day is Sarah. Sarah is one of our Varsity Intermediate riders. She’s returning to our team after two successful seasons because it gives her the opportunity to strengthen her skills on a variety of horses, gain more show experience, and because she likes being part of a team.

Sarah’s favorite horse is Pickles because he is sweet, hardworking, and always tries his best. She also loves Breit because he’s lots of fun to ride. One of Sarah’s greatest accomplishments is figuring out a green horse and helping him be more confident in himself. She’s also proud of herself for being able to learn something new from every horse she rides.

A fun fact about Sarah is that she started her own photography business, .equinecaptures , and took all of our team photos!

💙❤️

09/21/2024

Today’s featured IEA rider is Jocelynn. Jocelynn is returning to our team as a Varsity Intermediate rider. She loves the supportive barn community that comes with IEA, as well as the opportunity to ride so many different horses.

Jocelynn’s favorite horse is her horse, Goose, because he’s so much fun to ride and has the best personality. Some of Jocelynn’s biggest accomplishments include participating in EAP over the summer, qualifying for and competing in the VHSA Children’s Medal final, and scoring 98 on the HQC level 1 test. Jocelynn’s goals for the future are to move up to higher levels of equitation classes and to ride in college.

💙❤️

09/20/2024

Our next IEA rider is Meghan. Meghan is one of our Varsity Intermediate riders, returning to our team for a 4th season. She has many reasons that she continues to be part of our IEA team, including that it gives her more opportunities to show, ride many different horses, improve her riding and showing skills, make new friends, and build existing friendships.

Meghan is proud of how far she’s come in IEA. She worked hard to qualify for regionals last season and moved into a new division. She hopes to continue to improve and show at higher levels in the future, both in IEA and at other types of shows. Outside of riding, Meghan is also an accomplished lacrosse player and made the Varsity team at her school as a freshman.

💙❤️

09/19/2024

Today’s IEA rider profile is on Kate. Kate returning to our team as a Varsity Intermediate rider because she loves to work toward goals as a team.

Kate’s favorite Clairvaux horse is Ray because he’s a very good boy who always tries his best. She and Ray showed together at the Loudoun Benefit horse show this past June, and she is grateful for the opportunity and proud of her riding at that show. Kate hopes to ride in college next year so that she can keep learning about horses and riding. She hopes to study fashion merchandising. 💙❤️