Tall Grass Equestrian

11/17/2024

Yep 💜💜💜

11/15/2024

Doc has a secret…..only a few more riding spots left in the dressage clinic with Michael Peters at the Silver Spur Ranch in Maple Park 12/7 & 12/8

There is no charge for auditing. All are welcome to purchase savory food and libations from the Silver Spur Saloon to make a day of learning more enjoyable!

11/08/2024

11/03/2024

MICHAEL PETERS DRESSAGE CLINIC
DECEMBER 7th an 8th

Tall Grass Equestrian and Silver Spur Ranch are elated to announce they will be hosting esteemed dressage trainer Michael Peters for a 2 day clinic. It will be held December 7th and 8th at Silver Spur Ranch in Maple Park Illinois.

Michael Peters is an "L" graduate judge with distinction through the USDF L Education Program, as well as competitor, trainer and student of dressage. As a USDF Silver Medalist and Bronze Medalist with distinction, he has studied the art of dressage for over 25 years. Michael's professional education, began at Temple Farms spending seven years learning, training, and starting Lipazzan horses through the FEI levels. Applying these concepts today he has successfully brought his clients horses up through the levels. You can find Michael at Harmony Hills in Oswego Illinois where he resides as head trainer and dressage instructor.

We are thrilled to be hosting Micheal. If you are interested in riding with him please message us.

In house $200 for 45 minute lesson both days. $125 for one day. Lunch is included.

Trailer in $250 for 45 minute lesson both days with a day stall included as well as lunch. Overnight stalls are available for an additional $20. $150 for one day with day stall included as well as lunch.

As always auditors are welcome at no charge.

Please come and learn with us!!!

10/30/2024

On a day like today, 80° in October, how could you say no to a trail ride? Especially if it includes your best friends? Becky, Sundance, Doc and I adventured through Campton Hill forest preserve. It is such a lovely place to ride minutes from the barn. There are woods, and prairie to ride through. There are hills, bridge crossings, stream crossings, and so many more questions to ask your horse. These two horses are so used to their adventures the gale force winds didn’t faze them and at times all we could hear was the crunching of the fall leaves beneath the horse’s hooves. There is such a sense of peace when in the presence of these animals.

💜💜HORSES 💜💜

10/14/2024

Team All for Fun with Becky, Sundance, Kim, P**a, Gindi, Rango, Doc and I finished up the Wayne-DuPage Hunter Pace season at the beautiful St. James forest preserve. This was the biggest meet of the season with 60 riders participating. The team, as always, had a blast trotting through the woods and cantering through fields, exploring the vastness of the forest preserve. The team finished the 4 mile course in 43:29. The optimum time was 43:20. We were in an amazing 9 seconds off the optimal time and finished first in group B. This win made Team all for Fun champions of the Wayne-DuPage Hunter Pace Series!!! Much fun was had seeing friends from past Paces and talking about our favorite thing horses! The raffle also had some great prizes and Becky and I both went home with baskets of goodies!!!

A big thank you to all those who help put together these events!!!

10/03/2024

https://www.facebook.com/100043468792096/posts/1144092927049656/

What were previously considered training methods have become disciplines. Pat Parelli made groundwork into a discipline. Today there are round penning competitions or challenges. Few people realize that dressage went down a similar road. For centuries dressage was strictly a horse training method used primarily by cavalries around the world to prepare horses for war. Dressage national training manuals were military classified documents.

In preparation for the coming of WW1, the US Cavalry went from training cavalry on a regimental level to national training at Fort Riley Kansas, America had no national cavalry training manuals because every regiment had their own. To solve this problem, US Army Headquarters requested the French Cavalry School at Saumur loan us their French Army's Cavalry manuals, which they did.

America received the 1912 Saumur manual that was translated into English at Fort Riley. The Saumur manual served as the basis for US Cavalry horsemanship training until Harry Chamberlin updated the Fort Riley manuals after WW1 to include what he learned when he attended the Italian Cavalry School, Caprilli's alma mater, along with some riding techniques he observed from ranch rider recruits at the US Cavalry School.

Before Fort Riley, dressage was moving from a training method to the level of a riding discipline among European aristocrats as a display of their "high school" or "haute ecole" elite riding. Dressage was included in the pre-Olympic level equestrian competitions called "The Military" that served as the basis for what was eventually renamed "Combined Training" and what is now called "Eventing".

While dressage evolved into a very fancy, well attired sport of the wealthy, traditionalists and Masters maintained dressage as purely a training method into the 20th century. However, today dressage is almost exclusively considered an elite discipline and no longer basic horsemanship horse training.

Many serious horsemen and women still consider dressage to be fundamental horse training because its principles maximize a horse's biomechanics, balance and movement. Regardless of which disciplines you might call your own, dressage training will advance your horse's and your riding skills, and you will not be required to wear the couture dressage clothing that many riders prefer to avoid. ;)

09/24/2024

The calm before the Stormy…

09/16/2024

With beautiful days like these who would want to stay in an arena? Regina, Elle, Volvagia, Kim, Doc and I decided to adventure to Headwaters Park. The spectacular views are just minutes from the Siver Spur Ranch. We are so luck to be close to so many different trail systems. Regina was amazing on her third off property ride. She is turning into a wonderfully brave adventure pony! Everyone had fun trotting and cantering through the prairie past the flowers and the butterflies.

09/14/2024

Once again Stormy stormed the trails of Campton Hills with his friend Sundance. The racehorse is so cautious yet bold in these off property adventures. His heart and willingness to try the questions I ask him amazes me every day.

09/05/2024

In the spirit of enjoying every last day of summer, I was feeling adventurous and decided it was time to take the little brown horse on his first off property trail ride. Luckily, I had my emotional support human of Becky. He had his emotional support horse of Sundance and the day was beautiful. It is very hard to turn off the racehorse. As I say, you can take the horse off the track but you cannot take the track out of every horse. I really couldn’t have been happier with how Stormy handled everything. Even when I got us lost on a footpath. Perhaps I have a new adventure pony in the making.!!!

09/05/2024

Yesterday, Doc and I enjoyed a very lovely sunset ride with some very lovely ladies and some very lovely ponies. The “golden hour” is a fantastic time for a ride as we hold tight to these last few days of summer. Looks like it should be a nice third cutting coming up. We are so lucky to be at a facility that grows their own hay and has so much outdoor riding space!

08/20/2024

Tall Grass Equestrian is welcoming new clients! If there is anyone looking to up grade from the hamster, Doc, has some rare lesson openings! DM for more information!

08/15/2024

Monkey see monkey do. Stormy, Doc and Big had to have a nice roll. Hopefully we get some rain Thursday. Big is growing tired of his dust baths.