Bascule Farm LLC

12/10/2024

Still true today!

How do you get to ride lots of different horses?

Good question.

1. Be born mega rich, buy em and ride em.
2. Be a barn rat. Ride anything that won`t hurt you too badly.
3. Never say "not today, thanks" if you are offered a ride on any horse. Your key word is "yes", followed by "thank you."
4.Work to become good enough so that people want you to ride their horses.
5. Like the guys in Top Gun, when they walked into the bar full of young women "YES! A target rich environment!" Hang where there are lots of horses, not where there aren`t any.
6.Learn the Yiddish expression, "No for an answer I already got." Ask if you can ride extra horses. Maybe they say no. You`re no worse off than if you hadn`t asked.
7. Don`t be a lazy toad. If your barn owner offers to trade extra riding for weekend stall cleaning, be the kid who says "yes", and let your worthless friends sleep in and miss out.
8.Get a horse job, and be the eager beaver. Many horse owners are not truly horse riders, and they are often looking for a way to weasel out of riding today. Be there to pick up the ride.
9. Think of other ways.

(When Russ Fawcett (directly behind me) asked if I wanted to ride Iron Cloud out in Jackson, Wyoming, I said "yes please", and "thank you.")

12/09/2024

First trot under saddle for our broodmare turned riding horse! RS Grace has done an amazing job prepping her for this day! Just wait to see her in a month! ,

12/09/2024

We are adding another groom to the team!

Home Horse Groom position available in Maryland.

We have a bunch of gorgeous fun, well behaved unicorns, looking for an angel, who loves cuddling as much as bathing, tacking, and general Cookie Monster duties.

Full-time position with on-site shared housing and ability to bring your own unicorn as well as help with said unicorns training. Unicorn training available as part of the package! Showing and competing your unicorn encouraged but not required.

Good salary with paid vacations and workmen's comp, coaching, lessons, Hauling, shared on site housing, utilities and board for a horse (if you have one) all covered.

Poolesville MD USA. Looking for a January 2025 start.

12/05/2024

12/04/2024

Our first winter Dressage Show for 2025 is up on StriderPro for entries! Come warm up and ride in the indoors!

Fun dressage outing with TWO indoors to stay out of the cold! Flexible scheduling possible, so let us know if you have to be done by a certain time (or need to start at a certain time!)

12/03/2024

https://www.striderpro.com/a/AdPlFceUdU-_WJ6bGAmgmQ

We are so happy to have Aviva Nebesky here for a Fix-A-Test! Riders scheduled every half hour so do request to reserve a time window when signing up! LOCATION: Bascule Farm LLC 20800 Whites Ferry Road Poolesville, MD 20837 send coggins to: [email protected]

12/03/2024

Herringbone rake pattern in the barn aisles every evening before lights off (back when our aisles were dirt). Pristine in the first light of morning was always a pick-me-up to start a great day.

Temp stabling in Aiken loved us as we always raked 2x day, we had a home there anytime we wanted to go for a week or two.

Leave it better than you found it. Respect the horses who give us so much joy.

More on the German phrase that says “riding is only learned by sweeping.”

I remember an example of this one night, about 40 years ago, when I was spending a month at Walter Christensen’s dressage training stable, Stal Tasdorf, in Tasdorf, Germany. (photo of Walter teaching)

Walter’s main barn had a cobblestone type of floor, hard to keep clean because of all the indentations, and in various corners were funny little Hansel and Gretel type brooms, straight handles with what looked like a bunch of twigs wired to one end.

Everyone had left, all the working students, all the riders, and here was the master, then coach of the Swedish Olympic dressage team, vigorously giving the aisle one last cleanup before turning out the lights.

In the great scheme of things, why would it matter one iota whether the aisle was immaculate? Early next morning, when all the horses were being fed, hay and straw would get spilled all around, and who was going to see that floor in the middle of the night?

But that’s not the point, is it? And for those who do see the point, they probably would have been at one end of the broom. And for those who can’t grasp why it mattered to Walter, they’d have left it as it was.

To what extent can pride in a way of doing things be taught? Because that’s what’s at play here, I think.

And pride in one detail spills over into pride about other details, until it creates a mindset, a way of being. Or not---And in that way, sweeping teaches riding, tenuous as the connection might seem.

12/01/2024

Annual dinner and tree shopping for the Staff! So much fun! Bella Cox, Grace DelVecchio, Jess Wilson and Nichole White picked out their favorite tree!

11/29/2024

Compilation of Black Friday deals for horse people!

https://breedrideevent.com/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3H0iw2sRhbPARJS4VZ7TN8DTBvMrarMii7LHD5vL-N9ELfrxIbJFb2efQ_aem_Ngu3kbv-KVKXe8H1TYwvxg

2024 Equestrian Black Friday Deals Published on November 28, 2024November 28, 2024 by Amanda C1 Comment Alright, who’s ready to participate in a little bit of capitalism at it’s finest? Or, if you need to make it sound responsible and intelligent, we can call it “stocking up on essentials and....

11/28/2024

Absolutely bang up crew this morning helped get us done in less than 2 hours. We are so incredibly thankful for our amazing clients for coming so early and pitching in to give the staff a long day of rest!

11/20/2024

Head trainer Eliza on her own 7 year old Brazilian gelding Orgulho Hi. This is what it looks like as you teach your horse to drop his haunches. Consistant steady building work will get you there.
Eliza has a few openings for Adults and Juniors for lessons and one or two horse spots for training. Come take an introductory lesson or watch a training ride!

11/19/2024

We take cleaning the arenas out pretty seriously! We do start them early!

11/13/2024

CONGRATULATIONS to our students Kristin C on Pistol for winning the FADS year end award AA at training level, and to Adrienne K on Lisa Vs Dr. Footworks for their high score AA at First level!
Also super happy for Kelley H on her first two scores on her way to her Bronze Medal…at her first rates show!

11/05/2024

Super proud of Steph for piloting Frankie to FODS at Maryland last weekend! Brought all the skills together and rode beautifully on all three phases to finish second! Congratulations!!!