Commonwealth Farm

09/26/2024

🧡 💙 🐴 🧡 💙

09/24/2024

The horse ALWAYS comes first!

All I Want To Do Is Jump

I ran a fairly large lesson program for almost 20 years. This is a statement I have heard over and over, both in my lesson barn days and from colleagues today.

All I want to do is jump.

There are a few problems with this. Let's start with the horse. I love the old horseman's saying " horses only have so many jumps in them ". Is that 100, 1000 before it becomes lame.... No one knows....but horses certainly weigh a lot and the concussion landing on those small little legs is significant. Horses also get bored, burned out....and let's face it...sour.
Respect for the horse . The riders job is to do the best thing for the horse. Most horses only need jumped a few days a week. That means if a lesson horse works 5 days a week, only 2 of those are jumping days. 3 of those are purely flatwork or hacking.

Riders : most of jumping well has NOTHING to do with jumping. Riders need to work on pace, transitions, straightness, their position, effectiveness of aids, balance, ability to change positions smoothly ( from 2 point to sitting etc ) and so much more.

So if you are one of those students who Just Wants To Jump , please replace that with "I want to be an effective rider and horseman or woman . I want to do what is best for the horse "

And instructors who cave to this plea from students
Only YOU can set the CULTURE of your barn. Talk frequently about horsemanship and doing right by the animals.

09/19/2024

Another beautiful sunset last night during our lessons in prep for University of Illinois Illini Equestrians first huntseat show this coming weekend!

Pictured here: Gaby riding “Wayward Masquerade” AKA “Bitsy.” They had a wonderful lesson together!

09/16/2024

Happy Monday! Start the week with some positivity! ❤️🐴

09/01/2024

08/30/2024

Happy Friday! With another new school year starting we have created an Amazon Wish List for our wonderful lesson horses!

We appreciate any and all support to keep our horses as happy and healthy as possible so they can continue working for and competing with the University of Illinois Illini Equestrians hunstseat team and our own Interscholastic Equestrian Association team - Commonwealth Equestrian!

If anyone wishes to purchase something from the list, please aim for the "highest priority" items first, i.e. fly spray, Dimple cookies and Solitude.

08/29/2024

Our beautiful orange and blue sunsets have returned just as the Illini Equestrians are returning for the fall semester! 🧡 💙

08/26/2024

We had a fantastic time this past weekend at the H & H Summer Horse Show Series Homes for Hope Charity Horse Show!

08/23/2024

WORKING STUDENT POSITION
With the new fall semester starting, Commonwealth Farm in Saint Joseph, IL is again looking for help feeding, watering, turning in/out, and cleaning stalls starting as soon as possible. We are a hunter/jumper barn that offers stall board (currently full) as well as a lesson and show program. We are home to the UIUC English (Huntseat) Equestrian Team and the Commonwealth Farm IEA team. We have a fantastic string of lesson horses as well as some private boarders. We are looking for someone who already has horse experience and is willing to learn how we operate. We have openings for morning and evening feeding shifts. Stall cleaning is also available to gain more hours towards lessons. Morning feedings take roughly 1 hour and evening feedings take 2 hours once you get a good routine down. Each stall typically only takes 10-15min to clean. Work will be exchanged for lessons with the possibility of free hacks outside of lessons (dependent on riding ability). This position is a fantastic way to ride and work with horses in high school/college/grad school without breaking the bank!

*MUST HAVE YOUR OWN TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM THE FARM*

Please PM us and comment that you did so, including your horse/riding experience and time availability in your message.

08/13/2024

Hard to believe school starts this week for our junior high and high school kids and class starts for the U of IL in just under two weeks!

This summer has been filled with some great horse shows at Black Dog Farms in Marion, IN and Silver Fox Stables at the National Equestrian Center in Lake St. Louis, MO.

Looking forward to a few more regular horse show weekends and then the start of the IEA and IHSA seasons!

07/04/2024

Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July!

05/17/2024

WORKING STUDENT/JOB OPPORTUNITY - horse farm work, feeding, cleaning stalls, working student position

Commonwealth Farm in Saint Joseph, IL is looking for help feeding, watering, turning in/out, and cleaning stalls starting as soon as possible. We're a hunter/jumper barn that offers stall board (currently full) and a wonderful lesson and show program. We're also home to the UIUC English Equestrian Team and the Commonwealth Farm IEA team. We have a fantastic string of lesson horses as well as some private boarders. We're looking for someone who already has horse experience and is willing to learn how we operate. Currently we need people to feed 1-2 weekday mornings and/or 1 weekday evening. Stall cleaning is also available to gain more hours. Morning feedings take roughly 1 hour and evening feedings take 2 hours once you get a good routine down. Each stall typically only takes 10-15min to clean. Work will be exchanged for free lessons, free hacks outside of lessons (dependent on riding ability), or a possible lease situation. This position is a fantastic way to ride and work with horses in high school/college/grad school without breaking the bank!
Please PM us and comment that you did so, including your horse/riding experience and time availability in your message.

04/12/2024

Another great educational meeting to attend in the area!

A reminder about our Client Education Meeting on April 16th at 6:00pm, hosted here at our Farmer City Clinic! Jacob Manning, CJF, will be teaching us about how to find your horse's "Cinderella Slipper". Jacob has recently joined the University of Illinois Farrier Service, so we are excited to hear from him!

Pizza will be provided! RSVP to save your slices by calling our clinic at (309) 928-2127, or emailing us at [email protected]

03/30/2024

Good luck to UIUC Senior Erin Foley at IHSA Zone Finals today at Ledges Sporting Horses in Roscoe, IL! She qualified for today by placing second two weeks ago at IHSA Regionals at Saint Mary’s-of-the-Woods College in Terre Haute, IN.

Erin has been a competitive member of the UIUC Huntseat Team and a member of the Illini Equestrians all four years of her undergraduate schooling.

GOOD LUCK ERIN!

📸 Credits to University of Illinois Illini Equestrians

03/23/2024

Good luck to our Commonwealth Equestrians IEA high school senior, Olivia M, as she competes at IEA Zones at Fields & Fences School of Horsemanship in Gurnee, IL!

Olivia was CHAMPION of her Open Over Fences class at IEA Regionals four weeks ago at Camelot Farm in Oswego, IL, qualifying for Zone Finals this weekend!

Olivia has been riding at Commonwealth Farm since she was in grade school. Over years we have watched her grow and transform into the wonderful young lady, rider, and horsewoman she is today and could not be more proud of her!

GOOD LUCK OLIVIA!

03/15/2024

Another great webinar we would recommend ALL horse owners (or potential horse owners) to listen in on! Emergencies ALWAYS happen with horses and it’s important to be prepared and know what to expect from your veterinarian!

Thanks to AAEP, we are able to offer this webinar to our clients! Learn how to recognize and respond to equine emergencies, so you can handle unexpected situations with your horses. It can be hard to make decisions under pressure, but it is still possible to make informed decisions.

This webinar is free, however registration is required. Follow the link!

https://aaep-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7L6QaXs_RI6UymQgAWBuvg #/registration

03/10/2024

We had all hands on deck today to work the dirt in our indoor arena!

We are so thankful to have such a wonderful, loyal, hard working barn family to come together and take on big projects like this together!

03/09/2024

The Illini Equestrian Huntseat team rides with us!

🐴Calling all equine enthusiasts and aspiring equestrians! Come join Illini Equestrians, where students can expand their knowledge, appreciation, and participation in the equine industry through social, educational, and competitive activities! Whether you're a seasoned rider or just starting out, we welcome new members with open arms. Reach out to [email protected] to learn more and join the herd today!

03/06/2024

A great local educational event!!

Mark you calendars! Our next Client Education Meeting is 4/16/24 with the University of Illinois Farrier Service. Join us at 6:00pm at our Farmer City clinic to learn from Jacob Manning CJF. We will talk about how to communicate trim schedules and choosing correct hoof-wear for your horse with your farrier.

Would you wear your house slippers for a sprint? Probably not! So why should your horse have to. Whether your horse is a pasture puff, or performance horse, there is the "right slipper" out there for them!

Pizza will be provided! RSVP so we have enough by calling (309) 928-2127 or emailing [email protected].

02/09/2024

This is a great event for any of our local clients or followers interested in pursuing a career in the horse world!

The Illinois Student Chapter of the American Association of Equine Practitioners is hosting the Future Equine Professionals Symposium. **UPDATE: This event has unfortunately been cancelled** This is an event for horse lovers of all levels in Champaign-Urbana to learn about veterinary medicine, farrier work, equine supportive therapies! Students 16 and up are welcome to participate in demonstrations and activities focusing on equine medicine, and other equine professions. The symposium is Saturday February 17th, at 8:30am-1:30pm with a vet school tour from 1:30-2pm.
Follow this link for more information: https://uiucfeps.weebly.com/

01/18/2024

Our lives for the past week…

Hope everyone has stayed warm and healthy!

01/05/2024

JOB OPPORTUNITY - horse farm work, feeding, cleaning stalls, working student position

Commonwealth Farm in Saint Joseph, IL is looking for help feeding, watering, turning in/out, and possibly cleaning stalls starting as soon as possible. We're a hunter/jumper barn that offers stall board (currently full) and a wonderful lesson and show program. We're also home to the UIUC English Equestrian Team and the Commonwealth Farm IEA team. We have a fantastic string of lesson horses as well as some private boarders. We're looking for someone who already has horse experience and is willing to learn how we operate. Currently we need someone to feed 1-2 weekday mornings and 1 weekday evening. Ideally we'd like to have two people, one who can feed T/Th mornings and another who can feed Thursday and/or Saturday evenings. Stall cleaning is also available to gain more hours. Morning feedings take roughly 1 hour and evening feedings take 2 hours once you get a good routine down. Each stall typically only takes 10-15min to clean. Work will be exchanged for free lessons, free hacks outside of lessons (dependent on riding ability), or a possible lease situation. This position is a fantastic way to ride and work with horses in high school/college/grad school without breaking the bank!

Please PM us and comment that you did so, including your horse/riding experience and time availability in your message.