Stone's Throw Sport Horses LLC

04/07/2024

This is a hard post to write. I thought about sharing this news in a purely positive way. But I think I’d rather be 100% honest. And I’m happy if this leads to a discussion on how our industry can change for the better?

I’ve decided to stop leasing the gorgeous farm where I’ve been for the past few years. I’m no longer going to have horses in full training (which for those who know me, you know that is my absolute love) and just be a freelance instructor teaching a couple days a week in the area.

I sat down and did the math on what my finances would be like if I just taught two days a week and had no expenses outside insurance, my car, memberships, etc. I would make MORE working that little than I do right now. And I run a pretty great program - my barn is always full with a wait list, about half super nice young horses and half FEI horses. My students and I compete a lot, very successfully. But the cost of running a program like this is so high, that even though I am “successful”, I barely make a living wage. I pay my wonderful assistant trainers more than I make (because they 100% deserve that salary and more!) And of course I could raise prices even more, but I think I charge an awful lot, and at the end of the day, I just feel awful about expecting people to pay SO much for a luxurious hobby.

Of course, people don’t go into this business with a dream of making a big profit each year. And that is a legitimate argument - you do this for the love of horses and riding. But when the costs and the stress of running a big barn start piling up, that argument gets pretty tired pretty quickly.

By far the biggest struggle I’ve had over the last few years is keeping good employees. And I know all my fellow barn owners and trainers are struggling as much as I am. I have a few AMAZING employees (endless thanks to Kate Tackett & Nicole Wilbur) and right now my best workers are 15, 16, and 22. So the argument that “kids these days are awful” is not true. But the instances of employees quitting with no notice, being offended at having to physically work hard, having incredibly low standards for the work they do, and outright lying have been more and more and more lately. It’s exhausting, and the fact that I’m paying $20/hour, run a great program, and am STILL getting these kind of workers makes me feel no optimism for the future. 😞

In the past I didn’t pay hardly anyone. I just had working students who worked off their housing, board and training. And that worked much better. But that seems to be a thing of the past? People now expect all that AND $600+ a week. And if my business made so much money that I could do that, I would love to. But the math just flat out doesn’t work.

My social media feeds are FILLED with barns begging for good help. I don’t know what the answer is. But I know I’m at the point where I would like to have the time to look at what else life has to offer. I’ve done this professionally for 20 years (and for fun since I could walk.) It’s a huge deal for me to imagine that I won’t be riding every day here on out. But it’s also incredibly exciting to imagine my life without these stresses. What if I didn’t have to get up at 5:30 and feed and muck because the weekend worker quit at 10pm the night before? Maybe I’ll start a hobby. 🤪 Or maybe I’ll just hang out with my wonderful husband and beautiful kids and have a coffee at the table instead of racing down the road in my car…

23/06/2024

07/06/2024

IEA recap:
IEA has become one of my favorite events... the venue is beautiful, and you are surrounded by some of the best people. The weather was less to be desired... but the rain did make the temperatures cooler.
Unfortunately Carlos had a bout of cellulitis rendering him unable to compete. We were hopeful, but it just wasn't going to happen. We were very excited to debut the pink outfit and rock around his first novice of the season. He is on the mend, and Lisa reported that he is thankfully back to his quite sassy self.
Riv put in an even more relaxed dressage test than Winona, and jumped around quite confidently. We did display various moves of athletic acrobatics in SJ and XC warm up that left some members of the crowd standing in the splash zone gasping and ducking from mud. We are looking at moving up to novice in the very near future.
Jilly is such a class act. I've concluded that I think I do indeed have a type, and that type is chestnut mare. This was Jilly's first outing this season, and second lifetime event. She took everything in stride. She looked at nothing. She was a true professional throughout the entire weekend. I did choose to canter XC on more of a BN pace as the Starter speed did seem painfully slow....especially since her next event will be at the BN level. We even looped back and bravely schooled the water on our way to the finish. I am so excited for Lisa as this mare is truly a joy to ride.
It was such a joy to watch and cheer on so many friends.... being around such fun and positive people really makes the hard work and long weekends worth it!

Stübben NA
Beyond Bonnets

04/06/2024

Somewhere in the world, the 2028 Olympic champion is a foal out in a field. He’s ewe-necked, sickle-hocked, downhill and shaggy, with a club foot and a chunk of mane missing, because his buddy chewed it off.

Somewhere in the world, there’s a young horse that everyone says is too short to make it big. In three years, he’ll be jumping the standards, but right now he’s fat and short and no one is paying him any mind.

Somewhere in the world there’s a 7-year-old who can’t turn right, and a 10-year-old who has not shown the ability to put more than two one-tempis together without losing it, and a 14-year-old who hasn’t yet reached his peak, and all of them will be at the next Olympic Games.

Somewhere else in the world, there’s a rider who is thinking of packing it in. Maybe the bills are getting out of control, or she’s killing herself to get enough help in her own riding development because she’s having to spend all her time riding and teaching to make ends meet and change needs to happen, and she’s wondering if it’s worth it. She’s thinking it’s time to just give up and be a local trainer, to shelve her dreams of international competition. And then she’s going to shake off the doubt, double down, and make a team in the next 15 years.

Somewhere in the world, one of the next great team riders is 9 years old and couldn’t tell if she was on the right posting diagonal if her life depended on it.

Somewhere in the world there’s a future team rider who just got told that she’ll never make it because she’s too chubby, because she’s too short, because she’s too late.

There are horses who will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars that will never amount to anything, and there are horses who will be touted as the Next Big Thing only to be never seen or heard from again, and there are horses who will fly under the radar until suddenly they’re setting the world on fire.

There are riders who will win Junior and Young Rider competitions only to quit riding completely, riders who will be touted as the Next Big Thing only to get stuck in their comfort zones and never come to fruition, and there are riders who will make their first Olympic team at 50, at 55, at even older than that.

And yes, there are the horses that will be brilliant from day one, and there are the riders for whom success both comes early and stays late. But more often than not, history has shown that the unlikely story, the horse who was passed over in favor of his more expensive stablemate, the rider who no one saw coming, is the more likely path to greatness.

Credit and written by Lauren Sprieser at Chronicle Of The Horse

30/05/2024

I guess I have to finish painting the tack room so I can figure out a place to hang these. I still need 2 scores at third level above a 72% to get a Bronze with Distinction, but with so many event horses going this year, and not enough weekends, it won't be a priority. Thank you to all of the owners who wanted their horses campaigned, as these awards would not have been possible without them. Most of these scores were from the first year of each young horse I brought along.
Beyond Bonnets
Stübben NA

25/05/2024

24/05/2024

It's that time of year again!! I have a block of stalls reserved for the following WEC SCHOOLING SHOW dates:
June 14-16
June 28-30
July 26-28
August 23-25 (AECs prep show)
These shows are open to all horses and riders. Specifically, they run the following heights that coordinate with eventing in the jumper rings.
.65 Jumper (USEA Starter)75 Jumper (USEA BN)85 Jumper (USEA Novice)
1.00m Jumper (USEA Training)
1.10m Jumper (USEA Preliminary)
1.20m Jumper (USEA Intermediate)
**If you plan to attend one or a few of these shows with me, I need you to contact me asap. These shows are SCRATCH friendly for classes, meaning you can scratch the day of the class. However, once you reserve your stalls, you are responsible for stall fees after the closing date regardless of a scratched horse. For the full prize list, please follow the link below:
https://www.horseshowing.com/show_upload/12135/53.pdf

20/05/2024

Wendy Park's baby GRP Bon Temps (Bo) went to his third show over the weekend. Boy, you could tell it was the first show of the season, as all of the horses seemed to be overly happy to be out in public. 😅 Bo was so tired from his displays of excitement on the first day, that he didn't even care about loose horse that came galloping into the show rings during our test. This was his first attempt at second level and he really thrived in this test. He enjoyed showing off his canter work, and he had a serious lightbulb moment in the medium trot work. I could feel him gain so much confidence and came out smiling every time. He scored quite well, and being the high score in second level was the cherry on top.

Nancy also started the season out well. She scored in the 70s and tied for the high score intro award. She also debuted in training level, and came home with lots of positive remarks and homework!

Thank you Ohio Dressage Society for putting on a fabulously ran show, making sure everyone was spread out in the barns. It was so good to see everyone and catch up after a VERY long winter! I can't wait for the professional photos from this one!

Stübben NA
Beyond Bonnets
By Design Equestrian Boutique, LLC

Romitelli Riding Boots USA, Morriston Florida

17/05/2024

Winona HT recap continued...
Riv was deserving of her own post, as I'm so proud of her. Saturday was not pleasant for dressageing. It rained.. most of the day. When it wasn't raining, it was hailing, and when it wasn't hailing it was trying to tornado. I think the sun peeked out for just a fleeting moment, ony to remind everyone it was indeed still day time. Despite the less than ideal weather, Riv didn't try to kick ONE human or horse all day. She also didn't buck, leap, bolt, or rear ONCE during our test. Sunday was jump day. Sunday was sunny. Sunday was a new day. Riv used up all of her "bay mare" brain cells and the spicey spawn we all know and love was happy to attempt murder on multiple accounts in the warm up. My apologies to spectators in the splash zone, and everyone else just trying to survive. With that said, we kicked the rust loose (literally) and exuberantly jumped around a challenging SJ course. The highlight was our XC round, as I don't think I've ever felt her SO overly confident. I'm elated with how the weekend went for us, and so excited for the summer! We finished on our dressage score of 31.5 which was good enough for second place!

PC Photography In Stride
Beyond Bonnets
Stübben NA
Artemis Equine

17/05/2024

Winona HT recap:

What a weekend! It's always so good to see friends and catch up after a long winter... especially since almost everything in our area was cancelled this spring. Between the crazy weather and catch rides, I really had my hands full. Big thanks to all owners who made the weekend run smoothly with such a tight schedule.
Saturday started well, despite the relentless rain, and hail. All four horses finished the day with their dressage scores good enough for the top 3 placings in their respectable training, BN, and novice divisions.
Sunday had its fair share of challenges. After an incredibly horrendous SJ round on Morrissey, we 110% redeemed ourselves with a confident and smooth XC run. This was his first time going training, and the weekend was my 4th ride on him. We managed to finish in 3rd place, and take home the reserve TIP award.
I've ridden Angeus (It's Now or Never) here and there in past years, but in true catch ride fashion didn't get a chance to before the weekend. He had some returning in gate demons and additionally an unresolved phobia of giant rabbit jump decor standing in our way of securing a top 3 finish. However, we were able to work through what we needed to for a future successful show.
Lisa Boncosky's Tensas Carlos finished on his dressage score of 24.1 to win his BN division and take home the champion TIP award. He was voted best dressed in our sparkly purple and gray dressage outfit.... one I was particularly excited to use. He punched his ticket to the AECs at BN, but we plan to move up to NOV at the end of the month at IEA. Excited for what the summer has to offer!

PC Photography In Stride
Beyond Bonnets
Stübben NA

25/04/2024

A good visual!

DRESSAGE TRIVIA:

Do you know the answer to this "CORNER CONUNDRUM?" 🤔

How deep are you supposed to ride into your corners?

The answer is, it depends, and here's why:👇

Information is VAGUE out there! But according to the USEF Rule Book, “Corners should be ridden as one-quarter of a volte appropriate to the level of the test (10 meters at training-First Levels, 8 meters at Second-Fourth Levels and 6 meters above Fourth Level).”
[USEF Rule Book DR109]

But in reality, it depends on the development of both the horse and the rider. And in my humble opinion, this is the BEST answer. 🙌
It is far better to ride a good corner that will help support you and your horse for the next movement than to try to jam yourself into a black hole 😉

So definitely strive for the USEF guidelines, but only go as deep as you and your horse can without disturbing the rhythm, balance, and harmony.

24/04/2024

I've never been one for colored stock ties, but when I seen this fabric posed I couldn't resist. B’s Stock Ties knocked it out of the park with these two! I can't wait to ware them this year!

23/04/2024

SOLD

I have an extra JUULC coat available in US size 4 (fits like an XS) brand new with tags. I ordered the wrong size and would prefer to sell stateside instead of shipping it back to The Netherlands. This coat is absolutely beautiful, incredibly well made, and matches the ES and PSoS pads perfectly! Included stock photos for your reference. Asking $600 which is a little less than I paid! Happy to meet up at a show or ship at buyers cost.

07/04/2024

Since I've had my fair share of unfortunate luck with Lymes and Anaplasmosis, many people have asked me what I like to use on my horses to protect them against ticks...I'm not here to tickle their taste buds with natural oils. I want "kill on contact" products. The black bottle Absorbine fly spray seems to be the only affective longer lasting water based product that I am not allergic to. I also really like the spot on treatments for horses that live out and don't get bathed regurarly. The Manna Pro Homestead red label box is the most affordable I've found for active ingredients in the product. These two products should NOT be used together...I use them interchangeably year round.

Disclaimer... I'm not sponsored by either of these companies... but hey... maybe one day 🤣

Edit to add... that particular fly spray is ALSO affective on the black B52 Bomber flys .... it's not that time of year yet, but 🪰💣✈️

05/04/2024

🤣 they are my favorite though

How about your mares 😂 ?
credits: Tack Rooms

05/04/2024

It seems like every rural area in this country is plagued by ticks... Riv has delt with chronic Lymes for years now, and almost died of Anaplasmosis twice :( All horses get a spot on treatment, or a fly spray labeled to kill and repel ticks, year round.

That tiny speck on that kitten's eye lid is a deer tick!!

April is Lyme disease awareness month -- Lyme disease is spread by the deer tick (black legged tick) and can affect many species including dogs, horses, and humans. Lyme disease can be subclinical (no symptoms seen) or clinical where symptoms range from fevers, joint pain, lethargy, decreased appetites, and even kidney failure.

Consistent tick prevention is needed year round to protect our animals against these tiny critters and the diseases they carry.

04/04/2024

Happy Birthday Shotzie!🎉Time sure does fly... I can't wait for this show season to get started! Thank you Jean for sharing this boy with me 🚀 👁👅👁

02/04/2024

True connection with your horse demands more than just physical presence.

It requires shedding all distractions and emotions and allowing yourself to be completely present and free. Horses feel every nuance of your energy – your mood, tension, impatience – so drop it all and let the bond flourish.

31/03/2024

Excellent jump lessons with Waylon Roberts the past few days... thank you Jackie Smith for the educational opportunities! 💪

28/03/2024

Have you ever worked for someone who constantly criticized you?

You might have done hundreds of things right in a day, but you never seemed to receive any praise for those things. You only heard about it when you did something wrong.

At the end of the day, you left work feeling defeated and unappreciated.

Now, think about your horses…

This is exactly how they feel when all you do is micromanage their every move.

When a horse is young and learning new skills, we are often quick to reward even the smallest effort in the right direction.

But, as a horse gets further along in its training and our expectations get higher, we often forget to reward them for doing the small things correctly.

We begin to nitpick their behavior and overlook the skills they have mastered.

We rush through the things that they do well so that we can spend more time on the things that they struggle with.

We think that, by focusing on their weaknesses, we will progress them through their training faster.

But, that’s not how it works…

If all we ever do is work on our horses’ weaknesses, they forget what it feels like to have strengths.

They start to feel like their efforts are unappreciated and unrewarded.

And, after a while, they lose their willingness to try.

Horses need positive affirmation. They need to know that their efforts are valued.

Don’t forget to remind your horses that they are doing a good job.

-Phil Haugen Horsemanship

22/03/2024

DRESSAGE TRIVIA:
Which two movements are basically the same, but are actually more different than night and day?

Do you know the difference between the trot loop and the canter loop? Besides the fact that one is performed at the trot and the other at the canter, there is a MAJOR difference between these two movements.

They are performed in the exact same pattern, or path, so how can it be possible that they are so completely different?

Well, you know...
🎶🎤🎵 "It's all about the bend, bout da bend, bout da bend..."🎶🎤🎵

The trot loop at training level requires a change in bend twice. And it must be smooth and fluid. The changes in bend come at you quick and you need to navigate and plan and think....😰

The canter loop at first level does not include any changes in bend, so you ride the path with no worries of that! BUT this is actually a harder movement because it's actually much harder to keep the same bend in the canter without breaking to trot or switching leads! Welcome to counter-canter territory...🫣

Regardless, both movements require planning and attention to detail. See the diagram below to help you visualize both movements😎