Last weekend, Team Knollwood gathered for a favorite event of the summer, our July academy show.  The event spanned two days with our experienced riders showing on Saturday afternoon, and our up and coming stars taking over on Sunday afternoon.

It was a weekend of great lessons, great riding, great fun, and great stories.  Here are a few of our favorites. 

Knollwood Challenge 2017

Our finals in November are going to be barn burners, with more hard riding kids qualifying last weekend. 

After some impressive railwork and inverted figure eights, Maddie and Lauren advanced to the November WTC final, joining Bubbles and Heather who qualified in April.

In Sunday's walk and trot challenge qualifier, Richie and Maiya advanced to join Mia and Lauren who advanced in April.

After the last qualifying classes at the November classes, the riders will compete in the finals where they'll be battling to win a custom show shirt from deRagnaucourt.

Good luck to all the finalists!

Sportsmanship and Resilience

When one of our prized walk and trot horses was feeling a little under the weather, riders who were planning to show him didn't miss a beat.  We worked together to find new horses for their classes, and they all turned in really nice rides.  

Teamwork

It really does take a village to put on an event of this size, and we are fortunate to have great villagers.

The masterminds behind the concession stand and gift baskets outdid themselves this time.  Our fabulous customers who staffed the stand and donated to the baskets were generous with their time and effort, our four hair stylists had all the riders looking perfect, Jeni kept the audience informed AND entertained, our hard working center ring staff kept the show running safely, Carol and Sarah presented 2 great demos of beautiful saddlebreds, Vicki kept the riders organized in the barn on Sunday, Mary and Rhonda ran the Sunday show and information office, and many of our experienced riders acted as personal assistants to the best lesson horses in the world on Sunday.

We are grateful for everyone's contributions to the weekend enjoyed by so many.

Saddlebred Rescue

We tried something new this summer to raise some funds for Saddlebred Rescue.  Riders were able to purchase a song to play during a class with the proceeds going to one of our favorite charities.  All told, the new program raised more than $100.  We hope to expand the songs to both days of the show in November, so start planning the soundtrack to your classes.

New Riders

We were thrilled to see our newest show riders enter the ring for the first time, and were pleased with the progress of last show's maiden riders.  They looked great and were vying for good ribbons in the regular walk and trot classes.

We pride ourselves on our commitment to the discipline of equitation, and our riders did us proud this weekend. We saw a lot of up and coming riders who will be putting pressure on our more experienced riders in the near future, and we're thrilled.

Our Horses

They proved once again that they're the best lesson horses ever.

 Even with the hot muggy weather and the full schedule of classes, the boys maintained their senses of humor throughout the weekend.  Although, by the end of Sunday, Fred and Dudley were trying to tell Kelsey when they thought they should come into the line up...

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the show this weekend.  We applaud everyone who rode this weekend!

Next Up?

Our academy and 'B' horses are heading to Roscoe for the Mid America Signature Show.  This friendly show offers riders the opportunity to show outside, and it's looking like the weather is going to be gorgeous!

Meanwhile, show horses continue to prepare for Louisville and Fall shows, while weekend lessons are back on schedule.

See you at the barn!