Photo by Collective Grace

Knollwood is pleased to announce a new team for show season 2025.

Shaye had a year for the record books last season. 

She and Teddy won the Senior Pleasure Equitation Championship at Lexington, were gold medalists in the Senior Pleasure Equitation Olympics, won both the Saddle and Bridle Pleasure Equitation Senior Medallion final, and the ASHBA National Championship of Pleasure Equitation, both at St Louis.  Shaye is also the Reserve National Champion of  Pleasure Equitation for riders aged 14-17, a title earned at the Royal.

Whew!

During the offseason, the Jensen family sold perfect Teddy in the barn to the Werner family. Leighton will be aboard this immensely talented gelding in the 13 and under equitation division.

Meanwhile, the Jensens purchased the beautiful mare Far Too Fancy for daughter Shaye to show in the 2025 season.

Known to all as Lady, this big beautiful mare makes a perfect partner for charismatic Shaye.

Lady is learning the ways of a equitation horse, and is learning her lessons with ease.

We can hardly wait to see these two ladies enjoy new challenges and successes.

Best of luck, Shaye and Lady!

Photo by Collective Grace

We've been experiencing a quiet couple of weeks at Knollwood, with many of our students enjoying getaways to sun and sand.

With all the new Knollwood Kids, we've been hearing lots of questions about Knollwood and horses in general.

It's question and answer time!

Why do riders use bareback pads for some lessons?

Bareback riding is a strong tool in a rider’s development. Working on a bareback pad gives riders time to focus on their position while isolating muscle groups needed. Bareback riding also allows a rider the opportunity to feel every movement their horse makes.

It’s hard, particularly the first few times a rider has the experience. Nothing builds a rider’s muscles and body listening skills faster than bareback time.

 

Why do horses not always do what the rider is asking?

Learning to ride is a long process.

Riders start on our most experienced lesson horses who enjoy teaching beginner riders. These pro teachers instruct students that they need to be clear and sometimes firmer than the rider expected.

While it may look like a horse isn’t listening, the professional teacher is simply waiting to be asked correctly in a way that they understand.

This is why riding horses is such a fabulous activity for kids. Riders learn that things don’t always work the first time you ask, and that patience and follow through will make it work.

I’ve heard mention of Knollwood being a ‘competition based program’. What does that mean?

We believe that competition produces strong, thinking horsepeople, and that it keeps riders progressing their skills.

Knollwood offers three in-barn shows per year where students can enjoy friendly competition in a familiar environment. We offer classes for all levels of rider, including first time show participants in their own maiden division.

Riders compete on familiar horses surrounded by supportive instructors and helpers. Instructors work with each rider to develop goals for the show and work before the event to achieve them.

Knollwood shows are also about sportsmanship as riders support each other and clap for everyone, about friendship as riders meet fellow Knollwood Kids who learn on other days of the week, and about horsemanship as riders and personal assistants take great care of the best lesson horses in the world.

We encourage every rider to compete in these shows to experience the joys and learning of riding in competition. The lessons learned are priceless.

What’s the academy team?

After showing at Knollwood shows, many riders riders choose to further their riding education by showing with us away from home.

Our academy horses travel to about 10 shows a year where they compete against other professionally run lesson programs from throughout the Midwest.

We travel throughout Wisconsin and Illinois, learn many lessons, and have great fun along the way.

We’re thrilled this year to be introducing 11 new riders to academy showing, bringing our academy team to a total of 56 members.

If you’re interested in learning about our 2026 program, please talk to your instructor.

Why do some horses wear boots and/or blinkers?

Lesson horses do a lot of pattern work, from basic circles to complicated circles, half circles, at many different gaits. Some of them wear boots to protect tendons and heels while teaching students the ins and outs of steering and balancing a horse. Basically, this is protection for hard working lesson horses.

Some horses are more comfortable working in blinkers to help them focus on the work ahead of them. Blinkers allow horses to see the world ahead of them, and removes the distraction of horses or activities to the side.

Why are most of the lesson horses geldings?

Simply put, geldings are pretty consistent and easy going. Their personalities are the same from day to day, and they’re pretty unflappable.

We’re fortunate to have a posse of wonderful mares who have made their own ‘girls club.’ Bee, Fiona, and Leona spend evenings in their own ladies’ pasture, and have become fast friends. If you’ve ever heard them nicker to each other in the arena, you’ll appreciate their girls’ club. While Poppy prefers her own company, she loves her little walk and trot riders.

When do riders get to canter?

Safety is our Number one goal.

We wait until each rider is strong enough in the saddle to stay back through speed changes, and is able to keep their horse’s head up to keep the canter smooth and slow.

Riders practice many sitting trots, bareback work, dropping and picking up stirrups at the trot, and posting without stirrups.

By following these guidelines, our riders find cantering enjoyable, and they can be successful from the start.

 

Why do students ride different horses when they really like two or three of them?

Knollwood is proud of its collection of lesson horses, which we refer to as ‘the library.’ Each of our equine faculty members has a lesson to teach, and instructors spend plenty of time and thought assigning horses for each lesson.

Some horses are confidence builders, some will teach follow through to maintain speed, some will need a rider to relax to help the horse stay calm, some horses teach riders to canter, some have leads that require patience and set up, and some are still learning, and will challenge and educate our most advanced riders.

Many times, the horse that challenges a rider the most will become a favorite.

 

When do riders get to ride outside?

Once the weather is warm and our arenas are groomed for the season, riders get to experience the pleasure of riding outside.

Riding outside teaches riders to pay attention to the environment, as there are cars, wildlife, and traffic noises in the great outdoors.

Our experienced riders really enjoy riding in the big outdoor ring, and learning pattern skills on the green grass of ‘patternland.’

What’s Coming Up?

Parents Night Out

Saturday, April 5

Sign up now for this popular event!

You’ll enjoy pizza, games, crafts, and fun with the Knockout officers and board members.

Knollwood Spring Show Entries Due

April 10

Don’t miss our first in-barn show this season.

IASPHA Spring Show

April 11-13

Beyond Stable Farm

Woodstock, Illinois

Join us for our first out of barn show of 2025.

Mya and Vienna will be making their show ring debuts. Please come cheer us all on!

Easter Sunday

April 20

We won’t be holding lessons on Easter, and your instructor will be reaching out to set up a make up.

 

Street Clean Up

April 26 at 1:00 PM

Join the Knockouts as they spruce up Oakwood and Nagawicka Roads for spring.

It’s a fun way to earn your club service hours for 2025, and to meet new friends.

Please stay for the Knockout meeting immediately following the clean up.

 

UPHA Chapter 10 Show

May 3-4

Beyond Stable Farm

Join us as our academy team heads back to our favorite show facility.

Knollwood Kid Sammy will be making her show ring debut.

Mom’s Ride

May 10 at 6:00 PM

Knollwood Moms will enjoy a riding lesson with their rider acting as their helper.

For only $50,  riders can tell their mom what to do for 45 minutes!

Helpers must be at least 10, or an academy rider.

We’ll begin signups on April 15.

KF Spring Show

May 16-18

It’s almost here! 

Entries for the May 16-18 show are due on April 10 so we can order the shirts riders wear. Please talk to your instructor to experience the show weekend.

 

 

See you soon at the barn.

Photo by Collective Grace

Team Knollowood is excited to announce that Addison is moving up from our academy team into the horse show world this season.

Addison has grown up a Knollwood Kid. She's shown academy for several years, and her skills have taken her to the top of that division.

She's attended pattern camps, helped beginner riders, and has participated in many, many Knockout events.

Oh, and she's a heck of a volleyball player.

Addison will hit the ring on the beautiful Rosewood's Homecoming Dance. Known to all as Robert, this grand gelding has been a star for several Knollwood riders, including Haley Berget, Laney Lonchar, ALexa Gross, and most recently, Margit Rhode.

Photo by Collective Grace

 

Robert's charisma catches a judge's eye quickly whether he's showing in an equitation or a pleasure class. His height and personality make him a wonderful match for Addison.

These two will be so very fun to watch!

 

Team Knollwood is thrilled to announce another new horse and rider combination for the 2025 show season.

Averie is following in her sister’s footsteps, and is starting her equitation career this year. Averie will be showing Pure Royalty in the 10 and under walk and trot division.

Prince’s registered name may sound familiar, as he carried Leighton last season, her first our of academy. Prior to that, Prince was older sister Shaye’s equitation mount.

Averie has been working really hard in the off season to make the transition to the show horse world, and it really shows.

Definitely not a wallflower, Averie brings her spunk to the ring. She and Prince are going to have a grand time.

For the first time, Knollwood will have two riders in the 10 and under walk and trot equitation division. We know that Averie and Maddie will have adventures to share.

Congratulations to Averie and the Jensen family.

We can hardly wait to watch Averie and Prince enter the ring.

2024’s school horse of the year Fred here with some important news!

 

Entries for the Spring Knollwood show start tomorrow, March 20.

You may call it a horse show, but for us, the best lesson horses in the world, we refer to the event as our Spring Recital.

We’re proud and grateful to be part of this nationally recognized lesson program. We work in a competition-based riding school, so this is our time to show off our riders' skills, and our own

abilities as well.

Why should all Knollwood Kids participate in our in-barn shows? Well, we’re proud to be a competition-based program.  

What’s a competition-based program?

We equine faculty members believe that showing horses teaches persistence, mental organization, problem solving, resilience, creativity, and compassion. There’s nothing better.

Did you know that in 2024 alone Knollwood’s show riders earned 17 national and world championship titles? And did you know that many of those riders enjoyed lessons with me at the start of their riding lives? Here at Knollwood, we’re always working towards the same goal: to turn out skilled horse people who know how to compete.

All of the lesson horses have a job to do in this process, as they help riders learn and improve their riding skills.

Us real horses, AKA the slip stall horses, teach riders at the start of the process. We provide the foundation. We teach posting, steering, stopping, and all the building blocks that make a rider. We rock.

Of course, there’s a progression of horse instructors as a rider improves their skills.  Knollwood has what the instructors refer to as the ‘library’ in the school barn. Instructors enjoy a selection of horses and can always find the perfect mount for each rider’s lesson of the day.  As skills advance, riders have more horses available for their education.

The 'fancy horses,' AKA the box stall horses who are reserved for riders who have chosen to join the academy travel team teach more advanced show skills including patterns and show ring strategies.

Photo by Hanna Agathen

Knollwood shows offer Knollwood Kids a way to apply their skills in a different setting.  Riders get to choose horses on their entry forms, and the instructors review the selections. (Please choose me!!)

Instructors assign horses based on a number of factors including a rider’s experience, the show division, whether the horse involved enjoys showing, and of course, the horse’s schedule for the weekend.

Photo by Hannah Agathen

Each rider will have plenty of time to practice on their horse prior to the recital. We brilliant lesson horses will teach showing rules and etiquette and build the confidence of each rider we’re partnered with. We love Knollwood shows.

The atmosphere on show weekends can’t be beat.

We horses are treated like absolute kings and queens, with spa treatments and fancy saddle pads. Our behavior at shows is a big part of our annual performance reviews, so we’re extra sparkly in the ring.

The personal assistants are the best and they take care of us all weekend.

For those of you who don’t get food delivered to your stall, there’s a concession stand, and there are even gift baskets you can win!

Lots of nice Knollwood Kids and parents man the tents of food and other fun show activities. You’ll even get a chance to volunteer to join the fun.

 

Please consider this your personal invitation to participate in our recital, your Spring show.

You'll learn, you'll make new friends, and you'll get to spend time with the best lesson horses in the world.

What's Coming Up?

Parents Night Out

Saturday, April 5

All Knockouts are invited to join the officers and board members for a night of fun at the barn. For only $25, you'll enjoy pre-Easter fun, dinner, and of course, games in the arena.  Please talk to your instructor or an admin to join the event.

Knollwood Spring Entries Due

April 10

Entries are due for the Knollwood Spring Show May 16-18.

IASPHA Spring Show

April 12-13

Our first academy show of 2025 is almost here!

Please join us at Beyond Stable Farm in Woodstock, Illinois to cheer on Team Knollwood. Walk trot and canter riders will show on Saturday afternoon, and walk and trot stars will show on Sunday. We're introducing Mya and Vienna to the joys of showing at the show, and we can hardly wait.

Some show horses are making the trip as well!

Easter Sunday

April 20

We're not holding lessons on Easter. Your instructor will schedule a makeup.

 

Street Clean Up

April 26

1:00 PM

All Knockouts are invited to our first service project of the year. Please join your fellow club members as they clean up Oakwood and Nagawicka Roads for spring. Be sure to stay for the Knockout meeting immediately following the event.

Not yet a Knockout member?

We'd love to have you! You can enroll with your instructor or an admin to join the fun.

UPHA Spring Show

May 3-4

Beyond Stable Farm

Woodstock, Illinois

We're back at our favorite facility for another academy show!  Please join us.

Mom's Ride

Saturday, May 10

6:00 PM

Knollwood Kids are giving their mom's an introductory lesson! For only $50, kids can tell their mom 'how it's done.' We'll start signing up on April 15.

Helpers must be at least 10, or an academy rider to be a 'helper.'

 

Food Drive Starts

May 16

Our annual food drive begins on May 16 and runs through May 30. 

Team Knollwood members who collect a minimum of five food kits or $100 in cash donations are eligible to participate in the Knollwood Olympics on June 7.

It's a great opportunity to help neighbors in need, and to have a blast at the Olympics.

KF Spring Show

May 16-18

It's almost here! Get ready to participate in our first show weekend of 2025.

Keep your fingers crossed for good weather, too!

Madison Classic Academy Classes

May 24

Our academy riders take over the ring on Saturday. Please come to cheer us on.

Show horses will be competing at this fabulously deep show from Thursday to Sunday, AND the Brat Bash is going on at the same time. What could be more Wisconsin?

Memorial Day

Monday, May 26

We'll be rescheduling lessons for the holiday. Your instructor will be in touch.

Prairie State Classic

May 30 - June 1

Beyond Stable Farm

The academy team will be showing in the big beautiful outdoor ring.  

 

Knollwood Olympics

Saturday, June 7

 

Photo by Collective Grace

 

See you soon at the barn!