The Monarch Championship Horse Show has just begun this morning, and Team Knollwood is happy to report a win in their first class.

Super team Kim and Nacho did it again, winning the Single Bit qualifier for master riders. He and Kim always look like they’re loving every minute in the ring. They now have their sights set on the championship class on Friday night!

Pleasure equitation finals are a big part of the Monarch show, and Knollwood will be well represented in both finals.

Brooklyn, Maddie, and Shaye will be competing in the 13 and under Pleasure Equitation Olympics, and the UPHA Pleasure Challenge Cup for riders 13 and under.

Maiya and Natallie will be representing Team Knollwood in the senior editions of both finals.

Both finals consist of railwork and patterns, and we can hardly wait to watch Knollwood Kids compete against some of the best riders in the country.

If you can’t make it to the gorgeous arena in Springfield, Illinois, you can watch the show for free on SeaHorse Video here.

 

Entries for the fall Knollwood show are due on September 15.

It’s a quick turnaround, and we are still awaiting a significant number of entries.  Please be sure to get yours in soon so we can get the shirt and award orders in soon.

 

Speaking of the Knollwood show, we’re asking for your help. Our show barn riders will be on the road at the Mane Event Show while we’re hosting the home show weekend.

We’re looking for some additional parents and riders to help with set up, concessions, and with the gift baskets. You can sign up for volunteer hours here, and can sign up for gift basket items in the school barn lounge.

Great thanks!

 

 

Movie Night is Coming!

All Knockouts are invited to watch ‘Racing Stripes’ with their fellow club members on Saturday, September 23 at 6:00 PM.  The club will provide movie snacks, and the event is free to all Knockouts. You can sign up in the school barn lounge.

 

Attention Academy Riders!

It’s time to finalize your academy award sheets from the ASHBA. All riders who earned a minimum of 15 points from October 1, 2022 to October 1, 2023 are eligible to receive an award.

Please provide your membership number to Ann to complete the process.

If you’re not sure if you’re a member, you can call the association to verify or to sign up!

 

 

Our last two academy shows of 2023 are coming up fast!

Please join us at the UPHA Chapter 10 Fall Show on October 6-7, and at the grand finale, the IASPHA Fall Show on October 27-29.

We’d love some fan support, and Beyond Stable Farm in Woodstock is a nice drive. Please join us!

 

 

 

Street Clean Up is coming on Saturday, October 21.

Join your friends as we beautify the neighborhood around the barn. It’s your last chance to earn Knockout service hours for 2023 to become eligible for a year end award at the banquet. (And it’s fun!)

You can sign up here!

 

 

 

See you soon at the barn or at the in-gate!

 

The show horses are back from the World’s Championship Horse Show in Louisville, Kentucky.  We’re so proud of our horses and riders for their performances in and out of the ring. 

Most of our teams even made it through the qualifiers to the world championships!

 

On To Monarch!

Horses will rest up for a week before heading to the Monarch Horse Show in Springfield, Illinois.

Home to the first of fall’s equitation finals, the show is a fan favorite at a fantastic facility.

The show hosts the Pleasure Equitation Olympics as well as the UPHA Pleasure Challenge Cup National Finals.

Knollwood’s 13 and Under team for both finals is Brooklyn, Maddie, and Shaye. Maiya and Natalie will be competing in the senior division.

The show also features deep competition in all disciplines, and many Knollwood horses and riders will be competing throughout the show.

 

 Summer Riding School 2023 Finishes Up!

It’s hard to believe that Summer Riding School season is almost over. We’re enjoying our last week of camp with a great group of riders.

Our sold out summer of camp has taught us many things. Here are a few of them:

 

Immersion in horses yields fantastic peogress.

Many new riders come in on Monday morning having never ridden a horse. After riding twice on most days under the direction of a friendly instructor, and with the help of supportive counselors and helpers, these kids are posting on the correct diagonals by the Friday demo.

Our Tiny Tot friends all want to start regular lessons after time with the best lesson horses in the world, and our helpers who are selected just for that special age group.

 

Pattern camps?

These riders show tremendous progress after riding pretty intensely for a week. Ringmanship and patterns are pretty great by Friday.  Oh, and competitive ladies get plenty of bareback and game time, too.

If you couldn’t join us for Knollwood Summer 2023, make a plan to join us in 2024. Riders currently enrolled in lessons will be able to sign up in February, before we open Knollwood Summer 2024 to the public.

 

 

Creative Campers!

Last week was the last week of pattern camp for the summer, and it was pretty hot. We spent some time relaxing under a tree at lunch, and the campers went through the horse list to decide what each of the horses would do if they had to get a different job.

Here are a few of the highlights:

 

Bilbo and Jelly would run a laid back surf shop in Hawaii.

 

 

Pony Frank would be a blogger about cruises, wear big gold chains, and drink samples of something all day.

 

 

Poppy would own a bar in New Jersey, and change her name to Betty.

 

Photo by Hanna Agathen Photography

Thomas would be a dancing instructor.

 

Vaughn would live in his Mom’s basement, play video games, and eat hot Cheetos.

 

Murphy would be a Youtube vlogger writing about conspiracy theories.

 

There’s always time for some creativity!

 

 

What’s Coming Up?

Photo by Hanna Agathen Photography

Knollwood Fall show entries are due August 15.

 

Knockout Movie Night

Saturday, September 23

6:00 in the arena

 

Photo by Hanna Agathen Photography

 

Photo Shoot Day with Hanna!

Sunday, October 1

You can sign up here.

 

 

 

UPHA Fall Show

October 6-7

Beyond Stable Farm

Join us for a great Friday and Saturday all academy show.

 

 

Photo by Hanna Agathen Photography

 

Knollwood Fall Show

October 13-15

You can sign up here to help with concessions and many other things that make the show run smoothly.

 

Street Clean Up

October 21 at noon

 

 

IASPHA Fall Show

October 28-29

Beyond Stable Farm

Join us for our final academy show of the season! 

We'd love a big audience to celebrate all the accomplishements of our academy team.

 

 

 

 

 

 See you soon at the barn, or at the in-gate!

 

 

 

 

 

Team Knollwood enjoyed another weekend of horse shows in 2 states at the same time.

 

Eleven show horses started competition at the World’s Championship Horse Show in Louisville, Kentucky on Sunday.

Sunday was a big day, with both Payton and Richie earning ribbons that advance them into the World’s Grand Championship of Senior Saddle Seat Equitation on Thursday evening.

Since Sunday, almost all of our horse and rider combinations have made it into the championship round.

This show features the best of the best, and earning a ribbon in that company is an unbelievable achievement, and we’re so proud of all the work that has gone into achieving these heights.

 

The show in Wisconsin was our summer in-barn show, the highlight of many Knollwood Kids’ school vacations.

We showcased 90 riders ranging from our leadline class on Sunday morning to our Knollwood Challenge qualifiers on Friday night.

We have a lot of thanks, and some random thoughts, too.

 

Thank you to our riders who made all of their instructors proud.

Judge Jeni had a hard time with many of the classes full of hard working riders.

In addition to the strong riding, our students also exhibited wonderful sportsmanship. We saw riders congratulating each other in the line up, and all over the farm, too.

The riders also took great care of the horses after the show, giving spa treatments after a long day of showing.

 

 

Thank you to the parents and riders who volunteered at the concession stand and other parts of the ‘fundrasing village.’

Thank to your efforts, the Knollwood Knockouts earned $2000, which will be a big help for the club’s donations and for funding the award banquet in February of 2024.

We ARE looking for additional parents to help for the fall show in October. Please talk to your instructor, or admin if you’d like to help the weekend of October 13-15.

 

Photo by Hanna Agathen Photography

 

Thank you to the best lesson horses in the world.

These boys and a few girls showed why they’re the best.

From patterns to walk and trot Sunday, they were all on their best behavior, which is their usual way.

Photo by Hanna Agathen Photography

We want you to know just how special this cast of characters is. They do lessons every day, camps in the summer, and horse shows at home. Some of them travel to shows away from home, too.

While they’re still horses which makes them unpredictable in some situations, they did a fantastic job again this weekend, with near perfect behavior.

Few horses are this close to ‘unicorn status,’ and we can’t possibly thank ours enough.

 

Thank you to the personal assistants who make the Sunday show so spectacular for our youngest show stars.

These ladies worked a long day prepping their horse, tacking and saddle changing as well as making sure stirrups were even and the right length.

Assistants serve as cheerleaders, barn moms, stand in instructors, and advice givers.

They’re the epitome of  Knollwood Kids, and we couldn’t do it without these gems.

 

Congratulations, and great thanks to everyone who participated in the show, or who helped make the show memorable for so many Knollwood Kids.

 

Our fall show is coming up October 13-15, and we’re taking entries through August 15. Please talk to your instructor with any questions.

 

What’s Coming Up?

 

Back to School

We understand that schedules change at the start of the school year. Please talk to your instructor if you'd like to change your lesson time or day of the week.

 

 

Futurity Academy Classes

Saturday, September 16

New Holland Pavillion, Madison WI

Join our academy riders for their division at the Futurity show. We'll be competing for state championships, and would love a big cheering section!

 

See you soon at the barn, or at the in-gate!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, we’ve turned the iPad over to the lesson horses, who are the real stars of the show this weekend. We gave them a list of questions, and pasture leader Hugo assigned who should answer each.  

 

 

What’s with all the pattern classes on Friday?

Thomas here.

I’m proudly the current chairman of the pattern horse department.

We love patterns, and all the things they teach riders about horses’ minds and bodies.

We’re complicated creatures, and will do almost anything if a rider asks us in a way we understand. Sometimes, a rider will make a pattern look really simple, and sometimes communication gets a tad, shall we say, confuzzled, and the result looks more creative than correct.

We turn out riders who understand how we think, and how our bodies work. My department couldn’t be prouder of the riders we turn out.

 

 

What’s the Knollwood Challenge?

Baxter here.

As the holder of the corner office, and of the most wins in Knollwood Challenge history, I’m uniquely qualified to take this one.

The Knollwood Challenge is our own equitation final modeled after the UPHA Challenge Cup Final.

We hold qualifying classes at each show for both walk trot and walk trot canter divisions. Each qualifier features rail work and a predetermined pattern.

The riders who finish first and second in each qualifying class will advance to the final at the October show.

The finalists will ride railwork at the fall show, followed by a challenging pattern. The winner of the final receives a traveling trophy, and a custom show shirt from deRegnaucourt, who outfits our show barn riders.

 

 

What’s a maiden class?

Legend Sparky here.

It’s for riders who have never shown before, and we love it.

As the department head for the beginner horse group, we enjoy introducing new riders to the show ring. We sometimes ‘take the reins’ for riders who forget what to do next. My best employees work in most of the maiden classes, as they’re the experts in all things beginner.

Shout out to Fred, Pumpkin, Bilbo, Jelly, Hugo, and Hooper. Of course, I’ll be there in all splits, keeping an eye on my boys.

 

 

 

What’s the Premier walk trot division about, and why do these small riders compete in the BIG arena?

Academy star Cashew here.

This is a great set of classes, where we continue to educate riders who have shown away from home in the academy division.

These sometimes cocky young stars get to experience the big outdoor ring with all of its distractions such as cars on Oakwood Road, hawks overhead looking for lunch, and an enthusiastic crowd along the rail.

We get to challenge the riders in a safe environment as we continue to educate them in the ways of the show ring.

And, it’s great to not have to canter, too…

 

 

What’s the difference between horsemanship and equitation classes?

Jelly here.

First of all, I’m adorable. I am a little worried that the new guy Earl may give me a run for the money in the handsome department, but I digress.

Horsemanship is, unfortunately, not judged on how beautiful the horse is. Rather, it’s judged on what the rider does with the horse.

The rider should find the horse’s best speed to trot, keep his head up at an appropriate height for his or her build, and get the horse around the arena wisely.

Equitation is judged solely on the rider’s position and skills.

Body position is very important, because proper position is the most efficient way to ride a horse. If the rider is out of balance, so is the horse.

Riders are judged on those pesky diagonals, body position, use of the voice and bridle, and their ability to plan ahead.

 

 

What is a personal assistant?

Dear Sweet Leon here.

Personal assistants are the best.

They’re experienced riders who volunteer their time to take care of a lesson horse all day on Sunday.

They give us a spa treatment before the show, and are in charge of our tack changes, rider changes, and getting us in and out of the ring.

They keep us comfortable, making sure we have water breaks, are safe from flies, and even get baths during the day if it’s hot.

We couldn’t do it without these heroes.

 

 

Who’s Judging this affair?

Duke here. Really.

Jeni Burton-Kleba is handling judging duties for the weekend.

Jeni is a lifelong saddlebred exhibitor, and was my teammate in a game day event a couple of years ago.

This woman can RIDE, and I thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent together.

I think she’ll be looking for riders who really get the most out of their horses this weekend.

 

Who’s taking show pictures this weekend?

Pony Frank here.

All around Knollwood Kid and great photographer Hanna Agathen is capturing memories this weekend. She’ll be in the ring all three days, and she’s really great at catching moments that mere mortals could miss.

Oh, and she’s always had a great sense of humor, as evidenced in this camp pic of little Hanna.

Ha Ha Ha. Put the cone on the pony’s head.

I deserved it.

 

 

Who is the concession stand sponsor?

Sport here.

Knollwood Kid Shelby Hader has sponsored the concession stand in memory of her father Steve, who passed away earlier this year.

While she can’t be here this weekend as she’s enjoying a trip to Germany, she’d want to tell everyone to ride hard, and that you can do anything when you’re on a horse.

Former Knollwood equitation rider Shelby is a graduate of Lawrence University, and is currently a researcher at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

She is  an honorary member of the Tuesday night academy group, instructs when Ann is at horse shows, and took great care of me at the Summerfun horse show in July.

 

 

Hooper has been assigned the miscellaneous section, as it resembles his unique style of mental organization.

 

Parking lots will fill in fast. Our friends at the Kettle Moraine Curling Club have allowed us to use their parking lot for the show.

You can also park on Horseshoe Bend, but PLEASE do not park between the posted ‘No Parking’ signs unless you’d like to meet a Delafield Police officer.

Plus, it’s a scary blind turn in the best of times, and with all the pedestrian traffic this weekend, please use the curling club lot.

 

The concession stand and gift baskets all benefit the Knollwood Knockouts. The money is used to fund their charitable activities and their awards banquet.

I’m going to campaign for horse of the year for 2023!

 

Finally, from Pumpkin, who is everyone's friend:

Sportsmanship is the key ingredient to horse showing.

Compliment someone on their hair.

Thank someone for helping.

Answer questions, or find an adult who can.

Congratulate someone on their ride.

Applaud everyone.

Say something nice to the person next to you in the line up.

Pet your favorite lesson horse, or all of them.

Respect everyone.

Be grateful for the opportunity to surround yourself with these horses and riders.

Cheer for your favorite horses.

 

It’s not the ribbon, it’s the ride.

 

 

 

 

Team Knollwood has been busy. Really busy.

Let’s catch up on the latest adventures.

 

The IASPHA Summer show was a blast.

We always enjoy shows at Beyond Stable Farm, especially the ones held outside. We all enjoyed the huge, breezy outdoor arena, complete with lights for the evening performances.

The competition? It was deep, deep, deep.

Here are some of our favorite stories:

Jane and Fergie just keep getting better and better. At IASPHA, they won both their qualifier and championship.

Nacho continues his brilliant performances in the single bit division, earning a reserve championship with Kim.

Sofia and Emilie showed for the last time before heading off to college.

Sofia will be attending Macalaster College in St Paul, and Emilie will study at UW-Platteville.

 

Leighton and Thomas were stars in 10 and under walk and trot, even winning a pattern class of 14 riders of all ages.

 

 

 

We returned to Beyond Stable Farm the following Thursday for the Mid America Signature Show. Ten different academy stars showed in the glorious outdoor ring, and what a time we had.

Aubrey and Morgan traded off first and second places in the green walk, trot, and canter division.

 

 

Kylie made her show ring debut on Thomas, turning in consistently good rides at her first show. Her cool, calm, and collected self even earned the reserve championship in the green walk and trot division.

Leon traveled to the show, and was bright as could be. Judge Kraegel really liked him, awarding him great ribbons in some big horsemanship classes.

Most importantly, unicorn Leon got to meet a pink unicorn after the show. He was perplexed, to say the least.

 

 

 

 

This weekend, the academy team heads to the Ozaukee County Fairgrounds for the ASAW Summer Showcase.

Five Knollwood Kids will be making their debut at the show, held at the beautiful Ozaukee County Fairgrounds.

Please come join us!

 

What’s Coming Up?

Louisville, 2023

The World Championship Horse Show gets underway on August 19, and runs through the 26th. Held in historic Freedom Hall, the show features beautiful horses and ponies as well as champion equitation stars.

Knollwood will be well-represented, both in performance and equitation.

We’ll post the show schedule later, and you can purchase the webcast if you’d like to watch from home.

 

 

The Big One!

The Knollwood Summer Show gets underway at 6:00 PM on Friday, August 18, with the first of our pattern classes.

Saturday will feature our walk, trot, and canter riders as well as our premier and 11 and over walk and trot riders. The Saturday show will take place in the big outdoor ring, and will start at 10:00 AM.

Sunday we’ll see Knollwood’s leadliners, maiden riders, and the 10 and under walk and trot stars. The performance will start at 9:00 AM in the little outdoor ring.

 

We still have some classes available for sponsorship. For only $25, we’ll read your message to the crowd. It’s a nice way to honor a rider, a horse, an instructor, or …  Forms are available in the school barn.

We’re looking for volunteers for the concession stand, as well as set up and tear down. You can sign up here to fulfill your Knockout service hours.

 

Show packets are ready for pick up in the school barn lounge. Please remember to return your back number after the show so it can be used for future shows. We have a few riders with missing numbers.

The concession stand at the show is sponsored by Knollwood Kid Shelby Hader in memory of her father Steve who passed away earlier this year.

Judge for the show will be lifelong saddlebred enthusiast Jeni Burton-Kleba. Jeni has ridden her whole life, and has a great eye for horses and equitation. We’re excited that she can spend her weekend with us.

 

 

 

See you soon at the barn, or at the ingate!