We are a family oriented farm that lives life together. This is a diary of our lives together, and the ramblings of me, the trainer.
If you're in the Charleston area we'd love to meet you.
I was listening to Dave Ramsey on my way home from lessons last night. An equine vet called in. He had been on a farm visit earlier in the day. The client mentioned that she was a liberal, or in some other way conveyed such to the vet. When he was finished and writing the invoice he informed her that he would be adding a 10% surcharge to her bill. The proceeds would then be held in reserve for the next horse owner who couldn't afford vet care.
Low and behold the horse owner didn't think it a very good idea. Personally, I thought it was an excellent example of liberal "redistribution".
All that said we are back in full swing this week with lessons. As soon as my camera surfaces I will post some pictures of the new farm. Which I'm calling my own piece of nirvana. (that means tranquility)
We had an excellent showing at the state fair this past weekend, but I'll post more on that as soon as I have those pictures from Amelia...hint, hint.
I'm sorry I have been absent for awhile. Dan and I have been very busy moving our house and the farm. Many of you are very interested/confused with what is happening.
The econonmy has taken a large dive as most of you are aware. As a result Dan and I are not going to move forward with building a new farm on United Dr. at this moment. We are going to patiently wait until the market has improved.
I spent several weeks not sure what we were going to do. We talked about closing the doors, tried to find a lease on another property, and just in general considered any option we could brainstorm.
At the 11th hour God came through. Our general contractor who had also tried to salvage the construction project invited us to use his farm. Thank you Cecil and Dawn!!!
They have a beautiful 15 stall barn, several horses that have been lesson horses the majority of their lives, very well LIT ring for evening lessons, an ample hay supply of their own, showers in the bathrooms...I could go on and on. The long and short of it however is that we have come to an arrangement with Cecil and Dawn that will allow us to stay at Mills Farms for as long as we need/want to.
The sad part of the situation is that we are now 8 miles outside of Moncks Corner. I know for many of you this is quite a hike the first time or two. Those of you who have already started coming out are discovering as you get to know land marks and get comfortable with the drive it's not too bad. There are also a couple of short cuts I can help you with as you get comfortable.
I know I will lose some of you to the drive. I would really appreciate any word of mouth recommendations you can give to friends or family who live up this way. Our telephone number for now is my cell phone 408-7500. E-mail is info@charlestonriding.com
We are having a pot luck at the Mills Farms today at noon. All are welcome to join us. I will be setting up a new blog, and will post the info one last time here as soon as it's up and running.
I am going to try and post a weekly entry that will help you improve your skills in between your lessons. This week is an excersise used in martial arts to create weight in your heels, balance, and strengthen your legs.
The horse stance, or riding stance, is a common stance in most traditional martial arts systems. The horse stance, known as ma bu, or kiba dachi, requires that the legs be slightly wider than shoulder width, knees bent, back as straight as possible and chest out. The hips should be kept forward. The depth and width of the stance varies depending on the style of martial arts. Some styles require the knees to be bent to a ninety degree angle while others only call for a slight bend to the knees.
The horse stance is used in traditional fighting systems for several uses. Primarily it is used during training to strengthen the legs. It can also be used as a way to attack the knees and the balance of an opponent. Finally, it can be used as a way of getting low and close to an opponent to set up another technique. The example shown here is a horse stance used in various kung fu styles.
Trusting God is always a roller coaster. It has been a very appropriate sermon series at Seacoast this month. We are learning all about dreams realized and dashed. For those adults among us you know that the economy is struggling right now. In particular the banking industry. Sadly, the nature of banking right now is forcing us to delay and slow down the construction of our new farm.
We are not going to be able to stay at M&M any longer either. We are about to enter a new (yet temporary) era of Charleston Riding Academy. We have entered a very beneficial partnership with Cecil and Dawn of Mills Farm. They are located just outside of Moncks Corner. They are welcoming us to share their beautiful facility. They have a a 14 stall barn, well lit arena (that drains), and numerous other "luxuries". There are even some luxuries just for our parents.
We will be taking a couple of weeks off the beginning of October to let our horses settle in to their new environment. Lessons will resume October 13th for our general academy students. Our horseshow students will be able to continue their lessons during the transition time.
I will post pictures as soon as I get a chance to take some. I will have a letter for everyone this week detailing the transition and a couple of special opportunities. If you don't make it to the farm and would like the letter e-mailed please let me know.
It will be important to remember that this is their home and we need to be respectful of their personal space. They do have young children and it will be important to establish that the outdoor toys are not a free for all. If we just keep a general rule that we need to stay a minimum 100 feet from the house this shouldn't be a problem.
We are going to be moving the farm and our house next weekend the 27th and 28th. Many of you have offered to help. WE can use any and all help both days. If you are available and are willing please show up and your convenience. I'm sure I don't need to stress the volume of stuff that will need to be moved. We will have trailers and trucks, but if anyone can be bring bodies there are jobs for anyone and everyone.
Unfortunatley last night's rain has left us under puddles again. Please call me to reschedule. I need to get any and all make ups in by next Friday.
Showing off my baby
The above slide show is pictures I've managed to accumulate of my pride and joy...Shiloh. These are all pictures I've found of him on the web. They start with him as a yearling at the Saratoga sale and go up through his winning at the race track. You will find more pictures of him in the bottom slide show at the Clemson show with one of my students aboard back in Dec. 2007. Hopefully I will be able to add some pictures of myself showing him in the near future.
You'll notice a couple of the pictures are during his time at Canter. Please check out their website at
http://www.canterusa.org/ohio They are running on very hard times right now and every penny people can send their way is greatly appreciated by the horses. If everyone who checks our blog regularly could send just $5 they could feed a horse for a month.
