Smudge!

Equine Business Management Student, Katie Ballard, chose to write about Smudge for her blog post.

In every barn, no matter what the intention of the owners or the purpose of the horses that dwell within its stalls, there is always that one horse.  The horse that is used to baby-sit the younger ones or the newer ones or the ones that just need a hint of calm. The baby-sitter. In the St. Andrews Hunt Seat barn, that horse is Smudge. This elderly Thoroughbred has been a staple in the SAU barn for some years, first as a lesson horse and then as a companion. Though, it wasn’t always Smudge’s job. Barn managers at SAU did try and find him a home where he could be happy to live out his days. However, like in all good things, this did not come right away. After multiple failed placements, the staff decided that the best place for Smudge to be was in the SAU barns and there he has remained, happy as he could be.

In addition to his current duty as the lesson barn babysitter is to be the perfect stable management horse, which he does very well, Smudge is always there with a kind eye and a willing ear. When new horses arrive, Smudge goes to the isolation area with them, spending making their first two weeks of separation from the herd much easier. Keeping them company and showing them how to do things the right way and providing a calming influence.  

In my personal experience, every barn needs a horse like Smudge is for us at SAU.  Some horses need that extra bit of calm that an old timer like Smudge provides.  I know that when I need to hug a neck or pet a warm velvety nose, Smudge is always there for me to go to. Smudge is a sweet heart and, despite the fact that his lesson and competition days are behind him, he is a very important part of the St. Andrews family and one of my favorite horses.

All pictures were taken by Jordan Belanger and used with permission.

 



Smudge enjoying the sunshine



Smudge with Jordan his Stable Management Lab student Fall 2014



Smudge on Final Horse Presentation Day

Stable Management Lab.

As part of the Equine Business Management class this semester students are required to write one blog post about some aspect of our program. Shannon Hahn chose to write about Stable Management Lab. 

With the start of the new spring semester here at St. Andrews, we are pleased to see the new students in the stable management lab here at the barns.  The first class meeting was a nice chilly 30 degree day.  The students were assigned their horses for the semester and participated in a silly ice breaker that involved many laughs and creative descriptions of common horse items such as a side rein (or dog lease/belt/miniature pony lead rope/etc) and a grazing muzzle (spaghetti strainer).

The second class meeting was met with slightly warmer weather.  The students were able to work with their horses during the class for the first time!  The instructors set up a mini obstacle course with four obstacles to take their horses through: weaving the horse through a few cones, walking their horse to a stall and backing them in, jogging in an arc to a mounting block, and then finally walking to a gate, opening the gate, walking through, and closing the gate when they were finished.  Many laughs, and sighs of frustration, were had when some of the horses refused to be backed into the stalls.  The same feelings were felt again when some of the horses refused to stand at the mounting blocks, pointedly telling us that they did not want to be ridden at that point in time.  It was a successful exercise and also told the students how well, or not so well, their horses stood in one spot waiting for their turn.

The students have also learned a lot about the feeding that goes on at the barns.  They discussed in length the different types of hay that are fed and why the horses receive what they do.  They also learned about the different types of feed that are available, the nutritional value of some of them, and how different mashes are mixed for feeding.  They were also taught how to clean the sheath of their gelding, and spent part of a class period doing that.  They will get to spend many hours working with their horses and caring for them throughout the semester.

by Shannon Hahn

Tentative Spring 2015 Events Schedule

St. Andrews Equestrian Program

JANUARY

W   7                      Classes begin

F     9                      Lessons begin (Monday lessons will be held this Friday)

M  19                     Martin Luther King Day of Service – no lessons

Th-Su                    Raleigh Spring “A” Show

M  26                     RLAK Lessons begin

Sa  31                     Tournament of Champions at St. Andrews

Sa  31                     IHSA Western Show at Campbell University

FEBRUARY

Su   1                      IHSA Western Show at Campbell University

Sa   7                      IHSA Hunter Seat Show at UNC-Wilmington

Sa   14                    IHSA Hunter Seat Show at St. Andrews

Sa  14                     IDA Show at Averett

Sa   21                    IHSA Hunter Seat Regional Finals at St. Andrews             

Sa   28                    Open House

Sa   28                    IHSA Western Show at Old Dominion Ag Center

MARCH

Su   1                      IHSA Western Regional Finals at ODAC

Fr-Su 6-8              PATH Region 3 Conference at St. Andrews

Fr-Su 6-8              Triangle Farms Indoor “C” Show in Raleigh

M-F  9-13             Spring Break

Th-Su                    Raleigh Spring “A” Show

Fr-Su 20-22         IHSA Western Semi-Finals in Florida

Sa   21                    Open House

Sa  21                     IDA Show at St. Andrews

Fr-Su  27-29        IHSA Zone Finals at Goucher College

Su  29                    RLAK Horse Show

APRIL

F   3                        Easter Break

F  10                       Showing Under the Stars

S  11                       RLAK Volunteer Picnic

Tu-Su 14-19        ANRC National Championship at St. Andrews

Th   23                   Last day of classes

F-Su 24-26           IDA Nationals

Sa-Th 25-30         Exams

Su  26                    Riders Roast  M-M 27-4 IHSA Nationals in Springfield, MA

Dressage Show November 22.

We were lucky with the weather for our IDA show on Saturday. The sun shone and the temperatures were very tolerable. The dressage team led by Bridget Newman (who is doing a practicum this semester) and Dressage Show Chair Claire Pollard put on a fabulous show. The team worked together to prepare the horses, set the ring, and help one another with their tests. Bridget served as show secretary and show manager collecting entries, putting the program together and organizing all the details such as shipping horses from the lesson barn, picking up pizza for lunch and organizing parade riders. Claire recruited students from the hunter seat and western teams to hold horses, work the gate and run tests to the scorer. We received many compliments on the show from the visiting schools.

Competitively the highlights of our day were Bridget breaking a string of 4^th places at first level to plance 2^nd in First Level Test 2 with a score of 68.784%. Claire placed 3^rd in Training Level Test 2 with a score of 72.143% which just goes to show the quality of the rides in her division. Elizabethe Weeks earned 3^rd place in Training Level Test 1 with a score of 67.5% and Geneva Masak was 4^th in the same division with 66.458%. At Introductory Level Test B Sarah Lishen was 4^th with 62.813% and Nina Jurac riding for the team for the first time placed 6^th with 60.983%

In the Dressage Seat Equitation classes Bridget was 3^rd in first level. I training level Courtney Anderson was 2^nd, McCall DiMarco 3^rd and Natasha Worker 4^th. At the Intro level Sarah Lishen and Sarah Hartley were 2^nd in different classes and Nina Jurac was 4^th.

I was very pleased with the way the show ran as I had turned it completely over to the students. Individually we had some good scores. Team wise we tied with Longwood for 3^rd place the tie is broken by overall percentage where they beat us by just over 1 percentage point. Congratulations to Averett and NCSU for their 1^st and 2^nd placings. 

Show Manager and Show Secretary Bridget Newman riding Astaire in the First Level Dressage Seat Equitation Class

Horse Show Updates

Last weekend the Western Team traveled to West Virginia to compete in the Mountaineer Invitational finishing in second place overall. “We were the only southern team to compete,” said Coach Carla Wennberg. “I am very proud to have the opportunity to compete my team against teams we don’t have the chance to compete with until spring at the Semi-Finals Competition. This tournament gave us the opportunity to see where we are midseason and what we need to improve on.” Click here for results and more information on this competition.

At home this Saturday we hosted IHSA Hunter Seat. The show was well organized by the Equestrian Program students and staff with St. Andrews earning 2nd place and maintaining the Regional lead by 18 points. ECU coached by Alumna Alie McGraw took the Championship Ribbon and UNC - Wilmington coached by Alimnus Rob Jacobs was third. A good weekend for St. Andrews overall! Click here for more news on this show.

This weekend the IHSA Hunter Seat team travels to ECU and the Intercollegiate Dressage Association team hosts is first home show of the 2014/2015 season. The dressage show begins at 10:00 a.m. with First Level Test 2 and concludes around 4:00 after four divisions of tests and 6 classes of dressage seat equitation which is new for our IDA region this year.

Dressage Team Travel

The St. Andrews Dressage Team traveled to Averett University this weekend for 2 days of showing. This year in addition to the team competition our IDA region is running a dressage seat equitation (DSE) competition with a Regional Championship planned for the last show of the season to be hosted by St. Andrews on March 21, 2015. In Dressage Seat Equitation the riders show together in a group in the dressage ring. As in all equitation classes DSE is judged on the rider’s position and effectiveness. “This is wonderful addition to IDA competition,” said Coach Jackie Dwelle. “Ginger Henderson who coaches for Averett and I are developing this competition with the hope that we will have divisions of DSE at Nationals in a couple of years. NCSU Coach Jan Jacobson who is also an “R” judge said that regular dressage competitions are adopting more DSE classes so we are staying abreast of changes within our sport.” At the conclusion of the class the judge speaks to each rider individually telling them what they need to work on to improve their position which in turn will improve the quality of their ride."

The DSE story for Saturday was Sarah Hartley’s first place in the Intro Level class. This was Sarah’s first show ever! A large number of family members were present to make this victory even more special.

Saturday’s team competition demonstrated the quality of dressage in our IDA region. Our riders rode well but were bettered by teams from Averett, NCSU and Longwood. Saturday evening was spent strategizing and watching videos of the rides. Sunday the mental preparation showed with improved placings. Claire Pollard came up with what has become our Regional motto as it is a sentiment shared by all of the coaches in the region. “We are not here to lose, we either win or we learn.” This sums up very well the lessons that intercollegiate competition offers. 

RESULTS - SATURDAY

Team A 5th

First Level Test 2

4^th Bridget Newman60.811%

Training Level Test 3

4^th Megan Pustarfi 61.2%

5^th Claire Pollard 60.4%

Training Level Test 1

3^rd Geneva Masak 64.375%

Introductory Level Test B

2^nd Victoria Smith64.375%

5^th Sarah Lishen 58.438%

Dressage Seat Equitation

Training Level A

4^th Courtney Anderson

Training Level B

2^nd Natasha Worker

4^th McCall DiMarco

Introductory Level

1^st Sarah Hartley

2^nd Nina Jurac

SUNDAY

Team  A 3^rd

Team B 4^th

First Level Test 2

4^th Bridget Newman 67.027%

5^th Alex Varisco  64.495%

Training Level Test 3

2^nd  Claire Pollard 69.4%

4^th McCall DiMarco 67.0%

Training Level Test 1

3^rd Geneva Masak 69.4%

6^th Elizabethe Weeks 67.0%

Introductory Level Test B

2^nd  Sarah Lishen 64.063%

5^th Victoria Smith 62.5%

Dressage Seat Equitation

Training Level A

4^th Courtney Anderson

Training Level B

4th Natasha Worker

Introductory Level A

2^nd Nina Jurac

Introductory Level B

3rd Sarah Hartley

Introductory Level C

1^st Sarah Lishen

NCSU RESULTS OCT. 18^th

Team A 3^rd 11 points

Team B 6th 10 points

First Level Test 1

4^th Bridget Newman 66.034%

Training Level Test 2

1^st Claire Pollard 76.429% High Point Rider

6^th McCall DiMarco 71.786%

Training Level Test 1

6^th Geneva Masak 61.667%

Introductory Level Test B

1^st Victoria Smith 70.625%

4^th Sarah Lishen 64.063%