Horse Show Girls

Goodbye for Now

2008-09-24T14:40:00.000-07:00

For those of you who do not read both this blog and Holly's blog at MandM Farms, let me give you an update. The group that is now MandM Farms is moving to Mills Farms. Which on the one hand is great because it is really cute and a great facility. On the other hand it is quite far from MandM's current location, which makes it very difficult for those of us who are teenagers on a very tight gas budget. As a result we all have moved to different farms in the greater Charleston area. We will all stay in touch with each other and we hope to soon all be at the same farm again. We won't leave y'all totally though, Kaijsa has a blog all about her and Em, and I will be starting a separate blog filled with everything under the sun about Amador and me. We want to say thank you for reading and we hope you continue to read about what's happening in our horse consumed lives.

I'm Finally Back!

2008-08-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hey there yall! I'm so sorry I haven't posted in like two weeks I've been so so busy with the Clemson show, school starting, and all the rain. Also I've had no Internet lately. As many of you know we went to Clemson for a horse show recently. What you may not know yet, is that we all rocked it! We had a rocky start because my horse trailer was broken. But we still made it there thanks to Rain and Shine who, loaned us their trailer. Thanks so much to everyone who made it possible for us to go! Kaijsa ruled in the dressage ring, Emily, Anne, and I rocked our flat classes and were always in the ribbons, Sean wowed us all with his insane riding over x-rails, and 2ft, Niki showed us all what a good sport she was, and Jessica wowed us all with her organization, and dedication. Amador did very well in jumpers so we have decided to change him to an eventer and do lots of jumpers. Emily who as always done well in hunters proved to us all that she could do jumpers as well. Thank you to all our parents, boyfriends, and Shelton who helped us so so much. We came back from the show to puddles, pond, and lakes all over the farm, and it's been raining ever since. Haha we are all excited to get back to working hard to get ready to start showing again. Check out MandM Farms blog for pics from the show. Till next time.

Goodness Gracious

2008-08-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

Goodness gracious it has been rediculously hot out lately, we are all so exhausted. I'm so tired we all have been so busy getting prepared for the show at Clemson University next weekend. I rode Amador twice today. Also Kaijsa rode Em and worked on her dressage test, then she hopped on Winston for Brad aswell. They both looked awesome. keep up the good work Kaijsa. Emily was out here earlier this morning accompanied by her boyfriend Tyler. However since Gift isn't feeling a hundred percent Emily had a short lesson on Jack. Also since we don't have a full size dressage arena here at the farm Kaijsa and I went our to a neighboring farm to see if we could possibly use their full sized dressage arena, so hopefully we will have been over there a few times in the next week so we are properly prepared for our dressage tests.

You Should See the Other Guy

2008-08-03T08:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Kaijsa and I got up early to feed and do stalls. When we were done we made a trip to Cainhoy Feed and Seed, then to Hunters Green Tack Shop where we got some stuff for our horses. Later we went to the meeting for the new high school equitation team. Thanks Holly and Susan for all your hard work and research. We are all so excited to start the season! After the meeting a bunch of us met up at the farm and headed out to the auction. We took a crew of 9 to the Walterboro Horse Auction. On the way our tire blew out so we all got to sit on the side of the road for an hour waiting for Kaijsa, Randal, and Holly to get back from going to get a spare tire since we didn't have one on the truck at the time. Thank you Randal and Mr. Mark for all your hard work hope it didn't ruin your first auction. Once we finally arrived at the auction Lexi and I were walking down the isle in the back when Lexi stopped to pet a mare and baby, when the mare stuck her head through the fence and lunged at Lexi's face! She is okay but the mare got her lip pretty good and Lexi now has a huge fat lip. I hate to say but it was absolutely hilarious. Later we sold Ginger to a good new home, then left. It was a hard sell we are all going to miss that cute little pony.

Busy Bees

2008-07-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

Goodness we have been so busy out on the farm. Yesterday we had a great morning Niki and I had a lesson over fences and it went very well! Niki rode Squeeks and did very well, and jumped 2'6 for the very first time. Congrats! Niki has decided to show Squeeks in jumpers for the future. However that is going to start after Clemson since she's taking Tansey and showing hunters. I rode Amador and we jumped our first full course! He did very well and I think we will do fine at our debut show in Clemson. After Lexi, Shelton, Holly, Kaijsa, Niki, and I all went out on a nice trail where Holly had to show Pickles who was boss when he had an attitude. Later Holly, Niki, Lexi and I took a field trip to splash island. When we got back we had to all jump out of the car and move the roundbales that Randy and Logan had brought by earlier that day. It was very wet! haha We had a lesson when it stopped raining and we got a visit from the lovely Amelia. Today Niki, Kaijsa and I came out this morning and while Kaijsa did a few odd jobs for Holly, Niki and I had our lesson and my mom dropped by to watch me ride Amador! We jumped around a few courses and Amador and I continued to have difficulty with our flying changes, but we are getting better, slowly but surely. Later Niki and I were taught how to give a barefoot trim and afterwards were allowed to trim Tommy's feet! Later today well have another lesson, then we'll give our horses some downtime before we go over to One Tempi to school cross country. Also yesterday way my birthday and I just want to thank all those who made it a fantastic day.

V is for Victory

2008-07-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

As many of you know we went to Middleton Farms for a horse show yesterday afternoon. It went super well. Kaijsa showed her amazing skills when Em decided that she was going to buck the whole way around the course and still pin before Jack and I! Way to rock it Kaijsa! Niki did super well and showed us all we were wrong when Squeeks completely dominated. Emily rode amazingly and pushed Gift to an all new gear. Jack got stung on the nose by a bee and proceeded to go ballistic, however thanks to Jenn, the trainer at J and B, I lived to tell about it. lol In between her classes Emily and Gift gave pony rider to Leighton and Jane, two of our younger supporters. We also got to see our good friend Amanda and her cute pony Icon, who will most likely be joining the Equitation team this fall! It was a great day we want to say thanks to all our friends and family for coming out to support us all. Y'all did a great job, I don't know what we would do without you guys. Special thanks to Shelton and Amelia who both tagged along and helped tremendously, you both are super amazing. Look for pictures in the next few days! Later, y'all!

Wet and Wild

2008-07-23T06:36:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry I haven't posted in so long! Camp has been going on and we are so busy preparing for the show at Middleton on Friday. If anyone would like to come we would love the support! One really cool thing that has happened lately is Amador and I have moved up the ranks from x-rails to 2'6''. We had a few rough spots during the process but overall it has been pretty seamless. He has been doing so well however he has trouble finding his distances. Emily and Gift have been doing extremely well also! They have been doing courses of 3'3'' without any trouble at all. Yesterday at camp we were full of innovation and made a slip and slide from trash bags, nails, and dish soap. It was so much fun even Kensie joined in. Last night we had our normal Tuesday night lesson and it went pretty well. Lexi showed us all what a great rider she was by handling all Cayanne's attitude. Emily showed us what a great pair she and Gift are by jumping skyscraper heights. Sarah wasn't feeling well as well as Storm so they're lesson was cut short but when they were riding they did so well. Sarah was in the top two of the standing game. Niki had some trouble at first but later they rocked it. Kaijsa and Em showed us that they could trot over anything and that Em truly does have springs! I rode Jack and as soon as I got my confidence in him back the two of us were unstoppable! We are all going to do so well at the show Friday. We can't wait. Enjoy the pics!

2008-07-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

Ready for the Club!!!

2008-07-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day at the farm! This morning we got a feed delivery which meant a visit from Logan and Randy who were as always delightful. lol Later Pickles decided he was a jumper of olympic proportions and jumped out of his pasture into the pasture boarders pasture, which he also jumped out of! After Pickles was caught and accounted for Holly and I went into town for lunch and a trip to the bank. When we got back we fed and waited for our lesson to start. When it was 5:30 and time to start it was still raining so Niki, Sarah, and I had an unmounted lesson and learned all kinds of neat tricks to improve our riding! By the way we need to welcome Sarah and Lexi to the group! They are both very nice and lots of fun, and will be riding with us in our big group lesson. After it stopped raining we all got on bare back and had the rest of our lesson. We trotted and practiced our emergency dismounts from the walk and trot. I even did one from the canter by accident. I rode Amador, Niki rode Tansey, Sarah rode Riley, and Lexi rode Pickles. We had so much fun as you can probably tell from the pictures. Niki fell off when Tansey spooked but was a real trooper and got back on, mud and all. Way to hang in there Nik. Amador wore a bareback pad with purple flames all over it was so cool and we were all joking about him being ready to go out on the town and that he looked like a pimp lol (hense the name of the post) Enjoy the pics!

Rain Rain Go Away

2008-07-11T05:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was good we made it through a whole day of camp before it poured rain! Thank goodness. However today camp will be a little tough as a result of all the rain we got yesterday and last night. Yesterday Sean came out to do stalls and after I was done with camp the both of us sat down with Holly and analyzed our horse show video from Clemson a few weeks ago. Thanks to the Friedmans we had a tape of every class we had ridden in to look at what we had done either right or wrong. Later a group left to go to the Raleigh Equine Extravaganza. So we are here holding things down and praying they get home safely with all there new knowledge. Here are some pics from the past week one is of Winston despretly trying to get to the grass and the other is of Niki helping a camper to tack up.

New Kids and a New Horse

2008-07-08T18:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay so I know I haven't posted in forever but camp is this week and life has been crazy but it's better late than never I guess! Anyway camp is going well. It rained on Monday but we avoided the rain today for the most part. W are all getting ready for the jumper show at Middleton and we are all very excited to get dressed up and go all out! Niki will show her other horse Squeeks in junior x-rails and junior 2'. Paula is showing Jack in Junior 2'3'' and Junior 2'6''. Emily will show in Junior/Amateur 3' and Junior Amateur 3'3''. Kaijsa will show in the Junior 2'9'' and the Junior 3'. And our good friend Ann might come with Storm as well but nothing is definite yet. We are all working very hard! We also went on a trip to find a horse for Randy last weekend and ended coming home with a little appy gelding named Cayenne. He is great, very cute and great to handle. Here are some pics of him as well as of camp. Enjoy!!!

Even the Trainer Rides Sometimes

2008-07-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

Hey yall. Today was a good day full of learning. Shelton and I moved hay bales from the gray barn to another, then Kaijsa and I went with Holly down the road to see Holly's horse Tommy and watch Holly ride. Later after arriving back at the barn Kaijsa and I rode and fed. Later after Kaijsa had turned her out Em decided to go bush whacking in the pond on her quest for the best grass! haha check out the pics

Boredom and Braids

2008-07-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

From Tuesday
Today Kaijsa, Niki, and I went out to the farm for our lesson but were really bored beforehand so as a product we ended up playing with Pickles mane, taking random pictures, and going to visit Amelia at our favorite place Cainhoy Feed and Seed! We took lost of pictures as you can tell. Gift got a visit from the vet and she stood patiently while she got blood drawn for her coggins. Later that day we all had our lesson and it was great! We all rode dressage and learned how to ride a 20 meter circle. Kaijsa showed her and Em's mad skills and showed us all up! They were both amazing. I rode Gift and discovered that despite the pain dressage is alot more fun than I thought it was going to be. Niki and Tansey struggled at first but as always pulled through.

All Tacked Up and Nowhere to Go

2008-07-02T17:59:00.000-07:00

This is from Monday.
Kaijsa, Niki, and I were at the farm and were looking for something to do when we decided to play with Rizzie. Well he was being super good when we put the saddle on him so we decided it might be a good idea to try putting a bit in his mouth. He was really great! We rode bareback as well. Here are some pics. Enjoy!
P.S. There is also a pic of Amador and Lokey!

Seeing Old Friends and Making New Ones

2008-06-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! I'm so sorry we haven't posted for a whole week I promise it won't happen very often! Paula was on vacation in NC all last week so Niki and Kaijsa looked after Amador for her and did a great job! While Paula was in NC she stopped by her old camp Rockbrook to see her favorite pony Danny who will be coming to M&M at the end of the summer. He was great! These are pictures of him to the left. We were at a horse show in Clemson, SC over the weekend and everyone did superbly. Congrats Kaijsa on getting the spirit award! We took 2 trailers Amelia's 4horse and Sean's 2horse. We all did very well. We had a big group which included Paula, Kaijsa, Niki, Dorthy, Jessica, and Sean, who showed and Niki's parents, Amelia, and of course Holly! We all went above and beyond what was expected and as always had a great time! We even met a girl who had grown up riding at M&M Farms when it was in Summerville and owned by the previous owners. I will post a slide show of pics as soon as I get them all together. Also Thanks needs to be given to Amelia for helping us all out and the Friedmans (Niki's parents) for keeping us healthy with all the great food on the go! Also thanks to all the parents who make it possible for us girls to show!

With Friday Comes Relief

2008-06-20T16:49:00.000-07:00

Hey yall. Camp went really well today. We painted the ponies and did lots of arts and crafts! It was a great day to end a great week. As many of you know Niki and Paula stayed with Holly this past week and it was great however both girls were extremely ready to go home and have a spare second to rest. Not that Kenzie's midnight screams weren't great but we are ready for a full nights sleep. I have know idea how Holly does it! Good luck to everyone in the fun show tomorrow morning! For those who want to watch it starts at 9 o'clock!

A Visit From Friends

2008-06-20T05:26:00.000-07:00

Hey yall sorry I didn't post last night but by the time I got a minute to sit down and post in peace it was about 11:30 and I still hadn't showered! Ah life on a farm. lol Anyway, yesterday morning was good once again we had camp which went very well. After camp Emily and Paula sat down with Holly and received their first bookwork assignment. Later Niki and Paula worked with Gia and Jessie on their rollbacks and tight turns. Then, Gia, Paula, and one of the campers played chase me charlie on foot and we discovered that Paula can jump 3'3 high and 3ft wide, but not the two combined. haha Later Holly taught lessons and Paula and Niki cooked dinner again, this time it was breaded chicken, squash and browned onions, Texas toast, and brownies which someone hit pretty hard last night and we're not quite sure who. Our friends Ann, Randy, Amelia, and Garret joined us for dinner and later hung out with us for some of last night. Ann was leaving so we decided that we'd take advantage of her company and turn the horses out since it wasn't raining like we thought it was going to. So Randy and Garret stayed inside and let all the ladies handle the horses, or so we thought! We were all walking back from putting the horses away safe in stalls for the night when, Randy and Garret come running and screaming behind us, by coincidence right outside Kensie's room! If Paula's scared shriek didn't wake that kid up nothing can. Later Randy and Garret headed out and Amelia hung around just a little longer. Thanks yall for coming over last night and keeping us company even if you did eat all our brownies!

Horseshoes and Homefries

2008-06-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

Today started with a scare as Holly ran into the house saying that Gift had let herself out of her stall and was missing! After a quick investigation we discovered that Gift had also let herself into the feed room, but had only been in there for a short time because the feed bins were pretty much at the same levels. After putting Gift away and getting dressed we all finished our lesson from last night. Paula changed horses from Squeaks to Jessie, and together they peaked at a record 2'6 for little Jessie! Congrats ladies Jessie is a great little pony! Niki did very well with Tansey as did Emily and Gift who were showing off again but this time for Emily's mom. Next we all chipped in with camp, and later Paula and Holly went into town to make sonic-bank run. We also had a visit from Ken Moody the farrier today. Thanks Ken and April for all your hard work and information! Later Holly and Paula both rode Holly's horse Shiloh, and Holly got on Loki who was good but a bit upbeat. Later I rode Squeaks who was a bit better than yesterday. Later as Holly was teaching Niki and Paula went inside and put Kensie (Holly's daughter) to bed and made a delicious dinner including marinated and breaded fish, pasta with sauce from scratch, and home fries. We'd all like to send a shout out to Paula's little sister Samantha for a happy 14th birthday!

Moonlit Walks and Rainy Days

2008-06-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

Today was another hot day on the farm! Camp went well and we got a great visit from Amelia and her brother Logan when they delivered feed! It was good to see yall! Later Holly mapped out a new jump course on a paper towel for us girls, so we all got to set it up for our lesson later that night. Gia, Kaijsa, and Anita rode at 5:30 and everyone rode extremely well! Kaisa and Em did super good when they did a whole line of jumps and were told for the first time in their lives to move on! Yay congrats ladies! Gia was shocked when Jessie jumped the big, white boxes for the first time! Yay you're an amazing rider Gia we are so proud of you and Jessie! Later, after feeding, Niki, Emily, and Paula rode at 6:30. Paula rode Squeeks for Niki since Amador's feet aren't quite healed yet! She did very well and was super eager to jump and settled in very nicely. Niki worked on pushing Tansey down the lines and they're starting to get it! Emily got to show off her mad skills with Gift for her boyfriend Tyler who was out at the farm to watch her ride. However, our lesson was cut short because there was a huge downpour so we are going to finish it before camp tomorrow morning! Tonight we had a big sleepover at Holly's since her husband Dan is out of town. We watched the movie Sylvester and ate chicken enchiladas. Later Holly crashed while Emily, Paula, Niki, and Kaijsa went out and had a midnight pow-wow with their horses! All of them were great in the dark especially Amador and Gift! After we put the horses back in their stalls for the night we went back into the house to watch Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken and crash! It was a great day on the farm especially our bonding time at the sleepover thanks Holly for being a great Hostess, and to Kensie for sharing her bed!

Up and Over!

2008-06-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

Today was an early morning for everyone on the farm! Niki and Emily had a lesson first thing in which Niki riding Tansey (the glacier) actually went around the course faster than Emily and Gift! Yay Congrats Niki! But, they both did increadibly well! Keep up the good work ladies! Niki and Paula both worked at camp while Emily earned her keep by stripping all the stalls in the gray barn! Later Niki, Paula's sister (who was hangin out at the farm for the day) and Holly went to the store to get food and supplies for camp. While Paula hung out and got some work done around the farm. Later the vet came to look at Pickles's (Little Mac Attack's) eye because he had a bobo. No worries though he is a-okay! Later after Holly finished teaching Paula hopped on Storm and practice riding jumpers! Overall we had a hot, yet very good day! Also I got pics from the barbecue and cleaning out tack trunks two days ago enjoy all our silliness!

Camp

2008-06-16T11:38:00.000-07:00

So this whole week is the beg. camp at M and M! We have Nikki and Paula helping out. There will be crafts and learning about the horses but the week after some of the girls are planning on going to the Clemson horse show and maybe in late july some of the girls will be going up to Ohio for a thoroughbred show.
P.S- I have some pics from Kaijsa Bday party

Happy Birthday!

2008-06-15T10:31:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a sudo birthday party for Kaijsa but today is actually her 15th birthday! YAY! Happy birthday girl and good luck on your driving test tomorrow!

Family Night

2008-06-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

This morning Paula rode Jack while Kaijsa tackled the stalls, Emily started working and Niki rode Tansey. Paula lunged Amador and we discovered that all he wanted to do was jump everything is sight. Then Emily and Niki jumped around with Holly and they both did incredibly well! Mark (Paula's dad) stripped the loft off of two of the stalls in the gray barn. THANK YOU! Later we all decided to formally welcome Kaijsa to the barn by taking the reins (quite literally, cleaning and orgainizing her tack trunk along with all her other things. Then Emily cleaned out the tack room in the boarder barn, which looks immaculate by the way! Then we all got together and had a delicious dinner! I will post pictures as soon as I get them!

Meet the Team

2008-06-13T17:43:00.000-07:00

Hey yall! We are the show girls at M and M Farms! Our names are Paula, Kaijsa, Gia, Nikki, and Emily. We are all different age groups but we act like a family. Paula owns a Hollsteiner gelding named Amador which she is currently re-training and just doing flat classes. She currently shows one of Holly's horse's Jack in 2'6ft, 2'9 15-adult Eq. Kaijsa owns a Trakhner/Thoroughbred mare Em which is an ex-event horse. Kaijsa is re-training her horse to try and show jumpers again but right now she is showing 2nd level dressage with Em. Kaijsa also owns the farm mascot out at M and M named Rizzie who is enjoying his babyhood getting fat in the pasture. Nikki currently is full leaseing a gray thoroughbred mare named Tansey. Whom she shows in long-stirrup and her age eq. Emily owns a gray thoroughbred mare named Gift, and while she has not yet traveled to a show with our crew she has and will show in the working hunter 3ft. Our trainer Holly holds us together and we all love her dearly no matter what kind of trouble we get ourselves into shes always there with guiding words. She does so much for us and we are so thankful!