News Around the Barn (2008)
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As we celebrate our 10th Anniversary here at Ashton Ridge, we would like to reflect on how blessed our lives are. We are lucky to live with our two precious grandsons; Landon and Dane. They keep us young - well, maybe they keep Jim young - "me", I'm not so sure.
We have great boarders, some have been here 10 years - they are more like family than friends, and "good" friends they are. I have 3 horses of my own, that could change at any time, but for now Indy, Kaiko and Cowboy keep me busy and Jim in always busy around the farm or in his much loved garage.
I can honestly say I love being in the barn, doing chores, brushing horses, or just watching everyone ride. I feel blessed to be married to someone for 37 years who understands my love for these animals and who has made it possible to have my hobby here at home.
Thanks to Robb Conors for his professionalism as a farrier and for all the extras he has done for us.
Thanks to Dr. Randy Hayward who has always been there for us (well, for me in particular).
Thanks to Linda Clark for coming in to teach weekly and our group coffee nights. It is a nice link between Horizon Farm and Ashton Ridge.
Thanks to Gerald Melanson, who not only has helped us immensely around here, but who has also become a good friend.
Thanks to our boarders and their horses who all mean something special to us.
Who knows what the future will bring but for now, life is wonderful. As Landon and I sang the other day while jumping in the water puddles "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands."
Jim & Roberta Landry, Mark, Niki, Landon and Dane Stevens, Rob Landry and Chantalle Twohig
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our family and friends, boarders and their family and friends. We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season!
Our annual Christmas Eve ride went off without a hitch. Everyone met up at the barn for 9:30am, tacked up and headed for the indoor arena, where the sound of Christmas music could be heard over the speaker system. Even Landon and his little pony Cowboy joined the rest of the gang for a ride. After the horses had warmed up, everyone (with the exception of Landon and Cowboy) headed to the outdoor ring for some fun in the snow. Afterwards, everyone trudged up to the viewing room to warm ourselves with cider and coffee, and snacked on some yummy treats.
This past weekend there was a small clinic held here at the farm with Sue Frasier. Niki, Susanne, Shani and Chantalle all took a ride; once on Saturday morning and the other on Sunday morning. Despite some pre-lesson jitters from a few riders, everything went very well. There were some "Ah-ha!" moments for both horse and riders! It was also nice to see some familiar faces from long ago as a few people came out to watch. A big Thank You goes out to Helen for organizing the event and to Sue for being willing to split her time between two local stables. We hope to be able to repeat the experience sometimes in the near future!
Our condolences goes out to Diane Thompson and family in the recent passing of her brother, John. Funeral services were held this past weekend. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during these difficult times.
The GMEC Annual Christmas Party and Awards night has been rescheduled for Saturday, January 24. The format is the same (pot luck, Silent Auction etc) and will still be held at the Irishtown Recreational Center.
Cavalier Riding Club finished for the season for another year. There is a new coach with the Club in the form of Colleen Carroll-Nisbett and we would like to extend a warm welcome to her.
Lessons are still going on for the boarders with Linda Clark as well as Erin MacQuarrie.
Our resident pony, Cowboy is lucky to have two little girls fussing over him. They are Linda Hooper's granddaughter Devlin and Linda Vogel's granddaughter Emma. It's nice to see him being used with Cavalier off for the winter.
GMEC Annual Christmas Party and Awards night, will be held on Saturday November 22 at the Irishtown Recreational Center. The festivities will begin at 6:00pm. There will be a Pot Luck dinner, a Silent Auction, a Yankee Swap, Year End Awards and a dance to follow. The cost of entry is 1 donated item for the Silent Auction per person (or 3 items for a family) or $5.00 per person/$10.00 per family. We hope to see everyone there! *POSTPONED*
A big Kudos goes out to Debbie Wilson's friends and family who organized an auction and dance in support of her fight against breast cancer. It was held at the restaurant at Broadleaf on Saturday, November 1. The turnout was fantastic and the items auctioned off was everything from bath salts to a Wii. It was great to see how many were there in support of Debbie, it was a great success.
Our thoughts and prayers goes out to Diane Thompson and family as they fight their own battles with cancer.
We're happy to announce that our little, dynamic Ann has successfully completed her last treatment in her fight against cancer. She is truly an inspiration to us all.
A surprise was held this past Friday. . . .well, the surprise was for Linda Clark since everyone else knew about it! In the guise of celebrating Ann's successful cancer treatment, Linda was treated to a surprise birthday party for her! It was great fun to see the look on her face as she realized we had tricked her (and managed to keep it a secret for so long!) and the game of "The first time I met Linda was. . . . " brought much laughter as Linda had to then guess who had written them.
A few of the boarders friends and families went out to cheer on the last Cattle Penning event held down at Broadleaf Guest Ranch. Linda Hooper also made an appearance along with her mare, Josie and they even got all 3 cows in the pen in their first run!
The next, and last, show on the GMEC cicuit is the Spruce Hollow Corral Fall Round Up show that will be held on September 27 at 8am sharp!
The GMEC will once again resume it's monthly meeting this Thursday (September 18) at the Agreena complex.
Things were fairly quiet around the barn this past week with 3 less boarders in the barn. No worries, they've all come back safe and sound from a week long camp up at Linda Clark's Horizon Farm in Norton. Welcome back girls, we hope they didn't get too much rain out there!
This past Saturday was special day as something happened that hasn't happened in a long time; Roberta got up on a horse! Chantalle's mother had set up a trail ride down at Broadleaf for the visiting grandkids and when she mentioned to Roberta that her mother (who had never been on a horse) was going too, Roberta decided to give it a go herself. Despite a short downpour on the drive over, and being rained on a bit on the actual ride, everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves (they even trotted!). Chantalle was also able to realized a longtime dream; being the guide horse leading the pack on a Broadleaf trail ride. It was only for a short while as the guide was having a bit of an issue with her mount at the beginning of the ride.
We wish the girls from the Rockin' Riders all the best today as they head on down to Saint-John for a drill team demonstration.
We would like to extend a warm Maritime Welcome to both Zoé and Kalyne Twohig, Chantalle's nieces who are down visiting from Ontario. The girls are staying at Chantalle's parents and have already had a couple of trips out to the barn. Both girls have met up with Bennett again, and have even hopped on for a short ride, and Zoé had a blast helping Chantalle do barn chores one morning.
A few boarders at the barn, who are part of a drill team, have been practicing hard for the past few months in preparation for their competition to be held in Sussex. They have on a few more practices to go before the big day. We wish the Rockin' Riders, as well as all the participants, all the best.
Do you like horses, music, glitter and fun? If so, then make sure you head on down to the Princess Louise Show Park in Sussex on Thursday, July 24 for the 2008 Drill Team Competition. The fun will begin at 6:30pm!
It's been nice to see a familiar face at the barn this past month in the form of Julie Williams. Julie's been coming out a couple of times per week to work with the young horse, Cutter, along with owner Lois-Anne.
Our condolences goes out to Kara and her family on the recent passing of her brother. Our thoughts and prayers goes out to you and yours.
Once again, we've had a successful haying season and we're happy to announce that all the hay's in. A big Thank You goes out to all who've helped this year in lugging and stacking this year's hay crop. We couldn't have done it without everyone's help!
I have been involved with horses for many years and love everything about these magnificent animals - it is an addiction, one I am proud to have. This was especially gratifying to me last month when we began another year of riding with the Cavalier Riding Club - Therapeutic Riding for the Disabled. After many months of meetings, we were up and running and the smiles on the faces of the children, the parents and our volunteers made it all worthwhile.
This is a transition year for the Club - our much loved head coach Ann Murray stepped down after approximately 20 years. Will we be able to replace her? Probably not, but we will certainly try to keep going. We have 3 coaches working with us now; Debbie Wilson, Cassie Wood and Mark Stevens. All are volunteering their time, all the while studying and preparing for their CanTRA levels in July.
We also have a great bunch of directors and everyone has worked hard to regroup and move forward. Thanks to all our volunteers who make the Club possible. Also, we can't forget the horses. Currently we are only using 2 mounts in the form of Okie and Cowboy. They certainly have big horse shoes to fill, and although both are fairly new to the program, they are proving to be up to the job of therapeutic horses.
We are in our 10th year here at Ashton Ridge and we are proud to be the HOME OF THE CAVALIER RIDING CLUB. "The smiles make it all worthwhile."
The next show on the GMEC circuit will be the Havelock Horse Show on June 20th and 21st.
The next GMEC monthly meeting will be held on June 19 at the Atlantic Hotel on the Homestead Road. This will be the last meeting for the summer months and will only resume in September.
Everyone get ready for another year of Drill Team! This new, fun and interactive sport has been up and running for the past 5 years or so. This year's competition will also hold a quadrille team, where there will be a team of only 4 horse and riders performing a pattern to music. Dates and location to be announced later.
There's a new face around the barn in the form of a new boarder! We would like to welcome Lois-Anne MacGregor and her new horse Cutter! Cutter is a cute year old brown Quarter Horse gelding.
The Cavalier Riding Club had it's Volunteer Orientation this past weekend, in preparation for the new riding session that began on Tuesday. Landon's pony Cowboy began his début as a Cavalier pony and we're happy to say that everything went very well. A great way to start a new riding year!
The first show on the GMEC show circuit is the Albert Horse Show that will be held in Albert on May 17 and 18.
The next GMEC monthly meeting will be held on May 15 at the Coliseum Agreena.
Old Man Winter seems to have finally loosened his hold enough that you can now feel the warm heat of the sun. The pastures are thawing out, the snow is receding at a quick pace and the horses are shedding and feeling frisky as the warming winds blow across the land.
Now that the temperature is at a more tolerable level, construction is back on track at the farm as another box stall is being built for one of the boarders.
The Cavalier Riding Club hosted a "coaching preparation" clinic April 5 with Evelyn Fraser. The Club was well presented to host the clinic and all participants left with a wealth of information. Thanks to all who helped, by either donating their time or donating sweets to snack on. The bonus of the day was that all the horses behaved themselves.
A big Thank You goes out to Shani Murray for taking the time to ride and get Okie ready for the new riding season. We're happy to say that Okie has never looked better!
Now that the snow has melted enough to possibly get some trailers up and running, Chantalle and Kara are both getting ready to hit the road and make their way over to Whispering Winds for the Derek Hanscome clinic held on April 19 & 20. They're keeping their fingers crossed that no last-minute snow storms hit the area like it did last year.
Lessons with Linda Clark are back into full swing now that she's done gallivanting around the country, riding horses for clients.
*UPDATE* It's time to start looking at all the knickknacks that you've accumulated, and any horse stuff you may no longer need, and book your spot for the Yard Sale that will be hosted at Carmaz Stables on behalf of the GMEC club on May 24. To book your spot, simply send a shout to Chantalle at chantalle@ashton-ridge.com or to Brian Kent at zoy@nbnet.nb.ca.
The next GMEC meeting will be held on Thursday April 17 at the Coliseum Agreena.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SKIP!!!! Skip, one of the long-time resisends at the farm, turned 19 on April 24. He celebrated his birthday with many carrots fed by "Dad" Stan.
Our condolences goes out to Kara Greenwood and her family on the recent passing of Kara's mother. The funeral is being held in Enfield. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during these difficult times.
Activity has started to pick up around the farm as everyone's realizing that Spring is not too far in the distant future. Some riders are preparing for clinics, some for shows and even others for another Drill Team Competition. We'll keep you updated as things become finalized.
Being a mother sure has its moments, as Niki quickly found out. So, in honor of the tips and tricks she's stumbled accross while juggling a full house, she created her own blog! Be sure to check it out at http://www.minimalistmommy.blogspot.com.
Things have been fairly quiet at the barn as everyone's trying to cope with snowstorm after snowstorm, or the freezing rain or the really cold temperatures! Everyone's snowblowers have been getting quite the workout this year as we've been experiencing a "winter of old's' with all the snow that's fallen so far. Even with the few mild and rainy days we've had has barely put a dent in the huge snowpiles found all over. The horses? They don't seem to mind too much, as long as there's a path to the hay, they're happy!
The GMEC have approved yet another Derek Hanscome clinic to be held once again at Whispering Winds Equestrian Farm. It will be the weekend of April 19 and 20 for all types of riders; western or English. More details can be found under the "Upcoming Events" page, and the GMEC website.