August marks the end of summer in eventing and the beginning of the fall eventing season. It is also the time of year that college starts, so a sad and happy time all at once for our new and graduating working students.
On Wednesday of this week, our dear Jane will be returning to college. She has achieved so much while she’s been here… Having arrived without eventing experience, she quickly and very successfully jumped up through the ranks from BN to Training level just this summer. She took to the XC particularly well, competing all summer without a single XC jump fault. She and Vaughn have produced gorgeous clean XC rounds time after time at Training! We’ll miss Jane dearly, but know that she’ll be very successful as she returns to college and the IHSA team. (Although secretly we know that eventing will be stuck in her blood…) We’ll miss her very, very much!
Chelsea has arrived and has the job of filling Jane’s very, very large shoes! Chelsea is from MI and arrives with her gorgeous Oldenburg mare Addy, who is just getting her feet wet in eventing for her first time. They are a fabulously talented pair and will definitely be one to watch for the future!
Jacquie has also accomplished so much this summer… She and BJ finished an amazing 4th on a 31 at Champagne Run HT last month!! They are an outstanding pair, and have become formidable competitors. They return to school later this month as well, but we hope that this won’t be the last we’ve seen of either Jane or Jacquie. They’ve worked so hard and come so far this summer!!
Sarah Coble is arriving today to begin training to fill Jacquie’s shoes… What a daunting task these two excellent young ladies face! The thing I love about the working student program is watching young girls become accomplished women, watching them learn and become such excellent riders. THe only part I hate is having to say goodbye to girls who have become such excellent students, partners, and friends. Sarah is excited to arrive from Virginia today, and will be hopping right into the hot seat, having only four days to get ready for her first HT! 
The Ashleys remain for the fall, and are absolutely beaming… Sager is an accomplished woman with great job in Finance in the northeast awaiting her return this winter, and we are thrilled she has taken this hiatus with us. Sager is fresh off her win at Penny Oaks Preliminary, and is next heading for Kentucky Classique at Preliminary. Watkins is a bright young lady who grew up on a farm, so she’s especially excellent with her horse background. Watkins has already developed her green, learning-to-canter, starting-over-crossrails horse Bingo into a gorgeous jumper who just jumped all the Novice stuff 
at the KHP! She’ll be doing their first BN at Kentucky Classique.
So when you see some new faces around the barn, be sure to say hi!!
I am so excited for Team Challenge HT this year!!! I love this event each and every year, as I love the comraderie it creates. We are looking for members on the Novice Team and Training Team. I was afraid that I might miss it for Fair Hill, but after our astoundingly excellent run at Richland, I’ve decided that Nemo is really stepping up to the international plate… Too much to push quickly. He was so brilliant there, and make the CIC*** course feel like a walk in the park… Not to mention, but he had a great dressage test with a competitive score–a score that I can’t wait to keep improving on!! Instead of rushing the 7yo to Fair Hill, I’m going to compete in the Jumpers all fall with him instead to strengthen his very promising show jumping…. We’re looking to explode back onto the advanced scene next spring with a very competitive, very well developed (yet still very young) eight year old international horse…. Hooray! 
So who’s up for Kentucky Classic?
To do a little planning…
