Getting Ready for Wellington!

It's unbelievable that I leave in a week for Wellington. I'm the World's Laziest Packer, which means I leave everything until the last minute, when I throw a bunch of unnecessary items in a suitcase. The last time I travelled to Istanbul, I packed that morning, and ended up with a single pair of pants for the entire trip. (Enjoy this ancient picture, left, of me on my first Grand Prix mount, whom I met in the mountains on the outskirts of Konya, Turkey. Our piaffe left something to be desired.)

And I'm the lightest traveler ever. In fact, when I went to Wellington to scout properties, I went with my check card, a toothbrush, and 3 pairs of underwear. (No, Sulin, I wore clothes as well.) Needless to say, I've spent the past week looking like I'm scrambling, but really just watching episodes of The Big Bang Theory and screwing around on the Gator. I'm certain once I arrive, there will be quite a few "D'oh!" moments (but that's what wallets and ATM cards are for, right?). Like my passport, the only thing I'm concerned about forgetting are my horses, which would make for an interesting winter (but that's what wallets and ATM cards are for, right?).

The horses are going down courtesy of Horse Jitney, because I'm too faint of heart to drive that distance with my FEI horses and a pregnant broodmare. This is interesting, because you'd think as a card-counting, camel-riding, chicken-playing-with-the-Gator adventurer, a 19 hour drive to the Sunshine State with my horses might be a cake walk. However, I'm on a solo mission to bring our hay and alfalfa the 1,000 miles, and that's about all the excitement with a rig that my free-wheeling self can handle. And it's not as if I can exactly throw Nikita into a suitcase last minute.

Top 5 Things I Love

1. My 5.5 horses! (The unborn foal counts as 1/2 a horse, right?) Where would I be without Nikita, Sublime, Sister Hazel, little Chamonix SSH, and Big Mama Nicolbria (and her as-yet-unnamed baby)?


2. My barn manager, Colleen. I think she rocks.


3. My new Gator. I spent half of our rainy yesterday off roading. And leaving barn chores for Colleen.


4. My new trailer! Yes, I bit the bullet and got one, because, let's face it, Nikita deserves it! It's shiny and bright, and I can't wait for the decals to be put on it. The Gator will get decals too!


5. My job! What other job lets you go off roading on both a horse and a 4-wheeler? And then piaffe wearing a top hat???

New Sponsorship with Southern States!

I’m very pleased to announce my FEI horses are now sponsored by Southern States! I’ve always believed in Southern States products, and my performance horses have flourished on their feeds and good advice.

Nikita’s been doing quite well on Legends Performance textured, and with the advice of Southern States nutritionists, I’ve added Triple Crown Complete to her diet, to ensure she’s receiving a complete diet for a competing Grand Prix horse. She’s a hard keeper, and must expend a lot of energy, so it’s a comfort to know she’s getting a balanced diet.

With the advice of the Southern States representative Jessica Morton and nutritionist Dr. Marty Adams, Sublime, when he arrived into the USA from Europe, was started on Safe Start Forage, then transitioned onto the same Legends Performance textured and Triple Crown Complete mixture. I received a ton of information and advice from Jessica and Marty to ensure Sublime was transitioned safely onto American feed, and I was very happy to have their guidance.

Sister Hazel, whose talent and intelligence mean she’s rather hot, gets Triple Crown Complete. She gets a balanced diet, and is able to focus her talent on performance!

All three horses are healthy, and ready for an exciting winter show season!! Starting in November, Nicolbria, my Prix St. George horse-come-broodmare, will join me again, and I look forward to consulting with Southern States to make sure big mama and her baby receive the best diet possible!

Winter in Wellington!

It's officially official: The team is going south for the winter. I signed a lease on a fantastic property in Wellington, which means Nikita and I don't have to freeze our butts off this winter (ok, well, I'll be freezing half the time, since I will still be in Maryland 3 days a week, but at least the horses will be sipping margaritas poolside the whole winter), and I get to wear flip flops year round again, which has been a personal goal ever since I left California 10 years ago.

I’m looking forward to the regulation-sized dressage arena, grass turnout paddocks, and access to a pool! The stalls also have connected, private turnout paddocks, in which Nikita, Sublime, Sister Hazel, and Big Mama Nicolbria will luxuriate. And although I'm sure Sister Hazel will miss her best friend Lexus, I'm certain my competition string will be happy to be in warm weather again!

The Wellington location has become full quickly, and I have only 2 spots left for horses, either in training or for sale. Call me at 240-479-5435 or email info@jsdressage.com if you’re interested in spending the winter by the beach. Be sure to check back often for photos and updates from our adventures in the Sunshine State!

Top 5 Things I Forgot About New Jersey

During 2001, I lived and worked in the New York/New Jersey border (which means, yes, I was in NYC on Sept. 11). I went back to the area to look at an awesome FEI sales prospect, and was reminded of all those idiosyncrasies that make New Jersey New Jersey.

Here's 5 things about New Jersey I forgot about completely:

1. You can't pump your own gas. Which meant I white-knuckled it until I was back in Delaware.

2. You can't walk into said gas station wearing riding boots without getting stares, and when a guy asks you to "do a little favor for him," you have to remind him you don't run an S&M den.

3. They have these stupid tolls where you have to throw change into a bucket. Which meant I had to scrounge for 10 minutes to find $0.70, while on my cell phone, with cars behind me, praying the 7 dimes made it into the frickin' bucket after I tossed them, all because New Jersey can't get with the times, and accept debit cards at their tolls. Really, who carries around change for toll booths (and why didn't I just run the toll)?

4. The "gold chains and baseball hat" look is still de rigueur. Particularly in South Jersey.

5. New Jersey residents require a lot of personal space when standing in line. Or perhaps they moved away from me because, well, I smelled like a horse.

Good night everybody!

We've Opened More Stalls & Started Our Field Care Program!

Training Stable

Team JS is thrilled to announce we’ve opened 4 more stalls for horses in training. In matters of competition and style, preparation is key. Horses in full training receive 6 days of training, grooming sessions twice daily to maintain coat quality, and lots of love.

Our roomy 12’ x 14’ stalls provide ample space for large warmbloods, and horses are fed up to 3 times a day. We're onsite 24/7 to treat your horse like royalty, and our knowledgeable staff includes an onsite masseuse and a physical therapist to accommodate the equine athlete. This is an amazing opportunity to become part of an up-and-coming international dressage team.

Stalls will be available September 1st, and we expect them to fill quickly, so call or text us at +1 (240) 479-5435 or email info@jsdressage.com to schedule a visit!


Field Care Program

By request, we’ve started our Field Care Program, and opened 2 fields to accommodate both geldings and mares. Let your riding horse, retiree, or open broodmare live in style in our lush fields! Our spacious pastures boast huge 15’ x 40’ run-ins, PVC fencing for your horse’s safety, and terrain designed to promote muscle growth! Your horse will be fed twice a day, and we inspect the horses twice a day.

Riders will enjoy our large indoor with new footing, our beautifully-groomed dressage arena, and 2 outdoor jumping arenas, with jump courses professionally set up for your convenience. This is an ideal situation for your horse, and horses on field care are given the same love and attention as our international FEI horses! Learn more here!

We expect these openings to fill fast, so call or text us at +1 (240) 479-5435 or email info@jsdressage.com to schedule a visit!

Heath Ryan Clinic Days 3 & 4

Nikita and I continued our week-long session with Olympian Heath Ryan by working on perfecting our passage-piaffe-passage transitions, and trying to tidy up the tempis. We achieved a softer passage, which Heath said should score an 8 or 9, and he said our piaffe is a 9! Heath gave us some more hints for how to ride the Grand Prix test professionally to score as many points as possible, and we received lots of career advice. We worked on our tempis on a circle, which will come in very handy for the musical freestyles. Here's some video from Days 3 & 4!

Clinic with Heath Ryan, Days 1 & 2

Nikita and I are half way through our week-long training session with Olympian Heath Ryan. For those who don't know, Heath went to the Bejing Olympics for Australia, so it's pretty neat we get almost a whole week with him.

We've focused on the Grand Prix test, and Heath said we should practice it daily. He likened it to a total body work out, and said doing each movement daily will help Nikita to build muscle and stamina without stressing her joints, ligaments, or lungs. The nice thing about working on the Grand Prix with someone who's done it in the Olympics is we've gotten these clever hints about how to ride the test with more polish and presentation. These are the kind of things I wouldn't figure out myself (then again, as my wonderful groom Stephanie knows, that top hat is still a mystery to me)!

Heath said the work we're doing is getting closer to international caliber, and believes Nikita will be an awesome international Grand Prix horse, once we have more experience under our belts!

Good Times at Hilltop Farm

Nikita and I had a great time working with Chris Hickey at Hilltop Farm this week! Nikita thought it was funny to roll in her own pee right before my lessons, and clearly wasn't as concerned about making a good impression as I was!

Chris had a lot of great things to say about our work, and gave some awesome hints to improve our half passes, pirouettes (which are already a show stopper!), piaffe, and piaffe/passage transitions. He helped make our tempis more expressive and collected, which hopefully will bring us from a 7 to an 8 on the tempis!

I got to watch Chris ride some horses, and learned all kinds of valuable information from just watching. I also saw a preview of his I-1 freestyle, which he will perform at the Saugerties CDI this weekend!

Nikita and I can't wait to go back in September, and get some more feedback!

Our 5 Year Anniversary

Today marks my 5 year anniversary with Nicolbria. I bought her in August 2006 from Barbara Eberly of Sweet Effort Farm. Nicolbria was fat, out of shape, and uber-green. And I can't forget to mention she was crazy, which only came to light after she lost the weight!

She's the first horse I trained to Prix St. George, and her foals will be the next generation of horses I take to the FEI level! I certainly wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for her, so let's take a moment to appreciate Big Red!

News about Chamonix SSH and Nicolbria

I saw Chamonix SSH and Nicolbria for the first time since May. It also was my first time seeing Nicolbria since she's been in foal to Bugatti Hilltop. I visited to check on the gang, and find out the gender of Nicolbria's baby.

Unfortunately, the baby was hiding, and although I saw some legs of the future "Bugabria," we couldn't see enough to determine the gender. Here's some photos of Nicolbria!

Up next: EEMI Summer Fling in Leesburg, VA!

Wish us luck - we're doing Intermediare I!

Ride times are 7:57 AM and 9:12 AM!

Nikita and I had another lesson with Bent this week. He praised our extended trots and tempis, and said our canter half-passes were much better. We were lucky, and the storms didn't start until after our lesson. Here's some video, taken before the torrential downpour started!



Thanks, Jeanette, for letting us come again to your lovely farm! Look forward to seeing you again later this month!

Nikita and I qualified for the BLM Championships at Intermediare I in New Jersey this fall. Our score of 62% at Dressage at Lexington was high enough to qualify us. That's also one gold medal score down for me. Just one more needed at Intermediare, and then it's on to Grand Prix! Here are some photos from Dressage at Lexington:

News about Chamonix SSH and Nicolbria

I received some news from Hilltop about Chamonix SSH and Nicolbria. Nicolbria had a checkup at 33 days, and is still in foal! They said everything looked great. Next up, sexing the foal! I can't wait another 10 months to find out the gender; blame it on being of the MTV generation.

Chamonix SSH has gotten his first abscess, which came out of his coronary band. This is good news, because he was having some quirky lameness issues, and finding out it's only an abscess is definitely a good thing! The little stinker likes to play too hard.

Thanks to Megan at Hilltop for providing the updates!

Watch Nikita enjoy her molasses treat! And in the background, you can see her neighbor enjoying a nosh on my Hennig saddle (which I didn't realize until much later)!

Nikita gets into the carrots

Nikita got into 2 lbs of carrots! I left the room for a grand total of 5 minutes, and I come back to this. She dumped the carrots on the floor, unwrapped the plastic bag, and tore through the shrinkwrap around the carrots! Smart girl!

Photo Session with Heather Pettit

We had a great photo session with photographer Heather Pettit, who made Nikita look fabulous! I made the mistake of putting Nicolbria's KWPN logo pad on Nikita; I should have used a Holsteiner logo pad, but live and learn. I especially love the background on the photos. Enjoy the "cream of the crop" from our session, below:

After a 7 week haitus, Nikita is back in training. First order of business: The Shannon Dueck clinic at GoodNess Ridge Farm. We had a great time during the 2 days we got to work with Shannon, and this was an awesome opportunity to take advantage of Shannon's knowledge to safely get Nikita back in shape.

Shannon had a lot of excellent things to say about us, and was thrilled with Nikita's talent for piaffe and passage!

Nicolbria's in foal!

It's official! Nicolbria is in foal to Bugatti Hilltop! I'm super excited, since this is my first try at breeding. I've learned a lot from Lisa and David, and can't wait to see what the kiddo will look like. The foal will be registered KWPN-NA, and will have the supreme bloodlines of Bergamon, Rubenstein, Donnerhall, Ulft, and Doruto. This is an elegant match, and I'm sure the foal will be talented with a kind disposition. Thank you to the Hilltop team for taking such great care of Nicolbria!

June 13, 2011

Congrats to new parents Lisa and David O'Brien of Seguin Sporthorses on the birth of their son!

June 11, 2011

Nicolbria has been bred to Bugatti Hilltop!

Keep your fingers crossed until her first ultrasound in 14 days!

The foal from this elegant match will be offered in utero. Specifics to come soon!

Highlights from Maat & Nikita's last show

Maat & Nikita take 2nd place at VADA/NOVA Spring Dressage Show!

On April 9, 2011, Maat and Nikita won 2nd place in their first competition together at Intermediare I! Nikita enjoyed the electric atmosphere and showing off for the crowds!

Nicolbria and her herd enjoy the sun (and apparently, a mud bath)!

We have to give a BIG Thank You! to Alexis Gallati for her help with our accounting needs. Alexis is our superstar accountant, and we depend on her expertise to keep our business thriving.

Alexis sponsored Team JS in 2010 and has renewed her services for 2011. This year she finally agreed to let us thank her publicly!

A horsewoman herself, Alexis understands horse businesses, and without her expertise, we'd be lost. Alexis has been a champion many times on the hunter/jumper circuit with her Thoroughbred, Nondeductible, and is pictured left, with her husband, Dr. Chris Gallati, MD.

Pregnant Mamma Victoria's Secret keeping Chamonix SSH in line!

A good lesson for a colt to learn!

What possible splendors await behind the door?

Arrghh, it's just the farrier...

November 30, 2011

Team JS welcomes our newest member, the premium Holsteiner colt, Chamonix SSH!

Chamonix SSH comes to us from our newest sponsor, Seguin Sporthorses, a premiere Holsteiner breeder based in Seguin, TX! Chamonix SSH will live at Hilltop Farm, where he will grow and learn until he's ready for undersaddle work. Watch for him in 2011 breed classes!

Thank you, Lisa and Dave, for breeding such a fine fellow!