2009 Fall Updates

Fall 2009

And we've been busy!

Labor Day Horse Show; Sept. 4-6
Every year, for many years, Cedar Lodge has hosted a LMHJA horse show on Cedar Lodge grounds over the Labor Day weekend. As soon as Camp is finished, preparation starts for this upcoming event. There is much to be done. There are temporary stalls to be built in the indoor riding arena (Up to 70) to hold the outside horses from other stables showing, jumps to repair, jumps to paint (lots of jumps to paint), and general repair to the stable grounds and stables to make everything look at it's best. We work from sun up to sun down on jobs related to the stable to assure we are ready when that first trailer pulls in Friday morning.

This year was no exception on business. Edgar and Rafael were working for three weeks, building stalls, repairing jumps and on general maintenance. Kali, Kendra, Becca, Claire, Ashley and anyone else who happened by were busy for three weeks painting jumps and on what ever else needed to be done. Amy stayed steadfastly on her John Deere tractor, dragging rings, setting courses and ram rodding the millions of jobs that needed to be done. Chris did the office work, hired the judge, organized the food service, bought the food, selected ribbons, drew courses and did office work. Cathy helped "where needed" and clipped all the horses showing, Julie worked on flowers, Leesa manned the show office, Heather took care of the ribbon tent and Allison announced. When not painting (and painting, and painting) the girls busied themselves riding. The girls had selected a variety of horses to ride and show for the upcoming event and much of their time was spent in the stirrups. Kendra had school duties for much of the time before Labor Day, and big sister Kali was nice enough to keep Kendra's horses going as well as her own charges until she could return. On Friday before the show, Katherine G. came over from Chicago to take over the rides on Gomer and her horse Jack. Amy managed time off of her tractor to keep her show horse, Hal fit and ready to ride. By Friday afternoon, most everything was done and ready for the big event. The show grounds were clean and neat and organized. The stalls were bedded and standing ready for their new arrivals. Three rings of jumps stood organized and freshly painted. The horses were schooled and bathed. The tack was cleaned with clean show pads added. We were ready.

Becca and Dom

Saturday and Sunday went without a hitch. I can't say we weren't busy. Everyone was. Everyone kept busy from sun up, (or maybe slightly before sun up), to sun down (or maybe slightly beyond sun down). The day was not finished when the show was over, as everyone rushed to eat and refuel, than met at the rings to set courses for the following day. After that, the rings were dragged and the sprinklers were run, well into the night to alleviate the dust that was sure to impede the next day of showing if not taken care of. The days ended with tack cleaning and horses being turned out late, after all the other barns finished schooling. The days started with horses being brought in and fed, stalls being repaired, horses being braided, final preparations to rings and the start of the day once again. Everyone worked hard to show Cedar Lodge Stables at it's finest and the outcome was compliments from the many outside exhibitors and a great weekend for all.

Besides the 50 outside exhibitors, 13 Cedar Lodge based horses and 8 Cedar Lodge based riders (11 owned by Cedar Lodge) competed at Labor Day. Here is a list:

Katherine G. on Gomer and Jack
Becca W. on Dominic and Rylie
Ashley B. on Jughead and Spot
Kali E. on Duffy and Auntie Em
Kendra E. on Cotton Eye Joe and Sally
Amy E. on Hal
Heather on Mattie
Claire on Tuffy

There were too many ribbons and championships to mention, and everyone that had been showing all season, finished the season on up notes. A couple of the new news items: Katherine was proud to be able to show her horse, Jack who had been suffering a lameness throughout the spring and summer. Kali and Auntie Em made their jumping debut in the 2'0 division and did very well for their first outing. Kendra and Cotton Eyed Joe made their first jumping debut in the Regular Ring, showing in the 2'3"-2'6" Pre-Green and Special Divisions. They did very well, and even whipped out some needed flying changes. Kendra did double duty on Sally and managed three flat classes in the basic ring for this baby's first outing. Sally did us proud with a 2nd place out of 10! In borrowed boots, coat and garb, Claire whipped around the Basic ring on Tuffy and managed several championships for her troubles. Ashley and Spot did us proud with another solid performance in the 2'3 division in the Basic ring. Becca hacked Rylie successfully in several divisions at the end of the day on Sunday.

GREAT JOB GUYS!!!!!!

See more photos here: http://www.cedarlodge.com/galleries/Cedar%20Lodge%20galleries/Labor%20Day/index.html

Group

Camp Alumni Reunions; Sept. 11-13
I can't blame it all on Facebook, but Facebook certainly brought it all to a head. We had been talking about hosting a reunion for old campers for years. Think about it. We started Lakeside Farm Camp in 1964. Camp Watervliet for Girls started in the 1940's. Those two camps merged in 1980 to give birth to Cedar Lodge. Average 200 different campers per year (depending on the size of the camp, and how long they stay). That's allot of different people. Through the years we have had visits and contacts and we have a part of the Cedar Lodge web site for alumni, but it seemed appropriate at some time that we would start bringing it all together for those that were interested. It all came to a head this summer, however because of Facebook.

Cedar Lodge has had a presence on Facebook for several years. In fact, they have several pages; one for all Cedar Lodgers, one for alumni, and one for alumni just from the 80's. These pages are hosted by ex-cedar lodge Campers/staff who monitor conversations and what is posted. It seemed like the safest thing to do. This summer, Rachel Brenner, an ex-Watervliet camper and Cedar Lodge staff e-mailed me about the possibility of starting a Watervliet facebook. I thought it was a great idea, but then I started thinking that perhaps it was time to start a Lakeside one as well. I had taken the plundge and joined Facebook in April and was astounded at the amount of campers that were members of the Cedar Lodge page, and how quickly you could access many with postings there. Though Lakeside had closed in 1979, I thought there might just be a chance to get in contact with old campers and staff with little effort. An old Lakeside camper/staff, Amy Kynaston (Gerson) volunteered to set up the page. This all happened in July. Within days of Watervliet and Lakeside having their own facebook pages, we had members joining, and it was a matter of weeks before I was talking to people that I hadn't heard from in over 20 years. It was great.

That was how the idea of a reunion came about. We started talking about it on Facebook alumni pages. Giving a notification to everyone in July about a reunion at camp in September is certainly not much notice, especially since EVERYONE is out of town (and some out of the country), but we felt if we didn't start somewhere, we would never get it done. We had been talking about it for so long, I think we figured, if we did something, anything, it was at least a start of what hopefully would become a every year occurrence.

Reunion Riding

The reunion weekend went off without a hitch. What we lacked in numbers, we made up for in spirit. Saturday was the largest day, with ex-staff and campers from all three camps being represented. The day was sunny and warm enough for Allison to get into the lake and work on the accursed butterfly with Kelly Adams (Kravetz). Many of the old Watervliet campers/staff chose to ride and opted for a trip down memory lane by taking a riding lesson with Chris (just like the old days:)) There were pony rides for Tina's kids and vaulting for the brave. Great conversation and memories accompanied all meal times and there wasn't a sit down time that didn't see the zillion photo albums being opened to compare photos, hair styles and stories. Sally displayed her musical talents once again for a several hour treat of all the good old camp songs. Who could forget Jr. Birdman, The Ship Titanic and Three Little Bears? David Edwards was accommodating enough to take all the old Camp Watervlieters over to the Camp Watervliet grounds, 12 miles for Cedar Lodge for a tour of the grounds and a walk down memory lane. I hear that there wasn't a dry eye in the house! Saturday evening hosted a bonfire down at the lake and more memories and stories made the hours go by like minutes until it was time to call it a night.

All agreed that the alumni weekend was a great idea and should be an every year occurrence. With that in mind, we have already slotted in our dates for 2010. Interested in coming and join us? Find out more information here:

http://www.cedarlodge.com/alumni/Alumni_reunion_weekend.shtml

Check out the photos of this year's here: http://www.cedarlodge.com/galleries/Cedar%20Lodge%20galleries/Reunion/index.html

Huntington Schooling Show Oct. 4
The middle to end of September was raining. So was most of October. It was frustrating. We put our young horses aside during the show season and focus on the fall to give us time to bring them out and get them going. This time is crucial to us, as what we get done in the fall, greatly effects what we have ready to show for the next spring and summer. When our Labor Day Horse show is over we jump on 3-5 horses a day and work, work, work trying to get as far as we can before the snow flies. A large and important part of this plan are the schooling shows in the fall. It is a chance to take the young horses off the grounds and give them a chance to show hopefully that they can perform the same feats that they have mastered at home with all the distractions of a new setting. If we had our way, we would have 3-4 schooling shows scattered throughout the fall, always on convenient weekends and always in good weather with great footing and within 30 miles from camp. If we had our way, which we seldom get. Over the last 10 years there have been less and less quality schooling shows. It has made those that there are that much more important to us.

Auntie Em jumps

Huntington Valley's Schooling show is a every year occurrence. Always the same weekend, we schedule vacation plans around this one weekend and the chance to bring out our babies for the first time. This year was no exception. We had 6 horses ready to go and were eager for our weekend. I would have liked to have said that we were schooling hard, but sadly, it was not the case. The two weeks before Huntington were raining. Rain means no footing. No footing means no jumping. Yes, we have an indoor and yes, we can jump in the indoor, but with young horses, you're priorities are different. You need to jump courses, you need different types of scary fences, you need outside distractions. You don't need white poles in the indoor. Besides, babies don't turn so well. By Oct. 4 we didn't feel as ready as we had hoped to feel. Because of the rain, we had not been able to jump as much or as high as we had planned. To make it worse it rained HARD Friday night and most of Saturday. We opted not to go and school on Saturday, something we usually do with the young horses. Sunday dawned with more rain, wind and cold. Maybe I'm getting too old, but I have long since stopped feeling like I have to show in any weather, just because a horse show was going on. We waited until it stopped raining around 10AM, loaded up the trailer with 5 horses and drove over to Huntington.

It turned out a good thing that we hadn't come on Saturday, as they had not allowed any schooling because of the rain. Heather took Mattie, and Kali and I each had two rides: Kali on Rylie and Auntie Em, and me on Sally and Sarah Stancati's young horse, Penny. Once at Huntington, we unloaded quickly and tacked up our groomed horses. My two horses were the youngest and least experienced. Their classes we knew, were already be finished when we arrived. The plan was to hack them around, just to get them used to being away from home and hopefully have a good experience. Rylie, also, was there just for the experience of going away from home. We were hoping that Auntie Em and Mattie would get there in time for their classes. Kali got on Auntie Em, and I got on Penny, the more experienced for my two. We were in time to get in the main jumping ring for about 20 minutes before Kali's class. Auntie Em acted as it was just another day at the office. Besides a few side way glances at things like judges stands and announcer buildings, she trotted and cantered around quietly and took a couple of warm up fences before Kali felt she was good to go. Penny, however, was not so accommodating, with her head up in the air, we spent our time careening around the show ring, with two bucking fits at sporadic intervals for no reason. Obviously, not showing was not going to be a bad idea for me that day and also obviously, my riding was not done yet.

Auntie Em and Mattie participated in the first three classes in the main ring. It was a 2'0-2'3" jumping division. Mattie went around like a trooper, allowing Heather a chance to school over larger fences and in a different ring then she was used to usually showing in. It was a great schooling experience for both of them, and both Chris and Heather were glad they had decided to come. Auntie Em was a super star. No less. A super star. In case someone is not aware, Auntie Em is our walk/trot vaulting Horse: http://www.cedarlodge.com/about/horses/auntieem.shtml Though Em may vault with us during the summer, during the fall of 2008 we started jumping her, and it became obvious what a talent she had in this area. Kali works with Em all summer long in vaulting and in 2009, Em also managed intermediate jumping classes in her spare time. Kali had made time for Em last spring and was determined to spend more time on her again this fall to further her training. The Labor Day horse show allowed Kali and Em a chance to revisit what they had learned last fall and spring. From Labor Day on, they expanded quickly on that, moving into the Regular ring (with bigger and more formidable jumps and learning how to canter courses). This Oct. show was definitely a step that they were ready for. Kali took the advised conservative route and trotted in and cantered out of all her lines in her first course. She received a expected low ribbon (trotting in to lines makes you pin behind all those that canter the entire lines) but was pleased with how Em responded to the new course. Her second course, we felt confident enough to let Em canter all her lines. Our decision paid off, as Em WON THE CLASS! Em and Kali went back in for the hack and placed a respectable second. Pretty good for babies first real show!

After Em's classes, Kali swapped over to Rylie, and I swapped over to Sally. We hacked around all the rings. Both girls were good. Sally was a bit bright eyed, and it appeared the worse of her problems was convincing her to focus on going forward rather than looking at all the new sites.

Though we ended up not showing as we had planned we were all happy with the results and agreed that it was time well spent.

Scott Hofstetter Clinic Oct. 10-11
Or “How I choose to further torture myself in the off season”

Last May, way at the beginning, when the weather was still cold, windy and damp, I packed up Jughead and Dominic into the 6 horse and made the 2 hour trek up to Alpine Ridge, north of Grand Rapids. The event was a Scott Hofstetter clinic and the riders from our stable were Ashley Butler and Becca Wernette. Chris and I have always been for participating in outside clinics. We have always felt that it is good to have someone else evaluate your riders for a change. At the best, their comments confirm your teachings and perhaps present the same material in a new light. At worse, you find something that you have over looked or not paid enough detail to, and get the chance to correct the error in your ways. Either way, it can do nothing but good. Last May was no disappointment. I happily deposited the girls on their horses and took my position in a chair to audit the three-two hour sessions. We were into the clinic only 10 minutes when Scott asked for a volunteer for ring crew. I jumped out of my seat, barely ahead of several goggle eyed girls. My motivation was purely selfish; First, I could hear what Scott was saying better from the center than from the side. Second, it was darn cold out and the idea of some kind of activity was welcome. By the end of Saturday, I had learned much and enjoyed watching Scott work with the different levels of riders. I had spent much of the day, measuring his exercises against my babies to see how they measured up. Could I bring one of my young horses to his clinics? Could they behave? Honestly, in May, I didn’t feel I had anything that was ready, but I made a firm commitment that if the opportunity ever presented itself again, and I had something to ride, I would sign up.

That opportunity presented itself this October when Alpine Ridge again hosted a Scott Hofstetter clinic. I signed up immediately, as did Ashley (again on Jughead) and Cedar Lodge alumni and now Cedar Lodge Stable boarder, Sarah Stancati. Sarah rode her trusted show hunter Finn and I signed in with my pre-green show horse, Hal. Though in May, I would never had thought to bring Hal to such a clinic, a summer of showing and riding had matured him greatly and I was confident that there was a good chance that I at least would not get bucked off!

The weather was cold, windy and damp. I am sure it had Scott, who hails from Florida, believing that Michigan only has one type of weather (fortunately he misses muggy, humid and buggy July). Ashley, Sarah and I were all in the middle section (2’6”-2’9”) for different reasons; Ashley was moving up to that division for the next season and thought this clinic would be a good chance to get her feet wet. Sarah’s horse, Finn is pretty much a 3’ hunter type, but hadn’t been off of CL property for over two years. We thought this would be a safe division for him to try his first away experience. Hal and I had just finished a summer in the 2’6” baby horse division and like Ashley, were looking to move up next summer. Scott had the reputation of doing allot of flat work and I was hoping that Hal’s training was up to the flat work that was bound to be asked for.

As we entered the ring at 10AM, I greeted Scott, who remembered my superior jump crew work of last May. “No two point and no no-stirrup work, right? I asked, only half joking. “Of course not.” Scott replied. I was relieved. He sounded sincere……….

Not 15 minutes into the lesson, I realized Scott lied, as he instructed us once again into a two point position for the 5^th time. All I could think of was how much my first hour summer camp class would enjoy watching me (isn’t there an age limit on this exercise?) being tortured in the same way that they were tortured themselves, not so many months ago. I felt only a bit chagrin as I reached down to grab a bit of mane with one hand to keep myself in position. “Don’t feel bad about grabbing a bit of mane to keep yourself in position. Better that than slamming back down on his back!” I heard Scott's voice from the other side of the arena. Whew. I must not be the only one. I looked around to see how Ashley and Sarah were doing. Ashley was up in position (no mane that I could see) effortlessly following Jughead’s motion. Obviously this summer had done her some good (looks like I need to ride in my own summer classes). As I looked for Sarah, a gray blur went streaking by. Finn. Definitely minus Sarah. I alerted the riders in front of me to walk and glanced around behind me to spot Sarah spitting dirt out of her mouth. Evidently, Finn had not taken kindly to our long rein exercise and had taken the opportunity to deposit Sarah neatly on the ground. The class walked for a few minutes while Finn was collected and Sarah and he retired to the other ring to lunge. Though I felt bad for Sarah and bad Finn, the break was welcome. No two point. I stretched my stiff ankles. As soon as Sarah was gone, we continued work.

Scott worked us on the flat for a bit over an hour. Our work included several changes of directions, many transitions, collections and lengthening. Flexions, circles, turn on the forehands. Nothing was new. Hal was a trooper and managed everything asked with the relaxed patience of a saint. I was pleased, not only with Hal and his performance, but with Ashley and hers. Watching a young CL rider able to do all the flat work asked, and participate without being over whelmed was almost as pleasing as being able to have my young horse do it himself. The hour of flat work was followed by an hour of jumping. Finn and Sarah returned to join the class. Again, I was proud to see how well the CL horses and riders were able to tackle the gymnastics and jumping questions that Scott presented for us. We ended Saturday after two hours of riding with a long graze on the lawn and after wrapping, bedding and feeding our horses; we put them to bed for the night with a promise of returning the next day.

Sunday dawned no different than Saturday. Just as cold. Just as damp. Maybe a bit more wind. This time, we arrived earlier and put Finn on the lunge line before the clinic. It was well worth the time, as Finn still seemed to have a bit left in him, even after yesterday’s work. The lunging was followed by a 20 minute hack and by the start of the our clinic time period, Finn was promising to behave. Sunday’s clinic started with less flat work than the day before, maybe just a half hour, instead of an hour, but it was more intense. I reveled in the possibility of no two-point, but it was short lived. I had expected, despite my joking, that Scott might add in working with out stirrups at the walk or trot, but he did neither. Instead, he did what any almost 50 year old rider on a just broke baby would dread. He asked for riding without stirrups at the canter. Of course, he gave you the option of keeping them if you HAD to, but come on, what kind of wimp do you take me for? I gingerly let go of my safety nets. Fortunately I had practiced this one hot July day at home in Chris’s riding class. Hal, as usual (have I mentioned how much I love this horse) was a trooper and could care less as Scott put us through never ending canter to walk and halt, then back to canter transitions without stirrups. I was dieing to see how others were doing in the class, but was much to taken with the idea that I really could fall off or get run away with to chance a look around. Hal doesn’t stop nearly as well as I would like and I really had gotten into the habit of using my stirrups as part of my braking system (maybe I was the reason for the exercise?). We survived, but not without me requesting a couple of IB profen from Chris smirking on the rail when we were done. Our second day of jumping went better than the first with all three of our horses showing improvement from the day before. Finn was more settled and Jughead was more collected. After our clinic, Ashley and I stayed on to watch the higher jumping group before packing up our belongings and horses and making the trip back to camp. All three of us had a great time. We all learned tons and came home with some great ideas of things to work on. For me, I can say it was refreshing to have someone critique me for a change, rather than being the one always doing the critiquing. It was also fun, to not only have a well behaved horse that was capable of doing what was being asked, but to be able to just ride and not have to do all the thinking for once. For all you riders (and non riders) out there-if you get a chance to push your limits- go for it! You can’t go wrong when stretching your wings and reaching for that next level, even if it does require you to work with out your safety net.

Region 10 Vaulting Schooling Show Oct. 24
This year Region 10 (the AVA region in which Cedar Lodge is a member) was lucky enough to host the National American Vaulting Association finals at the Horse Park in Kentucky. This was a first time event and very exciting for everyone involved. It would have been exciting for Cedar Lodge, too, except that the Nationals are in the middle of July, and thus in the middle of summer camp on our showing season. That made it impossible for Cedar Lodge to compete, which was disappointing for at least two of Cedar Lodge's vaulting team who were good enough to attend. Sadly, it also meant that Region 10 cut their usual competition schedule from 3 shows down to 2. Again, effecting Cedar Lodge's vaulters, as they usual compete in the fall show that was now not on the roster. So we were very excited when Jane Egger, Region 10 president, suggested a schooling vaulting show at Cedar Lodge. The date was quickly set for Oct. 24, and by the starting date, the indoor was dragged, the judge's stand in place and everything set for the big event. Unfortunately, the weather did not quite corporate (again, what was it this fall with the weather?) with Saturday dawning rainy, windy and cold. Good thing we were vaulting in the indoor!

5 other stables brought students down for a day of competition and fun. Silver medal vaulter, Hannah Horseman judged the day of horse and barrel classes. Though it was cold and windy, all agreed that the day was a positive and worthwhile experience for all of their vaulters. The day allowed Cedar Lodge instructor, Kali to work on her canter work and compete at the Copper level and Malik a chance to practice his bronze routines. Little tiny tot vaulter Danica (at 4 years old), rounded out the CL vaulting team. After the competition was done, everyone involved crowded into the winterized Dining hall for Hot chocolate and Chili, catered thankfully by Chris.

Hannah was nice enough to stay the afternoon and managed an intense 2 hour work out with Kali and Malik to hone their skills. The time was well spent, and both were very excited by what they learned in their session.

Everyone is ready for a bit of a break from competition, but can't wait until March's barrel fest and the start of next year's events!

CL group at banquet

LMHJA Banquet Nov. 7
Every year the show circuit that is the main circuit that Cedar Lodge rides on hosts a banquet in honor of all the horses and riders that have shown for that season. As usual, this year it was held in November and many CL riders were in attendance. The food was good, and it is always a change to see all the riders out of their breeches and boots for a while. In fact, I have to admit that there were several riders that were announced that I didn't recognize until they said the name of the horse they rode (you know they all look alike in those hats!).

Once again, Cedar Lodge did very well in the results, with many walks up the aisle to receive year end ribbons and awards for division championships and top 6 finishes. Here is a list of our results:

Mini Medal: 1st place Ashley Butler/Jughead & 6th place Katherine Graul/Gomer.

Intermediate Medal: 6th place Kali Edwards/Duffy

Equitation 2’3-2’6: 4th place Katherine Graul/Gomer

Equitation 2’9-3’0: 6th place Kali Edwards/Duffy

AHJF Junior Hunter Challenge: 1st place Ashley Butler/Jughead

Pre Green Working Hunter: 1st place My Pal Hal/Amy Edwards & 5th place Cotton Eye Joe/Kali and Kendra Edwards

Special Working Hunter: 3rd place My Pal Hal/Amy Edwards & 4th place Jughead/Ashley Butler.

Low Working Hunter: 4th place Duffy/Kali Edwards

Novice Working Hunter: 7th place Mattie/Heather Bradshaw

Basic Working Hunter: 4th place Cotton Eye Joe/Kali and Kendra Edwards

Basic Equitation: 3rd place Heather Bradshaw/Mattie

Schooling Jumpers: 3rd place Kali Edwards/Duffy

Child/Amateur Jumper: 3rd place Kali Edwards/Duffy

Congratulations all Cedar Lodge riders and Horses!!!!!

Riding Weekend Nov. 14-15

Time is constantly demanding that we evaluate and reevaluate how we do business and what we offer at Cedar Lodge and this fall was no exception. Swinging with the times, we decided not to offer specific dates for our Riding weekends this fall, but instead offer several dates that we would be available for interested families to come and ride. This fall, members of the Weaver family opted to join us for a weekend, when Stephanie and Ruth came up from Friday night until Sunday afternoon. Mother nature blessed us with a wonderful late fall weekend, allowing everyone to ride outside and bask in the sun. Stephanie and Ruth took riding lessons, and managed a Saturday afternoon trail ride, as well as Ruth participating in Kali's weekend vaulting class Sunday morning.

We look forward to see more families join us next spring!

Sally Jumps

Schooling Babies All Fall

How lucky are we to have Kali home for a short time? Very lucky when she clears her schedule enough to take on three CL babies, giving us the opportunity to get TWICE as much accomplished as we would normally be able to do. Our September and October was a disappointment for riders who like the outside, as it rained, and rained, and rained. Normal rain fall for October is 3-4 inches. We got 13. It was pretty soggy. That being said, November was excellent. It stopped raining and dried out to superior footing with warmer than usual temperatures all month. That allowed us to extend our season and certainly made up for the slow Sept. and Oct. starts.

Many will remember our weekly updates this summer on the progress of Sally and Tony. This fall saw no slow down on their progress as they steadily learned the things that all babies need to know to be solid Cedar Lodge citizens. By the end of November they had eared their own page on our web site. You can visit them here.http://www.cedarlodge.com/about/horses/TonyandSally.shtml

On top of Sally and Tony's wonderful adventures, Kali took on Auntie Em, Joe and Rylie. Auntie Em was the greenest of Kali's horses and did the most remarkable changing over the fall. Unfortunately, we never had a camera handy. I guess we will have to wait until Spring to get some photos to update her page. By end of fall, Auntie Em was managing a 2'3 course with ease, and working on getting her lead changes on course. The extra flat work and jumping, also managed to help Em in her vaulting job. You must remember that Em is primarily a CL vaulting horse and our main walk, trot vaulting horse all summer long. By the end of the fall, Em had improved in her canter work enough that Malik was managing his whole freestyle routine, and practicing a shoulder stand on her at the canter. WOW!

Tony kind of Jumps

Joe continue to improve with Kali after his Labor Day debut in the regular ring with Kendra. Kali spent intense work outs practicing Joe's flying changes, balancing, course work and gymnastics. By the end of fall Joe was schooling courses of 2'9" with no effort and not showing any signs of that being the top of his game.

Kali was nice enough to take over the ride on Rylie as well. Rylie is a big horse with a big jump and I must admit, it takes a bit of time to get used to her large stride and jump. That being said, Kali and Rylie made good progress through out the fall and more important than the daily progress they made schooling and jumping, Rylie and Kali were able to spend time working on Rylie's other anxiety issues that so effect her showing efforts. We were all excited by both of their progress.

As December rolled mildly in, we expected a significant slow down of our babies progress. The shoes have been pulled and some of our babies have been put back in their stalls for a couple of months. Time to grow long hair, rest their bones, grow out their feet (and their manes) and ready themselves for next Sprig's hard work and show seasons ahead!

Vaulting, Vaulting, Vaulting. All Fall

Having Kali around had many benefits: The horses she rode, her organization of the newsletter, having a climbing partner :), having a trail ride partner......but it had an additional benefit to many others. Kali resumed her weekly vaulting lessons for those that were interested. All those that she had started with last spring opted to continue their weekly vaults, and Kali added several new groups. Enough that she decided to divide her lessons into Tiny Tots, mid age and teen agers. Day campers from 2009, Molly and Maggie S. have been regular participants. It appears that they refuse to let a weekend trip to visit grandma in Dowagiac (they live in Chicago) go by without a visit to Cedar Lodge for vaulting, and often riding lessons as well. With weekend help from Ashley and Malik, Kali has kept up with the flow and is very excited about the results. With all the constant work, Em's vaulting work has improved and Malik and Kali have been working weekly on her canter. How exciting it would be to add in another canter horse (and this one, a bit smaller!) . With Kendra coming home, Winter Camp around the bend (winter camp always allows us plenty of vaulting time), and the Dining hall capable of being heated for barrel work, I see no sign that any of them will be slowing up anytime soon.

Good job with all the work CL vaulters! Keep it up!

Katherine's and Cathy's new horses:

There may be more, but these are the two we know about. Camper, Katherine G. has added a new Dutch Warmblood to her stable and is very excited about her up coming show season. Cathy Ray, Cedar Lodge instructor, has added a new horse to her processions as well. A Selle Francais named "Teddy" whose former life was as a jumper, came to Cedar Lodge in early November. Cathy was able to find a good home for Solitaire and reportedly, the two passed each other in trailers, with Solitaire moving on to her new home, and Teddy driving in from Wisconsin with in the same hour! I know both Katherine and Cathy are very excited about their new purchases and looking forward to working with them in the up coming seasons.

Snow

It was bound to happen. We had such a nice November. Lots of sun. Warmer than usual temperatures. Not much rain. Lots of riding outside. We got soooooo much done. You had to think it would all have to end sometime. And it did. December 4th it snowed. Just a couple of inches at camp, but it was accompanied by enough wind and enough cold to freeze the ground, convince us to close all the doors on the barn, bring all the horses home from up the road at good neighbor Karen's house, plug in the heat tapes, start the basement wood stove, put out extra round bales and start staring willingly at our inside paper work rather than our outside projects. It's officially here. Winter. It signals the end of this update page and the beginning of another season. Stay tuned.

CEDAR LODGE