Pensacola Winter Series Results are In!!

Well, the first week of Pensacola is in the books, and what a start it was!  It was supposed to be warmer weather (at least, that’s what they tell me) but the “Arctic Vortex” had other ideas!  Heavy coats and toe warmers were quickly unpacked and used.  The horses, who hadn’t been out in days because of the bad weather at home, thought they would show their rodeo moves-they felt really good!  Sheryl had plenty of blankets to keep the horses toasty in their “slightly” chilly southern stalls and everyone settled in quiet nicely.

The beginning of the show week was cancelled because of the cold weather.  The footing, not to mention the pipes, were not used to single digits!  I guess they were wondering how much further south they needed to go to be warm!  (In this case, a long way)  Everyone stayed bundled up and waited out the weather.  Then, just to show her ultimate power, Mother Nature decided to throw in a Monsoon for good measure.  And the show was again delayed while sheets of rain poured down. Finally, clear skies shown again and the competition was able to start for real this time.

This is Mary on the first day in Pensacola.  They called her “Gnome”.

The results from the Pensacola Winter Series, which takes place at the Escambia County Equestrian Center, are in and the Rolling Acres Show group started off this winter season with a bang! 
Allison Bergemeyer did very well riding Dolce, owned by Marion Lowry, placing 1st in the Non-Pro 2’9 Jumping class, 2nd in the Performance Hunter Under Saddle class, and a 5th and 7th in the Junior Hunter division. Riding Atrex, owned by Paulexi, LLC, she won 2nd in the Open Hunter class, 2nd and 3rd in the Junior Hunter division, 3rd in the Performance Hunter Confirmation Under Saddle Class, and 3rd in the USEF Pessoa Hunt Seat Medal class.Way to go Allison!
Kiana Fiore, riding Zivago, placed 2nd and 4th in the Child Hunter 14 and Under division making her Reserve Champion. Nice job Kiana!
Alyson Gurney on The Golden Compass, owned by Heathfield Hunters, LLC, finished with two 1sts in the Junior Hunter division and 3rd in the Performance Hunter 3’6 Under Saddle class which earned them Champion!! She also competed Nikita for the first time together, and won a 1st in the 0.95 meter II jumper class, 3rd and 4th in the Child Adult 1.10 meter jumper division, and 5th in the Child Adult 1.0 meter jumper class. Awesome riding Alyson! 
Addie Jabin competed her horse Luigi in the 0.95 meter jumper division and won a 1st place! Nice riding Addie!
Emmy Middleton competed her horse Delphine in the Child Hunter 15-17 division and won two 3rds! She also competed in the Taylor Harris Insurance Services Childrens Medal class and placed with a 2nd. Great job Emmy!
Devon Monroe rode Quastor Van De Helle Z, owned by Paulexi, LLC, in the Junior A/O 1.25 meter jumper division and won a 2nd and a 5th. She also rode in the Non Restricted Child Adult 1.0 meter jumper division and placed 3rd. In the National Junior Amateur 1.25 meter jumper class they pair placed 5th. Nice job Devon!
Blaire Miran riding Lariat, owned by Lauren Moyer, won two 1sts and a 2nd in the Child 15-17 Hunter division! Awesome job Blaire!
Alexis Mozeleski competed Little Star in the Child 15-17 Hunter division and won two 5th places! Excellent job Alexis!
Bernadette Coyle competed her own Lorca de Caryan in the Child 15-17 Hunter division and won a 1st and a 2nd place making her Champion! She also won the Taylor Harris Insurance Services Childrens Medal class. Great riding Bernadette!!
Charlotte Williams rode Frontman, owned by Kasperon, LLC, in the Adult Amateur Hunter division and won a 3rd and a 4th place. Nice job Charlotte!
Kevin Foster competed Quintessential in the Amateur Owner Hunter 3’6 division and won a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th giving him Reserve Champion! He also placed 6th in the Amateur Owner Handy 3’6 and a 7th in the Amateur Owner Hunter Classic. Wonderful riding Kevin! 
Marylisa Leffler competed a large string of horses, doing very well! She rode The Golden Compass in the Performance Hunter division and won two 2nds and two 3rds. Riding Dolce, owned by Marion Lowry, Mary won a 3rd and a 4th in the Performance Hunter 3’6 division. 
Competing Quintessential in the Performance Hunter 3’3 division, Mary won two 1sts, a 2nd, a 3rd and two 5ths. Riding Axtrex, owned by Paulexi, LLC, in the Performance Hunter 3’3 divison, Mary won a 2nd, a 4th, two 5ths and a 6th. Riding Soxappeal, owned by Winsome Farms, in the Pre Green Hunter division the pair won two 1sts and three 2nds making them Champion of the division! 
Competing Just Enjoy, owned by Connie Mcrill, in the Baby Green Hunter division, Mary won a 1st and four 2nd places earning them Reserve Champion. Riding Lariat, owned by Lauren Moyer, Mary won 1st in the Non Pro 2’9 class, as well as two 1sts in the Schooling Hunter 2’9 division! Mary rode Frontman, owned by Kasperon LLC, in the Schooling Hunter 2’9 division as well and two 1sts! 
Marylisa won a 1st on Delphine, owned by Emmy Middleton in the Schooling Hunter 2’9 division. Riding Zivago, owned by Kiana Fiore, Mary won two 1sts in the Schooling Hunter 3’0 division! She also won a 1st in the Schooling Hunter 3’0 division on Bernadette Coyle’s Lorca De Caryan. Competing Denicheur Van De Donkhoeve, owned by Paulexi, LLC, Mary won two 2nds in the Open Jumper 1.20 meter division.
Riding Carlot in the same division, Mary placed 3rd. Also riding Indy in that division Mary finished in 4th. Competing Quastor Van De Helle Z in the Open Jumper 1.30 meter division, Mary won 1st place! 
We are very proud of Marylisa and all of the Rolling Acres riders for such a great start to the 2014 show season! 
This is Alexis Mozeleski and Little Star at their first show together.  She just started riding him.  They make a great pair, don’t they!
Allison Bergemeyer and Dolce

Charlotte Williams and Frontman
Kevin Foster and Quintessential riding for their Reserve Champion!

All photos thanks to Sheryl Sutherby!! 

Turning waste into money: A compost story (Featuring Rolling Acres!)

Hi everyone!

Today we are sharing an article with from WTOP. This is Eric Steiner and he used our farm (and our horse manure) for his project on compost.  It’s interesting to see his results, so be sure to check it out!
http://wtop.com/1228/3535958/Turning-waste-into-money-A-compost-story

Steiner drives out to his compost piles at Rolling Acres Farm in Brookeville, Md., on Sept. 15 after picking up a load of used coffee grounds. The trip takes about half an hour from the Chevy Chase Starbucks. (Courtesy Heather Brady)

‘Old Man Winter’ is killing us here in Maryland!

Happy Monday!

Well…winter is definitely here and has been “killing us!” We spent Friday digging out from the five inches of snow (forecaster said 1”…clearly, he was wrong) and the howling winds that kept blowing the snow back over the driveway.  I would plow, it would drift.  I would plow again, and it would be covered as fast as I would plow.  So we tagged teamed!

Dad plowed, I followed behind in the Gator and when it was clear, I jumped up and down in the field to signal to the guys at the bottom of the driveway hill to head up with the equipment.  I must have looked like a nut.  But it worked!  We got the equipment out and headed to Florida.  Then on Saturday, we had two tractor trailer loads of horses leave.  Everyone at the barn pitched in and we loaded blankets, trunks, and 19 horses, and tack! Then, off they went to Florida!  I tried to sneak in a trunk, but they wouldn’t let me!

We’ll spend the next couple of days getting ready for the arctic freeze forecasted to happen tomorrow.  We had several tractors who went on strike when the temperature was 2°.  Can’t say that I blame them!  We’ll hook them up to heaters to make them more willing to work.  And we’ll be ready for the horses as well.   We’ll have plenty of hay & grain, plus lots of shavings to keep the horses happy.   Then, let’s hope the weather man was wrong again for Tuesday!  Whatever the weather brings, we’ll be ready for it.

Only 75 days until Spring!!!

Whew!

Ashley is off to Auburn…GOOD LUCK!!

Hi everyone!

We want to send a special congrats and good luck to Patty’s daughter Ashley, who will be heading off in five days to start college at Auburn University!! We couldn’t be more proud of her and can’t believe how fast the time has flown! It seems like just yesterday she was this little:

This photo of Ashley was taken in June of 1997 at the Quentin Horse Show in Pennsylvania. Be sure to read the caption below…how cute is that?
GOOD LUCK ASHLEY!!! 

Florida can’t come soon enough!!!

Hi everyone!

Winter is in full-swing at the farm and the Rolling Acres crew couldn’t be more ready to leave for Florida in a few weeks. After all the snow and ice we had, and the temperatures warming up, it has been 24-7 “spook training” around the barns/indoor. As the ice and snow have been melting and falling, we have been experiencing loud, scary noises to all of the poor horses who have no idea what’s going on. Even Mary had a close call the other day while tightening her girth! Whew! Thankfully, the majority of it is melted and we should get a break from all the scary noises.

(image copyright & thanks to: Martin Crownover)

PS-The crew will be leaving for Florida the first week of January and heading to Pensacola first. After that, they will be travelling to Ocala and then finishing in Atlanta, GA.

Snow Day…Round 2!

Good Morning Everyone,

Here at Rolling Acres Farm, we are experiencing another snow day! We got a few inches of snow on Sunday and right now, we are experiencing round two and are forecasted to get another 3-5 inches today. Don’t worry, the horses are tucked in safe and sound! 
Here are two photos of the farm in the snow:

(Photos thanks to Patty’s Facebook)
Also, we know it’s not Thursday yet, but we wanted to go ahead and share a Throwback Thursday photo with you! This is a photo of Ashley that our wonderful photographer, Sheryl Sutherby found the other day. How cute is her brightly-colored outfit and water spout hair?
 

Thanksgiving Reunions & Rose of Sharon Equestrian School Visit!!

It’s been a great Thanksgiving weekend here at Rolling Acres Farm.  Many of our students came home for college and came to the barn.  It was so nice to see them all again!
This is Patty with Allyson Quirk.  It was really cold in the barn!  And this is Patty’s famous full-length ski coat that she starts wearing about September.
Also, Robin Feldman and I went to visit Rose of Sharon Equestrian School.  This is the place where donations in memory of Malibu Classic, or” Clown,” as we all knew him, were given.  The Executive Director and Founder, Joan Twining, gave us a tour of the facility.  This facility serves students with learning disabilities and uses horses to help students learn just how strong and capable they really are.  They have no funding source and currently work from donations, grants and the kind hearts of volunteers.

The indoor ring is incredible!  It is set with lighting that keeps shadows from occurring in the ring.  Plus, it is wired for sound so that teachers don’t need to raise their voice when children are riding.  There is a special ramp that helps children in wheelchairs be able to mount easier.  Joan told us that the donations received will be recognized with a memorial stirrup on the wall to remember Clown. 


It was a wonderful visit and taught us that horses are capable of some pretty amazing things and are truly a gift to us all.  Our thanks to Joan for showing us around her facility. 
If you would like to send a contribution, I am sure they would be happy to receive it!

Rose of Sharon Equestrian School, Inc.
PO Box 156
Glen Arm, MD 21057

Goshen Hunt at Rolling Acres!!

A few days ago, the Goshen Hunt/Hounds had a meet here at our farm! It was so neat to see them enjoying our beautiful property and we loved hosting them. Also, one of our own boarders, Robin Feldman, even got dressed up and went hunting! Looking sharp Robin!

Here is a photo of Robin:

And check out this great photo that Sheryl Sutherby took of the hunt heading out:

Mid-Atlantic Young Rider Equitation Festival Results!

This past weekend, some of the Rolling Acres riders competed in the Mid-Atlantic Young Rider Equitation Festival and did very well!

Hannah Showell & Axtrex – Reserve Champion in the Mid-Atlantic Young Rider Equitation Finals

Hannah & Adam Showell with Axtrex at the Mid Atlantic Equitation Festival
Ashley Foster, Hannah Showell, Brianna Sims winning the Team Award at MAEF  (Picture by Patty Foster)
Bernadette Coyle and her new partner Lorca – Reserve Champion at their first show!  
(picture by proud Mama!)

Sending a special congrats Katie Kranking Pre-adult Equitation Champion and Bernadette who finished in 2nd! Ashley Foster was the 15-17 Champion overall flat winner! Brianna Sims placed  2nd, 2nd, and 2nd in the Medal and ASPCA divisions. Hannah Showell was 2nd and winner of the Medal and ASPCA classes. Congratulations to Erika who had ribbons in the Adult Equitation class and Alyson who had ribbons in the 15-17 division. Also, great job Ashley B. and Alexis for solid rides !! Way to go Rolling Acres riders on superb riding! We are so proud of ALL of you!

Oh, and we can’t forget… Rolling Acres won High Score Barn, High Score Team, and
High Score Trainer.  Guess they cleaned up just a “little” bit 🙂

 Photo by Cheryl Gannon.

Also, sharing a poster for an upcoming event, that features one of our boarder’s (Robin Feldman) daughter – Allie Feldman (Class of 2015).  She is at Washington University and is in their  cappella group and this is their latest concert.  Pretty cool!