Read the previous issue of the Spring Down Low Down: Vol. 6, Issue 2 - Fall & Winter 2009

For questions regarding the Spring Down Low Down please contact: Diane Allison (650) 564-9006 allisonjdmh@aol.com

Spring Down Low Down Newsletter

The newsletter of Spring Down Equestrian Center

Summer 2010

WELCOME

Summer is upon us at last, despite a record rainy season. Drought conditions for the last couple of years make it hard to complain...but it is certainly wonderful to have some sunny, dry weather. Our all weather jumping arena is worth its weight in gold, because we were able to have the majority of our jumping lessons outside even in
very wet and rainy conditions. Of course we also have our covered arena in which we can ride all year round as well, no matter what Mother Nature has in store.

Spring Down has some wonderful events in the upcoming months: our June Horse Show, another great Nick Karazissis riding clinic, the best Summer Horsemanship Camps around, Carol Goodstein’s famous Safety Clinic, an English Riding Clinic for the San Mateo County Horseman’s association in August, and the culmination of a great summer with our Spring Down Barn Party Celebration. Check out our calendar for exact dates of all these events.

HORSE SHOW UPDATES

Spring Down hosts four horse shows a year, in March, June, September, and December. Spring Down would like to thank our incredible local horse community for coming out in force to our March show... we had record attendance with over 105 participants! Spring Down hosts very professional shows, with opportunities for all level riders and horses. The jumping courses are expertly designed, the arena footing is outstanding, the judges are friendly, fair, and knowledgeable, our staff is extremely helpful to everyone, and the atmosphere at the show is supportive, stressing horsemanship and sportsmanship rather than only competition. It warms the hearts of all of the Spring Down staff to know that our local horse community supports our efforts and hard work to produce this kind of horse show. We do need to continue to have this incredible support to continue these shows, so we hope to see you all there in September, and December!

Our show on June 6th shaped up to be another wonderful event. We did not have quite as large a turn out as in March, but we do appreciate all the support we did get from outside riders. We presented a very patriotic drill team exhibition, with costumes and music that knocked everyone’s socks off. Our arenas were beautifully decorated in red, white, and blue to celebrate Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Flag Day!

Our horse shows would not exist without the tireless efforts of all of the folks who volunteer... from the parking crew who comes at 6:30 AM to make sure all the cars are parked in the most efficient way, to the folks who take tickets at the busy gates of both arenas-and all the other volunteer jobs as well... you all know who you are. The entire staff of Spring Down thanks you from the bottom of its heart because we all value the important jobs that you do! Thank you horse show volunteers!!

All that said, it seems to be more and more difficult and time consuming these days to get volunteers for our horse shows. The show manager puts up a sign up sheet on the bulletin board for horse show volunteers about a month before the show, but, typically, no one signs up. The show manager then has to call everyone who is in the show, to see if they are interested in volunteering. This often amounts to hours and hours of phone calls…which unfortunately are necessary if no one takes the time to sign up. So, the bottom line is, if you are capable of volunteering in one of our horse shows, please look out for the volunteer sign up sheet, and please sign up at your earliest convenience. Each horse show requires approximately 20 volunteers, so please look out for the sign up sheet when it is put up at the end of August, and sign up for your favorite station. We need folks to announce, folks to man the gates and take tickets, folks to help be runners and hand out ribbons and prizes ,folks to help out at the show office, and folks to help out with parking in the early morning. The Spring Down staff can physically do all of these things, b/c there are just not enough of us. So, anyone who is interested and capable, please sign up to help out at the September 19th Horse Show!!

HORSE SHOW INS AND OUTS

So have you wondered why some folks win ribbons in the flat classes and others don’t? A lot depends on the category of class in which you are entered. In any flat class that is an EQUITATION class, the judge is looking primarily at the rider’s position and technique. Some of the things the judge will consider are the following: having your eyes up and looking ahead, having your shoulders back, a good posture with a straight back, elbows at your sides, palms facing each other with thumbs up, fingers closed on the reins, seat in the center of the saddle, heels down, and a straight line from your shoulders to your hips to your heel. Also, it is very important to be on the correct posting diagonal, or the correct canter lead, b/c that is critical for the balance of the horse and rider.

In the HUNTER UNDER SADDLE classes, the judge is primarily judging the horse’s movements and manners. The rider’s equitation is important here because it will influence the way the horse goes...but the judge is really judging the movements and manners of the horse related to how well you are riding him.

WELCOME TO NEW HORSES AND THEIR OWNERS AT SPRING DOWN!

Buster - Ashlie St. Clair

Chester - SDEC

Chase and Montana - Kathy Kopf

Duncan - Melinda Dunn

Silver - Mitra Arani

WELCOME TO NEW BARN CATS

Baby Kitten

Spring Down adopted a baby kitten when a feral cat, who we were supposed to adopt, came herself with a kitten of only 2 weeks old. When this mother cat ran away, we were left to raise this very cute and wonderful baby kitten.

SPRING DOWN STARS

Go look at the STARS of Spring Down who work tirelessly, patiently and lovingly to teach our riders how to ride. We couldn’t do what we do without our horses! They are trained to do a special job here, keeping new or experienced riders safe, as well as patiently guiding us to new challenges in the arena. Coming soon are the Spring Down Trading Cards, where you can ride your favorite horse and then collect, and trade horse cards of your favorite mount!

MONDAY IS MOTHER’S DAY

Every Monday at SDEC, from 1PM—2:30 PM, we are hosting a new and wonderful group of ladies/Mothers who are very interested in learning all there is to know about riding and dealing with horses. These lessons not only include a lesson to teach and improve riding skills, but every week we have a special lecture on an important aspect of horse care or horsemanship. When one owns a horse, really the riding is only 25% of the time that is necessary in dealing with all aspects of the care of the horse...so SDEC has launched this new program to try to teach folks all of this other very important information.

During our regular lessons, we do try to squeeze in as much information as we can about the other aspects of horse care and horsemanship... but this special Ladies group affords us the time to go into more depth about the training of horses, veterinary care, nutritional needs, horse show preparation, horse psychology, and many, many more topics.

Come and join us on Mondays, from 1—2PM! Please see the SDEC office to schedule these lessons.

DRILL TEAM UPDATE

The Spring Down Drill Team, "Spring Down Rhythm `N Blues" performed an outstanding routine at our horse show on June 6th decked out in patriotic costumes. Look for a video soon of this performance on the Spring Down YouTube Channel! These dedicated groups of riders come to Spring Down at 8AM every Saturday and Sunday morning to practice their equine choreography with their coach, Carol Goodstein.

Riding in a drill team teaches you many riding skills, and you are having so much fun "dancing" with your horse, that you are not even aware how much you are learning!! Carol is currently looking for more members for "Spring Down Rhythm `N Blues", so please consider joining this wonderful team. Contact the office if you are interested, and then you can try the Sunday team to see how things work.

The current members of the Saturday advanced drill team are as follows: Sarah Boyd, Britta Buehneman, Alecia Cairo,Kris Clark -Hahn, Dina Gabriel, Deb Lyons, Laurel Saldinger, and Kelcy Senz.

The current members of the Sunday team are as follows: Kore Chan, Jillian Li, Jennifer McLean, Cathy Siegel, and Julia Wettersten.

The drill team alternates are Nicole Elsineitti, Robyn Ogilvie, and Caroline Warde.

TACK-UP LESSONS

Spring Down will be continuing to offer group tack-up lessons on a monthly basis. The lessons are scheduled every Sunday, at noon, for one hour.
"Why take this lesson?," you may ask. At Spring Down, we teach comprehensive horsemanship, not just horseback riding. A very important component of horsemanship is understanding the equipment you are using on any given horse: both how it is put on, and how and why it works. The group tack-up lessons will allow time both for demonstration of the equipment that we use, and hands on practice with someone standing by for instruction and assistance.

General grooming and equipment used for grooming will also be taught in the tack-up lesson. And, of course, as we are very safety conscious here at Spring Down, techniques for keeping both you and your horse safe will be taught so that everyone is safe and comfortable during the grooming and tacking-up procedures.

Please see the office to schedule yourself into one of these tack up lessons. If you are unable to make the group lessons, a private lesson may be arranged. The group lessons are preferable, because the hour time will allow you to become familiar with more different types of equipment and also allows for more time to practice. A private lesson is the next best thing, however, if that is what your schedule will allow.

NEWS FROM THE OFFICE

As we get into summer schedules, please remember that Spring Down has a strict 24 hour cancellation policy. If you do not cancel with 24 hours notice, you will be charged for your lesson. This means that, if you have a lesson at 12 noon on Wednesday, you need to cancel your lesson by 12 noon on Tuesday. If you call to cancel at 4PM on Tuesday, you will still be charged a late cancel feel. This policy exists because we need to plan our instructors and horses schedules in advance. We have reserved your teacher's time for you, your horse's time for you, and very often the horse has been tacked up by one of our grooms.

When requesting a specific horse for a lesson, everyone needs to understand that it is just that: a request. The office will make every effort to honor that request, but sometimes we have ten requests for the same horse in a given day. Also, all the horses at Spring Down need to get exercise each and every day, so it is our responsibility to make sure that each horse gets ridden by someone (and that one horse doesn't get ridden too much). We try to match the horses and riders as best as possible, but please remember that each horse can teach you some new and different skills. Everyone should be here to learn more about horseback riding AND horsemanship...not just to ride the same horse over and over again. Be flexible, and you'll be surprised at how many new horse friends you will acquire by branching out a bit... and at how much you will learn.

CALENDAR:

HORSE SHOW DATES: (2010)
September 19h
December 5th

SUMMER CAMP IS HERE! (2010)
July 5th - July 16th
July 19th - July 30th
August 2nd - August 13th
August 16th - August 27th
(One week sessions available!)

INTERMEDIATE CAMP: (2010)
June 14th—17th
June 21st—24th
August—TBD

NICK CLINICS: (2010)
June 29th, 30th, and July 1st
October 5th, 6th, & 7th

SAFETY CLINIC:
- with Carol Goodstein
July 17th

SMCHA ENGLISH RIDING CLINIC:
August 2,9,16, and 23

SD ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION:
August 29th

MINI CAMPS

Our new monthly program "Crazy About Horses" has been quite successful for those that only have a day to spend with horses and get their "boots wet." It is a perfect option for the parent, friend, or grandparent to ride along with their horse crazy kid. The camp is from 10 AM - 2PM covering many aspects of horsemanship: safety around horses, horse management and care, grooming, understanding how to put on special equipment, a live demonstration, and of course, RIDING! Be sure to sign up early as this program is very popular!

Next 2010 DATES:
September 11, and November 13.

GIRL SCOUT "HORSE RIDER" BADGE PROGRAMS

We've been working with the Girl Scouts of Northern California as an approved vendor. The standard Horse Rider badge is $40 per rider. We currently offer the Horse Rider and now Horse Fan badge to all troops. Each troop can earn 2 badges in one visit for a special price of $65 per rider. For the Brownies, we are offering the Horse and Pony Try It patch for those young scouts! Learn more...

15 FOR 15

Do you finally get in the groove after the first half of your lesson, and need just a little more time to figure out how to get things right? We are offering, during the slower times of the day (Mon - Fri, 9AM - 2PM) 15 extra minutes of lesson time for $15 dollars. If your instructor is available, the extra time can be just the ticket to boost your confidence. Contact the office within 24 hours of your lesson to see if the 15 for 15 is available for your next lesson!

SGIL HELPER TRAINING PROGRAM

Work at the barn to help pay for your next riding lesson? Is that possible? We have many special events at the barn and need helpers to assist in making them successful. Here are the qualifications:

Must be at least 12 years old.
Experienced intermediate level rider.
We will have you shadow and train under an instructor.
Available on either Saturdays or Sundays.
All hours worked will be paid and put in your pre-paid account toward lessons, shows, clinics, or board.

Contact Diane Allison at allisonjdmh@aol.com for more info

WELCOME NEW SPRING DOWN EMPLOYEES!

Spring Down is introducing two instructors who have been teaching for us for a while now... but they have recently become fixtures in out instructor schedule, with lots of standing clients of their own who love them. These two wonderful young equestrians are Laurel Saldinger and Kelcy Senz. Both of these young ladies have been riding for many, many years, most recently taking lessons with Carol Goodstein as two of her most outstanding students. Both Laurel and Kelcy have been High Point winners at our Spring Down Horse Shows...so they are truly experts in their riding skill

Laurel and Kelcy will both be teaching Spring Down Summer Camp this summer season, but they will also be teaching regular lessons. Please see the Spring Down office to see when you might be able to meet these young equestrians and take a lesson with them! They specialize in teaching young children - introducing them to the wonderful world of horses and horsemanship!

SPRING DOWN HORSES’ RETIREMENT

Two of our beloved school horses, Tess and Bonita, have recently been retired to go and live out the remainder of their lives in Pescadero. A bunch of other retired SD horses: Bubbles, Belle, Jolie, Max, Moose, and Reggie are all living there as well. These horses have lived a wonderful and fulfilling life here at Spring Down, teaching countless people how to ride and care for horses. Due to medical reasons, or simply reasons due to advanced age, they are no longer sound enough consistently to be able to be in our lesson program—so they have been retired to a wonderful facility in Pescadero where they can be in a pasture and live out their lives just being a horse!

Portia, another one of our beloved lesson horses, will probably retire and live out the remainder of her life here at Spring Down. She has a tendon that is very fragile in her right front foot making it impossible for her to be in a pasture where she might reinjure herself. She also has an eye condition that does not allow her to be in direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time. As long as she is comfortable, she will remain with us here at Spring Down.

We realize that this is a difficult time, economically, for a lot of people. These horses will continue to need regular care, in the way of feeding, board, shoeing, medications etc... as well as any extra veterinary care they may require. If you are so inclined to contribute to a retirement fund for these wonderful animals, please see the SD office. Your contributions will be appreciated more than you can realize, both by the wonderful horses you are supporting, and the SD staff and family who love them.

MOMMY AND ME

This program has turned out to be a smashing success. It is a series of 3 classes designed to introduce the smallest member of your family to horses while spending some quality time with Mom or Dad. As a group, you'll be introduced to safety, horse's ground manners, and you will get comfortable around horses. We'll teach you all about their special equipment, grooming and tacking up, and learning to ride. Each class may include the use of a vaulting horse, grooming, a riding lesson, and a special lesson about some aspect of horsemanship, geared to the little ones.. The series is a scheduled class, so look for upcoming dates!

Please see this page and the office for more info.

Session 1: 9/10, 9./17, 9/24
Session 2: 10/12, 10/19, 10/26
Session 3: 11/1, 11/8, 11/15

SDEC times for this class are scheduled from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM. If you have capability for registering through Park and Rec in Redwood City, Los Altos, and San Carlos, there may be availability to sign up for the earlier group from 10:00AM - 11:30 PM. You must register through Park and Rec to get into this time slot.

SPRING DOWN UPDATE

Starting with our June 6th Horse Show, Spring Down chose the horse rescue organization, Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue, for which to begin a campaign to raise funds. We are planning to continue to raise money for this organization at the remainder of our events for the Summer and Fall seasons.

Lifesavers offers a number of educational programs and clinics designed to support the horse-owning public. Clinics offered include basic horse care, natural horsemanship, and Wild Horse Boot Camp, which is a hands-on experience in which participants learn to safely and effectively handle and train a wild horse.

Mustangs come to Lifesavers from many sources such as the Bureau of Land Management and the Nevada Dep’t. of Agriculture. Also, other horses are surrendered by their owners who adopt or purchase them and later realize they are not capable of caring for such a horse. Many of Lifesaver’s horses were purchased from public auctions to prevent them from going to “killer buyer” who buy and sell unwanted horses for meat.

YOU CAN HELP!! Visit Lifesaver’s web site at www.wildhorserescue.org for more info about how to support this group.

ARE YOU READY TO JOIN A GROUP?

A frequently asked question is " When will I (or my child) be able to join a group?" There is no one answer to that question, because every person, no matter how young or old, learns skills at a different rate. In my experience as an instructor, the time may vary from just a few months, to over a year or more. But, there are a few key criteria from which we instructors judge whether or not joining a group is feasible:

Can you get your horse out of the stall to the arena, and back again after the lesson SAFELY AND CORRECTLY? Parents, a hint to expedite this process for your smaller child is to learn how to do this too so that you can assist your child. There can sometimes be 6 or 7 folks in a group, and one instructor can not help everyone in the group to and from the stall.
You must be able to check and tighten your girth, and also adjust your stirrups MOSTLY BY YOURSELF. This does not mean that your instructor will not help you at all, but it DOES mean that you must make a good effort to get as much done by yourself as you can.
You must have good skills at mounting the horse safely.
You must be able to do a posting trot ON THE RAIL BY YOURSELF WITHOUT MUCH ASSISTANCE. This includes being able to start, stop, and steer by yourself.
Do you know how close you can safely get to the horse in front of you? Do you know what to do if you think you will get too close, i.e. pass safely, cut across the arena, or circle safely? Your instructors can assist with your refining these skills, but the basic knowledge and ability must be there.
A basic understanding of posting diagonals is necessary. Of course, your instructor will continue to help you with this skill, but it must be understood by the rider.
Do you know how to dismount safely by yourself? Your instructor can not assist everyone in a group without taking too much time away from the lesson.

There are, to recap, lots of requirements for being able to join a group. The bottom line for the necessity of these requirements is to ensure the safety of all the riders. Remember, there is only one instructor in a group, so each rider must possess the basic riding skills to ride responsibly and safely.

DO YOU WANT TO JUMP?

Our goal at Spring Down is to help people to acquire the skills to do whatever type of riding interests them. Jumping is one part of the equestrian experience, and although it can be very exciting, it is also very demanding and challenging.

It is essential that you have mastered your flat work before you start jumping. After all, jumping is really advanced flat work with obstacles. Having solid flat skills is vital for your safety and security.

The following guidelines provide the minimum essentials that are required before you are able to safely and securely start jumping:

Must be able to maintain good balance, steering, and control of the horse at all gaits: walk, trot, and canter.
Must be able to walk and trot without stirrups. The instructor should not notice any difference in leg position or effectiveness with or without stirrups.
Two-point seat must be strong and balanced, with the ability to do poles at the trot and canter.
Must be able to stay in two-point seat at the canter three times around the indoor arena, or one time around the big, jumping
arena.
Must be able to execute circles at the canter effectively.
Must be able to drop and regain stirrups at all gaits.
Must know diagonals and leads.
Must have a basic knowledge of simple and flying lead changes.

"Make the wrong thing difficult and the right thing easy."
- Carol Goodstein

Read the previous issue of the Spring Down Low Down: Vol. 6, Issue 2 - Fall & Winter 2009