The Show Team from Blue Ribbon Farms teamed up with the girls softball team from Carlow College for a night of fun, food, friendship and of course horses. The night at the races fundraiser was a great success! Thanks to everyone who attended. The funds raised will go towards offsetting some of the expenses for the All American Youth Horse Show in Colombus next May and for expenses for the Carlow College Girls Softball Team. Thank you to all who participated in making this night happen and a special thanks to Bob Sirko for doing a great job announcing.
The Hunter Pace ladies at Blue Ribbon Farms are finishing the year with a bang.
These ladies placed in this year’s Mini Trial series at every event.The series started in May and finished up in October.
Left to Right :Ann Ridley, Pam Kendrew, Colleen Karnes, Brenda Greco,JoAnn Pappas, Kate Keech
For those of you that are unfamiliar with the sport, here is how it works.. You put an English saddle on your horse, (you know the one that doesn’t have a horn to hold on to), Put on a helmet, and it’s a good idea to wear a safety vest, then go to an open field /forest where no one can hear you scream and start running as fast as you can until you come to a jump that looks like someone with a mean streak put together.. Then do this for 25-30 jumps in a 4-6 mile stretch and compete against the “official optimal time” that could be imaginary for all you know…..Let’s see.. We’ve jumped whisky barrels, canoes, stone walls, benches, ditches, we’ve jumped into water , out of water, a wooden pallet (that was a mistake by the way, it was to block the trail that was full of mud as we soon found out) and my favorite jump... a Choo-Choo Train.. What a great time it is..Join us!
Pam Kendrew and Pokey jumping the train
Colleen Karnes and Tessa jumping out of the water on to the flat
Ann & Rosco
Sunny Days
A gang from Blue Ribbon headed south to the beach for an end of summer vacation in Ocean City, Md. Dan and Chris along with the Ingram family and Forrest Swoagger, Melaina, Dillon and Colton Swogger, Paige and Zack Prawucki had a great time at the beach boogie boarding, building sand castles and burying each other in the sand. Of course there was the boardwalk, go carts, seafood restaurants and crabbing in the sound. We had beautiful weather just a week before the hurricane. What a nice way to end a busy summer. Thanks to Jess and Hannah for taking care of the barn while we were gone.
Findlay Tack Swap
It was a bright sunny Saturday afternoon when the BRF gang headed to Findlay Ohio for the annual tack swap. The group consisted of Chris McLaughlin, Colleen Karnes, Karen and Paige Prawucki, Heidi and Hannah Shepler, Suzanne and Sarah Timmerman accompanying them was Suzanne’s friend Darcy and Grandma Sally, Joni and Sabrina Perilli, Jess and Melaina Swogger, Kim, LeighAnn, and Sarah Fisher . We were also accompanied by Joy, Auberly, and Ainsley Berringer. Greatly missed was everyone favorite shopping Dad Stephen Ingram. We traveled to Findlay and stayed at a hotel so that we would be up bright and early ready to shop. The night was full of swimming by the kids, pizza and of course the adults socializing and the entertainment for the night Colleen. There was one hotel room that had several mishaps along the way. Sunday morning everyone was up early and headed to the lobby for breakfast after breakfast it was off to a fun filled day of shopping. The tack swap has everything you can imagine for you and your horse. We all walked away with a bunch a bargains. This tack swap is an annual event held by the Great Lakes Appaloosa Horse Club. To find out more information their link is www.glaphc.com.
HORSE 101 for Adults
A special Thank You to Connie Korner for her horse 101 class. This was offered free of charge to all the adults in the barn.This class included the basics of grooming, saddling, tack, and some health care.Also included was basic leading, handling and riding.The class was done over 6 Saturdays and was attended by parents of the riders from the barn and newer adult students.Learned a lot,ate a lot, laughed a lot. (that’s how we do most everything!)
FALL ADULT TRAIL RIDE
A mix of parents, adult students and boarders loaded up and headed to RaccoonCreekState Park for our second annual Fall foliage trail ride. The weather could not have been nicer. Although this was a first for many,we did have some riders who were also on the ride last year. ( and a few that went last year who we missed seeing this year.)Other than a few sore behinds,the ride went off without a hitch.
MOVIE NIGHT
The BRF showteam met for a night out to celebrate Connie’s Birthday. Parents, Kids and Connie dined at Steak and Shake then headed to the theater to see Secretariat.Chris couldn’t attend because she is too muchof a baby and cries at all animal movies! (how embarrassing!)
CEDAR POINT
We had a energetic group rise and shine during the early morning hours of August 14th to drive to SanduskyOhio to attend CedarPointAmusement Park.Shortly after arriving it was agreed that the goal would be to ride every roller coaster in the park.Starting with the smallest, least thrilling kiddy land coaster still proved to be too much for Dawn and Chris.They were done for the day but all the other thrill seekers marched through the park conquering every coaster in their path.After every ride, we heard the all too common phrase “well I didn’t die” from some blonde headed Swogger child.Even though the lines were short we were still out of time before the last two coasters were ridden.Those will have to be the first two next year!
