This was a wonderful, busy year: we had 2 beautiful foals born in May; a colt and a filly, both by Sinatra Song.
This year's Stone Tavern put us in the ribbons again: 1st place in Fillies of 2010 and 2nd place in Colts of 2010, with our filly, Sandy, not only qualifying for the East Coast Finals at Devon, but also winning the Foal Championship as well!
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The weekend before Devon, we hosted the Danish Warmblood Inspection Sept 25 2010, and boy, was it a success! Four out of the six horses we presented received DH status--very unusual and quite an accomplishment according to Danish Judge Poul Graugaard. (We might have gotten more DH's, but the last two were only foals!)
Just wait until next time!
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This year's Dressage at Devon led us to the discovery that not all our horses are mudders. Nevertheless, Frankie placed 6th in the Colts of 2010 and won the IBC Danish Warmblood, while Sandy took the 2nd!
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Sadly, we lost three of our most marvelous senior citizens this year. What an honor and pleasure it has been to serve these venerable horses in their later years.
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"Frankie"
"Sandy"
"Alex"
aged 28
Bucks County Breed Show was a good one for Frankie--1st place, Yearling Colts (which qualified him for the East Coast Finals at Devon). He then went on to win the Colt Championship and was Reserve Young Horse. Go Frankie!
The Stone Tavern Breed Shows were also good for Frankie on the second day, he was 1st place, Yearling Colts and Reserve Colt Champion.
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Lea and her 15 year-old handler, Mary Beth, won her Amateur Handler class also on the second day at Stone Tavern.
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Frankie's big sister, Lucy, performed pretty well at Stone Tavern too--2nd place, Maiden / Yeld Mares and Mare Champion on the first day, and 1st place Maiden / Yeld Mares; Reserve Mare Champion; Reserve Mature Horse & Reserve Grand Champion the second day. Lucy qualified for the East Coast Finals at Devon, as well. And over the 2-day show, Lucy won all but one of her six Under Saddle classes, getting one red and five blues!
Go Lucy!
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Dressage At Devon's Breed Show was very satisfactory. Frankie was 5th in the East Coast Yearling Colts Finals and 2nd in the IBC Danish Warmblood.
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Big sister Lucy was 5th in her 5 year old Suitability class, 2nd in Mares Under Saddle (yay!) and 5th in 5 year old Mare Materiale. She also placed 8th in her East Coast Maiden Mares Finals and won the IBC Danish Warmblood class-phew!
Frankie and Lucy representing their dam, Legate, were 6th in the Produce of Dam and our farm was 3rd in the Breeder's Group.
Not too shabby!
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Now a bit of sad news: Our farm lost one of our best and kindest school masters this fall. Abby was a hands-down favorite among our students and family and will be very sorely missed by all.
"Abby"
(aged 24)
Good, good pony
"Trigger"
aged 31
"Takie"
aged 32
Have fun up there, boys!
Older News
Highlights of 2011:
Highlights of 2012:
Meet the newest member of our team, Jack:
Welcome Jack!
(shown here riding his best girl, Rosie)
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This was quite the productive year for our farm--we had a big, beautiful filly born in April by Landtinus, out of Legata.
"Lela"
Lela had a good show at the Stone Tavern Breed Show--2nd place with a 78.5%, Fillies of 2012 (qualifying her for the East Coast Finals at Devon), and finished as Reserve Foal Champion.
Dressage at Devon was also good for Lela--3rd place with a 79.7%, Fillies of 2012 and 4th place in the East Coast Finals. She and big sister Lady represented their dam Legata, to place 4th in the Produce of Dam, and placed 5th in the Breeder's Group.
Keep up the good work, Lela!
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At the end of June, Jack and Adrie started backing our two 4 year olds: Rosie and Lady, and got them going well enough under saddle for us to consider actually showing them, crazy fools that we are!
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In addition to riding Rosie in his (and her) very first trail pace this year (the annual TTA Trail Pace at Christie Hoffman Park), 15 year old Jack rode Rosie in his first-ever horse show at Stone Tavern, placing 3rd in the Mare Materiale class--Rosie had been under saddle at that time for only two months! Rosie also placed 2nd in hand in the Maiden Mares class at Stone Tavern.
Three and a half weeks later Jack rode Rosie in the Mare Materiale class at Dressage at Devon, placing 9th (making Devon his second show ever).
Awesome, Jack!
Mary Beth handled Rosie to win the Amateur Handler class at Stone Tavern this year.
Although already a seasoned competitor and C-2 Pony Clubber, this year was 16 year old MaryBeth's very first time showing at Devon--placing 8th riding Rosie in the Mares Under Saddle class; and to top it off, Mary Beth and Rosie won the Junior Handler class with a 79.4%!
Way to go, Mary Beth!
(and of course...)
Super job, Rosie!!
(What a good 4 Year old--piloted by Juniors!)
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Lady also started off her first year showing at Stone Tavern--3rd place in hand in Maiden Mares & Reserve Mare Champion and was the winner of the Mare Materiale.
(Just going under saddle for two months, folks!)
Three and a half weeks after that, Lady was showing at Dressage at Devon and despite some struggles with "big-show" show nerves, placed 6th in Suitable to become a Dressage Horse, and 6th in Mares Under Saddle. Along with little sister Lela, Lady represented their dam Legata, to place 4th in the in the Produce of Dam, and placed 5th in the Breeder's Group.
Good job, Lady!
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Our Sport Pony, Noel made her showing debut at NEDA's Breed Show at HITS in Saugerties this fall. She won her Sport Pony in Hand class with a 71.7%, and placed 2nd in Sport Ponies Under Saddle. (By the way, when a white pony is clipped, it looks pink--Peter showed a pink pony at HITS!)
The very next day, 12 year old student Stephanie rode Noel on the TTA Trail Pace at Christie Hoffman Park--Stephanie's first-ever.
(The day after that, Noel needed a nap.)
Atta-girl, Noel!
A special note: As many of you may have suspected, Christmas Eve is a significant day for our Noel--it's her birthday and she has just turned 8! Since student Sarah hasn't been able to come out to the farm for quite some time, we trailered Noel on Christmas Eve to Sarah's house (along with some cupcakes) for a much needed birthday celebration visit. And wouldn't you know it; Santa had left a bag of apples and carrots under the tree just for Noel!
How did Santa know we were coming??
Happy Birthday, Noel!
"This was the best Christmas present, ever!"
(We'll be seeing you soon, Sarah!)
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Now for this year's sad news: This spring our farm lost two more of our fabulous educators: Ace and De-Lila. De-Lila was the newest addition to our lesson program and was just hitting her stride in what she had to offer her riders.
Not so with Ace--a long-term resident of the farm, not enough can be said about this truly most wonderful of school masters. His kind and generous nature, combined with his funny personality and great athleticism made for such a very special horse. His million dollar spirit will always be a part of all who knew him.
"De-Lila"
(aged 9)
"Ace"
(aged 26)
We'll be seeing you in the park, guys--bring Abby along, too!
Highlights of 2010:
Highlights of 2013:
Adrie and Peter are pleased to report that Nearfield Farm's Lady Luck was selected as one of the 5 year-olds to participate in the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Training Session.
The Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Program (for 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old horses) promotes the importance of selective breeding and correct training of horses in the United States, and encourages participation of breeders, riders, and trainers of young horses in dressage competition. The purposes of this program are to encourage the properly structured development of young dressage prospects through the training scale; to identify and recognize outstanding talent and the training of international-caliber horses; and to prepare these horses for future careers at the FEI level and participation on U.S. High Performance teams.
Lady was certainly able to hold her own in the field of talented youngsters that were presented this weekend!
http://www.usefnetwork.com/news/9870/2013/4/18/participants_enjoy_third_markeluse.aspx
Our thanks to Scott, Cindi, Steve, and the USEF for providing this wonderful venue and terrific training opportunity.
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We are proud to announce that student Jack Murray has received his USEF High School Equestrian Athlete patch!
"The new High School Equestrian Athlete program is open to equestrian athletes in all breeds or disciplines who are enrolled in grades 9-12, and are currently USEF members, or become USEF members. The program will run June 1–May 31 of each year, and will honor those who document their training and competition involvement by awarding emblems and pins."
Jack was awarded this patch in recognition of his dedication to his riding over this past year, fitting it in along with his soccer, wrestling and lacrosse. Quite an accomplishment for such a busy and talented high school athlete!
Go Jack!!
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Student Stephanie made a splash showing Noel this year--at the NJ Pony Breeders All Pony Show (getting that pesky right lead canter) and was a hit in the costume class as Paris Hilton with Noel as her 'chihuahua', Tinkerbell.
Stephanie and Noel also made their debut winning both Intro tests A&B at Applewood's schooling show--look out, Training Level!
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This year's NEDA's Fall Festival was quite a success for 1 year old Lela--Winner of the Yearling Fillies with a 76% & Winner of the Born in America Award. (Lela would also have placed third in the Breed Show Futurity if we'd known that we had to be on site to receive it--oops!)
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In mid-June, Jack and Adrie started backing our two 3 year olds: Frankie and Sandy, and of course saw no reason not to show them under saddle two and a half months later!
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Frankie placed 2nd in the 3 year old Colts class at Stone Tavern. and made his under saddle debut this year at Dressage at Devon in the 3 year old Colt Materiale class.
Rider conflicts at DAD made a warm-up impossible, so poor Frankie went in the ring practically cold.
He placed 10th with a 72%, but what a very good boy he was to deal with that intimidating situation. (Did I mention that it was Frankie's first time ridden off-farm?!
Good boy, Frank!
Frankie's sister, Sandy showed under saddle for the first time too this year--placing 2nd in the 3 year old Fillies Materiale class at NEDA Fall Festival in her first time ridden off the farm, and winning the IBC Danish Warmblood class (breaking a tie with her big sister, Lady!).
At Dressage at Devon, Sandy placed 5th in her 3 year old Filly Materiale class with a 73.4%. Not bad for a filly still clearly adjusting to her big frame!
Smile for the camera, Sandy!
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Sandy's big sister, Lady won her 4 & 5 year old Mare Materiale class at Stone Tavern this year with a 72.9% and was Materiale Reserve Champion with a 73.2%! At NEDA she placed 4th in her 4 & 5 year old Materiale class, and was 2nd in the IBC Danish Warmblood class (after losing a tie to her little sis, Sandy!)
Overcoming show nerves at Dressage at Devon, Lady placed 8th in the Mares Under Saddle class, 6th in the 5 year old Suitability, and was able to place 6th in the Mare Materiale class. (It's just a matter of time...)
Lookin' good, Lady!
Lastly, Peter and Adrie are sad to announce the loss of our wonderful broodmare, Legate. A firm but kind matriarch, Legate clearly stamped her offspring--sharing with them her refinement, fire, as well as her classic Thoroughbred good looks. Mother of nine foals, she is survived here at the farm by three daughters--one (Lucinda Z) is the spitting image of Legate in her prime!
"Legate"
(aged 25)
Our beautiful girl.
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(pink hooves!)
