11/23/05 WEF closed of the eventing season in fine form! We took a large group to Full Moon Farm's starter event and everyone had a blast- whether or not they placed! Sierra and Starr finished off the year with a win in the BN division on a score of 30 (again!! They also won the dressage last weekend at Rubicon with a 30, and finished that event in 2nd by adding 1/6 xc time penelty!) This pair will be ready for Novice by mid season next year! Amy took her talented young horse, Felix, to his first event and the pair placed 2nd in BBH. Look out for this team next year! Jen and Miette had a great time in the Open Novice division and placed fourth. Other riders went also, did very well and learned a lot. Full Moon is a great starting point for green horses and/or green riders! In the Novice we had Mara and Rose. Mara rode exceptionally well around this challenging sj and xc course (N and BN had a bending line with 3 strides to a skinny!!) and this xc poses a lot of challenges with its famous port-a -potty jump, as well as many other decorated fences! In the BBN, we had Nina and Sam, Becky and Turk, and Lara and Foxy who all had great learning experiences and performing wonderfully! In the Elementary we had Kurstin and Luna as well as Lori and Topper. Again, both pairs put in a good performance! It's nice to have event season over with so we can now focus on the young horses and bringing them along for the next season, but at the same time - I will miss it a lot and be very ready to go again next spring! In the mean time, I am off for my yearly vacation to the Carribean - this year is Aruba! I can't wait! Shane, Liz, Ryan and I are all going from December 2nd to 11th. During that time, if you need anything please call the barn at (410) 552- 5022 and ask to speak to Amy, Lesley, Kerri or Catie. Any of those people can help you with questions about lessons, boarding, or seeing horses for sale! Or you can email me and I will respond when I return. I am also currently looking for another working student. If you are interested in this program, please see our informational page on the website and email me your resume. I encourage on site interviews when possible. Have a good Thanksgiving! Natalie 11/17/05 Waters Edge Farm has a special announcement from Rosewood Hill Farm, producer of some of Natalie's event horses, including Lt. Benz, Hot Chili Tilly, Ready to Rock, and Natalie's Advanced level competitor, High-Tech. Due to declining health of Rosewood Hill Farm's owners, the decision has been made to disperse their breeding stock. There are 9 registered TB mares who were each selected for their size, temperament, way-of-going, and excellent bloodlines. All are easy breeders, deliver unassisted, and are good mothers. All but one are in foal for 2006, and are priced to sell with additional discounts for multiple purchases. Also available is one registered TB stallion; SWEET DISPOSITIONED, easy to handle & breed. He consistently has put big handsome foals on the ground! Anyone interested in this rare opportunity, please contact Virginia Benz at (618) 357-3401 in the evenings. Natalie 11/15/05 Rubicon was a big success for Team Waters Edge! We had a beautiful weekend, a lovely course, and a great facility! I rode four horses and all performed great! Quin was 8th in a very competitive novice division, scoring a 29 on the flat and having one rail down to end on a score of 33. Victory had a good novice go as well, scoring a 36.5 and going clean xc and sj. Tilly was a star, placing third in BN with a 24.5 on the flat and 1 rail down to finish on a 28.5; and Shine was very good in the BN as well! She is still a bit green, but has tons of potential! Liz rode the talented Honorable Decision in the BN in fine form. He was excellent all three phases! This will be a serious horse for the future at the upper levels if anyone is looking to buy! Several of our students and boarders competed as well. Lauren and TJ were 4th with a 36 in BN. Sierra and Star were 2nd in BN with a 31.6 - Sierra won the dressage with a 30 and only added 1.6 time faults to her score. Mara and Rose did the BN as well - they have a couple of things to work on for next weekend at Full Moon before moving up to Novice, but I have great faith in this talented pair! Catie rode Trigger around the Novice in fine form and scored a 36 in dressage. Everyone loves watching this Halflinger go! Rebecca rode both her mares, Iona Grey and Airborne, in the OT and BN respectively and both went well all three phases. The challenging XC course did not make either of these bold horses bat an eye. Airborne was also super on the flat - scoring a 28.5! Kerri and Sparky (aka Trick of the Tale) were excellent too! They scored a 28 on the flat in BN and went well around sj and xc. Katy and her horse, Gizmo, had a great go around the Training too! Congrats to all!Many former WEF horses were also there. It is so fun to see these former horses out going! Kerry Blackmer had Miles in the Prelim and Encore in the Training. Mindy Maslin had Midnight Treasure in the Prelim as well. Rubicon marked the end of the season for me! I am happy to have some time to relax and work with the young horses in preperation for next year! Also - this is the time of the year I get to travel some and take a vacation. I am off to visit family in Texas November 24-28 and then to Aruba December 2-11. I can't wait! We have one more event this season to go to (I am coaching, not riding!) - we are taking 11 horses to Full Moon starter next weekend. Check back and see how that goes! Natalie 11/08/05 This past weekend we had a lot going on! We took several horses to Virginia HT in Lexington, VA. Liz rode Manhattan in the OI over a very challenging course. I rode Quin in the NH and had an excellent performance from her despite missing a turn on cross country in an A/B combination - she just jumped too big off the bank to turn! Oh well! Abby and her horse Tucker won the Novice with a 20.5 in her first recognized event! Kelsey won the Training with her wonder pony Maddie and Kerry Blackmer, on former WEF horse Miles, won the Prelim! Kerry was also riding another former WEF horse, Encore, in the Training and he turned in a great performance! Catie and Trigger were winning the Novice, but the same turn that got Quin also caught Trigger - but the pair had a great performance anyway! Rebecca also rode both her talented horses, Aireborne and Iona Grey, around the Novice and Training in fine form! Congrats to all - a very successful weekend! While we were away, several students and boarders went to the local starter at Waredaca HT. Lauren and TJ were 5th in the Novice at their first time at this level. Cassidy and Forte were 5th in the Training (former WEF horse Monarch), and Jamie and Simon were 7th in the BN. Congrats to all! Congrats to Britta Sole on the purchase of Ally Oop and Melissa Wrobleski on the purchase of Happily Ever After. Best of luck in the future to these new pairs! We are currently taking applications for winter/spring working students as well as summer/fall positions for next year. Email me to apply! This weekend we are off to Rubicon Farm HT - my last event of the season. Several boarders and students are going to the November 20th Full Moon event as well. So another couple weeks of eventing and then the season is over! We are planning on holding winter jumper shows once a month December through March, so keep an eye out for updates on those as well as possibly some more clinics! Natalie 11/02/05 This past weekend I was out of town, but WEF was well represented at Jenny Camp starter HT. Some of our working students competed there; Julia and her horse Spice were 5th in the BN in their first outing, Amy and WEF's Honor were 2nd in the BN, and Kerri and her own horse Sparky were 5th in BN! Many other students went with our staff - Mary was 4th with Cybele in her first Novice event, Lauren and Tejuana were 3rd in BN and will move up to Novice at their next event, Shelly and Chance were 8th in the BBN, and Sierra and Star were 4th in the BN. Congrats to all!!! We have a big group leaving tomorrow for Virginia HT as well as some students going to the local starter at Waredaca - check back to see how it goes! Contact the barn if you need anything while we are away! Big congrats to working student Catie on her purchase of Sea Pirate from WEF! This is a talented youngster we bought for resale about a month ago that Catie fell in love with! They should have a bright future ahead of them. Also, congrats to Cassidy and Forte (former WEF horse Monarch) for their 5th place finish at Waredaca – they rode in the Training Horse division and finished on their dressage score! Natalie 10/24/05 We have just had another busy week! Waredaca HT and Training Level Three Day Event was running most of the week, and several WEF horses and riders were there. Rebecca and Iona Grey did very well, placing 3rd and are now totally hooked on the long format and planning for a CCI* in the future! I went over several times during the week and I volunteered to help out by teaching these riders how to do their first three day. On Wednesday, Melissa and I taught them all how to jog up, and on Friday Phyllis and I walked the SJ course with them. This is a great program and I am very willing to help educate everyone about it. The Area II Adult Riders did a great job running this and got many top level riders and trainers to help out! Congrats also to Racheal Snyder and Eric's Charmer (formerly Isis, purchased from WEF) on their great performance at the three day! By Saturday, things had changed weather-wise; we got a ton of rain which meant that the horse trials became a combined test for the day! Bummer to miss out on cross country - but we still did well! Liz and Manhattan had an outstanding SJ round in the OI and are looking forward to doing VA HT in a couple weeks. I rode Victory in the Novice and we were quite a pair of DQ's scoring a 27! Catie rode Trigger in the ON and Rebecca also rode Airborne in the ON receiving a 32.5 on the flat! Congrats to all. The week before I was gone to Fair Hill CCI*** to help out my good friend Melissa and her awesome horse, Just Fun Stuff. Melissa had a wonderful dressage test and was having a great cross country go until her horse grabbed his heel and stumbled; he ended up falling down around a turn after fence 20. It really sucked as she was only 8 fences from home and they were doing so great! But, with eventing, those things happen - I told her I will come help her in the spring with Jersey Fresh and her 2 horses she will have going there! With my having all youngsters currently, I have a couple years before I am "back up there" but still love to help out my friends! My WEF shirt actually got to go around Fair Hill as Melissa had planned for cold weather and had only packed long sleeve shirts - so I loaned her my polo shirt for cross country! This weekend I am off to a music festival in Las Vegas and to see some friends. I will be gone October 28 - 31 so contact the barn at (410) 552-5022 if you need anything. After that, we are home two days and then off to Virginia Horse Trials! Time is flying by! While I am away, we have 10 horses going to Jenny Camp this weekend - should be exciting to see how everyone does! Natalie 10/07/05 WEF has had a busy couple of weeks! We went to Middleburg HT at the end of September and Quin once again performed really well, finishing on her dressage score to place 6th in a very competitive Novice division! Amy and Rose had a great go in the Novice as well, as did Rebecca Sherer and Iona Grey, who were 6th in their division as well! Also, Mindy Maslin has had a successful move up to Preliminary at Seneca with former WEF horse, Midnight Treasure, finishing 5th. Mindy was also a part time working student this summer, but has now returned to high school. Congrats to all! Last weekend I went to the Young Event Horse Finals with Tilly at Morven Park. She performed wonderfully and placed 7th in the four year old division of very competitive and fancy youngsters. I am very happy with her performance and excited about her talent and future! Also want to send out a congrats to my good friends Melissa on her 7th place finish in the Advanced division at Morven and to Pedro on his win in the YEH championship in the 5 year old division with his stallion. Both horse and rider combinations work with Phyllis at Windchase. On Sunday last weekend we ventured out with a large group to a new starter (for us) on the Eastern shore at Olde Hope Farm. It was a lovely event and WEF was well represented, bringing 12 horses! I rode Tasmin Tiger to 4th place in BNH - this horse is such a star for the future! Liz rode the talented Honorable Decision in the BNH as well, as did Kerri, who was 2nd with Happily Ever After. Check these 3 horses out on our for sale page! Working student Catie won the ON division with her horse Trigger, Jen and Miette were 2nd in the NH, Shelly and Chance were 7th in BBNH, and Nina and Sam were 5th in BBNH. Also competing were Kurstin and Luna in EL, Lauren and Tejanua in BNH, Kerri and Sparky in BNH, Sierra and Star in BNR, and Lori and Topper in EL. Everyone did an excellent job! This weekend, we have Don Sachey in for a clinic. And of course, as I write this, it is pouring rain which is moving us to the indoor! I can't complain though as we have not had rain for 6 weeks! Although I do feel bad for my friends Pedro and Melissa who are at Radnor CCI** this weekend, as they will have a slippery go around cross country!! (Added note: special congrats to Melissa on her sixth place finish at Radnor!) We have a full house for the clinic so it should be a lot of fun - even if we are indoors!! Next week I am out of town Thursday - Sunday to help Melissa and Just Fun Stuff at the Fair Hill CCI*** - her first time there! If you need anything, call the barn at (410) 552-5022 as I will not have email access at that time! Check back on a report on how it goes! We also several more events on the schedule for this fall - including students competing at the Training level three day at Waredaca. We also just got in a bunch of new lovely prospects from Mix and Match at Penn National. Watch the wesbite for more info on these horses soon as they become available for sale! A big thanks to Janey and Shelly from Mix and Match for their help finding these horses and their gift of Bochi to Nicole! What a wonderful present - a new horse!
Natalie 9/19/05 Plantation Fields was a big success this weekend! Liz and Manhattan moved up to Intermediate and had a great go to finish in 9th place! This was horse and rider's first time at this level and was run over a very challenging course meant to be a prep run for horses going to Radnor CCI**! Rebecca Sherer also rode Iona Grey to finish in 3rd place in the Training. This pair has been working hard to form a new partnership and their hard work paid off here! A lot of former WEF horses were also successful at Plantation; Buck Davidson rode Miles (his owner Kerry has a broken hand and has been out of the saddle for a short time!) in the OP to 3rd place. Kerry's student, Amanda, took over a catch ride on another former WEF horse, Encore, to finish 12th in her 3rd time riding " Corey". Megan Hansen and Aurora were 3rd in the Open Training. Robin Sizemore was 5th with Killian's Red in the Training and Eric's Charmer (aka Isis) with rider Rachael Snyder were excellent around the JYOT as well! Congrats to all! It is always so exciting to see former WEF horses out doing so well! Marlborough HT was also this weekend and we want to send out a congrats to former WS Kelsey Wilkins and Madera on their 3rd place finish in the Training! It was a weekend for 3rd place!! Next weekend we are off to Middleburg HT - it is such a lovely event - I can't wait! Check back to see how it goes! Also - we have an awesome horse up for half lease - Sassy JR (more info here)! My student Laura Borger moved this talented horse up to Training level successfully but is too busy with college and working to ride him enough, so she is offering a 3 day a week half lease on him! Can compete him at Novice or Training level and have lessons with me! He will be ready for Preliminary by spring - contact me for more info! And other exciting news - I brought Jerry (Siri's first foal, Dark Star) home today! He is hanging out with Leggs and will go out with the new foals once we wean them. Big thanks to Phyllis for keeping him at Windchase the past year with her yearlings!
Natalie 9/14/05
Seneca Valley HT was last weekend. WEF took a lot of horses to this event! I rode 4 on Saturday, all three phases - quite a lot for me to handle (as well as my grooms!) in one day! Quintessential went wonderfully around the Novice, and Tasmin Tiger, Tilly, and Shining Star were all excellent in the BN! Mara rode Rose in the BN and they had clear show jumping and cross country rounds as did Sierra and Star. Catie and Trigger had a great go in the BN. Chrissy and Keeper had a good start in their first Novice, until Keeper cut his leg at the bank jump - but no harm done luckily! Next weekend we are off to Plantation - check back to see how that goes! Congrats to Piper Shephard and Art Scene (formally Jasper) on their success at Novice! They are planning to move up to Training level this fall! Natalie 9/6/05
Last weekend was Loudoun HT and Weave A Dream HT. Team Waters Edge was represented in fine form at both events! Liz rode Toast of Manhattan around the OP at Loudoun (their first run since the VA CCI* this spring and only outing before moving up to OI in 2 weeks!) to finish 4th. Liz would have won this event, but had a little detour on course, missed the path to a fence and the few time penalties cost them the win! Oh well - great first outing anyway!!! Kerry Blackmer rode former WEF horse Encore and a student's horse Star Bar in the Training. Both horses came over for lessons last week so I was glad to see that they had really good roundsl! Megan Hansen also had former WEF horse Aurora in the Training with a great run - they will be moving up to Prelim soon! Over at Weave a Dream HT, student Cassidy Toner on former WEF horse Different Drummer (aka Monarch) were 5th in the Junior Training and boarder/student Lauren rode her Tejana around the BN in fine form - the first recognized event for this 4 year old! Great weekend had by all! I got to take a weekend off from competing and just coached - but next weekend I have 4 horses at Seneca as well as many students so it will be very busy again! Natalie 8/30/05 This past weekend we took a large group to Difficult Run Pony Club HT and I rode 3 horses. Tilly was 7th in the BN - she was not up to her normal par in the dressage as she was too busy spooking at the umbrellas everyone had because of the pouring rain! She redeemed herself well to run an excellent cross country round and have a very nice show jump, besides unlucky rail. Quin was 6th in the Open Novice division. She performed excellently on the flat and received a 32.5; 1 rail dropped us from 2nd place to 6th - but still, an overall great performance! I also rode Tasmin Tiger in his first event - he was a star with a clean cross country go! This is an exciting horse for the future! Tons of talent and he is for sale! Liz rode Honorable Decision around the BN in fine form as did Kerri with Sparky! Both were great! Many other students went as well - Kelsey was 7th in her first Prelim with her 14.3 hand homebred mare, Maddy! They just missed 4th place by adding 6.8 cross country time faults to their dressage score (but had a clean show jump round!). Lenore rode Bacall in the Prelim, finishing 11th; they performed very well at their first outing at this level in a very long time! In the Training level, both Rebecca and Iona Grey and Cassidy and Different Drummer had double clean cross country rounds! Rebecca also took Airborne Assault around her first time at the Novice level in fine form! The BN level had Sierra and Sir Starry Knight turning in a fine performance as well as Mary Ellen Perry and Cybele finishing 5th. Congrats to all! Next weekend we are at Loudoun Hunt PC HT for the Training to Intermediate level horse trial! Check back to see how it goes. I get a weekend off from showing, but am still there to coach several students! Natalie
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