Well, our first Knollwood Show of the year has come and gone and what a beautiful weekend it was! The weather was perfectly sunny each day, and our new schedule with pattern classes on Friday turned out to be amazing and exactly what was needed.
Each day was better than the last with riders and horses all leaving their hearts on (and off) the rail in performances that truly highlighted all the things our students have worked on over the winter. Our judge, Laney Lonchar, diligently gave riders tips and tricks before tying the classes and used her discerning eye to tie each class. Starting with Friday night, our more advanced patterns were completed in the regular indoor arena so the complexity of the patterns could be pushed to the limit. We even had some qualify for the Challenge final! Our WTC top two were Samara Zwieg and Cecilia Berry and our WT top two were Leighton Werner and Dilly Senn!
Saturday began with class 6a and rounded out with class 13. Our raffle and business tents were busy with all kinds of fun silent auction and raffle prizes to be won. We even enjoyed an amazing concessions stand with a inaugural coffee and tea bar, thanks to our sponsor Hartland Family Chiropractic! We were all so grateful for boost.
Sunday began with our walk only leadline division and finished off with our more advanced walk and trot riders showing off their hard work over winter. This Knollwood Show set another KF record by being the largest attendance yet so far with a maiden division (meaning first time showing) that was split into THREE groups! Having three splits of maiden means the future is bright for all these rising stars and their riding and showing careers.
There is so much for us all to be grateful for, but big thank yous are due to our amazing helpers that keep the show going, our riders in the correct saddles, and our leadliners safely anchored. Thank you to our instructors who come to ensure their riders have a good experience, see a familiar face and can truly learn and develop with feedback from their teacher after their classes. Thank you again to our conscession sponsor, Hartland Family Chiropractic for making sure we were all caffienated enough to get through the day. Thank you to the parents and families who continually show fierce support to their riders. Thank you to the Knockouts for running the concessions, the raffle and the silent auction, set up and tear down. This youth group sure knows how to get the job done! The biggest thank you of all to our incredible school horses who tolerate all kinds of chairs, tents, cones, flowers and lord knows what else without batting an eye or turning an ear. We are so lucky to have some of the most amazing horses here to select from with teaching and developing young riders. Each has something to offer in a lesson and even more so in the show ring.
Through the good rides and the bad, there's always a lesson to be learned. Sometimes, it's not clear right away what that lesson is, but with some time and reflection, improvements can always be made! Horse shows are a great magnifying glass on our learning, and riders tend to make big strides in their learning when they take the steps to highlight what they've worked on in the show ring. There's no doubt that each of our riders made big strides at this show, literally and figuratively.
Up next: The Knockouts Olympics is this Saturday at 6pm. Be sure to get your food kits in if you haven't yet!
Madison Classic horse show is next weekend with our academy kids performing Saturday, May 28th. This is our first "A" Academy show of the year at the amazing Alliant Engery Center facility. We recommend coming to watch! The competition will be steep and the show is always a fun time. Saturday we will also be having a little barn celebration of the 30 year anniversary of Knollwood Farms at 2800 Oakwood Road! While it seems like a small feat, keeping a farm filled with horses going is a tough gig. Through all kinds of ups and downs, Scott and Carol have truly done the incredible by building, maintaining, and growing Knollwood Farms into the amazing place it is today. Help us celebrate at the show!