So, Scott and Carol left yesterday for the annual UPHA convention. 

This year, show horse trainers will be roughing it in Palm Springs where they’ll honor the best horses and ponies of the year, discuss important issues facing the industry, share new ideas to grow the show horse world, and honor the trainers and exhibitors who have achieved extraordinary things.

More about that last part later…

Meanwhile, back at Knollwood, those of us who aren’t basking in the California sun are also achieving great things.

Any idea of what this photo is?

If you guessed the arena ceiling at the halfway point of cleaning, you’d be correct.  Whenever Lin isn’t working horses, the ceiling becomes job 1.  You’re going to need sunglasses in the arena when the project’s done!

Show season is fast approaching, and we want to be ready.  The wall of membership applications is complete in the school barn lounge. So, whether you’d like to join the ASHA, IASPHA, ASAW, or MAHSA, your application is waiting. We even posted completed form samples so you don’t miss anything important like rider nominations. 

If you’re not sure which associations to join, Nancy or Ann would be happy to help you decide, and will gladly review your forms before they’re submitted.

We’re proofing the banquet program, and putting the finishing touches on the evening. The RSVP box on the school barn counter is waiting for your reply by January 26th if you haven’t already turned yours in. The numbers are looking particularly strong this year, and you surely don’t want to miss this event!

We’ve revised our annual academy seminar and will be hosting a new version on February 16 at 6 PM. If you’d like to learn why we love academy showing, please join us in the show barn lounge. We’ll offer demos and much more!

We’ve been exchanging phone calls, and can now officially announce that the Patchwork Pony is coming to our neighborhood for a trunk show of show apparel for both our academy and show riders. With lots of inventory and personalized service, you’ll want to be at the Hilton Garden Suites in Oconomowoc on Saturday, March 16 between 9AM and 4PM.

We’ve contracted with 2 of the best show bun makers in the Midwest, and will be offering a class for moms and daughters on March 16 at 6 PM in the show barn lounge. Don’t worry, you’ll be ‘bunning’ some other child’s hair to keep the volume level down.

Oh, and there will be beverages served with snacks!

And we’re still running the farm as usual (as best we can without our fearless leaders)  while the Mattons are networking in the sun. 

In addition to meeting with other professional horsemen and celebrating greatness of 2018, Scott and Carol are being honored with a very special award.  Their fellow trainers have elected the dynamic duo to receive the Richard E Lavery Professional Horseman or Horsewoman of the Year Award. The description of the award could have been written just for the Mattons:

'The Richard E. Lavery Professional Horseman or Horsewoman of The Year shall be a person that has been involved in the training and showing of horses within our industry. He or she shall be a person that has given beyond the call of duty to promote the show horse industry and his or her profession, and to inform, educate, and promote in general. He or she shall be dedicated to the industry in an unselfish manner and shall have an interest in the industry and an interest in the respect of the profession and the professional horseman.'

We congratulate Scott and Carol on this prestigious award.

They live the ideals that this honor represents, and we couldn't be more proud to be part of Team Knollwood.

Tradition.

Honor.

Passion.