Things are heating up for Knollwood Summer 2021, and we have stories to share.

From horse shows to Woodwear orders to sold out summer camp, you won’t want to miss a thing.

 

The lesson horses have returned from a very successful Prairie State Classic Horse Show. Our ten riders learned some lessons, boosted their skills, and gained plenty of confidence for the future.

Oh, and they had a lot of fun, as usual!

Academy riders will show next at the Oshkosh Charity Horse Show on June 26.

 

 

 

 

 

The Knollwood Summer Show is coming up fast on July 17-18, and we have plenty of updates about the weekend.

We plan on starting the show outside on Saturday at 10:00 AM, and outside on Sunday at 9:00 AM.  If the weather doesn’t cooperate, we’ll move the show indoors and will start at noon both days.

We’re refining the Sunday schedule to give riders and families a more precise idea as to the time their classes will take place. We’ll update with times after entries are complete.

Entries are due next Tuesday, June 15.

If you’re not able to show, but would like to purchase a show shirt, they’re available for only $20. Just fill out an entry with the desired size selected and write ‘shirt only’ across the form. We’ll charge your account.

 

We will be teaching practice rides on Friday night, July 16, and will start sign ups as soon as horses are assigned.

 

 

Sold out Summer Riding School starts on Monday with a Tiny Tot Camp AND a pattern camp. We can hardly wait for riders to spend their summer days at the barn!

 

 

 

 

We’re ordering Knollwood tank tops through June 19 in misses and girls sizes. These beauties come in lilac and black, and are only $25.  The tanks will feature a small Knollwood logo on the front, and size samples are available in the school barn.

 

 

Show horses are off to Springfield, Illinois for the Midwest Charity Horse Show June 15-19. It’s a sell out this year, and promises to be a fantastic competition. Horses and riders from all over the country will be attendance to show in the beautiful restored coliseum.

Team Knollwood will be there in numbers, and you can watch all the action on Richfield Video with a subscription.

We’ll post the Knollwood show schedule before the show begins so you can plan your viewing schedule!

 

 

 

Summer Parents’ Night Out is almost here!

Let your kids spend the evening with us on Saturday, June 19 from 5 PM to 8 PM while you get an evening to yourself! Drop your kids off at Knollwood and they can create memories with their barn friends. The Knockout officers and board members will host the event where Knollwood Kids play games, eat dinner, and enjoy an evening at the farm.  The event is only $25, and you can sign up in the school barn office.

 

 

Knollwood will be closed on Sunday, July 4 in observance of Independence Day. Please keep us informed of your holiday schedules so we can plan lessons for the holiday weekend.

 

 

 

Since all of Team Knollwood will be at the Summerfun Show on Saturday, July 10, we will not be holding ANY lessons that day. We will credit the lesson for all Saturday riders.

Please join us at State Fair Park to watch and cheer!

 

 

Photo by Hanna Agathen

 

We're looking forward to all fun summer activities we have planned, and we  hope you can join us!

                         

Team Knollwood is just finishing laundry from May Classic, and what a time we had!

First of all, great thanks to show manager Vicky and her staff for relocating the Madison Classic show to State Fair Park, as the usual venue was not available due to becoming a Covid vaccination center.  It took an incredible amount of work, and the process was seamless to exhibitors.

The weekend showed us the hilarious side of Wisconsin weather with cold, rainy nights and really warm sunny days on the weekend. Packing for this show was the ultimate challenge for horses, riders, and spectators.

Here are some of our favorite stories of the weekend:

Emma and Fergie

Knollwood Kid Emma grew up in our lesson program. Emma has been involved with the Knockouts, has been a Tuesday night helper forever, and has been a helper and counselor at summer riding school since she could be.

Emma enjoyed a very successful academy career, and finished it out last season showing Alex under the direction of Scott and Carol.

Her parents, Rick and Pam, leased Fergie for Emma to show on the ‘A’ circuit this season, and they made their debut at the May Classic.

If you don’t know Fergie, officially known as Impressive Asset, she’s got a personality and she really loves Emma.

Emma and Fergie showed in both the UPHA Pleasure Challenge Cup, and in their pleasure equitation age group. They earned fantastic second place ribbons in both outings.

Congratulations to this new team on a wonderful debut.

 

 

Margit and The Boys

Margit certainly isn’t a kid who seeks the limelight. You’re likely to find her hanging out with her fellow Knollwood Kids, or helping in the barn.

Like Emma, Margit has grown up a Knollwood Kid, and has been a Tuesday helper since we can remember. Always a friendly face at summer riding school and at academy shows, Margit makes even the most timid new rider feel at home at Knollwood. She also has a vocabulary and sense of humor to die for.

This girl can ride.

At May Classic, she put on exhibitions with Charlie, officially known as CH Ken Follett, showing what a 5 gaited show pleasure horse should be. She also showed the horse she’s leasing, Rosewood’s Homecoming Dance to second place in both their qualifier and championship.

Oh, and then she changed out of her show clothes and helped with the academy performance....because she’s Margit.

 

The Equitation Dream Teams

Knollwood has assembled a dream team of equitation riders for the 2021 season, and their hard work in the off-season was on display at May Classic.

While there may not have been a lot of competitors in the Saddle Seat Equitation division at the show, the Knollwood riders looked fabulous.  The ‘high tail’ team of Finn, Heather and Richie performed their rail work and patterns with composure.

Were the rides perfect? Absolutely not.

Did the riders make adjustments and learn from the circumstances? Absolutely.

 

The Pleasure Equitation riders had some more competition at the show, and shone in their classes.  Emma, Laney, and Payton all earned great ribbons in their age groups and final qualifiers.

This season is going to be SO exciting to watch!

 

Academy Team Success

Our academy riders and their horses were rock stars on Saturday afternoon.

Sport has been traveling to horse shows with Carol and the equitation riders, and all their hard work showed on Saturday as he was confident as could be under Maya’s guidance. This dynamic duo won every class they entered.

Our 10 and under riders were on fire later in the performance.  Maddie and Baxter owned the division, winning their three classes. Brooklyn and Heist were a close second in the championship, and presented quite a picture.

Our future is bright.

 

Teamwork

As always, successes like this only happen with the help of many, many people.

Great thanks to our show barn riders who pitched in to help with the academy performance, providing help with horse prep, rider support, and warm up assistance.

Great thanks to Sue for making sure all our academy riders were sporting ‘the Berget bun’! And thanks to all the parents who support these great kids, and to our unbelievable lesson horses. They truly are the best academy horses in the world.

 

What’s Coming Up?

 

Summer Riding School Helper Sign-Ups!

We're starting with a Tiny Tot Camp on June 14, and classic Summer Riding School starts on June 21.

We're asking all current helpers to sign up for the days they'd like to help at Knollwood Summer 2021.

You must currently be a helper, and have the approval of your instructor. Exceptions go through helper scheduler Brenda.

 

 

 Knollwood Show Entries are Due June 15!

Entry blanks are available in the school barn now,  and you don’t want to miss this one! The show is outside on July 17 and 18, features earlier start times (weather permitting), and is sure to be a wonderful time.

Plus, who doesn't want to wear a neon pink show shirt??

Your instructor is happy to provide more info.

 

Parents’ Night Out

June 19 from 5 PM to 8 PM

For only $25, your Knollwood Kid can enjoy an evening of barn fun with the Knockout officers. We aren’t riding, but there are plenty of games, time with barn friends, and dinner.

Sign ups will start on Thursday, and the event is only $25.

 

Prairie State Classic

Beyond Stable Farm

Woodstock, IL

 

10 Academy riders are headed to the Prairie State Classic this weekend.  We’d love a cheering section for the Saturday and Sunday afternoon performances!

 

Midwest Charity Horse Show

June 15 - 19, 2021

Coliseum of Champions

Illinois State Fairgrounds

The best in the country are meeting in Springfield, and Knollwood will be there in numbers.

You can watch all the action on Richfield Video

 

 

See you at the barn, or at the in-gate!

 

 

Our spring show last weekend was a wonderful adventure, and the May Classic Show at State Fair Park this weekend will be another exciting weekend of horses and friends.

The Knollwood Show was an adventure with lots of twists and turns.

Saturday went off without a hitch thanks to sunny warm weather, and a  super organized pit crew of Heather, Margit, Erika, and Emma who were joined by the instructors as their assistants.

Judge Shelby Hader had her hands full sorting through large, deep classes in our big outdoor ring.

With our audience spread throughout the shady spots of the arena, it looked like an old timey horse show.

Our Saturday show featured 26 classes with a total of 142 entries. It finished with a rollicking game division, and even judge Shelby joined in the finale.

 

Let’s talk about Sunday.

Originally scheduled to start at 11:00 AM in the little outdoor ring, on Thursday we decided to move the start time to 9:00 AM to beat the weather forecast.

Then the forecast called for all day rain, so we moved the show inside starting at 2:00 PM so the show horses could finish their last workouts before heading off to May Classic on Tuesday.

Heck, we even changed the class scheduling in our attempt to keep the spectator population down in the arena during these days of Covid.

Our customers were fantastic with all the schedule insanity. We cannot thank them enough for their flexibility and good humor about the whole thing.

Oh, and it didn’t even really rain.

 

Our Sunday riders impressed us beyond belief, and Judge Shelby was having a really difficult time placing the walk and trot riders.

Twenty-eight maiden riders showed first in pleasure, equitation, and championship classes. Due to the numbers, we split the maiden riders into five divisions.

Riders were ‘on,’ and rode like they were born to it. Heck, even most of the diagonals were correct.

Leadliners showed next, and the classes were not to believed. The personalities and smiles on our youngest  show stars surely brightened up an overcast day. The contestants even had Shelby laughing, and being as funny as she is. THAT'S quite an accomplishment.

Best line from a leadliner? Before she went into the ring, she asked, “Wait, is this a competition?’

 

Our experienced walk and trot riders finished the day, and really put on a show. Classes were fierce, hotly contested, and fun.

For those of you counting, the Sunday show featured 159 entries, bringing the two day total to 301.

 

This was a weekend showcasing the teamwork of Knollwood.

Our crack parents’ team went into action changing cooking and food prep times when the Sunday schedule was altered, and prepared a rain plan for their ‘tent city’, home to gift baskets, silent auctions, and raffles. Look in Wikipedia under ‘unflappable,’ and there’s probably a picture of them.

Jeni announced from under a tent, in full sun, and from center ring. And she was always funny.

 

Knollwood Kid For Life Shelby Hader joined us for the weekend to judge all events. Even a life long exhibitor and student of the sport admitted the classes were difficult to rank.

Photographer Hanna shot in full sun on Saturday, and in the lighting-challenged indoor arena on Sunday.

Ringmaster Nicole worked on her tan on Saturday and  on staying warm on Sunday.

 

 

The unbelievable personal assistants went above and beyond. They got sunburned on Saturday, were told they’d have to be there at 7:00 AM on Sunday and then were told they could sleep in and arrive at noon. They encouraged, informed, and calmed the maiden and leadline riders, and drove the more advanced riders to strong performances in the ring.

Our customers have the best senses of humor. We changed Sunday plans three times, because we have to admit that we cannot control the weather. Through it all, our customers were patient, supportive and humorous about all the changes. Thank you.

 

Most of all, we owe the weekend's success to the best lesson horses in the world.

They worked in hot sunny and muggy weather on Sunday.  Our walk trot and canter horses entered the ring ready to work for every class. While we gave them mini-baths when we could and took water breaks, they worked through a lot of early summer heat.

Our walk and trot horses were stars on Sunday. With 28 maiden riders, our most patient boys worked for many classes and maintained their senses of humor. Gentlemen to the end, they created many, many memories for their riders.

We are grateful for all of it.

 

This Weekend?

Most of our show horses and eight academy horses are heading to Wisconsin State Fair Park for the May Classic Horse Show. Usually held in Madison, the show has moved closer to us because the New Holland Pavilion in Madison is currently a Covid vaccination site.

We’re thrilled for the ‘home show’ and look forward to a weekend of horse showing and friends.

 

See you soon at the barn or at the in-gate!

 

 *All Saturday photos are from Hanna Agathen Photography.

Willy is happy.

Team Knollwood helped Willy’s best buddy Brinkley cross the rainbow bridge today. Those two were so bonded that it was evident that Brinkley wouldn’t last long with us after Willy crossed.

Born in 1992, Brinkley’s registered name was Sun of Achilles.  He enjoyed a successful show career starting as a 3 year old in driving, a discipline he showed in until he came to Knollwood. Brinkley was also a very successful Arabian Country Pleasure horse.

In his second life as a member of the best lesson horses in the world, Brinkley excelled at well, almost everything. He did not like leaving home for horse shows.

This homebody had a kind soul, the patience of a saint, and a canter to die for.  All the Knollwood Kids who were fortunate to learn to canter on Brinkley called it the ‘cloud canter.’

Brinkley taught many, many Knollwood kids beginning show skills, how kind a horse can be, and perhaps best of all, that horses make great friends. He never revealed any of our secrets we shared with him.

We know Willy was impatiently waiting for you on the other side of the bridge, and we also know that Mark has no idea what was happening.

We loved you dearly, and we miss you already. We’ll think of that perfect canter and your perfect face every time we see beautiful clouds in the sky.

 

Peace to you, Brinkley.

 

As you know, we’ve been trying to work our way around weather issues for our Sunday show.

The riders have been working so hard, and their practice rides on Friday night were so good, that we decided not to use the June make up date. We didn’t want to break the educational momentum that has been building!

We'll rope off about 20% of the arena so parents and immediate family can watch the show.  Please feel free to bring chairs, or to stand.  We didn't rent any for the weekend, as were were planning on being outside. Ah, weather ...

We thought long and hard about moving the show inside in the world of Covid, and we think we’ve come up with a pretty good plan.

We’re going to start the show at 2:00, after the show horses are finished with their routine.  The maiden riders will go first, and will ride their pleasure class, their equitation class, and their equitation championship all in a row.

Instructors will be in the ring, and will offer feedback in the barn between the equitation qualifier and championship to make adjustments before the big class.

This will allow families to spend as brief an amount of time in the arena as possible.

We’ll follow the maiden division with leadline, starting around 3:30, and then our experienced walk and trot riders beginning around 4:00.

We apologize that we can’t be more precise, but, much as we’d like to,  even we can’t predict tack changes and judging time.

 

Here’s the schedule:

24A	Maiden Horsemanship
25A	Maiden Equitation
26A	CH Maiden Equitation
24B	Maiden Horsemanship
25B	Maiden Equitation
26B	CH Maiden Equitation
24C	Maiden Horsemanship
25C	Maiden Equitation
26C	CH Maiden Equitation
24D	Maiden Horsemanship
25D	Maiden Equitation
26D	CH Maiden Equitation
24E	Maiden Horsemanship
25E	Maiden Equitation
26E	CH Maiden Equitation
27	Walk Only Leadline
28	Walk Trot Leadline
29	CH Walk Trot Leadline
Raffle
30A	9-10 Year Old Pleasure
30B	9-10 Year Old Pleasure
31A	8 and Under Pleasure
31B	8 and Under Pleasure
32A	9-10 Year Old Equitation
32B	9-10 Year Old Equitation
33A	8 and Under Equitation
33B	8 and Under Equitation
34A	CH 9-10 Year Old Equitation
34B	CH 9-10 Year Old Equitation
35A	CH 8 and Under Equitation
35B	CH 8 and Under Equitation
36	Walk Trot Pattern

 

 

Maiden Riders in ‘A’ are

276, 353, 363, 364, 374

Maiden Riders in ‘B’ are:

87, 233, 241, 357, 361

Maiden Riders in ‘C’ are:

238, 240, 243, 309, 356, 362

Maiden Riders in ‘D’ are:

247, 248, 250, 283, 360, 371

Maiden Riders in ‘E’ are:

246, 234, 239, 365, 373

 

We ask that after your rider has finished in the arena, that you exit so we keep the head count as low as possible in these times of Covid. We also ask that you mask when in the lounge, which is a very contained space.

 

We appreciate everyone’s flexibility in these times, and with the weather ahead.

 We're so excited to watch our walk and trot stars show tomorrow!