Last weekend was just so much fun.

The show horses were finishing up at the World’s Championship Horse Show in Louisville, and they were in the thick of the best competition there is.  Finn and Frankie were 7^th in their Show Pleasure World Championship, and Gabby and Charlie were 8^th in a stacked Junior Exhibitor 5 Gaited Show Pleasure final.

Classes were crazy deep, and any ribbon won was an accomplishment for a lifetime.

We’re so proud of all our riders on their strong performances in Freedom Hall.

 

Meanwhile, at the home office, the Knollwood Summer Academy show was in full swing. Here are a few of our favorite stories of the weekend!

Short staffed? No problem.

 

Many of our usual show crew was in Louisville watching or participating in the show, so we re-organized and got the jobs done. Some great new Knollwood moms and their Knollwood Kids put gift baskets together, and manned the concession stand.

Some of our younger riders had a chance to step up and contribute in the barn, helping riders enter the ring. Without as many ‘personal assistants’ as usual and a big show to run, we created a new system to make it work, and had a blast doing it.

Thank you to everyone who leant us their creativity and positive attitude to make the show so fun for so many riders.

 

Our Esteemed Judge

We were beyond fortunate to have former equitation star Shelby return to judge all classes. Her well trained eye for detail and sense of fun kept the show running on a light note. Shelby offered constructive feed back to many of the riders, and was really able to personalize it as she’s ridden many of our best lesson horses in the world.

Shelby was also brave enough to join the game division riding the one and only Mark. Despite not riding in about three years, Shelby was a contender in all events, winning the ‘Slowest Canter,’ and being reserve champ in the ‘Musical Towels’ event.

 

She really wants Scott to know that she also won the ‘Ride a $5’ after leaving the saddle for three years.  Shelby still has it!

And she donated her winnings back to the Knockouts!

 

Adults in Numbers

The adult division was impressive, and quite possibly the most entertaining division.  With riders who have enjoyed horses their whole life to riders who have started this adventure as ‘grown-ups,’ this age group offered a little bit of everything.

Best of all? These riders seem to enjoy the experience a lot, and are very vocal in their support of each other.

 

Leadliners are Huge

 

 

On the other end of the spectrum, our leadline division was almost as big as the adult classes. As a testament to our hard working tiny tot instructors, these littleist Knollwood Kids looked fantastic, and many are ready to move into group lessons this fall!

 

First Show Adventures

Our maiden division for first time show rides was split into divisions to accommodate the number of entries. These newbies looked poised and ready to show, and they were even all on the correct diagonal. The future looks bright!

 

Back from Louisville!

Richie returned from the World’s Championship Horse Show late Saturday night, and was kind enough to join us at the barn to ride a demo on Sunday. His Country Pleasure mare Tink didn’t make the trip to Louisville, and was happy to see Richie and to ‘turn it on’ for the audience Sunday afternoon. There’s nothing like a beautiful Saddlebred enjoying their person and their job!

 

Game Time!

Following the ‘serious’ part of the show on Saturday, we like to take a short break and then play games on horseback. Seven brave souls joined the division last weekend, including our judge.

We had lots of laughter, lots of cheering, and lots of sore legs. It took a lot of work to end the ‘Ride a $5’ game, as there were plenty of strong legs in the arena. 

 

Knockouts Fundraising

Thanks to the efforts of Knockout members who volunteered their time and effort, the club raised over $1000 with their gift baskets and concession stand. We were especially thrilled to see so many new Knollwood families joining the fun of the youth group.

Special thanks to Merton Feed for sponsoring the concession stand for the show. They’re terrific partners in making all of our horses look so good.

 

These Unbelievable Horses

The lesson horses out did themselves this weekend.

They behaved themselves perfectly (well, maybe except for the time that Sparky tried to tell Shelby when it was time to reverse, or the time he led 3 of his friends into the line up. Early.) with both experienced and leadline riders.

Nothing deterred from their mission of being the best lesson horses in the world, and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts.

School horses start their vacation this week.

Hard working Sparky is enjoying a week off, and the rest of the boys will get a chance to rest up after a busy summer. They'd love extra treats during their vacations, so check the calendar in the school barn lounge to see who's off each week!

Here’s to sportsmanship, friendship, and horsemanship.

Save the dates for the fall show on November 9 and 10!

 

What’s coming up?

 

The show horses are heading off to Indianapolis for the All American Horse Classic.  This show marks the beginning of equitation finals season with the UPHA Pleasure Challenge Cup National Final, and the Pleasure Equitation Olympic Final.

Team Knollwood will be there in numbers, and we’ll update with schedules and webcast info soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Our first Knockout night at Culvers is coming up this Wednesday from 5-8 PM.  Enjoy some delicious treats at the Hartland Culvers, and they’ll donate a portion of the proceeds to the Knockouts.

This is a monthly event, so mark your calendars for the first Wednesday of every month through May!!

 

 

 

 

We’re ordering our timeless navy Knollwood jackets for fall show season! 

Size samples are available in the school barn lounge along with order blanks. Please place your orders by September 22!

 

 

 

Both the academy and show horses will be heading back to State Fair Park for the Wisconsin Futurity Horse Festival. Join us September 19-22 for a terrific show right in our own backyard.

Academy classes start at 9 AM on Saturday, and we’ll be battling for State Championship titles.

 

 

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

 

 

 

Team Knollwood is participating at the World’s Championship Horse Show in Louisville, Kentucky.....and at the same time we’re having a blast with a prep camp for the Knollwood Summer Show this weekend enjoying every minute in both states.

 

In Louisville, many of our riders advanced on their horses to their World Grand Championship classes by placing high enough in a qualifying class. 

We couldn’t be more proud of these Knollwood Kids.

Any ribbon in Freedom Hall is an achievement for a lifetime, and we’ve gotten some good ones.

Finn and Laney will be showing in the Senior Equitation Final Thursday night at 5:30 PM our time. 

If you’d like to watch the best the equitation world has to show, feel free to join Ann in Carol’s office at 5:30 PM to watch the class.

The riders and horses are amazing.

Richie will be showing Sophie in the Junior Equitation Final late Friday morning, and it should be a great class.

Saturday morning will be busy with Finn showing Frankie in the Show Pleasure Final for riders ages 14-17,  while both Bella and Haley will be showing in the Country Pleasure Final for riders 14-17.

Team Knollwood will finish the show with Gabby showing Charlie in the 5 Gaited Show Pleasure Final late in the morning.

 

A couple of Knollwood Kids have been honored to show some horses for other trainers as well. 

Our young riders are sought after for their horsemanship skills which makes them up to the challenge of showing an unfamiliar horse. 

All those lessons on all those different horses? It creates good thinking  riders who have a really broad to base on which to draw.

Richie will be showing Ro and Me’s Alacazam  for Northern Tradition Farm in the 13 and under Show Pleasure Final while Haley will be showing 2 horses for 2 different barns.

(In addition to her interviewing duties on the live feed broadcast for Richfield...)

She’ll be showing Kalarama’s Out of the Ordinary from Hollow Haven Farm  in the 3 Gaited Show Pleasure Final for riders aged 14-17, and The Davinci Treasure for Stachowski Farms Junior Exhibitor 5 Gaited final for riders aged 14-17.

We wish everyone the best of luck as they enjoy the Louisville experience both in and out of the ring.

 

Meanwhile, back at the home office…

We have 11 Knollwood Kids enjoying our annual show prep camp. 

It’s the perfect ‘step up’ from our traditional summer riding school sessions which are tailored for our newer riders.

This group of  riders is preparing to show at our summer academy show coming up this weekend, and many of them are showing for the first time.

They’re learning all about showing horses and caring for horses and having a lot of fun, too.

 

 

 

Our show runs both Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and we're thrilled to welcome Knollwood Kid Shelby Hader back to judge all events. 

Shelby grew up here, and started as a TIny Tot in the leadline division.  She grew up to be president of the Knollwood Knockouts, an equitation star, and enjoyed great success on several nice horses including Callaway's Newscaster and Believin'.

Shelby is a graduate of Lawrence University, is currently working in the medical field, and is planning to attend medical school in the near future.

Rumor has it that she may join the games division of the show on Saturday!

We're looking forward to a big show, with the largest classes being in the Adult Walk, Trot, Canter  and Leadline divisions.

 

 

The fine print about the show:

Walk Trot Canter classes start at 1:00 PM on Saturday, and Walk Trot classes start at noon on Sunday.

Riders can pick up their shirts and back numbers from their instructor ahead of time, or on the day of the show.

 

We're still looking for help filling the gift baskets and the concession stand staff.  If you'd like to help with either, please check out the sign ups in the school barn lounge. You can also sign up for the concession stand online here.

If you've signed up to donate to the baskets, please have your items at the farm by Thursday night. Baskets will be assembled during the day on Friday.

 

We're so very grateful to our friends and partners at Merton Feed Company for their generous sponsorship of the concession stand for the show.

Their expertise and service are a big reason why all our horses look and feel so good. We couldn't do it without them.  (And they have the best chickens. Ever.)

Parking can be challenging, so thanks to our friends at the Kettle Moraine Curling Club for allowing us to use their lot this weekend.  Please enter off Oakwood Road, not Horseshoe Bend.

 

Want to watch Stake Night at Louisville? You can join us in the lounge on Saturday night at 6:00 when we'll project the live feed.  Bring some snacks to share and enjoy watching the best in the world!

 

Whether you're in Louisville or Hartland, we're looking forward to great competition, sportsmanship and friendships. Oh, and spending time with some marvelous horses, too!

 

Tradition.

Honor.

Passion.

 

 

 

 

Could it be that we haven’t caught up since the 

ASAW Summerfun show? 

We have plenty of terrific stories to share, with all the adventures Team Knollwood’s been having!

 

Horse Show Fun in the Sun

 

16 academy riders traveled to Roscoe, Illinois for the Mid America Signature Show at the end of July. 

Held in a BIG outdoor ring, our riders enjoyed all the space and the big classes on a beautiful sunny Saturday morning. 

All of our riders competed at the same performance, so they enjoyed the chance to cheer on riders they don’t always get the chance to see. We also had quite a few supporters at the show!

The highlight of the morning? 

Maddie switched horses after JD injured his eye, and ended up showing three different horses and winning three classes. 

Maddie was supposed to show in the 13 and under division, but there were no other entries in her age group, so we moved her into the 14 and over age group. She went on to win the qualifier and the all ages championship.

Her mom Sarah was even willing to show off the stadium seat Maddie won in her equitation championship against riders of all ages.

 

Judge Zubrod invited all the competitors to perform workouts in their equitation classes, and our riders shone in their individual work.

 

After a morning of horse showing, the show hosted a water balloon fight, and of course, the Knollwood Kids were in the middle of it.  What a perfect ending to a summer horse show performance!

 

More Water!

The following weekend, the Knollwood Knockouts partnered with Fox Brothers Piggly Wiggly in Hartland to hold a car wash event where they also sold food in the brat shack. It was another perfect sunny day, and the Knollwood Kids washed many cars and sold many brats and burgers. 

Great thanks to all the members and their parents who donated their time on a summer weekend to join the fun.  The club raised more than $650 for their charitable activities, and everyone had a great time getting to know other Knockouts.

 

Louisville is Coming!

Last week was the one week this summer without any camps as  Scott, Carol, and the show barn hosted their Louisville prep week. The camp helpers enjoyed a week off while the show riders rode many lessons in preparation for the World Championship Horse Show in Louisville August 17-24.

 All of the show riders pretty much lived at the farm or at the "Hotel Berget" while they rode all week.  The show rider group lessons were an event in themselves as these top riders rode through real show ring situations while being instructed and motivated by Scott and Carol.

 

These classes even drew spectators who learned just by listening.

 

Six New Academy Stars!

 

We introduced six new riders to the joys of horse showing at the ASAW Summer Showcase Show last weekend. Our newest show stars attended a prep camp prior to the show where they learned all about the horse show experience and had a lot of fun, too. They even held camp at the show on Friday so they could ride in the arena and practice for their debuts.

On show day, they rode like pros, and didn’t even miss a single diagonal! We’re so proud of these riders, and are looking forward to watching them progress even further!

 

The show is a  joint venture of the American Saddlebred Association of Wisconsin and the Knollwood Knockouts.  The Knockouts supply the labor, and split the show proceeds with the ASAW’s scholarship Fund.  Many thanks to all the Knockouts who volunteered with the show and the concession stand!

 

What’s Coming Up?

 

The show horses are leaving today for Louisville for the show starting on Sunday.  We’ll post schedules and webcast information shortly.

Safe travels, and good luck to everyone showing on the green shavings of Freedom Hall!

 

Want to watch the final night of the show?

We’re hosting a Stake Night Party in the show lounge at 5:00 PM on August 24.  We’ll project the live feed and watch the show together.  The event is free, we just ask everyone to bring some snacks and drinks. Adults are welcome to BYOB.

 

 

This Saturday, we’re hosting another popular Parents Night Out.  For only $10, your Knollwood Kid can enjoy 3 hours at the farm with the Knockout officers and board members. The evening includes crafts, dinner, and lots of games.  Please sign up in the school barn lounge by Friday.

 

 

The big Knollwood Summer Show is coming up fast on August 24 and 25, and we can hardly wait.  Sign ups are ready for hair appointments and helping in the concession stand.  (You can also sign up online here.)

We’re also looking for donations to the gift baskets, and those are posted on the tack room door in the school barn.

 

 

Our show horses and academy stars will be showing close to home in September, so please make plans to join us at the Wisconsin Futurity Horse Festival at State Fair Park. The academy performance is on Saturday, September 21 at 9 AM, and the entire show runs from September 19-22. You won’t want to miss it!

 

 

 

 

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

 

Team Knollwood lost a larger than life character today when Forest passed away after a brief illness.

This charismatic Fjord made everyone laugh with his antics, whether it was escaping from his stall or catching a grass snack during summer camp sessions.

Our fully equitated Norwegian friend taught many a Knollwood Kid the value of follow through and the wisdom of not going to the whip or spur too soon.

In addition to stardom in the lesson program, Forest also enjoyed being a celebrity. He loved his time at Team Up camp where he gave rides to physically and mentally challenged kids, introduced himself to countless new horse fans at Hartland Kid Days, and most importantly, served as the beer burro at Knollwood Kid Anna’s wedding.

We’ll miss him dearly, and offer great thanks to Dr. Matt Hebl for his expert care.

We know the Rainbow Bridge will creak a little under his weight, so Cartman, Dean, Skeet, and the other Knollwood friends will know Forest is joining the crew. May he enjoy endless food and an appreciative audience for his comedy routines.

 

Peace, Forest.

What a blast Knollwood Summer, 2019 has been so far!

 

Tiny Tot Camps

We finished four sold out sessions of fun with our 4-6 year old campers. The riders and ‘personal assistants’ enjoyed riding, games, and snack times every day.

The coolest thing about this summer is that a couple of our former equitation stars brought their daughters to camp.  The next generation of Knollwood kids has begun their journey!

 

Classic Camps

 

 We’re on our third week of sold out classic camps, and we can say that every available spot has been claimed. These week long horse-immersion sessions have been a blast for counselors, helpers, and riders.

Our latest adventure in our current session is welcoming  five riders from China for the week. They’re in the US for a month, trying different activities, and it’s Knollwood week now!

 

Several of the campers have minimal English skills, and we’re super lucky to have three American students in camp who speak fluent Mandarin! It’s really a special week, campers from across the world exchanging info about their schools, families, and customs. Some of the helpers have even learned to write their names (somewhat) in Chinese characters!

 

Pattern Camps

Our academy show stars have already enjoyed three weeks of intensive camps. Students who have advanced to our academy show team enjoy a week of serious riding and lots of fun as well.

We’ve spent hours in the big outdoor ring, renamed ‘Patternland’ by the campers. It’s the perfect arena to practice just about any pattern known to man, and it’s also a great venue for water fights at the end of a long day of learning.

Next week, we’re hosting a special camp for our newest academy stars who will be making their show ring debuts at the ASAW Summer Showcase in Cedarburg on August 11.

 

 

 

We do have a few spots open in our special week for riders participating in the Knollwood Summer Show on August 24-25.  Riders showing that weekend can enjoy a camp session the week before, and learn all about horse showing.  Because it’s a private camp for Knollwood Kids, it’s not listed on the website, but you can give us a call at 262-367-2391 to claim one of the last spots!

 

 

Horse Shows

Summer is the best time for horse shows, and we’ve kept ourselves busy enjoying many. Our favorites are when our show riders and academy riders compete at the same shows.

There’s nothing like having access to the show riders experiences to help the academy riders. Plus, these bring ALL of Team Knollwood together to celebrate!

 

 

Reminder, entries for the Knollwood Summer Show are due on Thursday, July 25!!

 

How Is All This Possible?

Helpers and horses.

 

Our helpers are amazing.

They’re engaging, encouraging, and so much fun.  Whether they’re running with beginners,  teaching a rookie how to groom, or doing glamorous chores like throwing hay, they’re always having fun, and it’s infectious.

 

 

Our counselors are even a step up. 

 

These ‘best of the best’ helpers keep campers organized, assist the instructor during lessons, and keep the helper crews on task. We fully expect to be working for some of these characters one day.

 

The Knockout officers continue to amaze.

After a full session of camp last week, the officers hosted a helper training night last Friday, and an amazing, fun-filled Parents’ Night Out on Saturday.  We’re not sure where they find their endless energy, but we’re glad they do!

We are in awe.

 

 

Horses.

 

We have the best lesson horses in the world.

We think they like camp and horse shows. A lot.

They relish the attention and slow work of camp. Our newest member, Mac, is learning the ways of summer camp, and is really taking to it.  He now realizes that the header near his shoulder is there to help…

 

At shows all over the place, these grand souls take care of our least experienced academy riders, challenge those ready for it, and really appear to enjoy the trips.

We cannot possibly thank the grand gelding club enough for all they do for us and for the kids they’re introducing to horses. 

But we’ll try.

 

 

The great news is that even though all of our camp sessions are sell outs, we offer wonderful riding lessons throughout the year. We offer group and private lessons six days a week, and our heated barns and arena keep us going in all weather conditions.

Our next session is starting at the beginning of September, so be sure to check it out!

 

What’s Up Next?

The academy and ‘B’ horses are off to Roscoe, Illinois for the Mid-American Horse Show Association’s Signature Show. Held in the BIG outdoor ring at Ledges, it’s a wonderful show with lots of good competition and hospitality.

Many of our riders are looking forward to the annual water balloon fight after the academy session on Saturday!

 

The Knockouts are running the brat shack at the Piggly Wiggly in Hartland, and holding a car wash at the same time.

Please join us next Sunday, August 4 from 11 am to 3 pm!

You can sign up here!

 

The Knockouts and the American Saddlebred Association of Wisconsin are hosting the Summer Showcase Horse Show at the Ozaukee County Fairgrounds the following weekend on August 10 and 11.  We’re looking for volunteers to help us set up, tear down, and run the concession stand.

The Knockouts receive half of the show proceeds in exchange for providing the labor for the show, and you can sign up to help here.

 

The Knollwood Summer Show is coming up on August 24 and 25, and the concession stand would love your assistance.

  We'll have sign-ups available soon!

 

 

The show horses will be heading to the World Championship Horse Show in Louisville at the end of August. We’ll keep you posted with webcast info as it becomes available.  And don’t forget our Stake Night Party on Saturday night August 24 if you’d like to watch it on the big screen!

 

 

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