Hi Everyone, Forest here.

 

As you may be aware, I know a lot about food.  

Because of my expertise, I've been chosen to remind all my fans about Team Knollwood's food drive currently in progress.

We are looking for donations of food kits, or for those of you who are too time constrained to shop, financial donations to the Food Pantry of Waukesha County.

We're trying to help our neighbors in need at a time of year when the pantry runs low on inventory.

Of course, there's a Knollwood twist to the drive.  Each Knollwood Kid who collects a minimum of 5 food kits or $$ equivalent is eligible to join a team for our first ever video scavenger hunt on Saturday, June 8.  (I've heard that I'm involved in at least one of the stations, but it's all very top secret, so my exact role has not been revealed.)

Right now, Team Tuesday is running away with the competition with Saturday in close pursuit.  

Please remember to mark your donation with the day of week and rider you'd like to support.

Thanks in advance for your generosity. 

If you might happen to bring some carrots my way, it wouldn't be the worst thing. 

Really.

See you at the scavenger hunt!

Show season 2019 is in full swing, and team Knollwood is having a blast.

 

After some trips to smaller events, the show horses enjoyed a trip for their first ‘big’ show of the season. FASH is a favorite show, with ‘Minnesota nice’ hospitality in a beautiful venue. And the competition? It was deep and plentiful.

Some of our favorite stores from FASH?

Richie’s Debut with Sophie

Last season’s walk and trot equitation star has moved on to the 13 and under walk, trot, and canter equitation division with star mount Sophie. This new team looked like they’d been together forever, winning their age group and the UPHA Challenge Cup qualifier.

 

Finn and Leila’s Premier

Finn had a very successful season last year, showing Sophie all the way to the national equitation finals.  For the 2019 season, Finn has a new partner, the one and only Leila, officially known as Brookhill’s Passion Punch. Last year’s triple crown winning mount looked picture perfect with Finn, and the new duo won their Good Hands qualifier as well as the all ages equitation championship.

 

Hanna and Tucker’s Reunion

Hanna will be showing Tucker (CH Fine by Me) in her final year in the 13 and under equitation division.  They made a splash at FASH, finishing reserve in the Good Hands, in the 13 and under qualifier, and 3rd in the all ages equitation championship.

 

Payton’s New Eq Partner

Remember last season when we joked that Payton’s mom was never getting her horse back? Well, it’s official as Payton showed Dos to great success in her equitation classes.  At FASH, Payton won both the 13 and under pleasure equitation qualifier and the UPHA Pleasure Challenge Cup qualifier.

 

 

In addition, Amanda and Smyth are clicking and finished reserve in their Country Pleasure championship which was won by Richie and TInk.  TInk really seems to enjoy those extended trots in her new division!

 

Laney and Robert are really getting into equitation, while Gabby and Charlie are back in the winners’ circle just like they finished last season.

Bella and Garfield are starting strong, and finished reserve champs in Minesota, while Allison and Kim had a great Mother Daughter weekend showing Michael and Maddie.

And last year's triple crown winner became the first amateur to show Scott and Carol's young horse Roger in the Junior Exhibitor Park division.  Showing moments of brilliance in his amateur appearance, the pair will again be showing at Madison Classic.

 

What's Next?

This weekend, most of Team Knollwood will be in the state capitol to compete at the Madison Classic Horse Show. Always a favorite, this year’s edition is going to be a whopper, with horses coming from as far away as Kentucky and Missouri.  There are so many horses competing that the show has taken over both New Holland Pavillions, and an extra warm up arena has been added.

Add the World’s Largest Brat Festival on the grounds at the same time, and you can be sure it’s going to be a weekend you don’t want to miss!

 

The following weekend, our academy team will head out to the Prairie State Classic show in Woodstock, Illinois. Primarily a Morgan show, the event lets our riders compete against different riding programs than at Saddlebred shows, and the Morgan hospitality can’t be beat.

 

Our biggest charitable event of the season continues, with our food drive benefiting the Food Pantry of Waukesha County ending on June 8.  Please consider donating some food kits, or making a financial contribution to the Food Pantry of Waukesha County.

Remember, for every food kit you donate, you receive a ballot to give new arrival Cinco his official Knollwood name!                  

Each rider who collects a minimum of 5 food kits or cash equivalents ($15 per food kit) is entitled to participate in our first ever video scavenger hunt on June 8.  Days of the week are competing against each together for prizes and personal satisfaction.  Be sure to label your bags or check with the name of the rider you’d like to support.

Summer riding school starts with a sold out Tiny Tot edition on June 10, and Classic Camp starts on June 17.  We have very limited openings for classic weeks, and still have some room for Knollwood Kids August 19-23 for their very own show prep week.  Please talk to your instructor to join the fun!

 

We hope you can join us for all the fun we have planned

at home, and on the road.

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

You may not know that the Knollwood Knockouts’ mission statement is:

‘To support and promote equitation, horsemanship, and friendships through service to others.’

 

Sure, Knollwood Kids love to ride, hang out with horses and their barn friends, and show horses, but over their 20+ year history, they've also become famous for giving back.

They've sent veterans on the Honor Flight, held a walk for Heart Disease, raised funds for cancer research, and supported many horse shows in addition to their continued support of Saddlebred Rescue.

The Knockouts and all of Team Knollwood have come together once again for their annual food drive - with a twist, of course.

Each spring, the Food Pantry of Waukesha County runs low on food when school finishes for the year.  Families in need who relied on lunch at school now have to find a different source, and many turn to the pantry.

Enter the Knockouts and Team Knollwood.

We host a food drive in which the different days of the week compete to see which day can gather the most food kits over their goal to win prizes, AND participate in a really fun event.

The food pantry has asked that we donate the food in kits which include:

 

It’s time for our biggest charitable event of the year, and we hope you can help us gather even more food than last year for our neighbors in need.

Each Knollwood rider that has a minimum of 5 food kits donated in their name is eligible to join their team on Saturday, June 8 at 5:30 PM for our first ever Video Scavenger Hunt. Be sure to mark each bag with the rider and day of the week they ride so we credit the correct team.

If you don’t have time to shop but would like to help out the food pantry, you can write a check to The Food Pantry of Waukesha County and give it to your favorite rider.  We’ll take all the checks in when we deliver the food.  The cash equivalent of a food kit is $15 per kit.

After the scavenger hunt is complete, we’ll all gather for a pot luck picnic at the farm.  The teams that gather the most food kits over their goal will receive special prizes from our friends at Wild Impact Marketing, and the first place team will also win a pizza party courtesy of the Knockouts.

 

As an added bonus, for each food kit you donate, you’ll receive a ballot for our ‘Name the New Horse contest.’ Cinco is joining us, and needs a real Knollwood name.  You can submit a different name on each ballot, or really make a point, and enter the same name on all your ballots.

 

What's next?

Show horses and academy stars are off to Madison for Memorial Day weekend and the Madison Classic horse show. A national honor show, this year's edition promises to be another gathering of fabulous horses and talented riders from all over.  You won't want to miss it!

We have very limited openings for our 2019 summer riding school, including some for our special week just for advanced beginner Knollwood Kids from August 19-23.  This session isn't listed on the website, so talk to your instructor if the rider in your house would like a week is a little more advanced!

 

 

See you at the barn, hopefully with food kits in hand!

Team Knollwood has held three in-barn academy shows for many moons, and we were starting to feel like we were stuck in a rut. We asked questions, put our brains together, and came up with a new and improved show. We had a blast last weekend with more riders, more classes, and many, many laughs.

What did we change?

 

We relaxed the atmosphere.

 Instead of full academy dress, all our riders wore long sleeved tees designed by our friends at Wild Impact Marketing.  It kept the tension down, and brought everyone together.

Besides the relaxed attire, our fabulous hair salon ladies braided hair, created some new show looks, and put some traditional buns in.

 

All riders advanced to their championship.

You get better by doing, so all riders had a chance to ride in a championship, and try to make the workout.  Sammy worked as many riders as time would allow so the riders could get used to going to the rail alone. Our tiniest riders even got to ‘work out’ in the line up.

 

We added the

‘Open Gaming Division!’

Our show barn riders always help in the barn and concessions, so we gave them a way to participate in the show as well. They could enter Saturday’s finale, the gaming division. Academy and show riders alike competed in a challenging bareback class, a ‘slowest canter’ class, and the highlight of the games, a highly competitive game of ‘Ride a $5.’

Several of our show ring stars said they had a hard time getting out of bed on Sunday after the bareback and the intense battle in Ride a $5. We finally made Amanda drop her last $5 after a few laps of posting 3 steps and change your diagonal in the air.

 

We highlighted the academy journey in our demos.

While we usually showcase Saddlebred show horses in our demos, we chose to highlight the academy process for this show. First up, Erika and Mia rode in wearing full academy show attire and demonstrated how experienced academy stars show and use the ring.

Later in the performance, Haley rode a demonstration of where academy showing can take you. Haley showed her award winning equitation skills while piloting An Irish Victory around the arena.

 

 

We have many thanks:

Great thanks to Sammy Jo for giving up a weekend during show season to help our academy riders. Sammy’s a favorite for her ability to judge each class individually, and to offer words of encouragement when a rider has a pretty clean ride and makes an error that changes the outcome of the class. She also let lots of riders complete workouts, and really got into the spirit of the show during the game division.

 

Our personal assistants were once again rock stars. These experienced riders from school and show barns serve as mentors to our walk and trot riders and take great care of the best lesson horses in the world.

And, our streak is alive!  No riders went into the wrong class for yet another show!

 

We are beyond fortunate to have an army of volunteers who gather silent auction items, put gift baskets together, run a busy concession stand, keep riders safe in the arena, announce the show, style hair, and act as experienced ‘show moms’ to our newest riders. We couldn’t do it without you!

 

 

Coming Up?

Our show horses are in St Paul, Minnesota for the FASH Show.  It’s a big show at a beautiful facility, but unfortunately, it’s not webcast.  Good luck to everyone showing, and we’ll update results as we get them!

Our semi annual street clean-up is coming up this Saturday at 1:00 PM.  Help us clean up Oakwood and Nagawicka Roads, and then return to the farm for a Knockout meeting at 2:30.

Our annual food drive for the Food Pantry of Waukesha County is underway, and continues until the first week of June. Each rider who gathers up 5 food kits from family and friends is eligible to participate in our first ever Video Scavenger Hunt on June 8.

Team Tuesday is currently in the lead, and there’s a special prize for the team with the most food kits donated.

 

 

See you at the barn!

Hi Everyone, Forest here.

Let me start out by saying this:

Crimes have been committed.

And I started it.

You see, my fearless companion Frank the Pony and myself had been contained in the calorie controlled paddock for lo these many years, next to the obnoxious boodmares and their pesky kids. We thought we’d drop a hint to the people in charge around here, and decided to escape the fat farm.

Perhaps our error was that we chose to escape three, count ‘em, three nights in a row.

So that’s the first crime.

The second is far worse.

We’ve been banished from our private enclave to the BIG school horse pasture with the real criminals. Yes, we’re now in what they call ‘the general population.’ These guys like to chase us around and keep us from all the hay.  I actually think there are a couple of bullies out there. So if Frank or I look a little slimmer, you’ll know why…

The real story of the week is the Knollwood show this weekend.  And because I am an expert on all things Knollwood-y, I’ve been elected to fill you all in.

As I well know, the pastures are pretty muddy.  Our friends at the Kettle Moraine Curling Club have kindly allowed us to use their lot this weekend after ours fills up. 

Please enter only from Oakwood Road.

The concession stand will again be located in the show barn, and I’d love to join you all there. Unfortunately, I’m working this weekend, and I guess there are discriminatory laws about Fjords eating at human concession stands.

However, please support the Knockouts, and have a snack on me!  Be sure to tell the friendly workers that Forest sent you.

 

I must be entertained while I work, and you have a chance to do that AND support our favorite charity, Saddlebred Rescue.

  For only $5 per class, you can have the song of your choice played during a class.  All proceeds benefit the rescue which takes care of Saddlebreds who have fallen through the cracks, and helps them find new jobs and new homes. Please be generous, as not all horses are as fortunate as we Knollwood boys.

Personally, I hope someone plays my favorites, Tiny Bubbles by Don Ho, or Danke Schoen by Wayne Newton. If you don’t like those, any zippy show tune will make me happy even though I’m starving.

Because all our students will be semi casual this weekend, we’re going to use a demo to showcase two of our academy stars who will show what  seasoned academy riders look like when they’re dressed to compete at the highest levels.

There’s a rumor going around that another demo may involve a certain Triple Crown Winner who started in our lesson program.  I’ll keep you posted!

Ironically, our food drive for the Food Pantry of Waukesha County on Saturday.

Please consider donating a food kit to support your favorite Knollwood Kid(s). Each rider who solicits a minimum of 5 food kits is eligible to compete in our first ever Video Scavenger Hunt at 5:30 on June 8. I have a feeling that  I may be involved in the hunt, though no one has officially informed me.

This is a wonderful opportunity to help our neighbors in need at a time when the pantry runs low on inventory.

 

I have a few tips to help our newest spectators enjoy the show…

Many fans ask what the difference is between pleasure and equitation classes.  Simply put, the pleasure classes are about the horse and rider working together to create a picture of ease and pleasure. The horse and rider should look like they both enjoy what they’re doing.

We always schedule pleasure classes first so riders can get comfortable in their initial class, and feel how their horse is thinking on show day.

Equitation is all about the rider.  The judge is looking at body position, steering, diagonals and leads, and how the rider uses spacing in the arena to present themselves well. Of course, the rider should have their horse working at a good speed for their individual horse, and should look smooth and relaxed.

 

What’s the difference between school horse and saddle seat pleasure?

So much. School horse pleasure is for all the wonderful lesson horses who are not high headed Saddlebreds or Morgans.  The magnificent quarter horses, Arabians, and assorted crosses are stars of the school horse pleasure division. Of course, there’s also a pretty special, if skinny, Fjord competing there as well.

Saddle Seat pleasure is for the show breeds, and most of these horses are the ones who travel to academy shows with us. While they travel faster and are flashier than our school horse pleasure competitors, all these horses are beautiful in my eyes. Even the ones who don’t let me eat as much as I’d like in the pasture.

 Sure, this weekend is a competition, but most importantly, it should be FUN. 

Cheer for your friends, hug your horse, congratulate the winners, and soak it all in.

There's nothing better.

We lesson horses love what we do, and hope you do, too!

I’m looking forward to show weekend, and hope to see all my friends there. 

Please bring treats!