Every spring, it's become a Knollwood tradition to enjoy a March weekend welcoming a great instructor to conduct a clinic for our riders. We all get a chance to reflect and learn from the best in the industry. Listening to a different perspective opens our eyes as well as those of our riders.  These clinics brighten everyone's spark as we head into a new, exciting show season.

 

This year, we're looking forward to a weekend of learning from one of the best as we welcome Kellie Budd March 9 to 11 for Clinic Weekend 2018.  Kellie and her husband Dalton own and operate Select Show Horses in Indiana.  They started careers in the Arabian and Half Arabian divisions where they achieved great success. Recognition of that success included  Kellie being named the Arabian equitation instructor of the year in 2016.

They have now branched out into the Saddlebred industry where they have already made a big impact. Just last season, they had two championship riders. Faith Robbins finished reserve in the National Good Hands Final while Ella Hampton won the World Grand Championship for Equitation riders 13 and Under, and won the UPHA Challenge Cup Junior National final.

Much like Knollwood, Select Show Horses operates a big lesson program and a busy, busy show horse business. There are many parallels in our programs, and we expect the weekend to be a great exchange of ideas, and a lot of fun.

While we’re not holding lessons this weekend, our show riders and our busiest academy riders will enjoy lessons with Kellie. We’re looking forward to learning from her unique perspective and success at turning out champion riders.

The Knollwood Spring Show is coming up fast on March 24 and 25, and we can hardly wait. 

We have lots of fun things planned for the show, and here’s your official guide to all the festivities.

 

Get Ready!

Our used clothing sale is coming up this Saturday, March 3 from 11 am to 3 pm in the show barn lounge.  Stop by and browse our selection of gently used jods, boots, shirts, and vests. Jodi will have her deep inventory of ties and bling to complete your show ring look, too.

We’ll have experienced horse show moms on hand to help with fit and color selection.  These pros can help you create your perfect show ring style.  If we don’t have the sizes you need, we can measure and help you with online shopping, too!

 

 

Hair Appointments

The Knollwood salon will be open on Saturday and Sunday before the show.  Our expert stylists will create the perfect bun for only $5, or $8 if you’d like a bow. Sign up sheets are posted in the school barn lounge. Riders are reminded to bring a hair tie, bobby pins, hairnets, a brush, and hair spray to their appointment.

 

 

 

Practice Rides

Plan on joining us on Friday night, March 23 for a fun filled practice ride.  Especially valuable to first time show riders, these practices offer all the information and experience you’ll need to be comfortable entering the show ring. Riders will practice everything from entering the ring through the chute to line up preparation and show ring etiquette.

These $40 classes are offered at 5:30 pm and 6:30 pm on Friday night.  Please talk to your instructor to sign up.  Horses are going fast!

 

Corporate Sponsorships

We’re happy to announce that our friends at Soul Fire Art Studio are the 2018 Knollwood Spring Show concession stand sponsor.  We thank them for their continued support of our program, as they also help with our camp craft program every summer.

Interested in corporate sponsorship for your business? We have opportunities at the Knollwood shows as well as the ASAW Summer Showcase in August.  Ann or Nancy would he happy to answer any questions.

 

 

Concession Stand

It’s almost time for the Knockouts’ biggest fund raiser of the year, the concession stand!  Please consider working a shift during show weekend. It’s a great way to make new friends and to fulfill your service requirement for the club. Each member must work a minimum of 2 service hours per year to be eligible for high point awards at the banquet.

You can sign up here, or if you prefer paper and pens, you can sign up in the school barn lounge.

 

 

Raffle Baskets

Sign up sheets are up in the school barn lounge for our famous gift baskets. There are some really fun themes to help raise funds for the hardest working youth club around, and we really appreciate everyone’s help!

 

 

 

Songs for Saddlebreds

DJ Maria will be playing requested music during the show to support Saddlebred Rescue.  For a donation of only $5 a song, you can request music for your class, a friend’s class, or just one you’d like to support.  You can sign up and pay any instructor to hear your music and help a great cause at the same time. Deadline for sign up is 3:00 pm on Thursday, March 22.

We are proud to support Saddlebred Rescue, and have been honored twice with their special 'Youth to the Rescue' award.

Oh, and the Mother Daughter class has already been taken by a friend of Holly and Wendy’s.  Trust us, you won’t want to miss that class…

 

 

 

Knockout Flowers

The Knockouts have partnered with our friends at Bank of Flowers to create unique bouquets for purchase.They're a perfect gift for your favorite rider or friend, and proceeds will benefit the Knockouts. You can pre-order your bouquet by March 9 for $12, or purchase the day of the show for $15.

We'd recommend that you pre-order now so you don't miss out.

 

Can you tell that we're excited about the start of show season? Our riders have been working hard and having fun this winter, and are eager to enter the show ring again. We hope you'll join us, cheer on all the riders, and support all the great programs the Knockouts have going.

See you at the barn!

 

 

 

 

The Knollwood Knockouts gathered last Saturday for a very special edition of their annual awards banquet.  Members enjoyed dressing up for an evening of fun while celebrating the past, present and future.  In case you weren’t able to join the affair, here are our favorite seven things about the evening.

 

Socializing

The Legend at Bristlecone always gives us a great atmosphere to catch up with barn friends.  Before a delicious buffet dinner, (including an ice cream sundae bar) members enjoyed some time just hanging out and enjoying the evening. 

Our youngest Knockout, Olive Shearman, attended her first club meeting at the tender age of 5 months, and was held by quite possibly all the moms in the room. Being the daughter of Tom and Lin, (and granddaughter of Holly) Oli seemed to really enjoy the party atmosphere.

 

The junior exhibitors in the crowd packed the front of the room, close to the awards, the slide show screen, and the dance floor.

 

Award Winners

We presented trophies  in many, many divisions to award the accomplishments of our academy riders. From our in-barn lead line stars to our out of barn stars, we're proud of each and every one of them!

 

Academy Awards 

We believe in the academy division, and it showed on Saturday night. We were proud to recognize our 18 winners of academy awards from the American Saddlebred Horse Association. With riders ranging from showing in their first season to our seasoned academy riders who are moving up to the show horse world next season, we love the process of building riders through the academy world.

 

High Point Award Winners

We keep track of points for all of our academy riders, whether they show at our in-barn shows or at the out of barn academy shows throughout the season.  It’s always fun to see who comes out on top in the competition for high point awards for in and out of barn shows for the season.

For the 2017 season, we were happy to award the high point award for our in-barn shows to Maiya with Lauren in reserve. In the out of barn division, Richie was the champ with Sofia reserve.

Congratulations to these hard working riders, and we hope you enjoy your personalized championship blankets!

 

 

Service Awards

It takes a village to prep and care for our academy horses as they travel throughout the season. We are very fortunate to have a team of show riders who take care of the best lesson horses in the world, and mentor our future stars at the big shows. These ladies prep horses for the ring, offer moral support to the riders, and make everyone's lives much, much easier. We couldn't do it without this great group of 'Knollwood Kids!', and we're happy to recognize them and offer them a little token of our appreciation for all they do.

 

 

 

Recognizing our ‘B’ Competitors

The banquet offered the perfect opportunity to thank our three riders who compete on the ‘B’ division.  In addition to showing, Laura, Jodi, and Mary support our academy riders at every show by helping in the warm up ring, the wash rack, and in the aisle. In addition, Laura is a tireless ‘bunmaker’ to our academy stars.

We were happy to present the ladies with their own rubber boots for all the tail and leg washing they do throughout the year, and with gift certificates for each of them to enjoy some relaxation.

 

 

 

The Big Reveal 

2018 marks the 40^th anniversary of the founding of Knollwood Farms, and we’re thrilled to say we were able to keep a surprise from Scott!

The banquet room was filled thanks to Scott's vision 40 years ago when a very young horse trainer started it all. Due to his hard work and dedication to his horses and riders in his care, Knollwood has grown into the phenomenon it is today.

Oh, and Carol helped a little bit along the way. ;-)

We created a separate slide show for our fearless leader, and our friends at Wild Impact Marketing created fun party favors to help us kick off a year of celebrating 40 years of Knollwood.

We have some great things planned, and we hope you join us for all of it.

 

 

 

 

What’s Next?

 

Knockout and Parents Meeting

This Saturday, February 24, we're holding a Knockout meeting in the lounge at 4:30 pm.  Please join us to meet your new officers and help plan the March show and other fun events.  We’re hosting a parents meeting immediately after the club meeting, too. We’d love to meet parents who would like to become more involved with our award winning youth club.

 

Used Clothing Sale

Next Saturday, March 3, we’re holding a used academy clothing sale from 11 am to 2 pm in the show barn lounge. We’ll have all of our used clothing available to purchase, Jodi will have her show ring accessories for sale, and we’ll have experienced academy show moms staffing the event so you can create the prefect outfit for the Knollwood Spring Show March 24-25.

 

 

We hope you join us

as we start the celebrations recognizing 40 years of Knollwood.

See you at the barn!

 

Tradition.

Honor.

Passion.

 

 

 

 

Our Mid America Champions

Banquet season has begun, and Team Knollwood traveled to Lisle, Illinois for the Mid America Horse Show Association’s awards celebration last weekend. The association, founded in 1939, puts on three horse shows each year including the Signature show in Roscoe and the Mane Event in Springfield.

The banquet features great raffle baskets donated by many of the attending barns, and a wonderful silent auction. Knollwood's own Mary donated one of her original artworks which sold for $265!

 

 

 

After social time and dinner, awards were presented for the  academy and show horse divisions. Team Knollwood was well represented in the awards, and we congratulate all of the winners!

In the ‘B’ division. Laura and Heist were champs in both the adult country and show pleasure divisions. (Thanks to Scott for the shoeing change during the season!)

 

 

Jodi and JD were reserve champs in the adult country pleasure division.

 

In the ‘A’ division, Kerry and Leila were champs in both Park Open and Park Amateur. 

 

 

 

Haley was champion in Pleasure Equitation

for riders aged 14-17.

 

 

In her first year out of the academy division, and her first year showing at the canter, Hanna was champion in Pleasure Equitation for riders 13 and under.

 

Finn was reserve champion of Pleasure Equitation for riders 13 and under.

 

Our academy riders finished at the top of many age groups.

Emma was champion of Equitation for riders 14-17.

After a championship academy career, we can hardly wait to see Emma partner with Impressive Asset, AKA Fergie and enter the Pleasure Equitation division!

 

Heather was named champion of both Equitation and Horsemanship for riders 13 and under.

We’re looking forward to watching Heather and CH Fine By Me, AKA Tucker, compete in 13 and under Pleasure Equitation this season!

 

 

Erika was reserve champion of both Equitation and Horsemanship for riders 13 and under.

 

Sofia was walk and trot champion in Equitation for riders 11-17, and was reserve champion in Horsemanship for riders 11-17.

 

 

 

Lauren was Walk and Trot champion of Horsemanship for riders 11-17, and Reserve Champion in Equitation for riders 11-17.

 

 

Richie was Champion in both Equitation and Horsemanship for riders 10 and Under.

He finished his 2017 by riding to a Reserve National Championship in the UPHA Walk and Trot Challenge Cup Final.  He’s already qualified for the 2018 final, and will campaign this season with his horse, the one and only Miss Mheirry Mac.

 

What's Next??

We'll be celebrating the accomplishments of all Team Knollwood this Saturday at the Knockouts banquet. We have some special things planned for this year's event, and we can hardly wait to look back at our 2017 adventures before we look ahead to all the great things coming in 2018.

 

 

 

 

Don't forget the Knockout meeting coming up on Saturday, February 24 at 4:30.  You can meet your new officers, and help them plan the upcoming spring show, and the new events they're thinking of for 2018.

After the kids meeting, we're hosting a parents' meeting. We'd love to have some new parents join the fun of helping with the club. We run concession stands at 4 horse shows, and participate in lots of fun events. Please join us to learn how you can get more involved with these great kids!

 

 

 

See you at the barn, and at the banquet!

 

 

 

The Knollwood Knockouts youth group, a member of the American Saddlebred Horse Association’s Youth Foundation, has been in existence for more than 20 years.  They’ve been recognized by Saddlebred Rescue with their 'Youth to the Rescue' award, and by the American Saddlebred Association of Wisconsin for their continued support of their scholarship fund and horse shows. They’re the first youth group to sponsor a class at the World Championship Horse Show, and are the only one to be recognized on the Wall of Honor at the American Saddlebred Museum in Lexington.

 

The Knockouts have sent three veterans on Honor Flights to Washington DC, held annual food drives for the Food Pantry of Waukesha County, held a walk to fight heart disease, raised funds for breast cancer research, adopted families for Christmas for many years, held car washes for several different charities, kept our neighborhood beautiful with two street clean ups per year, and sent food and hurricane relief supplies to Puerto Rico this past December.

They also contribute generously to scholarship programs for riders through ASAW and several horse shows. Members Jess and Sarah both won college scholarships at the 2017 ASAW Summerfun show last July. They're currently studying at UW-Madison and Canisius.

 

 

Members of all ages participate in activities and benefit from the club throughout the year.

Knockout members also earn points each time they enter the show ring. We track points for riders who compete at both our in-barn shows and for those who compete at academy shows on the road. 

At our annual award banquet held the second week of February, we recognize high point award winners in both the in-barn and out of barn divisions.  We also recognize riders who earn Academy Awards from the Saddlebred Horse Association, and show barn riders who assist in our academy program.

To earn a high point award, members are required to participate and support the club in two ways. Riders must attend a minimum of three club meetings throughout the year, and must perform a minimum of two hours of service to the club.

Meeting are usually held on Saturday afternoons, the busiest days at the barn. Our new officers are planning fun activities to be held in conjunction with the meetings, so stay tuned!

We have many, many service opportunities throughout the year, and many of our members go above and way beyond in their support of the club. Riders can participate in a street clean up, work at the concession stand at one of our in-barn shows, or at the ASAW Summer Showcase in Cedarburg, which is co-managed by the Knockouts and the American Saddlebred Association of Wisconsin. Club members can also help us set up in Cedarburg, help us tear down, or even deliver lunch orders to the barns participating at the show.

 

 

Why perform service to the club? We’re firm believers in giving back to the horse industry and to those in need, and this is a great way to start. The Knockouts provide support to many charitable causes, underwrite the bulk of their annual awards banquet to keep it an affordable event for Knollwood families, and they host our popular holiday celebration for members.

 

The Knockouts also underwrite lots of fun activities for members. Past events have included curling, mini golf outings, and ice skating nearby.

 

 

 

One of the largest horse industry youth groups in the country, our success can be summed up in one word: participation.

If you’ve not yet had the chance to participate in the Knockouts, please consider joining us and finding out what all the fun is about. We’re holding our first meeting of the year at 4:30 pm on Saturday, February 24. We’ll meet in the show barn lounge, and finish plans for our Spring show coming up on March 23-24.

Following the club meeting, we’re hosting a meeting for parents who would like to become more involved with the group. We’re always looking for mentors who can pitch in with the concession stands we run at four shows, or who would like to help at other events.

We’re sure you’ll have a great time with our horse crazy kids.

 

 

Tradition

Honor

Passion