In Case you Missed out Last Night!!!

I promise to write more later about the awesome night last night!! And if I wasn't so old school I would have thought about a paypal account sooner! but if you couldn't attend, and haven't used a checkbook since 2002, but still want to support sinead and tate on their journey - we are finally equipped for the 21st century.

Stuart Shout Outs - Winning

I loved when in the middle of the frenzy that was the spring season I said to myself,
 "don't worry, summer will be quiet."
Summer is a lot of things; hot. humid. dusty. sweaty. long. drab. miserable. stupid. dumb.
but it is NOT quiet.

But I will say amidst all the heat and my constant curses toward mother nature - this past weekend at Stuart was WINNING. King pony gets the extra special shout out for completing his first intermediate and from moving up from 25th place to 2nd by the end of the weekend!! And for keeping his head down in his dressage test 87% of the time. i love that horse. winning

Sarah also gets a charlie sheen winning because she and her horse Convict are real life eventers now - finishing up in 6th in the novice. So proud. winning

Foxypants also made a great comeback this weekend finishing in the top 10 after being sidelined for quite a few years. This horse is going to be a cool addition to SHE as he restarts his upper level career. winning

Tate gets a shout out because he didn't kick down the stabling on Saturday as all his friends galloped by him grounded in his room. winning

Tik gets a shoutout for finishing 2nd in the OP, and trying to braid, failing miserably and then bartering with fellow canadian Andrea so his horse looked as beautiful as she should. winning

Little Horse gets a shout out for going clean and being a grownup pony. winning

Sinead gets a shout out for driving home sunday evening after the longest hottest day everrrrrrrrrr. winning

Emma Ford gets a shout out because it was her birthday and i pansied out and went to sleep instead of having a dance party. winning

Niki Lendel gets a shout out for falling out of her trailer, potentially breaking her ankle, and still show jumping later that day. winning

Olivia gets a shout out for working all weekend by herself with a disfigured hand. winning


Holly Payne and Baby get a shoutout for getting back to the swing and competing in the OP! winning

The jog strip at stuart does not get a shout out.

[EDIT] Eventing Nation gets a shout out because they keep linking my blog. just winning.

Spring Cleaning in July

Happy Fourth!

I am back from cali and back on the reorganizing warpath! We are still getting settled in our new farm - Fieldstone owned by Chrissy and Chuck Smith of Pottersville, NJ.
Our farm is a lovely, new barn with 13 stalls - all full!
We have slowly begun to put our vision into reality - and last night I went to Walmart...and bought the entire store.
Sunday was a day off for the horses, so as Sarah dragged all the rings and fields, and Olivia bedded all the stalls....megkep threw out half the feed room and tack room, pulled out a screwdriver and went to town.
I suppose you don't really get a relative idea without a before picture....but can i just say: Extreme Makeover: Barn Addition.

We aren't finished yet! But we see walls and floors, and there are shelves and trunks and more OH MY!
I love days of productivity. SIDE NOTE: Be sure to send in your RSVPs for the fundraiser - we will be donating part of our proceeds to the True Prospect Recovery Fund!!
Happy Cleaning!

Here are Sarah and Olivia after we made some real progress in the tack room today (HAVING FUN AS USUAL! LOOK HOW HAPPY THEY ARE! THIS COULD BE YOU!!!!)

LIVE: from Cali

Just a quick note from the west side!

Vacation is going well, I have eaten drank slept and am sunburnt.

I return home thursday on a redeye and intend to hit the ground running!

The girls have informed me I am starting to receive RSVPs in the mail - this is so exciting! IF you haven't yet received your invitation to An Evening At the Team, be sure that you shoot me a quick email with your  mailing address so we can get one out to you.

We are also interviewing for an exciting temp Working Student Position. Check out my previous post for details, and holler if you have any questions.

And with our upcoming trip to my fav country in the world : the UK, our eventing sked has slightly been altered  - and Tater pants is officially entered to skip around an Intermediate track at Stuart next month  - our goal here is to ensure he stays confident before we head over to the challenging tracks in England.
Running along side him in the Intermediate will be Outfoxed - a new ride for Sinead, and mr pumba himself Classical King doing his first intermediate!

Sarah is also taking her steed for their second novice, and we have Belvedere running in the novice as well. I probably forgot someone - but you get the idea! Thats all for now, I will see you all Thursday ('see') as long as my plane doesn't crash....eeeek!

Peace out from the left coast!

my sunburn day 2:

Rare learning opportunity of fun and awesomeness for really really ridiculously good looking people that read good

S.H.E is offering a 3 month Student Position at Fieldstone Farm in Pittstown,NJ

In the effort of not only promoting good riding but the goal of promoting good barn management and people skills including working in a team and speaking with sponsors and owners and what it takes to run an Eventing Business.

Sinead feels there a few key things in running a successful Eventing operation

- An above average staff and environment. Your horses are only as happy as the people that work around them. Having an efficient hard working and happy staff leads to hardworking and happy horses.

- People Skills.

 The sport is changing and it is as important as ever to have good communication and marketing skills. This not only keeps sponsors,owners and staff happy it encourages new people to want to be part of the team.

-Work Ethic.

 - This sport is demanding and working a long day has to be expected. Learning and accepting this as part of the game will keep you striving high and your attitude unaffected when things get tough.

-The ability to learn by watching.

  We are lucky to have the ability to compete right next to the best in the world but actually learning how to take advantage of this is a learned skill.

All of these abilities are incorporated and taught in the work days at S.H.E

This is not a typical working student position. The Student will ride their personal horse next to Sinead in the arena. The Student will learn how to watch and ask questions. Communication is highly encouraged. The student will take part in all the chores of the barn as well as watch daily schooling sessions including lessons taught and taken by Sinead. Most of these sessions will be followed by short discussions. There is also an opportunity to help ride, especially while Sinead is away.

Sinead will be back and forth to the UK for August and will have a full competition schedule including Fairhill CCI in the fall.  If you are interested in this position please contact Megan Kepferle megkep@gmail.com. Currently interviewing. Candidates need to be 18 years of age, or out of high school and a car is preferred.

Cost without a horse is $500 a month

Cost with horse $1000 a month.

This includes a discounted rate for full training for horse and nearby shared accommodation for student.

Utilities not included and split comes to less than 100 per month.

position available end of July through November

Look at how much fun they're having! This could be you.

Come drink with us!!! And help us get to Burghley! (but the wine part is the most important!)

Alvin's Lookin for a J O B

Classic Garden is a perfectly able, willing and useful tb gelding looking for a job. 'Alvin' is the perfect horse to learn on, and is currently looking for some new students. Alvin is ready to help you get back to the show ring, and is also a great 'stepping stone' for juniors. If you are near Pittstown, and are looking for some lessons, a half lease or more- please call or email me! We have some special rates for new students and I am sure you will have some fun.
240-577-9102
Megkep@gmail.com
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Tate is back in work!

My high quality photography : Sinead, Tater, and zeppo (offscreen) off for a lovely hack

Today marks the official countdown to Burghley. Tate's vacation is over (which I think Tate and Sinead alike were MORE than happy to start back in work together). I suppose after 4 weeks of vacation I, too would probably throw my hay around my room just for shits and giggles to watch my minions struggle to keep my stall as tidy as I require. 

He will spend some time just hacking about phasing into light flatting to slowly bring his rested body back into work, and we plan to do our first gallop four weeks from tomorrow.

In other news, I made Sarah and Olivia separate, bag, and label allll the blankets today-clearly as it has felt like 100 degrees the past week, we clearly wont be needing them.

Then I checked the weather, quickly made a rule against mutinies and voodoo dolls, and then broke the news: low was in the 40s tonight. 

(I helped unload the blankets.)

Thats all for today - sinead is headed to Mass for a clinic, and I am headed to Unionville saturday night....so the girls are manning the fort!

no laughing matter here - this here is family

I know I am supposed to be funny and lighthearted - but I need to take a minute to talk about one named Lillian and the True Prospect Family.

As a rookie in this game, I knew no one. I worked day and night, my best friend was Running Order and I had verbal communication with one person per day. It was definitely something foreign for me. I have always been above average on the socializing scale, and for once I literally had no friends. Slowly I started meeting people, making acquaintances, getting more comfortable with my job. But all these people had been doing this for much longer than I, and while everyone was nice - I essentially was the new girl - unproven.

There were a few girls that I met along the way that first season - that really gave me the time of day - helped me when I was completely lost, gave me insight when I needed it, essentially and literally welcomed me into their homes. Lillian Heard was one of those girls.

Lillian always has a genuine smile on her face and a quick wit to crack smiles on others. Hardworking, more than reliable, and ultimately strong in character, she is always willing to lend a helping hand no matter how busy she is. She is one of those people that everyone likes and exemplifies the true meaning of the word good. A person that you want good things to happen to because they deserve them.

No one should have to deal with a barn fire, and it breaks my heart that Lillian has had to endure what she has this past 24 hours. Although relatively new friends, she is one of my closest in the eventing community. Part of my 'family'.

My heart is very heavy tonight as I drink my best bottle of wine, and think about the people and nature of this sport. There comes a time of maturity when you realize and prepare yourself for the hard times that come along with eventing and life, but you never prepare for a loss of this magnitude.

I have already seen the loads of support coming in for Boyd and his crew, which shows that this sport really knows how to unify in times of need. It is inspiring. So, as we all head to the barn tomorrow, I urge you be thankful for your healthy horses and try to add a little "Lillian" to your day. She really is a wonderful horsewoman, and a damn good bridesmaid ;)


for more information on how you can assist in the relief efforts for True Prospect:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs006/1104029799492/archive/1105760349885.html

http://boydandsilvamartin.blogspot.com/

http://www.eventingnation.com

On a Lighter Note...

So as my boss ...my aka slave driver (jokes) ....my good friend Sinead Halpin, whom I also happen to work for,  has climbed to the high profile blogging of The Chronicle, she has graciously passed the torch on to me to keep everyone updated here on sineadhalpin.com.

I hope to keep everyone entertained and informed on our daily happenings - and fully welcome all questions, comments, and donations - preferably in unmarked bills.

In the next couple of weeks we will be working diligently towards updating the website post-rolex. We have quite a few lovely horses in to sell, and some in to keep, two dogs (one unruly and one AWESOME), some flowers and a growing team of awesome girls, headed by yours truly. Between the four of us and the roughly 12 ponies, there is always something exciting happening here at SHE.

I am very excited to take the reins here - and look forward to using this blog as my excuse to escape from the premature summer heat wave.

you may contact me at megkep@gmail.com

ciao ciao for now