Pulled Pork, Guitars and Good Friends

One of the most enjoyable things about living at Principia Stables is the Hulme's porch. It has become the center of summer cook-out festivities and day by day I am enjoying country living more.

We had a wonderful dinner party tonight filled with pulled pork, buffalo chicken dip, Coronitas (thanks Bryce for grabbing the mini Coronas ;) ) and more.

Our wonderful friends from the barn and surrounding community stopped by to share some laughs - Vance, our farrier from Advanced Farrier Specialties, and Dr. B - a local vet who lives across the street - provided the music with their guitars.

It was a bit of a bittersweet night as the ownersof Principia, and now our dear friends, the Hulmes, are leaving us tomorrow to go back to California.

They will be back for Christmas but will be missed as they are wonderful people who bring a light to our farm. Sophie has been incredibly helpful around the barn and given another one of the Kynymont Connemaras, Cody, some miles while she's been here.

Andrew's cooking will be terribly missed - along with his hilarious English tales.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by tonight and to the Hulmes: have a safe trip back to California and Sophie, you keep rockin' it out in Area VI (hopefully we'll have you jumping around Area II shortly)!

Absolutely Irish - "Archie"

It was back in November or December that Molly informed us we would be getting a couple Connemaras in for training. My mind immediately jumped back to this buck-skinned powerhouse that always beat out my off-the-track, green thoroughbred at Novice.

Needless to say I was eager to work with one of these animals that had easily stolen away those blue ribbons... but I wasn't expecting Archie to walk off the trailer.

And let me just start by saying: I love this horse. He is just so sweet and well-mannered.

Archie is a 2003 Connemara/Cross by Kynynmont Dublin(sire) and Greystone Irish Rose(dam). Don't let the Connemara in his breeding fool you... this is a very lovely HORSE!

Archie is half Connemara and half TB/Selle Francais/Canadian Hunter. Standing at 16 hands he is definitely not a pony, and his movement displays the warmblood in him.

Archie was one of the original Connemaras who came to Havarah last fall (we now have three at the farm). From the beginning Molly realized he was special and had a ton of potential. With beautiful movement and a solid jump, Molly believed Archie had the makings of a pro.

From handling Archie on the ground I can honestly say he is one of my favorites. He's like that sweet guy friend you can always confide in and enjoy spending time with. I don't think this boy has a mean bone in his body. Yes, I know people always say that about horses, but I have never seen this guy do anything ill-mannered in the eight or so months I have known him.

To better describe this horse I need to make him human. If he were a person, he would be very "metro". You know those skinny, good-looking guys who have a better fashion sense than most woman? These types of guys are the best ones to shop with because they are very honest, and Archie is definitely very honest when it comes to his training.

Archie started competing Beginner Novice in Aiken, SC during the winter months and as this level seemed too easy for him he quickly moved up to novice and is hopefully making the leap to training soon.

Molly and Archie's owner, Pam Liddell, are determined to show the eventing world that there is a new breed to take home the blues at the upper levels.

More than it being a pleasure to work with Archie it has been a pleasure to have Pam Liddell as part of the Havarah team. Her passion for these horses has led her to allow Molly to compete three of them!

Archie is for sale and looking for that special someone to take him all the way to reach his full potential in Eventing! Interested? Email molly@mollyrosin.com.

In addition, Pam has many more Connemara ponies and horses at Kynynmont Connemaras, LLC.

Ankhe Pass

Now it's time to meet the linebacker of our Havarah football team - Ankhe Pass.

Ankhe is a 2003 thoroughbred gelding by Lear Fan and is owned by Kathy Anderson.

As the first sentence of this profile would suggest Ankhe is... big boned... and it's a running joke that he has a bit of an identity crisis.

Ankhe, bred from a long line of thoroughbreds to become the next great racehorse didn't really hack it on the track - I believe this is because he wishes he was a warmblood.

Not only does his body type match that of a warmblood, his personality would lead you to believe he is one. Perhaps he has spent too much time with Rivan, who is by Contango, but Ankhe wants to be a little less hot and a little more warm.

Standing at 17 hands with the muscle mass of a professional body builder, Ankhe is a gentle giant.



This guy earned his place as a solid citizen when he and Molly's boyfriend, Bryce, became a team. Bryce was just getting back in the saddle when this giant came to the farm and he sort of became Bryce's "project".

They competed Beginner Novice together until Molly had to put Ankhe in a long-term program, but during this time Ankhe proved hat we was willing, honest and just a solid guy.

Being such a beast, it has taken Ankhe a little while to learn how to best utilize all features of his body in the appropriate way to master a dressage test. When he gets it, this horse displays very large, powerful movement.

The same can be said for jumping. In the beginning he had to figure out how to best place his feet, but when he gets it he shows a ton of scope and - as Molly points out - this powerful animal would be the most solid horse to navigate around a slippery, muddy Badminton cross-country course on.

Look out for Ankhe on the show circuit - he's currently running Training!

Thanks Kathy Anderson for giving Molly another wonderful horse to ride!

The Diesel Boy - "Leto"

When I first met Diesel Boy, or "Leto" as we call him, I was basically interviewing for a working student position with Molly.

Kara, our barn manager, handed me a list of horses to groom, so I started grooming. I kept filtering through the horses with Kara pointing me in the direction of my new acquaintances.

I grabbed Leto out of the stall and started grooming him, not thinking anything of it, and Kara made sure to tell me that he may be a little bad with his feet because he's only three... he's only three? I was shocked.

So what's the point of this little relapse into the past? It's to emphasize how well-mannered this young man is. When I hear the words "three, baby, green etc" past ex-racehorses that made my life miserable start flashing through my brain and it takes some time to steady my thoughts. So when I met Leto, I was pleasantly surprised.

This little true black gelding is a 2007 Westphalian/TB cross (American Warmblood) owned by Molly and her boyfriend, Bryce Kinnamon. He joined the Havarah team in the summer of 2010.

Molly's first encounter with Leto was at Roddy Strangs. He was there getting 30 days of training and Roddy had Molly take him out on a trail ride. She was sold over the first jump. According to Molly, Leto naturally has a super soft back in the air over a fence and a very balanced canter up to a jump. At three he was easier to see a spot on than many of her competition mounts.



It has been a pleasure to watch this little man grow. Leto was the low man on the totem pole out in the pasture. Luckily he's black, because he'd come in from turnout with a new bite mark everyday.

When we were down in Aiken, I really started to notice a change in Leto. Not only did all four legs start to work together beautifully, but he started to hold is own out in the field. I think the daily saying became "Dang Leto, way to hold your own bud!"

Although he toughened up enough to stand up to the older horses, he is still the sweetest to handle on the ground. Mostly, he starts to fall asleep while being groomed. Like all of our horses, Leto has learned to enjoy the Havarah grooms from an early age -it's like going to the hair salon and getting a shampoo and message daily.

Leto has just begun his Eventing career competing Beginner Novice at a few starter trials and competing in the Young Event Horse division in the past Waredaca.

Look out for an adorable, black gelding tied to Molly's trailer at shows. You will notice him instantly with his bushy forelock and big, curious ears.

If you are interested in finding one of these handsome boys check out Bonnie LeMonte's Mouse House Farm in Nottingham, PA!

Havarah's Charly. Period.

ARGH I was trying to save the best for last but I couldn't wait - sorry Charles but you know you are number one.

Quite honestly I don't even know where to start in describing Charly because, he is, the reason for everything. So maybe I'll just start from the beginning.

Molly was managing a barn back in California when she met Charly. He was one of many Hungarian Warmbloods they had shipped over to be re-trained into Event horses.

I think Charly noticed Molly before Molly noticed Charly. She says he was always watching her. Whether she was riding or giving lessons he would have his head out, watching - this caught Molly's attention.

Apparently, women were not allowed to ride this horse. In addition, he was dubbed the barn jerk. Luckily, Molly was able to convince his owner to fly out and watch – or chaperon – Charly and her first ride.

The rest is history. Molly formed the Minyan Syndicate and purchased this incredible athlete in 2005. It was Charly who led Molly to the East Coast. She knew they needed to venture out East for a season to gain more experience on different types of courses.

After winning the AEC at Prelim on Charly Molly decided to make her move permanent. She gave up an established business in Fresno, CA to break racehorses and scrub water buckets from 5 a.m. till noon.

Charly and Molly won the CIC** in the fall of 2008 and nearly won the CCI** at Fair Hill. This phenomenal horse allowed her the honor of being on the developing riders list in 2009 and allowed Molly to gain sponsorship and truly call herself a professional rider.

Unfortunately Charly injured his suspensory in October 2010 and has been rehabbing since.



OK. This is more of a round-about profile but if I didn't explain the history behind Molly and Charly's partnership then it would be hard to really understand how important this horse is.

Charly, Chuckles, or Chunky Monkey (as months on pasture rest have unfortunately warranted this nickname) is the man - and he knows it.

This is a very expressive horse and is definitely not void of personality. We joke that he is like a "frat boy". Being that Charly's daily routine went from world-class shows to stall and pasture rest, he got a bit bored. So, Charly's solution:

-get a rise out of Molly's working students by spooking at inanimate objects, or objects that don't exist
-pretend as though he was going to gallop around his field (when he's not supposed to run) to make the working students run out of the barn in a panic
-look cute in his stall so working students would come to pet him and then pretend he was going to bite those foolish humans

Hence the frat boy comment. It's very obvious that this is all a game to him, just trying to get a rise out of some girls. Plus, Charly LOVES Guiness... what Frat boy doesn't?

Lately, Charly has been very well behaved and lightened up on his trickery. Molly thinks it's because he's slowly being put back to work and knows that if he's good, he will get to jump soon (he loves to jump).

Beyond his personality, this horse just has a presence about him. Charly is a very smart, confident animal and everyone at Havarah is on edge waiting for him to jump back onto the Eventing scene.

Thank you to all those who have made Molly and Charly's partnership happen and we thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for your patience in Charly's slow recovery.

Seneca Recap

We had four horses travel to Seneca Valley Pony Club HT yesterday: Ankhe, Benny, Rivan and Indie. This was Indie's first training and though he didn't bring home a ribbon he put in a great performance.

Benny brought home 6th in training as well and the other two put in solid tests.

Mostly I wanted to write a delayed welcome to Sophie and Andrew Hulme! The Hulmes are the wonderful owners of Principia Stables. They arrived last Monday and will be hanging around for another week!

Currently based out of California, Sophie rides with Dayna Lynd-Pugh and just finished 1st at Woodside on her Irish mare, Bally Quick Coin (Georgina).

Sophie has been spending her "vacation" riding with Molly and lending a hand as a Havarah groom. She easily fits into the Havarah team with her upbeat, positive attitude. You can tell a true horse girl when she goes on vacation and gets herself set up with work!

With each visit from the Hulmes it's hard not to start salivating when doing night check while Sophie's father, Andrew, is cooking up something delicious.

Being from across the pond, Andrew grew up with an amazing pallet which ends up spoiling working students like myself with pork ribs that have been smoked for four hours, marinated in an asian marinade for two, then baked for another two hours. YUM!

To the Hulmes: we enjoy your company immensely and look forward to all of your visits!

Baby Leto and Hope are at Seneca today competing beginner novice. Touch back to see how they did!

PUTTIN ON THE RITZ - "Benny"

PUTTIN ON THE RITZ, a horse named after the well-known Fred Astaire song, is better known as "Benny" and "Benoit". Benny is a 2005 Holsteiner/Hanoverian cross by Carlson.

Like his names suggests, Benny looks and acts the part of a great event prospect. He has good bone and a big heart. Before coming to Molly, Benny competed in local hunter jumper shows but ended up at Havarah because his owner, Alyssa Klavens, knew he would be happiest in the Eventing world.

He started his career with us in Aiken, SC and, from the start, showed a lot of promise. A solid jumper and confident cross country, Benny easily moved up from Beginner Novice to Training in just a few short months. He finished 6th at the Virginia Horse Trials in May and recently schooled the Prelim questions at Plantation Field this past week.

Molly has taken Benny over to True Prospect Farm for a couple of lessons and Phillip's response has been a positive one sparking excitement for us at Havarah. We are so excited that Alyssa brought Benny to Molly and now we have another great prospect in our program!



If you ask Molly's boyfriend, Bryce, Benny can do no wrong, and it's hard to disagree with him. This guy puts in a solid jumping performance every time out and he's got plenty of personality to make things interesting on a daily basis.

It's a running joke here at Havarah that Benny is the quarterback of our football team. We have a few beastly boys at the barn that make up the rest of the team. Benny kind of resembles that steady-eddy quarterback. Though not all of his plays score the memorable touchdown... consistency will get him that next first down.

Currently cruising around the Training courses look out for PUTTIN' ON THE RITZ on the Prelim leaderboards soon!

R.I.P. Ben - "No Worries"

Ben "No Worries" was a very special horse, owned by Kathy and Quinn Anderson, who passed away Monday. Ben was a handsome, dark bay with the most beautiful eyes and I will never forget all that he has taught me. I'll always remember our first beginner novice together. He ran around the entire cross-country course with his ears pricked forward set on a mission to finish in record time. Ben was always happy to see you, just waiting to go out and get to work!



Ben taught me many important lessons while I had the wonderful opportunity to ride him. Ben will be missed by everyone for he was an incredible horse that brought joy to many people. I couldn’t have had a better experience! I would like to thank Ms. Kathy and Quinn Anderson for letting me ride Ben.

Hannah Metz

Riding for a Cause

We had a very successful cross country school yesterday at Plantation Field benefiting the True Prospect Fire Relief Fund.

Two of the three Connemara-eventing-machines, Archie and Indie, stepped out of their Novice comfort zones and jumped around Training questions like champs.

Molly's two Training horses, Benny and Rivan, showed enormous amounts of potential jumping up a level to Prelim.

Ankhe, who recently moved up to Training, had a couple of green moments but learned a lot and, being the solid citizen that he is, toughed it out for a good go.

Congrats to working student, Shadney Elwell, who schooled her mare Ella Training. They hope to move up from Novice to Training at the Maryland Horse Trials in July!

Our handy CWD rep., Andrew Goodwin, had a successful school on his handsome man, Beau.

Perhaps one of the brightest moments of the day was having Mr. John Nunn back in the saddle! His lovely horse, Smile Like You Mean It "Smiley", unfortunately was suffering from a sore back but is now rockin' and ready to go!

Unfortunately, among all the good there is some sad news. Two of our clients and owners, Kathy and Quinn Anderson, lost a beloved horse of theirs, Ben. Ben was a wonderful horse and teacher having taken Molly's working student, Hannah Metz, to her first recognized Beginner Novice event. It's never easy loosing a horse as they become part of our family, but our hearts and thoughts go out to Kathy and Quinn.

Stay tuned for the next wave of events... so much going on there's always something to blog about!


Working Students Maddie Parison and Hannah Metz hanging by the trailer.

Plantation Starter Trials

Our apologies to interrupt the horse profile series here on the Havarah Blog site but we thought you all might want to know how our youngsters did today!

The Diesel Boy - Baby Leto - put on his big boy pants today and jumped like a superstar! Being only four, Leto is at the beginning of his eventing career and we have high hopes for him! He finished in 3rd for Beginner Novice Horse.

Hannah and Anna's Band had a successful second run. Hannah has been bringing her young thoroughbred mare along and after her second starter trials Anna is proving to look forward to the cross country phase most.

Quinn Anderson did very well on both her mounts: Google and Sprite, she got 4th on both! Look out for this girl and her dynamo ponies!

Jenn Nunn and her spotted mare Maiden had a wonderful dressage test scoring in the 20's.

Barb Strang competed her young four-year-old Judgement baby who is for sale and had a good go.

Last but not least is Hope, one of the newest horses in training with Molly. I believe this was one of Hope's first events and she shows much promise in this sport finishing 4th in Beginner Novice Horse!

The Havarah Team will be XC Schooling back at Plantation tomorrow and though we are going to gain some valuable experience on these rolling hills, we are more so looking forward to helping benefit the Fire Relief Funds for True Prospect Farm.

See you all there!

Sprite - The Wonder Pony

I remember walking the Preliminary course with Molly at the Pine Top Advanced event in Georgia this past winter thinking - Sprite is really going to jump these fences?? They are as big (if not bigger) than she is!

Sprite is a pony with the heart of a giant - and she can jump the moon!

This pony is the product of what happens when a very smart veterinarian needs to utilize a retired race horse and create a perfect horse for her little girl. She's a 2003 Palomino Connemara/TB Cross owned by the wonderful Quinn Anderson. Though Sprite (or Spritely as we call her) spends half of her time jumping tables the size of herself with Molly, the other portion of her life involves fox hunting and competing Beginner Novice with Quinn.

She definitely attracts a crowd as this mighty mare walks into a ring, ready to attack every fence. As she exits, Molly usually receives comments such as: "Wow, that thing can jump! Where can I get one of those?"



Watching Sprite jump is absolutely incredible. Envision an adorable ball of energy almost skipping to the base of a 3'6 fence and then out of nowhere shoots into the air like a spring. What's even more incredible is how easily she makes the distances... let's just say this girl doesn't have that typical, short pony stride.

Beyond her talents Sprite is probably the sweetest horse in the barn. She possesses that perfect, pony look that says "love me". Plus, between her big doe eyes, blonde eyelashes and the cutest whinny I've ever heard, she is the perfect kids pony - until you let her loose on a cross country course.

Quinn is our youngest owner at 13 years old, but she is smart about her pony's future and very passionate. When Sprite won a blue ribbon at a Sporting Days Combined Test in Aiken, SC the words "SHE DID!" could be heard very clearly from Molly's phone (it wasn't on speaker...).

Owning a remarkable pony isn't Quinn's only claim to fame, she is also a very talented rider. Look out for her at events this season on Sprite and her newest partner-in-crime Google!

Thanks to Quinn and Kathy Anderson for allowing Molly to compete such a wonderful athlete!

- Molly Gasiewicz

Sabrina - The Super Model

Today's profile is Sabrina, a.k.a "Wonder Woman" a.k.a. "The Super Model".

Those of you who know this mare know that her ideal lifestyle would be to reside in a plush stall, overflowing with the finest of shavings (probably equivalent to a person who loves high thread-count Egyptian Cotton sheets) and be turned out in the lushest of pastures with a perfect patch for sunbathing. She would only be disturbed to have baby oil put on her nose and polish on her hooves for a photo shoot.

That's right. People legitimately come to our farm to shoot product, they take one look at Sabrina and all 25 other horses are no good - she is the only one they want to photograph.

Check out her picture modeling the Nunn Finer Brentina Bridle at Bit of Britain (and many other's that's just my favorite).

Despite being beautiful, Sabrina is also talented.

She's a 2002 Selle Francais out of Cor De Le Bryere breeding. Sabrina is owned by Alex Robertson and Molly Rosin and is currently competing at the one-star level with hopes of moving up to Intermediate soon!

Sabrina is one of those horses that just keeps going above and beyond our expectations. Sabrina came to Havarah in October of 2009 without much of any experience. After just one winter she started eventing in February of 2010 with a win, her career was onwards and upwards from there.

Preliminary is really where we started to see Sabrina perform like an upper level horse and she just placed 8th at the Virginia Horse Trials CCI*! Molly and this mare have really become a great team as Molly once again showcases her ability to ride all types of horses - including those sensitive know-it-all mares.

Thanks to Alex Robertson who, though being a fantastic dressage rider, realized this mare's passions may lie somewhere else. Because of him Molly was able to take Sabrina over and the sky is the limit from here!

Two down....many more to go - keep checking back to read more about Havarah's wonderful athletes!

-Molly Gasiewicz

Rivan - The Dressage Horse Turned Eventer

Because we center our lives around these animals, I thought they deserved a little credit.

Our fist profile is Rivan, and as you may have guessed by the title, his career plans have somewhat changed in the past year.

Rivan, owned by breeder Pamela Benfield and Stephen Brenner, is a 1998 KWPN Oldenburg Gelding by Contango.

He came to Havarah in June of 2010. After a small career in the dressage world Rivan seemed bored with staying in the arena. He came to Molly in hopes that he would find a new passion in life - and he definitely has.

Just like his father, Contango, Rivan is "happy, cooperative, intelligent and an inquisitive individual". His athletic ability is incredible and it's a pleasure to work with such an honest and willing individual.

Rivan has quickly moved through the levels since September 2010 where he competed at his first starter trial at Fair Hill. After winning his fair share of "blues" he moved up to novice and then on to training where he currently can be seen on the leaderboard.

Probably one of the most entertaining parts about working with these animals is watching their personalities develop. Rivan, who used to over-jump EVERYTHING just to make sure his tippy-toes did not touch one bit of fence now shows a lot of scope. His uncertainties about cross-country have been replaced by a victorious strut off the course.

When Rivan isn't gliding around a dressage arena (usually hitting it in the 20's) and cruising around cross-country and stadium courses, he enjoys being pampered by his favored groom: Hannah Metz.

This gentle giant could be dubbed one of Havarah's originals and we have high hopes for him in the future. You can bet he will be moving from Training Horse to Preliminary soon!

In addition I want to send much thanks to his owners, Pamela Benfield and Stephen Brenner. They both are extremely supportive of Rivan and Molly's endeavors and are happy that their horse enjoys his life and career. It has been wonderful working with owners who value Molly's program and enjoy watching Rivan excel in his Eventing Career.

Thank you Pamela and Stephen!

Look out for our next profile! Who could it be???

- Molly Gasiewicz

We Promise to Blog More!

Like most professional riders with a blossoming business Molly Rosin is spending more time in the saddle and less time in front of her computer. Good for you Molly Sue!

That's where I come in! My name's Molly Gasiewicz (MJ to all those who know me here on the East Coast) and fortunately for all you Havarah Equestrian and Molly Rosin fanatics I'm going to be blogging ALL of Molly's updates and news for you all!

We apologize for any delayed news or lack of updates but hopefully with Molly's riding skills and my writing skills we can keep you in-the-know on a daily basis.

As you know, the horse world (more precisely, Eventing world) is constantly evolving and that's what makes this sport so exciting. Molly has gladly dedicated her life to these animals and their riders because it is the thrill of watching the two evolve as a team that brings her the most joy.

Molly's philosophy is a simple but important one: all horses and riders are different. Instead of trying to fit a horse or rider into a mold she prefers to tailor her training programs so both members of the team may succeed.

The horses of Havarah Equestrian, located at Principia Stables, are a perfect example of differences in personalities along with the working students who care for them on a daily basis.

Stay tuned to meet (or be reintroduced) to the horses and riders that make up Havarah Equestrian!

For a calender of events or to find out how to join our team visit www.mollyrosin.com.

videos!!!

Thank you so much to Andrew Hulme and Sophie Hulme for taking the time to put this Video together that they shot at the Fair Hill HT in April. We have Puttin on the Ritz in TH - Rivan in TH - Sabrina in the CIC * and Sprite in the PH.

ENJOY :)

http://gallery.me.com/thehulmes#100708

Congratulations!!

To Google's new owner..... Quinn Anderson!

For those of you that have been following Google I thought I'd up-date you on my proud achievement of finding him a fantastic home within Team Havarah. I really am a "Google" fan, he's a horse and pony in one and I think all of us deserve one of those at some point in time~! I think Havarah's Charly is an over-grown pony and I'll always love him for his "Hony" like features.

Quinn has taken Google to one starter trial and will be doing there second at Plantation Fields this Sunday. Best of luck to this new team :)