Lucky Me :)

Today I adventured away from the frosty farm for a visit to my students school.  Quinn Anderson has been a student of mine for quite some time now and has grown in many ways.  As what often happens here at Havarah she has become a member of my "Havareim" her and her mother are dear friends of mine and very important members of my life.

Quinn talked in front of her entire school- as a young teenager I think this is a feat in itself!  She was on a microphone and ran a power point of pictures that reflected her discussion of how she has developed since joining along with Havarah.  In this talk she explained how she developed patience, determination and work ethic along the years with us.  I couldnt be more proud to have been along for the ride! 

Through the years I've watched Quinn grow into a confident and beautiful person inside and out.  Her character will get her far and Im excited to continue the ride with her and the rest of Havareim for years to come!

I'm Thankful for ....

I'm thankful for the life I lead, which is why I'm thankful for all of the following.

The fact that I have landed in beautiful Kirkwood, PA- a place where I know my neighbors, I feel safe and have an amazing scenery to take in every day.  It's a place I can go walk my dog through nature, I can ride my horses through REAL "cross country" and I can run my lively hood out of my back door.  To be in this place I continually thank the generosity and support of my landlords- the Hulmes.  An amazing family that understands the true beauty of Kirkwood, PA.  To make this place work I thank all my clients- you guys make this place what it is, Disneyland of equine activities!  The horses bring me delight on a daily basis, I'm thankful for their soft noses that I get to kiss everyday.

I'm thankful for the crew that makes this place shiny and happy.  Good times or bad times, good ponies or bad ponies, good weather and plenty of bad weather these people are here.

The owners, the sponsors, the TEAM that makes me a rider- you guys get thanked beyond words, very special and giving people.

To have gotten to this place took on-going support, kindness and love from all of my friends and family.  You guys are the best.

I'm thankful for the family I've become part of this year. As one big family everyone gathered together to give me and my husband a week to remember.  That week to remember wouldnt have been without the generous support given to us my my family- I'm thankful for such a loving mom and brother.  This event wouldnt have been necessary without me meeting that man of my dreams- and for that I'm thankful for being invited along to the family xmas party years ago- again, the kindness that makes up Kirkwood, PA.  I'm thankful for Bryce.  For sticking by my side in the crazy life I live and being my best buddy- I add to that my smaller buddy, Clyde, my dog, he's there every day putting a smile on my face, that means a whole lot!  I'm thankful for the time I've had and hopeful I can say the same next year!

Wishing you all the best of times and best of food and most importantly the best of company ...today is a day to spend with family and friends, enjoy every minute.

Positions Available

We have just heard notice that our great Maddie has decided to head back to school.  Maddie has been with us nearly two years and has achieved some great goals. She just completed a CIC * with her self trained horse Carson- very impressive!  We will be so sad to not have this happy smiling face on a day to day basis but I'm so excited for her and the opportunities she has ahead of her with her peers back at school.

There are a few other changes and openings here so if you know of anyone looking for a working student position or a salary horse job please send them our way.  Benefits could include housing, horse board and/or lessons.  I feel like everyone's needs are different and therefore I try to accommodate each individual's needs for their position.

We train out of Principia Stables in Kirkwood, Pa 10 months out of the year and in Aiken, SC for 2 months.

If you or anyone you know would like more information please contact us at,

molly@mollyrosin.com
559-287-7285

OBX to Malvern to Elkton all in a few weeks time :)

Well where do I start, life is pretty good right now, however I knock on wood as I say that because ... FAIR HILL INTERNATIONAL is this week.  Yup, Sabrina and I will tackle the CCI ** course, the same place that Havarah's Charly had near domination at a few years back.  Sabrina has big shoes to fill!  The two horses are very very different, but one thing they have in common is a huge heart and enough ability that anything is possible.  I'm thrilled to be taking this mare around her fist real international course. Stay tuned for up-dates on Facebook and Twitter.

The Diesel Boy will also be attending the grand event- he is entered in the East Coast 5 year old championship class.  "Leto" has a class full of really really nice horses to compete against, but I feel he's as nice as any so we'll see what the judges have to say (mother may be slight prejudice!).

Last weekend Havarah had a chilly wonderful day at Radnor Horse Trials.  The Diesel Boy was totally awesome, winning his class with a 22.8 and winning the OT title and prize.  Bryce Kinnamon's Toulousse proved that he's truely a training level horse now as he had a super smooth xc course- looking forward to Prelim on him in 2013!  Steve Berkowitz and Robyn Weaver both cruised around the novice course- both having slight errors to take away there chances at a stellar ribbon... next time.  Quinn Anderson and Hannah Metz both did the same in training level, wonderful jumping rounds by both which should have them well prepped for their first ever full three day event that they'll be attending at Waredaca in another week's time.  These girls are growing into lovely ladies, they make me proud on a daily basis.  Now for them to just remember a dressage test!

Last but not least I'm proud to announce that Bryce and I have tied the knot.  It was as lovely as I could have ever dreamed up.  We took a week vacation with both sides of the family to the Outer Banks in North Carolina.  This is a heavenly place.  Under the Chuppa with my father's tullit on top, Bryce and I exchanged vows on a deck just next to the ocean.  It's a wonderful feeling to be a married woman, now I just have to learn to sign the name Kinnamon and I'll be all set :) 

A few photos of the last couple of weeks attached, enjoy!

Days like today is why I LOVE my job.

Lately there's been quite a few blog posts about how people are gearing up for the next Olympic games and how they have to get more and better and more horses so USA can be on top.  I dont disagree with any of them that we have to keep our chins up and and find positive ways to be the best that we can be.  In all honesty that's what being an equestrian was all about, at least that how we feel here within the Havarah team!

One day I as well hope to syndicate another horse and continue to work towards my goals of representing the USA.

However, days like today remind me that if I get there or if I don't, I just love the journey.  I had quite a few hours of dressage training to do today for most of the horses "day 1" of the week-- very humid conditions and plenty of work to be done.  The horses all gave me their best and it made each sweat drop worth while.  Then we loaded up a caravan of trailers and headed out to Fair Hill for xc schooling.  The ground was great, we didn't get stormed on, the ponies/horses were good and the students even better.  Damn good time was had by all!

To top it all off I received a message on facebook from one of my students from years back in California that was about the sweetest thing anyone could have sent to me. (not to age myself but my first group of "kids" have now finished college and are all off making great strides in the world, definitely doing me proud!)

I believe this message was just meant for me to read, so I apologize in advance for sharing- the message speaks very clearly as to why I love my job. Thank you Christina for taking the time out of your day to make me smile :)
Thank you all for reading!
Molly Rosin


"I just wanted to tell you- today I am at Leadership training with Apple and they asked us to write about the most influential leader in our life. I wrote about you and everything you taught us girls about being respectful, goal driven, consistent, ambitious, selfless, and good negotiators. It took up a full page! Thought you would like to know : )

Love you!

Christina"

Coming into Fall of 2012 and I'm loving it!

Hands down the best thing about fall is the pre- three day gallop sets.  Ok this is awesome because of a number of things- great grass gallops in our lovely Andrews Bridge location, awesome horses to ride, the weather is BETTER than summer, the tree leaves change and you get to partake in all of this as wind blows on your face while you sprint at fast paces for miles... or atleast go faster than in the arena for a little bit :) More than that is the feeling of how happy the horses are to stretch their legs and do what they most naturally do, it's cool, no other way to describe it.  I'm thrilled that I spent a few years training with the race horse industry to learn proper ways of fitting up a horse and how to use the land to help you.

Sabrina didn't sell this summer, still not sure why, but I have to say I'm pretty happy I still have her.  She had her first Intermediate run back at Fair Hill and will go to Plantation Field next.  IF that goes well and if she feels fit enough I'll be entering Fair Hill CCI ** and I can't tell you how excited I am to be saying that! Getting a horse trained up to that level takes a whole lot of luck and good team-work.  Sabrina is a fully Havarah trained horse so I'll be very proud to be taking her around her first 2 star.

Puttin on the Ritz is getting ritzy, better every day.  I'm anxious for 2013 as I think I'll have another Intermediate horse and perhaps another Havarah trained horse for Fair Hill next fall :)  For now we'll focus on the CIC * at Plantation Fields in a few weeks! The Klavans own this horse and Plantation will be "near" to home for them, which is exciting because they travel far and wide to support their boy (and myself!).

Right now we have probably the best looking ponies of any event barn... and when I say that I mean horses that are just adorable and PONIES that are stinking cute! Definitely give us a call if you need a mount for any one from 4' on up!  Kynymont Connemarra's and crosses are doing as well as ever check out the picture of Gabriella at her first BN event.

This next weekend I'll be taking Alpine to her first training level- "Piney" came here last summer just after getting backed. It's amazing to see how well she has developed mentally and physically.  She's a character and tells you all of her thoughts through her lips!

Thanks for reading, enjoy the photos of Sabrina, Benny and Gabriella!
Molly Rosin

POSITION AVAILABLE

Havarah Equestrian is excited to offer a rare opening on our team.  Come enjoy the gorgeous scenery that Kirkwood, PA and Andrews Bridge Hunt land has to offer.

 

The position could be tailored to suit the needs of the individual. Could include full training/board and housing or housing and salary.

We are looking for a motivated individual who thrives on seeing the development of event horses of all ages and training levels up to International caliber.

If this sounds like a position you would like to look into, give me a call to discuss further details!

Contact information:
molly@mollyrosin.com
559-287-7285
www.mollyrosin.com

Fun At Millbrook HT



Style...

Helloooo followers of Havarah Equestrian. I'm Quinn, and I will be an guest blogger for Molly from time to time. I've been Molly's student for several years, and last year Molly rode my horse Sprite (The Wonderpony) Prelim.

This weekend Team Havarah traveled 6 hours to New York to the Millbrook Horse Trials.We brought along The Diesel Boy (aka Leto), Puttin' on the Ritz (aka Benny), Sprite, Quinn's horse, and Desert Pepper, Robyn's horse.

One of the awesome parts of this event was that you really had to do well in all 3 phases to place. It was a good weekend for the horses, and very educational.



"Go McCauley's" says Molly



Leto, who competed Training Level, started off our fantastic weekend with a 30 in Dressage. He then went on to roar around the cross-country double clear. Leto, however, had some learning to do in stadium. There



Robyn and Pepper



were a few very spooky jumps, but Molly was able to teach him some good things.



Benny, at Preliminary Level, tried very hard in dressage, but unfortuanately didn't score very well. However, his cross country was awesome, and Molly was thrilled with his improvement. He finished strong with a double clear round over a very difficult stadium course. Even better, his mom, Alyssa Klavan, was there to see him! We are looking forward to a very bright and fun 2013 season with him.

Sprite and Quinn went Training Level and had  a slightly dissapointing dressage, but after that, it was on to the fun stuff! She was a Tiger on cross-country, easily making time and never faltering over the hilly course. She also jumped double clear for a great end to the weekend.

Desert Pepper did very well at his first Novice, and came away a much better horse.

He did a very strong dressage test and was double clean cross-country. His stadium was very educational and I know Robyn and him learned a lot and had a blast.

 John Nunn was also present with his horseSmileLikeYouMeanIt. They had a good weekend and it was fun to see him ride and cheer them on! Nothing like bringing

your sponsor along to a show, right?

In addition to all of our horses, we also had a lot of fun this weekend socially. We made a new friend in Lauren Hoffman and her horse Beckham, who competed Intermediate. We were also lucky to be stabled with some of our Canadian friends, who were very fun. It was great to be able to have Benny's owners there

Alyssa and Benny

to cheer us on. Another very cool part of the weekend was the Young Rider Team Challenge that Quinn and Sprite were able to participate in. Their team finished third and they were able to meet several other very cool Young Riders.

Many thanks to all of our owners, sponsors, students, and general support team!

We couldn't do this without you.
~Quinn

 

And, as always, a little Team Havarah mischief. :)

Horses always come first

Well this seems like it's going to be a summer that just doesn't give in. Heat, sun and no rain in sight...uggh.  At least in California we were prepared for droughts every summer and had sprinkler systems! Not here...just waiting and waiting for rain!

Last weekend we were lucky enough to compete at a facility that adheres to my theory of horses come first (and riders a close second!). Loch Moy at MD made every attempt to help us endure the extreme heat index that the weekend provided.  Tents, fans and water tubs were available at all riding locations--- this was a huge help, the only way to survive was to drench and squeegy at every opportunity.  I've never had horses drag me to water buckets, perhaps that was the power of the electrolyte paste they received in the morning thanks to my super smart vet! Dr. Kathy rules.  Luckily our good friend Rusty dug into his friends of friends stuff and found us a super duty generator--- this supplied us with completely life saving essential fans at our base station- of which was in the only shady spot in all of Loch Moy.

Besides the water soaking, electrolyte pre-gaming, fan in the shade invigorating it was necessary to RIDE SMART.  Once again, the horse comes first.  This wasn't the normal competition, my warm-up's were as absolutely as short as possible, and my rides were more conservative than they would have been that weekend without the heat.  It wasn't about winning, it was about my horses getting a solid experience and keeping them healthy for next time.  It's easy for me to say that as I've competed for many many years at this point and I know that it isn't about today, its about the future.  For most junior riders and even some adult amateurs all they see is that score board, points and the cool prize they see is getting handed out to first place.

Since us professionals shape the way juniors and adult amateurs ride, compete and care for their horses I fully believe that we need to be responsible for educating them.  It's hard to not be proud and supportive of a go-getter, a real competitor, an excited rider.  I never ever would want to lessen anyone's love and thrive for the sport- BUT - I always want to keep the horse and rider as healthy and happy as I can.  Things happen. Life happens.  If I can prevent one horse from passing out, or one horse from getting a tendon from being ridden too fast on too hard of ground... then I'll consider this a useful post.  The best piece of advice I can give and hopefully utilize myself for many years to come- LISTEN TO YOUR HORSE.  If you are out on course and your horse feels tired, not quite himself.... ride accordingly.  Don't ask for big long spots, don't try to sprint to the last jump to save time, DO what needs to be done. This could be slowing down or just being more supportive in your riding OR if it's really not your horse and you're worried it could mean pulling up and realizing there will be another day.

I love my horses and I love my riders and my TEAM.  I stress the last part because without a good team; trainer, rider, HORSE, owners, parents, significant others, friends, vets, farriers and colleagues we couldn't get through this sport.  Riders can be easily persuaded by all parts of the team- I try to surround myself with up-beat positive team members that all have the same common goal as myself- making the most out of these special horses.  Right now I'd like to thank the TEAM for helping the Havarah horses and riders safely, successfully and positively make it through Loch Moy I. Onwards and upwards hopefully with rain and cooler temperatures!!!

Summer Fun

Comes a time in every eventers life where we learn to enjoy a few non horse show weekends.  I've taken on trying to adapt a few of these weekends into the summer months.  I love competing and training, but when it's this hot it's nice to give the horses a little break and get our minds refreshed as well.

The upper level horses have stayed in work but have really lightened up their competition and fitness load to just take it easy on the hard ground pounding.  They are now going to begin to gear up for the big fall competitions starting first with a fun run at the MD Loch Moy event in July.

The youngsters enjoy this time in the limelight to get some well deserved attention and this weekend we will be taking them over to the NJ horse park- this is one of my favorite venues; nice arenas with good footing and friendly staff!

The farm here at Principia Stables is really looking great.  Our jump area gets more and more exciting all the time, I'm becoming addicted to jumps (I feel I need more and more!!).  It's fun creating and designing things to help my students and the horses understand the questions that will be asked of them as they move up the levels. 

Big shout out and thank you to Steve Parisan who builds a lot of these jumps and keeps the fields ready to be galloped on AND a big thank you to John Nunn for the long term loan of much of his equipment.

See many of you in New Jersey!

The weekend before rain....

I hope this post finds you all enjoying cooler temperatures and less dust, just as I am.  FINALLY it rained.  This last weekend was a tough one, very busy day on Sunday at the Plantation Fields starter trials with exceptionally warm weather.  We survived and I should stop complaining! 

Saturday was wonderful, I had one student competing two horses at Plantation Fields.  A few students and myself brought some young horses over for "hang out time" at the show while we cheered Quinn Anderson on with the flying Palomino Sprite and her amazing Google.  Both mounts did well for her, especially Sprite who came in 6th with one of the only clear jumping rounds of the day wire to wire!

Sunday, well I already said it was hot, besides that it was good .. not great.  I moved a few of the green greenies up to BN and one of them just wasnt quite ready.  Poor little girl mis-calculated a jump and the two of us ended up laying in the sticky, yet very soft new footing.  We both hoped right up and although covered head to toe in sand we were and are fine.  The other rides I had did very well, Tipper is proving to be a great eventer once again scoring in the 20's and jumping very well. Rio is starting to be less ADD in the dressage and just loves to jump. SKF Bugsy is showing that he's quite solid at the novice level with his 3rd place finish.

Robyn Weaver and Jennifer Nunn also moved up to BN... they were champs, hopefully I'll get them to NJ for their next event! Last but not least Steve B. and Whiplala continue to develop their partnership and as always Steve impresses me with how fast he is coming along in this sport.

The week has already started out with a whirlwind of horse shoppers and in barn training for our newest employees.  Luckily they are all getting the hang of things quite well because I'm playing hookie and off to go camping for a few days at the beach! Bye for now, hopefully I'll have tan legs next time you see me :)

Waredaca A+

This last weekend consisted of many of my favorite things.

Lovely spring weather
Wonderful horses
Good courses
Nice footing
Pretty ribbons
Killer students

and one very special fiance :)

Saturday was grand. The Diesel Boy competed in the YEH 5 year old class, Bryce and I have thought highly of this horse for awhile and today he really shined.  Winning the dressage and conformation portions of the YEH and getting a high score in the jumping left him with a blue ribbon.  I'd like to syndicate this horse so I can try to make the US team on him when he grows up, let me know if would like to join Team Diesel!
I also had the pleasure of receiving a red ribbon on Alpine- the very pretty pinto Dutch mare I ride for her breeder/owner Susie Bardel. "Piney" was just broke one year ago, so it's exciting to be part of her growing up process, whoever purchases this mare is going to have lots of fun!

Sunday we did it all over again. I rode Puttin on the Ritz in the preliminary. He had a wonderful SJ round and got some more good miles to educate him closer to his next shot at the FEI events... and a lovely 6th place!

My students are amazing me every day.
Maddie Parisan - 2nd place Preliminary Rider
John Nunn - 6th place Preliminary Rider
Hannah Metz and Quinn Anderson strong finishes in the training classes

GO TEAM!

Next weekend we'll focus on the up and coming youngsters at Plantation Field! 

Havarah in action...lots of action!

Hello blog readers, I'm going to do my best to get you up to date on all the happenings at Havarah.

First off we'd like to bid Molly Gasiewicz a farewell and many happy fun times at her new house and horse residence in Kennett Square. Molly G. spent quite a bit of time with us after her studies were done in Colorado.  I believe she is an east coast fan but at her young age is excited to be back in the action of a happening town.

In a few short weeks everyone at Havarah will be welcoming and learning a new working student who will be staying at the farm to help keep watch over all our special horses :) I'll wait to give you a full run down on Katie until after we've found out her favorite foods, least favorite chore and a few other key details!

Something that I'm super excited about is the newest match we have made at the farm- Robyn and Desert Pepper! Pepper is a lovely young TB that Patti Gillen/Steen has raised and brought along.  When you see him you'll think that Robyn took a shopping trip in Ireland, but instead we found this horse in our fabulous small town of Kirkwood.  Pepper and Robyn have already started their competition career, but will be keeping it low key as we develop Peppers skills and strength.  I am so excited for the future of this talented horse and wonderful rider. Keep your eyes out for this long legged duo.

We officially have 2 more TRAINING level riders!!! Quinn Anderson and Hannah Metz left the world of novice with some strong runs at training level.  Both of this girls have been working really hard to help them with this advancement.  I think both of these girls are well and ready for some bigger jumps! Waredaca is their next outing, you cant miss either of them as one is the flying Palomino and the other is the bold Pinto. Good luck to Miss Quinn and Miss Hannah.

Speaking of moving on up, Dr. Steve (Berkowitz) - you may know him as hamburger man or photographer extroidanaire, horse vet with a smile or NOW you will know him as the novice adult amateaur rider of WHIPLALA.  Steve is taking eventing on by storm, it's pretty incredible.

This last weekend I took a trip to the Virginia Horse Park with my good friends and owners the Klavens as well as Bryce and Hannah.  We brought Puttin on the Ritz there for his FEI debut.  This is one of the horses Im super excited about; he has a future at the top of the sport, Im sure of this. "Benny" has really improved in his dressage, this showed as he had an impressive 51 in the CCI * and was standing in 5th place.  Benny set out on xc like a champ, hitting each minute marker in stride. He handled the first half of the course with ease- then came the water jump.  The water has been challenging for him and this time it was bigger than he's ever seen, bigger than he felt ready to handle. SOOOOooo our summer plans for him will be slightly altered to give him more experience at the level before going back to the CCI *.  The other horses I took, Sabrina and The Diesel Boy both did quite well, finishing 6th and 10th in their classes.

My last piece of news I'll leave you with is totally non horse related. I'm proud to tell you that I'm an engaged woman now! Most of you have met my "fiance", Bryce Kinnamon- for those of you that haven't, you're missing out :) Bryce is one of those that can work all week and hop on a horse over the weekend and still have a great leg position, it's impressive! Beyond that and besides the fact that he's fixing my computer that just crashed and keeps the website up and running- he's just great. Funny, smart, a good cook and most importantly he's my best friend....and totally hot!

I think that's all the up-dates I have for now, until next time.
Molly Rosin

THE mascot says good bye

RIP Quigley 9/01 - 5/14/12

Havarah's long standing mascot
Clyde's older brother and role model
Every cat's worst fear
Protector of all his horses, friends and family
Loyal best buddy to Bryce and myself

Quigley will never be replaced because there is no other dog like him.  He understood the English language and he could read minds, I could just look at him and he knew what I meant. Im not quite sure how life will ever be the same without him, in fact Im sure it never will.  Quigley cared about everyone else's needs more than his own, he took care of us.  Bryce and I loved Quigley dearly as did his baby brother Clyde.  We miss him so much.

Hannah and Zhen - A Match Made in Havarah

It really is amazing sometimes how a creature or person can enter your life and they are your match - but you don't know it yet.

You hear those stories which seem like a love affair between the rider and horse: "I knew he/she was the horse, I just knew" - but really, the majority of our most promising partners are right under our noses, sometimes the next stall over from our current mount, and we don't even know it.

This kind of was the case when Hannah met Zhen.

Molly's business entails receiving in horses to train and sell, and last summer we received two colorful ones.

Zhen and Piney - full sisters -are paint/dutch warmblood crosses.

"Honestly I didn't actually ever picture myself owning a paint," Hannah said. Plus, she already had a horse at the time, and though us working students do have our favorites in the barn, we know that these horses will enter our family but find a new one eventually, and we never assume that new family will be our own.

However, it was when Hannah caught a ride on Zhen one day that Molly saw some potential. Hannah's mare at the time, Anna, was a young OTTB and although Hannah was doing a great job bringing her along, Molly knew something with a little more experience could help Hannah grow as a rider while having more fun.

So, she suggested a lease while they went to Aiken, with the possibility of purchase after. Luckily, it didn't take long for a Civil War reenacter to fall in love with Anna, so Hannah was able to sell her previous mount to potentially create a new partnership.

Hannah said she knew Zhen was "the one" after a cross country school before their first show in Aiken. She was able to school fences which were a lot bigger than she was used to, and Zhen straight up showed her a good time. Hannah spent the rest of the day with a smile on her face, she just knew this was too much fun to pass up.

Thus, Hannah and Zhen grew as a team in Aiken, enjoying their lease together. However, when they got back to PA, it was time to make a decision.

Hannah's mom has always trusted Molly immensely and believed this was a positive investment in Hannah's future - however, it was an investment, and the first time Hannah was actually purchasing a horse. But they decided to go for it.

Hannah said it was a bit unbelievable at first. She couldn't really believe Zhen was hers until the pre-purchase was being done and then it really sunk in. Zhen was hers!

Although she still loves Anna, Hannah is infatuated with her new mare. Although she is allergic to neoprene, and is much more sensitive than Anna - she is such a happy horse and is always happy to see not only Hannah, but everyone who comes around the farm.

"It's a partnership," Hannah said. "You love your horse, your horse should love you back."

To add to the smiles, Hannah placed 5th today at MCTA aboard Zhen. Though they had a so/so dressage  test, Zhen showed that she is ready to move up to training today with her jumping skills. Plus, Hannah was excited to win something for the first time (a Bit of Britain hat for 5th place)!

So some major congratulations are in order for Hannah and Zhen. And some major thanks to Pattie, Hannah's mom, for making this possible, and to Molly, for making the match.

"Give me a new horse over a new car! She's 100 times better than a new car," said Hannah, who is getting her license very soon!

Back In.. Navy, White and Silver!

"I went in with a smile, and I came out with a smile." This quote has rung true so far for all three Havarah players at Fair Hill, but they came from Maddie's lips.

She compared her experience of doing a 180 from her first, but still really successful, prelim at Pine Top in Aiken to her success thus far this weekend to a "test ride." Pine Top was just that to her, a "test". She just wanted to make it through, end on her dressage score with only some time cross county.

They did this, very successfully, but Maddie said she came back home ready to take the preliminary level by storm.

When looking at the scores this morning, before doing the quick Facebook update, there's the run through of names to get an understanding of how everyone's day was going to pan out. Reading through the list... Jane Doe... Some Random.... Maddie Parisan 28... Next Pers... WAIT WHAT!

There was a quick double take that I got the facts right and then there was a post to Facebook. To be clear - it is not surprising this team is capable and deserving of this score. It's the mere fact that he's always been able to jump the moon, but Maddie has gone from Novice to Prelim in a year's time, and that's a huge leap for dressage obedience. So this score is AWESOME!

To continue, there was more pleasantries around the corner when seeing Molly got a 30 on Benny and a 26 on Rivan.

John Nunn also had a good dressage test and even landed himself on Eventing Nation with Molly.

So needless to say it was a bit of a sitting-on-the-edge-of-your-seat day. Hoping everyone pulled through, kept all four shoes on, and showed off their skills. And they did.

Maddie was a bit intimidated by the skinny to huge drop on her course, but it ended up being her best ridden combination on course and she was even rewarded with a cheering section (some friends - some complete strangers!).

She didn't have a watch, but obviously got in such a groove that she finished well inside the time, moving her from being tied for 3rd to 2nd place going into show jumping tomorrow.

John had a few unfortunate rails but he rode very well and had a good show jumping round.

Molly said Rivan, despite his lax show schedule, proved unfazed by his less-than-intense show program, and was confident stadium, landing him in a 4th place standing.

Benny felt more confident than ever according to Molly, and even though the fences were big, they felt small when being soared over by this cross country machine. He stands in 10th with only some time penalties added to his dressage score.

The entire crew is extremely proud right now, especially Maddie's mom, Kim.

"I'm really proud of her and you know, it's freaking awesome how far they've freaking gotten!"

She gives so much credit to Molly for taking Maddie and Carson as far as she has, and is so proud that her daughter has gotten so see and experience things she personally never got to experience at Maddie's age.

Well, Maddie, Molly and John - we are all proud of you, and we're all rooting for you tomorrow!

Photo courtesy of Stacy Lynne

Plantation Field - Home Sweet Home

As you all may have guessed based on the fact that there was no blogging announcing catastrophe, everyone made it home safe and sound from Aiken.

All horses arrived home wide-eyed with fuzzy, sheep-skin lined noses and settled back into their North-East residence. They are currently enjoying their green pastures - which is probably the equivalent of splurging on McDonald's after being so healthy and active for a long period of time.

But no worries, the horses got a well-deserved break and chow-fest while Molly was at the Fork, but now it's back to business.

For the most part it seemed to be like a nice, relaxing introduction back into the North-East show scene this weekend at Plantation.

In addition, it really was a Team Havarah show as Molly, Hannah, Robin, Quinn AND Bryce were competing. So it was just fun all the way around.

Though, I know you all love to read the recaps, sometimes the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" is the truest of statements.

Plus, we have Fair Hill this coming weekend... so plenty more news to come!

Thus, I leave you with some amazing photos from this weekend, courtesy of our wonderful neighbor and photographer, Steve Berkowitz.












More photos to come soon including Quinn flying over fences with Sprite and some cute Havarah moments.

The Fork - And End of Winter

Winter is over but spring is in the air - to mark the end of the winter season down South Molly and John Nunn headed back to PA but stopped off at the Fork for one last go before hitting the Northeast show scene once again.

John broke his dressage score record on Smiley and walked (or strolled, possibly with some swagger) out of the ring with a 30 in his training division.

Though he recently moved up to prelim at Pine Top on his horse, Smilelikeyoumeanit, The Fork is a challenging show so John wanted to give him a good go and keep building his horse's confidence.

He had a clear show jumping round and the most beautiful cross country ever seen, according to Molly. He took home 3rd place in his division so congrats to one of the Havarah-man team members, John Nunn!

Molly said Benny did and got just what she wanted him to out of this weekend. He got a 30.9 in dressage, had a really positive cross country (with only a couple time faults) and a clean show jumping round.

She said he was very obedient the whole weekend and they just need to work a bit more on thge gallop fences to catch the time next time out.

Overall he was very happy to be at the show and had a positive attitude all weekend, which we at Havarah think is most important!

Molly was really excited to ride Sabrina at The Fork this weekend. She felt better than ever and truly ready to go be competitive in her intermediate division.

They were warming up famously for dressage, but unfortunately Sabrina took a funny step and had a pretty severe trip, nearly a fall. Molly and the crew didn't realize something was wrong until after dressage. Later on in the day, and it was apparent that Sabrina needed some R&R, thus they had to withdraw her.

We are positive her day to shine will come soon, and she's just going to receive the star treatment she's accustomed to this week to make sure she's perfectly fine.

Molly was so excited for The Fork as she always tells people "going to The Fork is like going to Rolex at your level, just at your own level." The footing is amazing, the turf on the cross country course is incredible and every fence has its own "story" while asking you the necessary questions at your level.

But now it's time to take the Northeast events by storm and show 'em what's up.

Molly spent a well deserved day in pajamas today - but it will be back to work tomorrow!



Quigley being the wonderful team mascot that he is...

Prelim Rock Stars

It was a BIG weekend for team Havarah at Pine Top.

Maddie Parisan and John Nunn were both moving up to prelim for the very first time and we all had high hopes for them. And..... I'm pleased to announce that they succeeded and rocked it!

John said his dressage is always a work in progress but it actually went really well and he ended up with a 38, not bad for the first prelim dressage test!

He said his show jumping was also great, he wants to pick up the pace a little bit next time but it was a big, scopey course and Smiley handled it like a champ. They did have one rail and some time penalties but overall it was a really good course.

"Cross country just couldn't have been better, he was very clever," John said about Smiley. The nerves began and ended for John with dressage, and he was completely confident to conquer the cross country course.

Moving forward he's of course going to keep working at the dressage and show jumping, it's back to training at the Fork as John doesn't want to over-face Smiley too fast and believes he should now go have a fun, confidence building course after the big move up.

Perhaps one of the best parts of the weekend was the fact that John got to have his biggest fan, his wife Ann, here on the sidelines to root him on.

"Kudos to my coach for her dedication to helping me get there," John said in giving a shout out to Miss Molly.

Now for the second prelim dominator: Maddie.

She said she was confident going into dressage after a strong warm up and she put in a solid, positive test. Of course once she got the dressage out of the way it was time for the fun stuff.

They only pulled one rail stadium but it was a smooth course according to Maddie, and Carson wasn't even too strong.

Cross country was "absolutely the best part" - Mom, Kim Parisan, was more nervous than Maddie was, Im sure many other mothers out there can relate! - Maddie said everything rode really well and they finished on just time-faults. Which both, John and Maddie agreed Molly told them they HAD to have time faults - slow and steady wins the race when moving up.

So did Maddie feel a difference between training and prelim? She said training fences prepare you for prelim, but at the prelim level you can't second guess yourself. You just have to ride with confidence and that she did.

Other team members rode this weekend too: congrats to Hannah and Robyn with their double clear rounds no one had any stops! This included Molly's rides on Bugsy (who finished 4th!) and Toulousse. Rivan wasn't so sure about the hay bales but after introducing himself he jumped them no problem. Molly is super excited for Riven's season as she says he has never felt so confident and smooth on a competition course.

~MJ

180's - That's Just Horses

As Molly admitted a couple weeks ago - one show was not so perfect but a great learning experience for both horse and rider.

Although she has now been in the business and atop our four legged friends for quite some time now, Molly is very humble in saying she is still, and will always, be a student to these animals.

But if you have ever met Molly Rosin, you know one thing is for sure - she is incredibly patient and she uses her understanding of a horse's (or even a person's) weakness, to figure out how to strengthen them.

It was such a rewarding phone call yesterday when I heard from Alyssa Klavans that Molly and Benny not only had a successful go around the prelim course at Full Gallop, but rather they won.

Benny's weakest phase has always been his dressage and thus when he scored a 26.8, everyone was floored and extraordinarily proud of this young event horse.

Alyssa (who shares ownership of Benny with her mother Nancy, and father, Dick Klavans), felt an enormous amount of pride watching her horse, who she has owned since his very early years, soar around the cross country course like superman.

I'm sure Molly feels a huge sense of pride and joy because she was able, in two weeks time, to take a horse who had lost some confidence and instill so much confidence he did not waver in his class.

Benny has always shown so much potential, and he has always been a "personality" here at Havarah. So, we are all incredibly excited that he is reaching new heights.

Alyssa is ecstatic that she gets to continue watching her horse grow in the sport of eventing. She feels it's a very exciting time for Benny and is excited to see where the opening of this door takes him.

Again, a shout out and thanks to all those owners here at Havarah. Molly takes pride in riding your wonderful horses and enjoys working with them on a daily basis - so we thank you for making this possible!

Click here to see a video of Benny!

Full Gallop

It was a weekend to be celebrated by Molly and the entire Klavans family (Nancy, Dick and Alyssa).

After Benny's learning experience a couple weeks ago at Pine Top, Molly decided to pass on Red Hills and take him Prelim at Full Gallop thinking it would be a more beneficial experience.

And it was!

Benny got a 26.8 in dressage. "I have no idea how he scored that," Alyssa said. The dressage test also included words such as "happy, expressive horse," these are words Alyssa isn't used to hearing when describing her horse.

He also went double clear cross country and stadium so everyone is pretty sure he won his division. Go Benny!

Molly also rode Piney this weekend and even though she had one stop cross country she had a good dressage test and stadium and Alyssa swears if she was 14 she would totally want this horse.
Benny is quite the talented horse, but Dressage is some thing he has worked quite hard at. Looks like the work is pressing off!
Fabio and Robyn saw some improvement as well. Fabio was calm for dressage and though they had one stop cross country as well, Robyn was really happy with his performance and that they were able to improve from last weekend.

It was also Robyn's birthday today so happy birthday Robyn!

Alyssa was so happy she chose to come down this weekend and watch her horse succeed.

She also got to ride Benny at Hitchcock Woods and then Molly threw her up on Toulousse and Leto so we'll get her back in the ring one of these days! Even though she's still more than happy cheering from the sidelines.

Everyone is sunburnt but happy after this weekend. Good job ladies!

Second Half of Sporting Days

Piney and Bugsy were Molly's mounts yesterday. Piney finished on her dressage score and really had a great show. Bugsy had a green stop at the water cross country, but Robyn says he is just such a cool horse and is fun to watch - even with the green moments.

Bryce and Toulousse had a lot of fun together - and this was Bryce's first show in Aiken! Taking a break from the 9 to 5 to play with his man who's been under Molly's wing this past month. They finished in 9th place in their novice division.

Unfortunately John didn't have the best go, but he proved that Red Horse Harry is ready for Prelim ditches!

Zhen and Hannah were the stars of this show according to Robyn. What a huge improvement and this was her first novice! She had a great dressage and her double clear rounds allowed her to claim 3rd place. Way to go banana!

Robyn was truthful that this wasn't her and Fabio's best performance, but she still had a very upbeat and positive attitude towards the whole deal which is great to hear.

They were both tense for dressage, and had a few stops in both the jumping phases and a rail. But she understands this is the name of the game with horses and also she was just so happy to have everyone there cheering her on.

There's one month left to go and the crew will be hitting Full Gallop this coming weekend.

Robyn said Molly started making plans for the trip home already and she wanted to cover her ears and say "blah blah blah" because she's not ready to come home.

It's really awesome to hear that everyone is having so much fun in Aiken - it's such a great experience and if you haven't gotten the chance to go you should definitely take the trip!

That's all for now. MJ signing off!

s

Sporting Days - Starting off Strong!

C'mon South Carolina! The eventers flocking South for the winter would appreciate some beautiful weather!

Well, despite the fear of Sporting Days being canceled due to tornado warnings (Yikes!) - the Havarah crew made it to Sporting Days and were hopefully dry for most of the day thanks to their Outback Trading Company Clothing!

Leto and Molly rocked their first training level event with a 32 in dressage and a double clear jumping round.

Molly ran Rivan in the training/prelim division to give him a good go cross country with the hopes of a more quiet and relaxed go. Well, they succeeded, and Rivan rocked it and won his division.

Maddie, who has been working extremely hard on her dressage pulled out a fantastic score of 28, and with two unlucky rails stadium ended up in 5th place.

John was a proud Papa with Smilelikeyoumeanit, having a calm and quiet dressage test then beautifully jumping around stadium earning him the red ribbon of second place.

But the weekend's not over!

Molly will compete Bugsy tomorrow along with Piney. Hannah will compete Zhen and Robyn will ride Fabio. John will also have another go on his younger horse, Red Horse Harry.

So keep your fingers crossed and don't forget to keep your thoughts on those Havarah competitors tomorrow! (And do a counter-rain dance for... well... no rain).

Kelly and Indie

A few weeks ago we announced that Indie had found a new, wonderful home. So now we were able to get the low down on this new family and wanted to share some info with you guys!

Indie's new owner is Kelly Taylor, a really nice up and coming young rider. The two were an instant match and Kelly even schooled Indie over some prelim cross country fences on their first ride.

Kelly, pictured below, sold her first horse that she got at the age of 11 in order to buy Indie. When she got her first horse he was green, but she was able to bring him along, competing through novice and obtaining her C-2 pony club rating.

At 15, she is ready to move up the levels in eventing so made the decision to part with her first mount. She wants to compete in Young Riders and continue through her pony club ratings as well. We believe Indie will be the perfect ride for her and they will enjoy growing and competing together.

Indie definitely will be missed as he was such a familiar face here at Havarah. But it's always a proud day for Molly when she is able to make a terrific match and we believe this was just another one of her success stories!

Keep your eyes peeled for Kelly and Indie this season!

Molly and Indie


Kelly and her first horse

Horses....always humbling!

I wanted to write this post myself to really share with you my feelings from this last outing. I rode Sabrina in her first Intermediate of 2012 and Puttin On the Ritz in his first Preliminary of 2012. Both horses have been really training great, jumping very well, I was very excited for this outing. The excitement quickly dwindled! If you look at the score sheet you'll think it was a complete disaster. It felt a bit like that- however, I've had some time to process what happened with each horse, no disaster's just life.

Sabrina put in a really good test for where she is at right now. To be honest I walked out with a tear in my eye, so proud of how she has developed. She's a lovely dressage horse, but competition gets her worried, her and I have really developed a bond and I think a "strategy" to over-come the rectangle. She got a "9" for her first medium trot, pretty exciting! Then there was show jumping. Two weeks earlier we had a clean round, pretty and clean that is. I was and am so proud of that. I realized now that I didnt lead her up to this event as well- she needs to have a day early in the week with course practice, not necessarily big fences but obedience :) It wasnt an aweful round, she had 2 rails down, next time... Then on cross country day Sabrina was pretty much a champ. She is such an honest horse- corners and water feel fun on her, its great. Saying that, she is a horse and I need to be ready to help her when she finds things challenging. This time the coffin was getting many horses, and it got her. Had I been prepared for her not getting this, we might have had a no jump fault round. BUT I wasnt. No matter how honest of a xc horse she is- I'll be ready next time!

Puttin on the Ritz- This is one of my most talented up and coming horses- but he is up and coming. His athletic ability over jumps has preceded his maturity! Young horses go through learning curves and right now we are dealing with bringing along his dressage skills with "relaxation" in the show ring. More so we are dealing with a water phobia. This guy didn't like water as a true youngster and that has seemed to come out and haunt us in the cross country. Im a firm believer in getting the horses confident when they school xc and allowing them to test out the water. I think now we need to move on to developing confidence in me that if I put him in front of a water jump he believes that he can do it! Benny is still inquisitive, I dont mind that, but I think it's time to develop focus :) With this horse I brought him out this year as I would a seasoned competitor- poor guy ist that yet, he is still a youth. I plan on entering him into some schooling shows and a more local event before taking him back out onto a "big time" course. I believe in him and luckily for both of us so do his owners! Super big thanks goes out to the Klavens. Great supporters. Nancy Klavens is at home with an injured hip--- I sure hope to deliver some good news to that household soon!

Now it's time to look into how to change the schedule for these horses to help produce confidence and brilliance next time...

Sabrina Rocked Dressage

Well it seems Aiken/Georgia is trying to avoid the threat of a drought as it was another rainy day for dressage.

The Havarah girls toughed it out and stayed dry awaiting Sabrina's dressage test.

Sabrina, competing in Intermediate, kept solid through a somewhat sloppy warm-up and pulled out a 37 in dressage.

Everyone was really proud of her, seeing as the footing wasn't perfect and she was up against some steep competition.

She was supposed to go cross country today, but she will instead do show jumping and cross country tomorrow.

Benny will also start his weekend tomorrow in the preliminary division with dressage.

Thanks to Nunn Finer and Outback Trading Company for providing wonderful rain gear to keep the Havarah crew dry today!

For those of you who are new to Outback, the Pak-A-Roo Parka and Pak-A-Roo Riding Jacket are great for wet, miserable days. For more info go to Outback Trading Co.'s Website.

Molly's Gettin' Famous!

Molly's first blog post went up late last week for PRO! (Professional Riders Organization).

It is such an honor that Molly has been asked to blog and a great opportunity to help keep Havarah on the map.

So check it out and make sure to give Molly some props for a wonderful post!

Read it here.

Paradise Recap

It was a long but good weekend. So ya'll ready for the results?

Leto ended up 9th on his dressage score and was great for both his jumping rounds.

Maddie had one rail stadium but was double clear cross country so not bad at all for this training domination duo! (Plus they get to move up to prelim after sporting days woot!).

John had great jumping rounds on both his mounts (Smiley and Red Horse Harry) with just one rail stadium on each.

Fabio and Robyn unfortunately had one stop stadium but a great cross country round so she was pretty happy with the entire show. Mostly she improved a lot on her dressage which was a big goal for her - and that's the name of the game with this sport, anything can happen with three phases!

Piney was double clear in both her jumping rounds so a good job for this pinto mare.

Toulousse by far stole the show taking second in his novice division jumping like a super star giving Molly some more double clear rounds to brag about.

Hannah and Zhen cruised around the jumping phases of the event ending on a great note after Zhen was a bit nervous for dressage.

All-in-all it was a great learning experience for everyone. Everyone was satisfied with certain phases but definitely have some homework and experiences to learn from for next time. But I mean, that's the beauty of horses right? If we were all perfect... well it would be quite boring...

Quinn Anderson, owner of Sprite, was kind enough to give me this quick recap. She got to go down for a long weekend and served as co-groom to John Nunn's daughter, Jenn, as all the main working students were riding. Quinn admits it's a lot of hard work but really fun, and it was great to see everyone whom she misses.

Everyone got to throw their feet up last night when Kim Parisan, Maddie's mom, made everyone dinner and they were able to have a nice little dinner party.

Today they went to Hitchcock Woods again for some "chill time". Quinn got to hop on Brishea and thoroughly enjoyed herself.

Until next time... here's the girls rocking it out!

Robyn and Fabio


Hannah and Zhen


John and Red Horse Harry


Maddie and Carson

Dressage at Paradise Farm

Eight horses stepped off the trailers today to compete at Paradise Farm Horse Trials. The lucky crew included Fabio, Zhen, Red Horse Harry, Smiley, Leto, Toulousse, Carson and Piney.

Molly rode Piney, Leto and Toulousse today. Competition was stiff in Leto's novice division as he got a 26 in dressage and still wound up in 10th. These baby event horses are stepping up their game!

Toulousse was absolutely fantastic and will make his father, Bryce, proud with his score of 29 and is in 2nd place in his novice division.

Robyn was only able to see a little bit of Molly's test with Piney and though she was a little bit spooky, her movement is really coming through and Robyn loves watching this mare improve.

What's perhaps the coolest part about this event is that all three working students and John Nunn were able to compete in addition to Molly.

Carson and Maddie got a 36 and Miss Maddie was very satisfied with this score for their fist time out but says there's always room for improvement.

John was really happy with Red Horse Harry, and his daughter, Jenn, got to see her future horse strut his stuff.

Zhen and Hannah also competed, and though Zhen was a little nervous in the beginning Hannah rode her really well throughout the test and it just got better and better.

Robyn, very modestly, saved her performance for last. Fabio was amazing - he got a 35 in dressage, and Robyn is so happy with him even though they had a couple of "weird" moments he really pulled through and proved their hard work had paid off!

Some will show jump tomorrow and some will do cross country - but the girls are definitely excited for he rest of the weekend.

Despite the fact that EVERYONE was riding today, Havarah had a couple extra hands who helped make the day roll by smoothly. Thanks to Quinn and Jenn for your hard work!

Stay tuned to see how the rest of the weekend pans out!

Pine Top Recap

It was an incredibly cold and windy weekend at Pine Top, but all three horses held it together in dressage despite the daunting weather.

Sabrina apparently wowed everyone with her preliminary dressage test, and to top it off she pulled out a double clear round stadium!

Benny started back at training level and though his dressage test still leaves room for improvement (he tried very hard according to Maddie) he also pulled out a double clear round stadium.

Rivan was the star of dressage (no surprise there) giving way to a score of 26.4 for his first training test back. Though this still landed him in second place - go figure? But he too went double clear stadium.

I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record but I can't help it when they're all superstars!

All three went clear cross-country yesterday. Rivan was a tad strong, Benny was awesome as usual and Sabrina is a cross country machine. I think Molly made it round well on all three with just a couple time faults here and there.

The final tally? Sabrina got 3rd place, Benny got 9th and Rivan ended up in 3rd. Not bad for the big wig's first show back this season!

Maddie said Sabrina's stadium was phenomenal to watch, and this show was great because all working students got to go watch everyone go round cross-country. Sometimes it's so busy only one student can be spared at a time to not get horses ready, but this time they were all able to enjoy every ride which is awesome!

Maddie is having so much fun - she thinks it was warmer last year but that doesn't matter because everything is wonderful in Aiken. She has her sights set on prelim by the last Pine Top before they head home!

All the horses who are going to Paradise Farm this weekend will go school cross country at the playground which is Gibbs tomorrow. This includes: Smiley, Red Horse Harry, Toulousse, PIney, Leto, Carson, Zhen and Fabio.

All three girls will make their Aiken debut at Paradise this weekend. Hannah and Robyn will ride beginner novice, and Maddie will start out the season at training.

How are they all going to ride and still get Molly's horses ready to roll? Thankfully at Havarah we have a lot of helpful hands who offer to volunteer their time for some fun in the sun. Quinn, Jenn and Maddie's mom will be there to help and John has his two horses going as well.

This will be Maddie's first event since the AEC so she is excited to show off all of her hard work and dressage preparation. Good luck girl I know you'll show 'em how it's done!

Good luck to all the girls tomorrow, and don't forget to check out the previous post as to how you can donate to the Lesley Long benefit auction!


Robyn Staying Warm



Maddie Making Sure Sabrina Knows Where She's Going


Sabrina on Course


Molly Rockin' the Nunn Finer Breeches