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December
25, 2021
Wishing you a lovely Christmas and a wonderful
Holiday Season.
When I went to Albuquerque earlier this month for
the USEA Annual meeting, in the airport was an amazing
statue of a Native American, with an eagle on his hand,
about to take flight. A plaque beneath it was inscribed
with this inspiring verse:
Dream
of Flight,
by Lincoln Fox
The dream of flight is born within the heart of man,
embracing the desire to be free from the confines of the
earth's surface.
Hopefully the dream includes the possibility of freedom
from limiting thought and action.
As our imagination is freed to receive greater
truths,
then fear, closed thinking, and poverty of spirit will be
left behind . . . far below.
Merry
Christmas,
Phyllis
November
25, 2021
Happy
Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving
is a good time to express the things that we are thankful
for, but I am thankful every day to live at such a
beautiful, special place such as Windchase. There is a
extraordinary quality to this particular spot on the
earth; it is a peaceful place, and has an almost magical
feel. We call this Windchase
Magic.
I am thankful for being able to ride lovely horses
across the fields, and to get to spend most every day
working with horses and animals and doing the things I
love. I am grateful to have such an exceptional barn
staff: Thanks to Jineen, Lisa and Clara for doing such a
great job, and to Kelly, Nicole, Nic, Julia and Christi,
who take such good care of all the horses.
I
am thankful for a great group of boarders and clients;
they make it all such fun.
I
am thankful for Jose; he keeps Windchase looking amazing.
I
give thanks for the way the sun sparkles on the lake, and
the sunset light turns the Short Hill Mountain a rosy
pink.
And
I am thankful for the wide variety of wildlife that makes
Windchase home, or at least passes through now and then.
Many are permanent residents; the geese, squirrels,
raccoons, possums, blacksnakes, frogs, bats, moles, field
mice, hummingbirds, ravens, hawks, owls, and a whole host
of others, including myriad songbirds. Others pass through
now and then: we see bald eagles flying overhead more and
more often, foxes and coyotes are seen on occasion, I have
sighted a fisher a few times, and the mother bear with
three cubs made another appearance in Jineen’s driveway
the other night. I am thankful for each and every one of
these creatures (though I would prefer that the mice
stayed in the fields rather than in my kitchen).
I
am thankful for the four-legged companions in my life; my
dogs, horses and cats.
I
am thankful for good friends, and a close-knit family.
I
hope you all have a joyous Thanksgiving. Here’s wishing
you all some Windchase Magic, or its equivalent, wherever
you are.
Cheers
Phyllis
November
22, 2021
In October I had the pleasure of attending the
inaugural Maryland 5-Star at Fair Hill, both as a member
of the USEF Selection Committee, and also as one of the
jumping judges for the 4 year old Young Event Horse
Championships. This
fabulous event turned out to be everything we hoped for
and more. Ian Stark’s cross-country course was suitably
demanding and put fear (or at least enormous respect!) in
the hearts of the riders, but then rode like a dream for
the well-prepared. And it was really gratifying that we
finally had an American 5-Star winner, for the first time
since 2008!
Windchase has had a good autumn, and successful
outings with most of the competing horses. We have been
training up the youngsters, and the consignment and sale
horses have been selling quickly. In fact there is so much
demand for horses we have trained that it is hard to keep
them in the barn! (If you need help selling your horse
contact us, we can help!)
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Visit our Horses for
Sale page to see the excellent horses we have
available.
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We have an exciting bunch of young horses at the moment;
we counted them up the other day and we have ten
three-year-olds in work, including three lovely homebreds,
and a number of excellent clients’ horses. We will have
an amazing group when they all turn four this coming year.
Lisa Bauman and Clara Lenhart are doing a super job with
their training, and I look forward to watching them
develop.
Cheers,
Phyllis
October 5, 2021
How did it get to be October already? The summer
just flew by.
Jineen
and I had a great vacation in August to Idaho; we spent
some time in the mountains, and then stayed a few days
with my brother who lives in Boise. We hiked up to a
secluded alpine lake where we sat on a rock and flicked
ants into the water to feed the trout. We rented an ATV
and drove it 40 miles through the wilderness, then stopped
at an overlook on a mountaintop where ground squirrels
raided our backpacks and rummaged through Jineen’s hair
looking for trail mix. We drove our large rented SUV up a
tiny gravel track with dozens of switchbacks to a ranger
lookout station on top of a 10,000 foot peak, where we
could see forever, and then had a punctured tire and had
to change it on a steep mountainside near the top. We
spotted elk, mule deer, Sandhill cranes and pronghorn
antelope. We enjoyed wonderful food and even better
company with my brother and his wife, and floated down the
Boise River in an inflatable raft. It was a great trip. I
loved Idaho; it was a part of the country I had not been
to before, but I certainly plan to go back!
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The view from Twin Peak South, Idaho
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Windchase kicked off the autumn Event Season by
holding our Windchase XC Derby; it was a blast. The
cross-country course was nearly two miles long for all
levels, and we had perfect weather and footing. Hosting
the Derby is always a lot of fun, and much thanks to our
clients and friends who volunteered to help.
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The Windchase XC Derby
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In September I got the chance to travel to Aachen,
Germany, to watch the US Eventing Team compete at that
fabulous venue. Aachen
is one of the most prestigious Events in Europe, widely
considered the best Horse Show in the world. The top
international competitors in Eventing, Jumpers, Dressage
and Driving were all there together, and it was really
spectacular. Getting to travel to a few competitions like
this is one of the perks of being on the Selection
Committee. And the best part was, Team USA did so well!
Will Coleman put in the fastest XC round of the day and
won the Event with Off The Record, the first time an
American has ever won this competition. And our team was a
close second behind the British, just .3 of a point out of
the lead. That is one second on XC!
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Will Coleman and Off The Record at Aachen
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Back on the home front, the Windchase riders have
been doing well at the autumn Events. Morgan McGrath
successfully moved up to Intermediate with her Could’ve
Ben and Jerrys (Newton for short), placing 7th
at Old Tavern. Clara Lenhart moved her Windchase Finley up
to Training and has been going really well, and Kelly
Bahrs has had super rides at that level with Bojangles.
Nicole Hetzel and her horse Artemis are looking great at
Novice, and Nicole Renzetti and Dusty are doing well at
Beginner Novice.
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Morgan McGrath and Newton
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Back at the farm, Windchase Eventing trainer Lisa
Bauman, along with assistant trainer Clara Lenhart, have
been doing a super job training the young horses. We have
a lovely batch of young horses in work at the moment; see
our Horses for Sale page for info on them. Also, we have
an excellent group of working students; Kelly, Nicole, Nic,
Julia and Christi do an outstanding job.
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Clara Lenhart and Windchase Finley
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Cheers,
Phyllis
September 1, 2021
Windchase Eventing is happy to
introduce Lisa Bauman, our new trainer. Lisa hails
from Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah. She is an
accomplished rider, trainer and instructor, and a free
spirit. Her experience and ideas will be a great addition
to Windchase.
Cindy Anderson-Blank has left
Windchase to open up her own training stable in West
Virginia. We wish Cindy the best of luck, and thank her
for her years of good work at Windchase.
Cheers
Phyllis
July
25, 2021
The
Olympics are here, and all eyes are on Tokyo. Competing in
the Eventing in Seoul, Korea back in 1988 was one best
moments of my life, and I carry that experience with me
always.
I
recently read a quote has been attributed to Leonardo da
Vinci, but was actually written by
John Hermes
Secondari, an American TV writer, in 1965.
“Once
you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been,
and there you will always long to return.” I
think this could apply equally well to International
competition.
I
am very happy to now be involved with the U.S. Eventing
Team as a member of the Selection Committee.
We have a talented group of horses and riders to
represent our country; fingers crossed that good fortune
follows them. I eagerly watch not just the Equestrian
Sports, but all of the fabulous athletes in the various
Olympic sports. Go Team USA!
Cheers,
Phyllis
July
5, 2021
The
summer is flying by. The upper level horses have been
having a bit of a break after Jersey Fresh, and are not
starting back to work. The working students have been
having a great time at the events; Kelly Bahrs won the
Training at Seneca Valley on her Bojangles, Morgan McGrath
had a dynamite round in the Prelim with Newton, and Grace
Clarke successfully moved up to Training level at Loudoun.
We celebrated the Fourth of July with a good old
fashioned party on the lawn; so great to be able to get
together with people again, now that everyone here is
vaccinated for Covid. The working students took a plunge
in the pond. I know that those former students who did the
Polar Dives into the lake on New Year’s a few times
might consider this a little wussy, but really, one has to
ask, which group is smarter, those that dive in the lake
on a lovely July day, or those that break the ice to
plunge in on January 1?
Cheers,
Phyllis
May
30, 2021
The
Spring Event season has been on the quiet side so far, but
it has been going well for Windchase horses and riders.
Our homebred Windchase Faberge Star completed her first
CCI3-L with Cindy Anderson-Blank at Jersey Fresh; it has
been fun to watch this little firecracker of a mare move
up to the big time.
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Windchase
Faberge Star and Cindy Anderson-Blank at Jersey
Fresh
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Morgan McGrath is forming a partnership with her
new horse, Could’ve Ben And Jerrys; they were super at
Modified level at MCTA, and will be moving up to Prelim at
their next outing. The working students are doing a great
job as well. Grace Clark has been going successfully at
Novice with her mare Rona, Devon Sutherland just moved her
nice young horse Cash up to Novice, and Kelly Bahr just
moved up to Training with Bojangles at Loch Moy.
Windchase is happy to announce that Clara Lenhart
is our new assistant trainer/manager; Clara has ridden
with us for
quite a few years, and does a super job with the horses
and in the barn. We wish the best of luck to Amy Faison
who formerly held the position; she has moved to
Pennsylvania and taken a position in a competition stable
there.
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Clara
Lenhart riding her own Finley at Loch Moy
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The horse market has been busy and we have sold
most of those we had listed, but now we have an exciting
batch of new horses available. See them on our Horses
for Sale page. We have an amazing group of
three-year-olds; Cindy is in the process of starting them
under saddle now. They will be a talented bunch for the
future!
Cheers,
Phyllis
April
11, 2021
Oh,
I love Spring! The bluebells in my yard are in full bloom,
and the daffodils along the creek have been glorious for
weeks. The new leaves on the trees unfold like fragile
velvet, and the air is filled with joy.
The
Spring Event season is well underway, and the Windchase
horses are going well. Cindy Anderson-Blank jumped clear
around the Advanced XC at Fair Hill last weekend on my
homebred Windchase Phoenix Star, and placed 6th
in the Intermediate with Windchase Faberge Star with a
cracking good round. It is great to see these fabulous
Irish Sport Horses in action. We will also be bringing
their 3-year-old half-siblings into work in the coming
months; I am excited to see what they will do.
Speaking of homebred Irish horses, congratulations
to Claudia Schultze and Erin Sylvester on the purchase of
Windchase Lionstar. I will really miss riding Lion as he
is just fantastic, but I am really excited to see him go
on with someone who is still currently competing and can
hopefully take him to the five-star level. It will be fun
to watch!
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Windchase
Lionstar
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Cheers,
Phyllis
February
25, 2021
It
has been a dreary snowy February, and I am ready for
Spring. Groundhog Day? No, this has felt more like
Groundhog Year! But even though I am not a
big fan of snow because it makes everything harder around
the farm, I do have to admit that at times it can be
beautiful.
But now it is turning warmer; for the first time in
a month the ground is not snow-covered, and the trees are
starting to bud out. Surely Spring is just around the
corner. In the meantime, the Windchase Eventing
competition season has already started, as Cindy
Anderson-Blank took four horses down to Aiken for the
month of February. (She had very good timing, to be able
to avoid the worst 4 weeks of weather!) She did a warm-up
Prelim run with a couple of the horses two weeks ago, and
is heading to Pine Top this weekend with one in the
Advanced and two in the Intermediate. Amy Faison is going
down to help her out in the grooming department.
In
the meantime, Windchase is running smoothly; we have a
Dream Team of working students at the moment, headed by
Clara Lenhart and Devon Sutherland, joined by newer
students Nicole Hetzel and Nicole Renzetti, and our
long-time local students, Christi Whitehouse and Grace
Clark. They all are doing a great job, and it is the best
bunch we have had in a long time. Much thanks to all! I
look forward to a great competition season with all of
these riders.
And it is almost March. Surely
there will be no snow in March, right . . . ?
Cheers,
Phyllis
February 2, 2021
A major winter storm has
moved across the mid-Atlantic and north-eastern states,
and here in Virginia it feels like it has been snowing for
a week. Frozen feet, icy slick footing, unruly horses
stuck in the indoor arena. Social distancing, not going
out anywhere, unable to get together with friends. Every
get the feeling you are living the same cold snowy winter
day over and over again, like Bill Murray? Happy
Groundhog’s Day!
Oh,
yeah, and Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning,
so six more weeks of winter.
Cheers,
Phyllis
January 1, 2021
Happy New Year. 2020 is
officially over, and I, for one, is not sorry to see the
last of it. I am optimistic that 2021 will b a better year
all around for everyone.
Stay safe and stay healthy,
Cheers,
Phyllis
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