Exciting News!

Bonnie is named to the short list!

Check out the official Press Release here:

http://www.useventing.com/competitions.php?id=1556

This is such exciting news for Bonnie and Murry and it is only made better by the fact that Bonnie and Murry have never looked better. Murry is sound, eating well and seemingly enjoying his job every day.

The selection process will continue with a gallop at the training sessions in The Plains, VA tomorrow morning (Monday at 5:45am!!). The riders and horses will then all go home for a week and gather again at The Fork for the final Mandatory Outing July 8-13. This week will consist of lessons Tuesday-Thursday and then a mini competition for the short listed riders on Friday and Saturday. The selectors and vet's will then conduct one final veterinary examination. On either Sunday night or Monday morning the riders will find out which 8 combinations will travel to England for final preparations. In the end, 5 horse/rider combinations will be named to the team that will travel to Hong Kong for the 2008 Olympic games.

If/when Bonnie travels to England and then on to Hong Kong, she will be away until approximately August 16th. If you would like to get a lesson with her before she heads out of town please join us this week! We are specifically putting groups together for Wednesday (although you are more than welcome to join us any day, just contact us for availability!)

Hope to see you all soon!

Wow its hot!

We are all happy to announce that we survived a truly wild trip this past saturday white water rafting the New River in someplace West Virginia. Bonnie, Rebecca, Abby, Coren, Bridget and Megan braved the rapids and have the sunburn to prove it! Our poor virgin legs saw more sun then they will probably see for the rest of the summer! Rebecca suffered the only casualty of the day, nearly drowning even though the guide swears she was only under water for about 3 seconds (impossible!). This last major hurrah was a much needed escape from the heat and horses. Our stuff will probably need to dry out for a few more days but we are back on the horses and gearing up for a busy few weeks.

Our first clinic at home will be held June 21-22 and we are looking forward to a fun weekend at the farm and to welcoming our first big group of visitors! There are a few more spots available! Please e-mail Rebecca if you'd like to join in! r_polan99@yahoo.com.

Our new summer working student also arrived this past weekend. Lee French joined us after winning her Preliminary division at Rubicon. Congratulations Lee and welcome to the farm! We are expecting a few more summer residents and visitors over the next few weeks. There is always room for more so please let us know if you'd like to come down for a few days or a few weeks!

On June 24th Bonnie will head to Middleburg, VA where she will spend a few weeks training with the rest of the US Eventing Team short list. She and Murry are looking great and are ready to show the selectors their stuff!

Check back here to keep an eye on their progress.

In the meantime, ride your horses early, try to stay cool and enjoy the beginning of summer!