Cricket Hill Farm
Academy and Gardens
Congratulations to Lulu on achieving GoldStar V, working with her fabulous pony Madison and Kira! This module has also been newly revised and covers much more than the previous edition. We wish you well on GoldStar VI and this year at the Youth Dressage Festival!
Congratulations to Ava on the completion of GoldStar I! Ava is the first of the Ambers – a new Saddle Club group for beginners under the guidance of Instructor Cecelia Edwards – to finish the first module. The other five Ambers are well on their way, so watch this spot for their awards coming up! Ava received her award at this week’s Saddle Club meeting, and was congratulated later by Amber chums! Thanks to the keen eye of Joe Bore.
As part of our on-going effort to remain at the forefront of equine nutrition, Cricket Hill recently conducted an examination of our grain and supplement feeding practices. Joe Monroe, Nutrena nutrition expert from Indiana, who worked with us during the analysis, gave two seminars on Saturday, March 5, one for adults and one for youth. Joe is an engaging presenter and answered a range of questions. His talk was followed by a hands-on assessment of select Cricket Hill horses to learn the skills of Body Conditioning Scoring (BCS) and Topline Evaluation Scoring (TES). Eight adults attended the first session, shown below.
The second session was packed! Eight of our Saddle Clubbers, including one of our new Pine Plains riders, were joined by a group from the Lakeville Pony Club, 10 youth and 4 adults! Discussion was very lively, and refreshments were provided for all.
Our own Becca Stack, Barn Manager/Instructor, an equine vet tech herself, arranged a fabulous guided tour at the Rhinebeck Equine Clinic. A contingent of six Saddle Clubbers was joined by a dozen 4-Hers, invited by Jami as part of the Academy’s Agricultural Education Program.
Dr. Nina Deibel was our host and tour guide, showing our large group the surgical and laboratory areas as well as recuperation stalls. A fun, instructional afternoon with surprises for many!
We had a great opportunity to recognize these accomplishments at our annual Holiday Party and Show! Left to right below: Erin & Tate ““ GoldStar III, Lyla & Sunny ““ GoldStar II, Lulu & Madison ““ GoldStar III. These three girls worked through the summer and finished up the final bits this fall. They are the first to complete these modules in the newly revised GoldStar program!
Over the past 18 months, Kira and Jami have been revising both GoldStar for dressage and ShootingStar for jumping. In addition to adding a module to each program, making 7 in GoldStar and 3 in ShootingStar, the revisions improve these programs in important ways: added sections on contact, coming round, and “on the bit”; new discussion of straightness; whole new sections on horse behavior and veterinary topics; careful development of lateral work over the last three modules of GoldStar. Click here to learn more about this unique Cricket Hill program!
Cricket Hill has embarked upon a new educational program in cooperation with Stephanie Rhoades, the Agriculture and Animal Science teacher in the Pine Plains Central School District. Stephanie also runs the Pine Plains chapter of FFA (Future Farmers of America), the last chapter still operating in the area.
Jami was featured speaker at the April 13 FFA meeting talking about the special student programs offered by Cricket Hill.