On the road to recovery...

Just two weeks after his ordeal, Elite is recovering nicely!  Today he seemed happy to have company of the four-legged variety!  He does look a little lonely, so why not stop by and give him some loving?  Just remember - no treats yet!

In the holiday spirit...

In case you haven't heard, it was Jill Gilbert who provided the green stockings on each of our horse's stalls for Christmas.  Please let her know how much we appreciate them when you see her!

The John Berney/Jenna Reveal Christmas Party 2011...

Thanks to Kathy and Dave for opening up their beautiful home for a great Christmas celebration!

The new JBE website...

...is up and running!  Check it out at www.johnberneyequestrian.com.  ( Cut and paste this to your browser or you can click on the link in the left column of this blog.)

We are still looking for pictures to use on some of the site pages.  If you have pictures of our horses and riders that you think would be appropriate for the website, please send them to Margaret at maggiejazz@earthlink.net.  Thanks!

Belle and John...

 ...enjoying their dressage lesson time with "Coach" Wilma.

Championship Show Final Results...

Sunday's awards began with Brianna's eighth place ribbon in the 18 and Over Limit Equitation on the Flat, and then MaKenna's seventh in her age group Limit Equitation on the Flat.

Before the horses were loaded to return home, Makenna and Elite took their turn in the Kloss Family Gambler's Choice, once again receiving the Reserve Ribbon!

 

It was a great show for Team JBE.   Congratulations to our fantastic horses and riders!

Saturday at the Championship Show...

Brianna kicked off the day with an eighth place award in the 18 and Over CWD Equitation Challenge. That was followed by Makenna's hard-earned third out of a huge group of riders in the 12-14 age group of the CWD.  Makenna also picked up a ninth place award in the OCHSA Equitation (Victor Hugo-Vidal) Medal.

Gwen and Richie finished up their week with a third in the Adult Amateur Hunters Under Saddle. 

Just one day left and our victorious horses and riders will be home.  We wish them the best in tomorrow's flat equitation classes!

Friday's color is red...

...the color of the Reserve ribbons presented to Makenna and Richie in their Pleasure class and to Brianna in her Rusty Stirrup Equitation on the Flat class.  Congratulations to both!

We can also report that the "Bad To The Bone" Hunt Team, featuring our pal Richie (and Gwen?  or Makenna?), received the pink ribbon in Thursday's class.

Year-End Champsionship Show Highlights...

The Mother/Daughter Team of Gwen and MaKenna kicked off the winning for John Berney Equestrian on Thursday at the Year-End show.  In the Low AA Hunters, Gwen and Richie picked up a ninth over fences and the Reserve Champion in the hack.

Over in the Equitation ring, Makenna placed eighth in her age group Open Equitation over Fences. Sometime later she came back into the Duncan ring to receive her own Reserve Champion ribbon in the MY Equine Ventures Junior/Amateur Equitation Classic!

Not to be left out, our fearless leader piloted Elite around the course in the OCHSA Professional Equitation Challenge and picked up the eighth place ribbon.

There's lots of show left;  watch here for more results.  And, if anyone has pictures from the show they would like to share, please email them to Margaret!

Worming clinic update

The October Worming and Vaccination Clinic will take place this Friday, October 7.  There will be no lessons given from Friday though Monday.  Lessons will resume on Tuesday, October 11.  Please feel free to check in on your horses over these days!  Hand walking or time spent on the hot walker would be great, as would lots of grooming and maybe a few treats. 

A new partnership begins...

 As promised, photos of our most recent new horse and rider combo - Melissa and Ladino.  We send off best wishes to Melissa for lots of great fun, learning, and success on her new horse.

Sycamore show results...

Makenna was busy over the weekend, showing Elite in a every possible equitation over fences class, as well as showing Rich in the Childrens Hunters on Saturday.  We're pleased to report that she brought home lots of equitation prizes over the weekend, including a BIG win in the OCHSA Equitation Medal on Sunday.  To help out with time conflicts on Sunday, our great pal Kathryn Pulford offered to pilot Rich around in the AA Hunters on Sunday, and collected a second over fences and a first on the flat.  Congratulations to all!

Congratulations are in order...

...to Melissa on her recent purchase of Ladino!  (And, Ladino gets our congratulations, too, for going to such a great new home!)  A picture of the happy new partners will be posted very soon!

So long Euan...

 So long  - because we all know this is not goodbye!  We are sending along a wish for you and your family that your new adventure in Dallas is filled with great things.  And, we can't wait for all of you to come for a visit very, very soon!  (If anyone has pictures from the going away party at the beach, please pass them along for the blog!)

 

New Faces...

A belated welcome to Meghan McNamara and her horse, Here's Johnny, who joined our band of merry horsepeople in July.  We all look forward to getting to know Meghan better and sharing in her continuing career with  Johnny!

And not so new...

Not everyone gets to see our pal, Dean, who takes his lesson during the week.  But, he's still a very supportive member of the JBE "family".

On a hot, humid weekend in San Juan Capistrano...

...John and Makenna stepped into the ring.  John  showed Rich in the Low Hunters, qualifying him in that class for the Year-End Championship Show.  Makenna did the same, winning the English Pleasure on Rich.  In addition, Makenna hopped (up and up!) on Elite, and walked out of the covered ring with blue ribbons in both the Limit and Open Flat Equitation Classes!  The two of them looked fantastic together - a sight we are all hoping we get to see again!

It's party time...

Sad, but true, Euan is leaving us soon, off to start his new life in Texas.  To celebrate all the great times we've enjoyed with him, the gang is gathering at Doheney at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 10th. for a barbeque.  There will be a sign-up sheet for food and beverages posted on John's board.  (Rumor has that surfboards will be available for those who want to take to the waves.)  Don't miss this chance to send him on his way in true Southern California style!

Our other "Elder Statesman"...

...Chestnut Hill, also known to all who love him as Devon.  The big sweet Irish horse is ready to move into full retirement.  Soon he'll be living at the pasture, hanging out with old friends including Poseidon and Gunther, under the watchful eye of Augustine.  (And we're sure that Wendy will be keeping her eye on him, too!)  He'll be missed, but he has more than earned his right to spend his golden years at leisure.

Victory Becomes A Marathon...

Three members of the John Berney Equestrian team spent a very long weekend at Blenheim for the Victory Horse Show this past Saturday and Sunday.  Due to a limited number of entries, management made the decision to run all classes in one ring which made for very long days for John and our riders.

Maddie discovered that most of the hunter classes she wanted to show Concerto in were canceled due to lack of entries.  On Saturday, she did bring home two blue ribbons in Junior/Amateur Hunters.  Then, on Sunday, the pair made their jumper debut, placing third in the Modified Junior/Amateur and Preliminary classes, and sixth in the Mini Prix.

Our new horse and rider combo, Meghan McNamara and Here's Johnny placed second and third in the weekend's OCHSA Horsemanship classes, as well as placing third another day in the Equitation Medal.  Oh yes, and she won the Equitation Medal one day, too!  They, too, took a couple of spins in the jumper ring, picking up first and second place ribbons in the Pre-Training Jumper classes.  Welcome Meghan and Johnny - we will do a photo feature on you very soon!

Makenna and Rich completed the trio of riders showing over the weekend.  They were consistently in the ribbons in the Children's Hunter classes, and Makenna placed fifth in both her Open Equitation Classes, and in an OCHSA Horsemanship class.

Congratulations to all our horses and riders on their prizes and their tenacity for sticking it out through a long weekend of showing.

The Horsepucky Excuse of the Week...

A new feature on the JBE blog - the best terrible excuse heard from one of our riders during the past week.  This week's entry uttered by our boy jumper jock, Euan, is classic!

"I couldn't move up [to that fence I just buried my poor horse at] because you told me to keep my body quiet."

We'll be sharing these pearls of "horsepucky" regularly.  If you hear one that you think must be shared, please send it to Margaret at maggiejazz@earthlink.net for publication!

Mama Belle says...

...practice good sun protection -

ALWAYS wear a hat! 
(And if it's a SJCEC hat,
you'll put a big smile on John's face!)

New faces...

John and the latest addition to the John Berney Equestrian "herd" - the Metz' lovely hunter, Concerto!

Sunday at Blenheim...

Horse shows aren't always about the prizes you bring home.  Sometimes they are about tackling and defeating demons.  Sometimes they have those "Missed it by that much" kind of moments.  They are always about learning and improving.  And, they are about supporting your fellow riders, cheering on the members of your "team".  We congratulate our three riders, Makenna, Euan and Jennifer on a week's worth of all of the above.  Here are some photo highlights from Sunday.

Jennifer...

 Thanks to Mary Edwards we have photos of all our horses and riders from several days of showing!