Carefree Farms and Desert Sport Horses hosted an FUN DAY, full of horse and horse-less games for “kids” of all ages on December 18, 2021 – a very cold and windy day.

Similar to last year, the format included an in-hand obstacle course, followed by team-oriented and individual oriented under-saddle contests, then non-horse activities. Whether the kids were racing their horses to put items in a bucket or trying to put the horn on a poster unicorn blindfolded, each “kid” gave it their all!  Some of the new games required a lot of thought so everyone tried their best.

The two most challenging tasks were hand-walking their horse with a trot pole longitudinally between their legs. The left front and left hind were on the left side of the pole, while the right front and right hind were on the right side of the pole. Most of the horses thought their humans were crazy.

The other difficult task was that a two horse and rider team, while under saddle, held a crepe paper ribbon from rider’s hand to the teammate rider’s hand and race their horses, turn and race back, without breaking the crepe paper. I think the spectators loved this one more than the riders. The end result were fairly uncoordinated teams.

Co-Managers, Heike Barrett, of Flagstaff, AZ and Michell Combs, owner of Dressage with Michell, LLC, feel that a morning of laughter is good for the soul. The event wouldn’t be possible without the support of Carefree Farms, Laura Borghesani, Alice Sarno, the young kids and young-at-heart “kids”, the top-notch volunteers, Susan and Ellen, the participants’ parents, our show photographer, Veleska Fleuchaus, and most of all, the horses and ponies that put up with our shenanigans!

I can’t wait to see what is in store for everyone in 2022!

The first annual Carefree Farms Fun Show on October 4th had kids who were excited, proud, and a little anxious.

Michell Combs, a local dressage trainer, co-managed the show with her cousin Heike Barrett.  They approached Carefree Farms manager Laura Borghesani a few months back pitching the idea of a show for kids and young-at-heart “kids.”  Michell and Heike wanted to relive fond memories of similar shows they experienced as kids. The goal was to promote comradery, challenge the kids a bit and, of course, provide lots of laughter.  Laura supported the idea and together with the support of Alice Sarno of Desert Sport Horse, who teaches most of the Carefree Farm kids and owns several lesson horses, the idea blossomed into a show date.

The day started with an obstacle course. There were four obstacles, including leading horses and ponies forward and then backwards in an L pattern created by ground poles and also walking over a tarp. The kids had to encourage and coax their horses because most of the horses were not fond of backing up in the L, nor of walking on the tarp. The kids had to do a lot of work to make it all happen.

Then everyone mounted up for a class where they had to ride bareback and keep a dollar bill under their thigh while riding at the walk and trot. Most of the kids had never ridden bareback before, but Alice Sarno was on hand to coach and help them navigate.

The kids were very curious about the egg and spoon class. Under saddle, they had to ride with a raw egg balancing on a plastic spoon in one hand and steer at the walk and trot with the other hand. Most of the kids had not ridden one-handed before so that was a new adventure!

Then the kids had to trot their horses to a blue barrel which had magazines stacked on it, tear out three specific type of photos while still mounted and then trot back to the finish line.

Another adventure was trotting their horses to the barrel which had a raw egg on the ground near it and get their horses to step on the egg.  Needless to say, many of the horses spent more time avoiding stepping on the egg.

The final contest was horseless. The kids had to team up to pretend to be a wheel barrow and race to the blue barrel marker, then tie a horse’s leg wrap around their inside legs and race back to the finish line “three-legged.”  There was a lot of leaping, falling and hollering during this class!

In the costume class, some of the kids dressed up themselves and a lesson horse named Stella. The kids had various forms of wings on, and Stella was not too sure about her tutu. But someone sure got a great photo!

The classes were so popular that many kids participated in each class two or three times!  Then younger children who were watching the show asked to run to the blue barrels and back several times.  The fun show was over just before noon, and some of the parents stayed to help clean up the refreshment stand and arena. The day could not have gone better, and the joy and happiness shown by everyone made us proud. We were all so happy to see the Carefree Farms owners and family supporting us and even participating. The show would never have been possible without a great facility like Carefree Farms and the blessings and help from Laura Borghesani and Alice Sarno. Thanks to our volunteer Susan Poulos and also to the parents who helped! And thanks to my co-conspirator, I mean co-manager, Heike Barrett and her daughter Veleska Fleuchaus. And thanks to Irene Murphy, who also took amazing photos!

By Michell Combs (edited & liberally applied dramatic effect added by Philip Combs)

A fire was threatening Carefree Farms. An image of my horse Kaan, standing head stretched and rigid in his stall from the commotion around him, appeared in my mind. I gripped the steering wheel tighter trying to push the truck to go faster. My internal voice advised, Time to evacuate . . .

The barn manager, Laura Borghesani, had already called and warned me of the possibility, but I didn’t think it would really happen. These things happen on TV, but it’s always happening out there to someone else; you’re just an observer. Until now.

Friends started texting, offering me a temporary stall for Kaan, but I thought I’d wait until I got there to assess the real threat and get back to them when I wasn’t driving.

As I drove up, fire crews and police were everywhere along with many spectators. Planes whooshed overhead and disappeared. The streets were closed, and the power was out. I got through to the barn as smoke from the fire burned my eyes. Someone yelled that the horses had already been evacuated but that Laura was still on site. Presuming Kaan was safe, I shifted my focus on grabbing his saddle and bridles from the tack room while weighing what other items were essential to take.

As I struggled to load the truck, Laura appeared through the smoke haze. “Kaan’s been taken over to Jewel Creek Ranch, north Cave Creek.” I had not heard of the place before. Laura already walked away, so I just finished loading, and looked up the location on my phone, needing assistance to track the place down, but breathing a little easier . . .

I imagined Kaan would be a little stressed and confused when I saw him, and he was. However, his bright eyes opened wide while my teared when I leaped into his stall and gave him a strong, long hug. He stood perfectly still and absorbed (or at least, tolerated) my tension. When I released my grasp and stepped out of his stall, I asked a few people what was going on and what I could do to help. In the meantime, I borrowed duct tape and put his and my name and number on the stall.

By the time I left, Kaan was tossing his head around and letting me know he wanted to go back home. I got home late and was too exhausted for dinner or even a glass of wine.

Early the next morning, I picked up my horse trailer and headed to Kaan in hopes of getting the OK to take him back to Carefree Farms. Laura was meeting with the local sheriff. The horses were quiet, enjoying breakfast and eager to have the carrots I had brought. My horse was quite confused as to why I’d give such precious treats to the other horses. Then Laura gave me the OK to bring Kaan home. In my efforts to be helpful, I loaded up another pony, and then Kaan (thanks to my friend who stood patiently with me and closed the trailer door). As I was en route to the farm, Laura called me. Apparently I was transporting a pony that didn’t belong at Carefree Farms—are you kidding . . . I got to the farm, in a total fit that I stole a pony, and was reassured that all would be fine.

Kaan at least was so happy to be home . . .

Things I learned:
· Make sure your facility has an evacuation plan (superstar Laura & team)
· Don’t postpone working with your horse on trailer loading (note to self)
· Try not to put pressure on or over text the barn manager, perhaps give her a hug (she’s probably on overdrive)
· Have things in your vehicle that can identify you and your horse (I had to borrow duct tape)
· Have your horse name and your phone number on the fly mask and/or halter
· Just because you didn’t find anything on your Google search doesn’t mean that there isn’t a crisis
· Be thankful for all the friends you have who are trying to help you
· Be gracious to everyone, and especially the host facility (Thank you, Jenna Woodruff)
· Keep a checklist handy with your horse’s necessities (special wraps, ointments or supplements, etc.) because under stress you will likely forget something
· Be sure to have your trailer tires checked before fire season and check the trailer inside and out (I found a wasp nest in mine!)

A friend of mine, and fellow USEF rated judge, in California, Nicole Chastain Price, who had to evacuate seven times already, said this: “The most important advice in fire season—don’t panic. Have a plan. Make sure your horses are TRAINED TO LOAD! I sent horses who knew each other together and to places I knew they would be in stalls and safe. The chaos of evacuating happens when you let horses get taken by just anyone and have no control of the pen, hay, etc. I’ve seen so many horses get hurt through chaotic evacuations that I’ve always vowed it would never happen here.”

Her expert advice is this:
1) Have a plan where you will take horses in both directions so you can be sure to be moving away and not into the path of the fire
2) Make sure all halters are labeled with tag, owner number and name, and that all stalls, pastures have them on the doors
3) Have wax crayon if you need to write on horse
4) Have someone taking all info on what trailer took what horse and their contact info
5) Make sure horses are loaded in appropriate trailers—for us this meant we needed all WB sized rigs
6) Make sure someone is in charge at receiving end to settle horses and make sure they get correct feed
7) We had the foresight and time to boot all horses appropriately before putting on trailers
8) Have a plan for moving tack. We had owners with trailers on site as soon as we heard fire and had so many volunteers show up with trailers we could have evacuated two tack rooms. We chose not to as firefighters thought our barns were secure by that time. I make all of my client’s keep smaller essentials inside a carrying case with wheels and handle, so my tack rooms are super organized and can be cleared quickly

In today’s blog, I’ll share my favorite tail treatment. First, keep the tail clean with a quality shampoo and conditioner every two weeks. I give an extra massage to the dock when I wash the tail. Then I spray the tail every day with my preferred mix of leave-in conditioner, Avon Skin So Soft and a little water, in a spray bottle. I suggest finding the ratio/mix that works best for your horse.  Too much of any one thing can lead to the tail collecting extra dirt. I use approximately ½ of the spray bottle with Infusium leave-in conditioner, a dollop of Avon Skin So Soft and then maybe ¼ of the spray bottle with water.  I always shake the spray bottle before use.  I even like to spray it over my horse’s body for a little extra static reduction before grooming. No horse likes that shocking spark! Finally, I brush the tail with my favorite tail brush, called Tangle Buster ® by CareCo ®.

On January 19 & 20, 2019, USDF held a national level judges clinic presented by Lois Yukins, Gary Rockwell and Lisa Gorretta at the Embassy Suites West Palm Beach Center and at High Meadow Farms.

Lois Yukins is a USEF ‘S’ Dressage judge and a 4* FEI Dressage Judge. She is on the USDF judges committee and is an L Faculty member. Gary is an FEI O/5* judge, USEF ‘S’ Dressage judge and FEI Young Horse 5* judge. Lisa Gorretta is on the USDF executive board, serving as president, and she is a USEF Level 3/FEI Dressage Steward and R/Dressage TD.

Lois began the clinic by telling the full-to-capacity crowd that we needed to “forget the politics.” She emphasized that as judges we work for the horse, who doesn’t care about the ribbons and who doesn’t care about rider medals. We work to help the rider be good for their horse. Not only that, but we are also obligated to learn. She said that it’s important not to compromise our standards. Lois asked us to answer these questions:

What are we trying to do?

Who are we trying to please?

Are we on the right track?

Then Lois spoke to the USDF L Graduates and the USEF ‘r’ Dressage judges in the crowd and said, “Have you learned you won’t make money at this? You do it for the love of the horse!”

Gary discussed the 2019 tests and the changes made. He spoke about the design and flow of the test at each level from test 1 to test 3. He talked about the coefficients and why they were placed to emphasize certain movements. He said that the coefficients are placed to emphasize the training issues the committee sees. In this case, the committee added coefficients to transitions because they felt this area was really lacking in the horse’s training.

As always, in every dressage clinic, we went through the pyramid of training in great detail. This is the highlight:

Rhythm (regularity and tempo)

Suppleness (elasticity and freedom from anxiety)

                Lois reminded us that we can only redo muscling. We can’t change bones. We can help the horse move more efficiently within the range of the bones.

Contact (connection and acceptance of the bit through acceptance of the aids).

                Lois gave us the example of dominoes to demonstrate back-to-front riding, with the last domino being the horse’s poll pushing forward.

Impulsion (engagement and the desire to go forward)

Straightness (improved alignment and equal, lateral suppleness on both reins)

                Lois wanted us to know the difference between straightness and alignment. She said we work on straightness from the moment we get on a horse, even at 3 or 4 years old. A horse may lose straightness due to an evasion. When we notice, for example, a short side left and long side right, we need to build the muscle, especially on the horse’s short side. If a horse leads with his haunches (an alignment issue), he will become on the forehand.

Collection (balance and lightness of the forehand from increased engagement)

                In order for a horse to be able to produce collection, he needs more engagement, more power, and more straightness. The horse must be even behind, with even muscles.

Gary said our highest goal as judges was to place the class correctly. He thinks many judges are afraid to use the lower end of the point scale.

We watched videos and discussed scores and appropriate comments. We discussed the walk, trot, canter, stretching the frame, turn on the haunches, working pirouette, pirouettes in walk and canter, piaffe and finally passage. We held up point cards so everyone could see the range of scores. Certain participants were called upon to discuss their score. It was also discussed throughout the video session what are “worse” faults. For example, in a flying change, is a miscount worse than a late change? No. Although a counting mistake is not good, a bad change is worse because the training is wrong.

Some comments that Lois and Gary made were:

o   In the walk, the whole horse needs to walk “catlike.” The whole body should swing.

o   Don’t use the term “needs more” so often. Saying “needs to reach to contact” is better.             

o   Don’t let the rider get away with fiddling with the bit.

o   Underline key words on the directives.

o   Qualify comments “a little unclear at _____,” “at times a little too ____________,” “a little unsteady at _______.”

o   In a turn on the haunches, if the rider is pushing the haunches, that is a rider error. The girth and shoulders of the horse should move. A horse can’t engage if the haunches lead, and the movement can’t be supported if not in alignment. Also, the rider needs to understand shortening the stride is not slowing the tempo. Gary also advised riders to continue on the line they come out on. No leg-yielding or half-passing back into place!

o   Let the rider know if a movement, such as a pirouette, is not started clearly from straightness.

o   In a canter pirouette, can the judge tell where it starts and if the rider is in control?

o   A piaffe has no impulsion because 2 feet are always on the ground. Look at the quality.

Lisa Gorretta took us though some of the USEF rules, ranging from errors to tack. She also spent time on the new Social Media policy that licensed officials must adhere to. It was emphasized that we need to be professional and ethical when using social media because the lines may blur between us as judges and us as individuals. Some specifics mentioned in the policy:

o   Disclose we are a licensed official if we are discussing USEF-related matters.

o   Be clear when we are expressing our opinion so it doesn’t appear that we are speaking on behalf of USEF.

o   Be careful about the personal information we disclose.

o   Act responsibly and ethically so we don’t misrepresent ourselves.

o   Honor our differences (no discrimination).

o   Adhere to the laws governing copyrighted materials.

Then we looked at various bits and other tack to identify what was legal or illegal based on new rules. Just because some bits or bridles may be illegal one year, doesn’t mean it will be illegal the next year so it’s important to stay on top of the changes.

On Sunday we drove through near hurricane-like conditions, barely seeing the road and definitely not seeing stop lights, as we made our way to High Meadow Farms to see live test rides. We self-judged each ride and then had discussions, using our point cards to show each other and group leaders our score ranges as we compared what we did to what Lois or Gary did. As is always the case, scores seemed to vary based on where on the short side we were sitting. For example, everyone to the left of C may have scored a movement in the 7 range while everyone to the right of C scored the same movement in the 5 range. This also led to discussions on the value of panel judging and what can cause scores to vary. It was especially helpful to discuss each ride’s main issues and how that became the words for the further remarks.

Gary told us not to be so tough with everything at training level. For example, if the horse breaks gait, and the rider is quick to correct it, the judge can give a 5. A break of gait at training level doesn’t automatically mean 4 or less. He also said that since the FEI tests only have one collective score, which is for the rider, we have to take into account the whole ride, not just how the rider sits. If the horse’s tongue is out, has bad transitions, quits behind – everything is taken into consideration. We also discussed movements like a halt not being square makes the rein back easier, or noticing if a horse has more trouble bending right than left and seeing how long it takes for a horse to cross a diagonal.

We were grateful that each scheduled horse and rider showed up to present their test. Many of the horses were tense from the weather conditions, and one rider even had an unscheduled dismount during a bronc that developed from the medium canter. The exposure for us was invaluable, and we appreciated the opportunity to observe and learn.

Although Lois and Gary didn’t agree with each other over everything that was said, they did embrace each other’s differences, and the event was light-hearted and jovial. It was a real treat to be able to attend the clinic. Not only was the West Palm Beach setting gorgeous, it was also wonderful to connect with old friends, and I made many, many new friends.