Whiting's Neck Equestrian Center Newsletter
Volume 8, Issue 4
June 2013
Summer is here! We are excited for the hot days,
lush green grass, and fat, show ready horses and ponies. We have a busy show schedule this summer, and
will be attending shows with summer camps after each camp, starting in mid-June. Summer has brought
us many new students--children, teens, and adults--so the WNEC horses and ponies are delighted with another influx of smiling
faces and carrot stuffed palms. We love our horses, new and “old”, and are thankful for the
ongoing progress of our school horses, our new training projects, and our dutiful, lovely ponies.
Thanks to everyone
who attended our Friday night hunter show and Spring Break Camp last month. Don’t
forget to sign up for Summer Camp sessions and shows. See below and stay tuned on facebook for our monthly
events.
Welcome to All
of Our New Students!
We are very happy to welcome new students to WNEC and
to help you pursue your riding goals. This newsletter is published monthly to keep both new and established students and friends
of WNEC informed about happenings around the farm with events and opportunities to expand their riding beyond the weekly lesson.
WNEC on Facebook
Become a fan, talk to us and give us feedback,
post pictures and discussions. To sign up, go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Martinsburg-WV/Whitings-Neck-Equestrian-Center/275355938659?ref=ts
If you do not have a facebook page, just bookmark the link and check in with us for updates and new WNEC photos and videos.
You can see all interactions on the site without signing up.
Upcoming Events
2013 Summer Camp Spend the summer on your favorite horse or pony, practicing for outside shows, and socializing with your
friends! Open to riders age 6 to 18. The days are spent in a relaxed, informal
atmosphere where safety and fun are experienced hand in hand with horseback riding, hands on lessons, games on horseback,
an end-of-camp performance, and learning about the history and care of horses. Intermediate and
advanced students will have the opportunity to show off the property at local hunter shows.
Camp runs in one-week
sessions, and campers may sign up for more than one week. The camp runs Monday-Friday 9am-3pm on the following
weeks
Session 1: June 10-14
Session 2: June 24-28
Session
3: July 8-12
Session 4: July 22 –
26
Session 5: August 5 – 9
Session 6: August 12-16
Cost: $325 per week, $300 for three
or more weeks.
$50 additional charge to bring your horse for the week.
Stay Tuned: Adult
Riding Activities, starting in July!! WNEC has an influx
of new adult beginner and intermediate riders who, along with our long time adult riders and boarders, are interested in riding
together, socializing, and having fun with friends while practicing on their safe school or privately owned mounts.
Coming soon: Summer Adult Ride and Cheese, Adult Dressage Drill Team (beginner’s welcome),
and Adult Only Group Practice ride nights. See Alyson, Geneva, or Dr. Marsha Mills---WNEC’s
Adult Coordinator---to share ideas, schedule with your adult friends, and suggest adult rider activities. 304
274 1210
Student-Get-Student Promotion
WNECs student body is growing! The highest compliment you can give us is to refer your friends to WNEC. Tell them
we offer a free introductory lesson. When you refer a new student, and that student commits to ride with us (signs
on for a month of lessons), we’ll give you a free lesson as a thank you.
New Boarders
Welcome to our new boarders this month. We still have stalls available for new boarders. Refer
your friends who own horses to board with us, and receive 2 free lessons. Have your friends check our web site:http://www.whitingsneckfarm.com/
Student News:
In addition to intermediate and advanced lessons,
we hold children’s group lessons after school every day at 4pm and/or 5pm, 4pm and 5:30 on Tuesdays, as well as noon
and 1pm on Saturdays, and 12 noon on Sundays. Pony partners class (Parents leading our youngest riders) takes place
Sundays at 1pm and Saturdays at 2pm. If you will be away or unable to attend your regularly scheduled lesson, please
call us to schedule a make up lesson. Lesson payments for four (weekly) lessons
will be $148.40. June has 5 Saturdays and Sundays so lesson payments will be 185.5 for riders who ride on those days.
Become a working student! The Working Student Program at WNEC is available to regular lesson students ages 12 and older. The program
is designed for students interested in learning and understanding horses and horsemanship in a more involved way. Working
students help with a variety of activities at the farm in exchange for an extra lesson each week. There are also lectures
and extra-curricular activities scheduled throughout the year for WNEC working students.
Current working students
are: Brianna Sine, Katie Whipple, Zoe Rickrode, Sarah Allman, Alexa Crider, Amber Rockwell, Courtney
Might, Courtney Postma, Caroline Fischel, Clara Staas, Emma DeYoung, Emma Allen, and Ashley DeYoung. If you need assistance,
please feel free to ask them if you cannot locate staff or if staff are otherwise engaged…thanks!:)
Boarder News Thanks to all of our boarders. With the hot temperatures,
please provide a fan for your stall, flyspray, and bring home your heated water bucket(s) and blankets
if you have not already done so. June is a worming month; please add
$15 to your board if WNEC worms for you.
The farrier
list for June is as follows:
June 5th: Dennis, Velvet, Cherokee
June 12th: Brown Sugar, Madison
June 19th: Epona
June
26th: TBA as needed
July 3: Melody, Paris
July 10th: Banjo, YoJo
Please have your checks in the office before Nathan’s Wednesday visit. Farrier prices are $120
for 4 shoes, $80 for 2 shoes; trims are $35.
Half Lease Opportunities
Beebop: Wonderful 8 y.o. 15.2 h TB. She WTC and jumps small (up to
2’9”) courses, gymnastics, and cross country, trail rides, and is a quiet, sensible, fun horse for an intermediate
rider. She is owned and loved by WNEC.
Rupert---a retired dressage school master and eventer. He is a 23 yo Grey TB. His owner lives in NY.
He needs a loving WNEC rider who will dote on him and ride dressage, trails, and small jumps.
Hangtime: WNECs wonderful 11 year old 15.3 hand TB schoolmaster. He rides up to first
level dressage and jumps a 2’6” course, shows hunters, and is an overall sweetheart.
Pumpkin: WNECs feisty and lovable 12 h small welsh pony. She needs
an intermediate rider who can match her spunkiness. She is a love, and rides bareback, jumps, and does
training level dressage.
Horses and Ponies for Sale Part of the business
of the farm is training and selling horses and ponies. We have a number of ours listed for sale on our website.
Check out their listings at: http://www.whitingsneckfarm.com/id23.html
Birthday Parties!
Have your child’s birthday party at WNEC. Use our lobby for your party, and give party goer’s a pony ride.
We do parties on Saturday or Sunday afternoons and need at 3-4 weeks advanced notice. Cost $125. More
information can be found here:http://www.whitingsneckfarm.com/id25.html
On Line Consignment Store· If
you have tack you would like to list on our newsletter consignment store, please send the details to whitingsneckfarmearthlink.net
WNEC Farm Rules for the Comfort and Safety of Our Riders and Horses
- ALWAYS loudly call out “DOOR!” when you pass any of the doors
leading to our indoor arena. This includes not only the entry door from barns 1 & 2, but also when passing from
the barn through the walkway to the outdoor arena, anytime you need to pass the doorway at the far end of the arena
(the “A” gate), and if you walk along the fence line of the outdoor arena by the window to the indoor arena
(the “B” window). It may seem silly, but horses are often spooked by sudden movement (running
first is how their ancestors lived to breed). We need all riders, parents, and your visitors to observe this rule. It
may feel embarrassing to call out, but it would be far more embarrassing to cause a rider to fall by spooking the
horse he/she is riding.
- Groom all horses fully,
removing all mud, and pay special attention to the girth areas of all school horses. The dirtier you get,
the cleaner your horse or pony gets!J Don’t forget to groom manes and faces also.
- Pay attention to cool down time. Walk all horses for 10 minutes
after the lessons and make sure they are properly cooled out. You can also hand graze them in the front field and
yard while they cool down and groom them at the same time.
- Warm up all horses properly: minimum ten minutes walking and stretching, ten minutes of trotting,
before jumping or cantering.
- Put away your saddle, saddle
pad, bridle, and grooming bucket after your lesson. Please rinse the bit before hanging on the rack in the tack
room.
- If the horse you are riding poops in the cross
ties, please clean it up right away. If you wait until after your lesson, someone else will probably
have needed to use the cross ties and will have to clean up after you. This is doubly important in the wash stall.
- After your lesson, please groom your horse and redress your horse with
a blanket or sheet if they are wearing one. Don’t forget to cross the hind leg straps on all blankets.
Ask staff or working students if you need assistance in learning how to blanket the horses.
- Dogs must be leashed on the farm property. Please clean up
after your dog.
- Smoking is ONLY permitted on the front porch
of the lobby.
- The Wash stall is only to be used
for bathing and hosing horses. Please do not use it as a set of cross-ties to groom or tack up your horse.
