From the Horse’s Mouth
NEWS FROM THE OLD 82 TO HIGH-TECH ARENA NOW.
Date AUGUST 2010
EDITOR: Jane Hardy ’12
THE SUMMER HEAT CAN’T SCARE US INSIDE!
What the FVS English team has been up to…
Arizona must be similar to living in an
oven because the thermometer has read 95
degrees or higher almost every day in
Colorado for weeks it seems. Somehow,
the Fountain Valley Riding Team hasn’t
even been intimidated by the scorching
heat. All the girls have been saddling up
on their own, keeping their skills in tune,
and looking to the school year ahead with
dread for upcoming homework, but
excitement for the riding season. There
were a lucky seven girls who rode last year
throughout all three seasons and will be
returning to FVS riding. Each had her own
agenda over the summer.
Hannah Neuman ’12, Jane Hardy ’12
and Katie Gilbert ’11 have been riding on
campus with their school horses and have
squeezed in lessons with Ms. Hanna’s
ever-demanding schedule (clean stalls,
whistle for beloved dog Augy, run a ranch
and school program, whistle again, deal
with the hundreds of questions from
students, clean wounds, whistle more, feed
horses, look for Augy…)
In the midst of that, Ms. Hanna recently
took Maya Kobacker, a native of Arizona
who came to ride in Colorado for the
summer, to show at High Prairie (An “A
Rated” or high-end show in Parker,
Colo.). Maya went for three weeks where
she and her new horse, Moose, rocked the
show. They proudly came out with a blue
ribbon from one of her classes. She’s been
all over with Moose, including riding at
Strang Ranch and Crystal Ranch in
Carbondale, and they headed up to Estes
Park for two weeks of showing where she
won a place in the September Colorado
Hunter Jumper Association Medal Finals.
Photo (left to right): Hannah Neuman,
Jane Hardy and Katie Gilbert at M&M
schooling.
Summer heat (continued)
While Maya and Ms. Hanna were
gallivanting around High Prairie, Jane,
Hannah and Katie went to the M&M
schooling show and cleaned up.
Hannah, riding Teddy, won reserved
champion in both 2 foot and 2’3”-2’6.”
Katie, on Connie, the Lovelace horse
that comes with a scholarship, came in
as champion of the 2’ division. Jane
rode in 2’ and 2’6”-2’9,” which is the
highest she’s shown at, and had a solid
ride. They were accompanied by new
assistant trainer Ally Mavelil (see
article “Say Hello to My Little
Friend”).
RECENTLY AT THE
BARN…
Excuse me, is that a mini
fridge?
White pants, loud music and a
mini fridge? At a barn more than one
of these things doesn’t belong and
YET… In the world of dressage
riding, this is far from the absurd.
FVS barn halls were flooded with
fridges, chairs, tack trunks, a TV,
dogs, you name it during the
summer. It looked almost like the
riders had moved in permanently for
the one, weekend long USDA
dressage show, a first for Fountain
Valley.
On July 12-14, more than 50
horses came to compete, filling
every stall, wash rack and run.
Despite the somewhat cramped
conditions, the horses still received a
primping celebrities would be
jealous of. Baths, braiding, clipping,
another bath, hoof polish…
Jayne Elis 11’ has come home with
more then a few ribbons, too, from the
CHJA beginner division at “Hobby
Horse.” With tallied points she currently
stands first in the division for equitation,
seventh in hunter, and more impressively
stands fourth in the “A” circuit prechildren’s division with her matching redhaired horse, “Ever After,” or “George” for
short. Tagging along to Estes with Ms.
Hannah and Maya, Jayne won her spot for
medal finals in September in the Colonel
Medal.
Kristen Jacobson (Horseman of 20102011) has been taking a less stress-filled
competing approach to summer. Kristen
and PJ, her horse are looking for a new
little girl to love PJ. Regardless of showing
PJ off, Kristen as been riding everyday.
She’s also been riding western, her original
riding style, and taking a breather from the
hectic life at FVS. Every one is…
By the end, each horse looked something
like a wanna-be Edward Cullen from
Twilight, as they glittered in the sunlight.
To complete the picture, they were led by
their almost angelic riders. For the many
who have never seen a classic dressage
costume, here’s a glance:
The classic dressage wardrobe consists
of leather tall boots, white breeches, a
white button down top and a white necktie
known as a stock tie, and commonly a
black coat and top hat. Spared by the
gracious judge, no coats were required.
Each rider in the boiling heat was very
thankful. Back to the top and breeches, it
doesn’t take an Ivy League graduate to
guess that a barn is usually, well, pretty
dirty; so this white and fine apparel isn’t
for the wary at heart—neither is the sport.
What makes dressage so amazing and
different from the typical hunter shows,
where horses jump over fences, is that
these horses DANCE around the arena. If
you’ve never seen a horse “skip” then you
need to come down for the next dressage
show.
Say hello to my little
friend…
So maybe Scarface doesn’t come to
mind when meeting the new assistant
coach, but it doesn’t take long to figure
out that she’s got a special spark to her.
Say hello to Ally Mavelil, 24.
Originally from Connecticut, Ally came
to Colorado to finish up grad school
after receiving a degree in history.
When Ally moved out to the Springs,
she brought her horse “Will You
Dance” or “Willy” for short too. Willy
is boarding at M&M Ranch. Long story
short, Ms. Hanna found Ally through
Tracey Powers, head trainer of M&M
Ranch.
Ms. Hanna was becoming frantic to
find someone for this upcoming year
after she learned that about 13 student
swould be joining the team this
upcoming year. Ally was like a ray of
sunshine in the middle of a storm
(course Ms. Hanna’s schedule should be
compared more to a small hurricane
then a storm.)
Everyone at the barn is thankful for her
presence for this upcoming year and
through this summer as well.
To some students she has already proven
herself capable. Ally escorted Hannah,
Katie and Jane to a schooling show, only
meeting them the day before. The trip was
uneventful, always something worth a sigh
of relief in the horse world, and more so a
success.
One thing does fit Ally with the Scarface
quote…her 5’3” stature. But don’t push it.
She has spurs, and she knows how to use
them.
Bucking Broncos
Bums and Bruises
Photo by Hannah Neuman
For those who say horses are for prissy, nonathletic people who don’t like to get dirty, your
opinion is far from fact. Riders have the same
dedication, deal with dirt, and, of course,
experience pain as any other athlete. But no
quarterback is off the field for being catapulted
15 feet in the air by two-ton linebackers. So
here’s to the riders who rub a little dirt in it and
get back on.
Finally, we also wish a speedy recovery to Julie
Phillips ’10!
Photo by John L. Moore
HORSE LATIN???
(for those of us who wished we had a translator for horse
speech to English)
Types of English horse shows
 Hunter—where the horse’s or rider’s body is judged
or jumps
 Jumper—jump course where fastest time wins
 Dressage—work on flat where rider demonstrates
control and gaits of horse–speeds of horse
determined by speed and number of feet on the
ground at once (from slowest to fastest)
 Halt=stop
 Walk
 Trot=comparable to human jog, looks like a skip
 Lope=same motion as canter, just very slower
 Canter=run
 Gallop=dead run
Still sounds like gibberish? Still have some gray areas
that need some clarifying? E-mail Jane at
[email protected] and look for your questions
answered in the next newsletter.
Upcoming Events:
August 31- last day of
add/drop sports
Beyond that….
Survive the mass of new
coming riders and the new
year
Next “From The Horse’s Mouth”
Back to the Old 82, interviews
from alumni
West Side Story, no Maria, but
a total western view (riding we
mean)
THINK YOUR HORSE RELATED
PHOTO IS BETTER????
SUBMIT IT to Jane at
[email protected]. YOUR
WORK COULD BE HERE!