June 2011

Summer will soon be here and after this winter we are really looking forward to it! We have had a very busy winter. In our fourth year middle school and high school interscholastic teams competed through snow, sleet and rain this winter. Kris Thomson, IEA coach, took twenty-five interscholastic riders and both teams to the regional and zone finals at Dana Hall, Rising Star and Mt Holyoke College. Three went on to the Nationals Finals in Baltimore MD. Congratulations to Allison, Sophie and Sarah for their excellent rides. The Wheaton College Team and coach Amanda Hare had their Zone Finals the same weekend, congratulations on their success this year.

We are looking forward to our fifth season as an IEA team with the National Finals being held in Syracuse New York next May. The Interscholastic Equestrian Association has grown tremendously this past year with 132 teams across New England. We are now divided into six regions in Zone 1. As the most experienced team in the region, I've agreed to continue this year as the regional chair and look forward to mentoring the new teams. If you are interested in this fabulous program, check it out at rideiea.com and give us a call if you have questions.

In addition to our schooling show series this year, we are hosting three Rhode Island rated shows. Dates, prize lists, and entry forms are now posted in the Shows section. Our first show on May 8th was a big success! We are now linked to Charlene Brown's website, accessed through the rihorseman.com website for online entries. We look forward to seeing you all!

Winter and spring camps were busy and plans for a full schedule of summer camps are being made. Info and applications are on the Camp section of our website. We welcome Kaziah Copeland as our new instructor and camp director.

We also welcome back from wintering in Florida, Wendy Smith and her show jumping expertise! We wish her a good competition season and look forward to her training.

Welcome to all our new pony club kids and congratulations on your ribbons at Quiz Rally! Congratulations to Rachael, Allison and Sophia who all qualified for nationals.

The guinea hens continue to reproduce and eat all the ticks! The Carter School in Boston incubated some for us and are soon joining the flock. Dan's garden is off to a great start with over 30 varieties of heirloom tomatoes and lots of other unique produce. We plan to sell veggies here and at Wright's Dairy on Saturday a.m. We've added dahlias this year - we will see how I do weeding!

Lynch Transportation is getting busy and is ready to meet all your shipping needs! You can reach Steve at 401-529-5052

Well that's it for now - happy summer & have a good ride!
- Debra McManus