Ask Cari

Vanessa rides Tony with Cari on Allez and Lauren on a late summer afternoon.  Learning to ride with excellent balance and rhythm at Windrock Farm.  You can never start too early.  Learning correct basics from the beginning will result in a skilled confident rider.

Fiona demonstrates her talent for trick riding on Goldie with Rex on Mr. T, just back from filming on location in Texas.   Seven Days in Utopia (2011) is a new film about a professional golfer who finds himself on a horse ranch and Mr. T had a scene in a rain storm rearing to drop a stunt rider doubling for the principal actress.  T is back in New York for another day on Arthur (2011), a film we worked on this summer with Jennifer Garner and Russell Brand.

Vanessa enjoys a late summer afternoon ride on Tony after she rode Allez around the paddocks with me.  V is only 3 years old and already showing her talent and love of riding!

McCoy is a 7 year old gelding by Makuba, a German Riding Pony who the the first imported German Riding Pony Stallion imported into the United States.  Makuba scored extremely high in his 100 day test, 10 for temperament, 9 for rideability, 10 for walk, and 9′s for trot canter and free jumping.  McCoy is an exceptional young horse who will excel in eventing or dressage.  Come try him for your next partner.

Bob proved he is a star at his first horse show winning best young horse in the show.  He started training with Rex as a yearling, learning to have excellent ground manners and how to behave like a gentleman.  In spite of the high winds and horrible weather at the show, he stood his ground and won every class he entered.  Bob is not yet two years old and is maturing into a lovely horse.  It pays to start training the youngsters early and will pay off in dividends in the future under saddle.  Contact us to schedule a private lesson with your horse.

Levi is a confident bold jumper, he has a motor, great personality,

loves cross country, uncomplicated to ride, super event, dressage or hunter prospect.

These snow storms are allowing me more time to create fun videos, here is a teaser to the new book, WHOA MEANS WHOA! which will be available April 1.  Let me know what you think!

Tony is coming to Windrock Farm in April.  He is a 10 year old talented pony with a great personality and temperament.  He is very smart and is very comfortable to ride.

This is a lovely horse for someone looking to move up to Prelim or who wants a solid training level horse.  Chloe is Dutch Warmblood, 15.2 hands, perfect for a young rider or adult wanting to be competitive.  Chloe scores in the leaderboard in dressage and is an honest bold jumper.

Does your horse stand quietly in the cross ties, does he wait patiently at the mounting block, does he step off only when you ask him, is he on your aids when you ask him to go, whoa, move laterally?  If not, come to a clinic this Spring and learn how to teach your horse to be so obedient, even a monkey  could ride him.  Check the web site for dates and availability.

Goldie is a favorite for the kids to ride, here she is learning to work off the whips in the round pen.  This talented filly by RJ has her Daddy’s talent for tricks and learning anything new.

In spite of the cold winter snow day, fans of Hidalgo and Secretariat came out to watch Rex work his two famous equine actors. To find out when you can meet Rex and his horses, check the Clinic Schedule

Diego has no fear of horses because he is growing up around them and loves to sit on the biggest horses in the barn.  Fiona is riding Peadar who is a kind gentle horse and Simon is on Shadow, with Lauren giving him some pointers.

Fox Hunting in Virginia is one of the most fun equestrian sports.  I have been out on hunts with my brother Jim and sister Elise galloping through the Virginia country in the fall.  Our grandparents were avid fox hunters in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and were such horse lovers that oats were tossed on them instead of rice at their wedding.  There are more images from the photo archives. We all grew up in a family of equestrians, born in the saddle.

Fella was an appendix Quarter Horse, amazing horse who gave me the confidence to jump any obstacle anywhere.  He was an uber athlete who sailed over any jump effortlessly, we had a long partnership competing in the Junior Jumpers and Pony Club eventing through Prelim over 3 decades.  Visit here for more images from the photo archives.

Lisa Houlgrave shooting on location at Windrock Farm with McCoy in the fields of soybeans.  Lisa specializes in portraits, weddings and fashion.