SRS just returned home from the All American Classic in Indianapolis, IN which is the host of the UPHA Pleasure Challenge Cup National Championship and the Pleasure Equitation Olympics.  We had two riders competing and we are proud to say that both riders made the Top Ten in both of these prestigious National Championships!  Congratulations to Emily Egner and Catherine Zykoski!

  Emily also earned the titles of Reserve National Champion in the UPHA Pleasure Challenge Cup and Olympic Bronze Medalist in the Pleasure Equitation Olympics with her new horse Writer’s Block, lovingly known as Rocky.   This horse show served as Rocky’s second horse show in the equitation division; he took on national finals patterns and steep competition like a seasoned pro thanks to his expert guidance of his partner, Emily.

Catherine was also riding an unfamiliar horse that she had never shown before.  Catherine’s horse sustained an injury but she was fortunate enough to be able to show Caroline Brackenridge for her last finals as a junior exhibitor.  Catherine guided Caroline through two beautiful patterns and some dominating rail work to earn Top Ten in both of these prestigious finals.

 

The past few months have been a difficult and unprecedented time for our country and our community.  The Tampa/Wesley Chapel area has been lucky to have kept our numbers of Covid-19 positive tests relatively low but that does not mean it has not changed day to day life for many members of our community.  Team sports have been canceled/postponed, Disney World is closed, vacations have been restructured or canceled.  Families have had to learn to adapt to this “new normal”.

We feel incredibly blessed to be able to continue our day to day work here at the farm.  While we were closed for riding lessons my staff and I continued to work every day to take care of the 40+ horses we have here on the farm.  We have been able to do a lot of cleaning and projects around the farm to prepare for our reopening.   I am so pleased to say that we are now fully open and operational again.  I have had such a great response from current and new riding students and I am thrilled to allow everyone to come to the farm again to ride.  We have new safety practices in place including sanitizing and wearing masks while in the tack room area, and we are outdoors and have 19 acres to spread out on. If you are a misplaced athlete due to your sport being postponed, we invite you to come out and try a riding lesson.  We are here for you!

With Everyone’s Health in Mind, we have made the decision to follow the recommendations of health professionals and close the barn.  We feel this is in the best interest of our customers, staff, and families. Our staff will continue to work a normal schedule and horses will remain in training but visitors and customers will not be permitted at this time.  We’ve made this decision to help flatten the curve and get back to a normal life and HORSE SHOWS as soon as possible!

We will keep everyone informed on a re-opening date.

Thank you for understanding.

We remain #SaddlebredStrong

Sarah Russell Stables

It’s hard to believe, but we have already been to four horse shows!  Jubilee of Breeds, UPHA Chapter 16 Spring Show, Gasparilla Charity, and Pro Am are all in the books for 2019 already!   We have had some pretty great moments for our season so far including a lot of blue ribbons.   Liam Purtle and his new partner CH Recoup have taken victory passes at every show in the 12 and Under Walk and Trot Pleasure division.  Laney Simpson was crowned the Saddleseat Equitation Grand Champion at Gasparilla and the UPHA Horsemanship Challenge Champion among several other great rides/titles already for 2019!  Rusty Grundy and Two Socks and  A Dot continue to be a force to be reckoned with in the Adult Show Pleasure division and their fan club just keeps growing!  Mercedez Boghigian has been dominating the Three Gaited Pony division with Loose Cannon.   And our Academy Team Emerson Long, Rachel Fuentes, Olivia Gilliland, Maxwell Boghigian, and Jimena Britos have had many awesome rides and blue ribbons as well!

Our next show is this Sunday at Lake Park in Lutz FL!  Come and cheer us on!

 

HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY LANEY SIMPSON!   WE ARE SO EXCITED FOR YOUR BEST YEAR TO COME!

We would like to welcome Claire Karst to our team!

Claire began riding at a young age and had a successful show career including winning at the World Championship Horse Show.  She is passionate about the American Saddlebred and has worked hard to learn everything she could about this amazing breed of horse.  She earned her equestrian degree from William Woods University.  Upon graduation she was hired at a top show barn where she furthered her education in horse training.  Claire is happy to be back in Florida and we are excited to have her on our team as a trainer and instructor!

SRS Christmas Party is December 22 , 12:00 – 2:00

What a great year it has been!  14 shows under our belt, from right here at SRS to Kentucky all the way to St. Louis!   We have won ribbons (including a Reserve National Championship! Go Gianna!), learned lessons, bought new horses, introduced new riders to showing, and had so much fun along the way!  Congratulations to all of our riders on all of your accomplishments this year and thank you to all of our supportive parents!

Now it’s the time of year where we get to be home with our sweet horses and our families.  We get to bring the babies in from the field to start their training.  We get to celebrate the holidays!

Fall and winter camp dates are up!  Sign up using the registration form on the Camp page!

Check your emails for the Christmas party date!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

All the best,

Sarah

SRS would like to welcome Liz Curtin to our team!   We are so excited and look forward to having another enthusiastic horse lover teaching at the farm!  Liz and Owen will also be in charge of all the camps this summer!  Check out her bio on the About page!