For more information visit www. https://www.newenglandwe.com/clinic-show-registration. 

Oak Spring Equestrian just wrapped up its first schooling show of the year.  It was full with 15 riders from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.  Kim Hillyer from Dover, PA was our judge. Thank you to all the volunteers that helped throughout the day.   It was great to see some new  names on the list that had not shown here before.  Dressage was in the indoor and EOH and speed were in the outdoor.  The weather was overcast until mid afternoon when the sun and heat came out in full force!!  Intro Champion was Vanessa Doyle riding Oliver and Reserve Champion was Darcy Miller riding Neisti.  In our Novice A Division Justin Haefner riding Kola was Champion and Heather Greenstone riding The Majestic Dessert was Reserve Champion.  Another Turn Tack sponsored a $25 store credit to the person that demonstrated the best horsemanship throughout the show and that was awarded to Darcy Miller of PA.  Thank you Adair & Karen at Another Turn Tack, we greatly appreciate you always supporting the shows at OSE.  

 

KDCTA, AO in Central PA, is having an Obstacle Practice Day on June 28th and a Schooling Show on July 19th.  All info can be found on our Website www.KDCTA.org under the Clinics and Shows tabs.

Building the Future of Working Equitation: NOVAWE Plans First-Ever Youth Day

As part of its ongoing mission to grow and support the sport of Working Equitation in Virginia, NOVAWE (Northern Virginia Working Equitation) is excited to announce plans for its first-ever Youth Day, designed specifically to introduce young riders to the fundamentals—and fun—of Working Equitation.

Scheduled for late July or early August , NOVAWE’s Youth Day will welcome students from local Pony Clubs, and lesson barns for a friendly, hands-on introduction to the sport. The goal? To spark curiosity, build confidence, and plant the seeds of future participation among the next generation of equestrians.

We hope Youth Day will make Working Equitation approachable and exciting for young riders. We want to show kids that this sport is not only educational, but also incredibly fun and rewarding.

Emphasis will be placed on safe horsemanship, teamwork, and positive learning experiences, with adaptations made for all skill levels and ages.

NOVAWE sees this event as a stepping stone to larger youth participation in Working Equitation, both locally and beyond. The hope is to inspire young riders, helping ensure that WE continues to thrive with strong, young rider involvement.

Welcoming our newest, budding WE group, Western Virginia Working Equitation! The group is the accumulative efforts of Melissa Downs, Tammy Nichols and Elizabeth Barker, who all reside in the area and have become increasingly involved in the sport of WE. 

 

Southwest Virginia is a rural area, where most horse owners keep their horses on their own small farms. Equestrians in the area have been fortunate to have a local public horse park, Green Hill Park Equestrian Center, to host clinics and shows for the horse community. Melissa Downs and her husband are long time members of the park, and got started by following USAWE guidelines and regulations to create obstacles from jump and gaming materials already in use regularly at Green Hills. Tammy Nichols became interested as she was already involved with many of local horse clubs and handles the finances at Green Hill park. She has over 30 years of knowledge from working in the horse community, managing shows, and promoting horse activities in the area, and has a group of great volunteers always willing to support equestrian efforts. The group started their adventure into WE by partnering with the local club, Southwest Virginia Dressage Association. SWVADA hosted 2 clinics with Holly Linz in October 2023 and February 2024. SWVADA then included a WE demonstration in Blacksburg, Virginia at the Alphin Stewart Arena on their yearly Education Sunday Program in February 2024. Holly brought together 4 riders of various levels from Virginia and gave a brief history and demonstration of obstacles at different levels of the sport. It was very well attended and sparked lots of interest in the area! June of 2024 they hosted their first fix-a-test through SWVADA, which they ran like a mock show and awarded ribbons for. Tammy and Melissa also host play days for Working Equitation and Trail Obstacles at Green Hill Park that have been well attended with equestrians from a variety of disciplines interested in the sport. By hosting WE events combined with other local clubs, riders are beginning to see that the sport is fun and available in the area. Tammy has worked hard to align with local horse clubs, like Roanoke Valley Pony Club and Southwest Virginia Dressage Association, to include WE in their shows if they set up the obstacles, provide paperwork and a judge for Levels 1 and 2. On April 6, 2025 they had 6 entries and several schooling rounds in an event that focused on Intro Level, and as of June 1st they have 5 entries in Level 1 and 3 entries for Level 2 for a show combined with SWVADA! They are currently working on a September combined show with RVPC and a working equitation show at The Virginia Horse Center October 11. 

 

This Spring, Elizabeth Barker located near Natural Bridge combined efforts with Melissa and Tammy to create and support a Facebook page for the area called “Western Virginia Working Equitation”. https://www.facebook.com/share/1FE1gMG67w

That page is now getting views daily and the group is focused on their next event, a two-day clinic July 5- 6 with Elizabeth Barker at Green Hill Park. These folks are building a kind and supportive group of riders in Working Equitation who enjoy being together to encourage each other. All the things that make WE such a GREAT sport!