FAVORITE LINKS
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This is my friend Dani's site. Dani and I actually met on the online bulletin board hosted by The Chronicle of the Horse. We were both headed to a George Morris teaching clinic in Chicago and met in person there. Since then, we've become great friends and correspond regularly via email and phone. Dani's well-designed website reflects her well-run business. She's an excellent trainer of both horse and rider and is growing her business more every day. She makes regular trips around Virginia and the country to sharpen her skills and keeps informed of all of the latest trends in the industry. Like me, Dani is a true Morrissian (George Morris follower) and teaches the old fashioned way -- the right way. She pays regular visits to former students now in college who continue to seek her knowledge and assistance. Dani and company will continue to do great things in the horse world.
This is my friend, Terri's website. She now owns my old horse, Buster, and competes with him in the jumpers. Terri owns and runs a wonderful facility in Leesburg, VA. As far as public boarding facilities, I would rate hers the best. She is an accomplished horsewoman who trained with the best in the Northeast and has also spent time training in Europe. She offers excellent care at an immaculate facility and has a wealth of knowledge to lend in her training. Her facility is located conveniently off of Route 7, not far down the Dulles Greenway.
This is a great site for juniors who are really into showing or just dream of showing. The site was created by juniors and I think is really well done. The graphics are great and what youngsters want to see. The webmaster is Alli Wynn, a young lady who started out here on the local circuit, and has made her way up through the ranks to the rateds. She currently rides with Pam Simoneau (Pony Haven Farm), a trainer in Northern Virginia who I respect greatly. Alli has been featured with one of her ponies, Summer, in The Chronicle of the Horse and is hoping for a career in web design, photography or something along those creative lines. Alli has already enjoyed early success in her recently-formed partnership with her newest horse, appropriately named Webmaster. Good luck to Alli and all her pals. I'll be checking in on their site from time to time for ideas for mine! ;)
Virginia Horse Shows Association
This has to be the number one site I visit when the show season is in full swing. I have the Calendar pages and the Points pages bookmarked.
Still the number one source for information in the industry. You can get the full magazine online now. You can't beat the Classifieds or Results Tracker.
As of yet, the best source I have found to get information from fellow horsemen and women on nutrition, discipline of interest, breeding, horse shows, you name it. Free of charge to become a member. I post on the site under the screen name Anyplace Farm, of course!
By now, you can tell, I like pictures. I love to take them myself and I love to buy works from other photographers. One of my favorite photographers is Peggy Smith who is local to us here in Northern Virginia. I can remember her just getting started in the business and I have some of her earliest photos that she took in the area. Now, she's a photographer that is on the tip of a lot of riders' tongues when they discuss good 'shooters' and she is still the nice, professional, personable Peggy we all remember from 'back when'. She is probably the quickest at getting proofs and prints back to clients -- something we all appreciate.
You can get the best coverage of the Big Indoors from this site on VHS or DVD. Also, you can get Equitation Call Back tapes and a favorite of mine, "A Day at the National Medal Finals". Not one Anyplace Farm girl has escaped viewing these tapes multiple times.
Randolph-Macon Woman's College
We have two former Anyplace Farm girls at this school, located in Lynchburg, VA. Codi attends the school and competes on its Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) team where she trains with JT Tallon. When you click the link, you can see Codi riding Wayside and Katahdin. The team of girls also compete at United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) shows throughout the year with JT.
The other 'girl' that lives at RMWC is Incandescent, Kerry's wonderful mare that carried her to so many successes in the 2004 show year. Kerry and her family donated the mare in January of 2005 because they felt confident it was the perfect home for 'Cinders'. We like knowing that one of Codi's closest friends at school has been paired up with Cinders so we can keep an eye on her!
Boy have these guys gotten my money through the years! They have stitched the Anyplace Farm logo on hats, sweatshirts, jackets, baby pads, dog coats, trunk covers, Irish knits, dress sheets, you name it. They are the folks we go to every year at Upperville or PG for chokers, belts, dog collars, etc.. They do a great job and Carrie, one of the owners, does her best to turn products around as quickly as possible.
Probably one of the best and most trusted sources for used saddles around. They'll ship saddles to you on trial for a three day period. They have a great reputation.
Those of us in Northern Virginia are so blessed to have this great shop in our backyards. Probably the best around at what they do -- selling used tack and clothing for the rider. Not all merchandise is used, though. They often buy directly from tack shops that want to move last season's shirts or overstock items. The list of things I and my friends and students have purchased at this shop is endless. They have a huge selection of children's clothing, especially tiny, hard to find sizes that last year's leadliner grew out of.
Given how little non-horse people know about our sport, I think it probably surprises eBay to see Equestrian merchandise as the third highest selling merchandise on their site. Golf is first and Hunting (as in bang-bang, not tally-ho) is second. To date, I think it is the one non-horsey business that actually classifies horseback riding as a sport.
Equestrian merchandise has remained third for some months now because I checked ages ago and it held the same ranking back then. I'd be curious to know which, out of those three sports, actually hauls in the most cash for eBay. Seeing as we're so fickle, I'd almost bet we run a close second to Golf. If anyone finds out, email me.
Horse people love their goodies and eBay is the perfect answer to moving those Tailored Sportsmans that no longer fit your derriere. Codi's mom, Liz is a pro at finding Grand Prix jackets, GPAs, saddles, you name it. Liz is our official eBay hunter and just about all of the Anyplace Farm girls have benefited from one of her 'finds'. Oh, and lest we forget, I sold my 1969 Trubilt 5-horse van (The Big Green Beast) on the site for $1000. It was the first item I ever sold there and it went to a man in Texas, of all places.
This is a great site -- one of those I wish I'd thought of doing! I had a page on my old website called A View From the Farm and I had articles written by horse show moms but this is a great site. She has advice on raising the teen, particularly that one that rides and she has a page loaded with handy checklists. On the page for Articles, she has links for 'Definitions' and 'How to get through a slump'. I'll definitely be directing a few of my new show moms to this site.
