G.P. Cottonwood Stables

Great weekend at the HCBC Judges Clinic with Joan MacCartney! Always so great to stretch the brain, develop your eye and learn, learn, learn from someone with a wealth of experience and knowledge.

Who’d have thought there would ever be a day when Snoop Dogg dons a riding hat, gloves and watches the Grand Prix dressage!

Show day in full swing at our second summer riding camp of 2024! So much horsey fun!
Stay tuned for more in August.

This is a hard post to write. I thought about sharing this news in a purely positive way. But I think I’d rather be 100% honest. And I’m happy if this leads to a discussion on how our industry can change for the better?

I’ve decided to stop leasing the gorgeous farm where I’ve been for the past few years. I’m no longer going to have horses in full training (which for those who know me, you know that is my absolute love) and just be a freelance instructor teaching a couple days a week in the area.

I sat down and did the math on what my finances would be like if I just taught two days a week and had no expenses outside insurance, my car, memberships, etc. I would make MORE working that little than I do right now. And I run a pretty great program - my barn is always full with a wait list, about half super nice young horses and half FEI horses. My students and I compete a lot, very successfully. But the cost of running a program like this is so high, that even though I am “successful”, I barely make a living wage. I pay my wonderful assistant trainers more than I make (because they 100% deserve that salary and more!) And of course I could raise prices even more, but I think I charge an awful lot, and at the end of the day, I just feel awful about expecting people to pay SO much for a luxurious hobby.

Of course, people don’t go into this business with a dream of making a big profit each year. And that is a legitimate argument - you do this for the love of horses and riding. But when the costs and the stress of running a big barn start piling up, that argument gets pretty tired pretty quickly.

By far the biggest struggle I’ve had over the last few years is keeping good employees. And I know all my fellow barn owners and trainers are struggling as much as I am. I have a few AMAZING employees (endless thanks to Kate Tackett & Nicole Wilbur) and right now my best workers are 15, 16, and 22. So the argument that “kids these days are awful” is not true. But the instances of employees quitting with no notice, being offended at having to physically work hard, having incredibly low standards for the work they do, and outright lying have been more and more and more lately. It’s exhausting, and the fact that I’m paying $20/hour, run a great program, and am STILL getting these kind of workers makes me feel no optimism for the future. 😞

In the past I didn’t pay hardly anyone. I just had working students who worked off their housing, board and training. And that worked much better. But that seems to be a thing of the past? People now expect all that AND $600+ a week. And if my business made so much money that I could do that, I would love to. But the math just flat out doesn’t work.

My social media feeds are FILLED with barns begging for good help. I don’t know what the answer is. But I know I’m at the point where I would like to have the time to look at what else life has to offer. I’ve done this professionally for 20 years (and for fun since I could walk.) It’s a huge deal for me to imagine that I won’t be riding every day here on out. But it’s also incredibly exciting to imagine my life without these stresses. What if I didn’t have to get up at 5:30 and feed and muck because the weekend worker quit at 10pm the night before? Maybe I’ll start a hobby. 🤪 Or maybe I’ll just hang out with my wonderful husband and beautiful kids and have a coffee at the table instead of racing down the road in my car…

TBird here we come!!

Summer riding camps are filling up! Suitable for new or beginner riders.
July 17-19
July 23-26 (FULL)
Aug 7-9
Aug 20-23
Email for info: [email protected]
🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴

Buy tickets – Daniel Bachmann Andersen - Training Demonstration – High Point Equestrian Centre, 658 200 Street Team World Champion, Daniel Bachmann Andersen will be heading to High Point Equestrian on Saturday 6th April 2024 to give a sma...

The Mystery Behind the Dressage Letters by Eitan of Cowboy Dressage - Markings found on the walls of the Royal Manstall (Stables) of the Imperial German Court in Berlin (prior to 1918) suggest that they indicated where each courtier or rider’s horse was to stand awaiting their riders. The Manstallstabled 300 of the Kaiser’s horses. The ‘Hof’ ( stable yard) was large enough for the horses and their riders to parade for ‘morning exercise’ or assemble for ceremonial parades. The ‘Hof’ was three times longer than the width, namely: 20m x 60m.

The markings on the walls of the Manstall were:A Ausgang (Exit).K Kaiser (Emperor).F Fürst (Prince).P Pferknecht (Ostler or Groom).V Vassal (Servant/Squire/Equerry).E Edeling/ Ehrengast (Chieftain or Honoured Guest).B Bannertrager (Standard Bearer).S Schzkanzler (Chancellor of the Exchequer).R Ritter (Knight).M Meier (Steward).H Hofsmarshall (Lord Chancellor).

It's ! Dressage is a riding discipline that is typically practiced and performed in a 60x20 meter arena with letters around the outside used as guides for the rider to know where to execute certain maneuvers. There are a few theories about the meaning and origins of these letters. A popular theory dates back to the 18th century where letters could be seen on the royal stable yard walls of the German Imperial Court, likely indicating where each horse should stand awaiting their specific rider.