Walnut Ridge Farm

Heather & Judy took Straightshot of Excellence (Scotty), Gretchen RVM, Glinda RVM, & Mia Sunshine WENFH(Mia) to the inaugural Ride & Roll Horse Show this weekend and had a great time.

Judy with Gretchen dominate the cones courses each day taking home the win in pleasure cones & the CT each day. Heather with Scotty won turn out, Lady's to drive and 2nd in reinsmanship and dressage. Heather & Scotty also tried out the Intermediate dressage test for the first time and Scotty put in a very positive performance coming in 2nd behind a seasoned Intermediate horse & driver.

We debut of a new pair combination of Glinda & Mia. This was Mia"s 1st ever show and her first outing as part of the farm show string. They did great taking 2nd in the training level pair CT. Looking forward to more from this talented new combination!

Heather's dog Amber also experienced her first horse show and took everything in stride. Only hick-up was when she got into a ground bee 🐝 nest this morning & she & Heather were stung multiple times.

Big thanks Sarah Vas for helping the farm at the show & Stacey Giere & show crew for putting on the show.

3 Carriages, 4 harnesses & 2 of the 4 horses washed. Just have to wash the remaining 2 in the morning then load up for the inaugural Ride & Roll horse show at the Medina Fairgrounds. .
Show does not start until the evening so should have time to get everything done.

Paul and Keyke out enjoying Hoosier Horse Park at the Spring National Drive. This is Paul's new horse he purchased last fall. WC Jordan ( aka Jimmy)

Haflinger Farm or Oliver Tractor Farm?
Did you know Paul & Lou collect Oliver Tractors? We have more tractors then haflingers on the farm - this most but not all the tractors.

With weather like today we HAD to drive even if we needed to squeeze it in after work and finish after dark.

Happy 80th Birthday to the farm patriarch, Paul Sutton.

He is not on Facebook so I will pass on any birthday wishes but if you have his cell phone number, you can send him a text.

While the weather holds we have been trying to get the younger horses some miles with an older horse & trying out different combinations.
Today Judy tried Mia(4 yr old) & Glinda together & they were excellent! Acted like they have been together for years. The more we do with Mia the more we realize what a smart & amazing little mare she is.

Been a busy fall at the farm! Purchased a new gelding at the Mt Hope Haflinger Sale in October but between the show season wrapping up and some long over due Nelson Water getting installed (purchased them many years ago) we did not get a chance to drive him until today.
Meet Jimmy (WC Jordan SSH2) 5 yr old gelding that will hopefully be Paul's show horse next year. Hooked him with Scotty today to give him the "official" farm tour around the hay fields.
(Also included a picture of Scotty's master brush balancing act)

Cleaning harness in preparation for the first driving show of the season next weekend while the horses enjoy pasture time.

Judy and Heather took Gretchen, Glinda and Scotty to the Jacob Arnold clinic hosted by the Central Ohio Carriage Driving Club. Everyone learned a lot and had a great time, even if the 3 week drought ended at the start of Scotty and Heather's clinic!

Summer pasture officially opened yesterday at the farm. Been building up grass exposure in the small paddocks. We are up to just over an hour.

🤞they come in as easily tonight as yesterday. Wish I had someone to video when they all came running in when I called. That never happens first day in big pasture!

We did a thing.......

A lot of nice horses at the Heart of America Haflinger sale in Indiana. We could not keep our hand down. We were only looking to add one more to our show string.🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Having a little tandem fun. Experienced Noble B S-SN teaching Straightshot of Excellence what to do.

Getting ready for Sharon Center's Memorial Day Parade! Noble B & Scotty washed, harness washed, wagon washed & decorated, & Noble rolled so we are all set!
(Paul & Lou are taking tractors & pulling a wagon float for the heritage society but I did not get a picture of those before they left to get decorated)

First time in around 2 years that we went down the road! We decided to do the town Memorial Day Parade that is coming up & figured the horses could use a road refresher. The start of the parade is only a couple miles from the farm so we drive the horses to there instead of loading everything in a trailer.

Roads have gotten so busy around the farm (and impatient car drivers) that we have been staying off the roads.

It is with a heavy heart we announce the passing of one of our foundation performance halflinger and great breed ambassador, Mackinac RM, affectionately known as Rex.

Rex came to the farm as a 4 yr old and in the 20 years since then he was a key part of all are activities. He taught numerous children and adults to ride and drive. Even before the farm started to venture into the show ring Rex was there, going on trail rides, overnight camping, doing some work in the farm field, or taking a pleasure drive down the road. He participating in Ohio Haflinger Fun Drives/Rides, going in more parades then we can count, taking Santa to town for the Christmas Celebration and staying to give carriage rides after. He helped haul people from parking to events big and small, for such big event as Horse Progress Days to the small town pancake breakfast. Rex was there for it all.

As the farm evolved to more a more performance farm, Rex continued to show his versatility. His heart to preform and represent the breed really came to light during this time. He shined as part of the Ohio Haflinger Driven Drill Team where he performed in front of thousands of people in many states. The louder the crowd cheered the more Rex would give. We have fond memories of him, waiting outside the gate of any of the coliseums to preform, as all the other horses on the drill team pranced with excitement, Rex was conserving his energy taking a nap. However as soon as the music started and Lou said “get,” Rex would take off like a rocket and give his all in the performance.

He has been in countless breed demonstrations at events like Equine Affiare, Horse World Expo, Kentucky Horse Park – Breed Pavilion, and many more, showing the world what a haflinger could do. He has been of the horses used in Equine Affiare’s, Time to Ride, where people who never rode a horse before got the opportunity to ride haflinger. If we needed a gentle sole for a child to pet or a steady horse to stand for hours on end while a clinician used a horse to demonstrate their topics on, Rex was the one to count on to fill those roles.

As a show horse, he was one of our favorites. Rex was the sixth haflingers to ever earn the Haflinger Championship Challenge Versatility Award where a horse needs to earn 25 halter points, 100 Western Points, 100 English Points, and 100 Driving Points at HCC recognized shows. He was a hard horse to beat in the cones and obstacle classes at the breed shows, and could also be found at one time or another in every discipline the shows offered. From driving, to riding, jumping to contesting he gave his all, especially if Lou was the driver.

While Rex had had may top accolades in all disciplines, he had a real love of driving. When Lou first ventured into Combined Driving, Rex was the easy choice. Rex and Lou could be found flying through hazards at combine driving events and Rex seemed to have a sixth scene of what Lou wanted and would respond instantly and give 110%. When the farm started to play with driving multiples, Rex fell into the wheeler role of first the tandem and then 4-in-hand like he had been doing it his whole life.

Rex had personality and heart to spare, and as much of a goof ball he could be, everyone at the farm knew, when it really mattered, Rex could be counted on. Even though Lou retired Rex 2 years ago, we at the farm still had the pleasure of taking care of Rex and enjoying his antics. Such as in the summer at dinnertime, he was the absolute last horse to come in from pasture. He would stand at the far end of the field grazing acting as if he could not hear you call, but when you would finally walk out to get him. He would swish his tail, tuck his butt and take off like mad for the barn – laughing at us humans he tricked into walking to the far end of the field.

It has been and honor to know and work with such horse and he will go down as one of our Greats and will be deeply missed. Run free my friend and I hope you have many more performances in the sky!

We had a great time at the Buckeye Haflinger Show this weekend. We took our 3 main driving horses, Glinda RVM, Gretchen RVM, & Straightshot of Excellence (Scotty), for the driving & halter classes. We had great success at the show with many class wins and top awards. Scotty ended up with High Point Driving Champion & Reserve Champion Gelding, Gretchen was High Point Driven Dressage Champion, and Glinda took Best-In-Show for Halter.

Good job drivers - Lou, Judy & Heather. A big thanks to our ground crew Barb & Paul who help get us in the ring. And shout out to Carolyn for her support.

A group of our young, up & coming, riders trailered in for the Friday jumping & English classes as well. They all took their ribbons home with them so I'm not sure exactly what all placings the recieved. I did hear their names repeatedly over the PA for class awards so they had a good day as well.

Here are a few photos from the weekend.

Also thanks to Buckeye Equestrian Events for a great show.

Congratulations to our Glinda RVM! Best In Show at the Buckeye Haflinger Show! Thanks to Buckeye Equestrian Events for hosting a great show. More results to follow after the show but were having a great time!

Getting in a little cone practice in the antique show carriages before the Buckeye Haflinger Show next weekend. Can't wait to get back in the driving ring. Unlike the farm riders, our drivers have not shown since 2019.