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Canada 2010


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Windchase Quotes:

  
Never underestimate Luck as a life strategy. 
                               
~ Lloyd Camp ~
 




May 7, 2023
     It has been a lot of fun raising our litter of ten lurcher puppies, with the great help of my brother, Buddy. Now they are four months old and have all gone to their new homes, other than Half Magic, the lovely girl I kept. She named after the wonderful horse I used to have of the same name. Magice is four months old, and learning to be a grown up. 


Half Magic and her Uncle Speedy

     The Spring Event season is going well so far; we don’t have a huge number of horses doing the recognized events this spring, but getting the babies out to the starter trials has been a lot of fun. Looking forward to when they can all move up the ladder. In the meantime, Clara and Kelly are doing the Modified and looking to move up to Preliminary quite soon.

 
Tamie Smith and Mai Baum, the winners of Kentucky five star.

     It was really exciting to watch Tamie Smith and Mai Baum win the five-star at Kentucky; it was the first time an American has won it since 2008!  They put up a great performance, fending off the challengers from Great Britain and Europe. Being a member of the USEF Selection Committee, I am particularly invested in seeing the United States Equestrian Team return to being a top Eventing powerhouse.

Cheers
Phyllis

March 1, 2023
     The lurcher puppies are now eight weeks old, and they have been taking up a lot of my time. Much thanks to my brother Buddy, puppy sitter extraordinaire, for helping me take care of them the last few months – but now he has headed back to his home in Texas, so it is just me and 14 lurchers living in the kitchen!

     We have enjoyed one of the mildest winters I can remember, with temperatures in the forties and fifties, and occasional sixties, all through January and February. It has been a real treat to be able to use the outdoor arena most of the winter, and hack out on unfrozen ground.

     We have a really nice group of young horses in training, and Molly and Clara have been doing a great job bringing them along. I have a great selection on our Horses For Sale page, so have a look.


Athlone, offered For Sale

      The spring Event Season is just around the corner, so we are getting the competition horses ready to go.  The trees are budding and the crocuses are blooming, and life is looking good! Contact us if you want to come be part of the Windchase Team, as we are always looking for new clients and working students. See you out at the Events!

Cheers
Phyllis




January 13, 2023

     We have puppies! Our lovely lurcher, Grainne (named after Grace O’Malley, the Pirate Queen, an infamous character from Irish history – Grainne is Irish for Grace) just had a litter of ten beautiful puppies. The father is Teddy, another lovely lurcher from Surefire Farm. 


Grainne and her Puppies!

     For those of you not familiar with lurchers, they are a sighthound cross originally bred by the Gypsies to poach game in the royal forests in England and Ireland. They are not well known in this country, but are very popular in Ireland and the UK.
     The pups were born on December 30, so two weeks old today, and just starting to get their eyes open. They are spectacular puppies, and I wish I could keep them all! It will be a hard decision on who to keep, but there will be some available to exceptional homes, so email me if you are interested. Watch this space!  


The puppies Auntie Rae - this is what they will look like when they grow up.

     On the equine front, we have a super group of horses available; see our Horses for Sale page. And there are a number of others that will be ready to be seen quite soon.

Cheers
Phyllis



November 24, 2022

     This is the day to reflect on the things that bring us joy, but I am thankful every day that I am lucky enough to live on this special spot on the earth that is Windchase. With rolling hills and green fields in a valley between two small mountain ridges, this is the ideal spot for horses and the people who love them, as well as the wide variety of wildlife that makes it home.  There is a special enchanting quality to this peaceful and beautiful spot. We call this Windchase Magic.

     I am thankful to have a wonderful staff to take care of the horses and the farm at Windchase. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of them. Jineen Reed has been essential to developing and managing Windchase for over thirty years, and is our dressage instructor extraordinaire.  Trainers Molly Kinnamon and Clara Lenhart do a terrific job training, teaching and running the barn. They are able to keep all the horses going great and making steady progress. And the riders, too!
     Stable Manager Kendall Doran is super at overseeing everything that goes on around the barn, and having the horses turned out looking great. Hannah Lujbli is a great addition to the staff, helping with having the horses prepared and well cared for. Our working students, Kelly Bahr, Lillie Miller, McKenna Rhoades, Emma Haste and Christie Whitehead, do a super job at keeping the horses happy, the barn clean, and doing all the chores that running a competition barn entails. 
     And most importantly of all, Jose Bautista, our exceptional farm manager, keeps Windchase in top shape and looking like a little slice of heaven.
     Much thanks to this outstanding group of people who make Windchase Magic possible.

     I am thankful for the four-legged companions in my life. My horses, my dogs and cats, also all the wildlife that lives here, great and small.
     I am thankful for great friends and staff, and a close-knit family.
     I hope you all have a joyous Thanksgiving. Here’s wishing you all some Windchase Magic, or its equivalent, wherever you are.
     Happy Thanksgiving!

Cheers
Phyllis




October 30, 2022
     I love this time of year. The air is crisp and clear and the trees are in all their autumn glory. The leaves have been especially beautiful this year. Got a chance to get out for a little drone photography last week; here is a glimpse of autumn Windchase Magic. 

Cheers, 
Phyllis



October 11, 2022
     Life at Windchase is busy, as always, but I wouldn’t have it any other way - it seems I have always been at my best and most efficient when I have more to do than I can possibly get done. (Unfortunately updating this page has been one of the things I have not gotten done as often as I would like.)
     The competition season has been going well, with Clara, Kelly and Molly doing well at the local events, along with many of Windchase Eventing’s clients and students. We have sold a bunch of horses, and have a whole new group of talented youngsters being prepared to offer for sale soon. We are enjoying the cool crisp autumn weather. Jose keeps the farm looking wonderful as always; to help him do his job more efficiently I have just purchased a new John Deere tractor and batwing mower.   

     Congratulations to Team USA! So proud of our USET riders for winning a Silver Medal at the World Championships at Pratoni, Italy last month. As a member of the Selection Committee I am very invested in their performance. The US was represented by Will Coleman on Off the Record, Tamie Smith with Mai Baum, Boyd Martin on Tsetserleg, Lauren Nicholson with Vermiculus, and Ariel Grauld with Leamore’s Master Plan.
     As I write I am at the Maryland CCI5-L, and looking forward to a fabulous weekend of top class Eventing. It is an honor to watch world class horses and riders, both from the US and Europe, compete at the five-star level. Ian Stark’s XC course is masterful, and I can hardly wait to see it ridden on Saturday.

Cheers
Phyllis



August 7, 2022
     I recently returned from a fantastic photo safari in the Okavango Delta with Makomkom Safaris, along with Jineen, and friends Tracey, Natalie, Paula and Laureen. It is so awesome to do the mobile camping safaris; the animals come right through your camp at night, and you really feel you are part of the wilderness. Traveling to Africa and going on safari is my second passion after horses, and I can’t wait to go again.

     Meanwhile, back at the ranch, things are going well at Windchase. Much thanks to Molly Kinnamon and the working students; they did a great job of not only running things while I was gone, but cleaning up the barn and sorting out the cabinets – it was a much needed makeover of all the storage spaces!
     We have some exciting young horses in training that will start competing soon, and it is great to watch them progress. We also have an awesome group of experienced Eventers that have come in on consignment; it is really fun to have these schoolmaster horses available. Check them out on the Horses for Sale page.

Cheers
Phyllis




June 25, 2022
     I am off to Africa this coming week; this is a trip that has been postponed three times due to covid, so I am beyond excited to go. As you may know if you have
followed my travel blogs, Africa safaris are my second passion, after horses. Jineen and I are going, along with four other friends, for a two week mobile camping safari with Makomkom Safaris, owned and operated by our friend and superguide Gee Mange. I will have tons of photos to post when I get back!
      While I am gone Windchase will be in the capable hands of Molly Kinnamon and Clara Lenhart; you can reach them on the barn number, 540-668-6024.

Cheers
Phyllis




June 1, 2022
     Windchase Eventing is excited to welcome Molly Kinnamon to our staff. Molly is a long time upper level competitor and coach in Area II.

     Molly grew up with horses in her life. Early in her career she competed on the North American Young Riders (NAYRC) two-star team in 1998 and received her “A” rating in the U.S. Pony Club. She then went on to obtain a BS in Animal Science at California State University, Fresno. Molly is an accomplished competitor through the advanced level, with many successes training both horses and riders. She specializes in developing young horses that are sound in both body and mind, as well as coaching riders of all ages to a deeper understanding of correct basics and strong rider biomechanics. We are very happy to have Molly join us at Windchase.

Cheers
Phyllis



April 17, 2022
     Happy Easter!
     Event season is in full swing, and the horses are going well. We started off the season at the April Loch Moy starter trial with six horses from Windchase competing; all six of them finished on their dressage scores and in the ribbons. Windchase trainer Clara Lenhart has taken over the ride on my feisty chestnut mare Karat Gem, who placed 2nd in her first Event. Congratulations also to Tara Swersie, who was 2nd in the Novice with Chatsworth. Also in the ribbons were Kelly Bahrs on Bee, Dharma Crabtree with Doogie, Meaghan Richmond on Stormchaser, and Clara on Blazer.


Kelly and Bo, preparing for Prelim

     Kelly Bahrs had a nice ride in the Training at Morven Park on Bojangles, preparing to move up to Preliminary next month. Morgan McGrath is now riding my homebred Windchase Phoenix Star, which is a lot of fun to watch. They made their debut at Morven Park in the Preliminary, having a great run. She then went on to Fair Hill this past weekend, where she had good rounds in the two-star with both Phoenix and her talented horse ‘Newton’.


Morgan and Phoenix at Fair Hill

     Clara also had a great ride XC with her Windchase Finley in the Training at Fair Hill; this talented horse has not been easy, but Clara has done a great job with him, and he is really starting to show off his ability and potential.  It is great to see all the horses going so well, as they prepare for bigger and better things coming up.


Clara and Finley at Fair Hill

Cheers
Phyllis




March 28, 2022
     Spring is finally here! Or at least I thought so until yesterday; the temps dropped down to the low twenties last night, and snow flurries were flying. But remember, the last weekend in March has always been the date of the Morven Park horse trials – it usually snows at Morven Park in March! But fortunately this year Morven has been moved to the first week in April, so I am counting on sunshine and seventy for our Eventing debut next weekend.

     In the meantime, Windchase has five new horses listed on our Horses for Sale page; check them out!

Cheers
Phyllis




March 12, 2022

     Despite getting about 4 inches of snow today, Spring really does seem to be upon us. The grass is starting to get green, the horses are beginning to shed, and it is supposed to be in the sixties and seventies all next week. I love this time of year!
     Event season is just around the corner, and we have some exciting changes happening.  Windchase trainer Clara Lenhart has taken over the ride on Windchase Karat Gem; it will be fun to see what she can do with this feisty redheaded mare – so far they seem like a great match. 


Clara Lenhart riding Windchase Karat Gem

     Morgan McGrath is now riding Windchase Phoenix Star; they are going well together, and it will be great to watch this pair out competing. And Kelly Bahr has an exciting season planned, including moving up to Preliminary with her Bojangles. We have quite a few other students and boarders preparing for the start of the season, so it should be a lot of fun.  


The Grey Team - Morgan on Phoenix, and Kelly with Bojangles

     We also have just had several terrific horses come in on consignment, as well as having a great group of Windchase youngsters available. I have about six new horses that we will be listing on the Horses for Sale page soon – once we get a chance to get some decent photos of them!


Windchase has some exciting youngsters available.

Watch this space!

Cheers
Phyllis




January 29, 2022
     Remember summer? Yeah, me neither. But we can dream.

     We had good weather right up through the end of the year, but January has been cold and icy and miserable. We have been short staffed over the holidays and through the first part of this month, and everyone has been fighting covid. But I want to give a shout out to everyone on our excellent staff, who have all done a superb job of keeping things going through this frigid weather. The barn is not a lot of fun when it is 12 degrees out and we are spending a good part of our time scooping ice out of the stall waterers, but this group has done a great job without complaining (much).
     Great thanks to Jineen Reed, stable manager extraordinaire. After 30 years of keeping us all in line, Jineen is now taking a bit more time for the fun things, and is teaching part time instead of full time. But I am sure she can still keep us in line.
     Lisa Bauman and Clara Lenhart are doing a super job training and riding, and also taking over some of Jineen’s management duties. The horses are going great, and I am very lucky to have them both.
     Our working student group is headed up by Kelly Bahr, who has been a huge asset to us during the past months, and I am so happy to work with her going forward.  We also have two excellent new working students, Heather Johnson and Dharma Crabtree; they have joined us recently and are doing a great job. Our group is filled out by Christi Whitehead, our long time and much valued part time student.
     Jose Bautista keeps the farm in top shape as always; Jose is the one absolutely indispensable person on the farm – I don’t know what we would do without him.
     And we are so lucky to have a great group of boarders and clients, that are a joy to work with.
     Thank you, one and all, for being part of the Windchase Team!


Cheers
Phyllis




For past news from Phyllis and the crew at Windchase, go to the 
WINDCHASE NEWS ARCHIVES.


 



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Windchase
Phyllis Dawson
E-mail: pwindchase73@gmail.com
Phone: (540) 668-6024 stable,  (540) 454-3834 cell,  (540) 668-6548 home
Address: 36502 Kidwell Road, Purcellville, VA  20132  USA