Eventing clinic at Pine TopSally and Absolut

Eventing Clinics offered here on the farm.

Learn to event or improve your skills. Bed and breakfast or all inclusive. Bring your own horse, or ride a beautiful Irish Sporthorse of ours. All three phases are offered with deep knowledge shared. Sally will allow you to audit as she trains also further explaining techniques. This is an opportunity to immerse yourself in all things eventing with an emphasis on techniques to keep you safe. We have the brand new Barn-de-minium which offers a three bed, kitchen, full bath and beautiful view. Madison, Georgia has been voted the Best Small Town In America and has 14 restaurants, antique stores and boutiques as well as antebellum homes for touring. All inclusive, airport pick up, meals $300.00 per day. Bed and breakfast $250.00 per day, day trip $150.00 per day or hourly $75.00 per hour.  

A Chicago adult rider just left Thursday and writes, " I had a great time, thanks! Especially cross country at Pine Top!"  She had never tried this sport before and now loves it.

County Saddle Reps may be available upon request.

August POPLAR PLACE SCHOOLING Combined Test Successful!

Finally, after two years of vacation due to moving, building a farm and a wedding Sally and Absolut are ready to compete at preliminary. His first outing was at Poplar this past weekend where he won. His dressage was elastic through the seat and he was in self carriage for much of the test. The lengthenings are coming back and will improve with time. He performed the best test he is currently able to perform and the Judge wrote, 'Nice test !!!' so I was very pleased. Eventually the steps will get bigger and it will be easier for him, but from a vacation of two years I feel he was excellent! The main thing was he tried instead of 'taking over'!

The stadium round was clear, but with time penalties. He was too eager so I checked him up under some verticals and made him wait. Other than that he was fabulous. 

Cross country schooling Sunday was the same, too eager! So, we battled a bit and he became somewhat softer, but still the timing needs to be perfected between the two of us. It takes quite a bit of work to get a horse this bold back to listening through the seat and getting in a forward rhythm without  blowing through my aids. He will get there and we will once again be as one at speed. He jumped the Intermediate trahkener by the first water, the Intermediate sunken road and the Advanced Keyhole as well as many of the prelim fences.

Marisa and River were first after dressage and clear for stadium. Also time penalties which were planned as he has been a perfect school horse, but...needed to remember to wait for the fences and not rush. Marisa did a beautiful job of keeping her hands down and riding him in a rhythm to the base. They finished in thrid. He was awesome cross country! He even did the training level trahkener without a blink. He's push button and so happy all the time. Andie Vester is so excited about riding him cross country at Chattahoochie Hills.

The Alpharetta group jumped very well and it was a fun day.

We are off to Chatt Hills next weekend for another cross country run, plus I am teaching a cross country clinic there which I always enjoy.

Our first rated horse trial will be at Poplar Place in September and we are excited about being back out there!  

POPLAR Fall 2009 SUCCESSFUL !

Congratulations Parham and Elizabeth winning on their dressage scores at beginner novice and training level !!! Well done! Marisa was in the ribbons with River also going double clear cross country!  

2008 Wellpride Eventing Championships CONGRATULATIONS PARHAM!!! Fourth Place in Junior Novice finishing on her dressage score under 10 inches of rain !!! We are SO PROUD OF YOU AND AIDEN!

Pictures to follow.

TEXAS COMES TO GEORGIA! Texas really comes to Georgia...The Wallins have bought 21 acres right >next to Stone Creek Farm, a dream come true for us all!

The hardest part of moving from Texas to Georgia was leaving my students and their families. We are so fortunate to have had a wonderful group of people who really wanted to learn, really enjoyed the hard work and deep training and most of all appreciated it. We became more like a big family. Well...leaving was not the end and I am so thankful. This summer Parham Wallin and her wonderful parents, Robert and Shanda drove all the way to Madison from Conroe, Texas bringing Parham and Aiden. Aiden is her Trahkener that has been very successful at beginner novice and novice.

FOR SALE : AIDEN / 'Dorsola's Happy Liam' . Aiden is no longer offered for sale! He will be Parham's back up horse as he continues to prove himself winning Big Bear on his dressage score and winning Riverglen with a 26 on his dressage score double clear for stadium and cross country!

Aiden is more than proven as a top mount for a Pony Club rider. He was the American Trahkener Association Horse of the Year Eventing Champion at Beginner Novice in 2007. He was the American Trahkener Association Horse of the Year Eventing Champion at Novice. Within the USEA in 2007 he was Area V Beginner Novice Reserve Champion. He was the Grand Champion Horse for the North Texas Eventing Association accrueing more points than any other horse at any level. In 2008 he was Area V Reserve Champion at Novice and placed fourth in the nation on his dressage score at the American Eventing Championships in Chicago. He has consistently finished in the USEA Top Ten at beginner novice as well as novice. Parham has purchased Landing Gear as an upper level prospect. A good home is a must and we will qualify all buyers. Aiden is beautiful,sound and has lofty dressage movement and has certainly excelled in his job as an eventer. He was born in 2001.Purchase price: $20,000.00. For more information call Sally Buffington, 210 421 1534. His AEC video is on youtube.

Farm Update: The arena is finished and is beautiful! The photograph below is the Cordwood Cross Country Fenceline jump. We have several cross country jumps including a downhill vertical and three coops. We have hardwood logs just waiting to be made into a trahkener among other fun things! We moved in over Thanksgiving with my entire family there to help and Christen our new farm. Our Stone Creek sign is up and we are busy training. I will be teaching a clinic in Alpharetta and coaching at Pine Top. We took the horses to Pine Top and schooled the course having a great time. I will not seriously show Absolut until the spring due to the time it has taken to plan a wedding and build a house. He is full of energy as always ! We start in earnest in February schooling Area III courses and legging the horses back up to their respective levels. A year of no showing has probably thrilled the horses, but we are anxious to get back into the swing of things!

Congratulations Robert and Shanda Wallin on their purchase of Landing Gear! Landy is a seven year old thoroughbred, 17.1 hand and wonderful. He is so level headed and has a lofty trot and expansive jump. Leslie bought and trained him as an upper level prospect. She had to sell him as she was leaving for Zambia and they have purchased him as an investment for Parham who wants to pursue upper level eventing. He is in training here on the farm and a joy to ride and train.

2007 American Eventing Championships
 Absolut competed in the Preliminary Horse Championships against talented horses from around the country. The two and a half day haul from San Antonio to Chicago was well worth it as he finished with clear jumping in both cross country and ever so challenging stadium. His dressage was marred by peaking early in the long warm up so some movements, while obedient, were not as fluid and flowing as I would have liked. The competiton was difficult with Darren Chiacha and Clark Montgomery scoring in the twenty's. Absolut was in the mid forties.

At the completion of the open and galloping, then sprinkled with compression questions cross country we were clear moving up to 28th with 3.9 time penalties as a result from an over eager rear in the start box which botched the start at ' Go!'. However, he will have a handler next horse trial to settle and hold him. He loves cross country! He was spot on for every question and brilliant in his open gallops. I could not be more pleased.

Stadium was maxed out and challenging and changed the placings fairly dramatically on Sunday. Absolut was strong, yet he went double clear and we moved up to finish in 25th place.

The atmosphere was riveting and the crowds were huge. The USEA has done a remarkable job of building the AEC's into a national event not to be missed. The cross country course was adequately roped off and the crowd's were bulging against the ropes.

I heard from friends across the country who listened to our stadium round in the live feed streaming in real time. What an awesome addition to a fabulous, difficult and exciting experience!

He also finished as High Point Horse for Central Texas.

Sally is the Preliminary Senior Rider Champion for Area V. She also is the High Point Professional for Central Texas as well as the Preliminary Rider Champion for Central Texas.

2007 AWARDS Absolut has been honored by the North American Thoroughbred Society for his performance at the 2007 Wellpride American Eventing Championships! In 2007 Absolut only competed in the fall season. Even so he finished Reserve Champion in the North Texas Eventing Association and fifth in Area V at Preliminary Level with only four shows for the year. He was Reserve Champion in the Area V Preliminary Championships, he finished in second at Wayne DuPage Horse Trials in Chicago and second at Holly Hills Horse Trials in Shreveport missing wiining both by less than two tenths of a point. Marisa Myers and For The Record completed their first Training Level 3 Day Event in the ribbons! They finished upthird in Area V at Senior Training and in the USEA Top Ten for training! Parham Wallin and Dorsola's Happy Liam took Beginner Novice by storm! 'Aiden' is the NTEA Grand Champion Horse for 2007 winning th emost points of any horse at any level! They also finished in the USEA Top Ten for 2007! She is Reserve Champion in Area V and Beginner Novice Junior Champion in North Texas! Amy Miller and Irish Whiskey had a banner year as well. They are first in North Texas Eventing Association at Senior Novice and third for Senior Novice in Area V! Becky Rickly finished 3rd in North Texas at Senior Beginner Novice with only two shows! Irish Riverstone, our homebred Irish Sporthorse finished in a tie for fifth in Area V even though he only went to one show! It was a great year for us all. Not to mention the fun we had! Leslie Elise Buffington Our daughter has been honored by the United States Veterinary Society of Equine Practitioners with a rare scholarship. She is a fourth year Vet student at Texas A&M. Each year all of the veterinary schools in the United States nominate their top pick for one of only eight scholarships to be awarded. At the Equine Practitioners Convention in Orlando December 2, 2007 the eight were announced and Leslie was one of the eight! We are so proud of her! She is a talented rider as well as a dedicated medical student. This was quite an honor and a reception followed Saturday evening with the previous winners from 2006 present.