New video of Midori and our colt
Heathmont Roulette now online!
We have finished 2011 with some great new photos and news from three of our owners. It is lovely to see the photos of Kelly and Matty at Kelly’s recent wedding. What a handsome escort!!
Great news from Ria and Leo who made the trip to Werribee for the Victorian State Dressage Championships. They had some great scores to finish fourth overall, AR GALILEO and Ria Grivell , gained a fantastic 71.2 in one test for a second and 66.127 in other . What a wonderful result, fourth overall in the champs on their first interstate adventure. A big trip which certainly paid off for these two. Congratulations Ria and Leo.
Kelly Thurley and Acacia Ridge Matador. Congratulations to Kelly on her marriage and a big congratulations to Matty for being her escort. Lovely to see our babies going on to become part of another family. Kelly and Matty have been together for five years and made the move to Queensland together. We wish Kelly all the best for a very happy future.
Ryan Fletcher and AR Rennaisance competing in their first Three Day Event at Lakes and Craters.
Ryan and Stella have been together for less than a year and in this time Stella has gone from not having jumped at all to competing at Prelim level. Ryan was very thrilled with her performance, they are forging ahead with their eventing and showjumping and we wish them all the best for 2012.
New Videos of AR Rustique, AR Midori and AR Geneva online!
Much excitement in October, Spring
Championships at AHDC, Masters Games and SVDC Championships, eventing in full
swing, all go in SA.
Firstly we must send huge congratulations to Ria Grivell and AR Galileo for their selection as one of just three SA riders onto the 'National futures dressage squad'. Well done Ria and Leo, this is very exciting. This was followed by their very good performance at the Spring Championships for second place in both the Prelim and Novice with scores of over 70% in both tests
Ria Grivell and AR Galileo
Congratulations must also go to Jane Cafareli and AR Beaujolais who also performed very creditably in both Preliminary and Novice at the Championships, what a great partnership, we look forward to following their progress through the ranks.
At the Australian Masters Games held in SA this year Denise Dawson and AR Bianca performed very well in hacking, SJ and Dressage for a total of ten medals, five gold, three silver and two bronze, well done Bianca, cleaned up in lightweight hacking events and this was something different for us, plus a Gold and Silver on the Novice tests and a Silver and Bronze in the Preliminary.
Bianca and Denise also competed successfully in the SVDC Novice Championships, didn’t quite make champion but had some good percentages for a second and third.
AR Bianca
On the eventing scene we must congratulate Steph Heysen on her win at Reynella Horse Trials on her Northern Romulus gelding, Kalinga Michelangelo. We should add that they also competed in the Elementary Dressage at the Spring Championships, also with very good results, go Steph and Miko!!!
Steph Heysen and Kalinga Michelangelo
Also doing very well on the eventing scene we have Ryan Fletcher and AR Renaissance, unfortunately the rider had a little seniors moment at Reynella on the weekend and missed not one but two jumps, this funnily enough robbed them of their win :o). We will put the blame on Bella, his mare, who has been giving him sleepless nights going well overdue with having her Bravo Romulus foal. She has now foaled and presented Ryan with a gorgeous bay filly, so maybe we should forgive him :o)
Steph Heysen Smith and AR Renaissance
We have another update from Sophie Goy on her Northern Romulus boy, Skansen Rio, they are creating quite a stir in WA. Sophie has successfully evented Rio at Pre Novice and competed in dressage at Elementary level and started his SJ education. Sophie and has now handed the ride to the show jumper Darren Taylor and they have great hopes that they have a World Cup SJ on their hands. The photo was taken at the recent Geraldton Show. They made the trip to both the Geraldton and Northhampton Agricultural shows and he was runner up to the C Grade Champion at both shows. In Sophie’s words: "He is coming into a class of him own, and is getting a bigger fan base at every show he attends". This year alone he has collected a further 20 points and has more points than many of the other C grade horses that have been campaigning for more seasons than him.
With a bit of luck we may see him over on the Eastern side of the country next year. Good luck Sophie and Rio, it is lovely to see a Romulus baby out there doing so well in the SJ arena (even though he is now 9, Sophie has had him since he was a 5yo and feels that he is just starting to mature now, they are all slow maturers!!)
AR BIANCA Our very first hacking outing for some great work from the young girl,
very proud of her, followed by two clear rounds in the SJ at the local gymkhana,
a good warm up for the Masters Games in October!
AR Bianca is coming of age and I am delighted with her, the leg yield photo is winning the 2C at SVDC in August and the SJ and “hacking” photos are at FH&PC, very good practice for the Masters Games in October. She was a delight and made lots of new friends!
Hacking FH&PC Aug 2011
SVDC August 2011
Hacking FH&PC Aug 2011
Showjumping FH&PC Aug 2011
Popped into Kirkaldy Park on my way home from Monarto Horse Trials on 11th June and was most delighted to catch both Rhea Grivell with AR Galilleo and Jane Cafarella with AR Beaujolais working very well with Ron Patterson as their mentor. Both riders were very pleased with their lessons with Ron and the way their two youngsters are working. Sorry for quality of photos, my camera didn’t like the light in the indoor, but we will look forward to more photos as these boys get out and about .
Rhea Grivell with AR Galilleo
Jane Cafarella with AR Beaujolais
Exciting news from Melbourne Three Day Event. See photo and story below. Congratulations to Teegan and also to Glenysand Lizzie Hayman who bred Rockingham No Reason, a gelding by Northern Romulus. Glenys’s other gelding, Tiggerific, who started his career in SA, also by
Northern Romulus, also competed at the Melbourne Three Day Event. It is lovely to see the Rommie babies out there eventing as well as competing in dressage and showing. We all remember Wendy Shaeffer and Riley , later ridden by Amanda Ross , doing very well on the eventing field, we now have Ryan Fletcher just starting his young mare, AR Rennaisance eventing in SA ands I look forward to more eventing successes.
“Teegan Ashby from Howlong in NSW rode her 'Rockingham No Reason'
by Northern Romulus to add just one jumping rail to their dressage score to
finish on 49.40
to win the Equine Health Services Junior CCI One Star competition”
Celeste has left us to go to Keith to live with her new owner Natasha Stopp. We wish them all the best in their future endeavours. Tash has Dressage Club and Pony Club lined up for the next few weeks so we look forward to hearing how they go. We believe Celeste has settled in really well and has a new paddock friend, Merlin. Photo of Celeste and Natasha as they arrived home to Keith.
AR Jasmine also has a new owner, Alison Ward of Claire. Alison has been down for another visit and is eagerly awaiting Jasmine to be weaned and delivered to her at Claire where I am sure she will fit right in with Alisons TB youngsters. It is lovely to be able to send both of my babies off to farms where they will have lots of room in their new homes. Best of luck to Alison with Jasmine, she is super filly and I am sure they will have much future success.
Our two colts, Bollinger and Madagascar, have both been gelded today, always a bit sad, and even sadder, the three foals will all be weaned in the next two weeks, another stressful time for all. These are two of my least favourite tasks with running the stud, never the less, they do have to be done and I will be glad when it is all over, microchipping last week, gelding this week and weaning as soon as the boys are over the trauma of the gelding.
CONGRATULATIONS to Steph Heysen-Smith and her Northern Romulus gelding Kalinga Michelangelo . Steph and Meco had wonderful success at the 2010 Royal Adelaide Show, are now out there having a ball eventing and just to top it off they are now on the SA Dressage Squad. Well done Steph and Meco, we look forward to following your achievements.
AR Vivaldi is now living in Victoria with his new owner Micky. Vivaldi (aka Squiggle) have been together for eight months and are working extremely well together. Have just had an email from Micky with the exciting news that they have just competed in the National Young Rider Champs and came 2nd in the medium 4b, 4th in the 4c, 4th in the medium freestyle. So overall as a combination they are the 3rd best junior medium horse combination in Australia!!
This is very exciting , we wish them all the best and look forward to following their progress.
News from Queensland
We have received a lovely photo and an update from Natalie with AR Romanesque (Eskie) who has now made the move from Sydney to Brisbane and is continuing to perform beautifully with his new owner:
“Here is a photo as promised of my first outing with Eskie. He won both of his tests with scores of 68% and 73%! He was beautifully behaved and we had a great day”
We have also had a photo of AR Matador who is also now based in Queensland with Kellie, he is almost acclimatised and they are about to commence their hacking career, watch out everyone, he did exceptionally well in SA and Kellie hopes to achieve similar results in her new home turf.
News from SA
Lovely to seen Ryan and AR Renaissance (aka Sunny/Stella) out competing at Grand Cru Horse Trials, lovely photo and we anticipate much success on the eventing team for this pair. Sunny/Stella is a full sister to Riley who was very successfully campaigned by Wendy Schaeffer and is now eventing in Victoria.
I had my first outing to SVDC on AR
Gibralta (Rocky) in April and managed to sit to that huge trot and the clever
boy won his Novice
with a great score of 70%. Much excitement!!
Jane Cafarella and AR Beaujolais are cementing their relationship and recently took part in a Ron Paterson Clinic with lots of very good reports coming back to the Stud, we are so glad to see them going so well, will be out competing soon. Photo taken at home by Jane’s mum on her lovely new arena.
We also have a top shot of Katylyn Pillen and AR Reflections (aka Bob) taken at the Roger Fitzpatrick Clinic. Katylyn is leasing Bob from Gerry and we are looking forward to following their progress in the dressage scene.
We would like to congratulate Natalie Lewis-Growski on the purchase of Romanesque and send condolences to Lisa. Lisa and Eskie have been a wonderful team, winning at dressage and shows from Canberra to Cairns, my highlight being winning the ridden Warmblood at the Sydney Royal at the age of 5.
We have watched their progress with much delight. Lisa now has some massive work commitments and as a result was looking for a new home for Eskie and as it happened, Natalie, who purchased Windsong in February last year was looking for a Medium dressage horse, preferably an Acacia Ridge one so …. Eskie has now travelled from Sydney to Queensland and will be continuing his career with Natalie as his partner. We wish them all the best for their future endeavours.
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| Eskie and Windsong greeting each other | Eskie with his new family |
We would also like to welcome Kirsty Trento home from her 12 month trip to
England, Kirsty worked with us at Acacia Ridge Stud for a while and is currently
campaigning AR Gibralta (aka Rocky). They had a recent outing to SVDC and placed
in the Be Active Novice class and then did a clinic with Fiona Heysen which was
also a great success, well done Kirsty and Rocky.
Denise rode both Bianca and Celeste at SVDC in January and Celeste, having her
second outing and first with Denise on board, won the Prep with a very
creditable 70%, what a super star, she was very calm on a very busy day and
produced a lovely forward test, see below:
Bianca also placed in the Prelim, so a good day had by all.
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| Dee and Bianca in the Prelim | A happy team, Dee and Celeste after their Prep Test |
We now have all three foals safely on the ground, all are growing like mushrooms, please check out the foal section. Also have finished with covering mares so hope to get those three year olds going shortly now the breeding side of things is under control.
NEWS NOVEMBER 2010
Congratulations to Jane Cafarella on her purchase of AR Beaujolais. We delivered him to Jane last week after passing his vet test with flying colours. We wish them all the best in their future partnership. Jane is intending to mainly aim for FEI dressage but will maybe play with a little low level eventing on the way. A wonderful home for Beau and we hope to see them out at the YH comps very shortly.
Also congratulations to Shiraz on presenting us with the very stunning Bollinger (by Bravo Romulus) and Rhapsody with her gorgeous filly, Jasmine (by Mayfield Pzazz). See photos in Foal Section,.I can now have a few nights interrupted sleep, just one more to go, Reminisce who is in foal to Richmeed Medallion, not due until January.
Shiraz with AR Bollinger
Rhapsody with Jasmine
NEWS OCTOBER 2010
Congratulations to Ryan Fletcher on the purchase of AR Renaissance. Ryan and Sunny (or Stella as she is now known) have a long standing relationship and it is lovely to see them out together. They won one of the Prep’s at the SVDC Champs but unfortunately Ryan had an “oldtimers” moment and had a couple of memory blips in his second test which cost them their win...
Three Acacia Ridge horses made the trip to the SVDC Dressage Championsips. Denise and Bianca finished fourth overall in the Prelim, AR Beaujolais and Eva had their first outing and acquitted themselves very well with good percentages and Brony and AR Celeste managed a third in the Prep. Congratulations girls, a good day had by all. (four photos, two of Celeste one Beau and one Bianca
Brony with AR Celeste
Brony with AR Celeste
Denise with AR Bianca
Eva with AR Beaujolais
Acacia Ridge Renmarno and Julie Payne win PSG at Adelaide Hills Spring Dressage Championships October 2010. Congratulations to Julie, a very exciting win in the PSG and also second in the Inter I, a fantastic result for this duo, go Reni and Julie! We look forward to many more top performances for this super pair!
NEWS SEPTEMBER 2010
We have had two Dutch riders with us since late September, Eva and Brony, and they have been doing a great job working the youngsters. Below we have Beaujolais and Eva and Bravo and Brony working on the arena at home. Both girls have been riding Bravo (our stallion) and have very much enjoyed the experience.
Eva with Beaujolais
Brony with Bravo
Father and Son (Bravo & Beaujolais)
Kat and Ceres
did very well at the Pony Club State Championships,
they finished sixth in the dressage and did some very impressive SJ rounds. Well
done!!!
We would also like to take this opportunity to introduce our new colt, Heathmont Roulette which has joined Acacia Ridge Stud in September.
Please visit our "Stallions" page to read more about him
Colette has unfortunately left Acacia Ridge but during her stay she and Bravo had some very good results. From January to July they had 3 Dressage outings for 3 2nds, a 4th at Novice and 1 Elementary critique for very good percentages. Their first jumping outing was at Aldinga Combined Training where they won at Novice Level, leading the Dressage and clear Showjumping. They then competed at Strathalbyn, Wistow and Metro Showjumping Clubs, placing in 85 cm and 95 cm classes and doing some very nice rounds at 1.10 m.
AR Bravo Romulus Metro SJ Competition 2010 (110 cm)
Their first ODE was Mildura where they led the Dressage with over 70 %, went clear in Showjumping and then completed X-Country but unfortunately inexperience won the day, they missed a jump... Bravo is now in work with our visiting Dutch girls who both love him.
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AR Bravo Romulus Mildura HT 2010 (Prelim)
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NEWS MAY 2010
Unfortunately Bravo has managed to injure himself at a critical time, has missed both Kirkaldy Park State ODE Championships and the State Dressage Championships, just pulled muscles in the hindquarters, will mend but excruciatingly bad timing. He and Colette did manage to get to their first showjumping outing at the Presidents Cup at Strathalbyn. Just one rail in the 95cm , a bit of greenesss on both sides, see Youtube and photos. They could be out of action for another few weeks, length of recovery according to vets is “how long is a piece of string”?
Bravo and Colette at the Presidents Cup at Strathalbyn
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Video of Bravo and Colette at the Presidents Cup at Strathalbyn
Rocky aka Acacia Ridge Gibralta and Colette did well in the Young Rider at the Dressage Champs. Rocky was just going for the ride as Bravo was the main contender, but considering he did his first Novice test the week before at SVDC we were very happy with him. A third in the Novice and fourth in the Prelim, Colette finishing third overall in the Young Rider Event.
NEWS APRIL 2010
Locally we had quite a family
affair at the Aldinga Equestrian Park Combined Training. Colette Grubba, riding
our stallion, AR Bravo Romulus won the Novice section, Kat Belle riding AR Ceres
placed in the Prelim and Carly Wenham riding the daughter of the above two , AR
Bianca led the dressage but were very green in the SJ, being their first ever
outing. Colette also rode our 4yo AR Gibralta and finished second in the Prelim
CT. Congratulations to all, it was a great day and a good fundraiser for the
Park.
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Kat Belle & Ceres |
Colette Grubba & AR Bravo |
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Carly & AR Bianca |
Colette Grubba & AR Rocky |
We would also like to congratulate Julie Payne and AR Renmarno who have just very successfully completed a Roger Fitzharding Clinic at McLaren Vale. There was much excitement as they put together their first sequence one time changes across the diagonal, five followed by three, very impressive. Renmarno also showed some huge extensions and some very acceptable piaffe and passage, keep up the good work Julie, we look forward to great results in the FEI ranks.
Interstate Lisa and AR Romanesque continue their crusade. It is difficult to keep up with their achievements. Romanesque was Reserve Champion Led Warmblood at Canberra Royal , was second in the ridden and was Runner Up Show Hunter Horse of the Year at the ENSW HOTY Show. He also won Reserve Champion Show Hunter at Bathurst Royal, qualifying him for the 2011 Grand National Saddle horse Champs. In their spare time they have been competing Elementary Dressage for several wins and placings. Congratulations Lisa and Eskie!!!
We have also had very positive reports back from our three exports to Queensland. All three owners are thrilled with their new horses (family members!!) and are all preparing for their first competitions. Thanks Natalie for the photo of yourself and AR Windsong , it is lovely to have the feed back. Best of luck with the first outings.
MARCH OUT AND ABOUT FOR ACACIA RIDGE HORSES
Colette arrived home from her Eastcoast adventures in time to ride both Bravo and Rocky (Gibralta) at SVDC’s March competition and managed some very nice percentages for her Championship qualies. Bravo managed two seconds in his Novice tests and Rocky a second and fourth in his Prelim tests. We have told Colette we are definitely expecting blue next outing!!! The other exciting happening is that Colette and Bravo have now had two cross country schools with Wendy Schaeffer and Bravo and Colette will be doing their very first (for both of them!!) event at Kirkaldy Park Horse Trials the first weekend of May, then two weeks later the State Dressage Championships at Strathalbyn, so all go at the moment.
Rocky (left) and Bravo (right) at SVDC dressage in March.
Bravo’s first
cross country fences since coming home from Wendy’s at the beginning of the
Equine Influenza shutdown.
FEBRUARY OUT AND ABOUT FOR ACACIA RIDGE HORSES
Denise and Acacia Ridge Bianca had their first outing in February at Southern Vales Dressage Club and we are very excited about her. She coped extremely well, to finish 2nd in her Prelim test from a field of over 20 horses.
Bianca is Bravo's first baby (check out the photos )
and is only three months under saddle so this was a very auspicious start to her career. Bianca has been withdrawn from sale and is being kept by the Stud. Denise will be competing her in dressage and Carly Wenham will be doing some lower level eventing with her. (she is only 4yo )Windsong was also entered for SVDC on Sunday 21st Feb but was collected by Goldners to begin her journey to her new owner on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Congratulations to Natalie Lewis-Grofski who is the proud new owner of Windsong. We wish them all the best in their partnership. Windsong is an absolutely delightful youngster to work with and will be sadly missed, we are anxiously awaiting the results of her dam, AR Reminisce's pregnancy test, fingers crossed, she is in foal to Medallion (dec) by frozen semen so we anticipate another little stunner next year.
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| AR Bravo Romulus (father) | AR Bianca | AR Romanesque (uncle) |
JANUARY OUT AND ABOUT FOR ACACIA RIDGE HORSES
Here in SA we had two young horses competing in the SA Young Horse Finals at Anvers Park on 9th January. Colette Grubba riding AR Gibralta owned by our stud and Rhea Grivell riding her mother, Kerry Kirschner’s gelding, AR Galliano. The two boys competing at the Young Horse Competition at Anvers Park on 9th January are very closely related, being out of full sisters, Acacia Ridge Rhea and Acacia Ridge Rani , both by Northern Romulus out of a Mustin Lake TB mare and both being by Kinnordy Graziano.
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| AR Gallileo | AR Gibralta | |
It was a first indoors and second outing all told for both of them and they both showed some impressive moments despite their greenness, finishing 6th and 8th overall. Our four year olds mares, AR Windsong and AR Bianca were the dummy rides for the Judges Update on the Saturday and they both behaved impeccably to receive many very positive comments. See the You Tube of these youngsters having their first indoor outing.
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| AR Windsong | AR Bianca | |
The next weekend we took Rocky (Gibralta) to Southern Vales Dressage Club where he again impressed the judges and managed two fourth placings with in his first Official Preliminary Tests (see video in “For Sale” page).
The most exciting news that weekend was that we also took Bravo Romulus out for his first dressage outing in 2 ½ years. He behaved impeccably and with Colette aboard and six weeks work under his belt after an 18 months break he finished a very creditable second and fourth in his two Official Novice tests. Well done Colette, it was fantastic to see Bravo finally out there strutting his stuff. Colette will be back from her Queensland trip by the end of February and we will see more of her and Bravo in the dressage arena, hopefully they will get another comp in before the State Championships with similar percentages and we may yet see them competing in the Novice at the State Championships.
Below is a photo of Bravo at SVDC and next to him his very famous full brother, AR Romanesqe again cleaning up in NSW.
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AR Bravo Romulus |
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AR Romanesque |
This time Lisa and Eskie have won the Champion Show Hunter at Castle Hill Show. Congratulations Lisa and Eskie, we all love hearing about your successes.””
NEWS UPDATE DECEMBER 2009
CONGRATULATIONS TO THREE NEW OWNERS OF ACACIA RIDGE HORSES.
We have two boys going to Queensland which is very exciting. These are our first Queenslanders.
Megan Mickenbecker from Brisbane is the proud new owner of AR Geronimo. Megan is a keen eventer and a pupil of Rebel Morrow. She has been eventing for five years with her TB gelding and is now aiming for higher levels with Gerry. Hopefully we may see them back in Adelaide for the International Three Day Event in a couple of years. Good luck Megan.
ACACIA RIDGE GERONIMO GOING TO NEW OWNER MEGAN MICKELBECKER EARLY 2010.
Sharlene Hodges of Glenden in Qld is the proud new owner of AR Granada. Sharlene is a dressage judge and is very much looking forward to hitting the dressage scene with Granada. We wish them lots of luck with their new partnership.
ACACIA RIDGE GRANADA LEAVING TO JOIN SHARLENE, HIS NEW OWNER IN QLD EARLY 2010
ACACIA RIDGE BALLANTYNE ( yearling filly by Bravo Romulus)
Our yearling filly, Acacia Ridge Ballantyne, being delivered to her new owner Sally Hatswell at Wistow in SA. This was Bally’s first ever truck trip, took all of three or four minutes to hop on the truck, the same on arrival, checked out her new surroundings and very calmly walked off. Sally assures me that she has settled in immediately and is very happy in her new home. We look forward to seeing Sally and Bally out competing in dressage in another few years. I guess we have to give her a chance to grow up first but she is a very stunning young lady, already well over 15hh. Ballantyne is by our young stallion Bravo Romulus out of Northern Athena by Falkland Victory, she is a real eye catcher with her flashy chrome and great confirmation. Congratulations and best luck for the future, Sally.
NEWS FOR NOVEMBER 2009
I am afraid
that the news page of our website has got very out of date, I will post a few
photos taken over the last few months and try to be more organised in future.
Firstly, congratulations to Carly Wenham and Acacia Ridge Ceres on their win at Waikerie Horse Trials. Ceres has had a rest from her brood mare duties to take Carly through her Pony Club “C” certificate exams plus have some fun out eventing.
Also a new photo of Acacia Ridge Riley and Amanda Howell who are doing very well eventing. Riley is now based in Victoria and we are following his career from afar.
Acacia Ridge Romanesque and Lisa Le Provost looking stunning in the Side Saddle classes at Brisbane Royal 2009. We believe that Esky has added side saddle, including jumping 1m classes, to his repertoire and has been very successful with Lisa in both NSW and Queensland. Thank you Lisa and congratulations again on your successes.
Acacia Ridge Matador and Kelly Frend have been doing very well on the hack scene, taking home a few Champion ribbons, and cleaning up on the Hunter classes. Congratulations, Kelly!
A couple of photos of AR Geronimo at his two dressage outings to SVDC. One with Denise on board taken last month and another taken this week with Collette Grubba, our visiting German rider.
Last but not least, AR Reminisce and Denise had a very successful dressage outing in September, winning both their Novice and Prelim tests.
Jenny Barnes Photography
BELATED CONGRATULATIONS ON THE ADELAIDE ROYAL SHOW
It was lovely to see Julie Payne and Acacia Renmarno back competing after a spell and very exciting to see them finish 2nd in the Advanced. Congratulations Julie.
Congratulations also go to Gerry Wellington and Acacia Ridge Rumpole who finished a very creditable 4th in the Inter I. Gerry has ongoing problems with her injured foot but it is great to see her achieving at this level despite the pain……….
It was also a thrill to see two Acacia Ridge horses moving into the Prix St George, both Rumpole and Renmarno acquitted themselves very well at this level and we have high hopes for future successes.
Our other horse and rider combination were Sarah Bowman and Acacia Ridge Vivaldi who finished in 7th place in the Medium, well done Sarah and Squiggle.
NEWS FOR APRIL 2009
ACACIA RIDGE ROMANESQUE AND LISA – BRILLIANT RESULTS AT THE SYDNEY ROYAL SHOW
Congratulations to Lisa and Esky on their huge success at the Sydney Royal. To enter the Royal they needed seven wins at seven different shows which they achieved, in Hunter and Breed Classes.
Lisa was especially thrilled with their win the Ridden Warmblood, there was a huge line up, including several FEI horses and Eskie at only five years old managed to pip them all at the post. Fantastic job Lisa!!!
They also placed second in the Hunter Class which included an 85cm SJ course in the workout, third in the Leading warmblood class and fifth in the Young Event Challenge, jumping a 105cm course. Lisa had not jumped since Pony Club and Eskie is a real newcomer, never having jumped when Lisa bought him last April, so this was a very big learning curve for both of them with incredible results.
Romanesque earlier in the month won the Newcomer award at the HOTY in Sydney and has been Champion Hunter at nearly every NSW big agricultural show , his very first outing being in August 2008.
Eskie is a full brother to our stallion, AR BRAVO ROMULUS , just one year younger, but with a lot more miles under his belt, we are still hoping to get Bravo out there strutting his stuff shortly but in the meantime it is great to see his full brother doing so well.
Watch this space!!!
MID SE DRESSAGE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Congratulations to the stalwart souls who competed at Naracoorte in the pouring rain and howling gale last weekend. We did have a couple of Acacia Ridge horses scratched but the two who stuck the distance and competed managed to finish in the placings.
Well done Elizabeth Hunt and AR Ransom, Ransom has been very lightly worked due to Wendy’s unfortunate accident, but with just a couple of rides under his belt in the last month finished a creditable 4th the Preliminary and 6th in the Novice.
Gerry Wellington and AR Rumpole also hung in there through the rain and finished 3rd in the Inter 1 and 4th in the FEI Freestyle. Congratulations Gerry and Rumpole.
NEWS FOR JANUARY 2009
It has been very
quiet in SA this month but more good news from Lisa and Eskie (Acacia Ridge
Romanesque) in NSW. This weekend he won all of his WB classes and was Reserve
Champion from all breeds at Kiama Show and then followed up the next day with
Res Champion Show Hunter at St. Ives Show. Congratulations Lisa and Eskie, we
wish you more success in the upcoming shows.
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DECEMBER 2009 NEWS
WIN FOR ACACIA RIDGE RILEY AT LAKES AND CRATERS EVENT
Acacia Ridge Riley, owned by Sarah was very successfully ridden by Amanda Howell to win the One Star at the Lakes and Craters Event in December. This is hopefully the beginning of a big future for Riley and Amanda, we look forward to more exciting news. A big thanks for the fantastic photos, Sarah.
Acacia Ridge Matador and Kelly Frend were very successful at their very first hack outing. Congratulations to Kelly and Matty, not only did they win their Maiden Hack from a large class but went on to win Champion Hack, a great achievement. Thank you Kelly for the photo, we hope to see him out competing from now on and look forward to more results.
Southern Vales Dressage Championships produced some very good results for the Acacia Ridge Horses.
Acacia Ridge Rememberence and Wendy Martin looked very dashing in the Freestyle and had some very good placings.
Gerry Wellington and Acacia Ridge Rumpole won their Freestyle and finished second in the Prix St Georges and Inter I. Congratulations, what a team!
Finally Denise and Acacia Ridge Reminisce have both managed to stay sound at the same time and had a second placing in the Novice. Hopefully this is the very late beginning to our competition career.
NEWS FOR NOVEMBER 2008
Congratulations to Hayley
Jordon on the purchase of Acacia Ridge Capricorn. We wish Hayley and Cappy all
the best in their future relationship and look forward to seeing them out at
dressage and later on eventing.
NEWS FOR OCTOBER 2008
Acacia Ridge
Riley, ridden by Amanda Howell and owned by Sarah made the trip back to SA to
compete in the One * at the Reynella Horse Trials held in October. After
leading the dressage by a considerable margin they unfortunately had a peck on
top of the bank which resulted in a represent and 20 penalties, then did a very
impressive SJ round to finish in 2nd place. Congratulations to both
Sarah and Amanda, it was wonderful to have Riley back in SA and great to see him
in the ribbons. We look forward to his next outing at the Lakes and Craters
Horse Trials in Mount Gambier in December. (photo PMJ 5962)
October was also a very successful month for Lisa
and AR Romanesque, they have been cleaning up in the Show Hunter classes at the
NSW Agricultural shows, while at the same time competing very successfully in
dressage. Congratulations Lisa and Esky.
Back home in SA
Gerry Wellington and AR Rumpole are doing very well in Prix St George and Inter
I, winning the Inter 1 Freestyle and placing 2nd in the Prix St
George and 3rd in the Inter 1 at the Southern Vales Annual Classic
Championships.
A big congratulations to Sarah Bowman and Acacia Ridge Vivaldi who managed to
clean up the senior riders and win the open Medium Championship at the Southern
Vales Annual Classic Championships. This is a very good result and we wish
Sarah and “Squiggles” all the best with their campaign for the Youth Olympics.
NEWS FOR SEPTEMBER 2008
Our stallion, Acacia Ridge Bravo Romulus, has come back into work and is schooling with showjump rider Jono Farrington. He is thoroughly enjoying himself and will be out competing in the upcoming months at showjumping with Jono and dressage with Denise. An exciting feat is that after numerous health problems his owner Denise Dawson is back in the saddle and eager to stay there! She had her first ride on Bravo after two long years since breaking him in and operations/hospital visits that kept her out of the saddle and Bravo out of the competition arena. The pair seemed to remember days of old and got on very well. Denise and Jono will continue to ride and school Bravo, and are keen to start getting the boy out there again. Be sure to watch out for Bravo at showjumping and dressage competitions before long!
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AR Vivaldi and Sarah Bowman again did very well at SVDC September competition, with a first and second in the two Mediums. They are still online for the Youth Olympics being held in Sydney in January 2009, so we wish them all the best with their final selection.
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Lisa Le Provost and AR Romanesque continue their winning streak in Sydney. They have been competing very successfully in Novice Dressage competitions, plus cleaning up the Hunter Showclasses at the agricultural shows. Congratulations Lisa, it is exciting to see one of our babies doing so well interstate.
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NEWS FOR AUGUST 2008
Congratulations to Sarah Bowman and Acacia Ridge Vivaldi on their long list selection for the Youth Olympics to be held in Sydney in January 2009. Well done to the two of you. We hope to hear more exciting news in the upcoming months.
Gerry Wellington and Acacia Ridge Rumpole competed very successfully at the Royal Adelaide Show Dressage for two 2nds in the Advanced and PSG. Congratulations to Gerry and Rumpole. This follows on from their very successful trip to Naracoorte for the State Championships, it is great to see Gerry back in the saddle and the combination back in the winners circle.
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Also congratulations to Kirsty Trento who is now the new owner of Acacia Ridge Rebound. After a rocky start and Rebound’s pneumonia scare for the first few months after purchase, she and “Rebs” did very well in their first dressage outing (much to her anticipation and past numerous scratchings!) at the SVDC August Competition for a 2nd in the Preliminary and a 1st in the Novice. Look forward to seeing more successful ventures in the near future.
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NEWS FOR MAY 2008
Lisa Le Provost and Acacia Ridge Romanesque photographed in Esky’s new home at Centennial Park, Sydney. Lisa and Esky have been out to their first dressage competition and placed well in both of their tests. It is lovely to see them forging such a great relationship. Esky only arrived in Sydney at the beginning of April and it is exciting to see him out and placing in competitions already, only 6 months under saddle. Well done Lisa and Esky, we await news of future achievements
STATE DRESSAGE CHAMPIONSHIPS AT NARACOORTE ANZAC DAY WEEKEND, APRIL 2008
Three Acacia Ridge horses made the trip to Naracoorte for the State Dressage Championships and I would like to congratulate all riders and owners on their very impressive performances,{ despite the adverse weather conditions and the very noisy music).
Gerry Wellington and Acacia Ridge Rumpole competed in their third PSG for a 4th placing and also did very well in the Advanced to finish 3rd overall from a sizeable field. Congratulations to Gerry and Rumpole.
Acacia Ridge Vivaldi and Sarah Bowman, having recently returned from their very successful trip to Victoria again did very well for a 4th in the Elementary Championships and 5th in the Medium Champs, also clocking up another 4th in the Young Rider Champs. Keep up the good work, Sarah.
Acacia Ridge Ransom, owned by Wendy Hunt and ridden by her daughter, Elizabeth, also had a very good weekend, placing 6th in the Preliminary Championships and 8th overall in the Novice Championships, Congratulations to Wendy and Elizabeth.
APRIL 2008 NEWS UPDATES
Congratulations to Sarah Bowman and Acacia Ridge Vivaldi on their recent trip to Werribee to represent SA in the Young Riders Championships. They had a hugely successful weekend, we have included an article from the Mount Barker Courier who kindly allowed us to use it on our website. Many thanks to her Mum for the photos of Sarah and “Squiggle"
Congratulations also go to Gerry Wellington and Acacia Ridge Rumpole who are finally back competing after Gerry’s long break due to a broken ankle and many complications. They competed (after a two year enforced break) in the Prix St Georges class at SVDC April Competition to finish 2nd with a score of 61.33%. Lovely to see Gerry (obviously enjoying herself) and Rumpole back in the competition arena.
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Wendy Martin and her young gelding, Acacia Ridge Remberance also had a successful day at SVDC April competition to finish third in the Official Elementary class. Congratulations to both Wendy and Remberance, we look forward to following their progress.
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FINALLY A DRESSAGE OUTING………..SVDC 16TH FEBRUARY
We
took advantage of finally having somewhere to take the youngsters and took
three to SVDC last weekend. They all coped extremely well and managed to acquit
themselves very favourably, both in between events and when competing.
ACACIA RIDGE REFLECTIONS, ridden by young Belgium rider, Lynn Gysels, excelled in both of his tests, achieving 67% in both his Prep and Prelim test. They finished second in both competitions, and Lynn was absolutely stoked, she had only been riding him for a week and now is thinking of trying to sneak him into her suitcase when she goes home.
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ACACIA RIDGE RENAISSANCE and YR Carly Wenham had their second outing, again a very successful one. They managed a fantastic 78% in their Prep test for a win and 65% in the Prelim for a third. Well done Carly and Sunny. Carly is also “in love” !!
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ACACIA RIDGTE ROMANESQUE, again with young Carly on board has his very first competition outing and coped with the whole atmosphere very well. Despite being a little spooked by the aggressive red sand in the spooky arena managed to complete his first test with some very nice work shown between the spooks. Well done Carly and Esky….we look forward to great things in the future.
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Photos kindly provided by Jim Hillman of |
CONGRATULATIONS TO Louise and Russell from Upper Plenty in Victoria on the purchase of our stunning Bravo Romulus filly, ACACIA RIDGE BEWITCHED. After an extensive search of studs in Victoria and NSW they flew to SA to visit Acacia Ridge Stud and were extremely impressed with the quality of our foals, our mares and our wonderful pastures. They finally decided on Bewitched and she will be joining them in Victoria in March, as soon as she has been weaned and had her float training.
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August 2007: Adelaide Hills Dressage; Bravo's first outing
Below photos of Bravo's first dressage outing and unfortunately last due to the Equine Influenza.
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May 2007: Update Acacia Ridge Revel and Acacia Ridge Sunrise
Below we have two composite photos kindly provided by Jim Hillman of "In Motion Photography"
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| Acacia Ridge Revel and Belinda Smith competing at the Mid SE Dressage Championships |
Acacia Ridge Sunrise and Allie Anderson at Adelaide
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April 2007: Update on Bravo and Wendy
Bravo and Wendy's first flatwork and water schooling at home. Wendy will be campaigning Bravo this winter, dressage and jumping. Our goal is to qualify Bravo for the young horse championships in November. Competition photos coming shortly.
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February 2007: Bravo Romulus in training with Wendy Schaeffer
Bravo Romulus has just finished his first week's training with Wendy Schaeffer at Hahndorf and will be resuming his training with Wendy in February when she returns from running Clinics in America. Will update as Bravo progresses, hopefully some jumping shots in February.
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Bravo just under the saddle as a 4 year old |
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Acacia Ridge Rumpole and Dark Angel
Unfortunately we have no updates of Acacia Ridge Rumpole and Dark Angel as Gerry is still recuperating from a broken heel which has kept her out of the saddle for the last six months. We wish Gerry all the best and hope to see her out and about and in the winners box shortly
Acacia Ridge Sunrise wins 1* at Reynella Horse Trials
Acacia Ridge Sunrise has just won the * Star at Reynella Horse Trials on 21./22. October and is now off to Camperdown in Victoria to challenge the * Star there. He will then be spelled and come back in ready to prepare for his first Adelaide International next year.
Acacia Ridge Sunrise wins Pre Novice at
Albury International Horse Trials in NSW
and finishes 4th in at Grand Cru * Star Event
Acacia Ridge Sunrise continues to excel with Wendy Schaeffer in the saddle. His latest outings have been to Albury International Horse Trials in NSW where he won the Pre Novice, he then went onto SA State Championships at Grand Cru where he finished 4th in the * Star Event. He completed the event with no jumping penalties, but some time penalties on the CC course which put him into 4th in his first Novice event. He will be competing at Reynella HT in the Novice in late April and we will update on his results there.
This five year old boy is covering all bases. Last weekend he competed at the SE Dressage Championships with Allie Anderson in the saddle and won the trophy for the best score of the championships, winning the Preliminary with a percentage of 70.6. He also won the Novice on Sunday but did not place in the actual Championships as he only competed on the Sunday, two tests for two first places, well done.
Congratulations to Wendy and Allie for these fantastic results.
Nature Vet SA Country Dressage Championships held at Naracoorte 22/23 April 2006
Congratulations to all of the Acacia Ridge horses and their owners/riders who made the trip to Naracoorte. I think in total we had seven horses competing who were by Northern Romulus, and all of the riders/owners were very happy with their horses and very much enjoyed the competition.
Congratulations to Gerry Wellington and Dark Angel who won the Preliminary Championships and were 4th in the Novice Championships. Also to Nic Lewis and Acacia Ridge Raptismo who have just started their dressage career, Mo placed 6th in the Preliminary Championship, following his 3rd placing in the Preliminary at AHDC earlier in April.
Acacia Ridge Sunrise, jointly owned by Denise Dawson and Wendy Schaeffer, and on this occasion ridden by Allie Anderson, arrived on the Sunday to steal the show and the trophy with the highest percentage of the weekend, being 70.6% to win the Prelim. They also managed to pull off first in the Novice on the Sunday, not a bad effort for a five year old who also won his first two Pre Novice Events from big fields interstate in the last few months. Congratulations to the whole team.
Young Rider, Sarah Bowman, also had huge success at Naracoorte with Acacia Ridge Vivaldi, another five year old by Northern Romulus, who won the Young Rider Championship( which was judged over the 2 Preliminary and 2 Novice tests) with a clear 6% lead... keep up the good work Sarah!
Acacia Ridge Randsom, owned by Wendy Hunt, and ridden by her daughter, Elizabeth, had their first trip away, and were very happy with the boyÕs performance. Randsom has just recovered from major dental surgery and is now back on track with his dressage career, we look forward to seeing him in the winners circle in the near future.
Nic Jolly also took her Rommy youngster, Next Generation Romulan who also performed very creditably.
Once again, congratulations to all the owners and riders who competed at Naracoorte, as Studmaster at Acacia Ridge, it gives me a great thrill to see these purpose bred horses out there achieving and giving pleasure to their owner/riders.
