It was a great weekend at Rocking Horse with Jet and Monte Carlo. Jet finished 4th in his advanced division out of 24 horses with clean show jumping and cross country rounds and Monte finished 4th in his intermediate division out of 19 horses. Both horses were virtually foot perfect on cross country, which made Saturday extra special. Good luck to my friends from Alliquippa Stables who are still competing today and tomorrow! The Alliquippa crew winters with us in Ocala.

Monte finished 2nd out of 24 horses this weekend in the open preliminary division B of the Ocala Winter Horse Trials. He scored a 28.7 in dressage and jumped clean in both show jumping and cross country. This was his first run since the fall season and he felt in good form!

Congratulations to Penny today for her 3rd place finish at the Longwood South Young Event Horse competition. She was stylish and she is now qualified for the 2012 YEH Championships in October!

Last week I took Penny (registered IDHSNA, four-years-old), her full sister Sprout who is three-years-old, and Ava, a five-year-old thoroughbred, to Independence Farm to run them through a jump chute for the first time. It was really interesting to watch the three of them in action. They are all three nice mares! Click here to watch the video. Free Jumping at Independence Farm

The winter has gotten off to a fast start. On the weekend of January 7th and 8th I took four horses to Ocala Winter I Horse Trials. Jet had his first run since Fair Hill in 2010. He cruised around the prelim to finish 4th on his dressage score of 31.8. Penny at novice and Wheels at training level also both had clean cross country and jumping rounds and finished well. My one nervous nelly of the weekend was Gucci. He had three rails in the preliminary show jumping, but had a lovely cross country round on Sunday. Next weekend Jet, Gucci and Wheels will compete at Rocking Horse.

Today I taught a full-day clinic for Wekiva Basin Pony Club and the Sunshine Region. Thanks to DC Allison Thomas we had a great turnout. My parents were kind enough to host the clinic at their farm here in Ocala and the kids had the benefit of riding over many transported Amwell Valley Hounds Pony Club jumps. I look forward to working more with the local Pony Clubs here in the future.

The gang is all here at Camp Ashley. Holley and Towanda arrived from Pennsylvania on January 3rd and Chris Grant was only a day behind. She is here this winter from her barn in Radnor, PA with six horses. Her clients will come down throughout the winter. Melanie Blanding, who worked for me last winter, came for a week’s visit and took some great photographs of the horses schooling and competing. I also have two fun working students who arrived just after Christmas. Amanda Lloyd is an HB Pony Clubber from the Sunshine Region who has started the equine program here in Ocala at CFCC. Ashley Nace is a former 4H-er from York, PA who is here for three months. We also have County Saddlery rep Katie Gussenhofen using our farm as base camp for the winter and a few others planning to come and visit as the winter progresses.

Don’t forget to visit the Ashley Leith Equestrian FB page for photos and updates!

Please come and visit if you are looking to enjoy the 2012 winter season in Ocala, be it for a weekend or a few months! I have one camper hook-up still available as well as a handful of stalls. Located in the mecca of eventing in Ocala and just a few miles from HITS, I am available to take horses in training, to help you with a lesson schedule to set you up for a successful season, or even just to touch you up before a weekend competition. If you are looking for a new mount, I am available to help you shop! From prospects through seasoned schoolmasters, taking a professional along can make the process of purchasing a new horse more relaxing and enjoyable. I am also always on the lookout for working students.

The atmosphere here at Heron Pond Farm is fun yet professional. We have a gallop, a full stadium course, and cross country obstacles through training level at my parents’ neighboring Pear Tree Farm. We also have a world class farrier on site — my husband Brian!

Please contact me for further information at alequestrian@gmail.com.

I took Great Wheels to the final show of my fall season this weekend at Rocking Horse and he was foot perfect the whole weekend. We competed in an open novice division with some very fancy big warmbloods. On Saturday morning I told Wheels that he was going to have to perform like a big horse to get the dressage score we needed. Wheels is only 15.1 hands, and with me sitting on him he can look a little bit like a pony. Wheels put in an extremely consistent and elegant test to walk away with a score of 27.5. That in itself, though, was not enough to allow us to breathe easy. There were sixteen horses in the division, and seven of them scored under 30. Wheels was tied for 4th after dressage. On cross country I had my best ride on him to date. Every jump came up just right. After cross country Wheels moved into second. Today, he jumped a clean show jumping round to finish with a win in the division. He is such a “professional” in his attitude, and a very nice horse to have in the barn as well. I was very proud of him this weekend and I look forward to finding a great new owner for him who will appreciate what a good boy he is.

It is a relaxing time of year here in Ocala. I have had a lot of unpacking to do this year, and of course the ring and big barn haven’t been used all summer so I’ve had some farm work to do, but most of the days are sunny and warm and it is a joy to be outside. Yesterday Jet and I hacked around the pond and the fall yellow flowers are in full bloom. The babies, Remy and Taylor, have grown a lot and are both so friendly. They are weaned now. Sadly, we had to put Remy’s mom down earlier this summer. She was suffering from an old pasture injury and couldn’t get up anymore. The babies have moved into their new independent stage nicely, though, and I have them turned out with some of the other geldings now, so they have “uncles” to keep them in line. With me being home, we have all of the horses in one spot now, and I am enjoying every one of them. Except for the two babies, the other eight horses here are all being ridden regularly. I took Wheels foxhunting last week and I am planning to take Penny at some point in the weeks to come. She too has really matured and is a lot of fun to ride. Ava, a new thoroughbred mare I got this summer, and Sophie, Taylor’s mom, are both under saddle and doing basic dressage and jumping. Wheels, Monte, Gucci, and Jet are all on a light schedule of dressage, hacking, and jumping once a week. The winter season is just around the corner and this winter promises to be as busy and as much fun as ever! Here are some recent pictures.

Jet hacking yesterday.


Wheels, Jet, Monte and Gucci hanging out in the barn.

Monte looking handsome this fall.

How the babies have grown! They are like twins, they go everywhere together.

The weekend in Unionville, PA boasted spectacular weather and cross country footing. The event was further enhanced by the installation of a new, all-weather arena that was used for dressage and show jumping. Gucci placed 6th in a tough Preliminary Futurity class of horses six and under. He scored a 30.9 in dressage, dropped one rail in stadium, and jumped double clean on cross country. Monte in the CIC** had a disappointing dressage that landed him in the middle of the pack, but finished the weekend with his final qualifying score for the CCI** at Fair Hill next month.

Perhaps the highlight of the weekend was the bareback puissance fundraiser that I participated in on Sunday. The puissance was hosted by PRO, the Professional Riders Organization, and it was a fundraiser for PRO’s charitable partner Operation Homefront. As a founding member of PRO, I was asked to be one of the riders. For my mount I chose Bungee, or London Calling, a twenty-one-year old retired grand prix show jumper who has been my babysitter horse since last winter. Bungee is owned by Cheri Hicks, who also happened to be my groom for the weekend. Since January, Bungee has been busy taking students of mine to first level dressage shows, beginner novice and novice level events. Bungee retired from the Grand Prix level at the age of twelve. Even though I had actually only sat on Bungee twice, I knew from teaching him that he is a good sport and a good babysitter. Assuming that the jump would reach about 4’6″ or 4’9″, I hopped on him last Wednesday night bareback and jumped about five jumps, finishing at 4′. On Sunday, however, it turned out the entire bareback field was extremely well mounted! Jennie Brannigan, Ryan Woods, Caroline Martin and I all breezed over 3’6″, 4′, 4’6″, and then 5′. At that point the competition began to get interesting. The wall went to 5’3″, 5’6″, and then 5’9″. At some point Bungee and I had a jumping fault, but in the rules of this competition if you strip an item of clothing you are allowed to stay in the game. I wasn’t wearing any layers, so I opted to remove a boot. We continued to jump with one socked foot. As the wall went up, Ryan Woods and Caroline Martin also had faults and had to strip an item of clothing, but Jennie Brannigan cruised right along fault free. After Bungee cleared 5’9″, the wall went up to 6’2″. It was big! Bungee owed me nothing at that point. We came around our turn to the wall on a good pace, but at the last minute Bungee put in a refusal. All of the other horses who attempted the height had faults, except for a very good ride by Jennie Brannigan. She cleared the wall with ease to win the competition. Bungee owed me nothing at that point. He was amazing the whole time. The crowd was well pleased with all of us and the fundraiser did very well. Here is a link to the video:

A memorial service will be held for Mr. Wetherill on September 16th at 3:00 pm at St. Thomas in Whitemarsh, PA.

Mr. Wetherill in a Hunter Trials circa 1959.

Mr. Wetherill and me riding at Fair Hill in 2009. He was 89.

Lifelong horseman Elkins “Elky” Wetherill passed away on August 11, 2011 at his summer home in Waldoboro, ME. He was 91. Mr. Wetherill had resided in Plymouth Meeting, PA since 1949.

Mr. Wetherill was born in Philadelphia and attended St. George’s School, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. In 1941 his studies were interrupted as the First Troop Philadelphia Cavalry was called to active duty. His army service during World War II included the Cavalry, Signal Corps and OSS in the U.S. and Europe. He returned to school in 1945 and graduated from Penn Law School in 1948.

Mr. Wetherill founded the Norristown, PA law firm of Henderson, Wetherill, O’Hey and Horsey and was president of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange from 1965 until his retirement in 1981. Mr. Wetherill was active in local and state politics. He served as the solicitor to Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, he was Montgomery County treasurer, chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, and chairman of the Pennsylvania Securities Commission. He was also chairman of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and of the Montgomery County Open Space Board.

Mr. Wetherill served on a number of boards, including First Pennsylvania Bank, Germantown Savings Bank, Davis and Elkins College, and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. He served as chairman and director of WHYY Channel 12, as well as chairman of the Philadelphia Drama Guild.

Mr. Wetherill was very active in land preservation. In 1996, he sold a piece of his Plymouth Meeting farm to Montgomery County. This became the Harriet Wetherill Park to honor his late wife. He was the author of “A Field Guide to Common Grasses of Southeastern Pennsylvania,” published by the Brandywine Conservancy.

Mr. Wetherill had a lifelong love of horses. He foxhunted from childhood through the age of 90, and was a member of Cheshire, Radnor, Brandywine, and Andrews Bridge foxhounds as well as several farmers packs. He also participated in all ranges of horse sport as a competitor and owner. As a young man he rode timber horses for John Strawbridge. Later in life he competed in three day eventing and dressage, as well as in the show ring at the Devon Horse Show. He owned horses for many top level riders including show jumpers for Joe Fargis and event horses for Bruce Davidson, Buck Davidson, Stuart Black, and Ashley Leith. In 1993 his horse Regent Lion was Bruce Davidson’s alternate horse for the World Championships at The Hague. In 2002 Mr. Wetherill’s horse Midnight Magic was an alternate for the Canadian Olympic Team with Stuart Black. Mr. Wetherill was also a patron and sponsor to many local horse shows, including the Devon Horse Show, Fair Hill International and Plantation Field International.

He is survived by his second wife, Ethel B. Wetherill; his children, Elkins Jr. (Ellen), Alexandra W. Gerry and Stephen H. Wetherill (Susan) and his stepchildren, Edwin B. Nalle (Karen), Horace D. Nalle (Patricia), Ellen N. Hass (Jay), Alexander B. Nalle (Alison) and Lucy N. Weed (Timothy). He leaves behind seven grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and 14 step-grandchildren.

Memorial donations may be made to Montgomery County Lands Trust, Box 300, Lederach, PA 19450-0300.