Dansko Fair Hill International October 13th through the 16th 2011

And the Winner Is...

2012-01-15T21:07:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to all those who participated in our online survey. You gave us some great feedback to help improve FHI for 2012.

The lucky winner of tickets to Dansko's Fair Hill International 2012, drawn from all participants, is...

Lyn Christie, of Olney, Maryland.

Congrats, Lyn!

In other news, we're working right now on a re-do of our website. We're hoping to launch it in March. If you have any high quality photos from FHIs past we would love to see them! Anything - horses, dogs, behind the scenes, volunteers, jumps. We'll take a look at anything, and if something you have fits in the flow of what we're doing we'd love to use it.

Send any photos you have to FHIoutreach@gmail.com

Happy New Year!

FHI 2007

Getting to Know Peter Atkins and his family

2011-11-29T15:18:00.000-05:00

Living so close to Fair Hill, I often host competitors from Fair Hill. This year, in a "its-a-small-world" scenerio, we hosted Peter Atkins, his wife, Amy, their son, Owen, and Peter's young horse, Drake, during the event. Because of some truck problems, Peter and his horses Henny and Drake stayed with us afterwards. What a great time we had! Peter has a great sense of humor and a wonderful devotion to his family. Amy The connection shared by horse and rider I first saw in the Run Henny Run video of the x-country WEG I saw up close during the event. The connection between that horse and not only Peter but also with his family. The horse is always aware of where Peter is and focuses on Owen when he is nearby. On their website, Amy has pictures of young Owen riding this powerful 3-day horse in a lead line class! We are so fortunate to have had Peter and his family come into our lives. We plan to be in touch with them in Florida when we make the trip south this winter.

Owen, at age 5(?) rode Henny in a Lead Line Class!
These two definitely have a connection!

A big father - son hug after Dressage

Peter getting the hang of being behind a horse instead
of being on top!

Since my sport is combined driving, and Peter had time on his hands after the event, I talked him into going on the back of the carriage and prodded him into driving my mare! Having only driven a pony years ago for about 10 minutes, he took the reins and had the mare going quite well in a short time. He even managed to shoot a short video while driving and read and answered a few texts on his cell phone! Before he left he cooked one of his specialties for dinner, a great Salmon dinner! My only regret is not getting a photo of my ole swaybacked hunter with his two illustrious pasture mates!

I Promised My Kids Some Photos...

2011-10-27T20:10:00.000-04:00

I promised my Pony Club kids that I would post pictures on the blog. And also the sled dog folks. And various other people who took advantage of the free dog agility lessons. SO.

If you want to see photos of President's Cup weights and measures, the Pony Club course walk with Doug Payne, and some nasty looking thunderstorm clouds, check out my pictures from FRIDAY

If you want to see pictures of President's Cup competition, mini horse demos, sled dog demos, tracking demos, Ray Owen's concert, Kids Corner, the falcon guy, and Courtney Cooper, check out my pictures from SATURDAY. There's also a few videos mixed in there.

And if you want to see President's Cup awards, Shetland Pony races, dog agility lessons, and a tiny bit of show jumping, check out my photos from SUNDAY.

VOTE for Fair Hill feet!

2011-10-26T22:00:00.000-04:00

Eventing Nation had a contest a couple weeks ago, to submit a picture of your bare feet in order to win a new pair of Dubarry boots.

The finalists are posted, and the poll is up:

http://eventingnation.com/home/2011/10/dubarry-contest-finalists.html

Photo Number ONE is our very own Mary Coldren, FHI Eventing Secretary. Those are her feet after stomping around in the Fair Hill mud all day Thursday and Friday. CLEARLY our Mary needs a new pair of boots, don't you think?

Take a second and vote for Mary's cold muddy feet!

We want to hear from YOU!

2011-10-24T21:23:00.000-04:00

Did you attend the Dansko Fair Hill International Festival in the Country this year?

If so, in the spirit of continuous improvement, we would very much like to get your feedback on our "people-side operations."

Please follow THIS LINK for a short survey (I promise it will take less than five minutes). We used this survey last year, as well, and your feedback brought about changes to our admissions lay-out and gave you increased signage at the event this fall.

As an incentive, all respondents will be entered in to a raffle for TWO four-day General Admission passes to the 2012 Festival - though this will require you to provide a valid email address so that we can contact you, should you be the lucky winner.

We appreciate your feedback!

Another video

2011-10-20T16:22:00.000-04:00

EVENTING NATION gets all the cool videos...

The one linked above is long, but a fun overview of Saturday at the 2011 Dansko Fair Hill International.

Thanks for posting, Eventing Nation! Also check out Eventing Nation for coverage of the Pan Am Games, happening NOW in Mexico.

More Wrap-Up, Video, PHOTOS

2011-10-19T14:00:00.000-04:00

Just in case you didn't get enough coverage from the 2011 Dansko Fair Hill International... here's some links to more!

EVENTING NATION posts a fun video from our announcer, Brian O'Connor

USEF has a recap of the two star and three star winners

And here's USEF's update after Saturday's cross country

Nothing hugely new here, but here's a wrap-up from HORSECITY

A little local angle from THE EQUIERY

Here's a great blog posting from three star competitor EMILY BESHEAR

And a posting from DOUG PAYNE, about the seven billion horses he rode at Fair Hill

And, finally, thanks to EVENTING NATION for posting Doug Payne's helmet cam video. Yay! Love some good helmet cam footage.

ENJOY!

Oh, wait! I just checked SHANNON BRINKMAN'S website and she's got CCI** photos posted. Three star is coming soon, so check back!

Run Henny Run!

2011-10-17T08:28:00.000-04:00

Yay! Eventing Nation did all the good work of finding the Run Henny Run helmet cam video posted on line!

So I'll JUST LINK TO THEIR POST and you can enjoy, too.

Thanks, Peter, for the awesome helmet cam footage.

And thanks, Eventing Nation, for your fabulous coverage throughout the weekend.

Photos of things NOT CCI

2011-10-16T21:56:00.000-04:00

Once again I was out and about today, taking care of President's Cup Pony Club kids, Shetland Pony race kids, dog agility friends, and more. Here's some things you might have missed if you just sat by the main arena watching stadium jumping...

OK. Fine. If you were sitting by the ring you saw this, too. Kylie Lyman and Trading Aces, during their victory gallop.

Kylie was all smiles

President's Cup Pony Club kids all in the ring for their final award presentation

The Gummi Bears, from Kentucky, take home top honors in the President's Cup competition. Nicest kids EVER.

PRO Riders and Shetland Pony riders pair up for the Pony Relay

Here come the kids, rounding the corner and (hopefully) getting ready to stop and hand their pony off to their PRO rider

Will Faudree just barely beats out Clark Montgomery, in a final sprint around the last turn. Then Will went and rode his three star horse in stadium jumping and placed fourth in the competition. Wonder which was more fun?

The ladies were a little bit slower

And had some saddle issues. They called for a re-match

Thanks, kids! You guys did great.

Wait, WHAT? You didn't get down to Kids Corner to race a stick horse?? You'll have to come back next year, then.

Free dog agility lessons were a hit all weekend long

This little dog didn't need lessons. He was a natural.

Yay, through the tunnel!

I did actually watch some show jumping. This is Henny, who I am hoping will post his Run Henny Run helmet cam video in the next couple days. Henny and Peter Atkins finished 11th.

And finally, here's Becky Holder and Can't Fire Me. They pulled just one rail in stadium and finished in second place.

I think Shannon Brinkman has run off to the Pan Am Games, being held next weekend. So I'll try to get some more photos from her. But if I don't succeed, check her WEBSITE in a few days to see what she has posted there.

Sunday Wrap-up!

2011-10-16T21:33:00.000-04:00

Big congrats to the CCI** winner, Kylie Lyman and Trading Aces, and to our CCI*** winner, Boyd Martin and Ying Yang Yo. Full results can be seen HERE.

Here's some links to read results and more info:

EVENTING NATION has a lovely three star recap, along with some video

A nice article by Nancy Jaffer from EQUISEARCH

Here's another article by Nancy, published today on New Jersey.com. It's Saturday's news, but still an interesting read.

Here's a recap of the Sunday morning jog, from THE CHRONICLE

EVENTING NATION'S all-important video of the Shetland Pony races (a total must-see!)

EVENTING NATION has a Sunday morning jog report

Sunday photos from THE CHRONICLE

Three star recap from THE CHRONICLE

Two star recap from EVENTING NATION, with video

Not from today, but I just found it, loads of cross country pictures from THE CHRONICLE

Once again, we could not make this event work without the tireless effort of many many fantastic volunteers. THANKS so much to all of you for all you do, and all you did to make the 2011 Dansko Fair Hill International a rousing success.

A thousand thank you's

2011-10-16T20:23:00.001-04:00

The excitement of Dansko Fair Hill International 2011 has come to an end. This has already been stated, and will be stated several more times in various forms, but thank you to all of our wonderful and dedicated volunteers who made this one of the best events in years! Also thank you to Eventing Nation for linking our blog on multiple occassions, it accounted for nearly half of all viewership!

We will try to post pictures from the final day of competition at some point in the next few days, but for the time being everyone is taking a well deserved rest!

Thank you again to everyone who volunteered and supported this wonderful event.

And Some Video

2011-10-15T22:21:00.002-04:00

I forgot I took some video today, too.

Here's some flyball madness, sled dogs, and Presidents Cup sack race

Flyball

Sled Dogs

More Flyball

Presidents Cup

Here's a Peek at MY Day. How Was Yours?

2011-10-15T21:52:00.000-04:00

I'm the Special Events coordinator. Which means I worry about President's Cup games, and dog agility demos, and Kids Corner, and Sled Dog demos, and HorsePlay, and the falcon guy, and all those other things that make the Dansko Fair Hill International the true family fun experience that it is.

It also means that I saw about three horses running cross country today.

So, if you spent your day watching cross country here at the Dansko Fair Hill International - here's what you missed!

President's Cup, Mug Shuffle race

Tracking dog demo (they will return at 10AM Sunday!)

Outrider

Hey, look! A horse!

Someone's (full disclosure, totally mine) cute kid, playing in the corn pool by Kids Corner

Flyball demo

Ray Owen concert

Mini horse demo

More minis. This little girl is nine years old, I believe

More minis. They will be back on Sunday at 11 and 1:30.

Another horse

Sled dogs patiently wait for their demo

Play-doh and face painting in Kids Corner

Cute small bead stringer in Kids Corner

PRO rider Courtney Cooper does a talk "About Eventing" after riding her two star cross country course

Falcon guy

More kids in the corn pool

HorsePlay (done by a local 4-H group)

More HorsePlay

Hooking up sled dogs

And off they go

More sled dogs. They will be back at 12:30 on Sunday

HorsePlay takes a bow after a great show

Another Ray Owen concert, with audience participation

Stick horse racing at Kids Corner. Kids Corner is open Sunday, too!

Another flyball demo

More flyball

Cute coffee advertiser

Presidents Cup games - balloon race

More balloon race

Games riders have ridiculous vaulting skills

Presidents Cup games - sack race

More sack race

I think this game was called Five Flag

Entire group of Presidents Cup kids head back home after afternoon games

Brother and sister Sarah and Dexter Lipps, members of the Heartland Region Star Blazers team, from Illinois

Saturday Scores, Links, plus Sunday Schedule

2011-10-15T20:36:00.000-04:00

Last year's Shetland Pony races - we'll do it again on Sunday. Don't miss it!

Here's the brief run-down:

SCORES for the Three star and the Two star are posted. Jan Byyny, Boyd Martin, and Becky Holder are all within a point of each other in the Three star, which will make for an exciting Stadium day. In the Two star, Kylie Lyman, Kadi Eykamp, and Will Faudree are your top three.

No official order of go for Sunday, until after the Sunday morning Horse Inspection.

The tentative schedule for Sunday:

8:00 AM - Horse Inspection in the main arena, starting with Two star horses.

10:00 AM - Begin Two star stadium jumping (in reverse order of placing)

12:30-ish to 1:30-ish - Lunch Break. Stick around for the PRO riders racing on Shetland ponies. If you didn't see it last year, you definitely don't want to miss it!

1:30-ish - Begin Three star stadium jumping.

We should be wrapped up around 3-ish.

I had impeccable timing this evening and saw part of Run Henny Run's helmet cam video from today. It was awesome, and if Peter somehow gets it posted on YouTube tonight I will be sure to link to for you. He was clear cross country, and moved up to 7th place in the standings.

Here's some links from people who saw way more than I did (I think I saw a couple horses gallop past me today as I was running between Pony Club, music, and various dog demonstrations).

Three star coverage from EVENTING NATION

Two star coverage from EVENTING NATION

Fun video from EVENTING NATION, talking about a piece of the three star course

Recap from USEA

A more local-focused recap from THE EQUIERY

And, finally, THE CHRONICLE has a recap, as well

I'll post some pictures in a while, but they're going to be all Special Event pictures. Shannon Brinkman was, well, BUSY today, and I wasn't able to get cross country pictures from her. I'll seen what I can do tomorrow!

Finally (and I should have put this first) a huge THANK YOU to all the volunteers, jump judges, bus drivers, security personnel, outriders, EMT's, vets, farriers, parking people, exhibitors, sponsors, vendors, and spectators who made today such a rousing success. It takes a small army of people to make this event work, and we appreciate everything that you do!

Friday Pictures from Shannon Brinkman

2011-10-14T23:08:00.000-04:00

OK, I am running out of steam here. I'm going to post some of Shannon Brinkman's lovely photos from Friday and let you know who is in the picture, but you might need to check the SCORES or check EVENTING NATION to get any more details.

Enjoy! And, again, Shannon's pictures are not to be reproduced in any way. Shannon's got a trailer in the stabling area on Saturday and Sunday - riders swing by to say hi and look at (and buy) some pictures!

Becky Holder and Can't Fire Me. We met Becky, briefly, back in the barn on Tuesday

Boyd Martin on Ying Yang Yo, currently top placed in the Three Star.

Bruce Davidson and Andrea Leatherman

Courtney Cooper and Who's a Star, currently second in the Two Star

Debbie Adams and D. A. Bjorn, tenth in the Young Event Horse five year old division

Jan Byyny and Inmidair, currently fifth in the Three Star

Jessica Bortner-Harris takes her Two Star mount, Win the War, for a walk

Karen O'Connor and Veronica, currently third in the Three Star

Kelli Temple and Corneel, winners of the Young Event Horse four year old division

Kelli Temple and Doug Payne take a victory gallop after the Young Event Horse awards presentation

Kendall Lehari in the Two Star

Lisa Barry and F.I.S. Prince Charming

Susan Beebee and Wolf, current leaders in the Two Star

Will Coleman and one of his FOUR mounts in the competition. Will has three horses in the top twenty in the Two Star, and he and Twizzel stand fourth in the Three Star. Busy guy!

And finally a cute parting shot of Will Faudree

Cross Country Times Posted!

2011-10-14T22:32:00.000-04:00

Gratuitous cute dog and kid photo, courtesy of Shannon Brinkman

Cross Country Times just got posted! Go to THIS LINK, and then click on "Saturday XC Times." It will open an excel file on your computer with all the cross country times.

The day starts right at 9AM with Will Coleman and Ideal Contini on the Two Star course. The Two Stars will finish up around noon, and the Three Stars are scheduled to start at 12:45 with Nina Ligon and Tipperary Liadhnan.

Fingers crossed, everything will continue on time all day and competition will wrap up around 3:45.

Again, PLEASE PLEASE save your car from the mud and the tow chain of the tractor, and park at the Fairgrounds (on Rt 273) and catch the bus over to the Festival. Bus starts running at 8AM, in plenty of time to catch the first rider on cross country!

President's Cup and the Weather

2011-10-14T22:23:00.000-04:00

20 kids from all over the east coast and the mid-west are at the Dansko Fair Hill International this weekend for the President's Cup games, which bring together the top four senior games teams winners at Pony Club Nationals for a little friendly competition here at Fair Hill. They will be playing games in the CCI Warm-up Arena on Saturday at 9:30 and again at 2:30. Check them out! You will be amazed at what they can do.

I love these kids, man. They are great kids, and all work together as a team, and are tremendously friendly, and really very grateful to be here and have a chance to see some of the competition.

Today they got a chance to walk the CCI*** cross country course with Doug Payne. They came back from their walk muddy and tired, but smiling.

Doug Payne (the super tall guy in the middle) with our President's Cup Pony Club group. Thanks, Doug!

Somehow Doug had the energy to ride his mount, Royal Tribute, to a win in the Young Event Horse five year old division (congrats!), plus ride a three star test on Running Order (currently tied for 8th), and still came over to the start box with a huge smile on his face and two hours of free time for these kids. It was so greatly appreciated and we can't thank Doug enough for spending the time with the future of eventing.

Many thanks, as well, to the PRO Riders Organization for helping to organize the course walk. PRO does good stuff to promote horse and rider safety in the sport of eventing, and to encourage young riders who are the future of the sport.

And now a few pictures that I took today. It was a dark and stormy day at times, but I saw smiles everywhere, so it must have been an ok day.

Doug Payne explains what happens in the warm-up ring before cross country gets started. He says it's a fun place to watch on Saturday, so if you're around and by the Start/Finish box, cross the street and take a peek!

The Star Blazers team comes from Illinois.

The Lucky Charms come from western New York

These cute kids on the Gummi Bears team are from Kentucky

And the Wild Things team had the (relatively) easy drive from Connecticut

Here's a few shots of the kids waiting for Weights and Measures this afternoon, and getting ready to go out for an afternoon ride

Cutest pony in the universe...

And, finally, a few shots of the storm clouds. And the pockets of blue sky that moved in. And then left again. And then came back.

Storm clouds over the VIP tent and the dressage arenas. Competition was put on hold for more than an hour while we waited for the worst of the weather to pass.

Very welcomed patch of blue sky

Fair Hill International meets YOUR backyard!

2011-10-14T21:53:00.001-04:00

Yes, you heard right. Eric Bull is selling the masterfully crafted cross country jumps that were used during the Young Event Horse Championships here at Fair Hill. If you were not able to sneak a peak of these talented youngsters on course, you owe it to yourself to at least check out the train jump. Its awesome. And for sale. These jumps are practically memorabilia. Eric has an area near the Bit of Britain tent that will be displaying these skillfully constructed portables. Did we mention he was also the course builder for Fair Hill International?

Cute train jump, used for the Young Event Horse competition, and for sale in the Fair Hill Country Shoppes area

First Things First - Friday Update

2011-10-14T20:39:00.000-04:00

Here's a quick run-down of the important things I know you want to know:

LIVE SCORING so you can see all the two star and three star dressage standings.

YOUNG EVENT HORSE RESULTS. These are NOT listed in place order, so look over at the far right column to see that Doug Payne and Royal Tribute took top honors in the Five Year Old division, and Kelli Temple and Corneel won the Four Year Old division.

Saturday's ride times are going to be posted on the Fair Hill website in about an hour, so check back. I'll link to them when they are up.

CROSS COUNTRY STARTS AT 9AM SATURDAY. The two star horses will go first, followed by a 30 minute or so break around lunch time. Three star horses will begin early afternoon.

There's lots and lots of other events happening tomorrow around the grounds. SEE THE SCHEDULE for times for Kid's Corner, live music, sled dog demos, Dog agility demos, flyball demos, and the President's Cup games competition. It's going to be busy, and fortunately it looks like we're going to have some good weather.

PARKING INFO: If there's any way you can park at the Fairgrounds tomorrow and ride the bus, that would help us tremendously. Even if you're a volunteer, an exhibitor, or a VIP. Our volunteer parking lot is going to be CLOSED after 8:30 Saturday morning. It's very very muddy there, and we don't want to have to tow people IN, and then have to tow them out later. So - take the bus. It starts running at 8AM. It will run all day. You will not have to get your car towed out with a tractor if you park at the Fairgrounds. You get door to door service. It's a win-win for everyone.

See you tomorrow!

Oh - I have oodles of pictures today, that I will post after I get some dinner... So check back later tonight for some great shots from Shannon Brinkman! Riders, Shannon will be at her trailer tomorrow afternoon and Sunday if you want to look at and purchase pictures. Her trailer is right by the tunnel, in the stabling area.

Sneak Peek!

2011-10-14T10:34:00.005-04:00

Want a sneak peek of the cross country course? Check out video below for a drive around the CCI*** course. And then come see it for yourself, live and in person, tomorrow. Maybe someone out there will have a very cool helmet cam and we can get another view of the course from the rider's perspective. NOTE - this video is looooooong. Sorry! You have a fast forward button on your computer, right?

Dansko Fair Hill International 2011 CCI*** Cross Country Course

Keep checking the LIVE RESULTS link to keep yourself up-to-date on dressage today.

Want to know when your favorite rider competes today? Check the RIDER TIMES link.

Want to see more of Shannon Brinkman's awesome photos? SEE HERE for her FHI pictures from 2010. She doesn't have 2011 up yet on her site - she's been... a little busy. Apparently Shannon had some excitement getting here, and some computer issues, and if I can nail her down for three seconds to give me a quick story I'll try to do so!

Many thanks as always to EVENTING NATION for their fabulous reporting. See this link for a quick interview with Phillip Dutton, currently atop the leader board in the CCI***. Also see THIS LINK for a post by Lisa Marie Ferguson and why she had to withdraw from the CCI*** competition.

What's on tap for today? Dressage, obviously. Young Event Horse jumping is taking place as I type. Dog Agility will have free agility lessons, and demos, in the dog agility ring by the Main Entrance. Vendors are open. Fair Hill merchandise is quickly disappearing (and then re-appearing on riders, grooms, and volunteers). We have a Pony Club course walk at 4PM today - Doug Payne will be walking the course with us. Meet at the Start box, and bring your rain gear.

And what's the weather, you ask? Why, rain, of course. Showers this morning. Thunderstorms this afternoon. But by 10PM everything is supposed to clear out, it's supposed to get windy as all get-out, and tomorrow looks to be a great, sunny, dry day for cross country. Fabulous!

Thursday Update - Scores! Times! Pictures!

2011-10-13T20:42:00.000-04:00

The above was taken this evening, during the hour of open ring schooling. It's damp here today. Very very damp. But, hey - at least it was a warm rain...

So we cancelled the media course walk, as it was too wet. Apologies if you made an effort to attend and were sad that it did not happen.

Found the scoring link today! If you bookmark it and come back to it throughout the weekend, you can see live (every ten minutes or so) scoring updates. Here's the scores through the first day of dressage (I don't know why Young Event Horse scores don't come up).

http://www.evententries.com/livescoring/14839.html

Times got posted! Here's the link for dressage times, from today and for tomorrow. If I remember and Mary remembers, we'll have Saturday's cross country times posted tomorrow night, too. Check back.

Please see fabulous comprehensive recap of today's events, complete with video, on Eventing Nation. Thanks, guys!

And, finally, PHOTOS! Shannon Brinkman shared photos from today and a couple from yesterday. Thanks, Shannon! Please note - all the photos below are the property of Shannon Brinkman and may not be copied or reproduced in any way, without the express permission of Shannon Brinkman.

Here's Lisa Barry standing up her mount, F.I.S. Prince Charming, at the jog on Wednesday. Lisa rides her CCI** dressage test on Friday.

Holly Payne and entourage. Holly rides her CCI*** mount, Madeline, on Friday.

Alexandra MacLeod and her super cute CCI** mount, Railroan Man Jim, currently stand in 22nd place.

Emily Van Gemeren and her CCI** mount, Berkley. They currently stand in 18th place with 62.5 penalty points.

Alexandra Greene, looking happy after her CCI** test on her mount Fernhill Cubalawn. Alexandra currently stands in 10th place in the division, with 58.6 penalty points.

Phillipa Humphries and her CCI** mount, Rich N Famous. The pair currently stand in 9th place in the division.

Katie Bryant and her Young Event Horse mount, San City. Katie and San City complete their jumping test tomorrow at 8:40 AM.

Will Coleman and his CCI** mount (one of three), Ideal Contini. They currently stand 4th in the division with 51.7 penalty points.

Brittany Yard and her Young Event Horse mount, Divine Comedy. Brittany rides her jumping course tomorrow at 12:40PM.

Courtney Cooper with her Young Event Horse mount, R Star. Courtney rides her jumping test tomorrow at 12:20PM

Doug Payne and his Young Event Horse mount, Royal Tribute. Doug also rode his CCI*** mount, High Society, today, and currently stands in 11th place in that division.

Karl Slezak and his CCI** mount, VDL Ulando H, are high atop the leader board after day 1 of dressage. They are currently 2nd with 48.9 penalty points.

The current leader of the CCI** division, Andrea Leatherman and Mystic My.

And finally, the current leader of the CCI*** division. Phillip Dutton and Ben will carry only 47.2 penalty points in to the cross country phase on Saturday. Phillip has another CCI*** mount tomorrow (William Penn), and is currently 5th with his CCI** mount, Young Man.

Media and Sponsor course walk TODAY

2011-10-13T10:48:00.001-04:00

Today at 4:30 PM we will be doing a mini course walk for media and sponsors. Sinead Halpin will be hosting, and we are hoping that course designer Derek di Grazzia will also be joining us.

If you are media, sponsor, advertiser, jump sponsor, etc, please feel free to join us. We will be taking the wagon and the tractor, and then getting out to walk a few sections of the course.

The tractor and wagon will pick you up in front of the VIP tent.

Cameras welcome. Bring a rain coat and waterproof boots - it's a little wet out there today!

Order of Go

2011-10-12T21:58:00.000-04:00

Yeah, this picture has nothing to do with anything. Dressage times not posted yet, sooooo - come watch some President's Cup Games!

Sorry, guys. It's 9:53 and the TIMES for dressage are not yet posted on line. Sorry about that!

So, here's a link for the Order of Go. It will give you some idea of when your favorite riders will go. NOTE - there's no guarantee this is an accurate list - it doesn't note who may have been spun during the jog today. But it's the best I can find right now. I'll try to do better tomorrow!

http://fairhillinternational.com/orderofdraw.htm

Like PB+J, some things just go better together.

2011-10-12T17:55:00.001-04:00

We are pleased to post that Shannon Brinkman will be supplementing our blog with some of her extraordinary photos throughout the duration of the week. Now you can keep visual tabs on Dansko Fair Hill International's progress from the comfort of your own computer!

Good Luck competitors!

To our volunteers, thank you a thousand times over! And then a few hundred times more.

Let's get pumped because Dansko Fair Hill International 2011 is within hours of commencement!

Check out the Course Maps! With Pictures!

2011-10-12T16:24:00.001-04:00

Hooray! Course maps with pictures got posted on the FHI site! Check them out!

All photos courtesy of Andrea Collins, on the course maps (click on the fence number to pull up the picture in a separate window).

Three Star:

http://fairhillinternational.com/3coursemap.html

Two Star:

http://fairhillinternational.com/2coursemap.html

ENJOY!

Horse Inspection is Happening Now!

2011-10-12T14:28:00.000-04:00

Right now, Horse Inspection is happening at the Dansko Fair Hill International. I am not there. But I CAN tell you that it is currently NOT RAINING. Is it supposed to rain tonight? Absolutely. But at least it's dry-ish for the jog.

Sorry I can't post any pictures of the jog for you. If I can beg and borrow some from other people, I'll post some later. And I'll check Eventing Nation later to see if they were there - if so I'll link to them for you. And I'll link ride times as soon as I see them.

I DO have a couple cool pictures of Fence 24 in the CCI*** division. Spoooooooky...

Photos courtesy Andrea Collins

Quick Tuesday Update

2011-10-11T20:03:00.000-04:00

There was activity buzzing all over the grounds at Fair Hill today - the ground jury walked both cross country courses, many horses arrived, horses who arrived yesterday were being ridden in the warm-up areas, golf carts arrived, straw and mums and flags and tables and chairs were set.

And yet... I have very few pictures from today. Sorry! I was busy working on a fun little surprise for you guys - but I think you're going to have to wait til Thursday to see it.

So here's a few pictures. And, in the meantime, read this fun post from Eventing Nation:
http://eventingnation.com/home/2011/10/kadi-eycamp-cutting-her-way-to-fair-hill.html

Becky Holder leads her CCI*** mount, Can't Fire Me, to his stall after their trip from Georgia.

Meanwhile, our crack stabling team of volunteers moves Becky's equipment to her stall.

THANK YOU to all our amazing volunteers who help us all year long. You are the very best!

Parking Reminder for Competitors

2011-10-10T21:28:00.001-04:00

Just a quick reminder to all of our arriving competitors:

Trailers staying on the stabling grounds are subject to a 25.00 per night Camping Fee.

To get to our designated Trailer Parking:

Follow the stable area road out until you hit the paved road. Hang a right. Shortly after on the right is an entrance into our Sawmill Field (wooden fence across from farm house and paddocks). Take that and follow the stone road and signs for parking.

Please feel free to make use of our complimentary unloading services. We have Gators to expedite the unloading process.

Thank you in advance and good luck to everyone!

Wanna Tailgate? Better Hurry!

2011-10-10T19:11:00.000-04:00

We still have a VERY FEW tailgating spots left - hurry and call today if you want to reserve a spot, before they are all gone!

See this link for more info:

http://fairhillinternational.blogspot.com/2011/09/three-cheers-for-tailgating.html

Mum's the Word

2011-10-10T16:21:00.000-04:00

It was mum day at Dansko Fair Hill International today. And straw day. And put sides on the tents day. And quick finish mowing before it rains day. AND. And! The first day horses were allowed to move in. Finally! Signs of life in the stabling area, making us all realize that, wow, we'd better hurry up and get finished with set-up because this event really is happening.

Mum unloading near the Main Arena

First jump, in FHI yellow

CCI** competitor Melissa McMaster's stall is all set up and ready for her mount, Flagmount's Sterling Prince. The only thing missing is the horse himself. Melissa said the big 17.2 hh boy is spending one last night in his pasture before stuffing himself in to a stall for five days.

CCI*** competitor Gina Fiore's mount Feral Errol is here, though. And looking around for more friends - the rest of his barn was pretty much deserted.

I'll swing by stabling again tomorrow to see who else has arrived. Stay tuned!

Some More Behind the Scenes from Sunday

2011-10-09T21:25:00.000-04:00

As mentioned before, preparations on the grounds have reached a fever pitch. No less than SIX trucks and trailers moved bleachers to their designated spots this morning. FOUR dressage rings were set. TWO flatbed loads of jump standards were unloaded. THREE (FOUR? I lost count) barns full of stalls were made ready for horses to arrive tomorrow. Sides were put on tents. Vet boxes and dog agility rings were set up. Countless jumps were decorated. Tomorrow afternoon horses can begin to move in to the stabling area. Straw and mums arrive for some serious decorating to begin. Office trailers arrive for dry, warm areas for scoring and management. And everyone is thanking the heavens for the warm, sunny weather.

Here's a few pictures to give you a taste of the frenzy:

This fox quietly waits for horses to gallop past him in the main arena on Saturday and Sunday.

Volunteers set up the first of four dressage arenas. In the middle is Bodgie Read, a Founders Committee member who has been with Fair Hill International since its very first year. When Bodgie is not setting dressage rings, she is busy making and setting out signs, helping run the vet box on Saturday, gathering volunteers for our horse trials throughout the year, and organizing countless Pony Club rallies at our venue. She is truly indispensable.

A Dansko shoe patiently awaits is final decorative location in the main arena.

Walk around the course a little bit and you'll stumble upon this cool old house.

Mushrooms have grown under the trees by the Sunken Road.

Another view of the cool ducks we showed you yesterday. Are you tailgating? You'll be parked in the field above the ducks - close to food, shopping, dog agility, and the water jump.

Holly, one of our fabulous jump decorating volunteers, makes a picnic table fit for a king. Holly also volunteers on cross country day, in the warm-up area. Check out an awesome blog posting she did at another site, describing what may have been the wettest Dansko Fair Hill International on record.

Chickens and roosters inhabit the Barn Yard. Frighteningly realistic! Seriously, you need to come on Saturday and walk the course (YES! You can do that!) just to see the amazing detail on and around these jumps.

LOVE the dragon hedge at one of the water jumps.

It's a Teddy Bear Picnic, at the Dove Valley Winery jump.

Think this little guy might have had too much Dove Valley wine...

Some News You Can Use

2011-10-09T20:45:00.000-04:00

Preparations for the twenty-third annual Dansko Fair Hill International have reached a fever pitch, as only four days remain until Opening Day. Here is some news you can use:

Merchandise – Sarah Colenda and Diane Trefry report that they will have a full line of embroidered items – including polo shirts, fleece vests and jackets, ¼ zip sweat shirts, hoodies, long sleeve tee shirts, chunky knit hats, fleece beanies, assorted scarves, tote bags, and coffee mugs. There will be something for everyone’s taste and wallet. And it’s all just in time for the Holidays

The Merchandise Booth will be set up within the mammoth Country Shops tent to take maximum advantage of the flow of foot traffic that circulates during the four days.

And as a gesture of gratitude to the army of hardworking volunteers that make this event possible, Sarah and Diane will offer a 10% discount on any purchase made by a FHI Volunteer. Just present your Dansko Fair Hill International volunteer credentials to redeem this benefit.

Hoedown – Barbara Bateman, Mary Ioppolo and their energetic crew are hard at work preparing for the second annual “Hoedown at the Fair Hill Saloon” to be held in the VIP Tent at 6:00 PM, Wednesday, October 12. Based on the reaction to last year’s inaugural outing, this evening of good food and good cheer is the perfect way to get the week started on a happy note. Some of the highlights:

Western Buffet - featuring Pig Roast, Steamship Round, Baked Beans, and all the trimmings;
Auction of the Teams – a panel of experts divides the CCI Riders into teams of four or five, and each team is sold to the highest bidder. Winners are determined after the competition on Sunday, when the scores of each team member are added together. The bidding is a spirited affair, as bidders are egged on by the wit and wisdom of Auctioneer Jimmy Wofford, who is ably assisted by some of the best event riders in America, the members of PRO (Professional Riders Organization) in the role of bid-spotters;
The Dallas Band – One of the best western bands in the area will return to the Fair Hill Saloon to keep things lively throughout the night. Last year, with the adrenaline still pumping after the auction, the dance floor filled up quickly and kept going until the wee hours. Pity the rider who has an early dressage test on Thursday.

With an admission price of $40 + cash bar, the Hoedown is a major Fundraiser for Fair Hill International. Tickets can be ordered in advance – (410) 398-2111 – or purchased at the door. We hope you’ll come to enjoy the fun.

Wondering what Dansko is?

2011-10-09T05:50:00.000-04:00

Take a minute and browse the Dansko website and learn a little more about our title sponsor. A great selection of quality footwear. Check out the Our Footprint pages to see how involved this company is within their community. Very cool!

ATM at Event

2011-10-08T19:59:00.000-04:00

For spectator convenience there will be an ATM available on Saturday and Sunday of the Fair Hill International. You can find out more at the information booth.

3 people, 12 hours

2011-10-08T19:49:00.000-04:00

Check out these awesome ducks at one of the water jumps. Incredible, right? It took three people twelve hours of continuous painting to make them look like they are. That's a lot of painting.

Fair Hill is bustling with activity right now. There is so much that happens behind the scenes, and so much effort and attention to detail and planning and just hard manual labor that goes in to making this event what it is. So many volunteers. And, yes, they are all volunteers.

Dansko Fair Hill International's Festival in the Country starts with a clean slate. A state park (technically a Natural Resource Management Area) that most of the year plays host to bikers and riders and carriage drivers and hikers and runners and people walking their dogs. It's an amazing area. But there's no running water at the Festival site, and limited access to electric. And also no buildings. So everything needed to make the Festival run is set up weeks in advance. Tents. Water tankers. Ice trucks. Generators. Light towers. More tents. Port-a-pots. Dumpsters. Recycling bins. And the list goes on and on.

Here's some photos from today (Saturday) to give you a little taste of the hub-bub at the Festival:

Stabling tents. Conspicuously missing? STALLS. Hmmmmmm.

Hard work is always easier with a good helper.

Driving Dressage Arena, all fenced off and ready to host sled dog demos, tracking demos, Search and Rescue dog demos, and mini horse demos.

The Big Top, with the main arena in the foreground.

The guys creating brush jumps. The brush came from Virginia, in a huge trailer that was packed full of more brush than I have ever seen before. They wouldn't tell me how they stuff so much brush in to one jump. Trade secret, they say...

Thinking about tailgating?? Here's your view!

Fran Loftus, jump decorator extraordinaire. She makes the cross country jumps come to life. And then, because she's bored when the event rolls around, she's in charge of setting the stadium jumping course, too.

Love this jump. See those foxes? Fran. She painted them.

If you get a chance to walk the course, look closely at the attention to detail at the jumps. It really is amazing.

Six hours later. Stalls! WHEW!

For the Dogs

2011-10-08T09:30:00.000-04:00

The Academy of Dog Training is hosting a Show ‘N Go at Fair Hill International’s Festival in the Country

Sunday October 16.

11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Pre-Registration is required – please register at www.academyofdogtraining.com

There is NO REGISTRATION FEE – simply pay your admission fee for the Festival at the gate ($15 for adults, $10 for over 65, kids 12 and under are FREE), and bring your dog in to show, then stay to enjoy the Stadium Jumping.

Show 'N Go are practice dog agility trials, and are a great way to get an expert's opinion as to whether your dog's training is up to par.

ALSO, on Friday and Saturday the Academy of Dog Training will again be doing agility demos and FREE agility lessons. Bring your dog in to the ring and see if he might have a future in agility!

Knowledgeable Volunteers Needed for Information Booth

2011-10-07T14:35:00.000-04:00

The information booth is need of volunteers for both Saturday and Sunday during the Dansko Fair Hill International. The booth will be running from 9 to 4 both days. We would like to have some knowledgeable individuals on hand to answer questions that our guests may have related to the event.

Riders not competing in both divisions, this would be an excellent way to give back to the sport and any amount of time would be greatly appreciated! The booth will be running from 9 to 4 both days.

If you are interested please contact Denise Maillie @ 302.379.2570 or email @ dmaillie@yahoo.com

Thank you in advanced! Again, it would be greatly

Three Cheers for Tailgating!

2011-09-30T21:25:00.000-04:00

For the first time ever we will be offering tailgating spots for Cross Country on Saturday. The package includes 6 tickets for general admission as well. Spots have been strategically placed to provide maximum visibility of the best spots on the course. Bring your own food and drinks and enjoy a day of olympic caliber riding from your own car! Contact Sandy at the office at 410-398-2111. We are providing a limited number of spots this year so call us today!

Welcome to the Fair Hill International Blog!

2011-07-31T22:07:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Fair Hill International blog! Keeping you informed with updates regarding horse trials and the fall championships for the **/*** in October. With the Olympics right around the corner, competitors will be vying for top honors and the opportunity to represent their country in London 2012.