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07/24/2010
Have you met Ernie? Do you know who he is?
For
those CDCTA members who may not have been aware, the Club owns a horse.
His
name is Ernie.
Ernie is a spectacular horse
who was "donated" to the Club by member, CDCTA Board Member, and ex-Treasurer, Mary
Schmitt upon her death from cancer. Mary wanted Ernie to share his talents with
deserving CDCTA young riders to further their abilities and give them a chance
to compete at a level they may never have achieved otherwise. She also
wished to ensure a peaceful retirement for him that the Club has ensured for him. The CDCTA has established a retirement fund to ensure
that his future is secure.
So CDCTA members, be sure to go up and introduce yourself if you see Ernie out and about. Be sure to give him an extra pat (and a treat if it is okay with his rider!) and tell him what an awesome boy he is, and say 'hi' to the young rider who is learning so much from such a great guy.
June 12, 2010
Hey Everyone!!
Ernie and I just went to the Metro Region Pony Club Dressage
Rally this past weekend! We did very well!! For our first
dressage test of the day we did Training Level Dressage Test 2
and we got a 75! (remember in straight dressage shows the
highest score is the better one, which is different from
dressage scores in eventing which you would want the lowest
score.) Then for our second test of the day we did the Training
Level Dressage Test 4 and got a 72! Then we had a freestyle
dressage test to do and we won the freestyle with a score of
68!! I am very proud of Ernie, he worked very hard and it
showed! My team on a whole didn't do as well as we hoped we got
4th in horse management and didn't place in riding. The other
team that went from my club got 1st in riding and didn't place
in horse management, but the most important thing is that we all
had tons of fun and worked very hard! We even learned a lot! It
was a lot of fun to be out with my club doing what we all love
most! Ernie had all the judges stunned! With our great dressage
scores we made it to the USPC championships for dressage this
summer in mid to late July! We really would like to go for
eventing so we are working hard to get our dressage scores even
better for Eventing Rally in two weekends in hopes of qualifying
for eventing! Hopefully we will be able to make it, but with our
hard work and Ernie great and willing attitude I think we got a
pretty great shot at making it! If we make it for eventing we
won't be going for dressage. Ernie is doing well he is extremely
happy to see that the warm weather is here and is almost
completely shed-ed out! We are working on conditioning him as
well for GMHA (Green Mountain Horse Association) which is an
eventing camp for young eventers to improve. It is a lot of hard
work, but we're up for it and will learn a lot, mounted and
unmounted for the two weeks that we are there! I hope everyone's
summers are rolling around to a great start and happy almost end
of the school year for those of you in still school!!
~Catie and Ernie! =) <3
May 23, 2010
Hey Everyone!!!!
I hope everyone is off to a great show season and spring!!!! Ernie and I took part in the King Oak Event in MA two weekends ago and did very well! We placed 2nd out of 20 riders in our division! Our dressage improved a good amount since the Kent Combined Test, but we had a harder judge this time around and finished our dressage phase with a 38.5! We were 1 or 2 people who got lower then a 40.0 in our dressage!
We went clean on our show jumping and x-country and not even any time faults on either!!!! One of the most exciting parts of the day was seeing Stef and Nina Shea and Jess's parents as well! They were so happy to see Ernie and Ernie and I were so happy to see them! (For those of you who don't know Stef and Jess were the lucky girls who leased Ernie before me.) We had a lot of fun that day and we're so proud of Ernie and all his hard work. We have our Pony Club Dressage Rally this coming weekend and were very excited hopefully we will qualify for Dressage Champs this summer! Speaking of Champs because we got 1st at Kent Combined Test and 2nd at King Oak we qualified for Area 1 Championships later this summer around August for Beginner Novice Level! We're working very hard on our freestyle and Ernie has learned to love the music we are doing it to! We can't wait to see how we do!
Ernie is doing very well pictures will be coming soon (sadly my mom and I forgot our cameras when we went to King Oak.) The next blog will becoming very soon right after Dressage Rally this coming weekend! Hope everyone is well! Happy Spring!
~Catie and Ernie! <3 =)
April 27, 2010
Hey Everyone!
This past weekend was our Kent School Combine Test! We did very well we got a 33.5 on our
dressage test and we were in 2nd after dressage! We got 5 time faults in Show Jumping, but
finished 1st overall in our division!! It was a great day and Ernie did amazing! We're all very
proud of him and his performance!
~Catie and Ernie<3 :-)
Hey Everyone!
Sorry it has been so long since the last update. The winter went very well! We recently moved Ernie to my summer barn called Honey Hollow Pony Club Barn! He adjusted very well and is extremely happy!
We've been getting very excited for the upcoming show season. We just had our first x-country lessons few days ago. He was so happy to be out of the indoor ring! He is very fit as well and gained a good amount of muscle over the winter! His frame is improving quite a bit as well!
Hope everyone had a great winter!
~Catie and Ernie!<333 :)
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Ernie & Jessica
(Photo by Lightspeed)
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Ernie & Jessica
(Photo by Lightspeed)
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Getting To Know You
Ernie, Jessica & Stef
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Ernie & Stephanie
(Photo by Hoofpix)
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Ernie & Stef
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Ernie & Stef
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Getting To Know You - 2009
Ernie, Stef & Catie
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Ernie & Catie
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Ernie Tryouts
Jumping with Catie
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Ernie, Stef & Catie
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Introducing Ernie’s New Partner
November 2009, by Sue Wierzbicki
In November, 2009, the CDCTA held the tryouts for young riders interested in partnering with Ernie, the well known CDCTA horse. They were held on a warm, sunny day at Deb Moynihan’s Irish Acres Farm in Bolton, CT. After observing how Ernie was ridden on the flat and over fences, the members of the Ernie committee chose Catherine Weiner, from Katonah, NY, to be Ernie’s new partner.
Catie joined the CDCTA in 2009 after she heard many good things about Ernie from one of her trainers, Maureen Pach, learned that he would be available this year, and after reading information on the organization, decided she really liked what the CDCTA offered to it’s members.
Catie, who is 16 years old, is a sophomore at John Jay High School in Cross River, NY. Her family is comprised of her father, Steven Weiner, mother, Robin Bezark, and her 13 year old sister Emily. Riding occupies most of her time, but she does enjoy photography and hopes to devote more time to it once she is in college.
She started riding when she was about 5 years old, but didn’t really get serious about it until she was 11. The first horse she rode was an old camp horse named Barnaby and she evented him a couple of times. She then leased a green Thoroughbred named Heezapro from one of her trainers, Amy Struzzieri. “Pro” made her the rider she is today, teaching her many things, the most important being patience. Because of his inexperience, eventing was a bit overwhelming for him, and she only evented him a few times. After leasing him for three years, she returned him to Amy.
Last April she bought her first horse, Michael Angelo, and had planned to event and do jumpers with him. But shortly after purchasing him he tore his deep flexor tendon and was sent to Amy’s barn to recuperate from his injury.
Catie’s friend Stacy got her interested in riding. She often went along with her to the barn and eventually fell in love with the entire horse experience. She would ride in barn sponsored hunter shows but wasn’t too fond of the whole show atmosphere. She was introduced to eventing when she began training with Amy and immediately fell in love with it. Although it wasn’t until recently that she learned to love cross country, it is now her favorite part of eventing. Catie feels that she is a gentle rider with soft hands and tries to work from the horse’s point of view. Making sure her horse is happy is one of the major goals she has. Catie is a member of the Honey Hollow Pony Club, recently earned her C1 rating, will be going for her HB (horse management skills) in August 2010, and will probably try for her C2 rating in the spring of 2011. Her parents are very supportive of her Pony Club activities and look
forward to joining her in helping out at various CDCTA events.
When I asked her why she applied for Ernie, Catie responded that she wanted a horse that she could event and help reach her riding goals in the three years remaining before she attends college. She also wanted an experienced partner that knew the ins and outs of eventing, thus allowing her to focus on her riding without the added distraction of having to train a green horse at the same time. In her own words Catie said “Who better than Ernie to help me do this?”
Since Ernie is in a new home with a new rider I asked Catie how he’s been doing in the month she’s had him. This is her response: “Ernie adjusted very well and is very happy. I have one lesson a week with Kate Strankowski and I ride five times a week. We jump at most two times a week and the rest of the time we practice our dressage. Right now we’re working on loosening him up and do a lot of bending and flexion at the poll to keep him strong and supple. We’ve also done some hill work with him and will continue to do so. I don’t have a show schedule set yet, but do know that in early 2010 I plan to do a freestyle dressage clinic with Rebecca Hathaway in preparation for the Pony Club Dressage Rally. If all goes well, I hope to go to Pony Club Nationals this year riding either dressage or show jumping. This summer I also hope to be able to compete at the horse trials at Stoneleigh Burnham and Kent School at the
Beginner Novice level.”
All of us on the CDCTA Board are thrilled that Ernie is adjusting well and enjoying his new home and his new rider. I was very impressed with both Catie and her family, feel that she and Ernie are a very good fit, and look forward to hearing about their adventures together. Catie - good luck, learn a lot, do well, and most of all have fun with your new riding partner Ernie!!
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