Catching up with Five Star Riders

As the snow and cold weather of this winter begin to lessen, the competition season is heating up! Those riders fortunate to head South for the winter are either in Aiken, Ocala or Wellington. Amanda Flint is in Ocala with her jumpers as well as her clients and both are having a very good circuit at HITS. Amanda always has a promising string of young horses in training and they have all had top placings in the young jumper classes so far. You will be sure to see some of these horses at the top of the year end Young Jumper and Jumper Futurity standings. Chinedine PPZ, Marquis, Ladonna, Super G and Super Bad have all successfully moved up to the next level of Young Jumper competition with two wins each for Marquis and Ladonna. In addition Texas Hold Em has had wins in both the meter forty and meter forty five prixe!

The two competitions in every advanced level event rider's mind this year are the PanAm Games and the 2012 Olympics. Doug Payne has two very promising horses that he is carefully aiming towards these two events. After winning virtually every Preliminary level event he contested last year, Crown Talisman has moved up to the Intermediate level and is making it look easy. The Pan Am Games are a two star level (Intermediate) competition and I think Doug and "Tali" will be top contenders for the US team! Doug's other star Running Order has just started his competition season after a successful trip to last year's Boekelo Three Star Event in Holland as part of the US squad. While maybe not as naturally gifted as Tali, "RO" is a game and gutsy horse and has been steadily improving his dressage. If you've ever watched the advanced level dressage test, you know it's not easy for an event horse! Doug is hoping to complete a Four Star event at the end of the season, with an eye on the London Olympics. As one of the busier riders on the eventing circuit, Doug always has several young horses he is bringing along and finishing in the top standings with. Doug is always mindful of how his horses are feeling and always puts their needs first even if it means not winning on that day. I hope the eventing "Gods" will bless Doug with good luck this year!

Meanwhile, Kristin Schmolze is waiting to hear back to see if her entry was accepted for the Badminton CCI Four Star! Kristin and Cavaldi were third at last year's Fair Hill International Three Star Championships. She and "Joey" have successfully contested Rolex Kentucky and Burghley and it has been a dream of hers to compete at Badminton. How cool is it to have that dream and have it become reality! While he can be fresh in the dressage, Joey excels on cross country and I always enjoy watching him go as you can see how much he loves going cross country. He is not a big horse but he makes those massive jumps look easy! I am keeping my fingers crossed for them to get to go to Badminton.

Kate Samuels, our youngest Five Star rider, had a very successful entry into the advanced level last year with Nyls du Terrior and she is just getting started with this season. They had a very good first outing last week at Pine Top at the Intermediate level. Kate and Nyls have climbed the levels together and she hopes to one day ride Nyls in the Rolex Kentucky CCI Four Star. She will spend this year getting more mileage at the Advanced level with Nyls. Kate was named to the "B" list of the Developing Riders program and will benefit from training with Team Coach Mark Phillips.

Five Star Tack has a new eventing rider that we will be sponsoring beginning this Spring. I'll have more about that soon.

That's it for now. I hope wherever you are the sun is shining and it's a good day to ride!

New Products!

One of the best things about designing tack is getting to see the finished product! These are the latest additions to our product line and arrived today. Some will only be available through tack stores, some will be available on the Five Star website and some need a bit more tweaking to get them just right. These are also the first photos of our new Symphony line of bridles. Symphony bridles are made with Wickett&Craig American leather and are a moderately priced option for the rider who likes the quality of our Five Star bridles but needs a more affordable option.

This is the updated version of our popular Chelsea bridle. The cross straps are padded as well as raised with fancy stitching. It is super sharp looking and will be available on our website.

 Above is a new breastcollar design we are working on. It needs a little tweaking as it is not quite fancy enough yet although I do like the cross. As popular as the Five Points are, alot of riders use this type of breastcollar. It is just hard to find an all leather one hence why we are making one. It will be up to the task of performing under all conditions and look good at the same time!

 This is a BLACK Wembley HUNTER bridle we made up for a customer along with a matching standing martingale. It was purchased for a black horse and I think it is going to look stunning! I applaud this rider for not being afraid to have her own look in the hunter ring. The Wembley hunter bridle with integrated crown is available through tack stores.

This dressage girth is what I've been waiting for! It is so much nicer than what the picture shows. It is beautifully stitched and features our silver cross with raised padding underneath. The white stitching really enhances it although dressage purists may not go for it.

This is our new hunter girth. It is softly padded and has a ring to attach training aids. Available through tack stores.

This is a totally luxe halter and lead for the horse who has everything! It is quite pricey made up with Sedgwick's leather but I will try to source out a different leather to keep the price down. The crown strap is padded and has fancy stitching on top. The noseband is padded and raised with fancy stitching. The cross piece is what really sets this halter apart. The fittings are solid brass. The matching lead has a loop handle that is padded and has an embossed cross on it. As pretty as this halter is it is built tough to withstand what we all know horses can do!

New dressage bridle for the tack stores. It has all black stitching and buckle end cheeks with an integrated crown. We will have a different version of this on the Five Star site that will be the redo for the Magnolia bridle as we have had alot of requests to bring it back.

This is one of our new Symphony bridles made from Wickett & Craig American leather making it a more affordable option for buyers who like our designs but cannot afford the pricier Sedgwick bridles. It features an integrated crown, attached flash and white accent stitching. The final version will have buckle end cheeks instead of the hook stud shown here. Available in tack stores only.

Another Symphony bridle, this is our jumper bridle with integrated crown. The cross straps are padded and raised and the rings are padded behind. I think this one is going to be popular. This one gets its own look as the nosedisk is a bit different from our Five Star bridles. Tack stores only.

There will also be a Symphony hunter bridle with matching standing martingale but I am still waiting on it. Tack stores only.

I am looking forward to showing these new products at the upcoming AETA trade show! As always I appreciate your feedback on these and any of our products.