Hi Mona,
Thank you so much for getting back to me! That's interesting about his race owners donating him, whoever cared for him most of his life must have been kind to him, because he just loves people. He isn't head shy at all and likes his ears rubbed, and at night when he is lying down, I go under his stall guard and rub his head, he doesn't even get up! Also, his bowed tendon must have be treated immediately because it doesn't show at all, and of course he has been looked at by a vet. I have attached a few photos of him,and we live in Dix Hills.
Thank you again,
Lisa

Nick

Hi Mona. Hope this finds you all well. Nick has started back beautifully this Spring. Hopefully we'll be taking them by storm in the baby greens! Thanks again for a wonderful horse.

Andrea
Ripton Farm

Little Joe

Dear Mona,
"Thanks, he's GREAT!" said Evan.
" We LOVE him!," said Julia.

We adopted him from you last spring, nearly just off the track at Belmont. He had just fractured a sesmoid at the age of seven. We told you we were looking for a kid beginner lesson horse and a kid trail horse. I respected your candor and experience. You thought Little Joe would be a good match for us, even though we couldn't test the theory. I agreed when we arrived to take him home. You were so right! I am so happy for our kids to have such an amazing horse to learn on and love for many years to come. You can see he has settled right into his new job perfectly. I am forever grateful that we met you, thank you .

Sincerely,
Kirsten Sauter DVM and mother.

MJ (now Crimson and Clover)

Hi Mona,
How are you? I wanted to up date you on MJ (now Crimson and Clover, formerly known as Magnum Jazz). He is now 7, we had him 3 years and he is doing great! He has started showing in jumpers and will start eventing him at novice level in May. His first 2 jumper shows were shown at Levels 1 and 2 and he had a couple first, seconds, and thirds! He has a very bright future ahead of him and we are looking forward to see where his talents will take him! I attached a few pictures of him schooling.
Thanks again for everything! Alyssa

Bank's Hand

Hi Mona,

Apostrophe T

Hi Mona,
Here are some recent pictures of Tobi aka Apostrophe T and My daughter DJ. He's 3 now and just saddle broke and a real good boy.
Deb Daniels

Juno

We had a show here last weekend, and Juno cleaned up in the hunter divisions... yes, I said hunter divisions : )
I thought you'd enjoy the pics...
She also takes this little girl (Abbey) first flight out hunting regularly. What a sweetie she is, I heard a little girl talking about her during the show... she said "Of course Abbey is doing good, she got to ride Juno!"
Enjoy,
Maria

Sonnys Black Sherri

I wanted to touch base to give you some progress on one of our 2004 babies, Sonnys Black Sherri ("Sherri"). She went to her first show this weekend with my 13 year old daughter, Katrina (it was Katrina's 2nd show). I can't get over how unbelievably well behaved Sherri was. I mean, with the amount of time Katrina spends with her (everyday after school), I know I shouldn't be surprised... But the reality of taking a horse off site to another barn (where she's never been), in a show atmosphere (which she had never been to), had me wondering how she would handle the situation. To my pleasant surprise, she handled it like work as usual. It was AMAZING!

Shortly after we arrived at the show, Katrina took Sherri into the indoor ring for a quick warm up and Sherri did everything on command. Katrina didn't wan to overwork Sherri, so she literally warmed her up for maybe 10 minutes and then went outside to wait for their classes to be called. They were in 3 classes: Walk-Trot-Canter Equitation, Walk-Trot-Canter Hunter Horse and Walk-Trot-Canter Pleasure Horse (with a total of nine people in each class). As we watched the first class (Equitation), I thought to myself -- she could actually win this one! They both looked awesome and Sherri was on cue with everything -- just like a push button, schooling pony would be!! And I have to point out that they were up against several schooling horses in all these classes, so our 3-year old, young horse really had her work cut out for her! We all listened with amazement when they called Katrina's number as the FIRST place winner in equitation! Her excitement (and ours) lit up the entire place!! (Of course, I HAD to tell the people around me that Sherri is only 3 and this was her first show ever.) They were also impressed with our young horse/rider combination! Anyway, the next class was Hunter and Sherri isn't the hunter type. But she went out there and did her thing! Her only issue was picking up the wrong lead on the straight away, which Katrina immediately corrected and within 3 or 4 steps, she had her going on the correct lead. She kept Sherri peppy and pushed her forward nicely during the entire class. They placed 4th out of 9, which was another pleasant surprise since we didn't see her as a Hunter. The third class was Pleasure, where Katrina showed off Sherri on a loose rein (not too loose, but clear that there was a little slack in the reins). Again, they were AMAZING! I knew they did well, but I was trying to be objective. I thought they might come in 2nd or 3rd to a schooling pony. But , I was really focused on Sherri & Katrina, so maybe I missed a few things... The class of nine lined up and again to our AMAZEMENT, they called Katrina & Sherri FIRST!! After all the ribbons were awarded, they announced Sherri & Katrina as CHAMPIONS of the Walk-Trot-Canter Division!!!!

We never sent our horses away for training. Instead, we worked with 2 well trained instructors who worked at our barn and showed us what we need to do. The first, Gregg Miron of Throwing Stones Farm, specializes in breaking young horses. He showed us what to do to slowly break a young horse -- starting with the basic handling at 6 months, progressing to sacking out and ground driving as a long yearling, then very lightly backing as a 2-year old and so on. We never pushed and never rushed, but instead spent time bonding with our horses, building trust and allowing them to enjoy working with us, which allows us to continue to progress our training. Since August this year, Katrina & Sherri have been working under the supervision of Raul Diaz of The Lite Brigade. Raul is an amazing master dressage instructor. He took Katrina and Sherri's basics and showed Katrina what to do to collect and refine her horse and their movements. Raul instructs while on a horse, so that he not only explains what he wants his students to do, be he can easily show them exactly what he is referring to, and exactly how the horse is supposed to respond. It's informative and impressive and I don't understand why more instructors don't teach this way!

While Katrina and I spend time and effort with our horses, I don't believe we could have such a great finished product if it didn't start with such great breeding. Thank you for all you have done with the PMU's and thank the breeder for selecting such horses to breed! I attached a copy of the picture that made me pick Sherri in 2004.
-Diana

Chance (Positive Gold)

Hello Mona,
How are ya doing? I know your really busy. Here are some pictures. Chance (Positive Gold) is doing great. He really likes his new home. Take care see ya soon.
Sam