Sterling Hunter/Jumpers Riding Stable

03/29/2025

Johnny and I learned yesterday that one of our OG Barn Moms, Paula Moore, passed away.

Paula started taking pictures during Nicole’s lessons way back in 2010 and she continued to snap pics during lessons, at shows, at barn events, until Nicole went off college. Paula attended every barn event, Pony Club event, horse show, and IEA show; she recorded the kids growing up (and Johnny and I, too)!

It doesn’t seem to mean all that much in the moment but looking back, and scrolling through the thousands of photos, I am forever grateful to her for capturing so many moments, so many memories. It’s the smiles for me. It’s the candid moments of “my girls” supporting each other and loving their time with each other, with the horses, with us. These photos capture what Johnny and I tried so hard to create at Sterling; friendship, love, sport, family.

There aren’t enough words to thank Paula for her time and her care but she will be forever remembered. All of our love to Nicole, Nathan, Larry, and of course, to Paula.

03/20/2025

Wonderful information! I always try to remind riders not to overtighten, especially when using a double ended elastic girth; check for snugness under the belly at the girth line instead of at the horses side just under where the girth and saddle flap meet.

When girthing up a horse, it’s important not to over-tighten the girth. An over-tightened girth may pinch or bruise the muscles, especially those in the chest (pectorals), the neck (trapezius), the side of the ribcage (serratus ventralis), and the lower back (latissimus dorsi), which are shown in red on the diagram bel. Similar to how a tight belt can cause discomfort or bruising in a human, an overly tight girth can cause soreness in these areas. It may also lead to bruising of the ribs and the intercostal muscles (the muscles between the ribs), restricting movement and causing pain. Additionally, the tightness will cause the saddle to put more pressure on the horse’s back muscles, leading to further discomfort.

Think of it like wearing a belt that’s too tight around your waist: it presses into your skin and muscles, causing discomfort, restricting movement, and potentially causing bruising. Just as you wouldn’t wear a belt so tight that it hurts, it’s crucial not to over-tighten the girth to avoid these issues for the horse. Always ensure the girth is snug, but not excessively tight, to keep the horse comfortable and prevent injury.

03/15/2025

Giving this girl the chance to take in her surroundings, without the concern of any reprimand when she does get anxious, has made all the difference. And I’m so glad that she has found a good friend in Ayden!

10/19/2024

Fall dapples are the best! Ava and Zandy bringing the bling and (don’t come at me) I can’t even remember the last time that they were groomed!

09/25/2024

Training Tip 🤌🏻

Polework is beneficial for all horses, regardless of age, ability, or discipline:

🦄 Improves balance: Polework helps horses maintain balance and improve their footwork.

🦄 Strengthens muscles: Polework can help tone muscles and increase strength.

🦄 Improves flexibility: Polework can help keep horses flexible and encourage them to step under with their hind legs more.

🦄 Improves core stability: Polework can help develop a horse's core stability.

🦄 Improves agility: Polework can help encourage horses to be more agile.

🦄 Improves straightness: Polework can help promote straightness for horses that tend to be crooked in their body.

🦄 Improves harmony with handler: In-hand polework can help improve the harmony between the horse and its rider.

🦄 Reduces stress on joints and limbs: In-hand polework can reduce stress on a horse's joints and limbs because it doesn't add the weight of a rider.

Some polework exercises include:
🐴 Poles in walk: Set up six poles in a straight line and raise each pole on one side.

🐴 2 poles set so that you can work shortening and lengthening canter strides

🐴 The double fan: Create a double fan pattern by laying poles at a canter distance apart on one side and a trotting distance apart on the other side.

When setting up a row of ground poles, space them about 2.5 feet apart for walking, 4 feet apart for trotting, and 9-11 feet apart for cantering.

08/01/2024

A freshly mowed jump field is just as gorgeous as a freshly dragged arena!!

07/19/2024

My IEA and IHSA riders knew Stephanie and how much she would always contribute to the success of the programs; it was my pleasure to get to know her and be able to call her a friend as well as a colleague. Please consider helping her family as they navigate through this extremely unfortunate situation.

Dear Friends, Family, and Kind-Hearted Supporters, Today, I want… Laurie Kuhnle needs your support for Rally Round Stephanie Cook's Journey to Recovery!!!

07/12/2024

Super proud of this girl for working hard to be able to focus on track, pace, and rhythm! Sometimes Deco is positive that he knows how best to do everything and she is doing a fantastic job of helping him to pay better attention to her! And can we talk about how great he looks at 24?!?

06/24/2024

Form = Function!

04/18/2024

So happy that they’re happy!!

04/17/2024

You know that I will ONLY recommend a product if I have used it and believe in it; I highly recommend The Greene Pharmacist products as we’ve experienced fantastic results with several of our horses! Don’t miss this weekends sale to give the products a try at almost half the normal cost!!!

03/15/2024

Lauren Penland and I had a lovely evening last night, attending Janet’s seminar! Never stop learning; you can always be better and do better for those around you! I cannot recommend Janet’s book, “Horse Brain, Human Brain,” enough…truly life changing!

Thanks to one of my new friends, Randy Winter, for sending me this image. The definition of "horsemanship" that I was taught as a child and have always followed is: THE HORSE COMES FIRST. No matter what. I was also taught that a "horseman" (male or female) is defined by the integrity with which they follow this rule. The final chapter of "Horse Brain, Human Brain" goes into more detail. It's a great motto to remember when faced with complex human decisions about training, stable management, barn drama, and equine comfort.

03/07/2024

An excellent article about the importance of pole work….and now I have another book that I need to purchase!

An excerpt from "Pole Work for Dressage Riders" by Ann Katrin Querbach.

02/25/2024

This is a wonderful reminder! I’d add to remember to “give the horse a place to go” with an outside opening rein as needed when asking for a lateral yield.

To avoid using the indirect inside rein when you should be using your inside leg...

Imagine your inside rein has paint on it and every time it touches your horse’s neck, you get paint on him. (And you have to get off to clean him up!)—Lendon Gray

🎨: Sandy Rabinwitz

02/20/2024

Absolutely true! Don’t take it personally…we all have our good days, not so good days, and bad days! It doesn’t mean that practice can’t be perfect even if that means schooling a bit on a not so good day and then going home and having a relaxing evening!!

What rider schooling a horse hasn’t noticed that some days seem better than others? "Better" can mean many things, calmer, steadier, more responsive to aids, more actively forward, less frantically forward, easier to keep balanced, lots of different ways of responding to the training that we think of as positive.

And what I have begun to realize is that old saying that “comparison is the thief of joy.”

By that I mean that if I start to question, “Why is he being like this today when he was so good just two days ago?” I am creating a slightly accusatory tone, maybe if only to a subtle extent, but that disappointment is there, and disappointment is a negative quality to hold when anyone is training a horse.

Why? Because of the ever so human and natural desire to fix it, to improve it, to get it back to the way it was two days ago.

And what is wrong with that? Don’t we train so that the horse DOES get better?

Yes, but not if we start to intensify the fix-it buttons by adding, perhaps, more pressure, more repetition, more urgency. Training well is a subtle dance between asking for some difference while tiptoeing along below the anxiety threshold of the horse.

So often if we had just been able to think, “He was better two days ago,” and leave it at that without asking the “WHY” we could have ended on a better note than by getting into any sort of contest, two days ago versus today?

Anyway, something to possibly consider if you find yourself in that situation---.