Clairvaux LLC

04/24/2025

Please join us in cheering on our two IEA Nationals competitors this weekend! Riley will be showing in the individual Open over fences tomorrow, and Vivian will be showing in the individual Future Intermediate flat on Saturday. We are so proud of all they’ve accomplished to make it to this show, and excited to see them continue their hard work in the coming days 💙❤️

04/08/2025

Very needed. The journey is the important part. Keeping perspective, working on fundamentals, setting realistic goals, achieving incremental improvement from class to class and show to show…these are the things that matter.

I’ve explained that the size of the fences does not equate to who she is as a rider. A bigger fence doesn’t reflect her horsemanship, work ethic or ability to ride a wide variety of horses. I’ve reminded her that financial limitations have influenced her horse journey. She hasn’t had a consi...

04/07/2025

Clairvaux had a busy but good weekend at McDonough on Saturday and Red Gate on Sunday with a lot of firsts and a lot of big accomplishments!

At McDonough, Vivian and Tate showed together for the first time, earning champion in the 0.80m. Chloe and Naomi also attended their first show together, placing 1st and 2nd in the 0.65m. Leigh Ann also showed Naomi at 0.70m and built on the progress she’s been making lately. Rae and Zeke showed together for the first time in three years, with great rounds at 0.80m and 0.90m. Grace and Crackle went clear at 1.0m and 1.10m. In the equitation, Eden and Charlie and Carrie and FreeG put in good work and solid rides.

On Sunday, our Dolly made her horse show debut with rides from Meghan, with good trips at 2ft. Pickles and Sarah earned good ribbons at 2ft and 2’3”, including a 2nd in the under saddle. Katy and Trio showed together for the first time, earning champion at 2ft. Victoria moved up to 2ft with Frankie, and they put in some lovely rounds. Maddie and Lucky earned champion in the Pre-Short stirrup their first time out together. Finally, Amelia and Panda closed out the day with strong and successful rides in the Short Stirrup.

Additionally, we had so much support this weekend from non-showing riders, and we are so grateful for their help and positivity all weekend.

03/25/2025

Meet Georgie
He’s a 15yo 17h Dutch Warmblood who is ready to show the ropes to his next rider. Georgie is kind and laid-back, and is best suited for the 2’6”-3’ ring. He has a perfect lead change as well as extensive flatwork, including counter-canter and all the lateral movements.
Georgie has shown at many venues and is easy to prepare. He is as uncomplicated as they come and doesn’t need to see the ring ahead of time. His forgiving nature and easy jump make him great teacher.
Mother-approved, his manners are impeccable: his current rider does all the things with him: hacking out, bathing, and loading. He loves attention and is eager to please. We love having him in the barn. PM to inquire.

03/19/2025

This is why we love IEA.

This past weekend at IEA Zone Finals, our riders rode great, but more than that, they impressed us with how they supported one another. We saw them be thrilled for their teammates’ successes, and build each other up after disappointments. Not only that, but each rider worked hard to care for our horses, with the more experienced riders guiding those newer to showing on what our horses needed at a multi-day show. We’re so proud of this team’s kindness and positivity, and we’re excited for it to continue into next season and beyond. 💙❤️

03/19/2025

We couldn’t be happier with how our riders did at IEA Zone finals this past weekend!

After a beautiful ride in the individual Open over fences, Riley Smith is moving on to Nationals with a 1st place finish. As our Open team rider, Riley Sparrenberger was strong on the flat, placing 2nd, and effective over fences. Jocelynn rode well and earned good ribbons in the Varsity Intermediate flat and fences. Carrie showed as an individual in the Intermediate Flat, placing 7th Reese and Chloe represented the team well in the JV Novice classes. Isabella did good work in the JV Beginner WTC, placing 7th. Vivian rode in all four Future Intermediate classes, earning 4th in the Individual flat, which will take her all the way to Nationals. Yulia put in a thoughtful ride in the Future Novice over fences team class, and looked strong on the flat. Izzy and Amelia both had good rides in the Future Beginner WTC individual and team classes, with Izzy earning a 4th place. Victoria rode well in the Beginner Walk/Trot.

We are so proud of our riders for their hard work, their strong performances at this big and competitive show, and most of all, the positivity and eagerness to learn that we saw all weekend.

03/17/2025

Big congratulations to Taylor and Chili on earning a Zone 3 Horse of the Year award and champion in the 1.20/1.25m Junior Jumper. We’re so proud of their hard work and can’t wait to see what they continue to accomplish together!

03/11/2025

The votes are in! Out of all our perfect lesson ponies, Breitling has been chosen as the winner of the USHJA Recognized Riding Academy honor role vote. His story and photos have been posted on the RRA webpage, but you can read them in full by swiping to the end of this post. We are so proud of him and such big fans of this program that recognizes all of the hardworking and invaluable school horses out there! We also have to say the biggest thank you to for sharing him with us. We are so lucky that we get to learn from Breit!

03/08/2025

We’ve loved seeing everyone’s submissions for the Recognized Riding Academy lesson horse honor roll. Even though we only get to submit one horse to USHJA for recognition in this program, we wanted to share what our riders and families think makes all of our horses special because they all deserve recognition for everything they do for us❤️

We will be sharing our winning horse on Monday, so there’s still time to get your votes in!

02/28/2025

WEC 2025 : so much fun!

We brought the warmer weather back with us! Now that the horses have settled back in at home and we’re working our way through the horse show hangover, we wanted to share our highlights from WEC Ocala, weeks 7 & 8:

Carrie and FreeG earned ribbons in all three classes of the Children’s Eq (wk 8), as well as the 2’6” WEC Ch/Ad Derby and the .80m Jumper Classic

Eden and Charlie had some lovely rounds in the .95m Jumpers and placed 4th in the NHS and NCEA Medals (week 7)

Eden and Uno earned an 8th place in a huge USHJA 3’ hunter, and 5th in the Children’s Eq Flat, and were solid in a very competitive 3’3” Junior Hunters

Grace and Crackle were Reserve Champion in the 1.10m Jr/Am Jumpers (wk 8), adding blue and red ribbons to their haul along the way.

Leigh Ann and Naomi were awesome in the .70m jr/am Jumpers both weeks and earned 7th place in the Classic, wk 8

Natalie and Oden had strong placings in the Older Children’s Hunter, with an 8th in the Classic (wk 8)

Taylor and Vegas were Reserve Champion in the 1.20m Jr/Am Jumpers (wk 7) and Reserve Champion in the 1.30/1.35m Jr/Am Jumpers (wk 8).

Tessa and Melinda Cohen’s Carqui were great in the .85m Jr/Am Jumpers both weeks, earning nice ribbons in big classes.

And we loved having our friend, Shelby, with us for both weeks.

Many thanks to , Jacy, and and the many supportive family members and friends who cheered us on (and brought us food when we were running from ring to ring). Onto the spring season in Zone 3!

02/15/2025

Happy Valentine’s Day! At our annual Valentine’s Day party, riders made valentines for their favorite horses (and cat), solved riddles, and took photos at our photo booth. In case you missed it, don’t worry, the card making station and scavenger hunt will still be available for the next few days. We want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to show our horses how much they are loved ❤️🩷🤍

02/15/2025

Clairvaux is off to a good start at WEC 💙

02/10/2025

What a great day for our IEA team at the Regional 3 final! Both the middle and upper school teams earned champion and are moving on to Zone finals. We also have a number of individuals qualifying, and we’re so proud of their hard work!

💙Riley Smith- Open Over Fences
❤️Carrie Murray- Varsity Intermediate on the Flat
💙 Vivian Hutton- Future Intermediate Over Fences and on the Flat
❤️Izzy Manetta- Future Beginner Walk/Trot/Canter
💙Victoria Seitz- Future Beginner Walk/Trot

Some additional highlights include Amelia winning the Sportsmanship award; Chandler being named Horse of the Show; Jocelynn, Amelia, Victoria and Kenenger earning High Point Rider awards for their classes during the regular season; and all 8 of our horses doing their best all day!

01/17/2025

We were so lucky to have been able to host a clinic last weekend with James Morris. He worked with everyone from our short stirrup to 1.10m jumper riders on balance, shape, and focus for both horse and rider. We learned a lot and had so much fun at the same time!

01/14/2025

We also have some congratulations to share for our middle school IEA riders. We were so impressed with their progress and dedication this season, especially with so many riders who were new to IEA. The following riders qualified individually for regionals:

-Alessandra Bolanos: Future Walk/Trot
-Minaahil Salam: Future Walk/Trot
-Victoria Seitz: Future Walk/Trot
-Isabella Bolanos: Future Walk/Trot/Canter
-Amelia Cropper: Future Walk/Trot/Canter
-Michael Ingulli: Future Walk/Trot/Canter
-Kenenger Britton: Future Intermediate Over Fences
-Vivian Hutton: Future Intermediate Over Fences and in the Flat

Great work this season riders! We’re excited for what’s to come!

💙❤️

01/14/2025

Congratulations to our IEA riders for an awesome season. Both teams qualified for the regional final. We are so proud of our high school team for their hard work, progress throughout the season, and the strong leadership from our captains. The following riders qualified for individual classes at regionals:

-Riley Smith: Open over fences
-Riley Sparrenberger: Open Flat
-Meghan Gustin: Varsity Intermediate on the Flat and Over Fences
-Jocelynn Johnson: Varsity Intermediate on the Flat and Over Fences
-Sarah Missal: Varsity Intermediate Over Fences
-Carrie Murray: Varsity Intermediate on the Flat
-Reese Morton: JV Novice on the Flat
-Isabella Uribarri-Tibabuzo: JV Walk/Trot/Canter

Congrats to our high school team and best of luck in the post-season!

01/02/2025

Our riders finished out 2024 with a successful outing to the Swan Lake Holiday Blast. We had some riders move up to new divisions and new heights, some show with new horses for the first time, and others continue their work in familiar divisions.

💙Carrie and FreeG won the Gittings, placed 2nd in the NHS, and 3rd in the USHJA Jump Seat Medal.

💙Eden and new mount, Charon, were 5th in the MHSA and 1st in the USHJA jump seat. Eden also showed Understated, finishing 1st in the Ch/Ad Equitation on the Flat, 6th in the Gittings and 4th in the NHS.

💙Natalie showed her new horse, Oden, for the first time, placing 3rd in the Gittings, THIS, and Josey Mohler.

💙Kenenger and To Be Frank earned Reserve Champion in the 2’9” Child/Adult Equitation.

💙Reese and Dockside put in productive rounds over fences in the USHJA 2’6”, and earned a 7th place in a competitive under saddle.

💙Taylor and her new partner, Vegas, figured each other out with good rides at 1.20m and 1.25m.

💙Grace and Crack the Shadows continued their work at 1.10m with strong rounds.

💙Alexis and Mr. Fahrenheit showed well in the 0.90m, earning 5th in the Classic.

Congrats, riders! We’re excited to keep learning and growing in 2025!

12/31/2024

Thanks, 2024, for a great year. We learned a lot, we had some big wins and impressive shows, saw our riders meet and exceed their goals, and, as always, we got to spend our time with the best horses around ❤️