08/26/2024
Foxfield’s 56th annual Little Sister program has wrapped for summer 2024. A little backstory on how this amazing program came to be: back in 1967 my grandmother, JoAnn, and her twin sister, Nancy, along with my grandfather Bill opened the gates to Foxfield in Westlake Village. They always had the dream of teaching kids and adults alike how to ride horses, but more importantly they wanted to teach horsemanship. Horsemanship on and off the horse, so they created this program known as the little sisters/brothers program which encompasses multiple phases including a written test, a grooming phase, a riding phase, and more recently a dressage phase. This year’s written test had 111 questions ranging from parts of the bridal and saddle, to parts of the horse, to parts of a confirmationly unsound horse. The grooming phase consist of all the Littles having to braid a mane, tail, forelock and getting themselves completely horse-show ready, including pulling manes, clipping, cleaning tack, bathing, and getting their area ready. The kids are given four hours to accomplish this without help or talking. This year we had 15 little sisters, the most in my history of being at Foxfield, and everyone did extremely well. We would not be able to do this program without the dedication of the big sisters, the lecture givers, the staff at Foxfield, for helping organize this year, and of course all of our amazing school horses that tolerate so much from us. Thank you Grammie Jojo, Nancy and Grandpa for this amazing program that enriches so many kids and parents alike! ❤️ Shelly
