Funderburg Farm

07/09/2025

has been getting to know some different riders! He got to help me teach a groundwork lesson for a Rider Wars competitor this week, and has now been ridden by 3 of my regular students. He has been consistent and lovely for everyone! Everyone's initial reaction is to think about their seat and balance on his narrow frame, but after a few minutes it's all smiles and rave reviews.
Personally, I had my best ride yet on him this morning and feeling pretty excited about our rides in our last month together...💓

07/09/2025

How does adopting an ATFO horse work?

The process begins with the applicant completing a survey, which will them funnel them to the application link.

Once the application is completed in its entirety, it will be picked up by a processor who will send out an introduction email. The processor will contact all the references and gather the required pictures and documents. The next step will be an telephone interview. When the process is complete we will start working with the applicant on which horses might be a fit.

The trainers of those horses will be notified that you are an approved applicant and may be reaching out to chat.

We encourage a meet and greet before the actual event, at the trainer's facility, but there are also times built into the event for approved applicants to interact with and ride a prospective horse.

ATFO showcase horses can be adopted prior to the August ATFO. WHIPPERSNAPPERS can be pre-adopted, but must stay with their trainer until the end of the ATFO so that they can compete.

For the 365 horses, we mostly leave that to the trainer's discretion. For example, Matilda is a 365 who is a sensitive gal and will need an adopter who is a stellar fit. Therefore her trainer does not want her to go into the approved adopter Only auction at the end of the ATFO.

At the beginning of August we will work with the trainers to assign levels to their horses.

Approved applicants will also be assigned a level and that will help determine who might be a good fit for them to think about bidding on.

In almost all cases the riding applicant must meet the horse and ride it under the trainer's direction to determine the potential for a match. Sometimes the fit looks great in theory but the applicant gets to the barn and just cannot click with the horse for whatever reason.

There are occasional exceptions to this but those circumstances are rare and usually involve a horse that is not being ridden.

If you have ridden the horse prior you do not have to be in Winfield in person to bid in the auction. We can assign proxies.

But, in most cases the horses have to be leaving by the next morning by reputable transport. If they will have to stay beyond that you must make arrangements with HOP and some board may potentially be involved.

Hopefully this clears things up a bit. We are sure excited for another great event come this August!

07/09/2025

🤩

My sneaky placement of a tarp and the baby pool made him think a little, but a solo ride out complete with deer running by and a bunny underfoot didn't even make him flinch.

Moving out and seeing the sights....trail horse in the making!

07/06/2025

07/06/2025

🎉2nd Required post!

Well here we are coming into month 3 already... wow, time flies!
Enero is coming right along. I would love to see him in a home with an adopter who likes to play with dressage (or western dressage!), and also getting out on the trails. His movement is coming along so well under saddle and he is understanding the aids well. He has a good start on lateral work and understanding how to drive from his hind legs and come into contact.
He is one of the most playful horses I've met, just this morning he grabbed the hose I was using to fill his field trough and turned it around on me and then his friends 😅 he was also seen running across the field with his buddy's grazing muzzle a couple of days ago. People often say they want a horse with "personality"... I tend to think they all have that, but this guy has definitely got it! His fun and full of life nature is immediately felt in his presence. That being said, he also works. Even in the heat and flies he has never told me no and never done anything "naughty." Sometimes he worries about stepping into weird stuff or new terrain, but once he thinks his way through he is very willing.
I've had a heck of a time getting good canter footage. My pivo or the lighting just never quite cooperates, but this video does show some at the end. His right lead is tougher right now, probably because of his high/low, but I fully expect that to improve with more regular hoof care, and with more symmetry work in his training. Already this eve he offered his right lead after just one ride really playing with it. This video captured it! 💓

Also, he is so darn cute.

07/04/2025

Happy 4th from our favorite American Saddlebred! ❤️🤍💙

07/04/2025

If you're looking for a horse this year, look no further than the Appalachian Trainer Face Off.

50+ horses of many breeds, ages, levels and abilities will be adoptable August 23rd in Winfield, WV.

Apply now to have a the ability to meet and bid on one of these amazing animals.

The most unique part of the ATFO and the ability to adopt one of these horses is the remarkable level of training that has gone into them over the last 100 days.

You are able to look over the whole journey through each horse and trainer's social media presence in a unique way.

Look over all of the minis, ponies and horses, learn about the event and apply at:
Appalachiantrainerfaceoff.com

An Application doesn’t require you bid or adopt, but Adoption Approval allows you to bid on any suitable horse, if you decide there is a right fit for you!

Apply today (by Aug 10th) and plan to attend this amazing event to adopt an incredible partner.

Share and tag possible adopters.

07/03/2025

📢FIELD TRIP! ☀️☀️
We finally loaded up and went for an adventure today! We headed to one of our local parks that is also a show grounds with dressage arenas and a cross country course with a nice water complex. HOP Killian and Cookie joined us, and we met up with HOP Coco Cruz for some fun in the sun! Enero took in the sights and hacked around like a pro. The water was our only sticky spot, as I expected, but in the end he found his confidence and I am so proud of him!
He got in some good hill work and hacked along side the road with cars going by. We saw other horses jumping on course and he kept his focus and stayed calm through it all.
We need to load up and do it more for sure, because lots of perfect practice makes perfect, but today I am thrilled with his first outing and excited to do more!

07/03/2025

Looking pretty cute... starting to really find some balance and stability...getting pretty fun to ride and full of try every day.

07/01/2025

Puddle practice! Our first time doing this a couple of weeks ago was full of worry and avoiding getting his princess toes wet.... I jumped on the chance to do this again and after about 10 seconds of looking at the first one and letting him remember that he can, this is what we ended up with.