Current News
Trail rides are doing very well and we are really enjoy meeting new people and the challenge of meeting everyone's needs with food that is prepared for them. Everyone that we have met has been wonderful to talk with and all say that they will be back again. That has already been true with a group of nurses from the Buffalo area and they say that they will be back again and bring their family's for an overnight camp.
This month has given us a whole new outlook on things to do with the horses this year. We are enjoying meeting new people that have come into our life with the use of new a advertizement tool.
School is almost out in New York State while other states are already finished with school. We are looking forward campers arriving soon.
We are getting horses ready for the campers to arrive. This year we are looking forward to new students both day campers and overnight camper. Our focus will be changing to make sure that the experience that the campers have will result in a life time of enjoyment with horses.
We are looking forward to doing more showing in the Erie.Pa area and a few shows in our local area and also in the Buffalo area.
May 2011
Wednesday night Ladies night was wonderful we had 6 riders in last night. We are looking forward to a couple of more Ladies joining us soon. Our add on Groupon was a great success now the fun begins. We have our first group arriving on Saturday. Things are starting to get busy. We will enjoy the fun and fellowship with our new friends. Shelly,Sabrina and Corry came and spent the day yesterday. Sabrin and Corry rode horses and Shelly fixed window boxes for me. Martha Washington geraniuns with white on each side of pink and purple with vines in each box. Corry and Sabrina filled the big pots on top of the water falls. They did a wonderful job. It was fun to spen time with them for the day. Looking forward to another day with them this week. Thinned some of the of the flowers that were taking over one of the beds. Erin is going to take some of them home with her. We are enjoying the sunshine today and looking forward to another great week-end.
We are having a great time with new student signing up for lessons. Many new students. Making plans for Summer Camps. They are filling up now and it great to talk to Mothers and Grandparents that are sending them to Camp.
The ladies that came from Buffalo for the trail ride are coming again and this time are going to eat lunch with us. See you Ladies on June 4th for your second trail ride.
Saturday we had a group of ladies in for a trail ride. Really had a good time with them. They were out for an 1 1/2 hours. It was a great group of ladies and they had a wonderful time with the horses. I am sure we will see them again. Looking forward to hearing from a couple of young ladies for camp from the group.
Weather was wonderful sun shine and no wind.
Young riders in for lessons on Saturday and some in for practice. Show season is just around the corner. Everyone will be up and ready to go into the ring and do their best ..
We are having a great things going on at the Farm this spring. Fences are repaired and electric is on to teach the young ones respect for staying off the fences. Erin's family were with us for two days and we got a lot accomplished. They all rode horses and went on a trail ride. Erin's father rode Coal and enjoyed himself greatly.
On Monday Katie and her mother and father arrived on the way from Mass. back to Deleware. They came and purchased a trailer that would fit Coal. Real nice trailer and will arrive on the farm in a couple of weeks. It is a four horse head to head that is 7'6" tall. Katie's family was also a great help getting ready for camp. Katie will arrive in June for the summer. Her father wants to come to camp also. Trevor retires from the AirForce the end of May. He really likes to ride horse and wants to learn to do some training.
Trevor wants to learn more about hand on with Hippo Therapy and working with the horses to let the youngsters ride them with the help of walkers.
Katie rode Coal and Toppers. We went to Stagecoach with her family and they purchased a saddle for Coal and it fit him and he looks great. It is a black Stuben that was made for Percheron/Tb horses. Coal is going to be great in the show ring this summer. Katie thinks she wants to take him to college with her this fall.
April
Spring is in the air and we still have mud. The horses are shedding their winter blankets and showing us a lot of long hair that they need to shed. The birds are waiting for the hair so that they can build their nests and keep the babies warm when they hatch. We have a lot of birds that have arrived from the south. We have to keep the feeders full so that the birds passing thru have a good meal as they make their way to Canada. We have seen a lot of birds arrive in the past two weeks. The woodpeckers are busy with looking for bugs in the trees to eat. While riding in the Kabota last week we saw evidence of a Pileated Woodpeckers handywook on a tree. It looked like he ran up and down the tree with a drill.
February 21st, 2011
We picked Myra up from the train station on Saturday and she will be staying with us for a week. Alyssa and Courtney slept over last night and the girls all rode together yesterday. Alyssa rode Rusty who is looking very good right now. Courtney rode Top Hat and he was VERY hyper. He is getting used to his new figure-8 bridle and working on calming down when jumping. Myra rode Sadie and was surprised at how calm she was, but is still working on Sadie's confidence issues when jumping. Today they rode again and Alyssa rode her horse Fire, Courtney rode her horse Bo, and Myra rode Sadie. All of the horses were hyper and a little spooky, but they had a nice ride. Alyssa has trained Fire to do several tricks and coup mounting is one of them. They're usually very good at it but today Alyssa didnt quite make it up at first and the result was very funny. Luckily we have a video of it!
Courtney and Alyssa both had some things to do this afternoon off the farm, but Alyssa will be back this evening and hopefully Courtney will be as well. It was very cold this morning but is warming up a bit now so Myra is thinking she will ride Doozie saddle seat soon. More later.
February 2010
Impressive has had her baby! He is a beautiful dark bay and fiesty just like his mother! Kristen has named him "One Impressive Nut" and we'll have to see if the name stays.
December 7,2010 Yesterday, we went to buffalo to pick up Kristy, she is coming here from Canada to learn about horses and how to work with them. the night before we left to pick her up snow delayed her flight. Today, after all of the snow we have 3ft of it and it is still snowing. today we will decorate one of our Christmas tree. We plan to back ginger cookies today and to get the driveway ploughed.
Above (from top): Two of our youngest campers at Fair; Courtney with Doozie's new baby, Booker.
December 27,2009
Many of our campers from this summer have come to visit us for Christmas. Campers that came were; Myra and her mom from New York City, Dana Wyatt and their parents from Canada and Kristen with her dog Morgan.
Kristen and Lynette have been working on the drill team for next year and they have made their selection for the music.
We are expecting 3 new horses in the spring. We are expecting foals from Fanny, Impressive(Impy) and Selena.
Welcome New Campers from
California, Ontario ,Canada, New York City
Are you ready to Ride, Ride ,Ride and Ride?
This week will be a very busy week as we get our young riders ready for their first show away from home. It will be a real eye opener. Logan and Alex will be riding the mini this week as the girls ride in the big ring. We had a hard rain this week but still did not stop the riding of the Jumpers.(we ride in the indoor arena if we have any rain) We have been having a lot of fun with the kids in camp. Another goal this week is the cross-country course both home and away. We are learning how to build a cross-country course of new and inventive jumps and working on the timing of the course. Every day when the girls go on a hack they are looking for new ways to change the course and new jumps to build.
Above: Fancy Pants and Samantha enjoying a Summer afternoon
Our campers have been working very hard on a drill team for the Cattaragus County Fair the first week of August. They will perform the first Monday of the Fair. It is real difficult to get 10 horses and 10 girls all on the same page for a dirll that will last for almost 8 minutes. All in all they are having a blast doing the drill team. Some of the required movements are a 360 degree turn, thread the needle, and a weave. The girls range in age from 7 to 16 years of age. Kristen came home to work with Lynette to give the girls a boost as both of them were in the drill team that performed at the State level a few years ago. It takes a lot of patience and devotion to even attempt this. We are all very proud of them. The girls come from all over. California, Japan, Canada, New York City, Salamanca, Little Valley and Cattaragus. Come and watch them at the Fair.
Summer has arrived.
It has been cool most of the month of June and July has started out cool. We have ridden everyday rain or shine. With the indoor getting a lot of use this year. The campers have been great and are doing a lot of jumping and working with the beginner horses.
Summer Riding Camp
This summer after we have evaluated your riding ability we will then chart your progress. We will award you at the end of your stay a certificate that will tell you what level you are riding. Certificates will be awarded in several areas. English Hunters, English Jumpers, Eventing, all will have several different levels from beginners to advanced. Dressage will also be another area in which certificates will be awarded. For the riders that are interested we will also work eventing an do a small event in the area for anyone that is interested. We are looking forward to serving all of our students in the best possible way. An event is possible right here at home.
Monday March 30th
When we woke up this morning we have snow. Sure was a surprise and I hope that it does not stay. We have a lot of Spring clean up to do with all the winter weather we have had. Logan and Alex wanted to be outside but it was much to cold today. Tomorrow we are to have a much warmer day. The week is to be real warm. Vacation begins on Friday. Great. Lots of riding to do.
Spring Spring Spring
We are beginning to see signs of the flowers peeking their little flowers. The crocus are beautiful as the first sign of color after all the white of winter and the MUD of spring. The horses are shedding and horse hair all over. We hope to start shortening manes and body clipping for the first shows of April. All the horses are doing wonderful and we are looking forward to shows in the Buffalo Area and also Erie Hunt Club. The young horses are really fun to see the progess that they are making. The round pen is up and lots of fun things going on. Lots of tack to clean and get ready for shows and camp. Courtney is working real hard with her new horse and is not sure who will replace Winn in the jumper ring. Sweetie is as round as a butter ball. Her baby wil be the first one of spring. We look forward to playing with all the babies. The new horses are already started their rehabilation and they will become a valuable part of our program.
We are looking forward to our visitors over Spring Break. Katie will be arriving June 14th. What a wonderful time we will have this Summer. We have so many things planned for the Summer Camp Season.
Tom and Sara and their Daughter came to visit today. Tom lived with us almost 20 years ago. His olders daughter will be l6 soon. It is really good to see someone that you made a difference in their life. We hope to see lots of them this summer and getting Tom back on a horse.
Meeting New Friends
This past weekend we met and enjoyed the company of some new and special friends from Oakville, Ontario, Canada. They were in the area and found our ad in the Enchanted Mountain Magazine. A family with three boys came to the door as our Canadian family was getting ready to leave and wanted to ride horse and were looking for overnight lodging. They stayed with us overnight and all day Saturday as the whole family rode horse. We learned that the youngest boy Ignacio's birthday was Saturday so a quick plan of a small party for him was planned after a relaxing lunch. The boys played on the WII while Virgil and I visited with mom and dad. We found that they had moved to Canada from Peru 3 years ago. It sure was fun to learn about their home country. We planned a trip thru Amish Country and they met some of our very good Amish friends. Another Visit is in the future and a nice trail ride when things get a little dryer in the woods and on the trails. We look forward to seeing them again very soon. Hope you will also come and stay with us for a over night vacation.
Spring Has Arrived
We are looking forward to the warmer weather. The maple trees are giving us lots of maple syrup. What a wonderful gift of nature. We hope that it will give us at least 3 weeks of a good run of syrup. The flowers are just starting to peek their heads thru the slightly frozen ground. We all ready see snow bells and the early spring flowers look wonderful after the long winter. Our Canadian children and grandchildren came down to visit while they had winter break. Both Dana and Wyatt are still playing Hockey. It is tournament time for Hockey in Canada as we have March tournment time in the U.S. for Basketball.
Wyatt had a great time on the four wheeler. Dana and her friends were enjoying riding the horses in the indoor and the fields. We have been working with the horses all winter and now they are all ready for the show season. We are all looking forward to showing in the area this year.
2009 Summer Camp and Show Season
We are looking forward to the 2009 camp and show season. We ride horses 5 hours per day. Showing is a big part of our Summer Show Season. Lots of enjoyment for you is being planned.
Virgil is in full swing working on the training of the young horses getting them ready for all of you to enjoy. We are also awaiting new babies to arrive and waiting for the campers to spoil them. Some of you campers were fortunate enough to see a baby only a few hours old and help with the imprinting of that new life. The two babies that were born last Summer are both doing great and awaite more hands on interaction with you. Sweetie will be the first to foal so she should be ready for Show Season.
Lynette is finishing up her Masters degree in Special Education and is going to Arizona for her graduation. We are so proud of her accomplishment while also teaching and being a Mom. Lynette will be showing her young horse this summer in the Hunter Ring on the flat and in the Dressage ring.
Wes called to tell us that two dogs in the final of the Westminister Dog Show were people that he works with in his barn. It was great that he got to see the finals and cheer on Tiger Wood the Elkhound and Yes the Standard Poodle. The lady that judged the finals was well known by both of the owners of the two dogs that made it to the finals. It is always kept a secret so the horse people were really suprised to see their friend as the judge picking the Best in Show of the Westminister Dog Show.
Wes also called to tell us he has a on line advertisment for Purina Horse Feed. To see the add go to www.purinadifference.com then click on the purple bag of horse feed.( The horse on the bag is a horse on his farm) After that click on testemonials Wes Dunham and enjoy. We are hoping that he can fit in a visit this summer to work with our campers. His summer is very busy with showing and working with his clients.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
We had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a great New Year and a Wonderful Camping Season and Show Season. Two of our children came home for the Holidays. Beth's family spent a week in New Hampshire skiing. They had a wonderful time on the ski slopes for a week. Arriving at the farm on the 27th and opening presents with the family. Kristen came home on the 23rd and we made cookies and wrapped presents and got everything ready for Christmas. Morgan and Magnum got to know each other better and before they left they were even playing with each other.
Presents were exchanged and the Wii Fit was a big hit. We all played and have some soreness in our bodies. Some of us are physically challenged in balance. I won't mention any names. Wyatt and Dana did very well in some of the games and I'm sure when we see them again they will be much better.
I believe that the Wii will be a great teaching tool for working on focus and balance. Being equaly strong with both sides of your body.
We can see how this will help the riders that are weak on one side of their bodies. Alyssa and Courtney have been doing lots of riding as well as Holly and Maddy. Dana and Impressive spent time together working on Dressage. Wyatt also rode Sara and found out that the old gril still has some get up and go. Maddy is working with Doozie and doing very well.
Holly and Fanny are doing great also.
Courtney recieved a wonderful Christmas present. A NEW HORSE. We are working with them to get to know each other as he is 5 years old and has to learn alot before show season.
It was a real surprise for Erin to recieve a New Saddle for Christmas. She is doing very well as Winn's new rider. We are looking forward to seeing that combination in the show ring.
Bailey called and said that she fell while Ice skating and fractured her wrist. She has been doing very well in her lessons in California and has been jumping 2' and looking forward to Summer.
Katie sent us several e-mail and we are looking forward to her coming for the entire summer and showing in the Dressage shows and also in the Jumper ring. She has been doing lots of riding in Japan. Katie thinks Virgil should come over for a visit before she comes this Summer. Would be a nice vacation but who has time for vacations.
Myra will also be here for most of the Summer. What fun it is going to be with the girls that are returining and the new ones we expect.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hello!
This is Myra and I went to camp here at the Dunham's over the summer! Just want to let everyone know I love it here so much that me and my mom came out here from NYC for Thanksgiving. We got here last night and were greeted by Alyssa, Holly, and Maddie; which is always nice. I went down to the long barn this morning and Larry chased me around while I helped Virgil grain and hay. Then we had delicious blueberry pancakes. Then I got Doozie ready and rode her for about an hour and had some excitement at first because Doozie was a little hyper. But we had some fun jumping. Later Holly and Maddie came and we all rode for about another hour. Holly was looking nice on Fannie as always, and Maddie was flying around on Buddy. I rode Rusty, and jumped him 3' which was really fun. And then we had a lovely thanksgiving meal. And now we are sitting drinking tea and watching the football game on the Dunham's new HDTV! Happy Thanksgiving!
11/27/08
Just like to say a special Hello to Kaylee, Bailely of California, Katie from Japan, Caylin from Ellicotville miss you also, Myra from NYC. Hope to see you all very soon keep us updated and we will see you all soon. Great to hear from former student and learn that they are doing now.
11/01/08
We hope that you all are having a wonderful Fall season. All is well on the farm. We are looking forward to the Thanksgiving season. That is a special time for us with friends and family. If any of you have no plans please consider this an invitation for you to come and spend the Holidays with us. We will be putting lights up in the barns to celebrate the Holidays and would love for you to be a part of the fun.
The Royal Winter Fair is about to begin. We are planning on going up to the Fair for a day or two. Maybe we will see some of you at the Fair.
10/8/08
We had a wonderful time at the New Albany Classic in Ohio. The weather co-operated and 28 Olympic class horses competed for cash and a new car. The lowest jump must have been 5 ft. and most we re 5ft.-6 with spreads of 4-5ft. The New Albany Classic is a Invitational Grand Prix and Family Day where all proceeds go to the Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence. We took several students who got many autographs from the riders. Todd Minikus took first place going double clear in the Grand Prix. He was gracious enough to talk to us for several minutes. He signed the actual jump course that was posted for the riders use.
Summer Camp 2009
Time to think about Camp
We are now taking registrations for the 2009 season. We are looking forward to hearing from you about next year and summer Camp.
We already have campers that have been calling and wanting information about camp and what is happening that is new on the farm. We have purchased CC Partner the Wonderful Grey Welsh Stallion and will be taking him to some driving shows in 2009. He is a wonderful driving pony and is also great to ride. Right Alyssa? Courtney is currently riding Sweetie (Has to have a new show name) in the show ring as she retired Winn. In her first show they were fantastic they came home with lots of Blue Ribbons ,Throphy's and medal for the day. Courtney also rode Top Hat and Tails at the same show. They also did a wonderful job in the Hunter ring and jumping the big jumps in the jumper ring. We are looking forward to seeing both of these young horses in the show ring this next season, Katie also rode in the last show. She rode Doozie and had a wonderful day of showing and playing lots of games. She also won several blue ribbons. Katie came all the way from Japan to ride with us. We plan also on showing at the Erie Co Fair this next year with several of the students and horses. COME AND RIDE WITH US FOR THE 2009 SHOW SEASON!
Summer Camp
June 28-August 23
We had a wonderful summer. All the campers showed at the Southtown Summer Series and won ribbons and had a wonderful time. Each camper showed at the Summer Series shows and a few showed at the Cattaragus Co. Open Horse Show at our local fair. Every camper says that they are returning next year. At the end of each session when a camper was leaving we had a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner with all the trimmings. We are expecting several of the campers to return in November and have the traditional Thanksgiving Dinner with us.
We had campers from Canada, Japan, Virginia, New York City, Albany, New York , Pennsylvania, Michigan, California and several local girls from Little Valley, Cattaragus, and Salamanca. We are planning a Christmas Camp and also a Spring Break Retreat. Check on the Calender for times and dates.
The Southtown Series was a great success for the campers and everyone that rode with us:
- Alyssa and Fire Starter were the Grand Champions for the Puddle Jumpers for the Year and received a great trophy and ribbon.
- Courtney and Gen-u-winn Treasure were the Reserve Grand Champion for the Puddle Jumpers for the Year and also received a great trophy and ribbon. Alyssa received the trophy for Courtney as she was in Alaska with her Grandmother.
- Alyssa and Peter rode Wee-bit-of-Rust to the Grand Championship in the Schooling Jumpers division. They received a great big trophy and ribbon.
- Peter on Wee-bit-of-Rust also won a trophy for third place in the Special Jumpers division. They also received a trophy and a ribbon.
- We-bit-of-Rust with Peter Anderson on board was Reserve Grand Champion at the Erie Co. Fair in Hamburg, New York
Just a news flash:
The swimming pool is 80 degrees and will be all winter.
Monday, June 23
We showed at the second show in the Southtown Summer Series. It was postponed from Saturday to Sunday. Sunday was Fathers Day and we had a great day with lots of sunshine. The fields were moist but great footing for all the rain. Their were over 60 horses at the show. A really great turnout for the show being postponed.
We took three horses to the show and had four riders. Courtney and Gen-u-winn treasure had another great day. No rails down and a ribbon in every class. Alyssa and Fire Starter what a great combination this year. No rails down, a second and 2 third plases which was good enough for Reserve Grand Champion. Both of the girls showed in the Puddle Jumpers division. Our other female rider was Smokey one of our instructors she rode Wee bit of Rust. They both had a good day. This is the first time that Smokey has ridden in the Summer Series in a few years. Our hats go off to her for riding that great big chestnut over fences he can be a bit of a hot head sometime just like any Irish Man.
Alyssa and Fire Starter rode in a Schooling Jumper class and also placed third. Peter Anderson rode Wee bit of Rust this week again. What a great picture the two of them make riding the courses. All blues in the five classes that he entered. The class that was for speed Peter won it hands down with a great time and it was like he was putting on a clinic as to how to make cuts and make the shortest line to the fences in the fastest time. He received a nice trophy for his efforts. His daughter Tory also rode in the Jumper classes and did a great job on her Hanoverian gelding. She told her Dad she let him win because it was Father's Day. It was a lot of fun and joking with some of the other riders. Our show this week is at Quakerfield if the rain stops. It may be postponed until next week and that would make two shows in one week. We will have to see how much rain they get.
We can ride rain or shine weather it is inside our out side with the indoor arena. We are very fortunate to be able to ride all year around. That is one reason that the horses are in such good shape this year.
Hope to see you very soon at Dunham Sport Horse.
Sunday June 1
Today was the first show of the South Town Summer Series Shows. We took two of our summer jr.counselors and one of our guest instructors to the show. Riding in the Jumper Division, Puddle Jumpers 2'6", Alyssa and Fire Starter finished with a 3rd and 4th, Courtney on her pony Gen-u-Winn Treasure finished in 1st place. Neither one of the girls had a rail down all day. FANTASTIC JOB TO OUR YOUNG RIDERS.
Riding for the first time In the Schooling Jumpers Classes 2'6" to 2'9", Alyssa and Fire Starter finished with a 6th place ribbon . Wee bit of Rust with Peter Anderson aboard finished 6th and 3rd in the Schooling Jumpers 2'6" to 2'9". In Special Jumpers 3'3" to 3'6" Peter and Rusty edged out Longacres great jumper, Quantum Leap, for the First Place Ribbon. Hats off to Peter for the great job of riding that great big chestnut Rusty.
We are looking forward to the second show of the season which will be at Longacres on June 14th.
Campers we are looking forward to you joining us as we compete on the Summer Series. We have a great horse for you to ride at camp this summer.
Great things are in the future for all our Campers. Camp begins in less than 40 days.