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2010-05-23T12:41:00.001-07:00

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Hello from Winter Equestrian Festival

2010-03-06T13:05:00.000-08:00

AMAZING - that is the only way I know to describe Wellington. Yes - it the first time for Kilkenny Crest, LLC horses to show on the East coast - and here we are at the best venue in the United States!!!! And our horses are making a great statement for Kilkenny Crest!!!

This past week Wallis was 8th out of 34 horses in the 7/8 year old class and Achilles was 7th out of 22 horses in the 6 year old class!! I thought that was great, especially considering that most of the horses in these classes have had a lot more experience. Both of these horses were bred at Kilkenny Crest - I am so proud that we are producing such great horses!!! And I know Mindi is too!!!

In the WEG Trials Rindo ended up 12th out of 32 horses on Wednesday. And then on Friday he finished in the top three and took Second Place honors as one horse was showing for points only.
Considering these are the best horses in the country (Saphire [Mclain], Cedric [Laura Kraut] and Quick Study [Lauren Hough] have already been named to the team - which consists of 16 horses ) and most have been with the same rider for at least a couple of years - I thought Rindo and Nicki were GREAT. Wednesday was a big class which was held on the Steeplechase Field - on grass. After that class Rindo was sitting 19th. Then after his stellar performance yesterday he moved up five places. If he ends up in the top 16 he will make the team!!! Unbelievable!!! I would never have guessed he would do this well. Nicki is absolutely thrilled with him!!! One more trial - the $150,000 Grand Prix on Sunday, March 7th.

And then I will be heading back to Bend as we have foals due any day now!!! The horses will stay on and continue to compete for another month.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-23T22:53:00.000-08:00

Hi there everyone

Hope everyone is ready for Christmas....
From everyone at Kilkenny Crest MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! We hope the festive season treats you well and don't forget to spoil your horses too during this time!!!

If you have to travel during this time, please drive safe and enjoy the view while you are at it!

Also just a special Christmas wish to the Boyd Family as they are the force behind the Kilkenny team.... Thank you for a great year... we couldn't have done it without you!!

Hope everyone is keeping warm... I know I am!!

Talk to everyone soon!!!

Happy Horses

2009-11-30T23:59:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

I must say... being on vacation and still just getting positive feedback from all our horses is an amazing! Makes us at Kilkenny Crest feel very proud!
Sounds like the horses are very happy, healthy and liked!

Also, can't believe the year is coming to an end. Hope everyone got to spoil their horses with a little "off" time, but not forgetting to spoil yourself every now and then!

Stay warm and hope everyone is getting ready for a cold Christmas ahead!!!

Talk to you soon!

WILL & NIKKI SIMPSON

2009-11-12T11:20:00.000-08:00

Hallo there...

We are out of our shells to tell you this.... but Will and Nicole Shahinian Simpson are riding the Kilkenny Crest Show Jumping Horses!!!!!!!!!!!!! Isn't it exciting. All the way in Thousand Oaks, the horses are very happy in that great weather. And offcourse with the great riders...
They rocked it at the Del Mar International show and they will be at the Sacramento International Horse show as well as the Los Angeles Horse Show.... Don't miss it!

It was a sad day to say Goodbye to Rich Fellers Stables. We appreciate all that they have done for Kilkenny Crest and with no doubt the highlight was that amazing Saturday night in Las Vegas where Rich and Kilkenny Rindo won the $75 000 Grand Prix!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, you can still have a look at that awesome night on Youtube... you can see it on our website too! Either look on the Kilkenny Homepage or Just go to "show string" and it is right there!!!
Thank you all at RFS for a great year!

Well...
Good luck to everyone at the shows and I guess get ready for winter!!!!

Daniel Viviani

2009-11-12T11:05:00.000-08:00

Hi there everyone...

So we had a slight technical difficulty with our websites blog... but it was brief, so no worries, we are back on track and stronger than ever.

In the mean time, we here at Kilkenny Crest, LLC have welcomed Daniel J Viviani to our team. Daniel is a young rider with a lot of natural talent and has the perfect attitude for working on all our young prospects. All the way from Santa Cruz, Daniel is ready to introduce the young Kilkenny prospects to the show world. Good Luck with that Daniel.... we know you'll have a lot to do.... we have plenty of good quality young horses!!!

So once again, WELCOME to the KILKENNY CREST team DANIEL VIVIANI.
Hope you are as excited to be here as we are to have you.

Talk to guys later
And don't forget to check out all our prospects.

Thermal Desert Circuit 2009!!!!

2009-02-16T18:15:00.000-08:00

Hi to everyone!

So the first 3 weeks we have spent at Thermal has been awesome! The weather is great, the horses are looking good, healthy and ready for some more action! We only started showing during the 2nd week of the show, but had really good results with all our horses!

Currently we have 7 horses at Thermal with 1 more coming down the last 3 weeks of the circuit... And off course Rich has his hands full with not only all our horses but those of his other clients also. He really did a good job at getting the horses settled in and relaxed in their new environment.

Sherry is having fun riding Lexus.And yes, he is making the jumps look like a game! Our "baby Wallis"-as Robyn calls her- is starting to enjoy the showring(and getting good at it) while Radinia is more relaxed and confident than ever! She won the Level 6 speed class, in the rain!!!! Randall Z is loving the attention of being back on track where he showed in the $15 000 Jimmy Williams Classic and placed 4th!!! Yeahhhhh!! Our busy body,Tupelo, has won most of her Level 5 classes which made her not only the Champion of the week but the Mid Circuit Champ!! Rindo has been amazing with his $25 000 and $50 000 Grand Prix classes!

We will keep posting our results of our latest news on this blog's "comment" box, so go have a peek if you see new comments!!! And good luck to everyone!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

Good day to all!

So from all of us at Kilkenny Crest, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Hope the year kicked off well for everyone and that everyone is ready and excited for 2009!

The next show for Kilkenny Crest along with the team of Rich Fellers is the HITS show! Hope to see a lot of you there and that everyone has a safe trip!

We will make sure that all our latest news and results will be posted, so be sure to keep an eye on our blog! We invite you to leave comments on our blogs to any of our Kilkenny Crest Team members! Any advice or ideas on anything you would like to share!

We do want to say thank you to the Rich Fellers Team for taking such good care of our horses... really excited about this year ahead with you all!

Will get back to you all with the latest news soon!
Be safe and take care.

Sherry in the Saddle

2009-01-08T12:16:00.000-08:00

It is an amazing thing to see Sherry riding again. An even better one to hear the excitement in her voice after her first lesson with Rich.

I am glad we have a horse as amazing as Lexus for her to get back in the ring. He is so honest and with his ability to jump 5'6 his job keeping her safe at 3'6 is a cinch. With his flashiness and easy temperament he could make an amazing equitation horse for a lucky junior or amateur. But for now, he is hers and she loves him. She said he is the first horse she has ever known where the recognition and love he has for her is palpable. I guess she never really believed Marquis wasn't just after carrots.

Another positive - at Rich's the amateurs groom their own horses. It had been a long time since my mom had to tack her own horse up. I don't think there is anything better for building trust and a relationship built for wins than the connection you get from caring for your equine partner.

Young Prospects Looking Good

2009-01-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Sue McMullen for joining us on our "Winter Jump Chute Day". We were very pleased with our one and two year olds, especially since it was their first time through the chute - looks like we have some very nice young horses coming along.

The three year olds are in and getting started now. Again they are just so easy to work with - they like to be good and they really trust anyone who is handling them. Congrats to Mindi and Kasey for doing such a great job in working with all of the young horses from their first day on!

It is so great to have Sara Katz working with the young horses who are ready to start jumping. Sara fits into our program so well - the horses love her and they are progressing so well under her training!

George Morris

2008-12-07T20:21:00.000-08:00

Rich started out on Friday riding Tupelo in the pro division- she was awesome! I was able to fly up and watch the clinic with my mother and what a clinic! George was really into it! We were not able to watch Rich ride Radinia (say that three times as quickly as you can) on Saturday or Tupelo again today- but so far I have heard good things. Thanks Mackenzy! I am just wondering how the grey did with a bit in his mouth, what a nice horse!

Other exciting news- Kilkenny's A's and B's are coming in for a jump-shoot session this week. I can't wait to tell you more about it after!

k

Yeah! Chantel has it covered!

2008-10-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Came back to the barn to see how everything is going- and thats my new mantre- "Yeah, Chantel has it covered!" Glad to see the Blog is no exception.

Chantel and Kyle are headed to Ptown today with Randall and Wallis. Only fitting that when we send him the unbroke mare he also gets the good 'ol boy! Good luck with new ones, Rich!

I have discovered that the AQHA may be even more difficult than the USEF. They would not accept my signiture as previous owner of a horse Kilkenny sold over a decade ago, someone needed it in order to show.... They required the signiture of Kilkenny Crest, LLC!

OK- Im not lost forever!
-kasi

Latest news...

2008-09-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

Hi there!
So pigeon fever is in the air!!!! Now is the time to use allllll of your fly spray!!! Make sure all your horses are protected. Fly spray is the only preventative!

Got some sad news... Kasi is off to San Francisco......
If there is any of you who would like to leave her a note or comment you can just comment on this blog and I will make sure to get it to her... Make sure to leave your details so she can get back to you!

Thank you and talk to you soon!
Chantel

New faces...

2008-09-12T12:11:00.000-07:00

Hi all. Chantel here... I'm a new addition to the Kilkenny Clan and so is Kyle! We are happy to say that we made it through the Masters at Spruce Meadows with a great team helping us find our feet... Thank you Robyn & Michelle! Having Rich and Shelly Fellers being such down to earth people, they made it really easy for us to make us feel part of the team in no time!! Thank you guys! We are excited and ready for the next show!

So it was Kasi's last show (for now) and she did it with a "bang"! She was great! Can't believe she's leaving so soon.... Wishing her all the best with her future plans, hoping she will come visit very often!!! Good Luck Kasi!!

Well, have to check out for now but will let you in on the latest news soon!

Coming Soon...VIDEOS!!!

2008-09-07T17:51:00.000-07:00

Now that we have some great videos of our show string with Rich riding I am starting to get on top of adding them to the website! Stay tuned! Because Rich always likes to watch the videos- he usually has the tapes. This has made it a little harder for me to get the rounds up... but it actually lead to a great light bulb idea- I asked his son, Christopher, to get the videos on the Internet for me so I can add them to the sight easily.... I am really excited as learning to put videos on the world wide web was my most recent procrastination and I think in will take Chris half the time it would me! Especially with their new video camera! Thanks Chris!

Working with the Pros

2008-09-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I finished my last horse show- and what a way to finish- at the MASTERS!!! I have to say, working with Rich Fellers at a show of this calibre puts International Riding into perspective. He is such a professional in every way. From looking out for his clients and sponsors to being the best teacher I have ever had. 3 months ago I had no confidence in my riding, I would have never thought I'd be at the Maters- let alone be competitive here. But with his simple teaching methods, repetition, and tough love coaching at home followed be uber-supportive coach at the shows, I feel better than ever. I am more grateful to Rich than he will ever know. And really, thankful to his entire team who keep everything positive.
But I am off topic- Rich is a PRO. Listening to his train of thought when he decides which horse will do each competition makes you realise how deeply he cares about his horses and their careers. He was considering doing Rindo in the 6-bar, for example. We all thought that would be really fun to watch because Rindo can jump over the barn. But instead he opted for the BP Speed class to prepare the horse for the future. That way Rich got a feel for what Rindo will feel like on course in the Int'l Ring and through all the natural obstacles. And boy was it fun to watch, too. Now if Rindo can just get in alittle better shape- he was so good until the very end when he was pooped!
Rich also takes his responsibilties to his teammates and his owners seriously. He is all business- taking care of himself with everything from eating well to getting sleep. He sets a great example to any up-and-coming rider that has their goals set for International showing. I loved working with him and only hope I can figure out how to keep working with him in the future!

Masters Tournament!

2008-09-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

We had a great day today!!!! FIRST- thank you Chantel and Kyle- they must have been nervous (first trip to Spruce Meadows) but they stepped up to the plate and were amazing today!

Tupelo WON her class, with over 50 other horses in it!!!!

Fantasma was 2nd in his 1.40m class!!!!

Jada was 6th with Kasi in the same class that Tupelo won!!!

Quick Learners

2008-08-21T16:45:00.001-07:00

Ever had to go to the show with a groom that has never been? Nightmare, right? Not with Kyle and Chantel! You wont believe how awesome they are or how fast they have picked up skills and organizations. We love having them around and we love working with them. After only just starting the horses love the couple. Plus, they are taking EXCELLENT care of our show string. We feel lucky to have Kyle and Chantel on our team and we feel good knowing they are with our horses. Thank You Chantel and Kyle- we think the world of you both.

Flying Horses

2008-08-21T16:35:00.000-07:00

The improvements of each horse is remarkable! Watching them learn to go fast, turn and win- one step at a time is so great. Radinia, who joined Rich's team last just turned a corner this week and is making excellent progress. It is so nice to be working in a clean environment! It is not true, what crooked trainers say, not everyone- and actually NOT THE BEST- pole, jump off-sets, use tack boots, rub horse legs with god-knows-what or any of the other tricks they do when no one is watching. We should know, Kilkenny has had the privilege to work with some of the World's best - Gail Greenough, Will Simpson, Buddy Brown, Joie Gatlin - and with them we learned the only way is the honest way! And Rich Fellers is no different. He believes the only thing you can do is prepare your horse. Yes, its true, I am usually relieved to be going to the show because his lessons are tough! But if you get there early you can see him asking the same tests of his best horses- Flexible and the lot. And none of it is unfair or dangerous.... but after you have finished a lesson both you and your horse feel confident and ready for anything. Whether it was the serpentine jumping course or the tough flat work, he really prepares the horses and riders so they trust one another. I am having so much fun!

Spruce was a Success!!!!

2008-07-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

I name Kilkenny Tupelo as the super star of Spruce Meadows for our '08 summer season. She only showed 3 times, but she won two classes!!! It was SO MUCH FUN to watch her - gallop across the field - then back up onto her hocks jump up and across, then turn and go!!! My mother and father were both so proud. Tupelo is not just any horse, she is home grown and home raised! Kilkenny Jasco offspring!!! She has the fast pace, careful attitude, and "need for speed" (-Rich Fellers) that everyone wants in their jumper. Thank you Rich, for unlocking her potential and making her comfortable with herself in the ring.
I have to say the other multiple ribbon winner was Kilknny Rindo! Though, Salamanca, Jada, Soprano, and Fantasma all jumped fantastic. Team Kilkenny enjoyed the show and had a great time.

Having a Blast!!!

2008-07-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

Spruce Meadows makes every ribbon feel like an accomplishment. I am SO PROUD of how our horses are doing so far- especially Tupelo. She marched right into the 1.20m with Rich today and blew the competition out of the water with a super fast and clean speed round. She won!
Rindo has also stepped up to the plate and made us proud, though he is still just getting fit. Last week he brought home a 10th place with a nice clean round and today he was clean in the speed and placed 7th in the 1.30m!!! Pretty good considering Rich has only had the horses training for 1.5 weeks before we got up here!!!
I was good, too- Salamanca and I placed 2nd in one of two class last week and plan to move up to the 1.30m tomorrow!

Daisy and Denali

2008-06-16T18:06:00.000-07:00

We actually have two new fillys at Kilkenny Crest. Daisy arrived in April and has won all of our hearts - and Wanna is her usual best mom ever! We usually wait about a week before we merge our new foals with older foals. However, just the day before Daisy was to get a new playmate, our newest filly (Denali) had a trip to the Bend Equine Clinic with her mom and came home alone. Fortunately we made it to the clinic in time, as Mirage was taken to surgery with a twisted colon. Fortunately she is doing very well.

And thank goodness for Toy - the 23 year-old former hunter who has taken on an entirely new role at the farm. He is the best substitute parent one could imagine. As Kasi brought him in near dark, she said that he was calm and just knew he had another young horse to oversee! He kept Denali company for two days - and then - it was so exciting to take Denali back to the clinic and see the her reunited with her mother. And two days after that, both mom and foal returned to Kilkenny Crest. Both are doing well - thanks to the good care they receive by Mindi and her team (including Toy!).

A new start...

2008-06-16T17:34:00.000-07:00

Bringing our show string back to Portland (Wilsonville, no less) is also bringing us back full-circle. The good news: it has refreshed our burnt-out souls and we are excited again!!! The bad news: I miss seeing the babies every day and having our horses at our own farm. But, I have to say I think the grass really is greener at Whip'n'Spur. The horses are still enjoying daily turn-outs and the same euro-walker. And I, Kasi, am receiving lessons that are taking me back to basics. It feels great. Rich has a strong, and so far simple, approach. We are directly working on things to help our horses currently sore backs and sour attitudes. So far- I've already seen and felt the results. He really LOVES his horses. Its also nice to be around Shelly, Robyn, and Michelle.
I've participated in a few "half and half" lessons. Smoother than cream. It is great to be in lessons with other students again, I forgot how much you learn from watching others. We start these with a small lecture-ish conversation. These have been to catch me up on the foundation of the program. We reviewed the types of flat work: 1) Transitions 2) Lateral 3) Lengthening and Shortening. Now that makes sense. What types of flat work can you think of that don't fit into those three categories?

Thunderbird Showpark - Achilles is Superstar!

2008-05-20T20:03:00.001-07:00

Taking refuge in my hotel room, I am praying that the worst of the rains has come and gone. There was a light drizzle as we unloaded the horses yesterday afternoon but today it really poured. Thank god for the TBIRD team- the facility is always ready for a good down-pour and it would be horrible without their commitment to great footing and stabling.

The star of the day was ACHILLES Z. His first horse show EVER- yesterday he walked onto the trailer at 5am, for the first time, a little nervous but never questioning. We are proud. Then today, Sayre rode him around the showpark and he neither acted like the stallion he is or the green baby. Never having been off the grounds before, he marched around minding his own business and listening to Sayre. Air Jordan Z would be proud of this son.

Finally, its SUMMER!

2008-05-15T13:44:00.000-07:00

We have been patiently awaiting summer, and it seems as though it has finally come. I am officially packing up the long underwear (yeah, I was wearing some earlier this week.) The horses, of course, are the most excited about this... enjoying the sprinklers during the heat of the day, the new grass growth, and most of all not wearing bothersome blankets. For the show string its just in time to really enjoy working in our Grand Prix field while we prepare to leave for Thunderbird on Monday (19th). Our next baby is due the 19th, and Mirage's milk has begun to come in and she is looking ready. We are trying to wait till the absolute latest before we begin to bring her in at night. Daisy, our only baby on the ground so far, is showing us how ready she is to have a friend. Already very independent, Daisy roams the fields alone and last night was even hiding behind the "house" all by herself. If the hair around her eyes and muzzles steers us right, she will be a beautiful grey with her pretty Q-tip shaped stripe and her white socks. Already very flashy!