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The Challenge | The Trainers and Students | Event Information Monday, August 31 Dear My Sweet Garnett, I write to you with a heart that is pulled in two directions. My heart is jumping for joy that you have matured into a confident, beautiful little horse and you have a new home. The other part of my heart misses you like crazy. It's hard to go from spending every day with you and then not seeing you at all. So I decided to write to you to let you in on some important thoughts. I want you to know I was proud of you since the moment I met you. When I saw you and was told of your past, I knew in my soul I was destined to change your life. Little did I know you'd change mine too. Our first connection was that we both lost a sibling right in front of our eyes. It had been just a little over a year since my sister died when I met you. I enjoyed talking to you about her. Thank you for listening. That first week in your stall was a week filled with trust building moments while I groomed you and talked your ear off about my sister and me. Don't forget day 3. Day 3 was totally a day Ill never forget. I opened your stall and YOU walked up to ME. You usually stood in the corner of your stall wanting nothing to do with anyone. Then for a week and half I was the only one you would nicker to or walk up to. You made me feel so special. You soon learned though that other people were ok too. As much as I liked having you for myself, I was delighted to see you blossoming. As the weeks passed you kept learning and taking everything in stride. Now of course we had our rough spots. I know you won't let me forget the first canter with Dan on you or the sand bags..... LOL. That's our little secret:) Every moment, everyday, every week you showed the world what love, patience and commitment can do. You not only took what I gave you but you gave back! Now we have closed another chapter in our lives with lasting memories. Who thought you would be a Reserve Champion? You deserve it! You worked so hard everyday all summer long. You've always been a champion in my eyes! I want you to know you will forever have a special place in my heart. I will never forget you. I will come and visit you. I will call and check up on you. And I will always love you! Your friend, Cassie Monday, July 13 Hey everyone! My lil'G has been up to a lot! She has earned a few new names including: Sweet heart, Baby Girl, and my personal favorite for when she is having an off-day: Darnett Garnett. G has been to more WSCA shows and competed in Pole Weaving and Barrels on Sun July 12th. She was great! Trotted right through the patterns and even loped home from the 3rd barrel! G is cantering nicely, letting kids ride her, enjoying trail rides, has some new horsey friends and I truly think she is just enjoying her life! We've had quite a few calls on Garnett and still invite anyone to come see or ride her. Please remember to call ahead to schedule a personal appointment with Garnett and me. GC t-shirts are at the screen printers!!! You can order yours today! GC t-shirts will be for sale at the Challenge at GC's table. Also learn more about ADM Alliance Nutrition, Complete Equestrian Hoof Care and Horse Training, Hat Creek Horsemanship, Hansen's Services, Designs by R.O.W. and Cornerstone Equestrian Center at GCs table. Cornerstone Equestrian Center had a seminar Friday July 10th. It was called "It's All About The Horse". We had some great guest speakers. Garnett was featured in my portion of the seminar. She showed off her quiet nature with a session on desensitizing. It was a fun and informative seminar. Hopefully we see more of you next time! Check out these photos of Garnett's accomplishments in the past 2 weeks!
Monday, June 29 Garnett is now on her way to becoming a very versatile horse! She was dressed up in English tack and had an English lesson. I have photos and video. Her main goal is to be a great all around horse. I believe that an all around horse can take you down a trail one day, go to a show on another for barrels, western or english and then chase some cows the next week. All without a blink, a spook or a balk. So, with that said here is Garnett in her flashy English lesson.
Garnett's photos and video will be posted on YouTube in the next week. Check the MHARF website under Garnett for an update as to when the video is up. Tuesday, June 23
Then on Sunday, June 21st, we went to another WSCA game show. Garnett stood tied to a rail most of the day with her hay bag all by herself. I lead her in the main arena during the lunch break to see all the other horses, people and show atmosphere. She was also lunged multiple times during the day near all the rigs, dogs, people and hustle of the show. She wanted to watch everything, but still focused on me and my cues. Then Dan, my husband rode her around bare-back for a bit. I rode along side and we had a nice enjoyable ride around the show grounds.
Garnett and I would like to thank everyone who visited her at the shows. She enjoyed the treats and praise! Garnett will be featured in a seminars & clinics at Cornerstone Equestrian Center. The seminars & clinics will feature how to gain trust, respect and a positive working friendship from your horse. The seminar is in July and is called, "It's All About The Horse". The clinic is a 3 day confidence building retreat in late July early August.
Monday, June 22 Give me a G! Give me a A! Give me a R! Give me a N! Give me a E! Give me a T! Give me a T! What does that spell?!!? GARNETT!!! GooooooOOOOOOO Garnett!!
The other day she was long lining while the arena was being drug by the 4-wheeler. You want to know how she reacted, don't you? Well, Miss. G was an angel. She of course looked at it, but she kept on working and not once over reacted. Classy this girl is, classy! Also, Garnett has sold over 30 T-shirts! Put your order in before time runs out! If you want to sponsor Garnett you have until July 1st to provide the information! Call 612-414-7597 or 651-437-2784! Thank you again to all our current sponsors in addition our most recent sponsor - Hansens Services Landscaping, Tree Removal, Concrete Work, Etc.; Farmington MN; 952.469.6669 Saturday, June 6 Hot off the presses and suitable for printing and posting, Cassie and Garnett have provided this promotional sheet (111KB) to help get the word out for this Teacher/Student duo. Please contact Cassie for more information on sponsorship or how Garnett's training is progressing! You'll need an application capable of opening a PDF document (such as Adobe Acrobat Reader). Also, Cassie send along this update: Garnett is riding!!!!!!!! She walks, trots and whoas like a champ! She gets a little nervous when there is a lot going on in the arena but still listens for my voice. The other day my husband, Dan was riding her and I was teaching a lesson in the same space. I would help my student by occaisionally clicking or saying whoa. Guess what Garnett did.....listened to my voice. Then Dan decided to keep working with her until she was consistantly responded to him. I have to say it was a tad cute though! Garnett also had a bath on June 5th. She was a little anxious at first but settled in once I started to scrub her. Her and the wall only had 2 pulling matches and the wall won each time. I'm confident that Garnett learned quite a deal during the whole bathing experience. As the weeks progress I've noticed she loves being outside, getting groomed and going for walks down the road. As long as she trusts you and can have fun with you she'll follow you like a puppy. Garnett is very thankful to all the staff at Cornerstone Equestrian Center for helping keep her stall clean, feeding her, grooming her and overall care for her. She would like to especially thank Chris Alcorn for providing her a safe place to stay at Cornerstone during this endevour, Mandy Deidrich for being such a great assistant to Cassie, the Britts for thier special grooming and lunging time, R.O.W. Designs for coming up with GC's logo, Palma Feeds for hanging updates and Complete Equestrian Hoof Care with Dan Sprenger for taking such good care of her hooves! From Garnett and me, ~THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!~ Monday, June 1 At first Garnett (Or as I call her "My li'l G!") would stand in the corner of her stall and not look at anyone. After two days she would nicker to me and only me when I approached her stall. She would also only let me catch her and handle her. She showed me right away that she has trust in me so I am always careful not to let her down. After a week she would stand at the front of the stall and watch everyone pass. She still saved the soft little nicker for me. After a week and half she would nicker at a few people and let anyone catch her. She loves the attention from all the children we have around here, the toys in her stall and she just can't get enough love from me. She craves it! She is a smart and outgoing little horse with more heart than Ive seen in a long time. You go G!!!! > Back to the Trainers and Students
About Cassie Sprenger: At the age of 3 I rode my first horse. She was my grandma’s neighbor’s horse and it was just around the yard. Every moment spent on that horse was a moment I felt complete, even at such a young age. Then at 7 I was gifted my first pony. A challenging dapple-grey named Sparky. I knew after only a few days with him that there was more to horses than just the ride. He didn’t like me to ride him unless he was led. Well, for a 7yr old who has an independent side that was just not quite enough. I wanted those reins, I wanted the wind in my hair, and I wanted the connection with the horse to be just between the horse and me. A year later a pony named Bear came to my grandmas farm. We bonded instantly! She helped me learn and grow my responsibility, patience, honesty, friendships, integrity, and love. We were inseparable. Never being apart for too long you learn a lot about each other. She would want to eat grass on trail rides, I wanted to ride. She wanted to go back to the barn, I wanted to ride to the neighbors. She wanted to go left, I wanted to go right. When she didn’t get her way she would try to rub me off on trees. I didn’t understand at first why she always wanted to be at the barn. So I studied her every move while sitting in front of the barn eating ice cream. She would roll, play with her friends, munch some grass, itch on a tree, take a drink and sun bathe. I started to get it. I needed to make her feel safe near me. So at 9 years old I started my first training project. With the right communication, a willing mind, gentle yet firm hand, and love I gained a lasting and rewarding friendship. Today Bear is 28 years old with cataracts and arthritis and she still will follow me through the pasture, let me hop on bareback and ride with just a halter, she will wander the yard at home eating grass and come when I call her for dinner and she just walks up to me to stand by me when I’ve had a bad day, even when food is available. She’s given me more than I could ever give her. Having what we have is special and unique, but not unattainable by other horse lovers. I feel that each and every horse owner would value from such a true and unconditional bond. When an opportunity presents itself for me to give my little understanding in this big horse world, I’m there! It could be assisting someone with better horsemanship, training their horse to understand human expectations, or showing someone more in depth horse psychology. I feel the Trainers Challenge would give someone the hope of having what I have with my Bear. If anyone is interested in seeing Garnett please contact Complete Equestrian Company in Hastings, MN at 651-437-2784. Also look for Garnett and Cassie on www.CompleteEquestrianCompany.com.
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Garnett has expierenced 2 horse shows in the past 2 weeks. Her first horse show was Saddlelite Riders Saddle Club game show on Saturday, June 13th. Her day consisted of learning to be tied at the trailer with the other horses, taking walks around the grounds to see the comotion and trailer load/exit. She took everything in stride. She was curious, attentive and did not over react to anything. It was a positive expeirence. 
Overall Garnett is excelling nicely. She tries hard and is really showing improvement in thinking before reacting. 
Garnett is out in her paddock daily or let our in our huge arena. As soon as she sees people she comes walking up to say, "Hi!". She loves to wander curiously around the arena and watch what's going on. She is very alert and aware of her surroundings. Working her daily with riding, long lining, desensitizing, respect and confidence.