The saddlebreds of Denise Vespa Stables had their last away show of 2009 on
October 22, 23,24 and 25 in West Springfield Massachusetts at TSASA’s
Octoberfest Horse Show. Seven horses competed under the DVS name, including some of our veterans of the show ring, and a few new horse and rider combinations.
Despite some nasty bugs testing the immune systems of a few members of Team
Vespa (blame Daisy Mae?), all had a good time in the ring and back at the
stalls!

Trainer Denise Vespa had a spectacular ride aboard Warner’s Horse
Transportation’s handsome gelding Mister Splish Splash. The  two took a trip
down victory lane in Jr/Novice Park division, a great way to end the season for
this recent addition to Team Vespa. This flashy gelding looks to continue his
winning ways in 2010, and is for sale to any experienced rider looking to take
their show ring experience up to the next level.  Also finishing out the show
season with a trip down victory lane was Brittany Ford on Ramonde Dubois’
charming chestnut gelding Worthy’s Night Move in the Saddlebred 3 Gaited Show
Pleasure for the Novice Rider class. It was B’s last time in the ring as a
novice rider, the pair having taken home blue ribbons at just about every show
they attended this year. Way to go!

Veterans of the show ring Emily Nichols and Double Tree’s Number One Son have
also had a good 2009 show season, and Octoberfest was no exception. They took
home the blue ribbon in the Saddlebred 3 Gaited Show Pleasure Junior Exhibitor
15-17 Qualifier on Friday and returned to win the championship for the division
on Saturday.  Emily also took Denise Vespa’s talented, blond mane and tailed
mare Sosexyalmostevil into the ring in the Jr Exhibitor Park division. This was
the mare’s only appearance under saddle in the show ring in 2009; she has spent
most of the season taking home top threes in the Open Fine Harness division.

In June of 2009 a few members of Team Vespa and Warner’s Horse Transportation
took a trip to Wisconsin and came back with a big chestnut saddlebred named
Vinni Valone. He has since proven himself quite a star in show rings throughout
the northeast, and Octoberfest was no exception. This time it was Kimberley
Smith onboard for a second place finish in an open ladies pleasure class with
over thirty entries! In the same class was huntseat convert Louise Bova aboard
her new horse Don’t Worry’s Excellence, who comes to us from the equally distant
state of North Carolina. The two had a wonderful first show together and a
practically faultless round negotiating a ring with a lot of traffic. Louise
will just have to wear the other side of her reversible vest for the next show
to better grab the judge’s attention in such a big class.

Kelly Murphy’s four year old five gaited mare Something Perfect also finished
out her 2009 show season at TSASA’s Octoberfest show. She looked spectacular at
all five gaits in the Jr/Novice and Amateur Championship classes, and –
competitors be warned - will surely be bringing home some blue ribbons next year
in the five gaited show pleasure division.

We all know horse shows are not just about the classes; you have to have some
fun back at the stalls. At Denise Vespa Stables, we don’t just have some fun, we
have some serious fun. DVS Octoberfest perennial favorite Mr Bones got all
decked out in a saddlesuit recently acquired from Well Suited Apparel
(www.wellsuitedapparel.com). We all know anything from Well Suited Apparel will
make heads turn (is that a plug?), but the suit, derby and tie really did the
trick for Mr Bones, because before we knew it, he was hanging around with a new
friend (Ms Bones?). Unfortunately, after a bottle of wine, Ms Bones got carried
away with some hooligans at another farm, literally. You never know what is
going to happen at a horse show when Team Vespa gets involved, do you?

The Saturday night aisle party was a blast as usual. Mary Beth Ford put together
an amazing soup (recipe available with a $100.00 donation to Denise Vespa
Stables). Our Farrier Rick Warner also provided some entertainment as he learned
the difference between a calzone and a cannoli.  We also got to see our youngest
future rider, Blake Warner, all decked out for Halloween with his bad as… um…
tough looking dog Mac. The pair were sporting some serious bling and a hairstyle
that we’ll be sure to see on all the runways from New York to Paris and Milan in
the next few months.

It’s been a fun year for Team Vespa, and rumor has it the 2010 is going to be
bigger and better! We are always looking for new members to join the team. If
this sounds like you, contact us at striderite@aol.com. 

Thanks to all for a successful 2009, and we’ll see you again in West Springfield
at UPHA Chapter 14 Spring Premiere in April 2010!



We are wrapping up our show season with the Octoberfest Horse Show in West Springfield, MA in a couple of weeks. Then the whole saddlebred world will gather for the Fall Tattersall's sale. Our DVS riders then look forward to a fun show being held at our own farm - all are welcome!

The DVS Team is just back from the 2009 Syracuse International Horse Show! Thirteen of the stable’s American Saddlebreds showed off their stuff in the ring, and the riders, grooms, friends, and family had some serious fun DVS style back at the stalls! With an endless supply of popcorn and soda at the show’s hospitality room, who could have asked for more?

 

The highlight of the show came on Thursday morning in the American Saddlebred Three-gaited Show Pleasure for the Novice Rider Class. In a competitive field of over a dozen horses, Brittany B. Ford rode Raymonde Dubois’ Worthy’s Nite Move to a first place finish, and coming in right behind them with a red ribbon for the DVS Team was Jamey K LaPorta on Vinni Valone.

 

Vinni Valone was quite the star, making a trip down victory lane as reserve champion with Kimberly Smith in the Open English Pleasure Championship class. Also competing in the Open English Pleasure division was Jenna Haramis on Denise Vespa’s Mister Joe Cool. It was the first time in the ring together for the pair, and they looked superb, earning a white ribbon in the championship class.

 

Denise Vespa’s aptly named mare Sosexyalmostevil showed under harness for the first time since the beginning of her career as a three year old. With Kyle Wright as the whip, Sosexyalmostevil won the Junior/Novice Fine Harness class and went reserve champion in the Open Fine Harness Championship.

 

Kelly Murphy also had an amazing show riding her four-year old mare Something Perfect for the first time in the highly competitive Amateur Five-Gaited division. The pair took a third in the qualifying class and a fourth in the championship, looking like a million bucks at all five gaits. Way to go gals!

 

Denise Vespa rode Warner’s Horse Transportation’s new acquisition WC Mister Splish Splash in the competitive Limit Park class to a 4th place finish. The two looked spectacular, and will have no where to go but up in future shows!

 

Two horses and two riders competed for Denise Vespa Stables in the Junior Exhibitor 14-17 Three-gaited Show Pleasure division. Emily Nichols rode Kathy Nichols’ Double Trees Number One Son to a third place finish in both the qualifying and championship classes, and Anna Cole had two successful rides in her second show with her flashy new mount Kalarama’s Diamond Tip.

 

Maureen Mokrzycki too took her new horse Activator in the Three-gaited Show Pleasure Division, in this case, for the adult rider. The two showed well against a very competitive field of over a dozen horses, including three world champions. Another new combination in the show ring was Emily Nichols aboard The Bargain Hunter in the Junior Exhibitor Park division. The pair looked the part, and finished in fifth place in the championship class.

 

Of course we can’t forget the Five-gaited Show Pleasure division, with another two horses and riders showing under the DVS banner. Kathy Nagle was aboard our veteran of the show ring Discovery’s Fireman, taking home a green ribbon in both the qualifying and championship classes, and exclaiming as she came out of the ring “I actually beat someone!” In the same division, our invaluable lead groom, Alyssa Strock took a pair of pink ribbons home aboard her horse WC CH Caramacs Capital Gain.

 

Syracuse International was, as always, a big show with some competitive classes, and the DVS Team consisted of a number of new horse and rider combinations. But everyone worked hard and under Denise's training, has a very successful show.

As always, between the crazyness going on in the ring, the gang had some serious fun back at the stalls! There was an impromptu Sound of Music sing along, after which Kathy Nichols disputed the truth of the line “when you know the notes to sing, you can sing most anything”. We learned that two silk worms entered a race but ended up in a tie. The Nichols’ new dog Hayden got a makeover, care of some baby powder, some bedding, and one Kyle Wright, and a plastic penguin (Guin) stolen from Denise’s garage some three years ago and not seen ever since made an appearance for a few nights. What a time!

 

Are we going to be able to top this performance in a few weeks at the Connecticut Summer Classic? Yeah, this quirky group is probably up for that challenge. Join the team and come find out for yourself!