HOME BOARDING TRAINING & LESSONS EVENTS PHOTO GALLERY
EAST MOUNTAIN FARM AND STABLES, INC.
(845) 877-3728
Training
& Lessons
Manager & Head Trainer: Karen Penney
25+
years of overall experience training/riding dressage, hunter pleasure &
western pleasure
USDF Certified Associate Instructor
N.A.R.H.A. Certified
2001-2005
Vice-President, USDF GMO
Mid-Hudson Dressage and Combined Training Association (MHDCTA)
2007
(January) Monthly riding clinics with Olav Drehn at
East Mountain Farm in
2007
(February) Monthly riding clinics with Margaret Freeman, USDF
‘S’, at East Mountain Farm
~
Congratulations to
~ Congratulations to
2006
Student Qualify and compete in USDF Region 8
Championships/NEDA – Congratulations
Carleen and Casinoe
!!!
2006
Student Competition in LYDF;
2006
Student Competition @ Dutchess County Fair –
Congratulations to Brianna Penney and
Razzmatazz on achieving Reserve Champion,
Western Pleasure Division
!!!
2006 Student Competition in USDF
Recognized shows
2006
(September) Monthly riding clinics with Bill Warren at Lost Island Farm,
2006
(December) Monthly riding clinics with Olav Drehn at
East Mountain Farm in
2005
Student Competition in LYDF; 1st in
Equitation in her age division; 5th overall in her age division; 1st
Place Team (out of 30+ teams!); Res. Ch. Overall Team!
2005
Student Competition in USDF Recognized shows
2005
Competition in USDF Recognized shows with “Ivenhoe”
2004
Competition in USDF Recognized shows with “Ivenhoe”
2004
Monthly riding clinics with Bill Warren
2004
Participate in USDF Workshops for Instructor
Certification
2004
Students Compete in LYDF
2004
Students Compete in USEF Recognized ‘C’ Shows
2004
Students Compete in USDF Recognized shows
2003
Participate in USDF Workshops for Instructor
Certification
2003
1 week training in Ingelheim, Germany for dressage
training
2002
Students participate in USEF Recognized ‘C’ and ‘B’
Shows
1999
Participation in USDF Workshops for Instructor
Certification
1998
3 weeks intense training in Wiesbaden, Germany for dressage at Hofgut Kreling
CPR/First
Aid Certified
55
x 120 Indoor Arena
100
x 200 Outdoor Arena
120
ac. Of Fields and Trails
As
the head trainer/instructor of the farm, Karen Penney brings 25+ years of
equine experience into good use to help develop rider’s and horses to meet
their goals. As a young rider, Karen was
first given an Arab/Appaloosa cross large pony mare; without the financial
resources to be able to afford tack equipment, Karen’s first year of riding was
spent bareback, using only a homemade hackamore! Other horses quickly followed
after that, a Quarter Horse gelding named ‘Robin’s Toriano’
that Karen trained herself to run the barrels and competed on the local
gymkhana circuit, followed by another Quarter Horse mare named ‘Erin’ that was
used on the family farm to help move the dairy cattle. Upon entering high school, Karen got a job as
a groom at a local hunter/jumper sales stable, and thus began the conversion to
English Hunter riding. As Karen
continued to work and train, she would take the skills that she had learned and
apply them to her own horses, achieving wonderful results in hunter
competition. Soonafter,
motherhood followed, and shortly afterwards, offering lessons. Today Karen’s focus of training, lesson
program and competition has become dressage.
Training
is done Tuesday – Friday and a plan is put together after client/trainer
conference. Typically, for competitive
dressage, training takes place 5 days/week and is further supplemented by
lessons. All horses are invited to
participate in a training program with Karen, as well as any other supplemental
instruction provided in the form of outside trainers coming in or monthly
clinics with guest trainers. Training
programs with Karen mean that each training session lasts approximately 45 min.
and costs $50.00 per session.
Participation in clinics or lessons with guest instructors is voluntary,
and participants will be notified of the cost of participation.
Lessons
with non-boarders are typically once a week and are on an individual
basis. Karen’s specialty is with
beginners and intermediate riders, having had a long, successful career
bringing along young riders from the basics of riding, to riding in a
competitive environment (hunter and dressage).
Riders must be a minimum age of 7 years old, need to provide their own
riding pants (jeans are fine – shorts are not acceptable) and proper riding
shoes. Helmets can be provided for
riders (as required by NYS law) but usually if
lessons are going to be on-going riders opt to purchase their own helmet. There are two primary lesson ponies on the
farm and because of their size, we are somewhat limited in the age and size of
rider we can accept. Ideally, once a
rider out-grows a farm lesson pony they are ready for the commitment of owning
a horse of their own and can continue their training.
Once
a client has been accepted into the lesson program there must first be a 30
min. evaluation ride. This is done to
help acclimate the rider to the stable and the lesson pony, as well as allowing
Karen to evaluate how well the rider listens and responds to instruction. The charge for this evaluation is
$30.00. When the client determines that
they would like to continue in a regular lesson program, then future dates and
times are then set. Lessons are for 45
minutes and cost $50.00. Reschedules and
cancellations are no problem providing a phone call has been given in advance;
in the event of a no-call, no-show for a lesson, then the client still gets
charged for that lesson, payable at the time of the next ride.