As I write this, the spring competition is in full swing. MeadowCreek Park Spring H.T. is in the rearview mirror - 17 CTEA  members had signed up for the event - and Pine Hill is just ahead. Here’s what’s going with some of our members. - Kris

     Karen Shull and Just My Style, the CTEA’s preliminary champion pair, high point amateur rider and high point horse, won the USEF National Junior Eventing Championship, the USET National One-Star Eventing Championship and were part of the USET National Junior/Young Rider CCI* Team Championship-East. Congratulations to Karen for a wonderful year and best of luck for this season.

     Christina and Jeff Windsor are the proud parents of Charlie (Charles) John Windsor, born March 28. He weighed 7 lbs., 9 oz., and is 22 inches long. Congratulations.

     Diana Heinrich is leasing Christina Windsor's 10-year old Belgian warmblood mare Viva la Dance (Vivi). Diana and Vivi came home from the MeadowCreek Spring Horse Trials with a second place finish in the Junior Novice division, qualifying the pair for the AECs. Diana and Vivi went double clean and scored a 32 in dressage. She followed that with a second in  Open Training at Pine Hill. Under the training of Lida McAllister, Diana and Vivi will continue the season at Training Level and are sure to impress us all. Keep up the good work! - Christina Windsor

     Valerie Tkacs has a new horse - Sir Ulrick - and the two will be making their debut in May in Area II for a few events and will be back in Area V for the fall season.
     Valerie, sister Victoria, mom Kelly and dad Dane are relative newcomers to Area V, with dad having been posted to Fort Sam Houston from Area II where the girls rode with Danny Warrington.
    
Valerie has had a tough time horse-wise. Here’s what Kelly reports:

     We leased Deb Eggers’ horse Mia (Honor Her Integrity) for the spring season while Deb was recuperating from ankle surgery. They had a great spring at Novice. We then got Major (Charging the Guns) for Val last March as her Training level horse to campaign for fall ’07. But just two weeks before she was to take him the Greenwood Fall HT last September, a vision check by Dr. Jake Wells concluded his vision was compromised due to cataracts. Major couldn't see any natural colored jumps on cross-country and we had to retire him. So Duke (Black Clad Dancer, who was her prelim project at the time) started into competition and she took him at MeadowCreek and then Pine Hill last November. After Pine Hill, he was a bit more sore than we thought he should be. Duke had some not so good x-rays over Christmas and it was decided he shouldn't be competed any higher than Novice. Valerie competed at Training all of the ’06 season in Area II before we moved to Texas. So Duke wasn't going to be the horse she could move up with.

     So finally after much searching, we have found a great horse for Valerie. Danny Warrington  found him for Val in Maryland. His name is Sir Ulrick. He's a Gelderlander. A Dutch carriage horse. He's 16.2 HH and just turned 10. He drove a carriage in Richmond, Va., the first year after he was imported, and then for the past year he's been foxhunting. He'll stay in Maryland at Danny's barn for a few weeks, then Valerie will go out there, ride and compete him a couple of times in Area II and then they'll both come home to Texas in early summer. It was a long process, (we've actually been trying to buy her a training/prelim horse for almost two years) but this is the horse for her.

     We had so many folks here helping us find the horse for Val. Linda Zimmerhanzel (who found Tass, Victoria's horse); Rob Neal, our farrier; Renee Lopez, who owns Retama where we board and is also the girls dressage trainer, Cheryl Ramitowski (another eventer who boards at Retama with us); Donna Kinney, the girls’ eventing trainer; Sheryl Lewis, Natalie Griffith, Liz Moser. I could go on an on. In all the places we have lived due to my husband’s assignments, nowhere have people been more kind and generous with their time and assistance than here in the horse community of San Antonio. That encouragement has helped us as a family through a very tough year.
We are so very grateful. - Kelly Tkacs

Kinswood Farm Report   

     Many of you long time members will remember the arrival of two PMU foals purchased by Kinswood Farm. Several reports were published in the newsletter of their progress for some time, and it was fun to follow their development.


     The mare, Lily, is still with us. She’s also been a lot of fun as she, too, is very easy-going. Except for the girth! That’s the one thing she objected to from the beginning. She finally did come around to accept it, but it’s not something you want to forget if she gets a few too many days off!
     She’s great; everything we’ve done with her has been a blast. First schooling dressage show was a great success. Trail rides are fun and relaxing. In jump schools she’s been brave, quiet and interested. Seems the harder the work, the better she likes it. She’s taking students now in clinics and lessons.
     Taking on these two PMU foals has been a huge success. We wish we could have kept them both as they were both excellent mounts. The farm is so busy now, time doesn’t allow for another go-round at this endeavor, but anyone with some space, time and desire could easy get themselves a fine horse. - Diane Spire





A new barn

I am starting a new boarding and training facility in Medina, just an hour outside of San Antonio. You can visit our Web site at Texashillcountryhorses.com. - Tori Reese

Across the Back Fence is for CTEA  members about CTEA  members. Tell us what clinics you’re doing, horses you’ve purchased and other horse-related activities. Send information to Kristina Paledes, kpaledes@peoplepc.com.