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The Perricones: Saddleseat Sisters

July 1, 2016 by admin

With Region 14 starting this week and Youth Nationals fast approaching, two young ladies I thought of interviewing were Isabella Perricone and her younger sister, Valentina Perricone. The girls have been riding with Christy Higman Clements Training in Miami, FL for the past few years, racking up national wins in the walk/trot and 13 & under divisions and look beautiful in Show Season while doing so. Despite a busy summer schedule, Isa and Val were gracious enough to answer some questions for the blog!

Isa, their mom Malou, and Val at the 2016 Region 12 Championships

SS: How long has your family been involved with horses? Has it always been Arabians?

Isa & Val: Our mom has been involved with horses for 30 years. Besides Arabians, she has shown Saddlebreds and hunters.

SS: Besides showing, how are horses a part of your daily life?

Isa & Val: Even though we don’t get to see them everyday because of school, we always think and ask about they because our horses are our love and passion.

Isa & RA Alliza winning a Region 12 championship

SS: What is your favorite horse show memory?

Isa: My favorite memory is when I showed our pony, Minnievan, in the HA Park class at Region 12.

Val: Mine is showing Minnievan at the 2012 Youth Nationals in the HA English Walk/Trot class!

SS: Do you have any good luck rituals before showing?

Isa: I just take some deep breaths and listen to words of wisdom.

Val: My mom says words of confidence to me.

Val winning Region 12 Champion with SF Blonde Ambition

SS: What is your favorite Show Season garment?

Isa: Everything I own is my favorite! But I would have to say that my day coat is my favorite – it is a raw silk in a deep blue with a purple stripe. No one else has it!

Val: My day coat because it is my favorite color – purple.

Isa in her beautiful blue day coat at Region 12 — Isa in her beautiful blue day coat winning Region 12 champion with Bad Bad Leroy Brown

Val winning Youth National champion in her stunning purple day coat

SS: What are your plans for the rest of the show season?

Isa & Val: We will be going to Region 14 and then Youth Nationals – we couldn’t be more excited because they are our two favorite shows we look forward to all year long!

Best of luck to these sisters this summer – thank you for letting Show Season be a part of the ride!

The Vokouns – A Family Affair

June 15, 2016 by admin

There’s nothing like bonding over an activity that the whole family can do together – showing horses happens to be something that husband and wife Dan and Cori Vokoun of Buckshot Farms, along with their twins Alex and Reagan, love to do. Their passion for showing was evident at this year’s Scottsdale Show where all four of them won championships. I loved that the whole family is involved with horses and decided to ask the matriarch of the family, Cori, more about their experiences showing.

BSF Elegance and Cori Sampson Vokoun winning reserve champion at the 2016 Scottsdale Show

SS: How long has your family been involved with horses? Has it always been Arabians?

Cori: We started with Arabians in 1986, which was out of pure luck. I wanted a horse so badly, so we asked around to friends we knew with horses and they happened to be Arabian horse breeders. The rest took off from there. We started breeding our own horses in 1994 and have been breeding every year since. Currently we raise Arabians, Half Arabians, and Quarter Horses. Dan, Alex, Reagan and I show, and we share horses and a variety of disciplines. We had a great Scottsdale this year, with all of us winning championships.

SS: Besides showing, how are horses apart of your daily life?

Cori: We ride for fun, especially the kids. They love to have what we call a “free day” where they can mess around and play on their horses. In addition to showing, we love watching the babies grow up, evaluating them at different stages, planning future breedings, etc.

Alex Vokoun and Tamar Black Label winning reserve champion at Scottsdale

SS: What is your favorite horse show memory?

Cori: In 2004, we had an English Pleasure filly, BSF Electra, that we had bred and brought to U.S. Nationals. She was barely ready and we almost didn’t bring her. Peter Stachowski agreed to catch ride her for us. I remember sitting in the stands with my parents waiting for the class to start and we had no idea if she was going to be the best or the worst in the English Pleasure futurity class. She came through the gate looking fantastic. She got better and better as the class went on and won unanimously! That class was so amazing because of the amazement, surprise, and joy we experience together in the stands. It was such a huge accomplishment for our family to breed a horse of that caliber, have her win, and watch it together.

BSF Electra and Peter Stachowski winning the 2004 US Nationals in Arabian English Pleasure Futurity

SS: Do you have any good luck rituals before showing?

Cori: In reining, I have a few. If my dad is at the show, he asks me, “Do you know the pattern?” It used to frustrate me, but now it’s just part of the pre-show ritual for good luck. If Dan and I show together, we tell each other “Shake and Bake Baby!” (A reference to the movie Talladega Nights)

Buckshot Dun It and Dan Vokoun at the Scottsdale Show

SS: What is your favorite Show Season garment?

Cori: My new reining shirts are great – they are perfect for both Arabian and NRHA shows.

My husband, Dan, loves his sand suede chaps. There’s a funny story about those. Patti called me one day and said “Dan’s chaps are ready.” I had no idea what she was talking about – apparently he ordered them and didn’t want me to know. I was so happy to learn the new boundaries in our marriage about Show Season… Just order whatever you want, no need to discuss it! They are really cool chaps, and look great. So, I ordered some for myself shortly after. We both get compliments on our chaps, especially at NRHA events.

I love my daughter Reagan’s new hunt coat. It is stunning.

BSF Savannah and Reagan Vokoun at the Scottsdale Show — BSF Savannah and Reagan Vokoun at Scottsdale

SS: What are your plans for the rest of this show season?

Cori: The kids will be in full force at Youth Nationals with a string of walk/trot horses. Dan and I will show in the fall at the High Roller Reining Classic, U.S. Nationals, and the NRHA Futurity. We will focus on pleasure horses at the Arabian shows and lots of Quarter Horse reining this year.

Thank you for letting Show Season be a part of your family’s journey and best of luck to Cori, Dan, Alex and Reagan the rest of 2016!

Kiira Harkins – Born in the Saddle

June 2, 2016 by admin

Adult amateur Kiira Harkins was destined to be apart of the Arabian horse industry, even before she was born. She likes to joke that she was practically born in the saddle since her mother was riding while pregnant with her. The rest has been history as Harkins has shown since she was a young girl and garnered many national titles across different disciplines. We decided to catch up with her and feature her on the Show Season blog!

Kiira and Voulez Vu winning Top Ten in HA Country English Pleasure at the 2015 US Nationals

SS: How did you get involved with horses? Have you always been involved with Arabians?

Kiira: My mother and grandmother, Kristin Harkins and Jan Colwell, have been involved with Arabians for over 40 years and my mom was riding while pregnant with me. I have been blessed to grow up with Arabians and to spend the last 23 years (plus nine months in utero) with these beautiful and intelligent animals.

3 generations of the Harkins family at Youth Nationals with homebred national champion, Windabrae

SS: Besides showing, are horses a part of your daily life?

Kiira: My family owns Windabrae Farm, a breeding farm in Chillicothe, OH and most of the horses that we have ridden and shown over the years are homegrown. Breeding holds endless interest for me and I enjoy researching different bloodlines and crosses to inform decisions we make with our broodmares. Since graduating college last year, I work full time at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry and no longer live at home, but I always look forward to weekends when I am able to visit with the babies and my old retired show horses, Thank Ghaz, Forty Second Street, and Windabrae.

SS: What is your favorite horse show memory?

Kiira: It is so difficult to pick just one from a lifetime of wonderful show memories, and most of them are simply the varied bonding moments that happen spontaneously with family, friends and trainers. Today, my favorite is my 2006 win with Forty Second Street at Youth Nationals in the 13 & under Half-Arabian English Pleasure. Two years previous, this horse had sent me to the ICU with serious chest trauma after flipping over backwards and stepping on me to right himself. He had a temper and was notoriously difficult to ride, but I was up for the challenge and we kept pushing forward. I remember almost falling off of him when Tony announced our reserve championship. My whole family was there and we were all so emotional. There were no dry eyes.

Kiira and Forty Second Street winning Youth National Reserve Champion HA English Pleasure 13 & under in 2006

SS: Do you have any good luck rituals before showing?

Kiira: I hold that hard work and careful preparation is the best formula for good luck, however my sister and I have a route we run through whenever we show. We both loved the Dinotopia novels and film growing up, and the characters in that universe have a distinctive way of greeting, reassuring, and saying farewell to one another. One of us will place a fist over our heart and say, “fly high.” Whichever of us is about to show we will reciprocate the hand gesture and say, “breathe deep.” This will be followed by an emphatic, “seek peace.” We don’t necessarily do it for good luck. It is more of a statement to go ride your ride and come what may!

Kiira and sister Kinkela at Youth Nationals

SS: What is your favorite Show Season garment?

Kiira: The contrasting coat I wear when I show Voulez Vu is my easy favorite. It has a silver base with an overlaying navy blue floral design and the pants are a sheeny, light navy with a windowpane pattern. The vest is a plain navy sequin fabric and the shirt is a subtle blue and white herringbone print. A navy tie with a light blue, royal blue, and yellow floral paisley design completes the look. This suit is eye-catching, beautiful, impeccably tailored, and blends as to compliment my horse perfectly. Thank you, Melissa!

Kiira and Voulez Vu at the 2015 US Nationals

SS: What are your plans for the rest of this year?

Kiira: I am looking forward to showing at Region 14 in a few weeks and then US Nationals in October. I might give the whole hunter business another go as well!

We want to wish Kiira and her family the best of luck the rest of this Show Season – thank you for letting us be apart of the ride!

3 Ways to Get into Tiptop Shape for the Show Ring

May 2, 2016 by admin

It’s finally the best time of the year! Horse show season is in full swing and depending on where you live, you have probably shown your horse at least once. After hitting the show ring, you know what you need to improve upon and have started practicing for bigger shows like the Buckeye, regionals, and perhaps even the national level shows. Although you can’t replace spending time at the barn and actually riding your horse, there are other ways to prepare for the bigger shows – from personal experience, I believe that is working on your physical fitness. Your horse is already in great shape – why not get yourself into shape as well?

Lace up the Sneakers

Classes at the larger shows are always longer with more horses in them – it is paramount to increase your endurance. There’s nothing worse than feeling winded in your class when the judge hasn’t even called for the line-up yet. Whether it is taking a brisk walk during your lunch break to becoming BFF’s with the treadmill, aiming to do some sort of cardio 3-4 times a week will help drastically.

Pump Some Iron

Grab a pair of weights to help develop your muscle control and coordination. Strength training a few times a week will improve your posture and help you have a better seat in the saddle. Another thing to consider is that when you have better control of your muscles, your cues to your horse will also be more consistent ultimately creating a better performance.

Stretch It Out

Flexibility is more crucial to riding than you may realize. If yoga isn’t your thing, remember to stretch your muscles after a cardio or strength session since they will already be warmed up. Besides making you may limber, learning how to stretch properly develops your ability to relax and alleviate tension you may be feeling. Remember, when any anxiety you feel, your horse will as well.

Besides improving your health, knowing that you are feeling fit and strong will give you a major confidence boost. Being in tune with your body will also help you empathize with your most valued teammate – your horse! We hope that you have found these tips helpful and wish you the best of luck the rest of this season.

Sophie Yih – From Pony Parties to Roses

April 18, 2016 by admin

Youth rider Sophie Yih has been hooked on horses ever since she was five years old. It all started after attending a bunch of birthday parties for her classmates that included pony rides.

“The year Sophie started riding, it seemed to be the year of pony parties for other little girls in her class. She was invited to several pony parties that year and after she had her own birthday party she asked to ride again… and again… and again! So we decided to put her in lessons,” Sophie’s mom Cathy Yih said.

Sophie Yih looking adorable in her tux in Saddleseat Equitation in Scottsdale — Sophie Yih in the lineup in one of her Saddleseat Equitation classes at Scottsdale

Sophie then started taking lessons and eventually began showing in walk/trot with Stachowski Farms in San Marcos, CA. 2015 marked her last year of walk/trot and she had a wonderful year taking home championships at Region 1 and Region 2 as well as a reserve national championship in Purebred Country English Pleasure at Youth Nationals.

Sophie debuted in 14 & under at the 2016 Scottsdale Show with a bang. She took home the roses in PB Country English Pleasure JTR with her beautiful mare, Heiress TRGR. Besides showing in Country, she also shows in in PB English Pleasure, Saddleseat Equitation and UPHA. We love watching this young lady show and wanted to hear more about her experience at this year’s Scottsdale.

Sophie and Heiress TRGR winning the PB Country JTR 14 & under championship at Scottsdale

SS: How did you feel about the Scottsdale Show?

Sophie: I think the Scottsdale Show is the most fun horse show. I look forward to riding my horses in the classes because they are bigger with more people in them. I also like going shopping and riding in the golf carts!

SS: What was your most favorite moment of the show?

Sophie: My favorite moment was when they announced that my horse Heiress TRGR and I had won the championship class in Arabian Country English Pleasure JTR 14 & under.

SS: What is your favorite Show Season garment?

Sophie: I love what I consider my lucky combo. It is a blue, purple, and white tiny-checked shirt and a white paisley vest.

SS: What do you love most about your horse?

Sophie: My horse, Heiress, is a princess. When I feed her an apple I have to bite off small pieces, otherwise she won’t eat it!

Sophie posing with her championship plaque after her class in Scottsdale

We loved getting to know Sophie more and wish she and her horses continued success in 2016!