Thank you to LEAD Partners
Holly and Alex are very fortunate to have been lent two wonderful horses by LEAD Partners and Lindsay Wendt on a temporary basis. Grayton Farms is pleased to welcome Quipa LS (Quidam de Revel X Grannus) and Chanel (Grandeur X Quito de Baussy), two beautiful and talented chestnut mares.

Rocky Mountain Classic I
Grayton Farms began the August series at Rocky Mountain Show Jumping with Wilanka competing in the CSI 2* competitions and Emily Ritchie aboard Lexx in the 1.10m classes. Both made a great start, racking up solid results over the week. 

Spruce Meadows Continental
The 2011 edition of the Continental tournament was much the same as many other weeks of showing during the summer series at Spruce Meadows - rainy! This year, Alice Kryzan and Denali competed in the 1.10m division, and just narrowly missed out on a top placing in the week's Mini-Prix. Wilanka and Alex showed in the 1.35m division, and amid all of the rain and one day that had to be moved indoors due to the downpour, Wilanka jumped clear (and double clear!) all three days and got ribbons each day too. Grayton Farms is looking forward to a successful remainder of the series.

Paramount Jump Into Summer Show
Grayton Farms once again participated in the Paramount May horse show, and it was a very successful weekend indeed in spite of the torrential rain. Holly Burns and her new horse Acaprio competed in the 2'6" jumper division, and were clear in both classes and claimed 6th place in the Stake class. Emily Ritchie and Lexx continued their success with a 4th place finish in the 1.00m Stake Class. Taylor Jensen and Brio were 3rd in the 2'6" jumper and were 2nd in the 1.00m Stake class. Jenna Macoun and Just Unbelievable lived up to the name, easily winning both Pony Jumper classes, including the stake class, and picked up the division Championship.

Spruce Meadows Schooling Days
Grayton Farms attended the Spruce Meadows schooling day on April 20th with a great group of young riders. This is an exceptional opportunity for riders to experience the competition ring at Spruce Meadows in a setting where training is still the priority. All five riders that went had very positive training experiences, and Grayton Farms will be sure to attend these days in the future. Robyn Walker rode Mon Pleasure, Alice Kryzan rode Denali, Emily Ritchie rode Lex, Jenna Macoun rode Just Unbelievable, and Shannon Haney rode Zander.

Thermal Wrap-Up
Grayton Farms also participated in the final two weeks of the HITS Desert Circuit in 2011. Wilanka stepped up and showed in the Level 7 (1.40m) and jumped clear every day against a competitive field and difficult courses. Alban jumped into the 6 year old division, and ended up with many top placings and gained valuable competition miles and experience along the way. Charly and Holly finished up with two weeks of Level 5 (1.20m) jumping, and they too were clear every day. The horses jumped remarkably well, and the weather held up beautifully. This circuit was a fantastic way to get prepared for the busy year ahead.

Looking back at 2010; Looking forward to 2011!
The year 2010 was a great one for Grayton Farms. Many new faces, both human and equine, entered the barn this year. New arrivals to the barn in 2010 include Carola Bedau with 'Santiamo', Robyn Walker with 'Just Unbelievable' and 'Mon Pleasure', Bev Malcolm with 'Best of Times', Linda Dietsche with 'Houdini', Allison Charlton, 'Wilanka', 'Alban', 'Divinity Hill', 'Charly', and 'Zander'.

We had the benefit of adding assistant trainer, Holly Burns. Her experience, knowledge, and unspoken connection to the horses is something that cannot be duplicated. We are fortunate to have her as part of our team.

We had a superb year on the show circuit:
Alex rose over 800 places in the FEI World Rankings to sit in the top 630 worldwide by the end of the summer, as well as top 25 in Canada. He posted top placings and wins throughout the year with Henry in FEI classes and national Grand Prix, and with Wilanka in 1.30m classes to national Grand Prix. 
Holly showed very successfully with Brio in the 1.20m division, most especially in Thermal. She welcomed a very exciting two year old, Divinity Hill (Diva), who was a standout at the chute jumping clinic hosted by Bob Henselwood in June 2010. Holly also welcomed a new and exciting horse, Charly, to her string. They seemed an immediate match as they competed in the 1.20m division indoors at Spruce Meadows merely two weeks after coming together. They look forward to a great 2011 season in the 1.30m division.
All of the Grayton Farms riders represented very strongly for the barn. We are so proud of all of them, and all of their great achievements this year. We look forward to many more milestones in the coming year.

We have one face that is noticeably absent nowadays: Gran Duca was lost in June 2010 after a battle with a very difficult injury. This was an extremely special horse that inspired all those who had the opportunity to be around him.

Looking forward to 2011, Grayton Farms is poised for further growth and development of horses, riders, and knowledge. With the great team of dedicated horse people looking after all of our horses, from vets to farriers to physiotherapists to barn staff to trainers, we can be sure that our horses will be well prepared for the great successes, triumphs, and fun that surely await us.

Best wishes for the New Year!

RMSJ Santa Claus Classic
Grayton Farms riders attended the 2010 edition of the Santa Claus Classic held at John Anderson's Rocky Mountain Show Jumping in December. Robyn Walker competed for the first time with her new mount, Mon Pleasure, with great results as they get to know one another in preparation for a great 2011 show season. Bev Malcolm and her horse Best of Times showed very well, picking up ribbons in each of their classes. Later the same day, Nicole Miller showed for the first time also with Houdini, getting some great prizes along the way. A great day of competition, and a very nice start to some new partnerships.

It is Our Pleasure
Grayton Farms is very pleased to welcome a new addition to the barn for rider Robyn Walker: Mon Pleasure (Monty) will be the newest partner for Robyn as she prepares for a busy 2011 show season which should see a nice progression towards the CET Medal classes and some bigger jumper classes. Congratulations Robyn!

Spruce Meadows Fall Series
Grayton Farms attended the fall series of shows at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, AB. Henry and Wilanka competed with Alex, and Charly competed with Holly during the "Harvest Classic" week of competition. It was the first time for any of these three horse-rider combinations to compete in an indoor tournament together, and they all fared very well. Charly and Holly's week was capped off with a beautiful round in a very difficult 1.20m Mini Grand Prix. Henry jumped very well in the 1.40m classes and picked up prize money in both classes. Wilanka was a star, as she jumped with great scope and carefulness in the 1.30m division, collecting only a time fault in a tough 1.30m Classic.
The "Oktoberfest" week of showing was attended by Henry, Wilanka, as well as Maura Keogh with her 10 year old Canadian Warmblood gelding, Thor. Maura and Thor had a great week, as they too competed for the first time together indoors. Thor picked up a 5th place ribbon the first day in the 0.90m class, and was just out of the ribbons in the 1.00m class on Saturday after an unfortunate rail in the jump-off. Henry continued to improve his form through the week and jumped a beautiful round in the Grand Prix, but for an unfortunate rail in the first round, but still managed to be in the prize money. Wilanka finished her show season for 2010 very strong, as she did her first ever Grand Prix, in which she jumped clear!
It was a great series of shows for Grayton Farms, and a nice way to complete the 2010 show season with a very exciting string of horses, anxious for the next horse show!

Kyle King Clinic
Over Thanksgiving weekend, American Grand Prix rider Kyle King traveled up to Calgary to host a two day clinic for show jumpers. The clinic, organized by Holly, was hosted at Creekside Farm and Linda Ackerman. With over 15 participants from various barns from ponies to 1.45m jumpers, it was two days of great course work and gymnastic exercises. Participants from Grayton Farms included Nicole Miller, Robyn Walker, Bev Malcolm, Shannon Haney, Holly Burns, and Alex Grayton.

Spruce Meadows Masters
Both Henry and Wilanka attended the 2010 Spruce Meadows Masters tournament. With very difficult conditions, including significant amounts of rain leading up to the tournament and cold temperatures in the mornings, both of these young horses performed very well. Wilanka continued to impress with her beautiful technique in the 1.30m, and Henry followed his strong summer of shows with yet another great double clear round in the $25,000 1.40m class on the last day of competition for the National division, to end up in 7th place.

RMSJ Rocky Mountain Classic Horse Show
Grayton Farms attended the Rocky Mountain Show Jumping (RMSJ) shows in August, and saw great success. Several horses competed: 
Henry jumped in the first ever FEI-sanctioned Grand Prix events at RMSJ, and was clear in both of the CSI 2* $50,000 Grand Prix! Henry was 5th in the first week's Thursday $32,500 Grand Prix, 2nd in the $50,000 Friends of RMSJ Grand Prix, and 7th in the $50,000 Oilpatch Grand Prix.
Wilanka competed in the Open Welcome the first week and was double clear and 5th out of 40-plus starters and 17 in the jump-off, and she was double clear and 2nd in the 1.35m Modified Grand Prix.
Alex rode Silverstar Farms' Swoop to several great results, including a win in the Open Welcome the first week, and 2nd in the Bannerman Family Modified Classic.
Adrenalin, a 5 year old gelding owned by Kenna Lockwood, won the first 5 year old class with ease, and promptly followed that up with another great clear round in the second class.
Other riders from Grayton Farms that posted very good results and gained valuable experience include Holly Burns with Brio, Nicole Miller with Coco Chanel, Bev Malcolm with Best of Times, Maura Keogh and Thor, Carla Strembicke with both Cappuccino and Sasha, Kimberly Stewart with Cantique, and Shannon Haney with Natrolite.

Spruce Meadows Canada One and North American 2010
Grayton Farms was again represented at Spruce Meadows for the final two weeks of the summer series by Wilanka and Henry. With Alex riding, Wilanka moved up to the 1.30m division with great success. Each of the last two weeks of competition ended with beautiful double clear rounds in difficult rings. Both Wilanka and Alex learned a lot together and about each other from the experience at Spruce Meadows, and are well prepared for the rest of the season. Henry also moved up a division to compete in the 1.40m division at each of the last two weeks. He jumped clear rounds in every class for both weeks! In what became a very competitive division, Henry and Alex managed to collect top prizes in two competitions, which was a nice bonus to the great experience of jumping so well at this prestigious venue.

Spruce Meadows - Continental
The 2010 Spruce Meadows show season began with a lot of rain, as per usual. Two horses from Grayton Farms are entered to compete at the summer series shows: Henry and Wilanka, both with Alex aboard. The first week of competition for these horses was the Continental tournament. Henry jumped very well in difficult footing in the 1.35m division, with a nice clear round. Wilanka finished her week in the 1.20m very well also, with a clear round and 5th place. Both horses felt confident and content at the legendary show grounds, and look forward to the Canada One and North American tournaments.

Paramount 'Jump into Summer' Show
Grayton Farms attended this year's edition of the Paramount 'Jump into Summer' show with several horses: Zeolitas and Natrolite, both with Shannon Haney, Cantique with Kimberly Stewart, Brio with Holly Burns, with Sassy and Alex Grayton. Zeolitas and Shannon started the day off with two solid clear rounds in the 2'6" schooling class. Sassy and Alex posted solid clear rounds with only time faults in the 1.00m class. Cantique and Kim completed their first 1.10m classes very successfully, including a 3rd place finish in one of those classes. Brio and Holly finished the day very strongly with a 5th place in the $1000 Paramount 1.15m class. Finally, Natrolite and Shannon had a successful return to the show ring this season with 3rd place finishes in each of the 1.15m classes. Another great day at the show!
Special thanks to Ashley Phillips for this and many other special video's!!