Equistrong

What can’t this team do?!🤯👏🏽

It was a fun weekend at the in gate for Jen Yonda where she piloted her mare to a Reserve Champion🥈 in their first crack at 3ft, a respectable 4th in their first 3ft derby, and also had a nice couple tours around the .85s for the pair’s second effort in the jumper ring!

Ten Sixty Stables Jess Baxter Photography

Sales graduate, Mystical Glitter, on top in the TB Jumper Classic at Angelstone Events!!🏆

Congratulations to her connections! 🤩

Fuerst Impresion & Jen Yonda topped the leaderboard this weekend with two beautiful rounds at the Pickering Horse Centre Ltd. derby!🥇🏆

A super as we had felt this team had hit a plateau last year around the low-mid 70 mark. Jen put in the WORK 💪🏽 for months, delayed her show season to continue training and in her first class of the year finally cracked her first over 80 base score!👏🏽

📸: Maddy - Ontario Equine Photographer
🪢: Savannah

durhamvalleyequine

Good c**t starters are getting harder to find — and that should worry people.

The horse industry is on fire right now. Incentives are growing, big shows are packed, and everyone wants a broke, confident young horse ready to go.

What’s in short supply?
Horsemen who can start one right.

C**t starting isn’t a quick tune-up or a 30-day flip. The foundation and first few rides shape how a horse thinks for the rest of its life. Rush it, cheap out, or put it in the wrong hands, and you’ll spend years trying to fix it — if you ever can.

Every c**t learns differently. Some figure it out quick, others need time. That’s not weakness — that’s horsemanship. The good ones adjust instead of forcing a timeline.

If the c**t starter you want is booked solid, that’s not a problem — that’s a sign. Ask who they trust and wait your turn if you have to. Settling almost always costs more.

Start them when they’re ready. Keep the rides short, clear, and intentional. Give them 90–120 days if you want something that lasts.

And here’s the part people don’t like hearing:
Pay your c**t starter. Pay them well.
It’s not expensive — it’s insurance.

Because those first rides don’t just make a horse — they decide its future. Written by Dusty Harvey **tstarting Wrangler Wrangler Western Ritchie Bros. rodeoinsurance.ca Brown’s Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Canadian Pro Rodeo Sport Med Team Ty Pozzobon Foundation Tim Cooper Jones Boys Western Wear COVERAGE.BY.COURTNEY Bronc Beer Alberta Boot Company

Pssst 👀 remember this guy?

Currently sitting at the top of the leader board in the Small Horse Division and in 2nd place in the B Equitation division after 2 shows🥹

Congrats to his team Alana Jane Yourkevich Stillbrook Riding Stables 😍👏🏽

The lease horses will be coming home in just a few short months and we have some GOOD ones available for lease and ⛵️

So far these familiar faces are to be available for lease:
🐻Lady Kane- Beginner/WT/learn to canter/jump/trails
🦄Silver Lining- XRail to 2ft Hunter or Jumper
🌼Dine N Dash- 2’6 small hunter & equitation/derby specialist
🐈‍⬛Geneva- 2’9-3ft Hunter

& for ⛵️
👑Queen B- 2’6 Hunter/equitation

Stay tuned as we begin to repost our favourite mounts in the upcoming weeks🫶🏽