Silverfox Equestrian Club

Hello. It is Honeycomb. I speak for the herd here, a position I gave myself some time ago and nobody has taken back.

One of our favourite people is moving on, and I will be honest, we are not thrilled about it. She has been very good to us and we will miss her at the gate. We wish her every good thing, and we have said so at length in the field.

Which means we are looking for someone to join the team. Full time, starting in September, here in Ashburn. It is a big pair of boots to fill, so I have been asked to explain what the job actually involves.

Think of it as being paid to go to the gym, except the gym nickers at you when you pull in, and every machine has a personality. Hay bales are your deadlifts. Wheelbarrows and water buckets are your farmer's carries. Turnout is your cardio, and one of us will always add an extra lap for you, free of charge. You will sleep well and you will never once wonder whether you moved enough that day.

The rest of it looks like this. Stalls get mucked. We come in, we go out, and quite often we come straight back in again. Hay goes in front of us. Feed gets made up. Water is kept clean and filled. The barn gets swept and tidied and kept like somewhere people and animals actually want to be.

You will be looking after our people too. Saying hello when they arrive, helping them, answering their questions, sending them home happier than they came in. We are very fond of our people and we would like them looked after properly.

And you will be looking after us, which matters more to me than anything else on this list. Noticing when one of us is a little off. Knowing the difference between grumpy and sore. Making sure everybody is settled and content and nobody is sulking at the back of the field.

So we need somebody who has handled horses before. This is not a beginner job. We are lovely, but we are large and we all have opinions, and I have more than most.

Somebody who sees what needs doing and gets on with it, and who can sort a small problem before it turns into a bigger one. Somebody the rest of the team is glad to see walk through the door.

And there is one more thing, which I was asked to raise personally. You must love giving treats. The vote was unanimous. I counted.

If that sounds like your kind of place, send your resume to [email protected]

Tell us your name, your experience with horses, and the horse who taught you the most. I will be reading over Kristi's shoulder.

The horses at the Olympics went out for grass afterwards.

Best in the world, competing for their country, and what they wanted was grass and a scratch on the neck. Same as our horses at home on a wet Tuesday.

This is Tokyo 2021, the Games that still say 2020 on the shirt. Covid pushed it back a year and no spectators were allowed in. No family, no friends, no support staff. Just riders, horses, and a very quiet stadium.

Kristi Newman was there helping with the dressage, jumping and eventing. Experience of a lifetime. And yes, that is her doing the tourist selfie with the rings.

Here is what nobody warns you about. It was still a horse show.

She had built it into a finish line in her head. Then you get there and think, oh. That's it? Years of work, over in about ten minutes, and then you fly home and there is still washing to do.

So that ride on Wednesday night when nobody is watching. That is not the warm up for your real riding life.

That is your riding life.

What is one ride from this summer you would live again exactly as it was?

Come ride with us at Silverfox Equestrian Club in Whitby, or join us on Skool from anywhere.

Riders out in the long grass, and not one work email between them.

Monday's adult camp is sold out. Every spot gone.

If you missed it, we have another week starting the 17th and there is still room on that one.

A week in the no adulting zone. No meetings, no laundry, nobody needing anything from you. Just horses, riding, and people who get it.

Grown ups need camp too.

Want a spot the week of the 17th? Comment below or send us a message.

Come ride with us at Silverfox Equestrian Club in Whitby, or join us on Skool from anywhere.

Sunshine, horses, and a group of people who like being around each other.

We talk a lot about the horses here, but our members are the reason Silverfox Equestrian Club feels the way it does. They cheer each other on, they hold a horse when someone needs a hand, and they never make anyone feel silly for asking a question.

Our next adult learn to ride cohort starts Saturday, and we love welcoming new riders to our herd.

Is learning to ride still on your list? Tell us in the comments.

Come ride with us in Whitby, or join us on Skool from anywhere.

Hay day at the barn, and the goats decided they were part of the team photo.

Teamwork makes the dream work, and we got lucky with ours.

Our team show up in the heat, do the jobs nobody sees, and still find something to laugh about. They look after the horses like they are their own.

Silverfox Equestrian Club is what it is because of every one of them.

Who is on your dream team? Give them a shout in the comments.

Come ride with us in Whitby, or join us on Skool from anywhere.

Big news. We are adding Working Equitation to our competition roster this year.

Which means somebody has to go and figure out the obstacles first. So we loaded up Glory and Puff and took them off property to get the practice reps in.

New place. Barrels, a bridge, a garrocha pole, weave poles, a gate, a fake bull. None of it anything they had seen before.

They loved it. Puff especially, though she and Ciara both puffed right out by the end and needed a proper breather. That is them in the second photo, done and completely happy.

This is the good kind of tired. The kind you only get from trying something new and finding out you and your horse can sort it out together, one new obstacle at a time.

Want to learn Working Equitation with us this season? Come find out what it is all about, in person or inside our Skool community.

What do you think your horse would think of these obstacles? Tell us.

Our new signs are up.

There is something that makes a place feel real the day its name goes on the wall. Good People. Real Wellness. Horses at the Centre. That is not a tagline we made up for a sign. That is the thing we try to live every day out here.

And yes, the second one is ours too. Newman Realty Group, because the people who love this life often need a hand finding the property to build it on. Horses and homes, same family, same phone number.

Thank you to Auto Trim Lindsay for the beautiful work.

If you have driven past our gate, this is what to look for now. Make an appointment and come visit us.