HOME BOARDING TRAINING & LESSONS EVENTS PHOTO GALLERY
EAST MOUNTAIN FARM AND STABLES, INC.
(845) 877-3728
Training
& Lessons
Manager
& Head Trainer: Karen Penney
25+
years of overall experience training/riding dressage, hunter pleasure &
western pleasure
USDF
Certified Associate Instructor / N.A.R.H.A. Certified
Available
for Free-lance lessons / coaching at shows
1/1/06
- current President, USDF GMO Mid-Hudson Drressage and Combined Training Assoc.
(MHDCTA)
2001-2005
Vice-President, USDF GMO Mid-Hudson Dressage and Combined Training Association
(MHDCTA)
2008 (March) Monthly riding
clinics with Margaret Freeman, USDF ‘S’ at East Mountain Farm
2007
(January) Monthly riding clinics with Olav Drehn at East Mountain Farm in
2007
(February) Monthly riding clinics with Margaret Freeman, USDF ‘S’, at East
Mountain Farm
2007
Student Qualify and compete in USDF Region 8 Championships/NEDA –
Congratulations Carleen & Casinoe !!
2007
Student participation in USDF Instructor Certification Testing in Rhode Island
as demo rider & demo horse;
Carleen & Casinoe
2007
Student Competition in LYDF; Carleen & Casinoe, First Level; Carleen &
Desert Storm, Training Level;
Casey Sartori & Clipper, Training
Level (11th place overall in her age division)! Congratulations
Carleen & Casey !!
~
Congratulations to East Mountain
Farm & Stables rider Carleen Penney
on achieving her USDF Performance Certificate in both Training Level and
First Level !!! ~
~ Congratulations
to East Mountain Farm & Stables: Casinoe,
owned by Carleen Penney on
achieving his USDF Performance Certificate in Training Level !!! ~
2006
Student Qualify and compete in USDF Region 8 Championships/NEDA –
Congratulations
Carleen and Casinoe !!!
2006
Student Competition in LYDF; 1st Place Overall Team!
2006
Student Competition @ Dutchess County Fair –
Congratulations to Brianna Penney and
Razzmatazz on achieving Reserve Champion,
Western Pleasure Division !!!
2006 Student Competition in USDF Recognized shows
2006
(September) Monthly riding clinics with Bill Warren at Lost Island Farm,
2006
(December) Monthly riding clinics with Olav Drehn at East Mountain Farm in
2005
Student Competition in LYDF; 1st in Equitation in her age division;
5th overall in her age division; 1st Place Team (out of
30+ teams!); Res. Ch. Overall Team!
2005
Student Competition in USDF Recognized shows
2005
Competition in USDF Recognized shows with “Ivenhoe”
2004
Competition in USDF Recognized shows with “Ivenhoe”
2004
Monthly riding clinics with Bill Warren
2004
Participate in USDF Workshops for Instructor Certification
2004
Students Compete in LYDF
2004
Students Compete in USEF Recognized ‘C’ Shows
2004
Students Compete in USDF Recognized shows
2003
Participate in USDF Workshops for Instructor Certification
2003
1 week training in Ingelheim, Germany for dressage training at Heidiparkerhof
2002
Students participate in USEF Recognized ‘C’ and ‘B’ Shows
1999
Participation in USDF Workshops for Instructor Certification
1998
3 weeks intense training in Wiesbaden, Germany for dressage at Hofgut Kreling
CPR/First
Aid Certified; February 2008 to begin American Red Cross Instructor
Certification Training
55
x 120 Indoor Arena / 100 x 200 Outdoor Arena / 120 ac. Of Fields and Trails
As
the head trainer/instructor of the farm, Karen Penney brings 25+ years of
equine experience into good use to help develop rider’s and horses to meet
their goals. As a young rider, Karen was
first given an Arab/Appaloosa cross large pony mare; without the financial
resources to be able to afford tack equipment, Karen’s first year of riding was
spent bareback, using only a homemade hackamore! Other horses quickly followed
after that, a Quarter Horse gelding named ‘Robin’s Toriano’ that Karen trained
herself to run the barrels and competed on the local gymkhana circuit, followed
by another Quarter Horse mare named ‘Erin’ that was used on the family farm to
help move the dairy cattle. Upon
entering high school, Karen got a job as a groom at a local hunter/jumper sales
stable, and thus began the conversion to English Hunter riding. As Karen continued to work and train, she
would take the skills that she had learned and apply them to her own horses,
achieving wonderful results in hunter competition. Soonafter, motherhood followed, and shortly
afterwards, offering lessons. Today
Karen’s focus of training, lesson program and competition has become dressage.
Training
is done Tuesday – Friday and a plan is put together after client/trainer
conference. Typically, for competitive
dressage, training takes place 5 days/week and is further supplemented by lessons. All horses are invited to participate in a
training program with Karen, as well as any other supplemental instruction
provided in the form of outside trainers coming in or monthly clinics with
guest trainers. Training programs with
Karen mean that each training session lasts approximately 45 min. and costs
$50.00 per session. Participation in
clinics or lessons with guest instructors is voluntary, and participants will
be notified of the cost of participation.
Lessons
with non-boarders are typically once a week and are on an individual
basis. Karen’s specialty is with
beginners and intermediate riders, having had a long, successful career
bringing along young riders from the basics of riding, to riding in a competitive
environment (hunter and dressage).
Riders must be a minimum age of 7 years old, need to provide their own
riding pants (jeans are fine – shorts are not acceptable) and proper riding
shoes. Helmets can be provided for
riders (as required by NYS law) but usually if lessons are going to be on-going
riders opt to purchase their own helmet.
There are two primary lesson ponies on the farm and because of their
size, we are somewhat limited in the age and size of rider we can accept. Ideally, once a rider out-grows a farm lesson
pony they are ready for the commitment of owning a horse of their own and can
continue their training.
Once
a client has been accepted into the lesson program there must first be a 30
min. evaluation ride. This is done to
help acclimate the rider to the stable and the lesson pony, as well as allowing
Karen to evaluate how well the rider listens and responds to instruction. The charge for this evaluation is
$30.00. When the client determines that
they would like to continue in a regular lesson program, then future dates and
times are then set. Lessons are for 45
minutes and cost $50.00. Reschedules and
cancellations are no problem providing a phone call has been given in advance;
in the event of a no-call, no-show for a lesson, then the client still gets
charged for that lesson, payable at the time of the next ride.