Otter Creek Farm Summer Horse trials
august 8-10, 2025
We had a great weekend up north in Wheeler, Wisconsin at what I like to call “Camp Otter” for the 2025 Otter Creek Summer Horse Trials.
Despite the early morning two hour rain delay on XC day, the organizers were able to somehow pull off the most impressive feat of running the training, novice, beginner novice, AND starter riders out the box in one minute increments to catch up the schedule, and they were able to make up over an hour and a half of lost time to finish the day only 40 minutes behind schedule. I’ve truly never seen anything like it! Remember to ALWAYS THANK YOUR VOLUNTEERS because man, what an amazing bunch of volunteers they have up north.
It was Ginger Stiver’s Hennessy Venom “Vinny’s” first official run of the season after an EPM diagnosis last fall kept us out of spring season. While on paper it doesn’t look like it was a successful show (though we still managed to finish 4th place in the Open Modified), in reality it feels like we are coming out of the weekend so much stronger, and I am SO proud of him (and myself) for overcoming many hurdles to get to this point.
Last October, he was putting his feet in ditches going through coffins and had lost awareness of his body. This past weekend, he was back to the *almost too careful* Vinny I have grown to appreciate and showed some freak of nature athletic ability that only he can pull off to jump a clean show jumping round.
Our XC was definitely not what I envisioned, but despite me dropping my crop before jump 9 and Vinny losing his shoe after the ditch and wall, we managed to regroup and finish strong — which is a HUGE win because in the past I would’ve had to retire once his adrenaline is spiking and things go wrong. Vinny is definitely the trickiest horse I’ve ever ridden but we are teaching each other so much and really starting to develop a solid partnership, and I can’t wait to see where the fall season takes us.
Sam Parcell and Danger Zone “Archer” also made the trek north with us for Sam’s very first out of town event. His dressage test was much improved from his previous run at Windermere Run in the spring, and I LOVED see how much gains he’s made in the jumping phases.
Sam only just started riding 15 months ago (and recently turned just 15 years old) but despite his inexperience and young age, he has really put in the commitment and works so hard to make his goals happen! Otter Creek is not an easy venue, especially for his 2nd ever recognized event (and only 3rd XC if you include the schooling show he did before Windermere), and he came out with ice in his veins and the poise of a seasoned pro!! 💪🏼🥳
But despite how much Sam has grown as a rider, what I’m most proud of is how much he has grown as a horseman. He is learning how to be in tune with his horse’s needs, how to take care of his horse and his stuff, and how the majority of riding is done outside of the saddle. To hear him tell Archer good boy and to see him shower him in pets & praise after their XC round, or to wake up to Sam already filling his hay nets & water buckets made me one proud coach.
And — he might have the biggest cheerleading section of any rider I know. Sam had ELEVEN family members drive up this past weekend (from as far as Florida!) to come support him all weekend. They were posted up all over XC, running and cheering and supporting him through all of the highs and lows — in the pouring rain & scorching heat. It genuinely warmed my heart to see so much love for him.
We always have the best time at Otter Creek and genuinely cannot wait to come back for the next one! Now that the summer is finally cooling down, things are heating up for a busy fall and we are so excited!