Soft Landing Stables
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Providing Quality Board, Leases, and Lessons
to the DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia
Equestrian Community
to the DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia
Equestrian Community
Boarding, horse leasing, lessons and horse training are what we do and we love it all!
Soft Landing Stables is a hunter-jumper show facility offering full-care and field board, horseback riding lessons, and leases to local equestrians who want to join a lesson program and meet a like-minded community of friendly riders. SLS provides hunter-jumper riders and show horses with top of the line care and support.
Soft Landing Stables is a hunter-jumper show facility offering full-care and field board, horseback riding lessons, and leases to local equestrians who want to join a lesson program and meet a like-minded community of friendly riders. SLS provides hunter-jumper riders and show horses with top of the line care and support.
Soft Landing Stables is proud to call long-time trainer and 'r' rated hunter and equitation judge, Lyndi Prettyman-Caruso, our resident trainer. Lyndi offers private and group lessons for our riders as well as coaching at local rated and unrated shows. She guides beginner or advanced riders toward their goals, whether they want to compete and win at "A" shows or develop a balanced seat for trail riding.
Soft Landing Stables is conveniently located just 20 minutes from Capitol Hill, 30 minutes from downtown DC, and 15 minutes from Old Town Alexandria. The 40 acre facility offers 25 acres of well maintained pastures enclosed by three-board oak fencing, and nestled quietly within the privacy of the surrounding treeline and Potomac River. The horses are kept in large pastures (up to 10 acres in size) and have plenty of room to run and play.
Soft Landing Stables is conveniently located just 20 minutes from Capitol Hill, 30 minutes from downtown DC, and 15 minutes from Old Town Alexandria. The 40 acre facility offers 25 acres of well maintained pastures enclosed by three-board oak fencing, and nestled quietly within the privacy of the surrounding treeline and Potomac River. The horses are kept in large pastures (up to 10 acres in size) and have plenty of room to run and play.
If you have not experienced the beauty of our farm, please take this flyover tour produced by Tommy Sassenberg of Storyhouse Productions. This aerial tour takes you over first our 10-acre pasture, our 9-acre pasture, the 220 x 175 outdoor grass ring with jump course, our 150 x 80 indoor ring, our 9-stall upper barn, trailer parking, 5 stall lower barn and out beyond our 4.5 acre pasture on to the Potomac River that is 300 feet back from the back of the farm.
LEASE/LESSON AVAILABILITY
Two horses are available for part-lease with lessons. See "horses for lease" page and look for Molly and Cruise. To schedule an assessment ride, please e-mail DCHunterrider@gmail.com
Two horses are available for part-lease with lessons. See "horses for lease" page and look for Molly and Cruise. To schedule an assessment ride, please e-mail DCHunterrider@gmail.com
Stall availability: Stalls and field board slots are all full. Please get in touch regarding our waiting list.
SLS Superstars trainer Lyndi Prettyman Caruso and gelding Standout featured in Mar. 5 edition of the Chronicle of the Horse Magazine. They won the 2013 2'9"-3' Open Hunter division at the BEST series. Katri, you and Stan are up next (haha!)
Good-bye Tommy & Julia: In November Tommy & Julia returned to their native Germany. We miss them! They were everything a BO could want in a pair of boarders. They are wicked smart, accomplished horsemen, fun to be around and great people. But now we have friends to visit in Germany!
SLS Superstars trainer Lyndi Prettyman Caruso and gelding Standout featured in Mar. 5 edition of the Chronicle of the Horse Magazine. They won the 2013 2'9"-3' Open Hunter division at the BEST series. Katri, you and Stan are up next (haha!)
Random Farm Pictures:
Good-bye Tommy & Julia: In November Tommy & Julia returned to their native Germany. We miss them! They were everything a BO could want in a pair of boarders. They are wicked smart, accomplished horsemen, fun to be around and great people. But now we have friends to visit in Germany!
View of indoor arena from 10-acre pasture.
CURRENT EVENTS:
Spring pride!
We have a couple of announcements we are proud to make.
1-We welcome Rebecca Morrison and her strapping 18.1 Warmblood General Eisenhower to our team, pictured below. This baby boy has just turned 5 (no typos) and trainer Lyndi will guide Rebecca as they start this fancy one over fen2-ces:
2-Zack and Stan are making huge
progress with their beloved horse mum's. Below is a shot of Katri showing off Stan's new wonderful bascule. And a video shows Sarah lunging Zack as he holds himself beautifully together as a result of her hard work with him:
Major News & Excitement!!
Zack now belongs to his true mommy, Sarah, pictured below. Zack is a 16'3"3/4 Oldenburg great grandson of Art Deco. Zack is stunning, gorgeous and fancy (as is Sarah.) They are now bound together for the rest of their lives and former mommy, Bonnie, will not have to miss Zack as he will continue to reside at SLS. A pop of the champagne cork to Sarah. Watch for them in 2014 in the jumper ring.
Congrat's to Laurie Casper and her fancy, fancy boy, Dante on good ribbons at the November BEST show!
So cute!
Alisha on Geronimo leads Madison on Tater in a lesson with Lyndi:
10/30: Stefani & Buster: Our newest boarders. We adore them both!
Welcome Madison! and the rest of your lovely family! She is shown here on Tater with trainer Lyndi Prettyman Caruso.
10/17: Please enjoy this picture of our adorable new family member, Lucky Day. We rescued this worried-faced little 14' guy from the New Holland slaughter auction. He is living in Mt. Airy for his 30-day quarantine and will come home in mid-November. Lyndi will then train him to take care of some of our growing cadre of young riders.
10/10: Finally a picture of Alisha and her new riding partner, Geronimo!
10/3 We welcome our former lessor Stefani as a boarder. She is bringing over a gorgeous 8 year old OTTB whose name I do not yet know but will post as soon as possible. Pictures, too!
9/20: Junior riders Tara & Denra went out on trail today and crossed a creek---one of many that flow out to the Potomac. The horses loved it and so did Bailey & Indy, the dogs! We're right across the street from a 5,000 acre park along the Potomac river.
8-13: Katri & Stan: Multiple Champs at BEST!!!
7-19-13: Sarah took this great shot of Zack and her dog. See how calm Zack is in the cross-ties? That's all due to Sarah's wonderful influence.
7/13-14 BEST show: What a fabulous weekend! On Saturday, Lyndi rode Stan to the championship in the 2'9"-3' open hunters, Katri was reserve champ on Stan in the Senior Eq.division and Tara won great ribbons in the jumpers on Cocoa. On Sunday, Lauren rode Stan to the reserve championship in the Junior Equitation division. Amy Leonardi took many wonderful and artistic photographs which we share herewith below:
Last weekend in June, 2013: Our junior riders stole the BEST show. Tara on Cocoa won two division championships including the 2'6" indoor open hunters where she competed against trainers & advanced amateur riders.
06/16/2013: We are so proud of our teen riders Denra, Tara and Lauren who put in great performances at the last BEST show. Denra showed Cruise in the jumpers and did spectacularly well. Tara and Cocoa got a second in a hunter class with more than 20 entries. And Lauren on Bert won a large over-fences classes. You go, girls!
Denra and Cruise won this class with a beautiful round!
Lauren & Bert Above
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New lessor Sarah and Zack are madly in love with each other!!
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New lessor Katri & Stan are a great pair!!
06/04/2013: We welcome new SLS residents Ross (l) and (Red) Flash (r) pictured below enjoying a huge pile of leafy hay. These beautiful boys belong to Amy & Isabel who moved over after many years at Merrymount, where SLS owner Bonnie Erbé once boarded. We are sorry to see Merrymount close as it has been an iconic H/J barn in PG.
Flash's mom Isabel with her human baby, Henry and Flash & Ross behind her:
Henry and Isabel say hello to Topper:
06/02/2013: SLS welcomes Katri Hunter who will now be leasing Stan. Pictures coming soon!
05/18/2013: Rider Tara and her pony Cocoa put in a great performance at the WBTA May show. Trainer Lyndi was called in to judge a show at the last minute, so her mom stood in to coach Tara at WBTA.
05/27/2013: Our wonderful Miguel takes great care of the horses!
04/24/2013: SLS welcomes talented rider Sarah R. who is leasing Zack. Pictures coming soon!
04/20-21/2013: SLS riders Tara, Liane, Lauren and Stef as well as trainer Lyndi, put in stellar performances at the last BEST show. Lyndi showed Soft Landing's Standout at 3' and took division champion, pictured below.
03/25/2013: A great performance both Saturday and Sunday at the BEST Horse Show hunter series. In attendance was Lyndi Prettyman-Caruso, our resident trainer, leading the way, along with Catherine with Tara on Cocoa, Liane on Gracie, Jerri with Denra on Cruise, and Stephani and Lauren on Bert. More updates with pictures and video will be posted soon!
03/18/2013: SLS will be well represented at the first show in the BEST horse show series this coming weekend with a large group of our riders and horses expecting to compete in both hunters and jumpers.
03/17/2013: Adding another splash of color to the pastures, SLS welcomes Julia's new horse, Max, to the barn! Max joins Julia and Tommy and their horse, Cody, who moved to SLS last fall.
01/12/2013: Multiple championships and reserve championships at the BEST undercover show.
Brandy-Michelle with Fred pictured below.
Owner Bonnie Erbé showed for the first time since her major injury in May 2011. She and her horse, Standout (Stan), were champion in the senior pleasure division.
Bonnie with Stan pictured below.
Tara and her new pony, Cocoa, continuously improved as the weekend went on, placing in the ribbons in over six classes and taking home a reserve champion at their first show!
Tara and Cocoa pictured below.
12/21/2012: Holiday Party at the barn. A good time was had by all!
12/08/2012: Catherine, Tara, and Brandy hit the road to Frying Pan Park's Hunter Show once again, only to meet an unusually high turn-out of entries. Given that their divisions had still not started by 7pm, the team packed it up, called it a day, and chocked it up to a good dress rehearsal for Catherine and Tara's new pony!
12/07/2012: Catherine and Tara welcome their new pony, Cocoa to Soft Landing Stables!
11/03/2012: Catherine, Tara, Lauren, Denra, and Brandy enjoyed taking home plenty of ribbons as well as the unseasonably warm weather at Frying Pan Park's Hunter Show.
Fall 2012: Soft Landing Stables welcomes the addition of three new boarders. Julie Weisz and her three horses, In Style, Lance and Delilah join us from California. Julie provides hunter and jumper lessons on her horses.
Julie Weisz
Fall 2012: Soft Landing Stables welcomes Tommy and Julia with their horse Cody, pictured below.
Spring pride!
We have a couple of announcements we are proud to make.
1-We welcome Rebecca Morrison and her strapping 18.1 Warmblood General Eisenhower to our team, pictured below. This baby boy has just turned 5 (no typos) and trainer Lyndi will guide Rebecca as they start this fancy one over fen2-ces:
2-Zack and Stan are making huge
progress with their beloved horse mum's. Below is a shot of Katri showing off Stan's new wonderful bascule. And a video shows Sarah lunging Zack as he holds himself beautifully together as a result of her hard work with him:
Major News & Excitement!!
Zack now belongs to his true mommy, Sarah, pictured below. Zack is a 16'3"3/4 Oldenburg great grandson of Art Deco. Zack is stunning, gorgeous and fancy (as is Sarah.) They are now bound together for the rest of their lives and former mommy, Bonnie, will not have to miss Zack as he will continue to reside at SLS. A pop of the champagne cork to Sarah. Watch for them in 2014 in the jumper ring.
Congrat's to Laurie Casper and her fancy, fancy boy, Dante on good ribbons at the November BEST show! So cute!
Alisha on Geronimo leads Madison on Tater in a lesson with Lyndi:
10/30: Stefani & Buster: Our newest boarders. We adore them both!
Welcome Madison! and the rest of your lovely family! She is shown here on Tater with trainer Lyndi Prettyman Caruso.
10/17: Please enjoy this picture of our adorable new family member, Lucky Day. We rescued this worried-faced little 14' guy from the New Holland slaughter auction. He is living in Mt. Airy for his 30-day quarantine and will come home in mid-November. Lyndi will then train him to take care of some of our growing cadre of young riders.
10/10: Finally a picture of Alisha and her new riding partner, Geronimo!
10/3 We welcome our former lessor Stefani as a boarder. She is bringing over a gorgeous 8 year old OTTB whose name I do not yet know but will post as soon as possible. Pictures, too!
9/20: Junior riders Tara & Denra went out on trail today and crossed a creek---one of many that flow out to the Potomac. The horses loved it and so did Bailey & Indy, the dogs! We're right across the street from a 5,000 acre park along the Potomac river.
8-13: Katri & Stan: Multiple Champs at BEST!!!
7-19-13: Sarah took this great shot of Zack and her dog. See how calm Zack is in the cross-ties? That's all due to Sarah's wonderful influence.
7/13-14 BEST show: What a fabulous weekend! On Saturday, Lyndi rode Stan to the championship in the 2'9"-3' open hunters, Katri was reserve champ on Stan in the Senior Eq.division and Tara won great ribbons in the jumpers on Cocoa. On Sunday, Lauren rode Stan to the reserve championship in the Junior Equitation division. Amy Leonardi took many wonderful and artistic photographs which we share herewith below:
Last weekend in June, 2013: Our junior riders stole the BEST show. Tara on Cocoa won two division championships including the 2'6" indoor open hunters where she competed against trainers & advanced amateur riders.06/16/2013: We are so proud of our teen riders Denra, Tara and Lauren who put in great performances at the last BEST show. Denra showed Cruise in the jumpers and did spectacularly well. Tara and Cocoa got a second in a hunter class with more than 20 entries. And Lauren on Bert won a large over-fences classes. You go, girls!
Denra and Cruise won this class with a beautiful round!
Lauren & Bert Above
------------------------
New lessor Sarah and Zack are madly in love with each other!!
-------------
New lessor Katri & Stan are a great pair!!
06/04/2013: We welcome new SLS residents Ross (l) and (Red) Flash (r) pictured below enjoying a huge pile of leafy hay. These beautiful boys belong to Amy & Isabel who moved over after many years at Merrymount, where SLS owner Bonnie Erbé once boarded. We are sorry to see Merrymount close as it has been an iconic H/J barn in PG.
Flash's mom Isabel with her human baby, Henry and Flash & Ross behind her:
Henry and Isabel say hello to Topper:
06/02/2013: SLS welcomes Katri Hunter who will now be leasing Stan. Pictures coming soon!
05/18/2013: Rider Tara and her pony Cocoa put in a great performance at the WBTA May show. Trainer Lyndi was called in to judge a show at the last minute, so her mom stood in to coach Tara at WBTA.
05/27/2013: Our wonderful Miguel takes great care of the horses!
04/24/2013: SLS welcomes talented rider Sarah R. who is leasing Zack. Pictures coming soon!
04/20-21/2013: SLS riders Tara, Liane, Lauren and Stef as well as trainer Lyndi, put in stellar performances at the last BEST show. Lyndi showed Soft Landing's Standout at 3' and took division champion, pictured below.
03/25/2013: A great performance both Saturday and Sunday at the BEST Horse Show hunter series. In attendance was Lyndi Prettyman-Caruso, our resident trainer, leading the way, along with Catherine with Tara on Cocoa, Liane on Gracie, Jerri with Denra on Cruise, and Stephani and Lauren on Bert. More updates with pictures and video will be posted soon!
03/18/2013: SLS will be well represented at the first show in the BEST horse show series this coming weekend with a large group of our riders and horses expecting to compete in both hunters and jumpers.
03/17/2013: Adding another splash of color to the pastures, SLS welcomes Julia's new horse, Max, to the barn! Max joins Julia and Tommy and their horse, Cody, who moved to SLS last fall.
01/12/2013: Multiple championships and reserve championships at the BEST undercover show.
Brandy-Michelle with Fred pictured below.
Owner Bonnie Erbé showed for the first time since her major injury in May 2011. She and her horse, Standout (Stan), were champion in the senior pleasure division.
Bonnie with Stan pictured below.
Tara and her new pony, Cocoa, continuously improved as the weekend went on, placing in the ribbons in over six classes and taking home a reserve champion at their first show!
Tara and Cocoa pictured below.
12/21/2012: Holiday Party at the barn. A good time was had by all!
12/08/2012: Catherine, Tara, and Brandy hit the road to Frying Pan Park's Hunter Show once again, only to meet an unusually high turn-out of entries. Given that their divisions had still not started by 7pm, the team packed it up, called it a day, and chocked it up to a good dress rehearsal for Catherine and Tara's new pony!
12/07/2012: Catherine and Tara welcome their new pony, Cocoa to Soft Landing Stables!
11/03/2012: Catherine, Tara, Lauren, Denra, and Brandy enjoyed taking home plenty of ribbons as well as the unseasonably warm weather at Frying Pan Park's Hunter Show.
Fall 2012: Soft Landing Stables welcomes the addition of three new boarders. Julie Weisz and her three horses, In Style, Lance and Delilah join us from California. Julie provides hunter and jumper lessons on her horses.
Julie Weisz
Fall 2012: Soft Landing Stables welcomes Tommy and Julia with their horse Cody, pictured below.
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