Rolling Hills Estate Riding Center
Rolling Hills Photos
Northern Lakes Benefit Dinner Quadrille Performance — April 2016
Led by coach Sandra Knaeble, our first outing of 2016 included nine Rolling Hills kids performing at the USPC Northern Lakes Benefit Dinner. Riders included Grace on Phoenix, Clair on Goldie, Sarah on Sir Chocolate, Alma on Asa Grey, Jenna on Loki, Ellieon Gracie and Annie on Kada — plus "National Examiners" Summer and Liam on foot. Get a load of those blinged jackets — ooh la la! What a great night and a fun performance!
Pumpkin Party — October 2015
This year's event included mounted games, a spooky trail ride, the annual costume contest, and Ernie's famous hayride to the pumpkin patch (where we scrambled to pick and load Marilyn's MASSIVE pumpkins!).
Rolling Hills Bonfire — September 2015
After our Quadrille performance at Dressage Under the Stars, we all came back to the barn, unloaded the horses, and sat down for a HUGE bonfire complete with hot dogs, marshmallows, and s'mores! This has become an annual tradition at Rolling Hills, but this year's bonfire was certainly the biggest (both in terms of the sheer height of the flames and the number of people who attended!).
Quadrille — September 2015
We once again rocked the Washington County Fairgrounds during Dressage Under the Stars! This year, eight Rolling Hills girls performed the Quadrille routine to a rock version of the theme from The Avengers — and each girl dressed as a different Avenger. Team members included Jayden Fiedler, Caroline Gusick, Sara McKeon, Alma Ratliff, Jenna Roth, Madleine Stankiewicz, Annie Trettel, and Tatum Trettel. Many thanks to Madeleine Stankiewicz for designing this year's routine and coaching the kids (nearly all of whom had never done a Quadrille routine).
Pony Club Ratings — Summer 2015
It has been an exciting summer here at Rolling Hills — we've had a slew of kids rate up this summer, including three who passed the HB, which was held at Rolling Hills. Remember, if you are interested in rating up, please let your trainer know and then contact Marilyn to arrange a test day and time.
Rolling Hills Games Rally — July 2015
This year's Pony Club camp ended on Saturday with a low-key games rally. Our youngest riders learned how a Pony Club rally works, but in a much smaller and less competitive environment. Camp leaders Val Skalruud and Madeleine Stankiewicz served as C-advisors, leading the kids through Pony Club-approved games, while Evan Trettel showed the kids how to perform the various games (many of which the kids hadn't done before).
Rolling Hills Summer Camp — June 2014
Woo hoo! Summer is finally here and so is Dori Johnson, our intrepid instructor from Texas. Dori took the reins at this year's Rolling Hills Summer Camp, leading the kids in four days of intense lessons — plus swimming with the horses and lots of games and FOOD!
Rolling Hills Schooling Show — May 2014
What a way to welcome spring! Not only was it our first 75-degree day of 2014, it also was the first Rolling Hills Schooling Show of the season! We had more than a dozen riders from both Rolling Hills and Allie's farm in Wisconsin. Many thanks to Joan Harmon for judging, and Allie Anderson for coaching. We had a great day!
Winter 2014
Yes, this winter was L-O-N-G. But all of the snow made for some gorgeous vistas at the barn...and a perfect opportunity for Karin to harness up her gorgeous horses and take everyone on an old fashioned sleigh ride!
Quadrille 2013
The theme for this year's Festival Under the Stars at the Washington County Fairgrounds was "Hollywood Spectacular", so the kids (and a couple of moms!) dressed up as pirates and performed a 12-horse quadrille to The Pirates of the Caribbean. The blonde wigs were such a hit last year that they secured huge black wigs to their helmets this year (and also carried plastic swords!). As they rode into the arena, we overheard one woman in the audience say "Oooh look, it's those kids again — I always look forward to their performance!" Yeah, so do we!
Gina Miles Clinic
Olympic Silver Medalist Gina Miles came to Minnesota in the Fall at the invitation of Croixside Pony Club, and several Rolling Hills students participated in her three-day eventing clinic.
Rolling Hills Schooling Show & Pumpkin Party — October 2013
It wouldn't be Fall without our annual pumpkin party! This year's event featured the world's most ridiculous games, including one that involved chugging a can of pop while on horseback. We're not sure who picked the biggest pumpkin, but we do know who pulled the biggest hayride — thanks Ernie! Rolling Hills student Keara Mickelson shot and edited the video below.
The New Cross-Country Course
Summer 2013 saw the entire barn working hard on the construction of our new cross-country course. The course opened in Fall, although we have a few items to complete in Summer 2014 (including the water complex!). The course offers a challenging ride for beginner-novice, novice and training-level riders.
Polocrosse - Summer 2013
The polocrosse team at Rolling Hills Riding Center traveled to several competitions and clinics over the summer — here are a few of our favorite shots!
Winter 2012
There's nothing like weathering a Minnesota winter with your horse! Even though the outdoor sand arena is covered with a foot (or three) of snow, we still manage to use it!
Quadrille 2012
For the 2012 Eventing Under the Stars "Broadway & Glee" theme, the kids decided to perform a 9-horse quadrille routine to The Phatom of the Opera, with Evan (the only boy rider) as the Phantom. The girls used duct tape to secure big blonde wigs to their helmets and made poufy tu-tus to wear over their breeches They played the "chorus" to Evan's Phantom and the effect was a huge hit with the audience!
