Westphalen Farms

09/28/2026

What a way to wrap up an incredible season at The League presented by Marshall & Sterling Insurance National Final!

Congratulations to our riders :

Carsyn Westphalen and “American Girl”, who finished their first final with a 🥈place out of 30+ in the Pre-Children’s Hunter 2 Round Classic, just .25 off the winning score! They also earned 7️⃣th out of 30+ in the Pre-Children’s Hunter over fences.

Sofie Stancavish and Casey McKissock’s “Cat’s Meow HF” finished their week with a 🥉 place in the Low Children’s Hunter 2 Round Classic out of 50+ entries! They also earned 8️⃣th place in the Low Children’s Hunter flat, also out of 50+. This pair has only been together a short time, and this was Cat’s first final— so much to be proud of!

Shannon Powell and “Forever Oz” came into finals ranked 6️⃣th nationally in the Low Children’s Hunter division out of 150+ after an outstanding season, earning Champion or Reserve at almost every show this year! While they just missed the ribbons at finals, their consistency and national ranking are accomplishments to be very proud of.

It means so much to have me to have students attend finals with high national rankings and come home with neck ribbons. I’m excited to continue watching these riders grow and develop.

A huge congratulations to Carsyn, Sofie, and Shannon! Thank you to our entire team for making this season possible! ❤️🐴

08/11/2026

Our first time at Hits Vermont was a blast. The horses and riders were fantastic.

Highlights Include

Carsyn Westphalen and American Girl
A clean sweep of🥇in all of the Vermont Children’s hunter classes, earning Champion 🏆
Top placings in the Pre Child/Adult Hunter, earning reserve champion 🏆
🥇 in The League pre child/adult Hunter classic
🥈in The League 2’ Hunter Derby out of 20

Shannon Powell and Forever Oz
Top placings in the low children’s Hunter, earning 🏆 champion
4th in the league low child/adult Hunter classic out of a large group
12th in the Bit O Straw 2’6 derby out of 30

Sofie Stancavish and Cat’s Meow HF
🏆 Reserve champion in the 2’6 Junior Equitation, including a win 🥇 over fences.
4th in the Bit O Straw 2’6 derby out of 30
🥇 in The League 2’6 medal
🥇 in the low children’s hunter under saddle, as well as some great rounds over fences

Katherine Brown and Dark Side of the Moon
🥈 out of 12 in the itty bitty jumpers
4th out of 21 in the itty bitty jumper classic
🥈 in the league 2’ medal
9th in The League 2’ Hunter Derby out of 20
They also had solid rounds in the 2’3 and Vermont adult hunters

Nora Stashefski and Rugged Remixdoesit
This pair had solid rounds in the low adult hunters and USHJA 2’6 hunters, earning great placings in all of their classes out of large groups.
They also placed 7th in The League low child/adult hunter classic

08/02/2026

Very proud of our crew for taking on the big stage of HITS Saugerties Week V WCHR! The horses and riders were stars 🌟, the competition was strong, and we made unforgettable memories!

Highlights include

American Girl and Carsyn Westphalen
🏆Champion in the 10 and under pre-children’s with a clean sweep of firsts.
🥇in the Jr/Adult eq 2’3 flat, followed by 5️⃣ and 7️⃣ over fences out of a huge group; she was the only one in jods and bows!
🥈 in The League 2’ pre child/adult classic, scoring an 80 and 77.
4️⃣ in The League 2’ pre child/adult medal

Dark Side of the Moon was ridden by both of her owners, Katherine Brown and Estella Clevenger. This green mare just switched over to hunters a few months ago, and really seems to be enjoying the change!
🏆 Reserve Champion Pre-Adult Hunter youngers
She also jumped an awesome 2’ derby round in the big stadium, and ribboned in all of her classes!

A new partnership- Cat’s Meow HF and Sofie Stancavish got better and better as the week went on.
They scored a pair of 76’s in the 2’6 derby, unfortunately right out of the ribbons in this competitive class!
They also had a lovely round that scored an 83 in the first round of The League Bit O Straw Classic.

Shannon Powell and Forever OZ had some of their best rounds yet in the low children’s hunters. They also earned a 4️⃣ out of a large group in The League Bit O Straw Hunter Classic!

I also had the pleasure of riding my old friend Condor in the jumpers as a warmup class for his owner.

Go team!

07/23/2026

A couple weeks ago the team showed at Brass Ring at Devon and they did not disappoint! The weather was all over the place, but everyone kept their eyes on the prize and had great success!

Dark Side of the Moon and Katherine Brown placed 4️⃣ and 6️⃣ out of a competitive Baby Green Hunter group of 30+
Additionally, they placed 5️⃣ and 6️⃣ out of a large group in the low adult equitation .

Forever Oz and Shannon Powell brought home 6️⃣ 7️⃣7️⃣ in the low children’s hunter division out of 20+
They were also the winner 🥇of the Brass Ring Jr Medal!

Cat’s Meow HF and Sofie Stancavish had a successful first show after only being paired together for a week!
They placed
🥈out of 20+ in the low children’s hunter flat
🥉in the Brass Ring Jr Medal
5️⃣ in the Junior Equitation flat out of 25.
7️⃣ in the Junior Equitation over fences

American Girl and Carsyn Westphalen had their first outing in a while and made us so proud!
🥇and 🥈 in the Junior Modified Hunter out of 22, earning them reserve champion!

06/30/2026

Some of the crew went to knock off the dust at Lotus show stable.

Nicky Boulton and her “A Touch of Sunshine” had some great trips in the 2’0 hopeful hunters

Abbie Boulton rode “Daddy Said Yes” to reserve champion in the short stirrup equitation

Nora Stashefski and her “Rugged Remixdoesit” were reserve champion in the Low child/adult hunters

Well done! 👏

06/18/2026

Some good reading 😊

Welcome to Trainer Tuesday! This week’s question posed is: What are the most important elements to finding a good distance?

“Pace and track. If you have those two things correct, you will almost always have a good distance to the jump. Your horses stride must be rhythmic, and your horse must be straight to the jumps. The goal is to always keep the speed and rhythm the same and try not to make too many adjustments. When the rider has an accurate speedometer, they can rate the pace much easier so they can make sure the speed always gets reset back to the ‘right’ pace for the horse in between the jumps.” – Stevie McCarron Wigley

“I think the narrative around finding a distance needs to be changed to learning more about a quality canter. As a rider, you are always responsible for your horse’s pace, path and their balance. These three things will lead you to a quality canter. When a rider has learned to control the canter, the ability to find a distance will become drastically easier.” – Kari Briggs

“A horse carrying the rider to the jump (not behind the rider’s leg) continuing to the jump. Straight and balanced canter with one rhythm (I think 110 strides per minute but I could be mistaken) a clear track to the center of the jump. Once you have the right connection with your horse, and the right canter, the horse should show you the distance so you won’t have to work so hard to find it.” – Stefanie Mazer

“The most important elements to finding a good distance are: having a good canter, having the proper track & approach to the fence, and having your horse in good balance and connection so they are with you!” – Michael Tokaruk

📎 Continue reading more trainer answers at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2024/06/17/trainer-tuesday-what-are-the-most-important-elements-to-finding-a-good-distance/
📸 © Heather N. Photography

06/12/2026

Our extremely long day at Briarwood’s Derby Day did not disappoint! The girls all rode beautifully and we came home with some impressive ribbons and prizes!

Shannon Powell and “Forever Oz” started it off by taking champion in the low children’s hunters out of a large competitive group. They also took third out of 14 in the 2’6 children’s medal.

Next, Katie Brown rode “Dark Side of the Moon” to reserve champion out of a very large group in the 2’0 hopeful hunters.

Nora Stashefski and “Rugged Remixdoesit” brushed the dust off, taking on their first outing in months due to Nora being away at college. They managed to ribbon in every class out of a substantial group of horses.

Well done ladies!!!

06/12/2026

A little late with the posting, but congrats to our riders who competed at Lotus in May.

Nicole Boulton and her “A Touch of Sunshine” competed in their first show together, earning great ribbons in the hopeful hunters. A job well done and worth the long wait!

Katherine Brown and her “Dark Side of the Moon” took top ribbons in the 2’3 hopeful hunters.

Shannon Powell and “Forever Oz” moved up the the 2’9 hunters, riding beautifully and holding their own against a group of mostly professionals.

Great job team!

04/19/2026

Congrats to our students on another successful show day.

Stella Clevenger and Dark Side of the Moon debuted in the 2’0 hopeful hunters. They had 3 excellent rounds over fences and hacked beautifully! We are so excited to see this young green bean’s transition to hunter land!

Shannon Powell and Forever Oz were reserve champion in the low children’s hunters!

Sofie Stancavish and McIlroy received great ribbons in the low children’s equitation, including a win over fences!

04/14/2026

This past weekend we kicked off our outdoor show season at Four Seasons!

The 12 hour show day was worth it!

Shannon Powell and Forever Oz were reserve champion in the low children’s hunter out of a large competitive division.

Shannon also won 1st in the 2’6 M&S medal out of 12 entries, and placed 4th in the M&S 2’6 classic out of 18 entries.

Sofie Stancavish and her horse McIlroy earned 6th out of 21 entries in the 2’6 jr/amateur hunter derby. They also were 3rd out of 12 entries in the medal, and ribboned in every class in the very large and competitive low children’s equitation division.

So proud of these girls and the hard work they’ve put into preparing for this show season! Congrats!