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Holloway's Equi-Venture Farm Heads to George H. Morris Gladstone Program
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Equi-Venture Farm
Building Horsemanship from the Backyard to International Team Competition
Brandie Holloway and Lucky Strike won the $20,000 Open Welcome Stake At Showplace Productions' Spring Spectacular I. Photo Chicago Equestrian
Wayne, IL – June 12, 2015 – Equi-Venture Farm, home of the mother-daughter Holloway team, is headed to the George H. Morris Gladstone Program at Annali-Brookwood Farm in Antiioch, IL for the week long training session with Morris starting Monday. Brandie and Hunter Holloway along with client, Caroline McLeese, will participate in the six day session organized by Diane Carney. Riders are selected by Morris to participate in the training, which is geared toward developing competent horsemen for future U.S. team competitions.
The Holloway’s are definitely horsemen, skills learned from the bottom up. Brandie and Hunter have both loved horses since the day they were born. Brandie grew up in Topeka, Kansas where her parents had western horses. She rode before she could walk and at age 14, won the American Quarter Horse World Championship on a $750 horse she found from an ad in the newspaper. Brandie would sell equipment and saddles to gather money to buy horses. Most of her early training came from the school of hard knocks, landing in the dirt and climbing on to try again, spending countless hours a day in the barn between school obligations.
When Hunter was born in 1997, she too learned to ride before she could walk. Brandie would put her in front of her on the saddle and trot around until she fell asleep. At 12, Hunter won the Dallas Harvest $25,000 Grand Prix on Argentina, making her the youngest rider to win a national Grand Prix. In 2014, Hunter earned a spot to compete on a team in Germany and held fundraisers to earn the money to go. Hunter, like her mother, loves to spend every waking hour with the horses, fitting in online school when she can.
Hunter Holloway won the Ronnie Mutch Equitation Award at the Devon Horse Show 2015 with Any Given Sunday. Photo: Rebecca Walton/Phelpssports.com.
Hunter has won numerous equitation titles including her second place finish in the ASPCA Maclay Medal Finals last year and she won the Ronnie Mutch Equitation Championship at Devon this past May with Any Given Sunday, a mount she shares with her mother who rides it in the Grand Prixs. In fact, the duo shares several of their horses and enjoy the competition between them. The two often compete against each other in the Grand Prixs and have a definite rivalry between them.
Hunter Holloway and I Love Lucy in the Welcome Stake at Spring Spectacular. Photo Elizabeth Stein/Chicago Equestrian
“At home we have fun competing against each other to see who can do one less stride or one more stride,” said Brandie. “We make each other better but we still try to beat each other when it’s game time.”
“We’re happy that if someone is going to beat us that it’s at least the other one of us,” added Hunter.
Hunter Holloway with Reserve Champion Junior Hunter Any Given Sunday and Champion Cascina at Spring Spectacular 1. Photo Elizabeth Stein/Chicago Equestrian.
Hunter is no stranger to the winner’s circle in the junior hunter divisions either, earning numerous championships on horses she and her mother buy, show and sell. In 2014, Hunter was Champion at the Devon Horse Show in both the small and large junior hunters 15 and under with Lyons Creek Bellini and Cascina and earned the Grand Small Junior Hunter Champion title. This past week at Showplace Productions’ Spring Spectacular, Hunter was Champions on Cascina and Reserve Champion on Any Given Sunday, who is also her equitation mount. But Hunter does more with her horses than just winning championships. After the victory gallop for the Grand Prix, Hunter promptly dismounted her Grand Prix mount and climbed on Cascina in the schooling ring without a saddle or bridle to demonstrate how the pair could jump around without missing a beat. The smile on her face showed her love of horses and horsemanship outside the show ring.
Hunter Holloway and Cascina demonstrate horsemanship skills. Photo by Chicago Equestrian.
“My mom did it on a first year horse at a horse show on a dare once so I thought if she can do it I can do it too,” said Hunter. “We tried it at home and now I can do it anywhere on this horse.“
Caroline McLeese and Caprisio. Photo Annie Weeden/Chicago Equestrian.
Caroline McLeese, Omaha, NE, will join the Holloways at the Gladstone Program. McLeese not only rides with the Holloways but takes care of her own horse, Caprisio, in the barn, learning about horses, one leg wrap at time. She and Hunter participated in the program last year and look forward to learning more this year.
“We’re all really excited to participate in the program,” said Brandie. “Diane Carney plays a significant role in our program and she encouraged us to apply. We have a fantastic string of horses and look forward to what team competition might come our way. Diane is always there for us and will tell it like it is, so I know I’m getting an honest answer with no strings attached. She’s a great confidence builder for both Hunter and me and she’s a great at the mechanics of a horse, which helps us figure out how to get the best performance from our horses. We definitely have several key people like Mike McCormick and Don Stewart who help us and we know we can rely on Diane anytime. We are very grateful for her help and guidance in both of our careers.”
Equi-Venture Farm is located in Topeka, KS and offers quality young and experienced horses for sale and high end training in equitation, hunters and jumpers. The program emphasizes well rounded horsemanship from the saddle to the barn. For more information or to contact them, visit their website at www.evfhorses.com or email them at equiventurefarm@yahoo.com.
Physical Address
8722 SW 29th Street
Topeka, Kansas 66614
equiventurefarm@yahoo.com
Tel: 785-633-6416
Fax: 785-246-6231
Mailing Address
536 SW Westchester Rd
Topeka, KS 66606
The Gladstone Program at Annali-Brookwood Farm runs June 15-20th. Auditors are welcome daily 8am to noon for $75 per day. Afternoon sessions are for riders only. The farm is located at 18752 Edwards Road, Antioch, IL 60002. Contact Diane Carney 847-922-6167 or dtelluride@aol.com for more information.
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