Silk & Sable, LLC. Sarasota, FL

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Silk & Sable, LLC 2005 – 2007 Officers::

Upcoming Events:

• March 5 – Drill Team Clinic please phone Pete at 941-809-9625 for information
• March 19 – Hospice Kids Camp Performance, Citrus County
• April 9 – Festival of States Parade, Bayfront, St. Petersburg, FL – parade begins at 10:00 a.m.
• April 22-23 – Scout Blast – Jacksonville Equestrian Center
• May 28 – Willistan Horseman’s Association, Member Appreciation Day Performance (tentative)

Team History, 1980 - Current

Silk & Sable was formed in 1980, in Sarasota, Florida by Ken London.  The club made the decision to become a Limited Liability Corporation in 2000, thus the LLC after our name! We also decided a few years ago to open the membership to both male & female riders, English or Western, age’s 16 years old and up! We are a family oriented team of 22 members which include 16 performing riders, and 6 alternates. Our team’s horses consist of Paints, Quarter horses, Thoroughbreds, Arabians an Azteca (1/2 registered Andalusian and ½ registered Quarter horse), a Mustang, and a Percheron! Most any horse is suited to do this sport, however, we do not accept gaited horses (such as Paso’s) on the team.  Our theme is Medieval, and our drill includes riding with lances along with a special contest of spearing rings at the end of our drill against our teammates! Our costumes and props are made by the multi talented members of the team!

We are extremely lucky to be coached by the best drill team coach in the State of Florida. Pete Wright has 17 years experience coaching mounted drill teams here in Florida. He choreographs all of our moves, selects music for our drills, and coaches us on the practice field until we get our timing right and the drill patterns become second nature to us.  Because of his dedication to this team, we hold numerous mounted drill team titles.

It usually takes between 4 to 6 weeks to get a horse and rider combination comfortable in doing drill combinations, (the horses usually learn the pattern quicker than the riders do!)

Our most important goal is to have fun!  We are like one great big family. We have traveled the State of Florida from top to bottom, performing, and riding in parades!  Some of the places we have performed are the very first Magic Night of the Horse, held at Canterbury in Gainesville, FL, the Florida Horse and Agriculture Festival, Tampa, Fl,  the Florida State Fair, also held in Tampa, FL,  the EuroFest held at the Polo Field in Sarasota, FL, the Celebration of the Horse Festival held in Ocala, FL,  Reading is Fundamental Program held at the Manatee Community College in Bradenton, FL, and have even traveled to Georgia for the Georgia State Games!

Practices are held at the Manatee County Posse Arena every Thursday evening from 7:30 to 9:00. The Posse grounds are located at I-75 Exit 220 (SR 64). Travel East 1 mile on SR 64 and turn right on Lena Road. The Posse grounds will be on the left about 1-1/2 miles on Lena Road. We welcome new riders who have their own horse and transportation to come out and try out for the team.

Business Management responsibilities belong to Vicki Wright, who in addition to being a riding member conducts all the teams business related items, co-chairs our team meetings, handles all of the booking arrangements, equipment and costume transportation, and helps to organize all work projects for the team. 

To schedule a performance, you can call Pete or Vicki Wright at (941) 371-4478
or email us at: Vwright@dannyviaplumbing.com

To become a member of Silk & Sable, LLC, a person must have and be able to do the following:

• Their own horse, or a horse they can use
• Their own transportation, for both the rider & horse to and from practices and also for traveling purposes
• Must be able to practice from 7:30 – 9:00 p.m. on Thursday evenings at the Manatee County Posse Arena in Bradenton.Additional practices may be called to prepare for upcoming events, or competitions.
• Traveling expenses are the responsibility of the rider
• Stalling expenses are the responsibility of the rider
• A rider must have a current negative Coggins for their horse, and must provide a notarized copy to the team to be kept on file
• If travel goes beyond the State lines, a rider is responsible for providing all health certificates required for their horse to travel
• Must be able to take instructions from a coach
• Must be willing to learn to handle a lance while riding a drill

Upon completion of 3 consecutive practices, the team will then vote on a rider. If voted on, the rider will complete a 90 day probationary period and at the end of that period they will again be voted on by the members to a permanent position.

Once voted on, after completion of 3 consecutive practices, the member will be expected to pay arena dues of $10.00 per month. Once a permanent member, the arena fees will become membership dues of $10.00 per month.

Links:

• International Equestrian Drill Team Alliance
• The Horse Site

Gallery: