Wellington, FL – February 21, 2014 – She may be small, but GF Forget Me Not has a huge heart. Whether she’s taking care of her seven-year-old owner, Mia Green, in the walk/trot and cross rail rings or showing against some of the top ponies in the country in the Small Pony Hunter division with 12-year-old Alexandra Pielet, GF Forget Me Not is the consummate professional.
GF Forget Me Not lives at Forget Me Not Farm in Wellington, FL, showing with her talented young riders under the guidance of trainer Stefanie Mazer. The farm has a brand new facility currently being built in Wellington and will continue to feature a fantastic program focused on quality training and care of horses and ponies. Mazer has horses for sale and lease and is accepting new clients to train and board.
GF Forget Me Not, a 12.1 7/8” hand pony, is a seven-year-old Welsh mare (by Kilvery Taran) known as ‘Kelly’ in the barn. Stefanie Mazer got Kelly in 2012 as a five-year-old and started her in the Small Green Pony Hunters last fall. Mazer knew the pony was special right from the start and saw her blossom as the year went on. “She is just one of those special mares,” Mazer stated. “You would have to have one like her to understand. She is definitely a horse of a lifetime.”
GF Forget Me Not with Jordan Katz. Photo © Mancini Photos.
Among many top finishes, GF Forget Me Not finished as 2013 USEF Horse of the Year Grand Champion Green Pony Hunter for the entire country as well as USEF Horse of the Year Champion Small Green Pony Hunter. She also placed third overall and was reserve champion Welsh pony for the Small Green Pony Hunter division at USEF Pony Finals in Lexington, KY, last summer.
GF Forget Me Not showed as a green pony under top young riders such as Alexandra Pielet, Samantha Palermo, Sophia Calamari, Ali Tritschler, Ava Stearns, Olivia Woodson, and Emma Kurtz. The pony was circuit champion in two divisions at the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF), showing in the Small Green Pony Hunters with various riders, and also topping the Walk/Trot division for the circuit with Mia Green, who had moved up from the leadline four months prior to the 2013 FTI WEF. She was champion every week of Equestrian Sport Production’s Spring Series and earned the green pony circuit championship there as well.
GF Forget Me Not has now moved up to the regular Small Pony Hunter Division and started off the 2014 horse show year with a very competitive championship ribbon against 17 of the country’s top small ponies at the Equestrian Sport Productions Holiday Series. GF Forget Me Not is already at the top of the national USEF standings in the Small Pony Hunter division and will continue to compete this winter at the FTI WEF in Wellington, FL. She will also continue to show in the cross-rails with her owner, Mia Green.
Green has goals to move up to the short-stirrup classes this year with GF Forget Me Not and her other pony, Deja Blue. She especially loves riding Kelly and looks forward to a successful winter showing in Wellington.
“I love Kelly because she loves to jump,” Green smiled. “She is so much fun to ride, and I love to give her treats and graze her.”
Green also enjoys working with trainer Stefanie Mazer, who is great with both children and ponies. “Stefanie is fun, and she gives me funny examples when she is teaching me. She is kind and nice,” Green stated.
For Mazer, it is important that GF Forget Me Not have the right training program. Mazer’s focus on flat work and ride-ability has enabled the pony to have success at all levels.
“I really focus on her flat work, on keeping her straight and balanced and being able to adjust her stride,” Mazer explained. “I flat her during the week and use ground poles and small gymnastics, which is how I prepare her for the ring for both Mia and her catch riders and keep her conditioned.”
Stefanie Mazer and Mia Green accept GF Forget Me Not’s
USEF Horse of the Year Award from Bill Moroney. Photo © Maya Saxena
Alexandra Pielet, of Highland Park, IL, started showing GF Forget Me Not during the last week of FTI WEF competition in 2013 and went on to ride the pony throughout the year. Pielet is now Kelly’s main rider in the Small Pony Hunters and will show her all winter in Wellington as well. Pielet explained that she does not ride Kelly during the week, but meets up with Mazer at the horse shows to compete.
“Kelly is a really easy, fun pony to ride,” Pielet noted. “She is really sweet and very cute. At the horse show she is really calm, and she loves treats.”
Pielet rides a lot of different ponies, and explained that her favorite thing about GF Forget Me Not is that the pony really carries her to the jumps. “She is one of the only ponies that starts to take me, and I like that feel the best,” Pielet said. “You have to start with a little bit of energy and then she knows to carry me through the course. Her jump feels like she is popping over a little jump, but her knees are always tight. She likes to jump, and she feels really good when she jumps.”
Pielet looks forward to showing GF Forget Me Not throughout the year and has goals to work on improving their partnership. “I want to work on the little mistakes that I have made and change them,” Pielet stated.
“I want to be able to place up high during WEF this year. I look forward to riding her and I really like working with Stefanie,” Pielet added. “I like when she talks to me. If I don’t understand a word I will ask and then she will go over it with me, and she will make everything so I can understand. I will school something and then we will talk about it, and that is what helps me in the ring.”
GF Forget Me Not with Alexrandra Pielet and Stefanie Mazer. Photo © Linda Evans
Pielet trains with Jill Shulman, who has enjoyed watching the young rider’s partnership with GF Forget Me Not.
“It has been a great opportunity for Alex to ride such a lovely pony,” Shulman stated. “Stefanie has done a great job bringing the pony along in its green year.”
“The pony is sweet and kind and beautiful and just a complete pleasure,” Shulman said. “It is unusual that you see one that can do as well with its own little rider in the cross rail ring and then move up to the pony hunters, so that is kind of fun to watch as well.”
GF Forget Me Not lives at Forget Me Not Farm, which is owned by Stefanie Mazer and Mia’s family. Their program is currently located in the Saddle Trail across the street from the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, but there is a brand new, state-of-the-art facility being built on 10 acres from the ground up in Wellington. The new farm began development in May 2013.
Along with GF Forget Me Not, Forget Me Not Farm is home to many other great horses and ponies. Under Stefanie Mazer’s leadership, their program is focused on quality training and care of horses and ponies. Mazer has horses for sale and lease and is accepting new clients to train and board. Their show and training program features quality instruction in a friendly, family-oriented environment centered around showing at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center from September through June. In the Summer, they travel to the Kentucky summer horse shows and the USEF Pony Finals.
As a trainer, Mazer has a background in education that makes her a fantastic teacher. She has been a member of the International Honor Society for Educators since 2004 and earned a Doctorate in Psychology in 2009. She combines her education and extensive equestrian training and background with her love and knowledge of horses and children to offer a superior learning experience.
Mazer specializes in working with quality horses and ponies as well as working with any type of rider. She especially enjoys starting young children on their equestrian paths and working closely with their families.
For more information, visit www.forgetmenotfl.com or contact Stefanie Mazer at 561-346-4228 or mazerstefanie@gmail.com.