Roebke’s Run HT is a brand new horse trial held in the Midwest this year. Their inaugural horse trial will be held at the beautiful Schweiss Stables in Hector, MN on July 16-17. Thank you to Julie Schwiess for helping me with this article!
Julie and Mike Schwiess are the owners fo Schwiess Stables, a 50 acre farm, so their girls could practice riding, and Mike and Julie could work outdoors. Julie works on her flowers and Mike on the farm, and it has become their hobby.
Julie started riding when she was younger on an unpredictable pony, and started her girls in lessons when they were six. She told each girl that if they could ride a pony, they could have a horse. And, they all have horses now, so I’ll let you do that math.
Julie says she finds eventing “relaxing”, which she jokes is a dead give away that she herself doesn’t jump the horses. Her girls, Brook, Autumn, and Lark started eventing in 2006 at Otter Creek Horse Trials. Apparently, Autumn started the ball rolling for the family, when in fourth grade, she said she wanted jumping lessons.
Mike and Julie love being around horses, one thing led to the next, and now they are hosting a recognized horse trial. John Williams is the cross country course designer and went with a rural, farming theme. Eric Bull and Mark Warner made jumps such as a John Deere tractor and corn cobs, as well as grain bins and riding through a “barn”. With John Williams designing, we can expect a course with some challenge, but rewarding as well, teaching both the rider and horse. He starts the course out with ease and gradually adds more questions. He wants riders to understand their level of jumping and what their horse is capable of jumping. So, it seems to be a pretty fair course for each level.
When deciding to hold the recognized horse trials, Julie says she didn’t hesitate to hire the proper professionals to help, which has proved to be easier than expected. Her favorite part, she says, was purchasing additional land that needed to be cleared and cut. But, the view is amazing when the sun shines through.
The weather this year has been very unpredictable. They just had straight line winds that took 20 trees down on the xc course and two buildings. They’ve got everything cleaned up and rebuilt, but they are really praying for nice weather that weekend, and you should too!
Mike and Julie Schweiss manufacture bi-folding doors. Julie works in the sales department while Mike manages the company. The Schweiss bi-fold and hydraulic doors are sold nationally and internationally through out the world.
The closing date has been extended through Sunday, July 10. Enter online at www.evententries.com.
Who is heading to the inaugural Robeke’s Run Horse Trial?
