The staff at Three G Farms includes Earl W. Morris, Mary Winter, Jada Neubauer, Tad Morris, Camie Stockhausen, and Brian Morris.  In addition, several people, mostly Iowa State University students, work part time, helping with morning and evening chores, and making hay in the summer. 

Earl W. Morris  (515-450-1046,  ewmorris @peoplepc.com) is president of the corporation and chairman of the board.  In addition, he is the farm manager, horse trainer, driving teacher.  Earl began working with horses at the age of 10, when he drove the draft horses his family used to farm.  He drove a single horse first, then three, and then four abreast.  In 1979, he began training and racing Trottingbreds, pony-sized animals who raced in sulkies at either the trot or the pace.  Since 1998, he has trained and driven Trottingbreds and Welsh ponies in carriage driving pleasure shows and in Combined Driving Events (CDEs).

Near the end of the 2006 competition season, he began a partnership with Three G San Jose (Joe to his friends), a young Welsh-Haflinger gelding purchased at the spring, 2006, Waverly Sale as a potential lesson pony.  Once in training at Three G Farms, it was obvious that Joe's talents extended beyond serving as a lesson pony.  Earl and Joe hit their stride at the 2006 Cowboy Country CDE, winning the Training Level Dressage Championship, and Overall Training Level Championship. 

In 2007, Earl and Joe won:

•     their division at the Sunrise Ridge Driving Trial, where they also tied for Best Training Level cones

•     the Preliminary Championship at the Nebraska Pioneer CDE

•     Best Training Level Marathon at the Birds Hill International CDE

•     Best Training Level Cones at the Cowboy Country CDE

Photo by Digital Express Photography.  Used with permission.

Photo by Digital Express Photography.  Used with permission.

Mary Winter  (515-450-1041,  mwinter@iastate.edu) is secretary-treasurer and chief financial officer of the corporation.   She began working with horses at the age of 6, when she became the proud owner of Checkers, a brown and white pinto pony.  With Earl and Brian, she trained and drove Trottingbred racing ponies prior to 1998.  Since then, she has trained and driven Trottingbred and Welsh ponies in pleasure shows and CDEs.  In 2004, Three G Farms purchased Kevyn, Thane of White Sage, an 8-year-old gray registered Welsh gelding who had been trained to ride and drive, but had just driven kids to the local Dairy Queen prior to being purchased to serve as Mary's competition pony.  Thanks to Kevyn's athletic ability (there is not another critter around that can lengthen like he can!), the two have done very well in dressage, racking up six Best Dressage ribbons in two years, winning:

• Best Training Dressage , 2006 Birds Hill International CDE
• Best Training Dressage, 2006 Hickory Knoll CDE
• Best Training Dressage, 2006 Iron Horse CDE
• Best Preliminary Dressage, 2007 Pioneer CDE
• Best Preliminary Dressage, 2007 Birds Hill International CDE
• Best Preliminary Dressage, 2007 Fall Follies CDE

In addition, they also won Best Preliminary Cones at Birds Hill in 2007 and first place in the Prelim Single Pony competition at that event (okay, he was the only one in the class!)  Awards were given for Best Presentation among VSEs, ponies, and horses at the 2007 Fall Follies.  Mary and Kevyn won the pony division.

Photo by Briarwood Photography.  Used with permission.

Photo by Macklin Studio.  Used with permission.

Jada Neubauer  (515-450-4820,  jadaneub@hotmailcom) is a fulltime employee at Three G Farms. She began in that capacity May 1, 2006, upon completion of her B.S. degree in Animal Science at Iowa State University.  She began working part time around her class schedule and family obligations in January 2001.   Jada trains driving and riding horses and gives driving and riding lessons.  She is especially good at training young horses to drive, emphasizing good ground manners as well as balance and strength in the carriage.  Jada competes in both pleasure driving shows and CDEs.  At the Harvest Moon Carriage Classic, she has won:

• the 2004 Novice Driver Championship, driving Baykill Regent, a Morgan gelding owned by Three G Farms in partnership with Anita Schlosser.  They won 4 first place ribbons, a second place ribbon, and a 4th place ribbon on their way to the championship.

• the 2006 Novice Horse or Pony Reserve Championship, driving Hylee's Howabouthat, a Morgan gelding owned by the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

• the 2007 Novice Horse or Pony Reserve Championship, driving Toby, a crossbred gelding owned by Jo Schumacher of Boone, Iowa.

Photo by Steve Stillions.  Used with permission.

Jada began competing in CDEs with GS Thunderboy Henry (aka Hank) in 2006, when she won the prelim pony class at the Longview Lake CDE.  In 2007, Jada and Hank have won: 

• Best Preliminary Marathon, First Place in the Prelim Single Pony Class (okay, they were the only one in the class), and the overall Preliminary Championship at the Longview Lake CDE

• Best Preliminary Marathon, First place in the Prelim Single Pony Class, and overall Preliminary Championship at the Cowboy Country CDE.
   

Photo by Digital Express Photography.  Used with permission.

Photo by Digital Express Photography.  Used with permission.

Tad Morris (515-460-6298, tadm164@yahoo.com) began working full time for Three G Farms in February, 2008.  His main responsibility is to build, repair, and restore carriages. Tad has many skills and talents that will be put to good use in carriage building:  wood working, welding, mechanical repair. Tad's standards for workmanship are very high;  carriages made, restored, or repaired by him are of the highest quality. 

One of his most important skills is that of finishing both wood and metal with durable finishes that are easy to care for.  These finishes are clear acrylic urethane with excellent ultraviolet resistance, chemical resistance, and abrasion resistance.  Carriages finished in this manner can be hosed off easily.  Two years before Tad began working at Three G Farms fulltime, he used his finishing skills to paint Mary's new-to-her marathon vehicle.

Photo by Brian Morris.  Used with permission.

Photo by Brian Morris.  Used with permission.

Photo by Tad Morris.  Used with permission.

Tad's mechanical and welding skills have already been put to good use tuning up a marathon carriage.  He welded pieces onto the shaft ends to make the carriage easier to attach to the tug loops, packed the wheel bearings, replaced the bent adjusting rod, in general, subjected the carriage to an overall safety check.

Camie Stockhausen (camstock@huxcomm.net, 515-231-9875) grew up driving her Shetland pony all over eastern Wisconsin, much to both of their amusement. When the pony finally passed, she was forced to ride horses for a few decades, and currently excels at the ridden equivalent of combined driving. She trains and competes Best Etiquette, the IaDCTA Horse of the Year at Training and Preliminary Levels and Thoroughbred Eventing Horse of the Year 2007.  

Photo by Derith Vogt.  Used by permission.

Photo by Derith Vogt.  Used by permission.

Camie earned the Iowa Horse Council Horseperson of the Year Award for 2008. Last year she competed at the American Eventing Championships and the Area IV Eventing Championships.
 

Photo by Ryan Rapp, www.tworphotography.com, used with permission.

She is currently completing the US Eventing Association's Instructor Certification Program. Camie's dressage mentors are Walter Zettl, Sally O'Connor and Alois Podhajsky. An avid student of competitive horse sport, she reads voraciously, clinics with Buck Davidson and Lucinda Greene, both Olympians, and is always expanding her training, coaching and competitive toolboxes.

Camie's goal in working with riders and their horses for more than 15 years has been to develop athleticism in the horse and confidence in the rider so that both perform to their potential.  Would she be willing to help carriage drivers develop in the same way?  "Dressage is dressage:  the principles are the same; only the aids differ.  Let's try it!"

Are lessons with Camie useful for drivers?  The answer is a resounding "Yes!"  She began working with Mary and her Welsh pony, Kevyn (see "Where to Meet Us" for pictures) in the spring of 2005.  Mary's lowest score among the training level ponies at the Cowboy Country CDE in the fall of 2005 was, at least in part, due to lessons with Camie.  By the spring of 2006, Jada, Earl, and Mary all were taking lessons from Camie on a weekly basis.  Her patience, confidence, and skill contributed a great deal to Mary's success in dressage in the summer months of 2006, and Earl's dressage championship driving his new pony, Joe, at the Cowboy Country CDE the end of October, 2006.  At the 2007 Cowboy Country CDE, the three of us were within a point of each other in dressage:  Mary with a 43, Jada with a 44, and Earl with a 45.  Lessons with Camie clearly pay off!

Brian Morris works part time, mostly in the mornings or on weekends.  Like his dad, Brian began racing Trottingbreds with his grandfather in the 70s, and has been driving ever since. His work schedule precludes more involvement, but he always manages to serve as crew foreman when making hay in the summertime.
 
 

Photo by Karen Leitz  Used with permission.