Marriottsville/ Sykesville /Woodstock

The administration at Mt. View Middle School asks you to support the school by eating at The Waverly Grill (formerly Mangia Italian Restaurant) in the Waverly Woods Village Center Aug. 19.

If you order lunch, dinner or carryout from the Waverly Grill that day and mention Mt. View, the restaurant will donate a percentage of your bill to the school. Everyone wins through this partnership – The Waverly Grill fills its seats, Mt. View Middle School receives extra money for its PTA and you get to enjoy a delicious meal without the preparation and clean up!

Some of the best offerings in our community are the quiet ones, those spread by word-of-mouth. For instance, the Marriottsville/Sykesville/Woodstock area houses two riding stables that are not heavily advertised but come highly recommended by those who patronize them.

Marriottsville Ridge Farm, which lies sandwiched between Henryton Road and Marriottsville Road, boasts 1300 acres of beautiful state-owned and protected farmland bordering Patapsco State Park.

Shelly Buhlman, who specializes in Hunter riding, leases the farm. She and trainer Ellen Dempsey currently instruct 30 to 40 students and board nearly 40 horses. The farm offers three outdoor rings, summer camps and extensive riding trails.

Area resident Norma Stephens first discovered Marriottsville Ridge Farm three years ago when her then 10-year-old daughter, Madison, began riding lessons. Norma was so taken by the camaraderie of the farm that she, too, signed up for lessons. Mother and daughter now own one horse and two ponies and participate actively in the local Howard County Horse Show Association. Norma admires how well the stable cares for its horses and relishes the feeling of being part of an extended family.

Marriottsville Ridge Farm is located at 1220 Marriottsville Road, in Marriottsville. Call 410-442-1107 or go to www.marriottsvilleridge.com for more information.

Tricia Sisney discovered another nearby riding facility, Greenwood Stables, when her daughter, Sarah Beth, then 7, attended a birthday party there in spring 2007.

Sarah Beth had ridden previously in South Carolina, but stopped after some negative experiences. However, her introduction to Greenwood was so enjoyable that she soon joined as a student.

Mother and daughter find the owner, V.J. Iannone, warm and encouraging and they like the small size of the facility. They also admire how the instructors teach the students to love and respect the horses.

Greenwood offers English, Western and dressage lessons, as well as leasing and boarding, summer camps, and, of course, birthday parties. It is located at 727 River Road, in Sykesville. For more information, call 410-489-4306.

For those seeking lessons outside of a riding stable, Karen Jacob teaches at her home, Maternal Gift Farm, in Sykesville. Karen also offers lessons at the homes of students who own their own horses and teaches twice a week in Olney through the United States Pony Club. Lessons through the pony club include jumping, center riding, cross-country, dressage, and whole horsemanship. Call 410-489-6083 for more information.

Due to the small size of these riding facilities, they quickly reach maximum capacity. If you know of other riding stables or instructors in our community, let me know.

Jennifer Burgy, PTA president of Marriotts Ridge High School, would like to remind interested students that the fall sports season begins Saturday, Aug. 16. Coaches will collect all necessary paperwork in the school cafeteria on Friday, Aug. 15, 4-6 p.m. For more information, check the school Web site at www.marriottsridge.net.

Several area children are staying both cool and fit this summer by swimming competitively. The Skopics – Mitchell, 12, Ben, 9, and Julia, 5 – swim with the Dorsey Dolphins, based at the Dorsey Hall Pool, in Ellicott City.

Mitchell and Ben have participated for many years and are performing very well. So far this summer, Mitchell has won first and second place in all of his events, and Ben has placed first all but once, when he placed third.

Proud mom, Chris Skopic, says Julia is swimming for the first time and loves it, and she tries really hard to follow in her brothers’ footsteps.

The Hollingsworth children have also excelled in the water this summer. Taylor, 14, swims year-round with the Retriever Aquatic Club, based at UMBC in Catonsville, and also participates in a summer swim team with the Phelps Luck Snappers, in Columbia. Taylor has received five qualifying times that will allow her to compete in the Eastern Zone Championships Aug. 6-9.

Taylor’s brother, Jake, 11, began diving with the Frederick Area Divers this summer and has placed first and second in all of his events. In fact, he earned a spot at the Central Maryland Diving League Championship Aug. 2. His mom, Michelle Hollingsworth, believes that Jake’s background in gymnastics made a natural transition to diving, but she explains that prior experience is not a prerequisite and recommends diving as a fun way to keep active.

Lyle Fugate, 13, recently attended the weeklong Mark Clayton Football Camp at McDaniel College, in Westminster. He and 58 other boys in his age group practiced running skills and learned some of the same offensive and defensive techniques used by the Ravens.

Lyle enjoyed meeting players from the Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and, of course, the Ravens, and he especially liked nighttime practices because of the cooler temperatures. However, Lyle reported that his favorite part of camp was recreation time, when he swam or visited the college arcade. Lyle ended the camp on a high note — he received the Best Tight End award — and anticipates attending again next summer.

I would like to introduce myself as your new neighborhood columnist and online blogger. My name is Cassie Felch, and I am a stay-home mom of three: Mallory, a rising eighth grader at Mt. View Middle School; Grant, a rising fifth-grader at West Friendship Elementary; and Cole, who is entering kindergarten at West Friendship. My husband, Brian, works as a contractor for Hewlett-Packard.

When our family moved from Laurel to Marriottsville nine years ago, we struggled to meet our rural neighbors since larger yards and longer driveways meant fewer opportunities to become acquainted. However, the rewards have far outweighed the challenges. We have discovered many caring and fascinating folk and cannot imagine living elsewhere!

So now it is your turn to introduce yourselves. Help your neighbors get to know you! Please send me information about your special events, celebrations and achievements, or any other news you would like to share. Let’s bring our little community closer together.

Hot and hungry visitors to the Waverly Woods Village Center will find a new addition since last summer: Bubble Gum Bill’s, an ice cream parlor featuring Hershey’s ice cream, Tropi-Kool smoothies, ice cream cakes, and other treats. The store also serves as a venue for birthday parties.

Michelle Adkins-Hepner fell in love with Hershey’s ice cream during visits to her husband’s family in Pennsylvania, and along with her mother, Bernadette Adkins, saw the need for a Columbia ice cream parlor located outside the mall. However, when Kimco Realty showed the mother-daughter pair a site in Waverly Woods, they changed their minds. They liked the location so much that they not only chose it for their store, but Bernadette also moved into housing across the street.

Michelle lives in Columbia with her husband, Bill Hepner, and their two children, Marissa, 17, and Matt, 13. The family formerly owned two child care centers in Fort Washington, which they closed in 2006. Michelle used her husband’s name for inspiration in creating the character Bubble Gum Bill, who starred in many naptime stories at the child care centers. Because Michelle’s children liked the name, they suggested it for the ice cream parlor.

Bubble Gum Bill’s is open Monday-Saturday, noon-10 p.m. and Sundays, 1-10 p.m.