The results of this study were not what I was expecting!
Turns out, researchers found, despite what many people think, good exercise balance isn’t what makes a good rider. But that isn’t because balance isn’t important -it just has to be the RIGHT balance.
THUMP . You look back and see your horse knocked down two elements in the trail walkover obstacle in your pre-class warmup. You’d carefully set and measured the distance for success only to have your horse dismantle it… again. It’s a picture of our walk through this pandemic. A yearlong series of one hurdle after another…
As a kid, I never knew what Good Friday was all about. Overshadowed by Easter Bunny anticipation, I knew it had something to do with Jesus and a cross, but I sure didn’t know why He died…As horse show competitors, we’ve got to ride by the rules…
In my travels teaching riding clinics, ‘“talking horse” with equestrians from various disciplines, the subject of western pleasure often comes up with the dressage and hunter/jumper riders I meet. NO discipline is without its fads and extremes. Dressage, show jumping, reiners and gaited horses have been called out for unethical practices and “unnatural” training techniques.
“Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape.” I describe suppleness in training horses as lack of “brace” – longitudinally or laterally.
Horse shows can pull families together…and sadly, others apart. As coaches, let’s do our part to support our families – they’re the building blocks of our communities and nation in a messy world.
Some my sculptures, done when I was 20 yrs. old. Although I sold my kiln and tools when training horses and coaching riders became my career, I’m still in the business of sculpting horses and riders!
“Horse classified scams run rampant.” The sad truth is that in every corner of the horse world, sport or business, there are those finding new ways to bend a straight line crooked.
The latest horse show rule books were delivered to my mailbox.
These are the rules. These are the ring dimensions. These are the tack restrictions.
With clear, well laid out rules-of-play, we’re free to push the limits of excellence, within the limits of the rules of the ring. With clear, well-laid-out fence lines, horses are free to buck, play and graze.
I guess a “you-do-you”, “follow your heart” view of the world doesn’t really work, regardless of how cool it sounds in a song lyric or Disney movie…
We’re always horse training – there’s no neutral. I encourage riders to be mindful of each moment – on the ground or in the saddle, catching those little resistances and using them as horse training yield-to-pressure opportunities …The payoff is my horse is less likely to say “no” when the pressure’s on. Fewer costly wrong leads, added strides, or seconds lost in speed events.
What about humans? 10 months of pandemic pressures have squeezed many of us emotionally, financially, relationally and physically. When I’m feeling squeezed by circumstances, what does it bring out in me?