Reflections of a Riding Coach

Riding the rail: winning tips for horse show flat classes. Part 3

by

First impressions are lasting impressions in horse show flat classes. Enter the show ring with confidence – in show mode, not training mode. Though judges aren’t yet officially scoring, they’re forming opinions as they organize bookwork and check tack. Get in there promptly. Don’t dilly-dally and contribute to a delay. That’s irritating to a horse show judge – the judge you’re hoping to impress. As a bonus, making an early entrance into the show ring carves out extra warm up time while the judge is recording numbers…and waiting for the tardy entries.

Clenching the bit, horses, and Good Friday.

by

“Clenching the bit”. “Stiff necked”. Horse idioms we use for steely determination. So what’s this got to do with Good Friday? This week I saw a horse that’d had enough – took the bit between his teeth, locked his jaw and trotted off on a tangent out of the circle, toward the gate., neck and determination were set like stone. This riding session was over…

When your horse’s “go”button is stuck. Part 2

by

I see it in the show ring as a judge. A horse digs in his toes at the trail bridge, stalls on approach to a jump or balks to enter the ring altogether. If you’d like some help refining your horse’s go-forward cues, solving your “horse puzzles”, or teaching your horse a new skill, I offer freelance coaching at Ontario farms. I’d love to meet you and your horse!

Worry and horses.

by

“What if..?” Worry and fear leave us sleepless the night before a horse show, tongue tied in a difficult conversation, or gripping the reins, white knuckled. “In riding, there’s a fine line between awareness and overreaction – between having a solution ready in case… and anticipating the problem so much you actually trigger it”

Horse show families: those who give riders a leg up

by

I’ve known and loved lots of horse families in my years of coaching. Riding students and their “pit crews”- those bound up in the bundle of life with them. 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 in a messy world.

It’s More Than Horse Shows

by
Lindsay Grice lessons

I was 13 when I entered my first horse show. The judge advised me that the yellow macramé browband I’d crafted for my gelding’s bridle was not customary horse show attire. In 25 years as a professional riding coach and horse trainer, I’ve worked with 100s of horses and coached even more riders. What I’ve learned from horses and their people! What I’ve learned about myself in the fishbowl of the show ring! Horse shows have enriched the lives of so many – and been the catalyst for the train wreck of others.