Christmas came early!

This December Christmas has come early for me in the form of riding lessons! I have been very fortunate to work with many top level instructors this month! For instance, this past week I rode under the tutelage of Wendy Murdoch, Jimmy Woffard, Stephan Bradley, and Bruno Greber!  Next week will top it off with two lessons from Boyd Martin!

I can definitely say that it is a first for me to get the opportunity to work with such esteemed professionals all over the course of one month, much less one week!  I learned tons from all of them, but can honestly say two have stuck out as phenomenal instructors! Both Wendy Murdoch and Stephan Bradley both prove to be outstanding instructors! Each instructor has assisted me in working through various training challenges with my horses in a very kind, encouraging, and effective manner. 

Wendy came to Playland Farm on December 5th. She taught me a lesson on Darby and Tammy. She immediately spotted the "throughness" problems I was having with each of them and tackled it through body work.  I have found body work with the horses to be extremely beneficial. As we train our equine athletes to be stronger and fitter, we also are subjecting them to more stress on their body as a whole. The body work helps to relieve muscular tension and habitual holding patterns, resulting in a healthier functioning system that can choose a new option for movement! Specifically with Tammy and Darby, Wendy helped me work through some head tilting issues -- which is a particular habit that can be quite tricky to resolve from the saddle. The head tilting was caused by the horse rotating (twisting) through their spine instead of bending. This problem results in the horse not staying level through her/ his topline.  Through body work, Wendy and I were able to teach each horse how to bend instead of twist!

With Stephan Bradley I took both Darby and Diamond to a jumping lesson.  We did gridwork in various set-ups, designed to challenge the horse to jump from power instead of speed.  Stephan's lessons have been particularly useful in working Diamond through some training issues. Diamond being a super talented Irish horse, can JUMP! And he loves to jump, as long as he makes the calls on take-off, striding, etc.  Through setting up various grid exercises, equipment changes, and riding techniques Diamond has become a team player!  The various changes have not only improved his jumping, but have done wonders for his dressage.  He has now become quite light in the bridle while swinging and lifting through his topline with ease! I feel that Diamond is definitely ready to move up to Training level eventing in spring after a couple "refresher events"!

Want a chance to ride with Stephan? He will be coming to Playland to teach a jumping clinic on January 8, 2012. The clinic is filling fast, so sign up now with margaret@mythiclanding.com

Hope to see you there!

Training in Germany

The last 8 days I have been in Bad Tolz, Germany a small village in Bavaria. This is now my third time in Bad Tolz in 2011, and has become my home away from home.  I will be coming back here many times over the next three years to continue a training course with Mia Segal and Leora Gastor of Mind Body Studies.  Many of my students, friends, and colleagues have asked what I do when I come to Germany, expecting to hear I am training with an elite equestrian athlete. And instead, I am training with a small lady in her early 80's to learn how to move myself as effortless as she moves herself!

Over the next three years, I will continue to explore through a journey of movement.  In riding we move all the time! And our movements are how we communicate with our horse! Through movements we train the horse to do leg-yielding, shoulder-in, half-pass, lengthenings, and more! We begin by teaching the horse to move through their back. We teach them how to release tension, so that they can move with a longer stride. We teach them to pay attention to their rhythm, to go straight and also to bend through their spine. We teach the horse to be in self-carriage, to move effortlessly and eloquently through the arena. We teach the horse to do what it already does out in pasture, in the arena with a rider!

In many ways, the training I am undertaking here in Bad Tolz teaches me what I teach my horses; how to move my body better. How to move through my back, release tension, lengthen my stride. The course teaches me how to be aware of my own rhythm, straightness or lack thereof! My intent of my journey here is to learn how to be a more attentive student of my movements. To be more aware of what I am doing, how I am doing it, how it relates to the rest of my body (and of course my horses!), and how to improve my movements. Thereby, improving my communication (or aids) with my horses! My purpose of my journey here it to learn how to do what I already do (train horses and people to ride horses) BETTER!


More on my training with the Mind Body Studies Academy next blog!

Diamond's Competitions

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind between competing, and preparing for my trip to Germany! In the past few weeks I have had a video shoot, photo shoot, 2 competitions, Diamond saddle fitted, and left the country!  I will leave you all in a lingering suspense in regards to the video and photo shoot, and update you all on the 2 competitions and saddle fitting! (More to come on Germany later!)

Diamond is becoming lots of fun to ride as he is really starting to know his job! He started off this year as a green 7 yr old stallion that hadn't had much more training since his original backing at 3yrs old! When I brought the poor guy in this early spring, he was OBESE! Literally, between 200-350 lbs overweight! Our rides consisted of a total of 15 minutes with 10 of those being at the walk! But as time progressed, he became fitter and we started to do more jumping.  The year has not been without it's obstacles, but I am very pleased to see him growing to be a very confident young stallion...even if it means he is taking ME for the RIDE!!!  He has recently moved up to Novice at the past two starter trials (Loch Moy + Iron Bridge), and then more recently Novice at Loch Moy recognized a week ago. 

If any of you were at Loch Moy the weekend of October 8-9, you know what gorgeous weather we had, well that is if you are NOT a purebred Irish Draught BLACK Stallion!  With temperatures in the high 80's (in October!) and sunny skies, Diamond was exhausted by the end of dressage! But he was a trooper and finished his stadium with a double clean round, and finished the 17 obstacle (with two combinations) cross country round (unfortunately, we did run into a little trouble at the stallion eating lattice jumps...but otherwise had a successful run!).  While he is starting to really know his job, he still feels like the whole paying attention to the rider desperately trying to half-halt him to get him to stay in tempo and round through his back is highly unnecessary! and Thanks to Larry Large from Lauriche saddlery I recently found out why he would prefer to ignore me!

Larry, is Lauriche's saddles sole representative in the US.  He came to visit us this past Monday to check Diamond's saddle fit, and give him a sizing.  I have been riding Diamond in the same saddle since he was obese, which fitted him great then!  Now that he has lost a few hundred pounds, we are do for a saddle change! Everytime I was asking Diamond to round through his back, the saddle was creating a pressure point right over his shoulders/withers area! Hence Diamond had a huge preference to clear the jumps with a flat bascule! I now have the saddle problem sorted, and looking forward to taking him to Waredaca starter followed by Rubicon upon my return from Germany!

Next blog, I will update you on my course in Germany! Stay tuned...

By Chance Update

Another fun weekend competing in dressage this past Sunday at By Chance Farm (conveniently located in Union Bridge).  This time I rode Darby and Tammy in two tests each.  This show was awesome, as it was packed with PL bred horses! Joanna Kuehne brought PL Lucky Indy, Lindsay Hall brought PL Irish Indigo, Julie Kingsbury brought PL Irish Decor, and Rachel Rosenfeld brought Grand Luck!  All are"Lucky" babies bred at Playland farm to one of our Arabian mares! I think this show had the most participants of PL bred horses than any other I've been to! Thanks everyone for coming out and showing off!

Darby and Tammy did just that! Darby is still on the green side for his tests of Training 2 and Training 3, but he pulled them off like a pro! Coming home with a first and third place! Tammy competed in First 2 and First 3 to come home with two 2nd place ribbons!  Scores were low across the board, but Tammy still pulled off respectable scores of 65%.  The judge seemed to like Tammy making the comment, "Always fun to watch!"  This show was a move up in tests for both horses, who pulled it off quite well!

Here's Darby during one of his tests.

A big CONGRATS to student Joanna Kuehne who came home in the top three placings with her tests on PL Lucky Indy! Another big THANK YOU to everyone who came out on their 'PL' bred horses! All our Irish horses were true to their fantastic Irish character, behaving quietly and being a willing team participant! And all their mom's gave it their best!

Next weekend....back to eventing with Mr. Studly!

PVDA Loch Moy

Last weekend, Tammy and I rode in a recognized dressage show through PVDA at Loch Moy! Even though my last recognized dressage show was around a year ago, I am a fairly confident rider, who seldom gets nervous! So, when I rode into the dressage arena feeling a little anxiety, I was greatly surprised! Whenever I get nervous, I blank out on my test....which I definitely did! But thankfully, I remembered my test before my next movement!  While Tammy started out in the warm up fabulous, and swinging through her back, it started to lightly rain giving her a chill making us end on a slightly less swinging note as we went into the arena.  I walked out of each test feeling like we pulled off a decent test. Thank god, Tammy is such a show off! 

The weekend was joined by friend, and PL horse owner; Julie Kingsbury who owns, "PL Irish Decor" competing against me in FL test 1! So we were having some friendly chat (of course comparing, who has the best PL bred horse!) when a friend of hers runs over to congratulate her.  She placed second in her First Level class!  They quickly also congratulated me, thereby notifying me that I had received first place in FL test 1!  Tammy didn't let me down on her second test either, pulling off a score of 70% to win her First Level test 2, and coming home with the highpoint score for the entire First Level division! I couldn't be more pleased with my homebreds!  This weekend we are back to a schooling show, and will give FL 3 a go at By Chance Farm.

Heath Ryan Clinic

For the first time ever, Playland Farm hosted a clinic with Olympian Heath Ryan.  Heath was at the farm on August 21 – 22, and it seems crazy that three weeks have already passed by since his departure!  He filled the arena with his boisterous voice shouting out encouraging words such as: “Come on, that a girl!,” “Work him!,” and “You can do better!”  The whole barn has been different since then, as everyone has been inspired to pursue greatness!

Heath particularly loved Playland Farm’s homebreds, with Tammy quickly catching his eye. (As if Tammy is used to anything different!)  He had watched me warm her up, and as my lesson began, I told him, “She is at first level.”  He politely asked to have a “go on her,” to which I dismounted and handed over the reins.  Soon I was watching my “first level” mare doing flying lead changes, collected canter, walk pirouettes, half steps, the “embryonic” (another “Heathism”) stages of canter pirouettes, trot and canter half passes! Then Heath informed me in his encouraging raw way, “You don’t know what you have! This mare is incredible and has real potential! And you need to step it up!” So as I stood there in disbelief, I made myself a goal … to step it up!

So with that in mind, Tammy and I will be getting out and about more often to pursue her dressage career. Expect to see us this weekend at Loch Moy’s dressage show!