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!
Friday, October 21, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
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...
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...
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