| Bluebird Lane Blog |
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We had a great time showing at the Caledon Dressage Silver Show in Orangeville this weekend, July 6 and 7!
Fresh off our recent clinics with Christian Garweg and Ashley Holzer, I was feeling confident and well-prepared. In our first test, Second Level Test One, Ooruk and I had a great go and won our class with a super score of 76.714%!
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This still feels like a fairy tale to me, even now! But it’s true! Today I rode in the Ontario Has Talent training symposium, primarily for FEI dressage athletes, taught by Olympic medalist Ashley Holzer together with FEI 5-star dressage judge Libby McMullen. What an amazing opportunity it was, and I am ever so grateful to the Ontario Has Talent group.
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I had the opportunity to ride in a clinic with German dressage trainer Christian Garweg today. Christian boasts a very impressive resume of both students and teachers, and in January this year I went to watch him teaching a nearby clinic. I found him extremely perceptive in his ability to quickly zero in on what a combination’s “core issue” was, as well as innovative and effective in his recommended exercises to make improvements. He struck me as one of the most “outside the box” dressage trainer I had ever seen.
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A few years back I learned the Word of the Year concept.
The basic gist of the Word of the Year is, rather than coming up with the usual plethora of New Year’s resolutions for yourself (the sheer bulk of which can overwhelm you, fail to inspire you, and ultimately, make you feel like a failure) you pick one word to guide your year.
One word, one… single… word.
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Ah, the holidays. A season meant for spending quality time with family and friends, connecting with your spiritual side, and soaking up the goodwill and bonhomie that abounds.
Somehow, it’s also a time for never-ending to-do lists, umpteen social obligations, and conflicting demands on your time. These can leave you wondering how you’ll be able to keep up with your riding and fitness through it all. But, the prospect of arriving at the end of December feeling stiff, bloated, and like you have neglected your horse is not a really appealing way to start off the New Year.
So, as the holiday pressure mounts, now is a great time to stop and get clear. Here are my tips for staying centered in yourself, and showing up the way you want to for your horse, throughout this season.
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What is it about Horse Illustrated magazine, with its glossy photos of gorgeous horses, that makes you feel like a horse-crazy kid again? You can just see a young version of yourself cutting out the centerfold, pinning it to your wall, and immersing yourself for hours in an imaginary tale that you, Alec Ramsey style, are the only person that is able to tame and ride that magnificent and noble beast.
Well, I’ve got the flip side of that story. Imagine opening up Horse Illustrated and finding your very own home-bred, raised, and trained horse strutting his stuff in the magazine’s centerfold!? That’s what happened to me this month. Right now my inner horse-crazy kid is doing the happy dance!
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One of my favorite techniques for successfully motivating myself, as well as for troubleshooting just about any problem – all the way from horse training to health issues – is something I call “Ask a Better Question”.
Here’s the thing. If ask myself a question like, “Why can’t I get motivated to do my stretches every evening before bed?”, my brain starts searching for answers, and it comes up with all sorts of things, such as:
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If we’re giving out medals for the most effective tool that a rider has for improving their horse’s way of going, the gold would have to go to “Transitions”. The humble transition has the ability to improve the horse’s balance, build his strength, increase his adjustability, as well as tune his focus on, and his reactions to, his rider. The secret to gleaning these benefits from transitions is (no surprise!) all in how we ride them.
The truth is (and this can either strike you as a sobering fact, or a liberating realization) you are one of the most important factors in your horse’s way of going.
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