DRESSAGE FANATICS!!!

Comment

Comment by Andre Steenkamp on August 24, 2009 at 5:08pm

Yeah ,me too - its like a conspiracy; she has only ridden the horse about 5 times in 3 months because he either throws a shoe, has a stone bruise or something - now the horse is healthy and she is not.
Anyway, she is enjoying some "retail therapy" to help her feel better ;)

Comment by Mary McGuire Smith on August 24, 2009 at 4:54pm

ouch, Andre. So sorry about your wife's wrist. Hope she heals quickly.

Comment by Mered30 on August 24, 2009 at 4:45pm

Now 103 and counting members

Comment by Andre Steenkamp on August 24, 2009 at 3:53pm

we were just beginning our warm up for our lesson on Sunday - when a loud noise came from the other side of the Arena wall - My wife's new horse spooked and dumped her in a pile - she broke her wrist.
She is bummed because now she can't ride for a couple of weeks - I figure she will be forced to use her fingers and elbows and not her wrists in communicating rein aids.
I think some de-spook ground work is also in order.

Comment by Andre Steenkamp on August 21, 2009 at 3:39pm

Celebrating Free beer Friday - Guiness and Perky Jerky

Comment by Sarah at HorseJobs.ca on August 21, 2009 at 3:27pm

Dressage horses need for the FEI Para-Dressage Competition being held at Windreach Farms, Ontario in May 2010.
Horses are needed for lease or loan for the international competitors.
For more information - please visit our barnmice group to learn more and to download the forms
http://www.barnmice.com/group/horsejobbers

Comment by Ruth Hogan Poulsen on August 20, 2009 at 5:11pm

Hi everyone!! My September news letter is only a week away... but you can only get it by signing up on my web site... it's FREE don't worry... and you also get some cool FREE stuff... like audio links, videos, tips and articles about your riding and riding to music... so DON'T WAIT. Go to www.Ruthhoganpoulsen.com and just put in your name and email!! You won't be sorry!!
Ruth

poulsen

Comment by Jan Jollymour on August 16, 2009 at 10:31am

Thanks, Mary!

I too, love to show, but I have had periods in my life when I didn't compete for 5 and 6 years at a time, for one good reason or another. I go to shows with varying numbers of clients, but they arrange their own transport (thank heavens I don't do that any more) and entries. Our understanding is that when I am not busy with my horse(s) I am available to help them with whatever they need, and we always start the day with a plan for each of them. We work as a group, so that there's always either me or another person from the group (minimum) at the warm up and competition rings with them - none of us is ever completely alone. There's always moral support, and they have been trained to find a positive comment for each other regardless of the events of the test. We work through the test events/comments/scores in the evening over a glass of wine when we're all relaxed, and have some distance and perspective, and we do it as a group, which really helps to maintain a balanced outlook.

Teaching is really a joy for me, and it clearly is for you too. If I had to give one or the other up it would be competing, not teaching. As I age, that may happen, but I'm fortunate right now to have a client who sponsors my horses, hauls with me, shares hotel rooms with me, and who's just a blast to have along. We approach everything the same way, and as she's an Olympic rider from Austria, she's invaluable to me in terms of feedback and support. We have a tremendous amount of fund together, and it's interested that other friends are now starting to approach competition and clinics the same way we do, as they've noticed what a good time we have. Give it a try!

Comment by Mary McGuire Smith on August 15, 2009 at 10:17pm

Hi Jan,

Thank you so much for your reminiscences! I actually teach almost exclusively (I haven't taken training horses for some time now), and have found myself riding only sporadically (to keep my lesson horse tuned up, and to occasionally get on a student's horse to demonstrate something, or to get a feel for what is happening, etc.). I do take students to shows, but I feel that I should be focusing on them, and not taking a horse of my own to show. I miss showing!
I might just have to do something about that......LOL

Comment by Jan Jollymour on August 15, 2009 at 8:06pm

Hi, everyone:

There's no question that the sport has changed since I got into it in 1973. At that time it was unheard of in a lot of Canada, and those of us who were interested in it had a hard time finding information. I can remember when the Western Canada Dressage Association was formed, and then when Christy Boylen started CADORA. I was part of the founding group who started CADORA BC, and my Mum was in on the beginnings of Dressage Canada. I've been a local group representative to CADORA BC, and a provincial director from BC to CADORA. I was for a time the Domestic Development Chair for Dressage Canada, but now I teach and train full-time, and that leaves little time for some of the other pursuits. I do still judge from time to time, I host clinics with other clinicians, and I'm part of the Southern Interior Dressage Association's spring and fall dressage show committees. On top of that I ride with my two coaches, Bert Rutten and Hub Houben, both of the Netherlands, whenever they come to Canada. The quality of horses and coaching available to us has come forward by eons, not just decades. We have limitless vistas available to us now, but I can remember when finding a coach who could teach you to get the correct lead was a really big deal (let alone put a horse on the bit).

I've had some wonderful judging and competitive experiences: when the cow moose trotted through the end of the competition ring in Smithers, creating a ruckus around the barns but not even an ear twitch from the lovely TB mare doing her test in that ring; the time the alder tree fell over in the wind during a test and we had to halt the show and wait for the chainsaws to cut up the tree to re-start; the time Gaillard was hit in the head with a golf ball from the McLeery Golf Course in the initial halt in his test - not surprisingly he didn't want to go on the test! There was the time at Silbersporn when a barn swallow flew out of the wall in the indoor ring and hit a horse right between the eyes as it proceeded towards C - it didn't want to continue either, even later in the day when we offered a re-ride! I've seen loose horses fall into dressage rings during tests, and there is an infamous video lurking in the eventing world which includes me herding chickens out of my competition arena prior to the start. There was the time I was putting a little glycerin in a horse's mouth at a show to stop teeth grinding - I was unaware (still pretty green) that the bar had melted in my pocket, and when I tried to scrape a little glycerin on the surface of the mare's incisors the whole thing squashed into her mouth, causing her to blow ENORMOUS bubbles throughout her test, and the time at the National Championships when the rain was pelting down but I was OK until the salute, when all the freezing water cascaded out of the brim of my top hat into my lap! One of my most enjoyable dressage memories dates back more than 20 years, when Jacqui Oldham and I put together a Pas-de-Deux to stripper music, and wore tight little black T-shirts and elbow length white gloves - we saluted by throwing roses into the crowd. The folks at Southlands were scandalized, but most of the crowds loved it, and nowadays with the popularity of Kurs I'm sure it would be well received.

It is possible to have fun in this sport, and especially when you're competing. I have a friend who recently won her first CDI GP class, and that was after she won the Best Turnout award in the jog - all because she wore her beautiful crimson beaver felt cowboy hat in the inspection. I make sure that I stable with people I enjoy, and that we share tack stalls, so that we spend fun time together during the quiet parts of the show. We look for special restaurants when we're competing, and work on special menus and dinners when we're staying on site. All of that support and interest from friends makes the problem rides easier to swallow, and makes the wins that much sweeter (besides, this way you get to celebrate everyone's wins, not just your own).

• First
• Previous
• Next
• Last