Riding Club Show Jumping at Keysoe!

It's been an odd and rather quiet few weeks for Georgie and I as it's January, it's a long month and after being rather accustomed to the mild start to the winter, it has been freezing!
I had mixed feelings about this weekend far various reasons but had been looking forward to grooming for Georgie at the Riding Club Show Jumping at Keysoe EQ centre. 
It was an early start to the morning as the 100cm classes started at 9.30 but not only was it started slightly early they were flying through the rounds with letting the next competitor in while the current rider was still jumping the final 2 fences which caught a lot of people, including us, and there was a distinct tense atmosphere in the indoor arena warm up area, plus it was absolutely rammed with people! 
Georgie was able to warm up a little outside in the 80cm warm up arena as it was definitely less busy and chaotic so at least that was a nice start! 
Unfortunately not having room to really jump enough fences and the indoor class arena being absolutely rammed full of fences (personally I felt the 80cm should have been in the smaller indoor arena and the 100cm in the outdoor, more spacious arena but that's just my opinion) and the course being really tight G did sadly did roll a few poles out of their cups. This is really uncharacteristic for B as he's usually very careful but we summarised that he was going much to fast and feeling very keen and enjoying himself that he just wasn't fully focused. 

Now me, being a total newbie to anything riding club figured it was just like normal show jumping right? If you aren't a clear round you don't do a jump off etc. Well, no, no-one had told us anything and I proceeded to untack me and get us bacon sarnies ready to have an early end to the day and drive home but alas no, even if you have poles down (and even get eliminated) you still have to go back in for another round and they'll be bigger than the round before. Does that make sense to me..... no, but there we go.

Good old B, I had to tack him up in lightning speed, put boots back on and get back in the arena for Georgie to warm him back up! He proceeded to take it all in his stride and perhaps the first round and time to chill meant he went back in the arena much more steady but still, with a very tight course and a horse with a giant stride such as B has they sadly still rolled a pole but came out more positive than before.
Not the start we'd obviously wanted to 2019 but Georgie and B hadn't done any show jumping comps since October and B was obviously excited to be out and about! 

I am certainly looking forward to this coming weekend when we're back at Keysoe for Arena Eventing, which is much more fun and will be outdoor so we won't be lacking space! 
I took my camera and some of the photos came out okay considering my camera struggles a bit in low light and the arena and warm up's being so cramped!

I really liked Georgie's House of Montar jacket even if I wasn't sure of it when Georgie bought it at Olympia. Plus I am so pleased I offered her my rose gold spurs from Eclat Equestrian 

The Importance of Voice Commands and Ground Work

My first post in a while that isn't about some muddy adventure that I have been on, but I've had a few experiences lately that prompted me to write this.

As the title suggests I am a firm believer that not all 'commands' that you give to a horse should be through the legs or the reins, for that matter.

This is demonstrated even more so when trying to lunge successful; because in order to do so you have to train your horse to understand voice commands as you haven't got legs or reins to assist you but more on that later.

As a mainly ground observer I notice a lot of little things that people while riding cannot see. One of them and a massive pet peeve of mine is hauling or jagging a horse in the mouth and I see so many people rely on strong bits and sit on top of a horse practically mute.

Now don't get me wrong, firm bits are 100% needed but so many riders forgot that instead of hauling on their horses mouth constantly they  could be using their voices to help steady their horse.

I've recently been riding the Supercob Scully and he is basically a tank on legs. He is strong and knows it but  i've also found that he is very responsive to my voice when he gets strong.

When we're cantering and he's wanting to gallop off at a million miles an hour I have to say "wooooo steady" and he genuinely does response and steadiest up. That, linked with pulling on the reins signals to him I want him to slow up, or if coming to the end of the track that I want him to slow down and stop.

That way I'm not spending the whole time sat back tugging on his mouth which is overall better for his mouth and better for me not getting exhausted from constantly pulling up.

As mentioned above about lunging - I'm rather rusty at lunging but Georgie asked me to lunge B the other day and she gave me a lesson at it. Georgie (to her credit) has spent a lot of time teaching Beanie voice commands while lunging and he is a true gentleman now because of it. He stops when asked, strikes off when necessary and easily transitions through the paces. 
G has had to do that for him to be responsive and lunge well. You can't go flapping or pulling on a lunge line to slow down or speed up a horse they'll just get mixed messages. And with mixed messages comes frustration and then naughty behaviour as that is often how a horse vents their frustration.

Here is a video of Georgie that she took today after schooling. B really does do as he's asked 

As you can see he stops when asked, turns, trots on etc all from the voice command. He foes get a little distracted from the wind and rain outside the school but on second time of asking, he does as he's told.

Most horses respond extremely well to voice commands, or should I say requests (as riding should be a partnership not dictatorship) as they can really give confidence and guidance. Often a spooky horse can be reassured and helped by some gentle talking and help out hacking or while trying to overcome a scary obstacle.

I've sat and watched before as people have shoved their horses with a broom and shouted obscenities at it while trying to get it to load into a box. That's one sure fire way to terrify your horse while really, a softer approach of patience and vocal reassurance would have helped wonders.

Studies have been done on horses and their owners voices and it has shown that  they really do recognise us and our voices. A lot of it is conditioning, horses start to associate that a certain sound (as really that is what the horse understand, they can't actually understand what we're saying to them) to a positive or negative consequence. Such as when I tell Scully to slow up with a "woooo" sound he has learnt that if he slows down that I take the pressure of his mouth. Same as when a horse does something you want, you tell it it's being a "good boy/girl" and pat them and perhaps give them a polo they associate getting a nice reward of a polo for doing what you ask..

Try it, next time you're in a situation with your horse where he could use some vocal reassurance or commanding/requesting use your voice and you may well be surprised at how much it helps. 

It's easier said than done as in a sticky situation that requires concentration we often forget to use our voices but give it a go and you may well be happily surprised 

S x 

Show Ring Essentials - What I Have In My Basket

After reading showing mad mum Julia Gaukrogers post this week "What's in your basket? Baby wipes and gin" in Horse & Hound I thought I'd do a little blog post of my own about what show ring essentials I take into the ring with me in my basket when grooming for Georgie.

1) All my Smart Grooming products, obviously! -

As their brand ambassador and avid user of their products, of course my basket is going to contain these things! They're absolute life savers and however much prep you do leading up to them entering the ring, there will always be last minute smudges or brush over.

I'll use all of these in the run up. Coat shine to make him sleek, soft and shiny, leg and body whitener on his white socks, mane and tail detangler, perfect plaits - you name it!

2) Water -

A big essential item is water and lots of it. In summer showing its going to be sunny and hot (well, we hope!) so keeping the rider and yourself nice and hydrated is really important.You both sweat a hell of a lot in the ring so replenishing that with some nice cold water is a must. Don't want people feeling faint during their class now do we?

3) Brushes -

It wouldn't be a proper grooming kit without brushes. Both to wick dirt and dusty off but also to do quarter marks etc.

Make sure to give them a good washing after each use to stop them getting grubby and holding onto the dirt, oil and dust, otherwise you're just putting them back into the horses coat.

4) Hoof oil - 

Whether on grass or in an arena you always have to hoof oil your horse or pony. Things will stick to it and it will rub off a little but you must make sure you always do them before going into the ring. Shiny nice hooves make a final touch.

5) Baby products - 

I take in both baby oil and shampoo. You know the situation where you're just about to go into the ring and your horses gets a mark on its leg. You can't just leave it there so a quick dab of shampoo on a damp cloth and you can rub that mark off in no time at all. 

As well as highlighter I like to also have some baby oil to hand to just put a little on their noses before they go into the ring.

6) Cloths -

I do take more than 1, usually older tea towels for rubbing (a slightly damp) over the body with a little bit of super shine on to really make the coat gleam. As well as a dry towel for getting rid of Beanies slobbery saliva off his lips and chin, it's all about finishing touches.

7) Hair brush and hair wax. 

Usually to seal in stray hairs after plaiting we use styling wax, just helps get them looking neater.

Hair brush to run through a soft sleek tail to get rid of any tangles.

8) Plaiting equipment - 

Plaiting would obviously of been done long before entering the ring but it's always good to take to the ring side with you. You'd hate to be a bit stuck sprinting back to lorry to get your plaiting stuff cause you've got an unravelled plait 10 minutes before your about to go in! 

Honourable mentions are polos or treats to give your pony after they've been in the ring, no matter how they did. They've worked hard and should be rewarded.

Another mention is perhaps a sponge and saddle soap, you never know when you might need to rub it over your tack.

Everyone has different things they like to take with them but these are my essentials, what types of things do you use? Maybe I might pick up a new amazing product I didn't know about!

Hope to see some of you at Hickstead this weekend,

Sophie x

Centaur Bio-mechanics Lesson

Yesterday we had a lovely sunny morning which was perfect to watch Georgie have a lesson with Russell Guire from Centaur Biomechanics over at Fenning Farm in Ely

We couldn't have asked for better weather! Gorgeous blue skies, nice cooling breeze, and not too hot! Since Sunday we've been leaving B out in the field at night and it seems to be working. He was very chilled... See?

The clinic was very kindly organised by our Retraining of Racehorses Eastern Region representative Colleen Salmon with some subsidy from ROR which was very kind of them! 

The aim of the lesson was to watch the rider ride naturally and watch for any quirks, problems or mistakes that they make and then analyse them. The rider is required to wear a black jacket, which has green lines down the spine, shoulder blades, the length of the arms, across the collar bones and down the sternum. The use of these lines is to look if any part of the torso is wonky, off balance, weaker etc and watch it back through footage taken on a slow motion camera.

Some white motion capture dots were placed on the back of the saddle and at the very top of the horses tail to capture the straightness of the riders position.

By the rider having the ability to watch themselves back, up close and in slow motion it makes it really easy to see the problem(s) that they have and then spend the latter half of the lesson working on correcting it.

As mentioned in my blog post from Sunday, Georgie has a problem with her right shoulder. It is wonky and means she does not sit straight in her position. Her strong shoulder is pushed forward from muscle memory and 'leads' over the weaker left shoulder. Due to this Georgie also has been found to sit much more right on Beanie, rather than central.

A side effect of this stronger right shoulder problem is that is causes Georgie to look into her inside when riding, instead of looking straight and in the direction she is going. This is a lot more prominent when schooling in circles as you'll see from the videos.
It's not a huge problem, it does not drastically affect Beanie's going and performance, but for a small problem it does cause some little knock on effects that Russell pointed out to us. 

Once this shoulder issue is sorted and Georgie stops her right shoulder muscles from being stronger than the other, all the little things will fix themselves.

Once the analytics part of the lesson was completed it came to Russell giving Georgie a lesson and helping her work on different aspects of her riding. 
Beanie is quite behind the leg when it comes to schooling. Georgie will agree that Beanie is a bit of a lazy horse somewhat and will be a bit dead to the leg at times. Russell picked up on this and helped Georgie work on getting him moving forward and without having to continually be kicking him on. As you can see B is a little naughty, even if you tap him ever so slightly with the whip to remind him, he bucks. Not big, but he protests to actually have to work harder! He was however very impressed with Beanie's self carriage while schooling. Since we've had Beanie G has worked really hard to get him off the forehand and leaning on her all the time. I think that will have come from building up Beanie's back and neck muscles over time with lot's of schooling and lunging, thus allowing him to carry himself.

B has also really gained strength all over and with this it allows him to really use his hocks and have a nice powerful gaits which today really showed through and was impressive to look at. I know I am bias but it was commented on quite a lot and I think Georgie should be really proud of that!

As well as working on Beanie, Russell helped Georgie work on correcting her position while schooling and therefore creating a much more balanced picture overall. As you can hear from the video Russell states to Georgie about flashlight and chair. He used these example that when Georgie moves, she should invision a flashlight on her tummy and that she should move her whole torso, not just her head to the direction she'd like to go. So with turning she needs to be more fluid in her turns and turn with Beanie, rather than just moving her head. With that it will encourage Beanie to move around Georgie's inside leg and round off. As he says, Beanie needs to be a bit more round in his turns.

We went away from the lesson seriously impressed with both how Beanie and Georgie got on, but also how quickly and how well Russell picked up on Georgie's faults, he has a very keen eye for what is correct in riding. He has a wealth of knowledge which really shows through, no wonder Centaur Biomechanics work with Team GB! We also noticed and appreciated just how much Russell understood retrained racehorses. A lot of instructors either don't expect much from an ex racehorse or simply do not get that they are made, act and work completely differently to a warm blood dressage horse specifically bred for dressage. 
Russell commented on just how much thoroughbreds are a really underrated breed and that they, when retrained properly fit extremely well into their new careers and are extremely versatile.  
Colleen is looking to organise some more of these lessons through her Speech Partnership page so do join the group and mention that you'd like to try a lesson.  

Georgie is now going to put steps into action to adjust her muscle faults. Russell recommended seeing a chiropractor to check there isn't an injury to Georgie's shoulder, and also help with movement and exercises which will lengthen the shortened muscle, allowing it to line up with her left shoulder. 

I must say that I am very proud of Georgie, she does incredibly well with the time and resources available to her. We don't have our own school and have to borrow one, most of G&B's schooling is while out hacking, or lunging in the field. She also does not have regular lessons, in fact I cannot remember the last time she had a proper lesson from someone with a lot more knowledge than our Mum and I. 

I hope this post and the videos helped you and if you have the opportunity to have a lesson with Russell and Centaur Biomechanics, snap it up quick!

Over and Out, Sophie x

Easter Weekend Fun - Ely Eventing Centre First Cross Country of 2015

Back to work after a long weekend off, but least it was a good one filled with lot's of Horsey filled activities.
I got to ride Beanie for a bit on Friday which was awesome, it's feels so funny getting on a big 16.2 thoroughbred after riding 14.2/3 ponies on weekday mornings.. I felt so high up!

I got a day off Saturday, what a rare surprise! So I spent it easter egg hunting with Frankie baking and watching the racing!

Sunday we took a trip up to Hare Park, the home off Suffolk Polo Club, and took Frankie and Beanie for a ride with a friend of Francesca's. Well all did not go to plan during the handy pony course. Note to self, little Shetlands either step over things, or full on launch themselves into the air. Sadly for Frankie and I,  Millie decided that a tractor tyre height was just a bit too big, jumped over it unexpectedly and Frankie bumped her face. Tears ensued. Bar a little bloody lip and some tears she was ok. So after a very lovely Easter Egg hunt, Nina and Frankie went off to play and Georgie and I went for a leisurely stroll. My usual trusty steed Blackbird had already been ridden, but with Jerry's go ahead I jumped on for a walk to show Georgie around.

What a lovely morning we had, but alas we had to be off to walk the cross country course for the following day, so whizzed the horses home put all of our equipment away and off we went to Ely Eventing Centre to walk the 95cm Open course.

                         

There were lot's of challenging fences and questions early on in the course, which was actually pretty twisty turny, without many gallops in. We said it would separate the men from the boys. We had hopes as Beanie had won this class last year, so fingers were crossed.

             Nice skinny to pop over 

             Canter up the hill to this log!

             Tiger trap to drop

                                     Water jump at 8, plus a paddling Frankie

            Lovely roll top a few strides out of the water and onto a skinny log 

   Ride frightening ditch upright palisade 

                 Nice big roll top! 

                     Big step up 

Lovely big expanded water with nice big blue  roll top out

Beer barrels to finish - "Come on darling, there's booze at the finish line - Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous"

We arrived with plenty of time to spare and B was a pleasure to groom and get ready. He was really chilled and seemed to be in a really good place in his head. He grazed and watched the horses warming up across the field 

G got ready and I tacked up B. Don't they both look smart?

                        Trying out Cal Rei's numnah jumping for the first time

Rocking our vintage Joules rugby shirt we bought at Olympia ages about 13/14!

Well, it was not to be G's day. Beanie had a bad experience with a ditch early last year while training and sadly hasn't managed to shake it. Note to self, if a trainer says to take a ditch/rail combination from a stand still after your horse has refused, ignore them! B got stuck half way over and it freaked the poor lad out. It's weird though cause he skips over some ditches no problem, but seems to think there's a horse eating monster in others.

                                            Caution, may contain monsters 

The ditch at fence 3 he jumped over easy peasy, then a slanted palisade then onto another ditch at fence 4 just ten feet or so away. But no - B was having none of it. So we're going to have to readdress this fear and overcome it.

The ground is also really good at Ely due to the peety soil so absolutely no complaints there. It's always really well organised, setting the horses off at a nice even pace, big collecting ring and nice relaxed atmosphere. If you haven't competed there before, i'd really recommend you do. Tina does a great job organising it.

Look up @twittaeventing or #twittereventing on Twitter and Facebook, they always have all the lowdown on up and coming events or @Lt_Downham_Int on twitter. 

Despite that B flew round the rest of the course, including a rider frightener big ditch palisade and another ditch with no problems. Here is a video of my footage

Overall we had a lovely day, but at least it gives us something to work on and keep trying at. Hopefully this coming weekend at Horseheath will prove a more successful endeavour 

Hopefully see some of you there! 

Cambridge University Drag Hounds - Burghley Meet, March 8th 2015

After a busy weekend of leading Francesca out on a ride Saturday morning, then going out with Jo on the Polo ponies in the afternoon, and then a wedding in the evening I was pretty blurry eyed yesterday morning getting ready for Burghley.

I tried tirelessly for over a month to get a hireling for this meet but sadly everyone had booked them out for the Saturday and completely understandable that they couldn't do two days on the trot (pun sort of intended). So alas I didn't ride, but the upside to this is I got loads of photos and footage!

Here is the video edit I made of the footage I made on the ground, and here are the photos, hope you like them!!

Plus coming soon - Headcam footage from Georgie