German Classics Show and The Global Dressage Forum

There have been so many events over this past month, its tough to keep track of them all so I've decided that I'm going to share the most exciting ones:

First of all, just a little update on the three musketeers: they are all doing great. All three of them have really put on some more muscle in all the right places, and are developing a solid top line. The one who I have noticed the biggest difference in is Zeph. He is starting to look like a grown up horse- instead of an over grown foal with extremely long legs! With Leonie’s guidance I have been able to get Zeph more balanced on his hind legs and therefore he is really building up his overall core strength. Anited is really maturing at the moment which I really noticed in the way that he deals with his nerves, rather than turning into a explosive ball of energy I am able to use my half halts to channel his energy through his body. Blitz is getting much more solid in the contact, which makes all the difference in our daily work because it allows me to make all the adjustments I need and truly focus on building his strength. A very important lesson I have had to learn (which is not to say that this hasn’t been brought to my attention before), but Leonie has made it very clear to me on how “married” Blitz and I are- which includes being stuck in our bad habits as a couple… A little example is how environmentally sensitive Blitz is and any time he gets a little bit tense. My muscle fibers also tense up because I get determined to make him keep on going. But what I am also doing is only adding more tension to the equation. Instead, now I’ve been consequently making myself relaxed and sit heavy in the saddle while staying lose. This way I am sending Blitz the message: “Stay Cool Buddy”. This has made a big difference in my passage work, because interesting enough is I remain relaxed in my seat, I am able to have much more influence with the effectiveness and the timing of my aids which has really helped Blitz to grow in his movement.

Last weekend was the big German Classics horse show in Hannover. Leonie showed Orion there and had some great rides! On Saturday she came in 6th place with a 65%. Orion was a little reserved in his movements because of the intimidating indoor arena setting. But on Sunday Orion came out with such confidence and ready to show off, which he most certainly did. He achieved a 73% in the Freestyle and came in 3rd place, only 0.5 behind 2nd place. Leonie also competed in the Team Quadrille and won that with her horse Daccord. The whole team from the barn all organized our working hours so that we could zip into Hannover (30 min drive) and cheer Leonie on, which was great fun.

Next, the Global Dressage Forum: I had the privilege of attending that for my first time ever and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. The forum was very well rounded, in that all the topics that were discussed ranged from, shoeing, doping, soundness, judging and the training of both young and advanced horses. My favorite session was “the training of young horses” with Steffen Peters. Steffen really highlighted the importance of the basics, and the point that has stuck with me the most is his connection he made to Rachel Murray’s lecture on “the diagnosis of injury in dressage horses” Murray spent some time discussing the horses brain, and compared it to the human brain. In contrast to the human brain, which is impressively complex, a horse’s brain is more like that of a cat, in that the majority of the brain is dedicating to coordination. Steffen pointed out that this is important to keep in mind because everyday the goal of your ride should be to work of building positive coordination patterns with your horse.

Heilke Kemmer and Eckart Meyers gave a great session on seat and position

Steffen Peters doing a demonstraion ride on a young horse for one of his lectures

The Bartels Academy is a beautiful facility

This is an old circus tent which they set up for the dinning area

Jamie and her sister Erin: my two GDF adventure mates, as always, they put a little extra fun and laughs into the trip

Those are some of the highlights of my past month, I could keep on going on for pages discussing all the things I have learned this past month, but that would mean that I really won’t get any sleep, and because sleep is always short in my chaotic life I’m going to say good night, Wishing everyone all the best!!