Calm Down Wild Horse
AAAAND THAT’S a wrap! From a 30+ hour film shoot and a weekend having the Punderson Gardens production company here at the farm filming – with all our horses! So much fun to see how the horses (especially Caruso) at first got a bit insecure on what the heck people and cameras were doing coming up to them, and then as the days went started to totally thrive on the attention – craving a massage after each take – from anyone!
Looking forward to show you the result of this.
ONCE AGAIN I’m in great company attending one of Longines equestrian elegance events. This time in London and with no less then Longines Ambassador of Elegance, the Australian actor Simon Baker (who is the mentalist for real btw).
Very grateful to be with a brand that support true talent and the equine sport to such high standards all over the world.
STARTING on the simple changes with some of the horses atm. A simple change is when you go straight from canter into walk, walk between 3 to 5 steps, and then straight into canter on the new rein. It prepares the young horse for the flying change introduced in the advanced-medium tests.
First and foremost, make sure you’re in a good canter before you start. The better quality of the canter the better quality of the movements. This is in general. Like Nuno Oliveira sais it: ‘Canter in such a way that the horse does not speed up when you release the reins’. Make sure the horse can relax in the canter. He will understand us and new tasks much better when he relaxes and are capable to find balance.
Coming to the first transition: all good transitions require the ability to bring the speed you’re coming from as close as possible to the speed you’re going to, so make sure you can canter close to walk speed for a few steps. Just remember that the more the horse slows down the canter, the more impulsion he needs. That the horse thinks forward here is key.
Then we have 3-5 steps in walk, and most important there is to just keep them collected and straight. The simple change is a test of collection not a test of brakes and accelerator. & it is better to give the young horse a chance to take a little bit more steps and perform a more fluent transition, than a rough one lacking preparation.
To go forward back into canter is normally the easier part, and here it’s important the horse is still straight, uphill, active on the aids and somewhat collected. The easiest way to introduce the simple changes, I think, is to work on them uphill outdoors. I’m a lucky girl having plenty of fields I can ride on, and there’s a long uphill where I canter the horses and introduce the simple changes (also the slower canter I introduce there!). I find it easy to make it playful and to keep their forwardness there, before I bring it into the arena.
Enjoy it!
Photo of Lucky & me
WHOPA! CHECK OUT my interview for H&C TV with olympic superstar and UK showjumper Scott Brash MBE, at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. We’re behind the scenes at a photo shoot for the Longines Global Champions Tour, London. Hear how Scott’s prepping himself and his horses for the big shows, deals with pressure, and how he’s feeling about competing in front of the London home crowd:)
Such a great pleasure to meet Scott, he is such a brilliant brilliant horseman. All fingers crossed for him in the LGCT.
Many thanks to Horse & Country TV. Looking forward to some show jumping coming up!
SUCH A GREAT day yesterday! We were at Hickstead for the Summer Championship. Sun was out, Caruso felt great, we were well prepared, ah, LOVE the summer competition when it’s like that! & I’m much proud of Caruso. Big man has learnt so much new in the past few weeks and he really tried his heart out. Our newly found superpower is a bit too new to find at a show, but I’m very pleased to be home with a clean performance and encouraging comments from the judges. Now we just got to grow a bit older and stronger! <3
I’m incredibly grateful to Caroline Edgeley for amazing support, to my rockstar girls Tora & Ella, to Equestrian Stockholm, Longines & Celeris UK for making us look smart, and to Sune Hansen & Spring Hill Dressage for top training.
Can’t.wait.for the future!
WHAT A WEEK! I’ve had the most amazing equestrian experiences on events with Longines this end of June. First we went to Paris for the launch of their Master collection and a gala dinner below the Eiffel Tower. Then we took the Longines orient express train to Chantilly, just outside Paris, for the beautiful Prix de Diane (the french version of the ascot). & last but not least, we did the Royal Ascot here in England.
As you know I’m not a huge fan of racing. At all. BUT, the social culture Longines are building around horses and the art of equine performance though different disciplines is so important to keep the equestrian sport and industry at a level. The horses here gets so well and professionally taken care of it’s really fascinating. I’m incredibly grateful to be part of the events. Thank you so much for having me LONGINES and for the relentless support of equestrian sports.
IT’S THE WEEK of Royal Ascot here in UK!
The Royal Ascot is Britain’s most valuable race meeting, attracting many of the world’s best racehorses to compete for more than £6.58 million in prize money, but it’s also a great social event – which I love about the english equestrian culture. They are so developed on the social part around everything equestrian and it supports the industry massively.
The dress code is very strict and it’s amazing to see how everyone has put an effort on their outfits, finding matching dresses (or, for the first time in Royal Ascot’s 300 years, women are actually allowed to wear trouser dresses! Just make sure the shoulder bands are wider then an inch and covers the knees) and hats or facinators (needs to be minimum 10cm wide in the base…). Anyway, it’s beautiful to see and I feel very privileged to be wearing the official Royal Ascot Jewellery collection by Links of London, and to be a part of this fantastic event.
I’m wearing the Ascot Silver Sweetie bracelet with the rose gold lady hat, horse and clover charms, accompanied by the Diamond Essentials Silver Horseshoe ring, necklace and ear rings.
LOVE IT.
This post was sponsored via Links of London and Shopping Links.
MOST RIDERS has heard the expression ‘to have the horse in front of your leg’. Today I got the question, and it’s a great question, ‘what does “in front of the leg” actually mean?’
It simply means that when the horse is in front of your leg he’s engaged, underneath you, and when you give an aid he steps forward – comes up from behind and into an elastic contact in the front. He responds quickly to the use of the leg, and with the appropriate amount of impulsion.
You can test if your horse is in front of your leg by giving a relaxed effective aid. You should feel that he reacts immediately and actively from behind, pushing the energy through his body forward and lengthening his neck into a steady contact. He should get quick behind and long in the front – as opposed to long behind and short in front!
Photo of Spring Hill Dressage’s Rick & me.
IT WAS THE World Cup Final this weekend, in Omaha. Many congratulations to the world’s best rider Isabell Werth to her win on 82,3% with her 12-year-old mare Weihegold OLD! Isabell gave a clinic earlier on Saturday (very jealous of my ex colleagues in US for being there with their horses!) but here are some of her tips on developing a GP horse:
1. The most important thing in the education of the horse is improving the flexion and bend. The goal is to make the horse more flexible, supple and elastic. The horse will be safer in the connection once you work for more bend and flexion of the sides — lateral sideways movements will help encourage the horse to come into the bit.
2. It’s important from the beginning to bring him from behind, while trying to make him lower behind. Find a good contact from behind and then you can start to do half halts. He needs to become more steady from behind with a really nice, clear swing.
3. Let the swing come out of the horse: Don’t interrupt the swing or rhythm. Encourage the horse to swing from behind. It’s very important for a young horse to find the rhythm on both sides.
4. Be careful with the inside rein, it’s a discussion. As soon as you use too much inside rein, you block the horse. Don’t shorten him with your inside rein.
5. Look for the contact: The horse needs to trust and look for the reins in order to begin proper work. Try to let him chew. He should look for the reins, so don’t throw away the reins.
6. Sit straight and still to encourage the horse to come through. When you sit on the horse, try not to lose his natural jog or interrupt the fluidity.
7. When beginning to work on the flying changes, try to get a little more connection and contact between the changes so she goes a little more ‘through’ the change evenly in both reins. Only a good canter will bring a good change.
8. To keep him in front of you, keep the shoulder in front of you.
9. Try to make the hind end more active with more jump. Ask for small, quick steps.
10. When you start with the half pass, start with more cadence control, and flexion. Once you have achieved that then you can ask for more forward more fluidity and swing within the gait.
Photos of Amaretto & I by Frog & Field. We are both dressed is Equestrian Stockholm SS17, & boots from Celeris UK.
WHAT A WEEK! Competition season is full on and we’ve had 5 competitions for Caruso & Dennis this week. It was really high winds and total crazy town at Caruso’s first start at Hickstead last week, we did a safe round and I’m super happy we got home with a 2nd place on 69,66%. Four starts this week at Oldencraig. Caruso found his bolder power and ended up winning both his classes with a 71+%! Then two starts on Duky Dennis – who is always in his bolder power – and we got two more wins! AH!
LOTS of love to Caruso’s Caroline, to Dennis’s Sam, to Sune Hansen & Spring Hill Dressage for top help, and of course to my partner in crime Tora <3
Always dressed in Equestrian Stockholm & boots from Celeris UK