The Equestrian

FOR THE ART OF RIDING

LGCT 2018

THIS EVENT. In London. Top horses. Top people. Top food. Ah! 

Longines Globals Champions Tour brings together the top show jumpers in the world to compete in prestigious locations for unprecedented prize money. From Monaco, Miami, St Tropez, Doha, Berlin, Cannes and Shanghai to Madrid and Hamburg. This weekend in London and my dear friends at Longines hosted a wonderful event at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, literally in the middle of London town! & I just walked around loved everything, from my dress, to the course (yeas yeas I walked it), the the oh so dear and very special people and friends of Longines, to the food! Yes they even had Linnea friendly food. I only eat anti inflammatory foods, I will have to write a post separately about this topic, but in short it’s most gluten-, dairy- and sugar free goodness that supports your metabolism and over all life energy.

Thank you Longines for an absolutely gorgeous day! 

HORSE+GIRL POWER

SO HAPPY to attend a totally sparkling day at the all-female Swarovski Magnolia Cup at Qatar Goodwood Racecourse on Ladies’ Day yesterday! The racing sport is quite far from my equestrian genre, but the goods that these horses come with is pretty awesome. This race raised funds for Cancer Research UK, while also empowering women in sport <3

Swarovski, sponsor or the race yesterday, held the all-female race, with twelve amateur riders compete in aid of charity. This year, the proceeds will go to Cancer Research UK and celebrating strong, inspirational women who are testing their limits in the challenging sport of horses. So good 🙂

Also cool: Swarovski is a brand with over 70% female workforce and strives to empower all women, from those who manufacture their products to those who wear them. They are a signatory of the UN’s Women’s Empowerment Principles, also part of the UN Women UK National Committee Corporate Advisory Group, supporting the work of UN Women in its mission for gender equality AND they support numerous charitable initiatives that promote women’s empowerment, both on a corporate level and through the Swarovski Foundation.
Total (horse) girl power! SO GOOD.

Photo of Sabrina Percy, Charlie Webster, Faya Nilsson, Olivia Wayne, Amy Williams, Linnea Aarflot, Joanna Hardy.

IT’S A DATE STHLM

GREAT COUPLE days teaching in Stockholm this weekend! I’m always SO happy to see my oldies but goldies progress, and to meet new riders teaching at the Jumping with the stars dressage stables AP Ridutveckling. Now we have dates set at AP for the rest of the year.

On our day clinics we work on a dressage rider’s seat in the morning, on the horse’s different frames and education in the afternoon, and we go through all theory around it over a recharging lunch in AP’s lovely facilities.

For you riders who have already taken this course I will hold follow up sessions after the day clinic is finished.
If you wish to come only for the lunch theory please email me.

Dates for the autumn are: August 11, Sept 8, Oct 6, Nov 10, Dec 23.
To book above dates please go to AP-Ridutveckling, or email me.

Looking forward to see you!

Lots of love to Anna Wallberg and the team at AP for having me <3 

Wild Horses Mountain

HAVE JUST had the beautiful experience to meet this cheeky herd of wild horses!

I’m in France for a couple days and what better way to spend a weekend off then climbing a mountain (for 5,5h!) to meet these guys?!

I love to see how they respond to my presence and how they interact with each other. It’s such a balance in a wild herd, the stallions, mares and foals are communicating so clearly. The boys are in charge of making sure the herd is safe, and the girls makes sure there is peace and order within. These guys were pretty curious to be wild, and it probably means they’re living a quite peaceful life on top of their mountain. Next to all the vultures and lizards. So beautiful!

& it reminds me of my time with ‏Moonshine and the wild horses herd in New York <3

(If you ever get time to observe a wild herd, please take your time to do so. Your domesticated horse will thank you!) 

UNDERSTANDING

JUST A kind reminder of something important here: ‘The horse should be a partner, not a slave. The goal of Equestrian Art is the perfect understanding with our horses, which requires them to be free of mental and physical contraction.

Ask often, be content with little, and reward greatly,’
– Nuno Oliveira

Photo of Caruso cuddles by Ella Coleman 

PEACE & PERFORMANCE

HORSES ARE normally happy to perform in the dressage. Because just like yoga or pilates makes you feel better in your body and helps you increase your body awareness, dressage performed correctly is interesting and exciting for the horse. If the horse finds something difficult it’s normally because they find it too uncomfortable or they are not able to understand. It’s a l w a y s our job then, to find out how to make the training positive and understandable for the horse.

Another kind reminder is to not drill the dressage horse. Only practice so long so your horse can go home with enthusiasm left in the body. & after two days of work in the arena – do something else.

Photo by Ella Coleman, of Lucky & I doing something else.

POSITIVE EDUCATION

IT’S NOT all about competition. Far from it actually. Competition is just a receipt you’re doing your job right. For me. It’s not the only purpose. Here’s a beautiful story of my very dear Swedish client Ewa and her horse Daisy, that lights my fire just as much as competitions does. Ewa came up to me after I had competed Caruso last year and needed some help with her new mare. Daisy was barely rideable at that time, she just took of and had no interest in being ridden, and Ewa had gone from being a brave and happy pleasure rider to worried to even get on a horse.

Daisy had never got any proper education and couldn’t therefor see the upside of being ridden. It frightened her. Ewa is a professional dog behaviourist and really has an understanding of behaviour patterns and the process of rebuilding them, which helps enormously in my job. So since then I’ve trained Daisy, and Ewa has used hypnotherapy to get over her fear. & about a month ago (it takes time , patience and focus to rebuild positive patterns when they’ve been negative for years but oh then it’s so possible!) we started to put Ewa on to walk Daisy after I’d trained her, in a lunge line (the lunge line was more fro Ewa, Diasy doesn’t need it). And from there we have started to take small walks outside of the arena. Yesterday I walked with Ewa who hacked out on Daisy for the first time. Both so brilliantly. & today they hacked out completely by themselves, and added some trot! Ah, it makes me so happy to see them both happily chilled with each other now I could cry! 


Thanks Ewa for sticking to plans and allowing me to do what I’m supposed to! <3

SHANE

I’M IN a bit of a rotation of horses at the moment. Four of my main competition horses planned for this season has sold, or as in this case moved on to his real career – eventing. Glasker Sweetclover here, aka Shane, if you remember? (& here) the superstar eventer I schooled in dressage the past year for owner Caroline Crowther recently moved on to a British Eventing Young Rider & today he won over some really impressive names in the big show at Aston!!

When you see your horses move on to great people and homes it just makes those changes oh so much sweeter! Really Proud! 

NOELLE FLOYD

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Noelle Floyd Magazine Linnea aarflot

linnea aarflot equestrian stockholm noelle floyd

linnea aarflot equestrian stockholm noelle floyd magazine

horse pilot antares saddles linnea aarflot

HAPPY SATURDAY READING today! Very humbled to be featured in the new issue of Noelle Floyd Magazine. We shared a day at my old yard Tye Farm this January while going through my daily routines, riding my horses and talking everything equestrian lifestyle.

Lots of love to the lovely team visiting and to Equestrian Stockholm, Longines, Antares saddles, Roeckl Equestrian, H&M, Horse Pilot and Celeris Boots for making us look smart <3 

IT’S SHOWTIME!

Linnea Aarflot Caruso dressage hickstead Linnea Aarflot Caruso dressage at hickstead

AAAAAH I’M SO HAPPY to kick of this competition season! & to be back at Hickstead on my favourite boy Caruso! Big man has matured so well over the winter but he’s not been out for months so today we went out to give him confidence today. We did one start and left any pressure at home. I just wanted to show him the arena again and let him dance around the test like eeasy life. & so he did! Steadier and more confident then before, and despite an expensive trot in the walk programme I’m so proud to finish with a great feeling, a 4th and to go home with a confident Caruso.

Ah, LOVE this horse!! & we’ll be back soon.

Thank you so much to Equestrian Stockholm, Longines, Roeckl Equestrian, Antares, Tora & especially to his owner Caroline Edgeley for letting me have this special horse <3