Hello There
Leading on from “I’ve decided to learn how to ride” in my last email-out (featuring the mechanical horse), I spent last Saturday at Hartpury College watching various demos (very well organised by Callum Banfield) to write up for the IH Magazine and share some key learning points with you here. Anyone who knows me knows – I love Key Learning Points!
I’ll keep these short so you don’t lose the will … I’ll pick things a bit more ‘out there’ rather than the usual ‘trust’ and ‘respect’ and so on, which anyone receiving these emails knows we need to earn with our horses. I do know I’m ‘preaching to the choir’ as Monty used to call it.
Yogi Briesner
For jumping, it’s a good plan to keep your lower leg in front of the shoulder, hip, and heel, that’s recommended for classical flat work. Yogi talked about the importance of consistency, and he heard someone say once ‘It’s better to be consistently bad than inconsistent!’ Which is not, of course, to be recommended, but makes the point well!
He did various good jump exercises, which included a jump and several strides forward two parallel poles for the horses to go between. Halt and then carry on to the next jump. Done well, this is an excellent exercise to ensure control and relaxation for horse and rider.
Charlin Unwin
It was a good point that we all know (here!) that steady breathing will help us calm ourselves and focus, but he talked about how it can be much harder to ‘re-focus’ if you get a knockback in any sport. I made a note to self “Re-focus very challenging in sport” (and I added) “And Life!”
We have Charlie on a webinar on the IH Members area, so do check him out if you haven’t already.
Dee So’oialo
Talked about the importance of using breathing to relax yourself, and while I thought this would be so familiar by now, there was a very interesting question from the audience, which was “As an instructor, I’m worried that students will be insulted if I suggest they make changes with their breathing”. Which I found extraordinary, as on the Five-Day Foundation course, it was something we were emphasising on the very first day. Dee said she’d never had trouble with this, and Charlie Unwin made the good point that it needs to be a habit – it’s not only something you use for an emergency – it’s too late by then.
Gillian Higgins
I have to admit to a bias here as Gillian has become such a good friend and came back to stay in Lambourn after Hartpury, which isn’t exactly on the road to Leicester. We had such good chats about horses, and Gillian is writing two articles for the Spring Summer IH Magazine – one about mobilisation (subject close to my heart at the moment), and she happened to mention that in the neck, the Cervical Vertebrae two and three have the least range of motion, and I was like ‘Yes! That’s what we’ve found with Hugo!’ Not that I’m obsessed or anything.
By the way – anyone here going to the Horses Inside Out Conference in February? Do let me know so we can say hello. I’ll be there all three days. Don’t Miss Out… you can still get tickets to attend or join online and take advantage of a 10% discount.
We also have Gillian content available on the IH Members area, so do check that out too.
Gemma Pearson
Gemma has been a Big Interview in the IH Magazine and Tuesday Evenings three and four of the upcoming Online Horse Psychology course will cover some key points Gemma made. Gemma’s also studied at the Yorkshire Riding Centre and brought in learning from there. Something to note is that although Gemma is well known for ‘Clicker Training’, she said she doesn’t actually use a clicker but makes a ‘cluck’ sound. Gemma didn’t use clicker training as part of her demo, but did describe positive and negative reinforcement and how they can both cause a rise in dopamine.
I’m going to finish there, although I’ve still got the fabulous dressage trainer, Lisa White, and eventing legends Lucinda Green and Chris Bartle to go!
I should get those to you next week. January/February is a busy time for us in the office with the Online Course, the magazine and various equine duties, but it’s exciting times as well!
