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One of my BFFs and an amazing colleague Geoff Butler was kind enough to come back to Eastern North Carolina for another clinic at the farm. It was a full weekend of rides and I think everyone had a great time. Looking back at my June clinic notes (http://blog.horsegirltv.com/2011/06/2306/) from working with Geoff I realized we REALLY have come a great distance in a short time. Hansel is a very sensitive horse which makes him challenging but oh so very fun when things are correct!

Just four months before we were working on in front of the leg and coming into the hand and while with most horses this is a lifetime work in revisiting Hansel really got it. Since June we have our change, have worked the passage to improve the throughness in the trot (wow did that work!) and are ready to delve into half pass. I’m not one to think there’s only one path or one series of steps one should take to get “there” but likewise I don’t think you should push a horse when they are not ready. That said, Hansel has an excellent passage and we even touched on piaffe one day so it’s in there. The passage to trot transitions recently has improved in front of the leg immensely! Here’s a few notes from my training journal with Hansel from our October weekend working with Geoff.

Going to the right try to sit deep into that inside leg and not be throw outside. This is not all me but I take the blame. I’m definitely stronger with my left leg and because of Hansel’s way of going it’s even more challenging but this sitting into that right leg especially when going to the right has helped with our balance together tremendously!

Counter flexion feel going to the right to keep him from dropping on the left shoulder. All gates. Again this is my weaker side and Hansel does like to drop or push into his left shoulder. Just the thought of counter flexion and I was able to keep him straight!

Bring the trot back a bit more especially to the right so he doesn’t take those crazy big steps and almost go into the canter. So bring it more back and up in the shoulders and neck. A mere 4 months ago and we were working on activating those hind legs and now he’s so active that I am riding the trot more conservatively. You’ll notice in the clip of him going across the diagonal away from the camera how expressive his trot (once the strength is there) will become.

Either direction shoulders to the right with left flexion and to keep haunch from swinging and ask a little more forward with both legs. Again we’re back to the arch nemesis that left shoulder. It’s a no brainer to say keep them straight and in front of the leg (the key here being active off both legs) but when straightness is compromised, a little fixing of the straightness coupled with activity off both legs is just a miraculous thing!

Here’s a few clips from one of the rides that address the work mentioned in these notes.

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The Jeep has been a part of HorseGirlTV since the beginning of the series and even featured in our first episode beyond the pilot, Importing Horses and CEM Quarantine Facilities at https://blog.horsegirltv.com/?p=358 and many other fun episodes as well but it’s time to pass her on to someone else who’ll enjoy driving her as much as we have throughout the last five and a half years shooting HorseGirlTV all over the USA (and abroad altho the Jeep didn’t make that journey with us)!

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I’ve had quite a few fans recently email in and ask what type of helmet I ride in. After sending the replies I realized I should just put together a blog about it.

I have been riding in the Troxel Grand Prix Classic now for several years and it came in most handy when breaking in a young, über atheltic horse who’d been backed only 5 times as he decided it was a good idea to play bucking bronco. I came off and landed on the left side of my head. Ka-POW! Fortunately my helmet was tested to still be in great shape and since I had the helmet on, my skull was likewise in good shape with only my pride broken on the x-rays. 🙂

I picked the Troxel Grand Prix Classic because as the name boasts, it has a classic look with the velvet and the strappings seems to be small enough not to over power my tiny head and at under $100 it was a great quality helmet that was equally great on the pocketbook.

It’s a bit more pricey than my Troxel Grand Prix Classic but I have always thought the look of the Charles Owen Wellington Classic to be extremely keen. It’s pretty much the same traditional look of my helmet but I really like the low profile. It’s priced just under $250 which when one factors in brain surgery it’s simply a steal!

Averaging $50, the Ovation Deluxe Schooler Helmet is definitely a stylish, economical option and while it’s a little less on the traditional side one can always buy the nifty helmet covers in velvet if you’d like to dress it up.

Whatever you end up getting, check to make sure it’s SEI certified and to keep abreast of the latest in helmet technologies, giveaways and other fun stuff, you can always follow our friends Riders4Helmets at http://twitter.com/riders4helmets and let them know you heard about them from Angelea!

Please keep your questions coming in by contacting me at http://blog.horsegirltv.com/contact/ and thanks for watching the series!

In thinking about what topic I would use as my take away on my journal today and my mind began to drift. I started reviewing older posts dating back to 2006, which made me notice patterns in my training cycles. Furthermore that made me realize the importance of note-taking after training. Whether you’re a beginner or an international pro, I think one should write down thoughts, ideas or issues faced in the daily rides because we’ll likely face same issues in different circumstances throughout the years. For example, almost all of us are “handed” meaning we’re stronger on one side of the body than the other just like our horse athlete partners. Writing down what you felt or how your body shifted will reinforce, for many through decades of riding, where our strengths and weaknesses lay and hopefully allow us to build on those strengths and overcome or improve on those weaknesses.

Rather than talk about this last months take aways, here is a variety of tips from my notes the last six years that I’ve found repeatedly helpful and I hope they might inspire you in your rides as well…

Training with Gwen Blake:

• Try cantering on the quarter lines and simple change of lead through the walk to counter canter to activate the hind leg
• Key note after my first Grand Prix test, the passage was too slow to develop so have the first few strides feel like trot then bring it back to the more elevated passage
• For better jump in canter pirouette think of my hips to his ears for a climbing feeling
• Softer aids think of touching the horses side with the stirrup iron will help with spur control

Clinic with Janet Brown-Foy:

• Basic position reminders WALK is 4 beat and go with the flow with the legs pushing back against the breath of the barrel, TROT is a 2 beat and ask for more forward only with the inside leg and on the up posting beat when the inside hind leg is coming forward, and CANTER sit inside with the weight inside and the outside leg as support only while the inside leg and seat bone ask for the canter

Training with Anky van Grunsven:

• The rider sets the tempo, not the horse
• I used the term push with my legs. Anky says to use the word tap instead to ask for a reaction
• In my canter work keep the haunches from swinging in. Keep the horse straight as to engage and carry themselves. Moments in the canter of true carriage with a loop in the rein. When Anky said the moments were good it felt like we were climbing up a hill with a canter pirouette feel
• My interview with Anky – https://blog.horsegirltv.com/?p=1135

Theory with Elizabeth Madlener:

• A horse can only become receptive (or submissive per the training scale term) to a ground person when they understand that the person is the Alpha. He will then give himself to his rider. Perhaps the chain goes, respect leads to receptiveness which leads to trust then confidence and finally harmony
• My interview with Elizabeth – https://blog.horsegirltv.com/?p=2203

Training with Geoff Butler:

• Maintain a tempo conducive to helping the horse keep his balance and not making drastic tempo changes which will have him searching for his balance constantly
• A tool for activating the hind leg is to not slow the tempo so much that the engagement is lost. This is not to say running them forward or onto the forehand but that a more active pace can be a useful tool
• My interview with Geoff – https://blog.horsegirltv.com/?p=1129

Theory with Jean Luc Cornille:

• The idea that there is one technique for training is completely ridiculous
• There is no glory in the victory gained at the expense of the horse’s soundness. Instead of forcing the horse to perform they have to be ready for what we ask
• My interview with Jean Luc – https://blog.horsegirltv.com/?p=2604

So remember to keep a pen/pencil & journal (Barnby notes has a neat one at http://www.barnbynotes.com/product/training-notebook), your smartphone, laptop or tablet handy in the tack room to jot down ideas you had from your ride or lessons you learned or perhaps even what you want to focus on with your ride the following day. While the perfection we strive for is often illusive, note-taking provides a path of personal education and exploration that we can’t fully embrace otherwise.

I have been lucky enough to train with some greats in our industry. Unfortunately Charles de Kunffy isn’t one of them however I so appreciate his writing and this quote, “The dressage rider has to be, first of all, a horse person who is acqainted with a diversity of equestrian activities, because only by these means can the nature of the horse be discovered. A dressage rider cannot be made by riding dressage only. The bold and powerful gaits of an alert horse negotiating a natural environment cannot be experienced in a fenced in arena.” It is with this quote I re-disover and apply the importance of cross training.

Hansel has been progressing quickly since the Geoff Clinic last month continuing schooling on steeper diagonals with the leg yields, maintaining more precise 3 tracks on the shoulder-ins, adding counter canter 20 meter circles (which is making the single loops and short side counter canters seem like a cake walk) and of course the general whoa and go. Even in the midst of all this I wasn’t feeling a real thrust forward. Enter the eventer! There’s a local, up and coming, event rider, Amanda Miller Atkins (http://www.millereventing.com/) who comes to a small stable around the corner from mine and I asked if she could swing by my place and take Hansel over a few fences.

This worked brilliantly as my desire to begin some cross training with Hansel, created the necessity to actually have some jumps which actually turned out to be a great HorseGirlTV webisode showing fans how to build jump standards which we launched yesterday actually (https://blog.horsegirltv.com/?p=3274). It was a win all around.

Jump day came and Hansel looked twice a few times at the jumps we made for him but he didn’t seems to mind going over them and while he was a newbie, she simply pointed him to the jump, gave a little leg and over he went easy as pie. He seemed to really like it and the true test of it’s effectiveness for me came the next day when I popped on for a simple walk, trot, canter and had the absolute best thrust in a lengthening down the long side. It was like flying and I can only attribute that to the wonderful jumping the previous day. Thanks Amanda!

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WATCH this video on your iPhone, iPad or non-flash friendly device @ HERE

I was addicted to the jump cross training at this point and the next week, we hauled over to her facility for some more. It was a great experience for the young Hansel to travel 2.5 hours, unload, tack up, walk through some wildly placed, rusted out farm equipment, tall grass, through a hingeless gate and a variety of other boogie man type objects to get to the front field where he was ridden in an open field, with plenty of jumps off a busy highway with a herd of horses looking on.

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WATCH this video on your iPhone, iPad or non-flash friendly device @ HERE

I’ve noticed a marked improvement in his forward and staying in front of the leg since the jumping and wish to incorporate it at least 2x monthly now. It not only has improved the forward but the jump of the canter/gait itself as well as the straightness in the changes. I’ve likewise noticed more confidence in myself and willingness to take him around the farm and in areas of the farm I wouldn’t consider before to get him used to a variety of environments. He’s handling it all like a champ and again I attribute this to his 2 jumping experiences.

We still have a long way to go together but for a horse who was started in the spring as a 5 year old (approximately 1 year and 3 months ago) and who has been in full time training since October 2010 he’s really come leaps and bounds with his training.

I was fortunate enough to meet Emily Bates of Bates Australia (http://www.batessaddles.com/) at the WEG this past year thanks to the super sweet introduction of Sheryl Rudolph at FITS! Thanks Sheryl!!! I REALLY enjoyed chatting with her and learning about their range. I’ve always heard great things about Bates and the Wintec but never had the opportunity to ride in a Wintec myself. I heard some fabulous stories about Isabell herself from Emily and have always been a fan. I mean really… who could NOT be a fan of Isabell who’s one of the only modern international riders who trains all her own horses up from babies!?!?

The long and the short of that great conversation at WEG with Emily is my New Isabell Wintec arrived yesterday and is pictured in this blog. I’m so terribly excited to get it on my young horse but I’m going to wait patiently for the Wintec leathers and CAIR girth to arrive so my first time in this awesome new equipment is a complete and perfect package.

I’ve been reading about the CAIR system the last few weeks and have heard some brilliant reviews so far. The idea of the air is truly forward thinking and since the beginning of the series I’ve been about high tech advancements in horse sports, treating ourselves and our horses like athletes and really doing what we can to embrace new directions for top sport it was a no-brainer my interest was peaked. For those of you that haven’t heard of the CAIR you can read all about it online at http://www.cairpanelsystem.com as the idea of air being a fluid medium that will constantly adapt to the horses muscles is amazing. Another great feature on the NEW Isabell Wintec is the EASY-CHANGE gullet system http://www.easychangegulletsystem.com/ and I’m actually hoping we can get a representative out here to talk about the saddles points, proper fitting and just the Bates innovations in general. Of course, it would be such an honor to meet up with the Bates people in Germany at Isabell’s facility and watch the first hand continued development of such a long term, brilliant and affordable range someday in the future.

It goes without saying, I’m excited to start riding in my NEW Isabell Wintec but I’m likewise as excited to begin preparing a HorseGirlTV contest to giveaway a saddle just like my very own to a great fan of the series. Please feel free to send me ideas for fun and creative ways you guys can enter this future contest and I’ll make certain we get the ball rolling!

Cheers and happy riding! I’ll definitely blog more about my experience with my NEW Isabell Wintec once I’ve had some time to work with it! Yeah!

While, some people gathered with friends and fam to BBQ, watch the parade and fireworks show, it was a normal weekend here at the farm in Eastern North Carolina. I mowed and trimmed the acres, organized the stable, mended some fence and picked up Ex who’d been working in Afghanistan for the past 7 months. Yeah so the last little bit wasn’t your average weekend but it was definitely a welcome task to add to the to do list. I loved that he made an “I ♥ HorseGirlTV” sign to take photos in Afghanistan with and I’m looking forward to seeing that photo off Walter’s camera. It was hilarious that he trekked all the way back with it and I just had to grab a photo of him with it stateside.

The welcome home “event” was a weird experience for me to say the least. The battalion prepared this event like a carnival that was mostly surreal to my non-military past but it seemed that the kids (and subsequently moms) enjoyed the carnival like bouncy houses and games that were offered.

The long and the short of this deployment, which I’ve never mentioned to fans until now that it’s over, is it was the LONGEST 7 months of my life and I don’t wish that experience or lifestyle on anyone EVER. It’s been fun just getting to spend time with my partner again hanging out and hearing stories of him seeing horses grazing in the fields with no fence, no halter and seemingly no person managing them as well as all the cats they had in their camp area.

Welcome home Ex! Now let’s hang out working around the farm and enjoy morning weekend coffees of the patio together!

A good friend and colleague of mine, Geoff Butler of Unique Sporthorses (http://uniquesporthorses.com) was kind enough to fly over from Holland last weekend so HorseGirlTV (http://horsegirltv.com) could host a clinic with him. I’ve known Geoff since 2007 and spent a great deal of time talking theory, sport horses and the future of dressage extensively when I was over in Holland training in 2009 and the last several years in general thanks to Skype and email! When you find someone that clicks with the same ideas you have, I say, you stick with them and Geoff offers a great eye, kind personality towards both human and horse and is generally a joy to be around.

In this clinic, I rode my 2005 Sir Donnerhall gelding, Hansel which I imported from Holland as a 5 year old who, at that time, had been backed only 5 times. Yes, we started from scratch and I’ve learned so very much from him this past year about myself, my riding and how to be more sensitive. When Hansel arrived from Holland, he stood approximately 16h. (Below is the first time I backed Hansel after he arrived stateside! Look how tiny!)

In the last year he sprinted upward to now touches a good 17h and subsequently the training this last year has been touch and go around his development from a compact horse to a gangly looking teenager to a more mature horse who’s body has finally grown into his legs and is starting to fill out and develop beautiful muscling.

In this clinic with Geoff we started to hone in on the basics. We worked on tempo control and not slowing Hansel down to the point where I stopped the hind leg which in turn stops the engagement from behind. This currently means riding in a tempo that’s a bit higher as to help him maintain adequate activity behind. In this current study of tempo control it was important that we focused on his balance so he could maintain that balance throughout the tempo changes rather than making the difference in tempo so great that he was searching for such balance. Early on, I was focusing too much on bringing him back thus my reaction to send him forward too slow as I was already stopping the hind leg so… In the beginning of tempo control the changes themselves should be relatively miniscule so that he has the chance to develop his strength and gets the feeling for maintaining engagement throughout the transitions within the gate. An added bonus is these small tempo changes will help him build confidence. To improve my reaction time with my softening and sending him onward aid I would be strong in my core and close my fingers slightly only to the point where I just barely began feeling him react. It’s at that moment my reaction needed to be to send him forward again after softening my fingers. The idea with the work is meant to train him to soon be able to stay active going in a slightly slower tempo. Hansel adapted to these subtle changes rapidly over the 3 days I rode with Geoff so as he continues to develop his strength and confidence I’ll then be able to be more ambitious with the changes of tempo.

His current tendency is to first hallow from the base of his neck then to drop in his back so, for now, all this current tempo control work the goal is to stretch from the base of the neck while going as relaxed as possible in a long and low frame comparable to training and first level work. This lowering from the base of the neck helps to free up his back so that he can truly push from behind maintaining more engagement and activity behind thus creating the ability to get more of a connection through his body. This is the goal at least! (Below is a clip from his trot work)

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WATCH this video on your iPhone, iPad or non-flash friendly device HERE!

This long and low tempo control was worked on not only at the trot but likewise at the walk and canter. I found the canter to be the easiest gate for my personal feel.

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WATCH this video on your iPhone, iPad or non-flash friendly device HERE!

I do worry that working too much in the walk one can turn a quality walk into a short horrid lateral experience but Hansel was a champ and maintained a wonderful and true four beat walk slightly slowing the tempo, shortening the walk with a firm core and gentle closing of the fingers keeping my legs off and he equally responded well to the opening of my fingers, slight undulation of my core muscles and general pulses of my calf muscles to increase the stride.

Since the beginning I’ve been told the importance of quality of gates but it wasn’t until the last six years, I’ve genuinely began to see the great importance of quality of gates. Without that, you’ll go no where but probably on the forehand, hallow or backwards. I know playing with movements is fun but unless the quality of gates is there it’s just tricks and not really dressage BUT I was excited when Geoff said we were going to work on some lateral. Hansel gives a great feel and he has a natural gift for lateral so Geoff asked me to stay in a rising trot as to not to interfere with activity and lead the shoulders off the rail. My initial aid was too drastic and he was way into a four track but a second and third school we achieved a nice, somewhat steady, three track. Each direction we touch on schooling this shoulder-in and from there we touched on riding a shoulder-in feel on the diagonal (AKA beginner half-pass). Two serious days of working on engagement plus many years of studying/riding shoulder-in and half-pass lent itself to actually a quite nice beginning feel of this movement. I wouldn’t go as far as saying we (Geoff, Hansel and I) “trained” shoulder-in and half-pass but we certainly touched on them both not to forsake the more important work at hand of tempo control and developing a balanced, forward and active horse.

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WATCH this video on your iPhone, iPad or non-flash friendly device HERE!

Some great take away terms for developing the relaxation from the base of the neck where to play with bending the neck off the inside rein with a relaxed outside rein allowing the horse to stretch around that outside rein as well as when working on the circle thinking of leading the shoulders off the track with the inside rein more so when traveling right as Hansel tends to fall out on the left side of his body. Previously I’d worked on this issue with a counter-flexion feel. It was just another subtle relaxation tool.

I don’t remember how but it was a tactful question like… So you’re riding in draw reins but not using them at all. Why? I didn’t have a good answer and the tack change/reduction was made in the subsequent lessons. 🙂

A final take away from the long weekend was in regards to the canter when working tempo control. Our goal is to work on a quick reaction to my leg aid when I ask him to go forward with the result not being a quicker tempo but more so that he gets quicker from behind, improved jump in the canter and ultimately improve the canter quality.

Hansel has taught me so much about myself about being a more thoughtful and sensitive feeling rider in a short time. I know we have a long way to go but the thought of starting from scratch with him and moving up is ever exciting. I’m looking forward to having Geoff back in the fall!

Next month HorseGirlTV is hosting USEF “S” judge Elizabeth Madlener here and my goal is to have our tempo control within the gates dialed in, building on that by improving the quality of our transitions between the gates so we can continue to advance. This will be my first time riding with Elizabeth but I interviewed her last year (https://blog.horsegirltv.com/?p=2418) for HorseGirlTV. She was inspiring to talk theory and I’m looking forward to getting in the sandbox with her then journaling back here on Barnby Notes with our progress. I’ll hope to have the PA system setup so we can include some clear audio with any clips!

Thanks to Rachel Edwards (a member of Barnby Notes Courtney King-Dye Barnby Mentorship Program) for videoing my lesson so I could include some training clips to complement this journal entry!

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I have one for every day of the week and traverse my full day from stable, to studio to town with ease, comfort and style. Can you tell I’m a huge fan of this shirt?! 🙂

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• The fit follows classic feminine lines.
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• The powermesh under arm gussets for ventilation keeps me cool on hot summer days.
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• The built in show ready collar.
• They are a simple machine wash and hang dry perfect for the horse girl on the go!

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You can buy these FITS show shirts online at http://fitsriding.com/shirts_silkTouch.php or contact HorseGirlTV at https://blog.horsegirltv.com/?page_id=3818.

Watch the interview with FITS innovator, Sheryl Rudolph, to learn more about these amazing high tech and high fashion shirts!
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