A Facility needs facilities, and so my ingenious husband, with plans from the internet in hand, slapped together this tidy little throne in about 3 days using leftover wood and paint.

I think every outhouse needs some 'material' to keep the occupant occupied, and so here's what I'll be tacking to the wall inside:

Ah, the Pyramid of Training.  Everything you need to know about how to train your horse to dance, you just have to implement it from the bottom layer and work your way up.  

And yessss, the Circle of Aids.  An illustration by Sandy Rabinowitz.  Energy created first in the hind legs of the horse travels over the back and into the riders seat through her hands.

Take a long look and give these some thought.  Now's the perfect time.

In 2003 I was invited to ride Andy for a demonstration-type clinic with one of my first dressage coaches, Gerry Ogilvie.  I was pretty thrilled and asked my Dad to come watch.  There were about a dozen people in the audience and I remember my Dad asking me afterwards "Did those people understand anything he was talking about?" I look back and chuckle.  

Some of these terms are heard in the show warmup ring, and in most dressage riding lessons.

More from behind

Since the stride starts from the back legs, and good dressage is energetic, when you hear More From Behind, you need more energy.  Use More Leg to get those hind legs underneath you.

More Leg

If you want More From Behind, you will need to use More Leg, hopefully for just an instant.  Your lower leg is the cue to the hind leg of the horse, because it is the closest part of your body. Press the gas pedal.

Get Him In Front of The Leg

See More From Behind.  The horse is not listening to your leg.

More Active

See More From Behind.

Over The Back

Your horse is showing some stiffness, perhaps in his back or in the base of the neck.  You need a rounder profile, a rounder shape Over The Back.  Think of the silhouette of a muffin versus a pancake.

Deeper

See Over The Back.  Lower the neck of your horse to relax and stretch the muscles at the base of the neck.

Get Him More Through

See Over The Back.  Try riding Deeper.  

Rounder

See Over The Back.  Try riding Deeper.

Supple Him

See Over The Back.  Try riding Deeper.  

On The Bit

An energetic, round outline to your horse that feels responsive, comfortable and obedient to ride.

On The Aids

See On The Bit, your trainer does not want you to focus just on the headset of the horse. 

More Collected

If your trainer is saying this to mean On The Bit, you need a new trainer.

If this is not the case, your horse is already On The Bit and needs to shorten his outline from nose to tail without losing energy, and sit back on his hind legs a bit more.  He will take More Active steps, like a coiled spring.

Half Halt

This one's harder to define because there is variation between riders, horses and situations.  You need to call your horse to attention with a brief, subtle signal.  If he is already Through, he will Collect himself more.  A Half Halt will keep him On The Bit.  The rider might briefly squeeze one or both reins, might sit taller, or heavier for a moment, might squeeze the upper thigh, or these in combination.  A Half Halt always has a corresponding release.  You Half Halt to prevent losing his attention, to prepare for a movement, or to improve his balance. If your horse responds, he's On The Aids.  It's the most subtle of transitions.

Looking this over, I'm thinking a Dressage Bingo game might have some fun potential for the next time you're watching a lesson!

Andy, July 2017.  He had his twenty-fifth birthday on the 14th, and is having a kind of renaissance this summer.  You can bet I count my lucky stars each day that he is feeling so well after 2 winters of laminitis and a bowed tendon last summer!

June was busy with three judging gigs: the Wesley Clover Horse Trials, the Limestone Series Schooling Show at Chipmunk Ridge, and the Touch a Rainbow Horse Trials.
I try to be very succinct for the sake of my volunteer scribe, and the schedule, and these are my most common comments, and what I mean by them:

Not Quite Straight: on your centre line entry, finish and the corresponding halts, all I can really see is how straight your horse is.  If I can see 3 or 4 of your horse's legs as they come at me, then he's Not Quite Straight and will usually get a 6 as long as there's some pep in his step, maybe lower.

More Balance: Balance is so fundamental to dressage.  You are trying to improve your horse's balance in every stride.  To be more upright, to shift more weight to the hindquarters instead of leaning forward onto the shoulders, to prevent rushing forward or tilting to one side, to be more balanced.

More Bend: If you're riding a circle, the horse should take the shape with his whole body.  If he doesn't, you need More Bend, and might need More Balance or More Suppleness, too.

More Supple: The topline of your horse is composed of long muscles.  When they are tight underneath you, the horse's head comes up and he will need to be More Supple.  When they are relaxed, your horse's head will lower slightly, and he will flex slightly at the joint between his head and neck (the poll).

Relax More: Tension will affect your suppleness and often your contact.  JUST RELAX!!! (jk)  Beautiful dressage looks easy.  At ease.

Losing Energy/More Energy:  Beautiful dressage is energetic, and while tension is the other extreme, let's see SOME hustle!

Obedient/Not on the aids: These are opposing terms used to comment on your transition.  It's one or the other, folks.

Steadier Contact: The outline of your horse should stay consistent or else it's distracting and I wonder: is there tension or unsteady hands? 

Steady Rhythm: This is a compliment, and comes with a higher mark.  The tempo stayed the same throughout the movement and the picture looked relaxed.

Fairly Fluid: For a transition or a figure.  This is also a compliment with a higher mark.  You gave a relaxed, obedient impression and appeared fairly supple.

Fairly Smooth: See Steady Rhythm and Fairly Fluid.  I want to show some variety of comments on your test.  If you see all three comments, you are having a consistent test!

Perfection is pretty hard to achieve for any sustained period of time.  

On April 29-30 we took Ludi to the annual clinic at Westar Farms with Jen Hamilton.  I wrote about my experience with Jen last year, and really wanted to show her a difference in our training this year.  She noticed, and Ludi flew around the course, higher than we've ever jumped.  Flying together is some fun!  As it happened, I rode with Tess Greer, who owned the stable I rode at and coached me all through my teens.  We were both amazed and Jen's ability to bring riders out of their comfort zone, always to great success.  Jen can swing your pendulum and you'll thank her for it afterwards.  

May 8-9 I took Ludi for a couple of days to the beautiful Franklands Farm in Brockville, to train with Gina Smith, a 4-time Olympian and Grand Prix dressage rider.  I'd taken Lud in 2015 and he was terribly unsettled, so I was very relieved when he tucked right into his stall, and we were able to get right to work in our lessons.  We ran through our competitive routine, schooled some improvements, and I felt completely ready for the upcoming show.

May 13 we hosted Anne Galt, "Ottawa's Favourite Dressage Judge" for our first clinic at home.  Again, Ludi schooled wonderfully, and everyone had a great ride.  

May 20: Show Day at the Ottawa Dressage Festival.  I know the grounds, I knew the tests, and I thought I knew my horse!  Ludi was keen to warm up but came completely undone in the busy atmosphere, and by the time he settled down, we were both nearly too tired to dance.  Our scores ranged from 52% (rotten) to 66% (a personal best), and my feelings about the day are ambivalent.  

May 27: Our second Dressage Clinic with Anne Galt, and it was a magical day of well-behaved horses, gorgeous weather, and a yard full of happy people.  Ludi and I schooled some more test patterns, but at home on a warm day, he feels pretty lazy and uninspired.  In the barn however, he is more relaxed and cuddly than ever.  Dare I say all these experiences have strengthened our partnership? 

In my recent lessons, we've worked on getting him more supple and through in transitions, which means a rounder profile.  If he's tired or too laid back, though, he leans forward on his shoulders and curls his neck.  Now, I need to keep him travelling with his head more up and keep his hind legs reaching forward.

The pendulum swings.  In training, in life!

As the snow melts, the land awakens around us.  

For the last 2 mornings, we've had a diligent male partridge drumming out his desire just outside our bedroom window.  We watched a pair of mallard ducks walk within a few yards of him, the drake dutifully following his mate, even though the going was tough in the brush.

​We also saw a large still-white hare tucked into the woods in our front yard.

And a young deer sampled the newly-planted clover next to the riding arena, right beside the horses.

There are promising sprouts coming up in the flower gardens as their beds warm up.

​

Around the stable, our schedule has been on hold while the horse trailer had a fresh paint job.  It was time to update our truck, too.

Our first outing will be bringing Ludi to the Jen Hamilton Clinic at Westar Farms on April 29 & 30.  Then, a couple of days training with Gina Smith at Franklands Farm in early May.  We're also hosting 2 dressage clinics with Anne Galt in May, on the 13th and 27th.  In between, I may take Ludi to the Ottawa Dressage Festival May 20-21.  

Saddle up!

I knew nothing about aggregates before we purchased our first farm in Timmins in '04.  There was alreadysome sand in the middle of the paddock behind the house, so we got ourselves some railroad ties and made a small dressage ring.  It got muddy in the rain, but I hardly had time to ride then, let alone care.  Today's entry just goes to show how much one must learn to be able to do anything right.

We built a larger, properly fenced ring on the front of the property a few years later.  We asked our fellow stable owners in preparation "What kind of sand do you have?"...and so it began: multiple answers.  When it was time to get the sand, we called a local quarry owner and provided all the info we had, and expected him to know what we needed.  We visited the quarry, I was excited to proceed, and we were presented with three sandy holes in the earth.  Which hole did we prefer?  My confidence was eroding...like sand through my fingers, if you will.  

We made a huge blooming mistake.  The sand wasn't cleaned, so I was picking stones forever.  It was also too fine and any moisture caused it to become deep and sloppy. We had to fix it in 2008: a hard packed layer of granular A gravel with a different sand on top.  By the luck of mother nature, that sand was quite perfect:  it was clean, it packed underfoot, the water quickly drained out of it, the quarry was about 2kms from our house, and it was cheap! We just called it by the owner of the quarry.  Say "Passaw's sand" and the locals would nod knowingly.  That ring did me very well, serving as my venue to start riders and horses from March to December,
with any luck, and helping me prepare for exams and competitions for the next 4 years with no maintenance other than using a drag harrow behind the ATV on it every few days.  We hear it's now used as a beach volleyball court.

​In 2012 I attended a Hunter/Jumper Judge's clinic, and one of the facilitators was an enthusiastic course designer.  He shared stories of ring and jump construction, and named The Perfect Sand Spec:  "3/4 Crushed Sand with 8-12% Fines"  I asked him to repeat it and wrote it down carefully, feeling triumphant.  

Fast forward to 2013.  Our new farm in Pembroke needed a proper riding ring.  I researched sand all summer and we contacted the owners of local quarries and stables.  I'd quote The Perfect Sand Spec, and was met with blank stares at the quarries, to my dismay.  They'd show me something, but it was coarse gravel I'd never seen used in a ring.  Contractors would bring us samples, and I'd stare into it while sifting it through my fingers, like I was trying to read some prophecy.  It was a hugely expensive decision on my shoulders, not only up front but going forward: bad footing and good training cannot co-exist. 

​Perfect sand will clump together when you squeeze it (as long as it's wet), it packs, but not too much, it has no fine particles that float to dust when dry, and no hoof-bruising stones in it, either. We started taking scoops home from the fancy stables, anticipating the agonizing discussions to come. Red Sand. White Sand. Masonry Sand. Beach Sand. Concrete Sand. Washed Sand. Sharp Sand. Hydro Sand. Tee Sand. Angular Sand. My favourite name: Arena Sand. Sand from H&H, or from Siegel's, or from Buchanan's?  We drove around the quarries, looking at piles.

Our outdoor ring has Hydro Sand in it, again on a proven base of packed Granular A gravel.  Why is it called Hydro?  I don't know, but we joke "Cuz it's expensive as Hydro."  It's working very well. I considered the indoor arena footing for 9 months before it was built.  The Hydro sand gets a bit dusty when it's really dry.  That is a serious breathing hazard in an indoor, where the footing is normally bone dry unless you use additives.  Our excavator brought more samples and laid them out on his tailgate one Saturday morning.  I had my own samples ready to compare. Crunch time again.  My decision?  Filter media sand.  The kind they use for septic systems due to the conformity of the particles.  It's more uniform and coarser than Hydro.  We added Magnesium Chloride to counter the dust, purchased a proper Ring Conditioner to smooth and level the sand, and have rigged a nifty waterer.  So far, so good!

Andy & Ludi one sunny February day

Ludi & Ehren, playing fools

Today I signed Ludwig up for the Jen Hamilton Clinic at Westar Farms near Ottawa at the end of April.  I haven't told him yet.  

I watched a video of Jerry Seinfeld interviewing Barack Obama in an instalment of his online comedy series.  One moment, Mr. Obama was compelled to ask Mr. Seinfeld if he ever felt 'above it all, at this point'?  Mr. Seinfeld quickly answered something like "You know, I just fell in love with the work.  It's joyful, difficult, and interesting."  I loved this.  I also love Seinfeld's documentary about re-inventing himself as a comedian again after his show ended.  He is fascinated by the single-minded drive to work on one's passion.

For me now, there isn't a whole lot left to prove, while being realistic about where I live and the economy that comes with it.  I'm still trying to improve, but I'm starting to come to terms with the changes that age brings.  Things like having to ask for just 'Ranch sauce' on my sub sandwich, instead of 'Lots of Ranch sauce'.  My co-workers are buying these bracelets that track your movement (creepy) and count your steps.  10,000 is the magic number, apparently.  I'd really like to have a day that doesn't break 100, truthfully.  

And while my office job demands much of my energy and attention, the work continues at home.  Last summer a young lady started to visit to see the horses, and has won me over with her quiet persistence.  She's gone from 'that' kid on her bike showing up with a baggie of cut carrots, to revealing herself as one of those rare ones, the 1 in 10, with the talent, interest and grit to do this well.  Her family has leased her a very nice horse at our place and she comes out as much as possible.  I can't help but see the parallels to the beginning of my own story, and will do my best, during our time together, to make a rider out of her.  Because: it's joyful, difficult, and interesting. 

2017: Year of the Rooster.  "Have a good time after diligence", the internet recommends, which suits our style quite well!

Gorgeous bug collections at the Museum of Nature, taken during a holiday visit

Scenes from the farm, playing with photo filters on the Prisma app

As the show schedules are posted, I've made a long list of potential events, but it's early yet.  If you'd like some support to get ready for the season, drop me a line and let's talk!

We enjoyed a snowy Saturday this past weekend.  The farm is beautifully blanketed in deep, pristine snow, and the land rests underneath.  As busy as the holidays can be, we try to find time to rest ourselves, too.

I recently came across this piece written by Jim Wofford, an American author and master horseman on the topic of 'self-carriage', which is usually a training ideal discussed within dressage circles:
​
http://practicalhorsemanmag.com/article/harmony-through-self-carriage-11827

I was surprised to see this article was written in 2009; I would have easily assumed the 'complicated, uneasy world' he refers to was the present day.  I think Mr. Wofford expresses, better than I could, how we can find life's magic upon the back of a horse, as well as in the snowy forest, or in the happy contentment of being with friends and family.  

​Have a very Merry Christmas, and Peace on Earth!

September's entry was about the practice of technique, which is so fundamentally important in learning how to ride a horse.  Practicing equitation should always be challenging, but can sometimes seem boring.  The social media campaign of 'No Stirrup November' comes to mind as an effort to motivate riders to keep working in the off season.

To me, as much as technique will make a rider, or not, so will attitude.  The absolute pinnacle of this idea is Para Dressage.  2016 was an Olympic year, and I searched out some performances:

In judging dressage, one only looks to the rider when there are issues with how the horse is going.  The horses above simply flow, loosely swinging and relaxed, steadily connected to their riders.  Anyone can see how some of these riders are profoundly affected by their conditions, and I feel the same humble appreciation for their talent as I do while watching any skilled rider at work.  So, what about their technique?

Here's a sincere look behind the scenes of British Para Dressage:

Bond, Harmony, Partnership, Team.  You can throw all your technique out the window and stay in bed if you're not interested in the relationship with your animal, and with the people who helped put you up there.  I noted that British Para Dressage has experienced real growth in the last few years, which is rare in this industry, but probably not a coincidence.

In trying to foster these ideals in students, I must first lead by example.  

If you're a real reader, here are some thoughts and references from top coach William Micklem on the idea of 'both effort and delight' in equestrian sport:

http://eventingnation.com/william-micklem-on-the-subject-of-happiness/

http://eventingnation.com/william-micklem-more-thoughts-on-the-subject-of-happiness/

So, drop your stirrups for a few minutes in your next ride if you like, but maybe also call a friend for lunch, write a thank you card to someone who helps you do what you love, and consider something your horse really likes, and do that for him.  Things like this are much easier than attaining that perfect position!