april 2016 - in the stirrups

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WELCOME…IWe finally have a little sunlight in the evenings! If

you’re covered from the neck to your waist in

horse hair and the knees down in mud, you’ll

agree that we are definitely in Spring! This month

we bring you some Do’s and Don’ts on social

media for those of you with high hopes of stardom

in the equestrian world. We speak to Sarah,

founder of Learning to Listen and how working

with horses on an emotional level can help in so

many ways. Patricia Pitt and Anne Gage share

their wisdom as always and Mike O’Brien gives

us an overview on dental disorders. Lara Dyson

shows us her

h a n d s o m e

s t a l l i o n s

nicknamed the

gentle giant and so

much more!

Enjoy!

Natasha

Dutch Olympic Eventer Tim Lipsis in hot pursuit of the 2016Olympic Games in Rio deJaneiro. Tim also won TeamBronze at the 2014 AlltechFEI World Equestrian GamesNormandy.

Tim Lips

Patricia is The Dressage Tipsterand founder of Crystal System.Patricia provides us with usablereliable tips to improve allaspects of your dressage work.Her advice can help your ridingimprove and adjust your mindset.

Patricia Pitt

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS

Feature Page Number

I N S I D E T H I S M O N T H S I S S U E

See Page 21 See Page 18 See Page 7

COVER PHOTO: Flora Harris on Crossboyne. Taken at Gatcombe Horse Trials by Ben Clark

Anne Gage

Anne Gage is a Clinician, RidingCoach, Horse Trainer and CertifiedProfessional Coach based inCanada. Anne focuses on themental and physical aspects of bothyou and your horse so you candevelop trust and respect whilebuilding confidence in each other.

Learning to Listen

Fashion

Lara Dyson’s GentleGiant

BEF needs you!

WIN: a place on theessential horsemanagement course

Showtime Tips

Tried and Tested: TheEquestrian

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REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS

Applause is an American MiniatureHorse and part of AlamandaTherapy Animals. At just 28” tall,Applause is their main star as wellas being, quite possibly, the onlytherapy ‘Unicorn’ in the world.

Applause

Chris runs EQPR EquestrianMarketing & PR - the worlds onlyfull service equestrian agency!Helping both riders and equestrianbusinesses stand out from the crowdthrough a complete range of services.Chris has a passion for all thingsdressage thanks to his partnerinternational dressage rider andtrainer Luke Baber-Davies.

Chris Baber-Davies

Scott Henderson PT foundedEquifitness as highly-specializedpersonal conditioning for eventing,dressage, and western competitors.Equifitness helps riders achieve anew level of competitiveness andenjoyment, by improving theirability to balance, respond, andcommunicate, which creates a moreproductive horse–rider relationshipand experience.

Scott Henderson

Lara Dyson:

Meet Lara’s stallionwho has earned the

name of Gentle Giantaround her yard

Page16

See Page 28 Back next month See Page 13 See Page 30

WantIn the Stirrupsdirect to your

inbox eachmonth?

Mike O’Brien

Renowned Equine DentalTechnician Mike has experience andqualifications from around theworld. Based in Surrey he shares hisknowledge on the importance ofregular dental care in horses.

Photography team:

Marc Moggridge Rose Lewis Ben Clark

Then visit our homepage and sign up to our newsletter!It’s FREE! www.inthestirrups.com

Learning to Listen: The powerand understanding of horses

Learning to Listen has been built on the under-standing of Sarah Shearman. A lady with a dreamwho has built a business out of helping others,firstly focusing on helping horses recover from theirencounters with negative humans, then branchingout to helping children from all walks of life andabilities to now running a centre where anyone iswelcome and understood.

We spoke with Sarah who kindly explained in a littlemore detail just how the amazing organisation wasformed and how it’s grown over time.

Sarah, where did it all start?Well I was pretty much born on a horse, with mymother doing all sorts of work including workingwith the RDA so I grew up around horses. One daymy whole perception was changed when I saw afriend killed whilst we were out riding, it was a freakaccident but none the less scared me. I went throughso many emotions after, I felt I didn’t have the rightto smile when my friend couldn’t and it distanced mefrom horses for a while. One day my mother boughtme a copy of a Monty Roberts book and some of the

wording in it really resounded with me, the main partbeing ‘you don’t have to hit it to get it to do some-thing’ …be it animal or human. It was after readingthis book I realised horses have their own languageand off I went out to California to learn more abouthorses and their behaviour. From that point on I neverused whips or spurs etc although I was still cocky andwanted to impress! I felt with my experience andupbringing around horses I could show off my skills,how wrong I was! The horses soon taught me thatthey had a say in our partnership too and I learnedhow important our respect for one another is.I came back to the UK and was drawn to the nameLearning to Listen, little did I know how relevant thatname would be 20 years down the line!

www.inthestirrups.com

I began taking on ‘difficult’ horses, retraining themfor their owners etc but it wasn’t long before I real-ised when I sent them back their bad behaviourcropped back up in no time. It was around then that Irealised not only do horses need training but often theowners too.One day a lady arrived at the farm, with her 12 yr oldson in the back of her car and asked for help. I said Iwork with horses not people but she convinced me totry. 7 hrs later he got out of the car, after many cupsof tea between mum and I, and I offered him aSaturday job. Due to his behavioural issues he wasunder a Pupil Referral Unit who soon detected thechange in his behaviour and before long I had otherchildren visiting us! It was a phenomenal experience,despite being challenging. We had 8 boys coming tous daily but due to new regulations the PRU neededto remove them from the farm unless we were pre-pared to become an independent registered school. SoI did and then we had to go through 2 Ofsted inspec-tions to become a registered school. Learning toListen school was opened. To my surprise I was thenapproached by a school under special measures whowanted their teachers to learn with the pupils. Wedevised a programme known as the Warrior Pro-gramme, essentially it teaches that horses are fasterand stronger than you and the best way forward is towork together. The same goes for when it’s a personwe are facing. The idea is to implement our experi-ence with horses into our general behaviour.Unfortunately, next came the breakdown of my mar-riage, I was married to a lovely man but we both haddifferent directions to go in and I yearned to growLearning to Listen further. It was an emotionally

challenging time for me and I spent a year for myself,taking time out before I found a little farm to startworking from again.So what is the organisation about now?We began to head in the direction of Autism, there isso much that can be learned about the condition byworking with horses. They often tell us what theperson working with them is thinking or feeling intheir mannerisms and in return the person workingwith them often discloses emotions they would other-wise find difficult to show when not working with ahorse. The beauty of horses is that there’s no talkingback or ego when you’re working with them and forsomeone going through a difficult time that’s won-derful, it makes them more approachable and easierto work with. We work with many adults as well aschildren and sometimes the problem can be with bothparties involved so having dual involvement reallyhelps the thought process.We have 7 horses; they seem to find us when theyneed us. The most recent two joined us under a yearago, the lady they came from said “if you can catchthem you can keep them”, and here they are!This weekend we spent in Harrogate as it is AutismAwareness Month in USA and Autism AwarenessWeekend in the UK, so we shall be out and about forthat. Then we’ll be jumping out of a plane so never adull moment!

Learning to Listen: Sarah Shearman


Visit www.learningtolisten.co.uk or www.autismangels.co.uk formore information on their amazing work

www.learningtolisten.co.uk

www.autismangels.co.uk

CONFIDENT HORSEMANSHIPWITH ANNE GAGE

When you get stuck in fear, you create mentalbarriers that fill you with anxiety and preventyou from moving forward, from learning andfrom growing. You stay stuck in the sameplace or on the same path. Fear closes youdown.

A great tool for overcoming fear is developingmore curiosity.

Curiosity opens you up. You become filled withinterest and excitement. You ask betterquestions. You learn and you grow. You trydifferent paths. It becomes an adventure.

Your emotions come from the thoughts you focusyour mind on. Allow your mind to focus onnegative thoughts and to create stories aboutpossible negative outcomes and you feel fearful.But, by changing your thoughts and giving yourbrain something constructive to focus on, youremotions change.

Fear says “Oh no! I'm going to get hurt!”

For example, you focus on the ‘what if’s’ of asituation. What if my horse bucks, bolts, rears orkicks me? Your mind will look for an answer to

that question and it's generally a worst casescenario.

Curiosity says “What's going on? How can Ichange it?”

In this case, you have noticed something thatcould potentially upset your horse. So, you focuson finding a solution to prevent a possibleproblem. Something is not right. What is makingmy horse behave this way? What can I do tomake him feel calm and prevent him from ....(reacting in a particular way)?

When you ask a question like ‘how can I’, you’vegiven your brain a problem to solve in a positiveway. Your mind wants to give you answers –that’s its whole purpose. So, try this exercise.

1. What is the ‘what if’ question that yourmind usually asks when your fear istriggered? Write it down and then writedown all the things that flow through yourmind. Don’t censor yourself. Just let it flowand get it all down on paper (or yourfavourite electronic device if you prefer).Keep writing until there is nothing left tosay. Notice how you feel while you aredoing this exercise.

BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE: BE MORECURIOUS!


2. Now, ask yourself a question about ‘howcan I ….?’ For example, how can I makesure my horse isn’t going to buck? Writeit down. You might have to sit with this fora while. Be patient. If anything comes tomind, write it down. If your mind tries to goback to ‘what if’ just calmly tell it to stopand focus on ‘how can I’. Don’t bediscouraged if you don’t get an answerwrite away. Carry on with your day. You’llprobably get an answer when you’re notthinking about it. Write it down wheneverit comes to you. Notice how you feel whenyou are focusing on the question andwhen you get an answer.

When you experience challenging situations,becoming curious and looking for positivesolutions changes your perception of thesituation, reduces your anxiety and helps youfocus on achieving results that you did not thinkwere possible before.

Anne


A total of six nations will be making their Olympicand Paralympic debuts at Rio 2016 when they fieldathletes for the equestrian disciplines of Jumping,Dressage, Eventing and Para-Equestrian Dressage. Five National Olympic Committees will be sendingequestrian athletes to an Olympic Games for the firsttime at Rio in August - Chinese Taipei and Qatar forJumping, the Dominican Republic and Palestine forDressage, and Zimbabwe for Eventing, while Uruguaywill be sending its first Para-Equestrian Dressage ath-lete to the Paralympics. Rio 2016 is the first Olympicand Paralympic Games ever to be held in South Amer-

ica and a total of nine South American countries willcompete in equestrian at Rio 2016, with Peru securingits first individual qualification in Jumping. A total of43 nations have earned qualification for the Rio 2016Olympic Games across the three disciplines of Event-ing, Dressage and Jumping, with 30 countries targetingthe equestrian medals at the Rio 2016 ParalympicGames, where Para-Equestrian Dressage will celebrate20 years in the Paralympic Movement. “We are thrilledto be welcoming new nations to the Olympic andParalympic equestrian family and to have 43 flags atthe Rio 2016 Olympic Games and 30 for the Rio 2016Paralympic Games”, FEI President Ingmar De Vos said.The Olympic equestrian events get underway the dayafter the Opening Ceremony in Rio on 6 August 2016in Deodoro, where the world’s best athletes will com-pete for team and individual medals in Eventing, Dres-sage and Jumping. The Rio 2016 Para-EquestrianDressage action kicks off on 11 September for whatpromises to be the largest celebration yet of high-per-formance sport for people with an impairment, whereathletes will target individual medals across grades Ia,Ib, II, III and IV, as well as team medals.

The super stylish Easy Riderbreeches from Euro-star bringfunction, fashion and value! Thisstyle is the Zohra Diamond Fulland has an RRP of £75. They areeverything you would expect fromeuro-star - practical, stylish andaffordable legwear.

http://www.easyriderbreeches.com/

FASHION ANDSHOPPING


FASHION

Come rain or shine, designer dogwear label Dogissimo has the per-fect spring wardrobe for yourFrench Bulldog, British Bulldog orPug, combining fashion with func-tion across their gorgeous collec-tion!This beautiful jacket called the‘Windsor’ pays homage to the greatBritish summer weather, with it’slightweight water resistant (nonsticky) Antique waxed drill cottonouter and soft corduroy lined highneck, which can be worn up or down dependenton the elements or your own personal style!

A soft quilted lining, Dogissi-mo’s exclusive easy-fit sys-tem (Simple press studclosure along either side al-lows for the coat to be put onin one movement and theneasily fastened) and adjust-able chest size for a perfectfit, all add to this jacket’s al-lure.

Prices start at £54.95www.dogissimo.co.uk

Featuring a beautiful flock printdetailing on the collar, cuffs, pock-ets and across the back of the waist,this garment offers the ultimate instyle with fashionable functionality.Smart Silver edged buttons andstructured seaming give this tai-lored jacket the edge against thecompetition and the innovative

Equiline ‘X-Cool’ fabric, not onlyoffers extreme freedom of move-ment but has breathable and waterrepellent properties too.Your prints charming in one fabu-lous jacket!RRP: £447.00 Sizes: 8 -14Black & Navywww.dressagedeluxe.co.uk


FLOCK TO EQUILINE

FASHION WITH FUNCTION

FASHION

FMBs Therapy System has recently added theActivo-Med Equine Spa to its range of productswhich, with the other products available, makesthis company the place to come for all your equinerehabilitation needs.The Activo-Med Equine Spa can be used for rehabili-

tation and performance. It’s

often used to support recov-

ery from tendon and ligament

injuries as well as soft tissue

damage, hoof related prob-

lems, arthritis, laminitis, con-

cussion, wound healing and

more. The spa uses cold ther-

apy to help reduce the risk of injury after exercise, to

reduce inflammation and provide natural pain relief.

With salt water options to further reduce swelling and

support wound healing, it’s an incredibly versatile

system. The Activo-Med Equine Spa joins the Vibro-

Combi Floor, Water Treadmill, Dry Treadmill and So-

larium in the company’s range

of fixed rehabilitation and thera-

py equipment. For more infor-

mation on the Activo-Med

Equine Spa or any other item of

therapy equipment, see

www.fmbs.co.uk or call 01494

883433.

To celebrate the start of the race season, those foxxy tweed fashiondesigners Timothy Foxx have just launched a brand new cushionwith a winning theme! The new ‘Galloping Horse Tweed Cushion’is the perfect addition to traditional country homes or contemporarycity interiors with its colourful play on textures and tones.

A silhouetted series of galloping horse and jockey races across thecentre of the feathered cushion surrounded by patchwork tweedsections and vintage inspired ribbon detailing. Each cushion is lov-ingly handmade at the brand’s UK headquarters and is totally unique– just like all the racing greats.

RRP £55.00 www.timothyfoxx.co.uk


A RACING START

NEW THERAPY SYSTEM AVAILABLE

FASHION

Pegasus Exclusive, chunky snaffle attached tointerwoven leather with plated ends and alobster catch and their name lazer engravedonto the D-rings of the snaffle. Available inBlack and Brown Leather, with silver, gold orrose gold plated finish snaffles.Length: 19cm. RRP £30.www.pegasusjewellery.net


PEGASUS STYLE

When it comes to beautiful boots with a unique finish, The Spanish Boot Company have already positionedthemselves with their collection of riding and fashion footwear.New, for summer is their bespoke collection of jodhpur boots, which offer a distinctly high fashion twist tothis equestrian classic.Choose from a variety of base colours, elastic insert colour and classic or Cuban heel to create the perfectboot for your style and personality.RRP: £165.00 Sizes: 35-46

Bespokeand

Beautiful

Those who do not already know me I head up EQ.PR Equestrian Marketing & PR which is the worlds onlyfull service equestrian agency. We work with some of the best riders, businesses and equestrian products allover the world and over the upcoming issues we will be explaining how you can always ensure your marketing& PR are tip-top!

We all know that riders and equestrians in general are very good at doing all things horsey but perhaps notquite as good with the business end! It is lucky for those that PR and marketing agencies specialising in allthings equestrian exist! It is also somewhat of a minefield when you start talking about websites, branding,promotion, news updates, press releases and the huge list of things that you should be doing! You are quitesimply either too busy to even contemplate starting or just do not know where to begin.

One of the most important parts to get right is social media but this is often an area most of us fall short andthat could have serious consequences! I wanted to cover off some social media do’s and don’ts to help youstay social media savvy!

Are you social media savvy?Do’s and Don’ts online!

Chris Baber-Davies of EQ-PR

use social media! – Social media is great fun as well as giving you great access to newcustomers for both riders and equestrian businesses.

be complete your profiles! There is nothing worse then taking the time to go and finda profile, page or channel only to find there is nothing there or half complete!

ensure you post regularly! Another bugbear is those that are a tad sporadic when itscomes to social media, Your Facebook might get updated regularly but other profiles (it isusually Twitter that suffers here) often get forgotten about and appear unloved and most ofall become a wasted opportunity –

set up your profiles correctly! If you are a rider, trainer or business you should be usingFacebook pages and not setting up a business page using the regular Facebook account, A). Itviolates Facebook’s real name policy and B). It is also annoying when you want to learn moreand have to wait for a friend request to get accepted.

check what you post! You are what you eat also applies to you are what you tweet! For manyof you this is your shop window and your opportunity to attract new customers, keep currentcustomers in the loop and start to build your own little dedicated micro-community. Keep yourposts consistent and as a rule of thumb do not share anything you wouldn’t share with yourMother!

use automation sparingly (or not at all) There are lots of tools to help make managing socialmedia accounts a little easier but it also takes out the personality from what you are doing! Thatgoes for automatic messages that you can send to your new followers which a recent surveyfound to actually cause most to unfollow there and then!

DON’T try to be everywhere all the time! We know there are not enough hours in the day sotry not to log on at 20:00 and fire out post after post! Try make 5 minutes throughout yourday to just keep your posts regular – It doesn’t matter if your horse is just doing somethingsilly and you want to share, your audience will love it – besides who doesn’t love a horsewearing a hat or trying to steal the broom when mucking out?

DON’T be needy! Asking people to share and repost constantly is also a little off-putting tomost! If you are struggling to increase or help boost engagement think about running a smallcompetition as it is win win for both parties.

DON’T cut corners when it comes to grammar and spelling! We know not everyone isperfect when it comes to grammar and spelling but taking time to simply check will reallyhelp to ensure your posts remain looking professional! You could try composing your postswithin Word or another similar application that can check your spelling and grammar!


DON’T overshare! Sharing is caring but over-sharing is only going to limit your audience!Facebook Pages for example only show your posts to around 20% of your followers withinthe standard news feed. We recommend making the most of each and every post.

DON’T abuse #Hashtags! #YesTheyCanBeHighlyAmusing but for most I am afraid theyare just a tad annoying! Use the #Hashtags to describe what you are saying which will thenhelp those looking for your services find you.

Just a quick update on our Rider Step Up PR.GM:

We have been inundated with applications to join our step up programme and are delighted to confirm that wehave now also received National Lottery funding to help even more riders! We are looking forward tointroducing some of our new upcoming stars in future editions!

Our programme is designed to make PR accessible for riders wanting to boost their profile andstand out from the crowd without the expensive commitment of engaging a PR agency full time.There are also some riders that are well on their way to needing a dedicated PR contact (but notquite there yet) or those that are managing it all in-house themselves and needing some help.

Our Step up programme will mean that riders of all levels can utilise our expertise and still get adedicated account manager at a heavily subsidised hourly rate with no minimum commitment or anylong term contracts. It also looks great on you if you have a PR & media contact on your website &social media channels which will open far more doors then going at it alone. To apply just visit ourwebsite at www.eq-pr.co.uk.

Stay tuned next month for more marketing & PR tips and if you have a question you would like us toanswer just use #AskEQPR on Facebook or Twitter, visit www.eq-pr.co.uk or email us at hello@eq-

pr.co.uk


Cyden Bodyguard Moorland isa stallion with a reputation forvery un-stallion like behaviour.With a pedigree that is drippingin dressage royalty, his tem-perament is more that of a fam-ily pony.

Here Lara tells us about thestallion that has a special placeon her yard.

How did you come acrossBodyguard originally?

Having already bought Cadansin Holland, my Dutch contacttook me to visit Bodyguardwhen I next visited Holland,looking for a young 3/4 yearold. At this point I didn’t actuallyride him, just viewed him undersaddle with Astrid Langenburg.As you can imagine, I was starstruck - tall, black with fourwhite socks what more could Iask for.About three months later, hisowner called me to say hewanted to sell Bodyguard and

Meet Mr GentleGiant…

would I take him to train and sell on, of course Ianswered yes. In the first few months I didn’t reallyenjoy riding him as he was very stuffy and didn’thave a trot at all, however I soon fell in love whenhe started to relax and let me ride him, this was abond I hadn’t really felt with any other horse be-fore. So, three years down the line he is still withme.

How long have you owned him?He has been with me for three years but I haveonly just taken over full ownership of him recently.

Where is he currently at in terms of competi-tion level?Intermediate 1 level.

What are your hopes for the future?To train him and compete him at Grand Prix levelwith Rhett Bird’s help along the way!

How old are his oldest youngstock, do youhave any?He already has a KWPN-approved son GuardianS, which for a stallion so young himself is a majorachievement, as well as many young offspring


competing and winning young horse classeshere in the UK. He has approximately 100youngstock on the ground; we have one of ourvery own Bodyguard offspring from last year,and two due this year.

What is he like to handle?He is a dream, he is known as Mr Gentle Gianton the yard, as that’s exactly what he is, I haveno problems with my nieces and nephews allunder 11-years-old, leading him around andriding him, he really is that good. Don’t get mewrong if it’s time to collect from him he does getup tight but never dangerous. He is Mr Easy tolook after and loves massages and cuddles.

What makes him special?His temperament and want to do well nature, hetries so hard when you are riding him; he alwayswants to please, sometimes too much, blesshim.

What is his character like?He is a happy boy, and loves being in the firststable on the yard as he gets the first kiss andcuddle in a morning. At night he has his treatball to keep him amused but this is normallyfound empty outside his stable in the morning!

What are some of his major placing’s?He has won numerous Advanced Medium andPrix St Georges classes, qualifying him for theregionals. His best major placing to date was atAddington Regionals last year in a very hot Inter1 section where he was placed sixth on 68.69%to a winner on less than 1% in front.

What is he like to ride?He is an absolute pleasure, you can ride himevery day, or give him a few days off and itdoesn't make him difficult to deal with. He en-joys his work so will take as much as you throwat him. He is good to hack too, so it is nice tovary what he does including giving him a jump,which he finds very exciting.

What is his weekly schedule?Monday and Tuesday he is schooled, Wednes-day he is lunged, Thursday he gets hacked out,Friday is his day off, Saturday we do pole work,and Sunday is competition day or he goes foranother hack.

How long will he stand at stud?He will stand at Stallion AI Services for freshand chilled semen for four/five weeks in twoslots. The first in April/May and one towards theend of June.

Does he throw a particular type?At the moment they have all been 16.2hh plus,quite big boned, but for me the biggest thing thatall Bodyguard offspring owners are saying istheir temperaments are truly amazing with suchtrainable attitudes. That's all I could ask for.Cyden Bodyguard Moorland will be standing atStallion AI Services for a limited period in Apriland June for fresh and chilled semen. Frozensemen is available all year round from CydenBodyguard Moorland, Cyden Oostings Amigoand Cyden Cadans M.

Meet Mr Gentle Giant


I have been on my journey of Dressage discoverynow for a long time and just recently I have come tothe conclusion that Dressage is not for me!

Highly skilled riders know that they must stay closeto their horses each and every day in order to buildthe intimacy required for the work. They build apartnership and they know their partner’s moods;their likes and dislikes. The term ‘Dressage’ forthem, encompasses everything that they do, not justin the arena. So, moving from the stable to the schoolis seamless: a working partnership from stable toschooling arena to the show ring and home again.

However you are feeling, whatever your energy, thisreflects in the way you are around your horse. If youcarry your emotional baggage into the stable (badday at work, people problems, etc.,) it will inevitablyinfluence your horse and therefore your partnershipperformance. Emotions are not all bad, they are thesource of power you need to be a dressage rider in thefirst instance; but controlling them will bring you themost success.

You need to be very careful what you put into yourpartnership. Most tasks can be likened to computers– if you write bad code, you will have to rewrite it atsome point! – the partnership with your horse is nodifferent and for this reason it can be helpful to learnto neutralise your emotions before you go to thestables and certainly before you get on your horse.

There is a very powerful N.L.P. Technique called‘Anchoring’. It is used to elicit a positive response tosomething that you do. With Anchoring it is possibleto start unconsciously smiling when you touch ashoulder. It can instantly change how you feel and

THE DRESSAGE TIPSTER

WHY I KNOW THAT DRESSAGE IS NOTFOR ME!… IT’S FOR MY HORSE


can help you in many, many situations. What youneed to do is anchor a positive emotional responseand fire the anchor whenever needed.

HERE’S HOW:

· Do whatever it takes to make you feel the emo-tional state of happiness (look at a picture youlove, bury your head in your horse’s neck and takein a lung full of horsey smell, perhaps recall astory that made you smile). Really embrace andfeel the emotion as you do it, like nothing elsematters or will ever matter.

· Whilst you are there, do something and hold theposition for a few seconds (clench your fist,scratch your nose, pull your ear, touch your shoul-der, rub your leg – you get the idea?) and remem-

ber the exact area that you’ve touched. You aresetting the emotion to an anchor.

· Remove the anchor and change the subject.· If the process has been successful, the next time

you feel anxious, angry or negative, activate youranchor (scratch, rub, pull in the spot you an-chored) and you should experience the happyemotional response that you felt as you set theanchor.

· If the technique doesn’t seem to produce the de-sired effect, keep repeating the exercise until thewanted effect is reached.

THE DRESSAGE TIPSTER:

Patricia Pitt is In the Stirrups dressagetraining advisor. Known as The Dressage

Tipster and joint owner ofwww.likecrystal.com with her partner Mark,Patricia provides direct and usable advice to

improve your ridiing each month…


Do you have what it takes to become an equestrian athlete at the highest level, and ultimately to represent GreatBritain at future Olympic and Paralympic Games?

The National Lottery-funded equestrian World Class Programme is searching for the next generation of youngdressage, jumping, eventing and para-dressage athletes to apply for its Podium Potential Programme. The two-yearprogramme, which starts in December 2016, seeks to further develop talented athletes who have the necessaryattributes to achieve selection onto a senior British team within the next Olympic cycle (2017-2020), and who mayalready be achieving a high level of results on the national, or even international, stage.

The World Class Programme’s Performance Director, Dan Hughes, commented; “Whilst we head towards what willbe a sensational summer of sport at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, it is also vital to look to Tokyo2020 and beyond, to ensure we are starting to develop the skills of those athletes who may already possessmedal-winning potential.

"We enjoy a considerable depth of talent in the UK and we must cast our net wide to ensure we exploit thatadvantage to the full. I would urge all those athletes who believe they have the skill and commitment to become amedal-winning athlete, and that meet the selection criteria, to apply.”

If you believe you have what it takes to compete at the highest level then we want to hear from you. Anyone wishingto apply for the World Class Podium Potential Programme must meet the selection criteria specific to each discipline.

The criteria, selection timeline and the registration form are available to view and download online now atwww.equestrianteamgbr.co.uk; registrations must be submitted by Thursday 12 May 2016.

Could you be the next Brash or Dujardin?The British Equestrian Federation needs you!


Hello,

So the past month has not been my best month! Mylast completion saw my horse pick up a small injury.It was not a big thing but still disappointing for us.But as always I willkeep positive and looktowards next month andbeyond!Next month I will un-dergo surgery for mykidney stones, it will on-ly require a one-nightstay in hospital but afterall it is still surgery so Ifeel a little apprehension. It is always tough for me torelax and take time out of my schedule but I amlooking forward to finally being clear of this problem!Of course the big event this year is Rio! The Dutchteams will be officially announced on July 10th but weshould have a good idea of the teams sometime inJune. Then things will really kick into overdrive.Even though we didn’t get to jump in the last compe-tition, we had a wonderful cross country round. I feltmy horse did better than his score and have a very

good feeling about myself and my horses. My horsesare all doing well, we had an unlucky second week inPortugal but I am very happy with how the horseswent and also pleased with my riding too.With the entry lists of Badminton released last monthI am missing being a part of it! This year I decided tofocus my efforts before the Olympics and insteadlook towards Burghley as my UK event later thisyear.Rio is my goal first and foremost. My priority isbeing the best I can be for this wonderful event. Ihave prepared for the last 4 years to represent myteam, my country and myself! In addition to my tophorses I have also been training my 6 and 7 yr oldhorses who are going great. It is exciting to see themup and coming!

Until next time, take care!

Tim Lips: Ticket to Rio


“I am missingriding at

Badmintonthis year”

All photos in this article are by Nicolas Hodys Photoswww.nicolashodysphotographie.com

www.facebook.com/nicolashodysphotos

Olympic champion, Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat, showed nerves of steel when galloping to victory atthe Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final for the second year in a row.

The crowd in the Scandinavium Arena in Gothenburg (SWE) went wild after the 33-year-old rider producedtwo faultless rounds with the 10-year-old gelding Corbinian to claim the €172,500 prizewinner’s purse. It wasthe perfect end to a great final for the Swiss champion, bringing his earnings for the weekend to €232,100.The Netherlands’ Harrie Smolders took the runner-up spot and a handsome pay cheque of €131,250 fortoday’s two rounds and must now be one of the hot favourites for a place in Rio. Germany’s Daniel Deusser, winner of the Longines FEI World Cup™ Final in 2014, stood on the third stepof the podium and was all too happy to join forces with Smolders to hoist Guerdat and the trophy into the airin celebration. Guerdat was out in front going into today’s final decider, but had to leave all the fences onSantiago Varela Ullastres’ brilliant course standing if he was going to do the back-to-back double after his winin Las Vegas (USA) today. Despite the pressure and with the passionate crowds oohing and aahing over everyfence, he held his nerve to finish on a perfect zero for the win.

“It’s really special”, an emotional Guerdat said. “I wasn’t really thinking I would stand here in front of you asthe Final winner today. I have a really strong team supporting me, people who get up early every morning andwork really hard, so I want to thank my whole team, it’s really a team victory. We all have the same goal. It’sme who’s standing here in front of you, but there are many people who should be standing here with me. It’sa team victory more than ever I think.” Guerdat’s biggest wins have come with three different horses – Ninodes Buissonnets at London 2012, the mare Albufuehrens Paille in Las Vegas last year, and now his latestchampion Corbinian. Today’s victory was the fourth for Switzerland in the series, with Markus Fuchs takingthe cup in 2001, Beat Mandli in 2007 and now two in a row for Guerdat.

Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final, Gothenburg (SWE) – 1, Corbinian/Steve Guerdat (SUI), 0penalties, €172,500; 2, Emerald NOP/Harrie Smolders (NED), 3, €131,250; 3, Cornet d’Amour/DanielDeusser (GER), €78,750.


London 2012 Olympic champion Steve Guerdat of Switzerland is hosted aloft by runner-up Harrie Smolders (NED), left, and third-placed Daniel Deusser (GER), right after claiming victory in theLongines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final in Gothenburg (SWE).

Ex-racehorse, Baz, has found his calling in theshow ring taking two championships at their firstever show.Owned by Lucy Dobson from Scotland, Bazheaded the line up in both the in-hand ex-race-horse class and the large ridden hunter class,before standing champion in both sections atHighfield Show in Fife.Known on the racing circuit as Barr Head, 12-year-old Baz is a typical ex-racehorse and at17hh he struggles to maintain weight and condi-tion.Said Lucy: “We had a fantastic day and it wasonly our third ever outing together and our firstshowing competition. It was a long day for himbut he behaved impeccably and received somelovely comments from the judges on how suppleand shiny he was; I was very proud of him.“In the past he has struggled to maintain hisweight and can also be a bit sharp, on top of thathe can be quite fussy and in the past would eat

one type of feed for a few weeks and then go offit completely.“In April 2014 our local TopSpec nutritionistcame for a yard visit with the weighbridge, shegave me some great advice on his nutritionalneeds and made up a feed plan that includedTopSpec Cool Conditioning Cubes and Top-Spec Comprehensive Feed Balancer.“The great thing about it is I know that he isgetting the correct amount of nutrients for hisworkload without having to give him an exces-sively large ration. I can honestly say that we’venever looked back! He looks fantastic and ingreat condition, he now enjoys his feed too somaintaining his weight is no longer an issue andpeople always comment on how shiny he is!”Lucy is planning to focus Baz on dressage thisseason with a number of outings alreadyplanned.For free nutritional advice please contact the MultipleAward-Winning Helpline on (01845) 565030 or visitwww.topspec.com

Ex Racershows off

his talents!

Horse ownership is a challenging and timeconsuming task, requiring hard work anddedication and also a high level of skill toensure that all aspects of care are attendedto. Are your horse management skills up toscratch? Or would they benefit from someexpert tuition? Maybe you are a new horseowner or planning to get a horse and need toboost your knowledge? If so, Equine Educa-tion is offering a brilliant online course, ‘TheEssentials of Horse Management’ which pro-vides the essential information required toensure good horse management.

The course covers many key aspects of caringfor your horse and will likely be of interest andbenefit to individuals looking to establish thefoundations of good horse care. It is also greatfor those looking to own their first horse as it willprovide an abundance of useful information.Four main topics will be cov-ered, ensuring that the courseenhances an all-round knowl-edge of horse management.The first topic is ‘Horse Han-dling’ which will look at thebasics of equine behaviourand how to handle horsessafely. Key tips will also begiven on grooming, rugs andfitting common items of tack.

The second topic, ‘HorseHousing and Pasture Manage-ment’ looks at different types ofstabling environments, routinemanagement, bedding and wa-tering. This section will also

cover basic pasture management and care ofhorses at grass.

‘Feeding Management’ is covered in the thirdtopic and will address the basics of feedstuffs,quantity of feed required and general feedingmanagement.The fourth topic is ‘Equine Health Care’ whichwill highlight the signs of good health and alsothe symptoms of ill health including the basicprinciples of disease prevention and manage-ment of common ailments.The course will be led by Dr Jo-Anne Murray,Associate Dean of Online Learning at The Uni-versity of Glasgow and Senior Lecturer in Veter-inary Equine Nutrition at the University’s Schoolof Veterinary Medicine. During her time workingat the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies,Jo-Anne led the horse management teaching forveterinary students. Previous to this, Jo-Anne

Polish your skills with an essential horse managementcourse!


managed the equine centre and taught extensive practical horse management to higher and furthereducation students at the University of Wales, including providing training for British Horse Societyexaminations.Jo-Anne is a British Horse Society Intermediate Instructor and a Registered Nutritionist with TheBritish Nutrition Society. Jo-Anne has extensive experience of working on and managing a varietyof different equine establishments. Jo-Anne’s combined academic and practical experience has ledto her excellent reputation in providing practical up-to-date advice on horse management. Her vastexperience and outstanding knowledge in this field ensures that her tuition is of the highest qualityand anyone on this course will be learning from an expert.The course is delivered fully online over a period of four weeks and during that time you can log into the course site and take part whenever suits you, allowing you to fit your learning in around yourbusy life and, of course, your horses! When logged on you will have many useful resources to readand also the opportunity to take part in group forums. Don’t worry if you get short of time one week,because you can always catch up the following week due to the flexible nature of the course. It isadvised that you spend around two hours per week working through the content.

‘The Essentials of Horse Management’ course starts on 2 May 2016 and costs £99. It is a brilliantway of boosting your knowledge regarding the key features of horse management, through flexibletuition from an expert. Don’t miss out on your chance to learn more - sign up today!

For more information on this course and to book your place visits www.equine-education.com.

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Every new horse is like writing on a cleansheet of paper whatever you have written onit, it stays there forever. You can try to erasewhat was written before to write on top ofit but the paper will never be white cleanagain.First show experiences will imprint futurehorses attitude for competing and perform-ing. Done well you will have a show off andfighter, done badly - a never ending list ofmiseries. Like with every successful enter-prise- preparation is the key. Usually, Imake sure that my horses are so well pre-pared mentally and physically that they findactual competition easy and fun. Doing likethat makes them grow in confidence andbeing happy to perform well when the pres-sure put on in later years.I see competition as a part of training. Be-fore actual competitive outing I'd alwaystake young horse to a couple of differentplaces/ arenas. Usually the best outing istaking a horse for a lesson - nothing couldbe better than a pair of knowledgeable andexperienced eyes on the ground elling youhow it looks and noticing what's needtweaking or correcting. Having a Lesson isa good way to teach horse to give its bestwithout putting the pressure.Some horses don't like their manes beingplaited and tail bandaged for a first time soI'd make sure it has been done a few timesat home. Having some non competitionoutings teaches horses to get used to all thetravelling routine, gear, and road journeyitself without adding any pressure. Bathingand trimming them regularly helps to takethe stress away of having to do it all at oncefor a show day.I never take horse out until I'm completelysatisfied with its basic way of going athome. It must be polite and easy when

handled from the ground. It must standquietly at any circumstances when mountedand move on only after a signal was given.It has to respond unquestionably to basicaids to move up and down all three gaitsand obviously turn and stop once asked. IfI have all these boxes ticked at home thatusually means horse understands, respects,listens and most importantly trusts me.When we are in a new place I'm the onlyperson that the youngster knows so I remainmy usual, calm and confident self to letthem naturally follow and copy me. Donethis way horses usually settle quickly andperform happily. If I have a basic but solidpartnership and trust at home with my horsethen banners, trade stands, judges boxes,big noises and atmosphere wouldn't be somuch of a problem for him.All of my young horses have a variousoutings no matter what they are going tospecialise in. Doing a dressage test improvequality of going for jumping round. Havingto jump over a small course of colouredpoles teaching a precocious dressage beautyto look where it putting its legs and reactquicker. Nothing can improve, enhancepaces, check the overall standard of trainingand freshen up spirits like a country school-ing session. Riding at the show I'd assume slightly moredefensive riding position to not get caughtunawares of a sudden spook but my prioritywould be doing everything necessary toencourage and let the horse travel forwardon its own. Riding this way helps horses tosettle and find their balance and rhythmquicker. Staying relaxed but focused,tuned-in and sensitive to how the horsefeels is the best way to achieve a satisfyingfirst competition ride. As a rule once riddenand handled this way at their first show

horses show a lot more maturity and calm-ness in their consequent ones.I rather take young horses on their own sothey don't get distracted by others and wecan focus on each other. But later, it is alsouseful for them to learn to go with theirstable mates and get used with the idea ofone of them is leaving and coming backwithout making much fuss.I'd be careful where I take young horses forits first competition. Not every unaffiliatedshow can be suitable. Not all of them arewell organised and run smoothly which canadd unnecessary stress. Also you are a lotlikely to encounter some inappropriate ordangerous riding in a warm up arena whichcould badly affect your horse for quite along time. When choosing a first show Iusually put emphasis on how well it's or-ganised and how many competitors (hope-fully not too many).I do not longe my horses at competitions toget rid of tension or calm them down. Long-ing is a very worthy training tool to admitsome quality time at home. But it also anexercise that putting a lot of strain on hors-es' legs. I put plenty of time into buildingtrust and partnership with my horses be-forehand to insure they always stay calmand relaxed in any environment.Of course your horse may come to youhaving had a previously difficult experi-ence. In this situation the basic training athome and building of trust is very importantand you must take time with this beforetravelling. Take time to make travelling asstress free as possible and have many prac-tice outings.

Ellen Terray is a producer of Event andDressage horses in Wiltshire.

Put your best hoof forward!

Showtime tips with Elaine Terray


The Netherlands’ Hans-Peter Minderhoud ful-filled a life-time ambition when clinching theReem Acra FEI World Cup™ Dressage 2016 title,riding Glock’s Flirt to claim the trophy and€50,000 winner’s cheque in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The 42-year-old team gold and individual bronzemedallist at last year’s FEI European Championshipsin Aachen (GER), gave it his all to earn a mark of82.357 in front of a packed crowd in the Scandinavi-um Arena. He had wanted this win for a very longtime. “It was really special for me”, the Dutchmansaid afterwards. “This was my sixth final and I’venever been on the podium, although I was twicereally close. I started off as a groom and it was alwaysmy dream to win it, so it’s very emotional. My horseis almost like a dog, you can take him everywhere.He’s very sweet and always tries for you, he’s a reallygood boy!” The win came at the expense of homecrowd favourite Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfen, who fin-ished just 0.928 per cent adrift with Don Auriello insecond place. Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Wern-dl and the stallion Unee B, third-place finishers in LasVegas 12 months ago, once again stood on the samestep on the podium this time around. Minderhoudposted the 13th Dutch victory in the history of the FEIWorld Cup™ Dressage series which this year cele-brates its 31st Final. The last time the title went toHolland it was Minderhoud’s life-partner, EdwardGal, who claimed the honours with the much-lovedstallion Totilas on home ground in ‘s-Hertogenboschin 2010. The spectators at Gothenburg Horse Showalways play their part in every competition, creatinga great buzz as they get involved with everythinggoing on in the arena. And the intensity of it allcertainly affected American rider, Gunter Seidel’s,gelding, Zero Gravity, who looked ready to explodewith the excitement of it all when fourth to go. Butthe three-time Olympian produced a masterful ride to

finish his test with the lovely 12-year-old geldingwho still managed to demonstrate his huge potential.This pair were followed by the only other US repre-sentatives, Charlotte Jorst and Kastel’s Nintendo,who really set the arena alight with a performancethat oozed energy and fun. The big bay stallion hasexactly the same attitude as his rider who smiled herway through the whole test that was set against arousing musical score. And Jorst’s determination tocomplete on exactly the final note led to a sharpintake of breath, because she marched up the centreline and didn’t stop until her music finished, whichleft her right up against the arena boards and staringdirectly into the eyes of Ground Jury President, Swe-den’s Gustav Svalling. Her mark of 73.232 took thelead only to be overtaken by 73.589 from Australia’sLyndal Oatley and Sandro Boy. But it was the lastrider to go before the judging break, Denmark’sAgnete Kirk Thinggaard with Jojo Az, who held thelead at the halfway stage as they strutted their stuff topost 76.250 to the delight of the crowd.Result: 1, Glock’s Flirt (Hans Peter Minderhoud)NED 82.357; 2, Don Auriello (Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven) SWE 81.429; 3, Unee BB (Jessica vonBredow-Werndl) GER 80.464; 4, Watermill Scandic(Patrik Kittel) SWE 78.946; 5, Donnperignon (AnnaKasprzak) DEN 78.625; 6, D’Agostino FRH (AnnaKasprzak) DEN 78.339; 7, Mister X (Inessa Merku-lova) RUS 78.232; 8, Vancouver K (Judy Reynolds)IRL 77.339; 9, Jojo Az (Agnete Kirk Thinggaard)DEN 76.250; 10, Smeyers Molberg (Marcela KrinkeSusmelj) SUI 74.946; 11, Sandro Boy (Lyndal Oat-ley) AUS 73.589; 12, Kastel’s Nintendo (CharlotteJorst) USA 73.232; 13, Rubicon D (Beata Stremler)POL 73.179; 14, Miata (Emilie Nyrerod) SWE73.143; 15, Umbro (Mary Hanna) AUS 71.696; 16,Axis TSF (Terhi Stegars) FIN 69.268; 17, KartsevoUpperville (Tatiana Dorofeeva) RUS 68.464; 18,Zero Gravity (Gunter Seidel) USA 67.464.

Minderhound fulfills lifelong dreamin Sweden


Mike is a fully qualified EquineDental Technician. Priding himselfon practicing a calm and gentleapproach, he has vast experiencehandling a wide variety of horsesand donkeys; running his own yard‘Equine Unity’ for 5 years as well asworking in racing for 25 years. Hehas completed dentistry trainingboth in the UK and the USA andworked in Egypt doing dentistry foran equine charity 'Prince FluffyKareem'. He is now based in Surreyand covers the whole of the UK.Mike wishes to educate about theimportance of equine dental care.Follow Mike on Facebook: MikeO'Brien Equine Dental Technician

Mike O’Brien: EquineDental Technicion

In the next two months columns I will be explaining dis-orders of the different teeth. This month I will talk aboutproblems concerning the Incisors, Canines and the Bars.Next month I will outline disorders of the molars.

Happy Mouth + HappyHorse + Happy Owner =

Happy New Year!

Disorders of the IncisorsThere are 12 incisors in an adult horse, situated at the front of the mouth.Step Incisors – when there is a step bite there is a higher (taller) table on one ormore of the Incisors. This can often occur when the opposite incisor is missing.A step incisor prevents a sideways grinding movement. This can be easilycorrected by filing down the taller table.Dorsal and Ventral Curvature - Ventral curvature the upper incisors fit into thelower incisors in a downward bulge. Dorsal curvature is the opposite where thelower incisors fit into the upper incisors in an upward bulge.Offset Bite – when the upper incisors Crib Biting is a vice where the horse graspsa hard object with its incisors. This often goes hand in hand with wind sucking,swallowing air at the same time. This often creates abnormal wearing but rarely

causes problems for the horse.Persistent Milk Incisors – When milk teeth are replaced the roots are

pushed away by the erupting permanent incisor. However, some-times the permanent incisor erupts through at the tongue side of themilk incisor meaning the root of the milk tooth is not destroyed.There is then no room for the permanent incisor in the correctposition. To prevent this situation the milk tooth incisor can beextracted so the permanent tooth can take up its correct position inthe space.Tooth Fractures – An incisor can be fractured or broken due totrauma, e.g. A kick from another horse. If infection then gets into theroot canal then treatment is available. Sometimes the tooth may needto be removed, however other treatments are available and youshould always endeavour to save the tooth.


Always make sure you dentist checks the Incisors and outlines and problems and treatment needed. Justbecause these teeth do not need regular filing does not mean they should be ignored.

Disorders of the Canines

The canines, also known as stallion or gelding teeth are found in all make animals and are a few centimetresbehind the last incisor. Originally these teeth were used as a defence weapon but in the modern horse theyhave become redundant. These teeth erupt at about 4.5-5 years in both the upper and lower jaw. These teethdo not continually erupt and did to not touching each other they are not being ground down. Plaque deposits– Plaque is a yellowish-brown colour and can often be seen on the lower canines of older horses and on thelip side of the corner incisors. As the canines are not being used to grind forage and therefore they are notcontinually being ‘polished’ by the rough forage. The salivary glands also discharge into the mouth at this spotwhich is why plaque builds up. Although plaque rarely causes any problems, the underlying gum is oftenrather swollen and bleeds easily. Plaque can be removed during a dental checkup.If one side are longer than the lowers, this is usually indicated by one sided use of the jaw when chewing.The cause of these defects is unknown but they evolve gradually and can be easily corrected if your horsereceives regular treatment. In severe cases this may need to be done in several sessions.

Sharp Canines – Sometimes canines can be sharp and pointed. Irritation or injuries to the tongue or lips arerare. If a canine needs reducing it must only be the tip, level with the height of the corner incisor. If the canineis filed too far the root canal may be exposed and the tooth may die as a result.

Disorders of the Bars

The Bars are the interdental space between the corner incisor and the first molar. This is where the bit rests.Problems concerning Wolf Teeth – Wolf teeth present no problems to horses that are not ridden in a bit. Thestability of these small teeth can be put under pressure by the bit and can sometimes break off. If wolf teeth

are sharply pointed, with pressure from thebit or noseband, the inside of the cheeksmay get hurt. When wolf teeth are notpresent or have been removed the pressurefrom the bit rests on the front of the firstmolar. Bit pressure on this huge molar doesnot affect its stability.Damage to the Bars – This is caused by toohard of an impact of the bit on the vulnera-ble bars. The bars consist of a thin layer ofsoft tissue covering the underlying bone ofthe jaw. Impact or pressure on this are canresult in the gums becoming damaged orswollen with open wounds. This can lead tonumerous problems such as the underlyingbone dying off or an infection of the bone.This is extremely painful for the horse.In next months column I will be talkingabout disorders of the molars.Enjoy your horses in the good weather, nowis a great time to have teeth checked inorder to get the most out of that spring grass.

Happy Mouth, Happy Horse, HappyOwner!

Mike O’Brien: Equine Dental Technician


EQUIFITNESS: SCOTT HENDERSONMAKING THE CASE FOR SPORTS SPECIFIC EXERCISE FOR THE EQUESTRIAN RIDER

PART 1

I have spent my life keeping fit and teaching theimportance of fitness and as a physical therapist Ihave spent the last 30 years discussing the impor-tance of living a healthy life. I have observed peoplewith "broken bodies" regain not only normal func-tion, but improved function after embracing ahealthy lifestyle. I am also well aware of just howdifficult it is for a person to change their lifestyle toinclude consistent exercise. The key for all of us isto find the proper motivation.

I was introduced to the sports of dressage and event-ing in 2012. I had been asked by a close friend, andtrainer, if I would be willing to spend some time withher students and develop an exercise program specif-ic to their sport. Like everyone else that is not closeto the equestrian world, I had no idea of the physicaldemands of the sport on the rider. As I met rider afterrider, a common theme became apparent. A greatpercentage of these athletes had "broken bodies" andmost were spending no consistent time with exer-cise. A small percentage were going to the gym, buteven they were not doing sports-specific trainingtargeting their sport. The other common theme,among all riders, I discovered, was that they all werepassionate about their sport devoting incredibleamounts of time and resources. As I took a deeperlook at this devotion, I discovered that the balancebetween the rider and the horse was tipped signifi-cantly towards the horse. In any given month, im-mense resources were being spent on the horse withlittle or no resources directed towards the rider. As Istudied the equestrian world I realized two things.First, the rider is incredibly devoted to their horse.Second, their was minimal resources available re-garding sports specific programming for the rider.

Here's what the famous horseman, Anthony Cross-ley, says in the preface of his famous book "Dres-sage the Seat, Aids and Exercise":

"For dressage riders, there are three mottoes thatdeserve pride of place over the door of every stable:

1. No horse can be better than his rider.2. If the pupil has not learnt, the teacher has

not taught.3. It is always the rider's fault; never the

horse's. "

So, if ultimately the performance of the horse andrider hinges on the rider, then it's imperative that therider spend as much, or more time and resources onthemselves to improve their overall performance!

So, what does it mean to have a sports specifictraining program? Sport specific training is simplyfitness and performance training designed specifi-cally for athletic performance enhancement. Train-ing programs for athletic performance enhancementcould include such areas as strength, speed, power,endurance, flexibility, mobility, agility, mental pre-paredness (including goal setting), sleep,recovery/regeneration techniques and strategies, nu-trition, rehabilitation, pre-habilitation, and injuryrisk reduction.

While there may be some sense of specificity to aprogram designed for an athlete of a specific sport,the truth is that there is a limit to the amount ofapplication/carryover of a sports performance exer-cise to a sports skill. The most sports specific train-ing that can be done is the sport itself. In theequestrian sport, there are no exercises that can beperformed in the gym that are more specific thangetting on the horse and riding. However, whilethere are sports specific skills necessary for equestri-an, there are also basic physical skills that are neces-sary . Sports preparation is necessary for the sportspecific skills (completing the half halt, proper seatposition, etc.) and physical preparation is needed forspecific performance enhancement such as flexibili-ty, balance, stability, strength, and endurance.

To achieve top results, the rider must be in a programthat incorporates time on the horse in both practiceand working with their trainer, and sports specificexercise targeting the key areas of their discipline.What are you doing to prepare yourself physically toparticipate at your optimal performance level?

Scott Henderson PT, is the founder of Equifitness.He has been developing and utilizing this uniquesports specific programming since 2000 with a focusin recent years on equestrian competitors. For moreinformation go to equifitnesstraining.com or contactus at [email protected].

...\IMG...


Olympic and European champion Michael Jung and his wonderful16-year-old horse La Biosthetique Sam FBW led the German teamto victory in the competitive opening leg of the FEI Nations Cup™Eventing 2016 at the weekend at Fontainebleau in France.

Jung and Sam also took the individual CIC3* honours for the secondyear running (Jung was also second on FischerRocana FST) andSandra Auffarth, the world champion, came third on her great chestnutgelding Opgun Louvo; she was the only rider in the field without crosscountry time penalties, finishing exactly on the optimum time of 6minutes 15 seconds.

Their team mates, Jorg Kurbel (Brookfield Bouncer) and AndreasOstholt (So Is Et), were also clear on cross country, although like mostof the field with time penalties in double figures.

Host nation France finished second, led by former European championNicolas Touzaint, who knows his way around the twisting forestedtracks of Fontainebleau well and finished fourth individually on Crock-et 30, and European team silver medalists Thomas Carlile and Siroccodu Gers who placed fifth individually. Gwendolen Fer and Romantic

Love, who came second in Fontainebleau last year helping France to win the series opening leg, were this yeareliminated for a horse fall at fence 14.

Ireland, who won the last FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing meet of 2015 in Boekelo, placing sixth overall in theseries, produced another determined performance in Fontainebleau and finished third, led by Jonty Evans,who placed 11th individually on his exciting Olympic prospect Cooley Rorkes Drift.

An all-male Australian trio led the dressage phase, but slipped to fourth when Andrew Hoy (Cheeky Calimbo)had a run-out at fence 10a. Bill Levett finished best of the team, in eighth place on Improvise.

A three-rider Swedish team finished fifth, led by the 2012 Olympic silver medalist Sara Algotsson-Ostholtriding Reality 39.

Great Britain, who won the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing 2015, slipped from fourth after dressage to sixth outof nine teams with refusals at fence 18 for both Gemma Tattersall (Quicklook V) and Dani Evans (SmartTime). Izzy Taylor finished best of the quartet in 14th on Allercombe Ellie with the second fastest crosscountry time (2.4 penalties).

There were 49 clear rounds from the 71 cross country starters and 59 completions, but the optimum timeproved influential around Olympic designer Pierre Michelet’s track, which is always technically demandingthanks to its winding route around the ancient forest of Fontainebleau.

The course at the next FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing 2016 venue, Ballindenisk, a typically, bold Irish trackdesigned by Peter Fell (IRL), could not be more contrasting, and promises an equally thrilling competition on22-24 April.

Germany Dominate inFontainebleau


The relationship between horse and man is one that has been studied over 100s of years.Winston Churchill is famously quoted as saying “There is something about the outside of ahorse that is good for the inside of a man”.

But can building a connection and relationship with a horse teach us something about ourselves?

Film maker Sybil H Mair sought to explore the relationship between man and horse in her awardwinning short film “The Equestrian”. The film tells the gripping story of Freddie Forester, a youngdressage rider at the start of a promising career and who is about to compete in his biggestchampionship yet. Though talented and ambitious, the pressures of competition threaten to ruin hispartnership with his prized stallion, Gaius, and he must confront painful truths about his relationshipwith his father, his horse and ultimately himself. In the film Freddie’s anger and frustration lead hisrelationship with his horse to break down, but it is the horse that shows Freddie how to findredemption and make peace with his past so that he can become a better human. His horse teacheshim that desperation is not the right path and how to communicate more effectively. We are left todecide for ourselves whether Freddie and his father can forge a communicative relationship in thefuture – I for one, hope they can.But is this just film fiction or can horses really make a difference to humans on an emotional andbehavioural level?Experienced equestrian trainer Rosie Withey runs her Equine Facilitated Learning business in theSouth West of the UK. Her company, Horses as Teachers, welcomes people from all walks of lifeto share the gifts of wisdom that interacting with horses can bring to personal, family and profession-al life.Rosie tells me that a large number of her clients have suffered some sort of abuse in their past sounderstandably lack confidence and have low self-esteem. Many of them have had difficult child-hoods. The thing all these clients have in common is that they are sensitive people – hypervigilant.Rosie also has clients from the corporate and business world. Rosie teaches people how to leadtheir staff with confidence and also how to build trust in a team.

TRIED ANDTESTED:The Equestrian


“Horses help people become more subtle in theircommunication skills as they must become moreaware of their intentions, actions and emotionsto develop a mutual relationship with the horses.Horses are four legged authenticity meters – youcan’t fool a horse. AS well as mirroring ouremotions, intentions and behaviours a horse willimmediately sense when we are not being au-thentic and teach us to recognise this. This inturns helps to reveal emotions that are burieddeep in a person’s subconscious” Rosie WitheyStef Eardley is an experienced dressage rider,trainer and judge. She trained the horse that“played the part” of Gaius in the film The Eques-trian. Stef is well known for her work with para

equestrian athletes and describes how many ofthese students come to her with very little self-confidence which is the product of living withdisability.

“Horses are amazing teachers. Often my pupilscome to me with very few life skills and workingwith the horses really helps them develop ashumans as well as athletes. The riders have tolearn to cope with disappointment in a calm wayand learn how to speak to and deal with all sortsof different people. Horses are very reactive tostress levels and are ‘mirrors of our souls’ – mypupils learn how to be relaxed, calm and actempathetically” Stef Eardley

Tried and Tested: The Equestrian

Our review:

Although short the Equestrian brings powerful im-agery and thought provoking content. Its short butintense story line will leave you wondering about thepressures we put upon ourselves as horse people andultimately horse lovers. With the main characterpressurising himself to exceed the shadow of hisonce successful father, a father who no longer sup-ports him, you witness the outpour of his frustrationto the only other being he can blame, his horse. Ittakes him to the realisation that horses are there tobe our partner and not our machine and ultimatelyputs him back onto the right track.


WINTo win your own copy ofthe equestrian justemail your name [email protected] close 30th April. No cash alternative.

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april 2016 - in the stirrups

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