Category: Dressage and Shows

My in-laws are teaching my husband and I to play bridge. Learning new tasks and joining in community or family is supposed to be good for my aging brain

Continue reading The Stoics, Pt 2 – Lessons in Life and Other Musings

I can’t help it. I have always been competitive. My entire family and extended family are big board game players. Some of my earliest memories are of playing board games with my brothers. Since my brothers are all older and, in their minds, smarter than I am, they usually won (by cheating or by skill, though most often by cheating). An insane desire to win grew in my little heart.

As I grew, it grew.

Naturally, as a masochistic over achiever, I was drawn to Dressage.

Continue reading Ambition is a Hard Master

If you have horses and show them, in whatever discipline, you know how much money you spend following your dreams. If you’re smart, you don’t add up exactly how much you spend each year. The truth is just too painful. If you don’t own a horse and show it, try guessing how much showing a horse costs.

You guessed way too low. Trust me.

Continue reading What Price a Dream?

Through the years, I’ve had potential clients come into my barn and they have war stories. How the last barn manager/trainer/instructor did them wrong. Usually I consider this a warning sign. First, the person may have a chip on their shoulder. Second, she may honestly have a difficult horse that each new trainer or barn was expected to magically fix. Third, she may be the owner-expert who has never been in the trenches, trying to do their best dealing with clients, long difficult days, and the unpredictability of horses. Horses get sick or injured and sometimes, God forbid, even die, no matter how well they were managed. Most of the horse professionals I know really try to do a good job.

Continue reading Choosing the Right Trainer

You know the feeling. You’ve knocked out what you believe is a good, solid test. You head to pick up your score sheet. When you get it, you melt into a puddle of unhappiness, try to interpret the comments and scores, and scratch your head (or pound it into a wall) because you just don’t understand what happened. Many exhibitors do not know how to interpret a test sheet and use it as constructive criticism. Many are not aware of the all important Purpose of the Level.

Continue reading The Purpose

What is up with trainers? Sometimes supportive and helpful, sometimes grouchy and snarly as feral cats.

From an amateur’s point of view trainers have the good life. We charge a lot of money for what we do, and life must be good. Why wouldn’t we be in a good mood?

Continue reading The Trainer Dilemma

Looking back on my life with horses, I have a soft spot in my heart for “That horse”. I was 16 years old and he was the horse that gave me confidence, not just in the show ring, but also in my own abilities. He was not my horse, but a horse someone let me lease. My well-meaning father had bought a horse that we could afford but didn’t have quite enough training for my inexperience. The leased horse let me feel what was right. He responded and acted as a partner. I never doubted him to carry me around the show ring while I got experience. I owe that horse everything. I was able to take those skills on to my horse, and then, develop more skills. Each horse was a professor in my continuing education, even today. But it all started with “That Horse”.

Continue reading How “That Horse” Can Change Your Life

Most of us have that person in our life that is perfectly pleasant in many respects, but just can’t seem to quit when enough is enough. They will support you, but then continually offer unsolicited opinions on what you need to do. And just won’t stop, ever.

Continue reading Don’t be That Friend

In Part One we looked at horse and rider misunderstandings, lapses in communication and ultimately a break down in the relationship due to lack of clarity on the rider’s part.

So, let’s explore strategies to help you and your horse form a strong partnership. Continue reading Achieving clarity – the importance of sending the right messages to your horse – part 2

Horses are team players. They can’t help it – evolution demands it. Before we domesticated the horse, millions of years of evolution had shaped them into a herd animal that must play well in the group in order to live long enough to pass on its genes. A horse’s ranking in the herd hierarchy does not necessarily matter, but acceptance by the group is paramount. A lone horse is a dead horse.

As an owner or rider it is important to understand a horse’s innate imperative to “go along with the herd” and make sure that we are send clear and consistent messages during training.

Continue reading Achieving clarity – the importance of sending the right messages to your horse – part 1

I became aware of the existence of the Dressage Rider Pyramid during the L program, and I must admit that after I gave it a cursory glance, I thought, “this is stupid.”

However, while doing some research for another article, I once again stumbled across the Rider Pyramid, and upon reevaluation, I realize that I was wrong. Terribly wrong. This pyramid for riders makes sense. Because the focus is on the essential basics, it maps out the path to a successful relationship with your horse, giving you a roadmap to becoming a better rider.

Continue reading I Was Wrong About The Dressage Rider Pyramid

Why go to a horse show? Why don’t you just light $2,500 on fire and then have someone push you in dirt?

Yep. That pretty much sums it up. But showing your horse is also gives purpose to the many hours and days you spend training and grooming, which can motivate you to do your best even on those days when you just don’t feel like doing it. Shows are also a great opportunity to meet other owners, to socialize and to share knowledge.

Below are some of my experiences with horse sows, the good and the bad, and the reasons why I continue to attend them.

Continue reading The Horse Show Bug