While details of my trials and tribulations are now going into notes for the chapters of my blog-book, there is not much I can blog about on here without somewhat spoiling the final product ;)
I know that some of you have followed my Aspire blog on the business website and I would like to let you know I have moved the blog to new destination: http://aspireequestrian.wordpress.com Please change your links for the new one and I hope you will join me on there. I decided to take the Aspire wordpress blog outside of the main website to make it more interactive, easier to comment on, share and also much easier for me to update regularly.
My plan is to include more of my coaching ideas in the content and hopefully make more amateur/grassroots riders think about this sport as a team sport (rider + horse) and less of a horse only sport...
I have posted a new post there this morning which readers of this blog might like:
SHOW ME HOW YOU WALK AND I'LL TELL YOU HOW YOU RIDE
"Make a little experiment…
Set a video camera running and walk towards it and away from it. Then do the same side-ways. The same jogging and the same “skipping” as if you were cantering on your own feet (you might want to be alone if you are worried about your sanity being judged
Then grab a cup of tea or coffee and re-watch those clips with detective-like curiosity. Check for the way you use your joints, the way you distribute your weight throughout your body, the way your hips move (or not!) while you walk and jog. Check which leg you start skipping with, which one pushes, which one carries without thinking about it, how level are your shoulders, is your head forwards or on top of your shoulders, do you carry your rib cage to one side…When you walk, do you lead the movement with your upper body or your hips…These are just a few of numerous elements you can analyse.[...]"
The Aspire website is also undergoing small changes and will include information on my coaching weekends and virtual coaching programme. I decided to be brave with the coaching weekends and opened it up to pretty much any European location. If there are riders interested further afield I might venture beyond too!
I value all the feedback from any type of rider so if you wanted to drop me a comment with your views on what is important to you in your training I am all ears (or eyes reading!).
Issuu publications might take a moment to load:
I am really enjoying the virtual coaching and now that I have made it as a stand alone programme it's even better to run and organise. The riders have sent me some lovely feedback after finishing their first month and I am looking forward to more video training with them. You can read what they had to say Here and Here.
I hope you are all well and enjoying your horses :)
All the best,
Wiola
Rockley Farm: Step in the right direction!: Its definitely a step in the right direction - well I would say that, wouldn't I?! This week's Horse & Hound has a cover story ...
- Have you never thought of getting a proper job? You know, your studies and all... - my grandmother looks at me with her light-blue, watercolour like eyes. Her face small and wrinkled. She isn't being spiteful or dismissive. Tone of her voice is loving, bemused somewhat, suspended between concern and disbelief that someone might indeed seriously consider a future of travelling around and teach horse riding. There is a shy smile on her face and the fact that she speaks quietly tells me she isn't sure if she should ask this question at all.
I leave out the little detail, the fact that I would love to travel even more, teach all over Europe or maybe even beyond, stay at small, shabby stables and big luxurious centres, anywhere where there are grassroots riders wanting to explore and learn.
My grandmother worked in a textiles factory. She spent thirty three years of her life working in conditions that would most probably be considered high-risk nowadays and which certainly did damage her health. Overwhelming noise of machines, fumes, smell of vinegar, hot steam. She worked three shifts, sometimes only having several hours off in between them. She's over eighty now and despite her questions, she believes everybody should do what makes them happy.
Textile Factory, Lodz, 1934
When she asked me about that proper job on this snowy March afternoon, just as I returned from Norway where I had a great time running one of my Aspire Coaching Weekends, I waited for a feeling of defensiveness that I used to get when confronted with other people's views on my chosen way of life. The feeling didn't come though. It doesn't any more.
At 34, it's very clear to me, that life is an extremely short affair. It always seemed that way but as time goes by, the infinity loops back at me. I guess it is possible to derive some pleasure out of living to someone else's design but my genetics forgot to implement such coding.
Teaching riding, as long as not done mechanically, is more than "a proper job". Although dismissed by many, I believe the discovery process we experience whilst training, is enriching and fulfilling. When we take time to understand the training process, ditch contraptions we put horses in, give up on training methods that cause pain to both rider and a horse, then the sessions become a self-discovering journey. Even for very young riders.
If as a trainer, you can help a rider to get closer to that fulfilment, you are doing something worthwhile. And that is all that, in my opinion, really matters. In any job. To do something worthwhile.
In my view, riding & training are like books & arts :) Neither is absolutely necessary to survival but both feed those parts of us that are able to give back to life what's most enjoyable: dreams, senses, emotions, passion, dedication, adventure, freedom.
I start telling my Grandmother about my recent work and I can tell that although she listens, she will never comprehend my take on it.
The weekend was a superb experience, as ever in Norway. I love working with people there, there is a lot of hunger for knowledge, for new ways of learning, for different ways of looking at the same thing.
Below are some images from the weekend:
Train arrives to take me from the airport to Oslo centre. The station is tiny and remote so the funky, modern train that pulls in looks completely surreal and out of place. The top of the train says "Lillehammer" - the name I recall from the 1994 Winter Olympics. It makes me smile :)
Oslo. Electric cars, cheerful colours on buildings and much less snow than in the suburbs.
Simba the cat on my many layers. To those who think it looks cold on the photos - it was not that bad. As they say, there is never a bad weather, just a bad choice of clothing. I was well prepared this time and didn't notice the cold at all. Only the ice like crunching of snow under my soles gave away the -19C that visited at night ;)
Video analysis in a cute little log cabin/wooden mountain cottage.
Sunday morning. On way to the indoor arena for in-hand work with the horses.
Yummy, home made cakes! Delicious :) best served with horsey chats ;)
In-hand work session
Some of the riders in action:
On the above photo, the 4 year old TB youngster, Red, is being babysat by a racing pony, Naomi. This was Red's first time ever in an arena. In Norway, race horses get normal riding horse education as well as race training. Naomi races too with her young rider.
I was shocked to hear today that Red fell over on the track this week and fractured a bone in his knee. He is a lovely horse and although he will never race again, I really hope he makes full recovery and is able to dressage happily.
And finally, Maria (with Fame) who organises my coaching weekends there. She used to write a lovely blog (HERE) but is nowadays rarely seen in the blogosphere. Wonderful host and a great friend.
I received a really generous feedback from the riders and although it feels wonderful it must be said that without those riders' open minded approach and their obvious enthusiasm for their horses, none of those fantastic moments would be possible.
Now back home, I am preparing the notes and virtual coaching plans for those riders who signed up for it at the weekend. After some reflections on how Aspire training has worked in the last 2 years, I decided to transform my usual online training plans into a separate Aspire Equestrian E-Academy: Virtual Coaching Club.
If you would like to receive more information about it, or if you know someone who struggles with transport/access to trainers and would like to experienced motivational, committed coaching, please leave me a comment (add: "not for publishing" in the comment and I won't make the comment public) with your email address and I will send you full pdf.
Next Mobile Coaching Weekends are coming up also in the UK. The first one will be near London, on the 18th and 19th May. Please feel free to share the below poster with anyone who you think might want to join in. If you have any questions, email any time as per details on the poster.
There is another exciting weekend coming in June (1st-2nd June) and you can stay in touch with all Aspire training activities by joining the Aspire Coaching Weekends 2013 on Facebook or email me so I can put you on my mailing list.
*****
- Yes, I probably could get "a proper job", do something good - I say to my Grandmother and for a moment she looks surprised. Or hopeful. I find it hard to guess - but instead of that Gran, I decided to do something amazing...;)
She laughs and I wonder if she truly got it. But I don't ask. Disclaimer: Please do not be compelled to quit your jobs (unless you really feel you should) to also do something amazing. Keep your jobs that pay you nicely so you can afford the amazing horsey training... ;)
I know many of you are still visiting and part of me feels sad to disappoint you with lack of new posts but hopefully, this little update will satisfy some of you :)
Do any of you watch snooker? Have you ever looked at it and thought, hey, if life was like this and I could meet a supremely skilled snooker player aka life advisor, who would hit the right balls for me, I could sip my drink and enjoy the show...I could look at this mess of decisions, actions, things to do, things not to do and all I would see would be a perfectly engineered plan of hits and strokes, angles and light reflections with secrets to tell.
Of course, life is not like snooker. It's more like joining dots. You start from one closest to you and join the next one and the next one and you must believe that at the end, they will create a picture you want.
My little family-work break in Poland is fantastic so even though I am here to work crazy hours, it feels good to have my loved ones so close.
There was a freak of a weather for a few days, with 15C and lovely, warm sunshine until we woke up this morning to the Narnia outside the windows ;)
Right now, I really don't mind at all, after wet winter in Portugal and so much rain in the UK I am enjoying good old Polish four seasons! Winters are usually dry and snowy with no mud, of course it's cold but there is always something for something.
All my warm clothes are in London so I had to raid my mum's house for her ski wardrobe (it's warm and actually more comfortable than most equestrian branded stuff ;) because in a week's time I am off to run Aspire Coaching Weekend in beautiful but freezing Norway.
I am really looking forward to seeing all the riders again and catch up with wonderful Maria!
Not one to stay still, throughout 2012 I have put together a new format for my coaching weekends so can't just go with stress free mind repeating old lines. It's a good stress though, the energizing type.
I think I finally found a format that will last me for a while but of course, I will continue to make it better and better. It consists of what matters to me in training of both riders and horses, it's fun as well as educational and most of all, it's diabolically effective when at its best! ;)
The Polish version of Aspire Equestrian's website is now ready and awaits second and third proofreading. I've done first round today and I hope I will never ever have to do proofreading for a living because it's a damn tiring exercise!
Here are some screen grabs for a sneaky peak if someone wants to have a look: Aspire Polska website preview.
The spring will be busy too. At the moment, my plan is to run 2 coaching weekends in April and May, in Berkshire/Oxfordshire and near London and 2 in Poland.
The industry here is a little different and it's going to be interesting to see the reaction to the type of offer Aspire equestrian is. We are officially on the road from 20th March...
I would like to share something with you. For a few weeks I was in a gridlock. I had so many ideas and they just kept coming but in the same time, I was paralysed. I didn't know why but it was a complete stand still of mind in one way and frantic overdrive in the other.
At first I thought I had lost sight of the goal or a dream that I've had. But I was wrong, It was not the big goal that went missing.
You know how this saying goes that the longest journey is made by the first small step? That was the problem. I could see the goal very clearly but I was not able to make those little steps.
Once I realised this, the problem was gone...and now I have a new version of two famous sayings...
Dream Bigger than you Dare but Act Smaller than Know You Can.
Until next time :) More on this will be in my book this year...
My birthday came and went, years pass by and although it's a cliché thing to say, I do feel some shifts and changes in the way I look at things, plan things and think of life in general. I hope they are for the better! You know, more sensible and less impulsive with my decisions ;)
I do miss writing this little blog but hopefully someone will enjoy the now-hidden-from-public-views posts in the future book :)
The Aspire blog has a couple of new guest bloggers whom you might want to meet: Laura Williams from England and Christine Lien from Norway. Laura is an equine behaviourist and human psychologist whilst Christine is a passionate young rider and an owner of a beautiful Friesian gelding which dressage training have proven to be a real quest...
To read the above posts please hover over a link below and give it a nice, firm click :)
As you can see I also added a post on Psoas Muscles in riders - it's an updated version of the most popular blog post I have ever written on this blog, having had over 6.000 views. The links and videos no longer worked in the initial post so I re-wrote it, found better resources and posted it to Aspire blog. Direct link is here: Deep Hidden Secret of Good Riders
The Polish "branch" of Aspire Equestrian is very slowly taking shape. I decided to only put it up on the website publicly once I have most details organised so it will take a few more weeks before the materials are ready for publishing.
What I can tell you is that Aspire Equestrian structure is now changed and the services will be based on three main programmes:
The Riding Academy will remain largely unchanged from its current form; the other two will come with full descriptions and their unique features in March 2013!
I am also really excited to be invited to run Aspire training weekend in Norway again! Some warm winter clothes and furry hat and I am ready :-D
Putting together a book from one's own blog-diary is an experience of a kind I haven't anticipated.
Some things I wrote make me cringe ;) As the book has "Hindsight" chapters which I am writing in the presence and which look at my actions those 5 & 1/2 years later it is really surprisingly difficult journey.
I am always of opinion that whatever big mistakes we make in life we should not regret them as at least it means we were trying to do something. However, when one looks back and sees how easily some things could have been done better and wiser, and with less stress and with a better outcome...well. It's interesting.
Someone I met last year sent me a really nice email saying that she envies me the ability to make huge changes in my life. If anyone reads this and also thinks they would like to be able to make changes in their lives but are afraid to go ahead, I have only one advice worded much better in the video below:
The changes I made myself were far from easy and I wouldn't necessarily always say I made them to "follow my dreams". I prefer to think about my decisions not in terms of way to achieve dreams but way of living the life I really want to live...
This unfortunately means being in trouble sometimes. Sometimes it means being on top of the world.
Initially I thought about closing this blog once I am fully up and running with Aspire blog but I will keep it going for a while to chat about this Blog 2 Book Writing Experience...
Has anyone out there tried to convert their Diary Blog into a book? I would love to hear from you!
To read my updates look out for posts with "From Aspire Office" in the title. To make sure you don't miss any you can join me on Aspire's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/aspireequestriancademy or Twitter: www.twitter.com/aspireacademy
I really hope you will stay with me on my journey as there are many exciting, brave (border line mad?), determined and persistent plans for near and far future in the pipeline.
I would like to wish all dreamers and planners to stick to what they want to do and never let others tell you what you can or can't do ;)
All the best and see you on Aspire's Blog!
As we didn't know until last moment where we would live at Christmas time we didn't buy a tree or anything Christmassy for that matter. Santa knows I love Christmas trees and all things Xmas so he brought me this little tree :) As it happens we are still at the cottage so it is Christmas time with Pinta :)
Entrance to Hippikos on 25th December. No vines at this time of year but clear blue sky makes up for it ;)
Dressage yard on the morning of Christmas Day :)
Getting Sapateira ready for our ride
and off we went to wander around the farm to warm up and loosen up before arena work
...a bit of hillwork
little visit to the jumping arena (yes it does rain here too in the winter, it's just then the sun comes ;)
and finally off we went to the dressage arena
Little mare worked beautifully today, it's been my best ride ever on her this morning. She taught me a lot and I couldn't have wished for a better present than this morning with her.
After the ride. Waiting for me to pick out the arena surface from her feet.
Then my gift for her ;) A few minutes of grazing
I hope you all had a great Christmas Day! All the best :)
Christmas Eve is in Poland most important of all Christmas days even if you are not religious or don't give much attention to any celebrations. It's just simply a very traditional, family event, unlike anything else in the year and by this fact alone it has always been very special to me.
There is this old saying that the New Year will be like Christmas Eve, however one interprets this ;)
It seems like the right thing to do then to announce my decision for this blog today - this is the last Christmas Eve for Freelance Instructor's Diary.
It's been a 5 1/2 years of blogging journey which let me meet some wonderful people and made it possible to be involved in some exciting projects.
The time has come to create something new...
First of all though, I would like to thank you all the readers who have been with me all this time. I am not a typical blogger in that I don't get much involved in commenting and discussions. I am more of a reader than a chatter :) However, I appreciate all comments made on my posts and all the messages sent, it's been a pleasure to be part of your adventures with this sport.
The blog will stay alive for a little longer and end once my Aspire website is adjusted to some new services. I hope you will join me on there...
I wish you a loving, cheerful Christmas time and hope you are making brave plans for the next year! I wish you never to be afraid to get off the beaten tracks, never fear making mistakes and never stop travelling towards your goals in life.
Most of all, believe in yourself and what you want to achieve.
Always.
Even if others think you are mad ;)
NEW PROJECT...
The end of this blog is the beginning of another written project which is what I've been working on lately.
Above: "Working cover" for my printed blog-book...
I decided to make this blog into a book for two reasons:
1) I wanted to put my experiences into perspective by adding chapters which I am writing now...they look at my decisions and actions from the hindsight of 5 years...Each part of the book will come with such additional chapter. I guess you could call them "what I wish I knew at the time"...
2) As much as I enjoy online world I am also an old school book lover and there is just nothing like reading a real print publication. I want to be able to keep these memories when my brain can no longer recall the details :) Something tangible like a printed book appeals to this need the most!
In a grand scheme of things mine is just an ordinary life with horses. There are some wonderful biographies published written by olympic riders and great competitors in the sport and this is certainly not going to be one of them.
However, perhaps for other ordinary people who would like to work with horses as riding instructors some of my thoughts will be useful and help realising that it's ok to break the rules and test what you really can or can't do.
Getting the book...
This blog-book will be available to buy via my website (Part 1 about spring time) as a printed book or as an e-book (also for iPad).
If you would like to pre-order the book and receive updates on its creation please feel free to email me at ridinginstructor @ gmail. com.
You can also email me any questions you would like answered in the book.
No pre-payments required :)
At the moment I am aiming to use Blurb to self-publish the book because they have good reputation and quality products. If I come across a different publisher that appears competitive I will reconsider.
It's a few minutes past midnight on 22nd of December - a so called End Of The World day didn't quite materialise. The fog around Pico was so thick in the morning that even if the world was ending I wouldn't have noticed. Everything was surrounded by this milky cocoon creating an amazing, magical atmosphere.
I got up very early to work on a project I will soon tell you about and then it was time to meet my friends at 9am at breakfast for sad goodbyes :( My former Aspire rider and her parents were here for the last week and it was great to hear all the stories and catch up on her training, horses and life in the UK.
Then another lovely family was waiting to leave and finish off all the formal arrangements so we sat down for a chat and I really hope to see them again some day. Coming all the way from Zambia, they lead a life very different to what I know. It made for some great conversations at meal times!
The farriers arrived at the yard mid morning and as the mare, Sapateira, I usually ride was having her new Jimmy Choos put on I went to have a look. Nic Barker might be pleased to know that my obsession with horse's feet has never stopped since meeting her.
However, here in Portugal I rarely see/hear of unshod horses. The shoeing itself is elaborate and it takes a long time to do each horse. Otherwise it is similar to any shoeing processes I've watched before.
Once done I put the mare away and went to meet two really nice ladies who arrived for a Hippikos tour. We spent an hour chatting and walking around the Centre; each time you show something to someone is like discovering it all over again :) They loved the place and I have a feeling it won't be long until they are coming here for some serious training fix...
I got on Sapateira about 12.30pm and was curious how she would feel today. I've been riding her on my own for several weeks now minus some days when she is not available, and have noticed the change in our little riding relationship. We are both much more relaxed and I can feel when she is about to get tense much quicker than ever before. She started mouthing the bit consistently and is very accepting of the contact as long as I don't get tense in my lower back and don't lose a steady but soft contact.
Today she started a little tense but then gave me one of the best rides.
Riding her regularly made me realise that perhaps I am ready to be a one horse owner again. For many years, since I sold my horse in Poland in 2005, I lost interest in owning one. I loved getting to know different ones and riding as many as I could. Now I can feel a shift in my attitude and look forward to every morning ride on Sapateira.
Having spoken with Anna H. who is at our stand at The London Olympia it seems that the visitors there love Hippikos :-D It will be interesting to see if there are more bookings from London than Scandinavian shows...Come on UK!
Action at the Hippikos trade stand
Unfortunately, I haven't avoided some dreadful mishaps. Organising an exhibition like this is interesting but stressful as you never know how will the things look like in the end.
Take furniture for example: I looked at tens of different tables, chairs and reception tables to finally settle down for a set but you never know if the stuff is going to be OK when it arrives.
Like the order for a TV which we placed on time but which the guys on the other side decided they haven't received...
This in fact wasn't so bad as the charge for the TV was very high and we had enough good photo banners to fill up the wall space.
We also ran at a problem with delivery of all the materials to the UK as the person who originally agreed to store and receive everything pulled out just a few days before we were due to make orders. Some frantic emails and phone calls later Anna H. came to the rescue and kindly roped in her parents to receive banners from Stockholm and brochures, fliers and Gift Cards from the printers and to drive with everything to London.
All the other problems however, were nothing in comparison to my own personal nightmare of getting the country code in the phone number wrong on the brochures! It's something I always thought would be dreadful to happen and so it did. Murphy's Law!
(If you picked up our brochures please note the code to Portugal is 00351 or +351 and NOT 0051 :-/) Huge apologies for this mistake.
It's the weekend in front of the tradestand team now = the two busiest days ever at Olympia. I am keeping everything crossed for a great success :)
Olympia haven't finished yet and I've been doing some project brochures and promo materials for our next show in Gothenburg as well as making some enquiries about further shows.
One venue really surprised me with a statement that they do not accept prize only sponsorship (i.e. other contribution from the sponsor is also required). It's a huge shame for the riders taking part in my opinion but we shall see what can be done...;)
The preparations for exhibiting at Olympia International Horse Show are almost completed here in the land of oranges!
A friend of mine, Anna H. (aka Anna Hawkins, you can read her equestrian blog here: http://annahawkinsequestrian.wordpress.com/) who has kindly agreed to coordinate the set up of the stand has now received all the near 5.000 brochures, fliers and other promotional materials and will be trekking with it from Kent to London tomorrow.
If you would like to know how to visit me here and ride some wonderful horses (!) please chat to the girls at Hippikos stand M28:
If you indeed think of coming do have a look at our Special Offer available at Olympia stand...it gives you some very good savings and would be fabulous to meet some of you dear blogging friends! :)
For those of you who are still wondering what to offer to your horse mad friend, loved one, relative we have a Christmas Gift Card...So, if you would like to make someone's Christmas very special this year, do pop to our stand (or message me on wiola . g @ gmail. com):
We have one more very special deal but I will write a separate blog post about it in a moment... :)
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