About riding better, the cake and a pair of jodhpurs

Lovely warm day today with lots and lots of celebratory cake and biscuits :)

AND Suzanne arranged for tickets for Dressage at Alltech FEI European Jumping & Dressage Championships in Windsor!!! :)

We seem to have quite good seats so hope to have a great day. Many Thanks Suzanne :)x

I am taking my regular clients yet again up a level this summer and we are making dressage ponies out of our naughty bunch ;)

My goal for them now is to make sure they understand the theory behind the Scales Of Training and that they can apply it when warming up, working in and cooling down. We are having some encouraging results that get better and better from week to week and it really is fascinating to see them improve.

Here is a very short video of Anja and Ada getting the hang of the rhythm, suppleness & contact concept - the best thing about this pony is that if you ride it with too slow a tempo you will have her so above the bit there is no much else you can do. She is a fab teacher for a rider who tends to under ride and Anja is making a very decent progress (I can't be too complementary as she might read this and I can't lose my 'strict coach' reputation you see).

She also gets bored very quickly but absolutely loves to work. As long as you keep her interested with exercises and focus she is an angel. If you slouch and do nothing she finds herself other means of enjoyment - usually in the form of rather spectacular displays ;)

One of my new clients who only started riding a few weeks ago has made a leap in skills today by learning to feel trot diagonals (sitting on the correct one and changing from one to another). One thing I would like to point out. She got herself kitted out which helped immensely.

If you are new to the sport but you know you will be riding regularly please please please treat yourself to an inexpensive pair of jodhpurs, jodhpur boots and half-chaps. It makes SUCH a difference, both in comfort and in ability to follow instructions. Yes, it does make my job SO much easier too. It helps to know that if I ask you to do something you will not be fighting metres of fabric silently praying for stitches to hold.

At times I think I know how a swimming coach would feel if I turned up at a pool in knee high boots, a massive jumper floating around me and asked for some stroke technique lessons.

Ok, some riding gear is very costly but buy something from a lower shelf and it will do the job just fine. Your body will thank you for it and you will enjoy the learning process without discomfort.

Happy rides :)

I got a lift home from one of my riders so was back nice and early. The weather was so delightful that I had a quick shower and Ricky and I popped out for an evening stroll, snacks and reading.