Video Preview of What Aspire Equestrian Riding Academy's Assessment Days look like

I put together this short video as part of my movie making training ;) I am hoping that if I try to make at least several videos, the ones I have to put on the main website will be at least semi-watchable. I think my first one was actually a little better but as it doesn't include the footage of the rider on her own horse it will have to wait for more comprehensive additions before being made public.

Here is a little preview of what the Academy's Case Studies are going through :)

VENUE: Hall-Place Equestrian Centre & Cane End Stud

Annette Assessment Day 19th June 2010 from Aspire Equestrian on Vimeo.

I didn't include much of the actual sessions on purpose but if anybody is interested we will be posting much more extensive footage of Annette's and Pocholo's training on the Academy website. We will follow them over the next 4-5 weeks while they are going through their Training Plan.

To book your own assessment day go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aspire-Equestrian-Riding-Academy/2338... and drop me an email. Full website for the Academy will be online soon, I know I keep saying this but I promise it's not long now! If you like the idea please join our Facebook Page and help us become known to more dedicated, ambitious and aspiring grassroots riders!

Please feel free to share your comments and movie making tips!

Everything has so many details and then some more!

Pic. left: The high street in Rochester on Tuesday morning.

Trying to fit in a few lives into one is a tiring affair and I'm looking forward to a proper rest at some hopefully not too distant future. The week just gone was very productive and thankfully there is a lot of things that have been pushed on. However, there is still plenty to be done for the Academy's website to go live. It's almost as if when one aspect is completed another ten pops up!
I will be relieved when everything is online in a more or less correct order. One of the things I still have outstanding is a short video on Academy's services. Due to the complexity of the offer I thought it would be good to give the riders a visual overview of what the Academy is about but I do have to question my sanity - there is just so much to it and it seems like it's so easy to make it look totally rubbish!
Even more so, the devil is in the details. I thought everything was looking and reading OK only to re-read the content already on the site and finding a multitude of annoying issues/wording/placement that needs correcting. On top of that there are the images that have to vaguely illustrate or complement the text and making sure nothing sounds too complicated...dare I continue...

As I seem to be adding some movie making basics into my skills tool box I thought it would be wise to acquire a good video camera. Getting someone else to film would just be too costly so it seemed like a good option to go for. I didn't realise, however, that the camcorder had no memory card included (well, the sales person insisted it did!) so now have to add that to the shopping list too.
All these details you see.

The tactical-logistical steps are thankfully going forwards too. On Tuesday I travelled to Kent to meet Anna Trinder, an instructor whom I've involved with Academy. I always prefer to sit with people and discuss everything over a cup of coffee than to bounce multiple emails to and fro but it's difficult to fit such meetings into my very busy week schedule. I had to cancel some of my teaching to be able to see Anna but it was definitely worth it!
We caught up on all the issues connected with the launch of the Academy, the possible pluses and minuses of different running options as well as trying to price the services!
It's all great having an idea but for it to move from a volatile state to any kind of tangible stature is a damn hard work and many hours of fiddling about with things you wouldn't think existed in the first place.

Fot.: Anna and Finn pressure-posing in a Cafe in Rochester

On Wednesday I rode Casper in the morning and we went for a long hack. He was on his toes and and tense for good half of the time but relaxed towards the end. He can now do at least an hour of walk out hacking and is getting fitter. I schooled him on Monday focusing mainly on long and low work and getting him to relax his back and more importantly, his mind. I had a short lesson with Craig so I knew how to ride Casper to keep him calm. I am very much new to this ex-race horse training and it's fascinating how much different riding one is to simply schooling a young warmblood. There is just so much sensitivity and tension in Casper, his mind has hundreds of wave lengths and if you are either with him 100% or you're not at all. No compromise. I think I know what feel I need to get now and how to get there but to make it consistent I need to learn to totally relax and not allow myself to pick up any of the tension I feel in him. Wednesday afternoon and evening I ran my Intensive Training Day for one of my new riders from Surrey. The rider has only had 11 lessons so far so is very much a beginner but we had a great time. It proves to me time and time again that the level of the rider doesn't really matter, it's the attitude and desire to learn that makes the teaching of riding to like minded people such a superb job.

On Thursday, among some other regular lessons, I taught one of the riders I am Case Studying for the Academy and who also is a member of the Academy's team :) Susanna Malkakorpi does Equine Body Work (http://www.susannashorsetherapy.com/) and will look after the muscles of all the horses on Academy's Training Programmes as and when required by the owners. Susanna is a very inquisitive rider herself and a pleasure to teach. She is having lunge lessons with me to re-train her seat and get rid of some bad habits like back stiffness and hip locking that crept into her riding due to years of hacking on a buckle :)
She is doing a great job and is discovering some more tools in her seat to improve the horse she rides and schools on regular basis.

Fot: Susanna having lunge lesson with me on April at Hall-Place Equestrian Centre. She keeps her heels up a little here as her "natural" preferred way or riding is to push the heels down, lock the ankle and knee joint and settle in a "chair seat". Keeping her ankles relaxed and mobile as well as experimenting with the foot position allow her to think more about absorbing the movement of the horse through her pelvis. It's all work in progress and once she can keep mobile in the hip joints she will be able to keep her heels consistently lower too. Another habit of hers is the locking of the elbows and arms but we are taking it one step at the time :)

Today I spent the morning with Jen of http://www.jennyrudallhorseriding.com/, another instructor involved with the Academy and we tried to put together some promotional plan as well as catch up on the overall progress. Very productive meeting with some good ideas generated, some just operational boring stuff but also some very exciting ones so I hope we will manage to go ahead with them!
Then onto a 12pm train to work at Cane End. I rode Casper first thing and although agitated at the start he settled much quicker in the arena. I schooled him in walk and a little trot, again just long and low and if not the flies that irritated him immensely I think he would have gone well. Then off we went for a 40min walk in the woods and he was so much more chilled than last time. I'm getting used to him now and let him stride out on a long rein. He spooks at some most peculiar things like sticks on the ground or a leaf and the likes but is otherwise very easy. My plan is to ride Casper 4 times a week and so far I managed to coordinate everything to suit this schedule :) Happy me.
Cane End is my slow-down-time with no mad rushing around which makes a nice change to other days of the week. I do the more boring yard jobs listening to Horse Radio Network's podcasts which has proven to be a miracle cure of my tedious commute too!

As I've spent the last several weeks working so much I am close to burn out, today is my down time, so a long bubble bath and a book and no 'work thinking and planning' at all!!

Riding Casper in the morning tomorrow then doing Assessment Day for another Case Study rider for the rest of the day.

Academy's Case Studies start their training, the ex-race horse I fell in love with and a few more lines on this and that

Pic. left: A fun, easy day fence judging at Mini-Badminton Event for Reading University Riding Club.

Days go by rather quick recently and there is so much to do I find it difficult to put aside some time for blogging. Nevertheless, a huge update is due so here we go.
The Aspire Equestrian Riding Academy is now officially on the road. The launch is coming in stages though so not all of our services are available yet. We are starting with running Case Studies for each of the Academy's Programme. I had a great response from riders and in the end had to limit the amount of Case Studies we took on as it would be impossible to heavily discount the services for too many riders. All the riders on the yards I teach had the priority to become Case Studies but good few places were offered to riders new to me.
Two Case Studies has already begun: the first one is on the Performance Programme for a 13 year Emily, an ambitious Pony Club event rider who is very focused, talented and a pleasure to work with. She has some successes at the Pony Club Championships and BE90 events but had sadly lost her fabulous pony in March this year, whom she brought on herself with lessons, to a very rapid onset of joint disease.
She now has a couple of on-off rides and two own horses but can't afford a great super star horse to take her up the levels. This means she needs to rely on horses that need a lot of initial work and have one or two issues. I hope that many riders will be able to identify with Emily's ambitions to climb the ladder of British Eventing, the struggles with horse power and the aiming to go as far as possible...
We've filmed Emilys Assessment Day which consisted of 4 hours of riding on 4 different horses and included: flatwork/Dressage, Show-jumping, XC and seat training on the lunge. I thought she dealt very well with the horses chosen for her and I am looking forward to the day when we put all videos online for you all to watch too!
Emily will now start the 5 weeks Training Plan, her ridden lessons, Rider's Fitness & Performance sessions, the management of the horses and their training & care (inluding Equine Body Work massage) will be videoed regularly so future Academy riders can see what it's in store.
Another part of the Performance Programme is helping ambitious, driven and talented riders to become known to wider public and to hopefully eventually gain any sort of sponsorship to take them closer to achieving their dreams. For this reason we will spread the news of all the big and small successes on Emily's training journey.

The second Case Study is on the Foundation Programme and involves two teenage riders who are passionate about ponies but are still very much at a pure fun end. They have been riding all sorts of naughty ponies with me for the last couple of years and are currently learning to jump. The Case Study follows their progress for 4 weeks. The ponies they ride are no point-and-jump types! There are thrills & spills so should be entertaining as well as educational.

The next case Studies to start shortly are:

Starting 19th June: Development Programme: An experienced leisure/low level show rider who have just imported a stunning young PRE (Pura Rasa Espanola) black gelding...she will be aiming at low levels dressage to start with and then...the dreams are the limit..:) This will be worth watching just to see this gorgeous horse! We are currently waiting for him to have his saddle custom made as the shape of his back didn't suit anything off the shelf. The rider will juggle work and full on training.
Starting 26th June: Development Programme: one of my regular riders and Kingsley's owner. An interesting Case Study of a very passionate, dedicated leisure rider who wants to get to know the sport and immerse herself in the world of training. Her favourite discipline is Dressage but she will go for multi choice as she enjoys jumping too. However, Pauline also holds a demanding full-time job and travels a lot so will have to be very committed to meet her training aims...She is a great friend of mine but this won't help her avoiding the hard work ;)
Starting 7th July: Development Programme: Suzanne, an enthusiastic, always eager to learn rider with over 30 years experience in the saddle but only several years of formal riding school training. She's been riding with me for 3 years and apart from full-time non-horsey job she also volunteers her time at a riding school managing Sundays for the owner. In return she receives free lessons once a week. She also regularly hacks out on a Cleveland Bay who belongs to her friend. Suzanne has wonderful personality and is one of the most positive, optimistic and committed riders I've ever met. She is Dressage focused through and through.

Starting: July: Performance Programme: a young eventer in her last Junior year who has a lovable little Polish warmblood event mare. They've had a mix of good & bad seasons but are now consistently double clear at BE100 level and aiming at Novice at the end of the season. However, there are some issues with Dressage and the rider's planning of the training so again it will hopefully be a great one to follow. There are many riders out there who are reasonably successful but are looking for some coaching support to organise their training with an aim to progress further. The combination have just qualified for the BE100 Eventer Challenge at Blenheim and as they are both great characters I think they will be an interesting addition to the Case Studies bunch.

A few more riders will follow, including a rather exciting Case Study for the Start Programme but I will introduce them at a later date:)

I have also received a first batch of brochures and once the website goes live it will be the time to start spreading the news to wider audience...

Now, onto horses. Kingsley is doing his hacking in walk and is more or less happy with that. Frank is mentally coping with some walking with my weight on it too.
I have also started riding the most wonderful ex-race horse and although it would certainly not be my type of horse to go for by description I absolutely love riding him! He had about a year off due to injury (a kick in the hock but no soft tissue/ligament or tendon damage) and is now sound and coming back to work. From time to time we come across horses we sit on and don't want to get off of. He is one of them for me...

So meet Rakaman aka Casper, 9 year old TB gelding by Rakaposhi King

If he stays sound and happy and well behaved enough for P. he might become employed...


On a downside I'm very tired of my commuting but feel like I shouldn't really complain about it. There are worse things I guess.
On a lighter note, we run a fun yearly event for Reading University Riding Club Riders who I've been teaching for the last 3 years. Some of them have finished their degrees and this was their last Mini-Badminton. Sad.
Here are a few photos from the day:






Very busy next few weeks ahead. I need to meet several other instructors I got involved in the Academy and fill them in on the progress. The Case Studies behind the scenes work is taking up lion share of my after work time too.
It's all very exciting though and I will try to come back with more news soon!

Organising It All

Pic.: Exercising full liveries today. My lovely animal is trying to eat my leg ;)

Many people struggle with an idea for life thinking everything would be easier if they only knew what they wanted to do; but even if you do have one it's not all plain sailing. In fact, the true challenge barely starts.

I'm pretty much set on having a go at trying to balance it all...The Academy, the teaching, the riding and the training. There just must be a way to do it. There are several major issues on the way to make this option viable which is why it will be realised very much on a step by step basis. Severe multi-tasking is not my favourite way of action but it might need to be called for now and then in the coming months.

The first thing on the agenda for now is to run the Case Studies for each of the Academy's programmes. Several riders are already booked in for their sessions where they will be videos and photographed and the footage will be put on the Academy's website once completed.

So basically - we are officially on the road!

The idea being that the footage will help other riders to picture what the Academy is about and whether and how we can help. The riders come from varied backgrounds and range from regular riding school riders to competition riders so hopefully their experiences will form an interesting and educational resources for all levels.
I do want the Academy to be as mobile as possible but to be able to proceed with my Option 3 Mission Impossible, I will try to focus on local riders for the time being. Hopefully other instructors involved will be able to do a bit of running.
I spent several hours playing with Vista Print's designs and creating promotional brochures. They should arrive in the next few days.

Here is a screen snapshot of how they looked like online when I finished. Not whole document is showing but you should get the idea :)

One lovely lady is also helping me organise the printing of large posters that we will be able to put up in tack shops, livery yards and at participating/potential venues.
Another friend of mine who has own yard very kindly offered for me to use her 20x60 arena with some great new jumps and fillers and all weather, rubber surface. This is definitely a superb addition considering the staying in a relatively local area.

A few words on the horses. In order to work on Kingsley's stubborn streak we got a dually head collar for some intensive ground manners lessons! I had a super old version of this head collar several years ago and I found it invaluable to teach horses to respect the handler's personal space. After playing with Kingsley in it on Saturday, even after just 30 minutes the change in his entire attitude was impressive. Today, I walked him to the field speeding up, slowing down, stopping, backing up and he listened well, stopping when I stopped without me prompting. Immediately with this change in leading behaviour came much more submissive attitude in general so definitely worth the £39 that dually cost.

Kingsley is now field sound so we trotted him up on the hard surface to get the idea of the severity of the lameness. He was much better than a couple of weeks ago and actually used his body more correctly on the circle. The lameness is definitely still there with the left fore being affected the most but is probably 50% reduced from how he was a month ago. We are trying to find a turn -away-grass livery home for him but in the meantime we will attempt to resume his walk hacking. Since lungeing seems to be too strenuous (he tends to have a random energy explosion which makes it impossible to keep him in walk non-stop), hopefully the controlled walking will help to strengthen him without causing unnecessary stress.
From the point of view of cutting the losses we should probably just put him down...If he ever recovers enough to be offered for sale to a hacking home it will be for a rather symbolic price.
I would feel much better if we did manage to get him consistently sound enough for someone to enjoy him. He loves marching around the woods so someone who shares such idea of fun would be a fab rider for him.

Frank surprises me. He is still nervous about many things to do with any sort of work but he nevertheless seems more able to mentally cope with pressure. I don't have any particular time related goal for him and take it very much as an experience which might just be what he needs. For the first time today he walked calmly with my weight on him. So far we had all sorts of movements which feel as if he was walking on hot stones wondering when he could bolt. None of that today.
I'm doing lots of steering play with him too by walking next to him and making him understand my voice commands coupled with rein aids. He was very nervous when we first tried this as he prefers you to lead him than for you to walk beside him but we even managed a little trot in hand today. I want him to be confident moving forwards without a leader at his head. While he is very trusting and relies on you for reassurance he is also extremely insecure when asked to go on his own (which might be part of the reason why he spooks so violently when on the lunge and never in-hand). More of the same in the coming weeks and we shall see where will that take us.

Another issue that needs solving due to going for Option No 3 is my driving licence...and a car. Once the Case Studies are out of the way, this will be the priority. How I'm not sure yet ;)

Pic. below: Kingsley after his bath last Monday

and "enjoying" the said bath:

Option No 3...

You may have read my waffle about a week ago on how to move forwards from the current situation. Here is a follow up to my little pondering Question Mark series.

I have had a bit of time to quietly consider variety of options and it was really helpful to read other people's views too. One message especially made me realise what really needs doing. As much as I would love to immerse myself in full-time proper training again it is simply not going to work. I simply can't afford it. If I wanted to pay for it - the amounts are impossible to summon. If I wanted to work in return for it - the pay wouldn't allow me to live in my own house, even if we moved out of London. The only affordable way of doing it would be via a live-in job which is out of question.
To those who suggested finding a place that a) lets me carry on my freelance teaching b) helps with competing c) helps with proper training d) pays enough for me to cover the bills - well, I would love to but I'm yet to find such place. If it exists (not just in theory, of those theoretical ones I found and have worked at quite a few) I will jump at a chance.

Having said that, there is just nothing out there more motivating, inspiring and driving as regular training is.
giving up trying to find a way to go back to training & competing would most likely mean a very depressing life for me.

Moving on, there is also the fact I absolutely love teaching. If I didn't I would try to get myself a nice, easy well paid job and do the riding & training as a serious hobby. As it is, the teaching and training other riders is what makes this job constantly challenging, interesting and stimulating for me. Developing the Academy into a successful, useful project is very much a priority.

All this considering, the only option viable is Option No 3 (scroll down for an older post to see what it was). How?
More waffling on Monday.

Few days in the land of dreamers

Pic. above: Saturday morning, breakfast at 11am and reading time - bliss :) Ricky convinced me to buy David Attenborough's biography and I am loving the book. Funny though, when you let your mind deal with unrelated thoughts, the problem-solving ideas pop into your head almost automatically.

Pic. above: View from our patio.

I'm back but as currently no time for proper update, here are a few snapshots from the weekend. It was fabulous and relaxing. I had a lot of time to just rewind and quietly think things through. Ideally, I would love to have several more days but let's not be greedy ;) Full update soon and in the meantime thank you to all who has taken the time to email me, left a comment on here or message on Facebook, it's all really appreciated and an invaluable food for thoughts.


The rocks and dramatic coastline they create is fascinating!
More waffling soon, back to work now!

Deciding on future continues

One more day of work tomorrow and then off to a weekend in Wales with Ricky. I really can't wait. No jodphur boots for 2 days and a total rest to switch a light bulb on...
I would like to thank you to those who read my yesterday's post and commented either on here or via Facebook messages. I don't know anybody who is truly doing what I am doing with no real back up so it's a bit like blind leading the blind. Therefore writing it all down and "thinking aloud" is what is very helpful and makes it all more realistic.
I thankfully have a lot of moral support to drive me on :)

Speak soon and once again, thank you for sharing your views. It's all being taken in and I will be pondering further strolling along Welsh beaches!

Where do I go from here?

The closer I get to the Academy going live the more I ask myself, where do I go from here...I've received some very good feedback from all I shared the drafts of the Programmes with and I'm both anxious and excited at the thought of bringing it all to life and spreading the word. It will take a long time to make it into what I see in my head it could be but I think I'm ready for it.

Should all go according to the plan it would mean I will have my teaching plans and ambitions sorted for the next few years. However, for the next 12 months, it all boils down to one very important issue :

Do I acknowledge it's just too much to try to significantly improve my riding, train & compete AND earn my living in the same time or do I find a way to do both...

You might as well grab a coffee/water/juice or a stronger liquid if you are going to read on - ramble warning.

THE SITUATION

A.
I'm very aware that my location and the fact I rely on public transport to take me places, work against many opportunities I could otherwise utilise. It would be pointless to complain and moan about it as in many ways it's a choice I've made. Living in London is something of an ongoing dilemma for me: on one hand it lets me feel less of an outsider and I feel happy here, on the other hand it makes many potentially beneficial changes impossible. I'd like to stay and yet I'd love to move...
Although many car drivers keep persuading me I absolutely need a car, the truth is, having one in London is a very expensive alternative to public transport. Not to mention you have to allow for actually buying the machine, paying tax, MOTs, any work done to it, insurance (did I miss something?).
In summary, I'm somewhat trapped in a self-made simple maze.

B.
Up until Kingsley's lameness/unsoundness issues I still believed I can somehow slowly climb towards being able to train properly again. The plan for Kingsley was to sell him on very quickly and buy a slightly better model and so on, educating both me and Kingsley's owner in the process, so at some point we could be ready to share a nice competition horse(s) and have fun with competing them. As some of you who read this blog regularly will know, this is now out of question.
In the last few months I started to realise that for the first time ever I actually subconsciously gave up on trying to keep up my own riding education. Not because I lost the desire to become a better rider, but for I came to sad realisation that perhaps it all happens one dream at a time...
I've spent the last few years focusing on training my eye for riders' problems/issues and on how to help them overcome those.
As I have never had any intention to ride other people's horses for money, the teaching is what pays my bills. Unless you can charge £50+ for lessons and you give them a lot, you have to simply just do the latter - work a lot. This leaves you with very little, or no time, for your own riding. Bills paid or pleasure from improving...not much of a choice.

C.
Perhaps there are riders out there who are managing teaching and competing just fine with no "support team -at-home" (loosely understood as Mum or Dad, horsey partner or a helpful Aunt;) but I find it impossible. I can't see how I could deal by myself with having a horse(s) on a D.I.Y. livery (only type I could potentially afford), have the time to ride it, have lessons on, compete it AND continue with amount of teaching I would need to do to cover the costs...Perhaps there is a solution I overlooked?
If I had my family over here I would go for it but again, it is one of those things one can say to me 'It was your own choice'. As I can't argue with that neither can I complain. Just stating the fact.

D.
I'm not a happy-hacker or joyrider. When talking about riding here I mean everyday training and building a relationship with a horse. This for me is what the whole sport is about. It takes time, determination, commitment and consistency.
Seeing riding this way means that schooling random horses at random occasions doesn't feel like fulfilling any ambitions or having much fun. Of course every horse teaches you something new and in many ways it's enjoyable but it's not the same. The core is missing...
Not to mention I like to train to compete.

THE DILEMMA

Considering the above I see 3 options to chose from but it's any one's guess what would be the best one?!

Option 1: Agree to Disagree and Get On With Life As It Is

It is very unlikely for my situation to change anytime soon which is why I need to come up with a plan that reduces my low feeling due to no training and let's me happily focus on the teaching part of my job.
There will hopefully be some opportunities in time that let me ride properly again but right now I think it's better not to be deluded and cease dwelling on things that just aren't to be.
I think (hope) I'm passionate enough about training others for it to drive me and provide me with overall job satisfaction.
Basically this option would essentially be aimed at improving the financial situation, be more business minded than dreams driven and create better foundations for future plans.

Pluses:
Going with this option would mean to stop wasting time on looking for riding opportunities, focus on saving money to buy some wheels and be more mobile and independent.
Sensible...
Time to focus on developing the Academy and its services.
Be home before 9pm and have energy for life outside the Horse World
I'm better when I can direct my focus on one thing rather than many so potential result could mean more quality to my work.
Arrange for a day off now and then to recharge the batteries.

Minuses:
Being restricted to teaching at the level I teach now as I don't believe in teaching above trainer's own knowledge + experience.
Staying still in terms of my own riding skills.
Temporarily giving up on what is the essence of this sport to me: riding to train/training to compete.
Deal with all the low days (possibly many) when I feel like I'm wasting the time in life when I'm reasonably able and healthy and could be taking my riding up a level instead...
I would see it as defeat no matter how much self-talk I would give to myself...
Terribly missing proper riding??

Option 2: Go For Training

Once the Academy is up and running, I could sort out the logistics of it so I only take certain, small amount of work myself. Focus on promoting Academy's website to be able to sell advertising space and gain a few pennies this way. Find a placement on a dressage or event yard where I could keep a horse (loan?), train, compete. Continue working 7 days a week, 2 days of teaching plus 5 days training with some additional teaching as and when necessary.

Pluses:
Doing what I see as the most important thing in this industry: improving own riding skills so I can teach better
Training whilst my body still copes with it, especially my knee which I am sure has a sell by date on it and it's not a long shelf-life product...
Feeling I am doing what I should be doing to continue to improve as a coach/instructor/rider
Chasing my dream to compete for my country (no, not Olympics mind you but some International competitions would be a dream come true).

Minuses:
Finances - verging on impossible
Working hours - a 7 day a week is a killer as I am experiencing now
Leaving some of my fabulous clients as wouldn't have the time to teach them
Possibly having to stay away from home few days at a time most weeks (big minus!!)
If not staying away then very early and very likely lengthy commute to a training yard (my long commutes are already a killer)

Option 3: Find A Way To Balance It All

As I'm ambitious and believe in things impossible this is My sort of option ;) It comes with plenty of significant buts though...
If I go for this one I will need to rob a bank, buy a car and have enough to run it, find a place for Kingsley to be turned away for a year or so to come back to soundness (or not-difficult to say how his conditions will develop with time), find a horse with potential AND good temperament so Pauline and I can both ride it, find another, more advance horse to loan/ride for someone that I can take for lessons and learn on. Possibly find a place to move to near a yard I can use as a base and try to attract as many riders to that base (as oppose to travelling to yards so much).
Arrange for a day off now and then.
Focus on promoting Academy and developing it both through good quality service and via (hopefully!) decent competition record (own and trained riders).

Pluses:
Best of two worlds, I get to focus on Academy for part of the day while also making time for training.
Working on my own riding skills while doing what I am passionate about i.e. delivering quality rider training
Balancing things out always makes me feel happier and this option would be a dream come true.
Living the life as I would love it to be.
Being able to give my best as could rest now and then plus the thought of doing things my preferred way always inspires and motivates me to get better.
Keeping finances healthy while developing myself as a rider.

Minuses:
Least realistic of the 3 options.
Very difficult to implement into real life. Little idea/limited opportunities as to where to start to make it happen.


THE SOLUTION

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Advice and ideas greatly appreciated! What would you do? Are there other potential options out there I fail to see?

P.S. Do you believe in horses experiencing melancholy? If this emotion ever does enter equine state of mind, Kingsley was well and truly melancholic today! It's the only way I could describe his mellow, a bit absent yet very obliging behaviour, cuddly yet distant, listening yet switched off.

Sat on Frankie!

Frank was very good on the lunge today (even though he could have gone all wired up as his buddy Spider was being put through last fitness work before Chatsworth = flat out gallop/canter/flat out gallop etc, in the field neighbouring the arena). Several days of just walking seemed to have worked as all the trot work today was so much calmer. He is starting to work much calmer and his trot has consistent rhythm. I could actually work on opening him up into longer stride and back to his natural loose stride which after several goes helped him to stretch down and into the contact on the side reins. He is no longer backing off the contact but stretches long and low very well.

Seeing he worked so well I thought it was the time to sit on him...he was relatively unbothered about the mounting itself and stood content while being fed carrots ;) I then decided to put my dear life into Pauline's hands as she led me across the arena. The walking with the weight on was a bit too much for Frank and he was rather worried. We walked for about 20 metres, I say walked but it was more hopping up and down with back up. No bucking though.
As I know him better now and he does overreacts everything a bit new and scary I decided to to finish the session on that. We stopped him and waited till he relaxed a bit, ate one more carrot and I dismounted.
All exciting though! My heart was racing 100 bits per second ;)

Update on the horses

Quick one today with a bit of an update on the horses.

FRANK

Pic.: Frankie in the evening sun

I couldn't be more happy with him today. The last two sessions I kept him almost entirely in walk or returned him to walk as soon as I could when he spooked. I wanted him to react to me quicker and pay attention to my voice more immediately so when I sit on him I have something to help me control him when he is worried. I also wanted him to move slower with more balance.
He was really good on Friday but I had him in side reins which make him much more controllable.
So today, I decided to work him without anything, just a bridle and he was foot perfect. Even when he spooked it was into trot only and came back to walk after half a round the most. I did 20 minutes in walk and 5 minutes in trot. The latter was excellent, rhythmic and slow, exactly what I aimed for. You can watch it and judge it yourself:

Frankie on the lunge - 10th May

Frankie a few days earlier (still rushing and you can see he isn't as relaxed as on the video above)

If you want to compare it to the Fast & Worried from 3 weeks ago CLICK HERE and scroll down the post.

KINGSLEY

Kingsley is having DMSO for his splint. Here is one of the many articles on it that I found online:
Information on Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) Treatments for Horses. There seem to be two camps on DMSO, some swear by it, others say it's useless and didn't help their horses at all. We shall see. I walked him in-hand today and he was sound in walk. He also enjoyed a thorough groom and just a generally seems to be loving a life of a giant guinea pig. Mowing grass, being pampered and pooing are his activities right now.

VENUS

Pic.: Venus today: "What are you doing there with that camera?"

I put a bridle on her for the first time today with a straight bar nathe bit. She wasn't too impressed but wasn't too fussy either. The lungeing was less hectic than last time but she was still certainly very much in control so no videos as yet. Craig gave me a few pointers as to how to make her more focused on me but I didn't make a very good job of it. I should have let him show me exactly how to do it but didn't want to drag him away from his horse. Either way I finally managed to stop being worried about Venus's back end double barrelling into me and front end dancing around me and made some use of the techniques Craig explained to me. Despite me not being quick enough with my body language she finally settled, started paying more attention to me and walked and trotted in a decent manner. I then did a bit of in-hand walking over poles which she found impossible to go over at first but after numerous circling around them and seeing me going over, she followed without a fuss.
I'm certainly learning a lot from this mare!

Make Your Own Kind Of Music

Saturday was a not too great a day on which I got knocked over my feet by a car on my way to work! It sounds dramatic but it really wasn't that bad and anyone who ever had a good few falls of a horse will know what I mean. It was a bit of a freak accident with all parties being all right in the end. Just in case this has knocked any common sense into me I did have myself checked over and spent the rest of the day napping at home. All good now.

Evenings seem to be the best time for me to write, the later the better. During a day my mind is just too busy and occupied with everything that's going on around.
In fact, all the Academy Programmes were written either very late in the evening or during the nights. I finished the final drafts of all 4 main programmes yesterday but I'm sure there will still be lots of little bits and pieces to change, add or take out - the work I enjoy the least.
I'm not entirely happy with all the content as I have a feeling I missed something out or didn't say it like I wanted it to be but I know my never-quite-satisfied nature by now and I let go. If you're a perfectionist you just have to learn to start things without trying to make sure absolutely everything is right as you would never start anything.

Back to Sunday life, today was a lovely day despite the weather refusing to be on our side. I'm seriously blown away by the improvement shown in some of my riders and although it would be easy to say it's down to my amazing teaching ;) the truth is they simply try their best and really do make an effort and that effort makes an unbelievable difference. In the world where a lot of people expect great results with little input, those who do work with you make this job absolutely the best.
Sometimes I watch them ride and think I wish we had horses that actually move properly and let the riders learn what they need to know, feel and experience to be better. On days like today though, I watch them and I think they are probably already experiencing, feeling and improving more than many who have better horse power.

As I video my riders a lot I've started to re-watch the recordings this time listening to what I was saying and then observing the effect it had on the rider. Many times I say things that are unnecessary and create too much clatter so hopefully some self-evaluation, however primitive, will give me some ideas as to how to make my teaching better.

In my twenties I didn't pay as much attention to the future as I suddenly do now and it's hard to say if it's better or worse. Too much dwelling on tomorrow doesn't do much to the enjoyment of today, yet there is some pleasure to be had from knowing we are walking in the right direction.
Following one's dream is a wonderfully hard work...

But you've got to...

Sharp Days

Pic. Kingsley having a thorough groom by Pauline

Yesterday I had an unexpected day off, I could have probably arranged for some last minute work but decided to give my body a bit of a rest. It was good to settle all the aches and pains that creep up when you go on for several months without a recovery time.
I spent most of my day putting together all the notes for the Academy. What's left of it was designated for sleeping and catching up with some reading. Oh, and Badminton watching!
Thanks to variety of free media I had a look at some of the xc rounds and I was impressed with how quick off the floor Spring Along was. I re-watched it a few times, he made it look so easy.

Back to work today and it was fairly hard day as the horses are in love with new grass. The latter is on the mission to grow in the farthest ends of the paddocks and as a result my knee wasn't impressed with couple of hours of walking behind 30 horses.

Kingsley is lame again. He trotted on the lunge so unlevel I had to stop him. Vet saw him today and he has a splint bone forming on inside of the right fore cannon - the leg he is lame on. He can be ridden in walk and lunged in walk but as he is feeling rather well and bolshy I very much doubt much walk will happen...Either way, we have to wait until it stops bothering him....which can be anything from a month to a year. Loving this little horse, really do, might be able to do a Vet Degree on him alone if he keeps going on.

Pic. Kingsley (left) and Frank (right) waiting for the work time.

Frankie was very good today. I have changed what I do with him slightly and we are now focusing on him staying in walk most of the time. When he has a fright I bring him back to walk as soon as I can. It worked really well today, we had a 20 minutes walk with maybe 3-4 panikcy gallops (as oppose to 30 odd before) which lasted 3 laps the most so a massive improvement. His entire outline relaxed too and his tail finally went up to a normal position instead of staying in between his legs most of the time.

Pic. : Tired Venus back in her stable after antics on the lunge.

I also worked Venus, the mare, for the first time today. She's a 6 year old by The Star Of Orion (funnily enough a Trakehner stallion bred in Poland in famous Liski Stud). On paper she is bred really well but the stallion has apparently a bit of a reputation of breeding opinionated, sharp offspring...
Well, Venus is certainly making sure this reputation carries on.
Considering it was her first go on the lunge and she is sharp and cocky, I was pleased with her. She properly tested me though and if I didn't have gloves my hands would be in shreds. After 10 minutes of quite impressive stand ups and fly bucks (she can also buck while pushing herself backwards which looks like a rein back with a buck thrown in for a good measure) she settled and lunged reasonably well.
I know her a little from handling her so decided not to put a bridle on and lunged off a cavesson only to make sure I didn't hurt her mouth. Freshly raked arena looked like someone had used as a gallop track.
From what I could see, Madam has a very well balanced, correct canter and a good walk. Trot is avarage but nice and correct. I will video her next time as today she didn't leave me much free time ;)
Life as a riding horse is pretty scary for Venus so I took her to a wash down area (very scary), told her to stand in there (mega scary). Boots on all fours (dreadful, tantrum). It's like dealing with a 3 year old.

In many ways working with these horses is good because it sharpens my own reactions and thinking. Most of my teenage riding/handling experiences were with stallions and fit, competition horses which teaches you to be vigilant and keep your wits about you. However, recent 7 years around horses that you can sit on the ground with while putting bandages on has made me very, very complacent!

I'm pretty sure Frank and Venus will see to my horse behaviour education ;)

A case of a minute detail and working with a purpose

Sometimes it can take 30 minutes of meaningful adjustment to change one little thing that helps to change it all.
I'm continuing to try to find a core issue in my riders that I suspect cause the problems with their progress, pass these problems to Kari who will work as Academy's chiropractor, and hope for the best ;)
We are all trying to make a difference in the horses bodies by correct training. Every rider who learned how to ask for poll flexion to the inside for the first time will know how this barely perceivable movement changed the way they can position their horse entirely. Tiny movement and such power over balance, weight distribution, quality of movement. On that basis, it seems possible that a minute, hardly visible yet very precise change in the way we use some muscles, position the pelvis or a shoulder can potentially change our control over own body.

And the fact is, it does. We had a very exciting session today where some very small adjustments on the ground addressing the way the rider tried to achieve neutral pelvis position and upper body stability, improved the effectiveness and the seat of the rider immediately. I can't tell you how amazing the result was and what fantastic effect it had on a horse. I hoped it would be and I somewhat suspected it would help but I didn't expect such dramatic and powerful change.

The rider performance tools are on the increase at the moment. Horsey mags publish a lot about complementary exercises, video analysis, Pilates etc etc
With the Aspire Equestrian Riding Academy iinitiative coming out of hiding this month I couldn't ask for a better media awareness action ;)
We might not be reinventing the wheel and there might not be anything particularly unusual about what Academy will offer but it's exciting to think how much positive change it can potentially bring to an ambitious rider's life...

Sometimes I wish I had better capacity for tiredness and still remain reasonably alert but unfortunately it doesn't work this way. Despite my attempts at getting everything ready as soon as possible I have to let myself rest from time to time. My mind just draws a blank and I can be so tired that even putting together a simple sentence feels like a hardship.
I dream about a week of SPA at some gorgeous setting with a massage every day. swimming and reading. Perhaps some time in the winter...for now it still doesn't feel like I've deserved a proper break!

It will get busier.
I'm taking on another project/play horse, a 6 year old mare who is unbacked and not very arena savvy to say the least. I spent some time with her on Monday making her look a bit more presentable as the length of her mane could probably get her placings in Mountain & Moorlands classes...She's a TB type, about 16.2hh, I will snap some pics soon.
Frankie is doing really well, there are moments when I think he is starting to enjoy himself and worry less about life. We are playing with poles on the ground, he first jumps them as if they were Trakehners 3ft high and 3ft deep, then settles and trots over in a reasonable fashion. He is an extremaly likeable character despite the dramatic outlook on the world. I will sit on him very soon.
Kingsley boy on the other hand is a typical one step forwards two steps back scenario. Perhaps he is going through a 'terrible 6's' scenario as he throws a lot of teenage tantrums and is not making himself very popular. He is in bad books right now!

So it's busy but rest assured there is method to this madness. It's called progress ;) I'm making use of the opportunities I have to work with those young horses as it makes me more observant and switched on.

Two regular teaching days now ahead doing green horses in the evening, then off to help at Hambleden International on Friday, more watching work for me ;)

Rolex CCI**** via the eyes of the rider Peter Atkins

Still catching up and bits and pieces of present time

I mentioned a week ago about a teaching trip to Gloucestershire but still didn't write about it.

After a long drive from London, Kari and I arrived at this stunning place where I was to spend
my day. Church Farm is a beautiful set up of a stable yard and farmhouse: http://www.churchfarm.uk.net/.
We had a great day with some on the ground, "contact" training and ridden lessons in the arena with some stunning views.
The place is so nice I asked if we could use it as a venue for some future Academy's ventures (of which in a moment) and Lucy is very happy for us to go ahead.
Church Farm has the facilities for riders to stay with own horses which is perfect.

Now, talking about the Academy. I had to change the launch date from 1st May to simply May as there is still a couple of things that needs sorting out organisationally. I am also awaiting for various information from people involved and it takes a while to chase for all those bits and pieces.
Two out of five Programmes are pretty much finalised and ready to go on the site. The third one will be ready on Monday and the other two need my attention as are still in a form of million little notes.
It's hard work to put it all into a meaningful, easy to follow form, it's much easier to just 'do' things than to describe them well.
We are having some really good feedback so far so I am hoping this will continue.

Pic. above: Outdoor arena at Church Farm

On the horses front there is a very positive news on Kingsley boy. The vet saw him on Thursday and he trotted up really well with longer, freer steps. His back is in much better condition too and the compensation seems to be decreasing.
All this considering he is now allowed to trot for a short periods of time. As haven't ridden him much at all we will continue with walk hacks for a bit to strengthen his muscles and improve his balance.
I hacked him out properly on Friday for the first time. So far he was doing half in-hand walking, lungeing and short periods under saddle.
This was hist first proper 40 minutes hack and he was really good, very keen if a little tense. We went out in company but he was still a bit reluctant to leave the yard. That said, the moment we moved up the driveway he marched forward and wanted to lead all the way. The tree roots and smaller holes in the ground still made him trip and his undulation perception/balance weren't great but then he barely had a rider on board for the last 8 months.
It's quite funny to ride him because in a way we know him fairly well now but that knowledge of him is mostly from on the ground handling. It's like getting to know him all over again from a ridden perspective.
Hopefully he will improve now that we can take him out and about. This morning, I took Frank for a hack in-hand with Pauline riding Kingsley. Both boys behaved really well and already Kingsley was tripping less. Pauline's very calm disposition also has a very good effect on his hyperactivity and tension.

Pic. Pauline on Kingsley and Frankie with me in-hand.

It was also Frankie's first venture into the woods and apart from a few worried looks at more interesting parts of nature around us he behaved impeccably.

He still isn't too happy with a saddle on though so we are still "playing work". On Friday I did his girth one hole loser than normal which meant the saddle was moving a fraction. It wasn't any big movement and Kingsley wouldn't even have noticed but Frank wasn't impressed. I am yet to see him buck but he showed some interesting arched back upwards hops.

I decided not to tighten the girth, continued until he totally settled and didn't mind any movement anymore and we finished on an even, relaxed trot work.

Horses aside, I'm going through an odd time right now. Election in the UK is bringing up the subject of immigration a lot and not in a positive context as you can imagine. This means I am witnessing numerous conversations on my daily commute, in shops and on the streets and in many ways it does have a negative impact on my normally very positive attitude to life and future.

I guess I should have gotten used to this by now but I haven't. Perhaps I need to toughen up even more.

More updates soon but for now it will have to be rest time.