Sunny and I working hard
Today I had a lesson on Nikki Wingire's lovely mare, Flirt. This is such a fantastic little mare with a huge amount of talent. Nikki is a very good rider and has been bringing her along patiently and thoughtfully. I LOVE mares and like most Flirt has her own opinions and quirks, which only makes her more likeable to me. It has taken a while to get her to relax and use her back but with a lot of hard work she's now a lot more consistent in that area and today she was on fire!!! For a little horse she sure has a big heart and huge paces! It felt like we were moving on air and barely touching the ground! I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do with her in competition this year. Along with Harmony (Robin Doser), Gwen (Deborah Shuman), Prima (Abby Gibbon) and Classy (MaryBeth Avedesian) we have a team of bay mares going!!! I love it!!
Our team for the coming year is looking very strong at this point with everyone showing a huge amount of enthusiasm and already chomping at the bit for a start! Yesterday we set up a jumping course to put together some of the ideas we've been working on. I have to say I was impressed with the improvement Lisa has made in the last couple of months in the jumping. She really turned a corner at our Boyd Martin clinic and hasn't looked back. And Amy's horse Jake is becoming more reliable with his rhythm which makes me very happy. Sydney is really starting to go super well and is so proud of himself! He's starting to swing over the back and has the most elastic paces, and he's starting to jump awesome too. As you can see below he's a real quality horse, I'm sad to have to sell him. He'll make a great horse for someone.
Alex worked for me on Friday riding some horses. As a natural rider she has a good feel for the horses but she is getting a crash course on improving her seat. I have been putting a lot of pressure (which just means I've been yelling a lot!) and she just gets better and better. She really puts a lot of effort in and is starting to be rewarded for that.
It's heartening and motivating to see the dedication of our riders who are here day in day out (Linda, Deborah, Lisa, Marybeth, Gibby, Liz, Cathy, Alex, Amanda, Amy) preparing for the coming season. The award for the shiniest horses in the barn has to go to Cathy! Personally I get a great feeling from seeing all the growth and progress from our team. The compulsory 'Team Chadderton' uniform shirts are on their way....!
2 comments:
...we have a team of bay mares going!!! I love it!!
That really is pretty cool. If only we could do a quadrille with them —but they'd probably all kill each other!!! ;-)
You should set up jumping courses every Sat Kate. What a great way to get some pre-season practice in. Thanks for your awesome instruction! I really feel like it's all coming together for Jake and I. 2009 AEC's here we come!
Post a Comment