January Newsletter Blessings and Best Wishes for the coming year! |
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Silver Horse being his goofy self!!! Retired now, he's loving life at DeQuatro Stables where I board he and Costero. Kate does a super job taking care of both of them! I've been enjoying having my little horse Costero back. I had forgotten what it is like to own an easy horse! I usually do at least one bareback ride a week on him. That's been so good for me! I haven't ridden bareback in years, as those big warmbloods aren't necessarily well suited for it. Ha! |
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| | Whitney on Bandit Whitney's usual horse to ride with me was out due to an injury. She really wanted to ride with me, so she borrowed a horse. Bandit hadn't been ridden in a long time, and as his owner says, he has low miles. He's a 16 yo Arab/Saddlebred cross. The pictures above are from the first day. Notice how hollow and low his back is, how high his head is, how far back his hind leg is leaving the ground. Also notice how that leaves Whitney in a chair seat, with her legs too far forward and her sitting too far back in the saddle. | | |
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| | He was also very unsteady in the head, which makes for an unsettling ride! Bandit's push back is greater than Whitney's push forward. This push forward has nothing to do with the term drive with your seat or make the horse go faster, which is how people tend to translate that. It has to do with her bearing down, low down in her body, around bikini line area (using her core muscles is part of this) and closing her upper back. She also must refuse to get left in the hollowing of his back. | | |
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| | WOW!!! Second day pictures here. Whitney is game on, has Bandit reaching into the connection, stretched into the outside rein, building forward energy. She is showing us her asymmetry, short on her right side and long on the left. But the brain can only handle so much at a time, and she is dealing with the back to front issues superbly here. She has done a really good job of not being taken by him, and changing him by staying right in her rightness. Note how much activity Whitney has developed in Bandit in just 2 rides! This is on a basically untrained horse. This is the power of RWYM riding! I continue to be amazed at the changes that are possible in such a short time. Of course, not all horses and riders can accomplish this in 2 lessons, but it is possible. If you've been struggling with your riding, have been being taught essentially the same lesson over and over again, come see me. I have a large "tool kit" to pull from to help you make improvements. | | |
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| | Upcoming Schedule 2018 looks to be a busy year for me. Looking forward to it. I love my job, love seeing and helping all of you. Most of all, I love the horses!!! I might be able to add a few lesson days in at some of my regular places around Atlanta so be sure to check my site from time to time for further updates. Text or email me is best. Too many telemarketers calling these days so I tend to not answer numbers I don't recognize. January 20-21 Havana, FL January 26-28 Fairhope, AL February 2-4 Auburn, AL February 16-19 Columbus, NC March 8-10 Lafayette, GA March 11 Hiram, GA March 16-18 Fayetteville, GA March 23-25 Fairhope, AL April 6-8 Auburn, AL | | |
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New Year = New Beginning Time to get your motivation on! Set days and times to ride, otherwise you'll find yourself struggling to find time. Write it in your appointment book or phone calendar. If you don't ride, it's hard to make improvements! Even if you can only get a short ride in, that's better than no ride. Some days it's ok to do a quick grooming if it buys you time to ride. Use the rainy days to do a good grooming in lieu of riding. Take advantage of good weather when you can. Try to set realistic goals. If you are struggling to canter a 20 meter circle, doubtful you will be showing 1st level within the year. But having a goal and a plan is important. Think about where you are now with your riding, and what you really want to improve on. Design your rides with that in mind. One of my goals is to be able to offer a detailed plan to my riders. Hoping to start working on that plan for you SOON! |
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Speaking of New Beginnings... Finally have signed divorce papers, not finalized yet but all worked out. This means I can now sell my farm in Toccoa, GA. Toccoa is a wonderful area, close to the mountains, easy access to Atlanta and Greenville, SC with Lake Hartwell close by. I love it up there but my heart was aimed for Florida! The house is a split level brick home. Main dwelling is a 3/2 with 2 car garage. Basement is a Mother-in-Law suite that could be easily changed into additional 2/1. As the house is now, there is a total of 4/3, two living rooms, two kitchens, large laundry room plus dining room. Total square footage is about 2700. The house sits on a ridge overlooking 26 acres of pasture which has Eastanollee Creek as a border. There is a large 1200 sq ft workshop, plus a 30 x 80 equipment shed. There are also a couple of older barns on the property, but not really a "horse" barn. Mostly fenced, but not completely. It is such a peaceful place. Asking price is $350,000 which is negotiable especially if not paying a RE commission, or if paying a reduced fee. No offense to all my friends who are RE agents! I haven't listed it yet. I plan to be there this weekend, Jan 12-15, cleaning, etc. if anyone would like to come see it. 706-201-8940 text is best I'll call you back. Sorry I don't have VM. |
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