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Tomorrow night Courtney King-Dye, Debbie McDonald and Steffen Peters will be riding. You can watch it on the Oxygen Channel at 6 p.m. or live on NBC Olympics at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, August 13. The rider schedule is posted on the official Beijing Olympics website.
We’re going to our local sports bar to cheer on the U.S. Equestrian Team.
I bribe my horse. Well, not in conventional ways like with money, sugar cubes or carrots. I use massage. Calvin is a school horse and he always falls out on the right side. He even has white hairs on his neck and behind the girth to prove it. I’ve been getting so frustrated that I’ve decided to relax both of us with a good massage.
I’ve discovered his sweet spot! If I rub behind Calvin’s right ear he nearly falls over. I only see him once a week and it’s so gratifying that he greets me at the gate.
I’m considering a new career. It looks like I might be facing another layoff. That would be two layoffs in just over a year. So, I’m thinking of equine massage. I’m lucky enough to have Joyce Falese as a boarder at my barn. Joy is the head instructor at Equine Massage/Muscle Therapy in South Carolina. She’s worked with Mike Scott for about 13 years and has a thriving practice in Massachusetts and in Florida.
At the moment I’m polling the equine vets in my community to see how receptive they are. There’s been controversy regarding equine massage and who’s allowed to practice it. Here’s a recent article in the Boston Globe. In Massachusetts only vets are allowed but I think it’s okay as long as the therapist isn’t using the word therapy or trying to diagnose.
I’ll keep you posted.
I’m a perfectionist and my own worse critic. Always have been. So, learning dressage has been both a blessing and a curse. I love the movements and when we’re in balance. I hate it when I can’t pull it all together. When I nail it though…then I’m cruising along on such an incredible high!
I had a good lesson on Calvin yesterday. I started warming up at a walk without stirrups. I rode on the buckle so that I could concentrate on my seat and a long leg. Then we moved up to a little more contact and riding concentric circles. It’s a great exercise for us. I have to ride thinking about my outside leg. Calvin, loves to fall in/out. We threw in some counter flexion for good measure and I had some great moments of Calvin coming down into my hands. Now to remember that and maintain it!
Okay, I confess! I can not for the life of me ride a 20 meter torture circle. Or for that matter a 10 or 15 meter circle. All my circles have corners or are oval shaped but never a perfect circle. While I’ll admit the free flowing shape of a snowman may be more interesting, I can’t stand having my instructor yell anymore! After all, I’ve only been doing this for 1.5 years! Easy peasy. NOT!
Assigning blame
“There are no corners in a circle!”
Your instructor called out the direction too late for you to prepare.
You’ve graduated to a new school horse that doesn’t bend in that direction.
“You missed your touching points!”
Traffic along the rail prevented this.
Did I mention that you’ve graduated to a new school horse that doesn’t bend in that direction?
Homework
Study the dressage arena and learn the 20, 15, and 10 meter circles. Thank you Behind the Bit for some great diagrams. Wish me luck…
