bayknight
Apr. 26, 2009, 10:05 PM
For those of you who were waiting for an update from me after reading this thread:
http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=200744
I went ahead and took the plunge and did the clinic! This was my first clinic I have ever done since I started riding at the age of 9 and now I am 33:eek:!! I was never able to financially afford to go to a clinic and this is the first time I have ever been able to do so. I actually decided that this clinic I was not going to pass up on, and gave up quite a few horse shows that I would have been going to over the last couple of weeks. I signed up for the 2"6 session. ( I have been schooling at 3" but felt the lower session would be a bit more comfortable for us both)
The clinic was with Frank Madden. For those that don't know I took my horse to a horse show the weekend before ( he hadn't been off the property in over a year and a half) to just hang out and see how he was going to be. The long story short is that my horse was not good at the show at all!! I was pretty disappointed and was starting to think that going to the clinic was not a good idea. I posted the thread and received a lot of encouraging feedback to go to the clinic.
I decided to go and here is what I hope to make a short report for you all!
My horse was definitely up but he was of course happy eating all the grass that was in front of him. I chose a nice quiet spot by the indoor (where the clinic was being held) He was able to hear Frank talking and that didn't bother him at all. My husband shortly arrived after that to help me. I finished tacking him up and then headed to the outdoor ring to warm up. He was definitely "up" I trotted and cantered around a bit (he spooked a bit when we passed the rolltop), then trotted over some of the jumps. After that it was almost time for the next session to begin.
I really, really like Frank, he is such a great calm teacher!! He uses great examples so one can understand the points he is trying to convey. He used great examples of aerobic and anerobic (sp) fitness levels for our horses. We stared out with introductions and he asked each one of us a question. He went over the fundamentals of dressage and how it applies in the Hunter/Jumper world. He also asked how the teachers of this generation are helping the riders of the next generation, I was given that question!
He also went over natural and unnatural states for our horses to travel in. (simple stuff right?, but great Fundamentals to review!!!) We did some shoulder-in and haunches-in without our stirrups. I have worked a lot on shoulder-in with my horse so that wasn't hard, but the haunches-in he was just resisting a lot, so that is something I will be working on!
My horse was sill chomp, chomping at the bit like he was last week but I was glad that he actually was trying to listen to me. The end of the session was focused on jumping with our horses, he started by asking us to just jump the outside line, he told us he just wanted to see our horses moving forward. After that we worked on jumping our horse over a small vertical (set on the diagonal) with a caveletti set on the ground after the jump. (3 strides out), he set us all in pairs, except me, I was the Odd one out. He told me " Don' t worry Lisie I haven't forgotten about you!" :) That made me smile.
My horse had some problems with gymnastic, it was on the right lead and my horse has always had issues with keeping his right lead and staying balanced. Once again that is something I will be working on!
He then incorporated another vertical with the left lead doing the same thing. So we would jump the right lead vertical than head to the left lead vertical, then after that we headed straight for a single vertical than an outside triple in 3. My horse was starting to get quite tired at this point and he always needs that extra little bit of excouragement. I had to do the outside line one more time (we got 4 strides the first time) but the second time was a charm. Frank said "Beautiful" after our second try. :D He said your horse is more of a timid guy so you will have to always give him that extra ounce of encouragement.
He did mention that wearing a spur is crucial to our riding and is a great tool if we need to encourage our horse to respond to what we are asking. He said crops and spurs are not cruel when used correctly. Frank was happy with me for wearing them! He also complimented me on not "overbitting" my horse (he was wearing just a rubber D), he said that he wants to see all horses underbitted when you are in a schooling session like we were in today. He said it is ok when you go into a showing situation to step up the bit a little so you can have a bit more control.
He ended the session for us by having us all come to the middle of the ring. He then took a bag from an assistant, it was a nice linen bag that said "The Wellington Collection" on the bag. He complimented each one of us saying that we all had improved by the end of the session. He said that the bag was for one rider he felt had improved the most overall throughout the session. He then came over and said "This bag is for you Lisie, there is a coat in here for you!!! " I was shocked AND overjoyed. I couldn't believe he chose me!!!
I graciously said thank you, had a picture taken with him, and shook his hand. My husband and I then walked back to my trailer. I had my horse beside me while my husband opened the bag up. I got an embroidered Frank Madden Show Stable baby pad, then my husband found a gift certificate....for ONE HUNT Coat from The Wellington Collection! :winkgrin::winkgrin: I started to cry! I was so proud of my Tommy Boy!!:D
I am so proud of my OTTB and I, we work hard!!! We might not have a lot of $$ and resources but I do whatever I can to get somewhere with my riding!! I am elated to say the least and so thankful that I did go to the clinc!!! :yes:
Thank you all for encouraging me to go!!!:) What an amazing experience!!!
Here are some pictures, sorry some are blurry and I don't have any of our favorite line for the combination we did.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1564049&l=635e20ad44&id=768167224
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1564053&l=2881197703&id=768167224 -blurry
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1564057&l=874290d6c4&id=768167224 -listening to Frank & he was having us trot our horses around in what is a natural state
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1564062&l=0510f07bda&id=768167224 -trying to ask for contact above the withers (unnatural state), a small excercise he had us do
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1564097&l=c8c75f559a&id=768167224 (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/photo.php?pid=1564097&id=768167224)- I was laughing at something he said to me, I think it was because my horse was in a nice contact but then wasn't moving forward quite enough... then I got him moving forward, and he said something about it that made me smile
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1564100&l=4eda64ac3d&id=768167224
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/photo.php?pid=1564101&id=768167224 - right lead gymnastic, my last time through Frank loved it!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1564103&l=04aeda6193&id=768167224
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1564104&l=0f90856b56&id=768167224 -w/Frank!!!
thanks all for letting me share with you! I hope it wasn't too boring to read!
http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=200744
I went ahead and took the plunge and did the clinic! This was my first clinic I have ever done since I started riding at the age of 9 and now I am 33:eek:!! I was never able to financially afford to go to a clinic and this is the first time I have ever been able to do so. I actually decided that this clinic I was not going to pass up on, and gave up quite a few horse shows that I would have been going to over the last couple of weeks. I signed up for the 2"6 session. ( I have been schooling at 3" but felt the lower session would be a bit more comfortable for us both)
The clinic was with Frank Madden. For those that don't know I took my horse to a horse show the weekend before ( he hadn't been off the property in over a year and a half) to just hang out and see how he was going to be. The long story short is that my horse was not good at the show at all!! I was pretty disappointed and was starting to think that going to the clinic was not a good idea. I posted the thread and received a lot of encouraging feedback to go to the clinic.
I decided to go and here is what I hope to make a short report for you all!
My horse was definitely up but he was of course happy eating all the grass that was in front of him. I chose a nice quiet spot by the indoor (where the clinic was being held) He was able to hear Frank talking and that didn't bother him at all. My husband shortly arrived after that to help me. I finished tacking him up and then headed to the outdoor ring to warm up. He was definitely "up" I trotted and cantered around a bit (he spooked a bit when we passed the rolltop), then trotted over some of the jumps. After that it was almost time for the next session to begin.
I really, really like Frank, he is such a great calm teacher!! He uses great examples so one can understand the points he is trying to convey. He used great examples of aerobic and anerobic (sp) fitness levels for our horses. We stared out with introductions and he asked each one of us a question. He went over the fundamentals of dressage and how it applies in the Hunter/Jumper world. He also asked how the teachers of this generation are helping the riders of the next generation, I was given that question!
He also went over natural and unnatural states for our horses to travel in. (simple stuff right?, but great Fundamentals to review!!!) We did some shoulder-in and haunches-in without our stirrups. I have worked a lot on shoulder-in with my horse so that wasn't hard, but the haunches-in he was just resisting a lot, so that is something I will be working on!
My horse was sill chomp, chomping at the bit like he was last week but I was glad that he actually was trying to listen to me. The end of the session was focused on jumping with our horses, he started by asking us to just jump the outside line, he told us he just wanted to see our horses moving forward. After that we worked on jumping our horse over a small vertical (set on the diagonal) with a caveletti set on the ground after the jump. (3 strides out), he set us all in pairs, except me, I was the Odd one out. He told me " Don' t worry Lisie I haven't forgotten about you!" :) That made me smile.
My horse had some problems with gymnastic, it was on the right lead and my horse has always had issues with keeping his right lead and staying balanced. Once again that is something I will be working on!
He then incorporated another vertical with the left lead doing the same thing. So we would jump the right lead vertical than head to the left lead vertical, then after that we headed straight for a single vertical than an outside triple in 3. My horse was starting to get quite tired at this point and he always needs that extra little bit of excouragement. I had to do the outside line one more time (we got 4 strides the first time) but the second time was a charm. Frank said "Beautiful" after our second try. :D He said your horse is more of a timid guy so you will have to always give him that extra ounce of encouragement.
He did mention that wearing a spur is crucial to our riding and is a great tool if we need to encourage our horse to respond to what we are asking. He said crops and spurs are not cruel when used correctly. Frank was happy with me for wearing them! He also complimented me on not "overbitting" my horse (he was wearing just a rubber D), he said that he wants to see all horses underbitted when you are in a schooling session like we were in today. He said it is ok when you go into a showing situation to step up the bit a little so you can have a bit more control.
He ended the session for us by having us all come to the middle of the ring. He then took a bag from an assistant, it was a nice linen bag that said "The Wellington Collection" on the bag. He complimented each one of us saying that we all had improved by the end of the session. He said that the bag was for one rider he felt had improved the most overall throughout the session. He then came over and said "This bag is for you Lisie, there is a coat in here for you!!! " I was shocked AND overjoyed. I couldn't believe he chose me!!!
I graciously said thank you, had a picture taken with him, and shook his hand. My husband and I then walked back to my trailer. I had my horse beside me while my husband opened the bag up. I got an embroidered Frank Madden Show Stable baby pad, then my husband found a gift certificate....for ONE HUNT Coat from The Wellington Collection! :winkgrin::winkgrin: I started to cry! I was so proud of my Tommy Boy!!:D
I am so proud of my OTTB and I, we work hard!!! We might not have a lot of $$ and resources but I do whatever I can to get somewhere with my riding!! I am elated to say the least and so thankful that I did go to the clinc!!! :yes:
Thank you all for encouraging me to go!!!:) What an amazing experience!!!
Here are some pictures, sorry some are blurry and I don't have any of our favorite line for the combination we did.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1564049&l=635e20ad44&id=768167224
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1564053&l=2881197703&id=768167224 -blurry
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1564057&l=874290d6c4&id=768167224 -listening to Frank & he was having us trot our horses around in what is a natural state
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1564062&l=0510f07bda&id=768167224 -trying to ask for contact above the withers (unnatural state), a small excercise he had us do
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1564097&l=c8c75f559a&id=768167224 (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/photo.php?pid=1564097&id=768167224)- I was laughing at something he said to me, I think it was because my horse was in a nice contact but then wasn't moving forward quite enough... then I got him moving forward, and he said something about it that made me smile
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1564100&l=4eda64ac3d&id=768167224
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/photo.php?pid=1564101&id=768167224 - right lead gymnastic, my last time through Frank loved it!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1564103&l=04aeda6193&id=768167224
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1564104&l=0f90856b56&id=768167224 -w/Frank!!!
thanks all for letting me share with you! I hope it wasn't too boring to read!