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DRESSAGE CLINIC
WITH RENEE THOMAS
14TH JUNE 2009
ONLY TWO
PLACES LEFT!
at The Old
Rectory, Boduan - from 11am £7.50 each horse
Suitable
for complete beginners to try out a test of their
choice. This is really good value for money.
To book or
find out more details please phone Gay on 01758
721519
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How To
- Long Reining and Plaiting Clinic
On
a perfect summer's evening in Llangwnadl last
Thursday, the How To clinic was a huge success with
a good turnout. Several people, young and old,
tried their hands at both long reining and plaiting.
The stars of the evening though had to be Queen and
Connie who had endless patience while novices either
walked them round the school or pulled on their
manes! Even 4 year old Aina allowed us to show
tail plaiting and the different Portuguese mane
plaiting styles. Also thanks should go to our
instructors Sue Davies and Lynne Owen for giving
their time to educate us, and Sue and Risto for the
use of the venue.
Last
but definitely not least thank you to all those who
contributed to the refreshments (especially Jane's
scotch eggs) - they were brilliant!
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NEW!
Informal Fun Sunday Afternoons
The Club
is going to start running informal get-togethers on
Sunday afternoons, throughout the summer starting on
the 21st June, at The Old Rectory, Boduan at 1.30pm,
only £2.50 per member.
It will be a case of
play it by ear - there could be some jumping,
some schooling, practise Trec obstacles, go for a
hack, whatever we feel like. Perhaps try forming a
musical ride.
For further info
please call Gay on
01758
721519 or any of the committee members. Look
forward to seeing you there! |
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Day trip to the Horse Simulator
On Sunday
22 March ten intrepid members drove south to Pant
Stables just outside Aberystwyth to ride the
Simulator Horse, an innovative, computerised
mechanical horse which is now in residence there.
Not quite sure what to expect, especially as some
members thought it might be the bucking bronco to be
found at various shows around the country, we were
all very relieved to find that this horse does just
what it claims to do ie make us aware of what our
legs, hands and bottoms are doing when we are riding
our horses in order that we correct faults, relieve
pressure on the horse’s back and improve the
performance of the horse.
We were
given a demonstration by Alwena Jenkins, owner of
the stables, and she was on hand throughout to
advise, guide and show us how to correct our
faults. We each took it in turn to ride all the
various movements eg collected and medium walk,
working and medium trot, working and medium canter,
and flying changes, leg yield, shoulder in, half
pass, passage and piaffe for the more adventurous.
Once we had mastered the gaits, all the time
watching on a large screen what our bodies were
doing on the horse and where we were putting
pressure on, through our seat, legs and hands, and
rectifying faults if possible by becoming lighter in
our aids and more balanced, we then were able to
“ride” into an arena on the screen in front of us
and do various school movements. We soon found out
that this was not as easy as it seemed – too much
use of the reins and the horse immediately halted;
legs in the wrong place and the movements were
impossible to do (there were three sensors on his
sides – on the girth for forward movement, just
behind the girth for lateral work, and further back
for canter aids, flying changes etc). Then we could
“ride” him out into the country, through trees etc
which allowed us to feel the more forward movements
without having to negotiate the corners of the
school. All this provided many hilarious moments -
legs on too hard and we were suddenly doing medium
trot instead of collected walk, too much hand
produced unorthodox halts and too much swinging of
legs produced unasked-for changes of leg in canter.
especially as we all tried to use our voices to
influence the “horse” and couldn’t resist giving it
a pat when we had got a movement right or as we
finished.
This is
certainly a tool that will help fine tune an
experienced rider, give a rider a feel for trying
out new movements or help a beginner or happy hacker
make sure that when they are on board a horse they
are doing everything possible to make it a pleasant
experience for both themselves and their horse.
Many thanks
to Eleri Roberts and Sue Aaltonen for driving us
there.
More Photos
on the photo gallery........ |
