Great Week

It has been a great week here in Winsen. Heike was here in the beginning of the week and I got some good help with my horses. I am still working on being able to bend each horse around my inside leg, rather than using my inside rein. Correct bending throughout the entire body really helps to engage each horse through transisitons between the gaits and within the gait. I also worked on some small half steps with one of the 6 years olds. He was super and responsed really well. The timing of my half-halts and the small, tiny taps with the whip was so important. Talk about being in tune with the hind legs.

This weekend, one of the guys from the barn Jens, and I went to Hannover to the German Classics Competition. Heike was riding Royal Rubin 5, or Rudi. It was such a big National Show. She placed 8th in the Grand Prix on Saturday night. We were also able to watch the jumping which was huge, there were over 50 riders. The jump off was insane. They were so fast. I also got to watch a FEI World Cup Qualifier for 4 in hand carriage driving. So cool!! There were hazards, cones, and a make shift bridge all inside an indoor arena (with stadium seating of course). The driving event didn't start until 11pm. Germans are so crazy, they love there late parties. We did some shopping and ate looks of great food too. After the events were over we attended the after party! It was quite the event, the entrance hall of the stadium is cleared out and filled with cocktail bars, a massive dance floor, and a Dj. Party time!

Lesson with Mr.Myners this week! Can't wait to see what exercises he comes up with!

Thanks for reading...

Meaghan

First Lesson with Mr.Myners

Last week I had a lesson with Mr. Myners. He has been coming to Heike’s and working with her for over 4 years. He is better known as the Balimo Chair Guy, he told me this. Haha. Anyhow, it was incredible. He watched me ride, walk, trot, and canter for 10-15 minutes then I got off my horse and did some exercises. First I had to lie on my back with my knees bent, hip distance apart and try to move my hips from 6 o’clock to 12 o’clock. You have to think of the motion of your seat in terms of clock. Then I had to move from 6 to 9 for the left lead canter and 6 to 3 for the right lead canter. 6 to 12 was a piece of cake, right lead wasn’t too bad, but I could barely move from 6 to 9 or left lead canter. Maybe this explains why I always feel crooked to the left! Hmm! Then I got back on my horse and did sitting trot for a few circles to feel a little bit of a difference, trying to move with the motion of the horse and have it continue through my body and be absorbed. I returned to the mat and lay on my back with my knees in the same position but I moved them side to side. Letting my knees fall from right to left and back to right all in one fluid motion. I kept my knees apart a little bit so that I could try to make the switching without tension in my thighs. I then had to move my head to the opposite direction that I was moving my legs. So knees to the right, head to the left. Not so easy. Again I got back on my horse, did a few circles sitting trot, and felt a huge difference. I was actually moving with the horse and didn’t have to use my muscles to stay on. But I still wasn’t deep enough in the saddle to really influence the horse, I was just moving with the horse a bit better. So I did a few more exercises. I laid stomach down on the mat and bend my knees. I moved one knee out to the side, almost level with my hip and had to raise my opposite leg. Sounds confusing, it was. Then Mr. Myners pressed down on the leg that I was to rise and I had to push as hard as I could against it. When he released the pressure it was much easier to raise my leg higher with my other knee extended to the side. I got back on my horse and did a few more circles of sitting trot, still I felt an improvement but still I wasn’t deep enough into the saddle. So here comes the tricky part! This blew my mind. While on the horse, Mr. Myners asked me to do eye circles. Just make a big circle with my eyes, to the left then to the right! I seriously could not do this. I was making a square. I looked posed, Heike said. So I got off my horse and sat down on the stool and Mr., Myners had me follow his finger with my eyes. He made big, slow circles, and then changed it up with some figures of 8, then random lines. It was really difficult for me to follow with just my eyes. But I got back in the saddle and sat the trot and I was able to sit much deeper. My whole sessions lasted about an hour. It was tough work, but truly I felt several differences in my seat. Of course the next day I couldn’t get the feeling back to save my life but he said that would happen. So we will work together again this week and find more exercises to strengthen my seat.

Hope this made a bit of sense....

Meaghan

Meet the Horses

I have 5 horses that I ride everyday and there are a few others that I warm-up or cool-down for Heike.
Charlie II : 3 yr old gelding. Han. Bay. He is schooling most everything from First Level. We mainly work on transitions and little bits of sitting trot. He is super comfortable and has a great mind, not to mention adorable.
Harry Potter: 6 yr old gelding. Han. Big Blood Bay. He is the sweetest horse but a little nervous of other horses. He is schooling 3rd level. But I really work on the basics with him, transitions, straightness, and maintaining a constant connection from inside leg to outside rein. I really have to think about bending throughout the entire body rather than flexion of the pole. It sounds easy but not so much in practice. He is so comfortable to ride, which is great because I can concentrate on my position and am able to make adjustments.
Fien Cera: 6 yr old mare. Han. Dark Bay. She is schooling 2nd/3rd level. I mainly work on getting her to take quicker, more active steps from behind. She has a wonderful trot. I work on maintaining the rhythm of her canter and do some transitions within the gait in canter that are from my seat rather than my reins. This is not so easy for me sometimes.
Coriano: 8 yr old gelding. Han. Beautiful Gray. He has a big swinging trot and an uphill canter. He is awesome to ride. He is teaching me way more than I am teaching him right now. His trot is sometimes difficult for me to sit so I really work on keeping my seat independent from my hands and using my seat to make transitions. In the canter we work on transitions within the gait and walk-canter-walk transitions. He can almost canter on the spot. He is super easy to collect but I always have to think of making his neck longer and little bit deeper to ensure he is working through his back.
Actuado a.k.a Shatze: 10 yr old gelding. Han. Chestnut. Shatze is German for “darling.” The nickname fits him perfectly. He is a sweetheart of a horse and he can give you such a sweet look that you can’t possibly be mad at him. Heike competed him through the Grand Prix. So, naturally I thought “YES” finally a GP horse to ride and practice all the movements!! HAHA!! Not the case. I have barely graduated from the walk yet! Making him work through his back into a longer deeper frame is almost impossible for me, but we are working on it and it’s getting much better! He is so laterally supple that keeping him straight also poses a great challenge. Working from behind up, through both seat bones, to both reins equally is usually my train of thought. He walks for a 10 so containing his movement at the walk is hard enough for right now! I’ll keep you posted…

These are horses are all of incredible quality and are teaching me so much! I have really had to change my leg position quite a bit. I need to keep my lower leg closer to the girth. My leg is certainly more effective there, but has made me feel a little unbalanced especially in the posting trot.

The first two weeks were awesome having Heike and Mayke helping me with each horse, but the last week has been nice with both of them out of town. I really needed the last few days to play with the changes to my position, and get to know the horses a bit better. Having such great training on a daily basis is invaluable but it is always nice to have time alone to figure things out!

More to come on my lesson with Mr. Myners! Thanks for reading…

If I had a dollar...

For every time I have heard sit back, sit up, or back with the upper body in the last week I would be a solid millionaire! I’m clearly learning a lot about using my back and seat to really influence the horses. It’s not easy! First you have to ride forward, oh but not to forward then they are on the forehand, then you must ride more uphill but not slower, just more collected, but with a longer deeper neck, but not with their nose on their chest. Oh yes and you must do all this from you leg and seat, and when you get really good at it then you can use a hint of rein. But until you really understand the correct use of your leg and seat every time you use your rein it is considered to be pulling! Craziness but its all true, so I struggle and I try to have one good moment (be it brief) during every ride where I think, oh this must be it!
I’m finally getting to ride a lot which is great. I am able to sit on so many different horses ranging from gigantic movers to daintier movers and everything in between. I have a few horses that I work on my own, under the watchful eye of Heike and Mayke (the assistant trainer) of course. But I also warm several horses up for Heike and Mayke. So being employed as a rider is pretty much amazing, so far!!
We start promptly at 7am and everyone (grooms, riders, trainers, and working students) feed and clean the stable. There are just over 20 boxes in the riding stable (there are many more in the different breeding stables on the farm), but we just care for the riding horses. After the stable is cleaned we sit down to a lovely breakfast with the “team.” It’s complete with fresh bread, coffee, tea, and everything imaginable to top your bread. After breakfast we start riding. We ride till about 1pm, take a short lunch break and ride again till 5pm.
Of course the weather here in ole Deutschland is somewhat less than desirable. It has rained pretty much every day since I’ve been back and it’s probably not going to stop until summer of next year. Oh well!
Riley continues to impress me! He has had to learn to ride along side my bicycle to and from work. Someone will have to get a picture of this, it’s just adorable! At first I thought I would be writing a terrible story of how I broke my leg on the way to the stable on my first day of work. But Riley has been great, he still likes to swerve into the front tire sometimes, in which he scares himself and pulls us both way off to one side. But luckily those incidents are becoming less and less!
Since I am living by myself I am going to be reading a lot more! So if anyone has read any good books lately, email me!! bmeaghan@gmail.com

Thanks for reading, always more to come!

Meaghan :)

Least to Say its Been a While...

Im back to Germany and back to updating the blog! The backpacking/camping trip around Europe was incredible! Switzerland was by far my favorite! Hiking and taking the cog railway up Mt. Jungfrau (the highest elevation is Europe) was just amazing. The views at the top were breathtaking. Cant beat a 100 foot waterfall as the backdrop of the campground, and being surrounded by the Swiss Alps.

During September I took a much needed break (I know what you are thinking "A much needed break" the darn girl was just backpacking across Europe, but hey the backpack and tent were heavy. :) ) and spent some time with close friends and family. It was the perfect time of year to be home!!

But now I am finally riding in Germany. Who would have ever thought?! Riley (my gorgeous golden retriever) and I survived the close to 10 hours plane ride, plus 6 hour drive from Amsterdam to the stable in Winsen, Germany. Did I mention that I hauled 3 suitcases, a XL dog crate, and Riley around the Amsterdam airport trying to find a silly internet stick and rent a car!! Insanity. But it was all worth it. I have an adorable apartment to myself. Its only about a 1km from the stable, which makes for a nice bike ride to and from work. Living on my own is certainly going to take so getting use to. Its so quiet (except for the German TV shows). I guess I will have to take up needlepiont! Haha.

Yesterday was the my first day at the stable and I sat on 8 different horses. Most of them I warmed up and cooled down for Heike and Mayke (the assitant trainer). Seems I still have alot to learn about the basics. Basic driving aids and moving the horse away from my inside leg seemed to be on top of the list. Then I rode two horse on my own and had some help from Heike. The quality of horses is just insane. When I wrap my head around just how lofty all of their trots are and how much jump the canter has, I will let you know.

Today was much like yesterday but I am so sore tonight! My legs feel like jello!! Time to get back into shape.

Glad to be back, much more to come.

Meaghan :)