Hey Everyone,
I know its been a while, but I am back from an awesome three weeks at home and ready to get back to riding! I will be better about blogging I promise! Home was great, I got to see lots of friends and family, eat way to much delicious food, and enjoy Boston and the beach!
My flight back was terrible. I couldn't sleep on the first 6 hour flight to Amsterdam, then I had to hang around Amsterdam Airport for 5 hours waiting for my connection flight to Hannover. I almost missed my connection because I was sleeping!! The nice steward lady woke me up! Thank goodness! Then the turbulance on the flight was so bad that people were screaming, breathing out of paper bags and stuff fell from the overhead bins! I am glad I don't have to fly for a while!!
Exciting news! Before the end of the month I should have my website www.MTBdressage.com up and running! While I was home both my parents and several friends put in an enormous effort to get it started! Thank you all so much! Can't wait to see what you think!
More exciting news! Eliza Sydnor is coming to visit me and other good friend Eiren and we are going to watch the World Young Horse Championships in Verden!!
I am working on putting some pictures up like I used too, but for some reason all the pictures that I upload come up as a large red X! So I am investigating that issue!!
-Meaghan
Monday, July 12, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Struggling and Balance
So the last few weeks I have been struggling! I have been trying to sit so straight and so still that almost every muscle in my body aches. Ms. Kemmer has been on me about really turning the horses outside shoulder. Sounds easy, but as I am turning the outside shoulder my horse inevitably falls the inside front leg. I know that I need to make my horse use their inside hind leg to carry and push more of their weight, but its HARD! I always end up using way to much inside rein to make the turn and end up falling a little bit to the outside with my seat, but when I try to make corrections to my position and seat I make too large of an adjustment and then I throw my horse way off balance! Ahhh it’s a vicious circle. So every day I concentrate on staying straight, in the center on my horse, and using small invisible aids to guide my horses! Easier said than done and the real kicker is that I know all this! I completely understand the theory and basic principals but making my body comply is so much harder. I also struggle a lot with what is enough and what is too little. Sometimes I feel like I am way to easy on my horses and I should demand a little more from them because really that’s the only way we are going to move forward, but then some days I feel like I am pushing them over the edge and its information overload and too much for them to handle! What it really boils down to is that everything is about balance. Balance, balance, balance!! So my plan is to keep on trying to make my body do what my mind tells it to do while I am in the saddle and then I think I need to start taking a YOGA class. That’s all about balance and centering yourself, right! New plan: Yoga!! I will keep you updated!
Thanks for Reading:
Meaghan
Thanks for Reading:
Meaghan
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Major Break Through!
Over the past two weeks I have discovered the key to riding! Ok well, not the absolute key but let's just say a key part to developing my seat further. I have always had a problem with hunching my shoulders. When everything is good nice and easy (aka I'm not really riding) then I can sit on the horse with my shoulders back and in great posture, but in the moment when I actually need to stay straight and strong in my upper body, I hunch my shoulders, fall a little bit forward and probably pull on the right rein! But now I have discovered the little area in the upper body known as the sternum. Yes, I know it has always been there but FINALLY I have started to use it! Keeping good posture and sitting straight really has nothing to do with my shoulders, I just have to remember to keep my sternum up and open. Each rib has to be separated! Seriously, it sounds crazy but really this has helped my seat tremendously. The action, motion, swinging movements (whatever you what to call it) of the horse's body has to flow through your seat and be absorbed without collapsing like a ragdoll. I use to try to keep my hips, legs, and seat so steady that I was absorbing all the movement in the upper part of my rib cage, making my sitting trot look like a slow moving wave, peaking right under my shoulder blades. But now that I have started to constantly remind myself of my sternum I have been able to absorb the movements throughout my entire body with the majority of it in the hips. This has made sitting the trot SOOO much easier. When I look in the mirror I really look as it I am finally moving with the horse as opposed to the flapping passenger. Now if I could only figure out how to give an aid at the same moment! Guess I need to save something for next week! Hahaha.
Hope everyone is enjoying some Spring weather!!!
-Meaghan
Hope everyone is enjoying some Spring weather!!!
-Meaghan
Friday, April 2, 2010
More Meyners Exercises
These are a few of the exercises that I worked on this week with Mr.Meyners.
1: 6-12 (Like the numbers on clock)
Lay on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the ground, and rotate your pelvis forward (6) and back (12). Try to alternate the speed and the height or intensity of each movement, but try to keep the exercise in motion.
2. Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Stretch your arms out to either side, shoulder length. Place one ankle on the other knee and let your knees fall from one side to the other while turning the head from one direction to the other.
3. Lay on your right/left side with your arm stretched out above your head, your head lying on your arm, legs long, and your pelvis at a 90 degree angle to the ground (this is the most important part). Lift both your upper body and lower body off the ground just for a few seconds, then rest and repeat. It is most important to keep your pelvis at a 90 degree angle to the ground, do not fall forward or backwards. It is better to repeat this exercise only a few times then switch sides. It more important to do it 5 times correctly than 10 times poorly.
To increase this exercise try to lift lower and upper body off the ground and then raise one leg higher up (separate your leg). If you are on the right side it is your left leg that you raise. Then lower your left leg back to the right one then back to the ground, don’t collapse on a heap in the floor. Make slow controlled movements.
4. Lay on your back with your arms stretched over your head and your legs long. Try to rise your upper body and lower body slowly and of equal height. If you are stronger with your lower abs don’t raise your legs rather than your upper can go, and vice versa. Repeat this same exercise while lying on your back.
5. Sit upright with your legs out in front of you in a triangle, with your pelvis as the tip of the triangle. Keep your legs long. Roll backwards onto your back and bring your legs over your head to touch the ground behind your head, then roll forward, legs back on the ground in front of your like a triangle and reach forward with upper body and arms. Don’t raise your shoulders to stretch further, just go as far as possible with your arms and upper body. Keep breathing and try to keep this a fluid motion, trying to heave your legs over your head and letting then mash down on the ground. (This is what happened on my first)
Each of these exercises should aid in suppleness and bringing together the right and left side of the body. Also the rotation of the head in the opposite direction as the legs aids in better coordination of the diagonal aids
6. To deepen your seat, sit either in the saddle or on a hard stool and have someone stand in front of you and make all different size circles (in all directions) with their finger. Try to follow their finger with only your eyes. Don’t move your head. It sounds crazy but it really works!
Have fun trying to make sense of these exercises. If anyone has any questions feel free to email me. They can be confusing!!
Good Luck and Viel Spass!!! (Have Fun)
-Meaghan
1: 6-12 (Like the numbers on clock)
Lay on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the ground, and rotate your pelvis forward (6) and back (12). Try to alternate the speed and the height or intensity of each movement, but try to keep the exercise in motion.
2. Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Stretch your arms out to either side, shoulder length. Place one ankle on the other knee and let your knees fall from one side to the other while turning the head from one direction to the other.
3. Lay on your right/left side with your arm stretched out above your head, your head lying on your arm, legs long, and your pelvis at a 90 degree angle to the ground (this is the most important part). Lift both your upper body and lower body off the ground just for a few seconds, then rest and repeat. It is most important to keep your pelvis at a 90 degree angle to the ground, do not fall forward or backwards. It is better to repeat this exercise only a few times then switch sides. It more important to do it 5 times correctly than 10 times poorly.
To increase this exercise try to lift lower and upper body off the ground and then raise one leg higher up (separate your leg). If you are on the right side it is your left leg that you raise. Then lower your left leg back to the right one then back to the ground, don’t collapse on a heap in the floor. Make slow controlled movements.
4. Lay on your back with your arms stretched over your head and your legs long. Try to rise your upper body and lower body slowly and of equal height. If you are stronger with your lower abs don’t raise your legs rather than your upper can go, and vice versa. Repeat this same exercise while lying on your back.
5. Sit upright with your legs out in front of you in a triangle, with your pelvis as the tip of the triangle. Keep your legs long. Roll backwards onto your back and bring your legs over your head to touch the ground behind your head, then roll forward, legs back on the ground in front of your like a triangle and reach forward with upper body and arms. Don’t raise your shoulders to stretch further, just go as far as possible with your arms and upper body. Keep breathing and try to keep this a fluid motion, trying to heave your legs over your head and letting then mash down on the ground. (This is what happened on my first)
Each of these exercises should aid in suppleness and bringing together the right and left side of the body. Also the rotation of the head in the opposite direction as the legs aids in better coordination of the diagonal aids
6. To deepen your seat, sit either in the saddle or on a hard stool and have someone stand in front of you and make all different size circles (in all directions) with their finger. Try to follow their finger with only your eyes. Don’t move your head. It sounds crazy but it really works!
Have fun trying to make sense of these exercises. If anyone has any questions feel free to email me. They can be confusing!!
Good Luck and Viel Spass!!! (Have Fun)
-Meaghan
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Melting Marshmellow vs. Magic Meaghan
Hello Everyone,
There is actually a good excuse for the serious lack of blogging over the past 5 months (I can't believe it has been that long). I have had NO internet. Can you imagine!! I live in a tiny, yet extremely cute little village! The cable company pretty much had to wire the whole village for DSL, but I now have internet!! WhooHoo! Ok, now that I am over having the internet, I can get back to writing my blog.
Reader's Digest version of the past 5 months: Riding is going great. Getting my butt kicked most days, but on a few, very rare occasions Heike has used the nickname "Magic Meaghan" and "Dressage Rider" to describe a few fleeting moments in over a 1000 rides over the past few months. ALL of the other moments are reserved for the "melting marshmallow" comment! Haha. Heike describes my sitting trot as melting marshmallow! Not good! So I am working extremely hard to have some positive tension in my upper body, which is only possible now that I have my lower leg on the horse (Instead of the beautiful, yet ineffective "dressage" leg that I once had)
I have ridden anywhere from 4 to 10 horses per day, ranging from out of control 3 year olds to seasoned Grand Prix horses. I have been able to work continually with Mr., Myners throughout the winter, and have made some big improvement in my seat and have been able to file away some excellent feelings of a deeper seat and seriously collected canter with a light rein contact. I will describe some of the exercises in the next few blogs. Some are crazy but they work.
Spring has finally come. The winter was so terrible. Everyone has said that it was the worst Winter Germany has seen in 20 years. So I am thinking of Wintering in New England next year, it has to be better that this insane German weather! Haha! At the stable there is a beautifully groomed galloping track, so I have spent alot of time outside in the past few weeks with my youngsters just going forward and straight without running away!! So much fun!
So I promise there will be more consistent updates from now on! Thank you to everyone for reading and your continued support! I hope everyone is enjoying springtime!
-Meaghan
There is actually a good excuse for the serious lack of blogging over the past 5 months (I can't believe it has been that long). I have had NO internet. Can you imagine!! I live in a tiny, yet extremely cute little village! The cable company pretty much had to wire the whole village for DSL, but I now have internet!! WhooHoo! Ok, now that I am over having the internet, I can get back to writing my blog.
Reader's Digest version of the past 5 months: Riding is going great. Getting my butt kicked most days, but on a few, very rare occasions Heike has used the nickname "Magic Meaghan" and "Dressage Rider" to describe a few fleeting moments in over a 1000 rides over the past few months. ALL of the other moments are reserved for the "melting marshmallow" comment! Haha. Heike describes my sitting trot as melting marshmallow! Not good! So I am working extremely hard to have some positive tension in my upper body, which is only possible now that I have my lower leg on the horse (Instead of the beautiful, yet ineffective "dressage" leg that I once had)
I have ridden anywhere from 4 to 10 horses per day, ranging from out of control 3 year olds to seasoned Grand Prix horses. I have been able to work continually with Mr., Myners throughout the winter, and have made some big improvement in my seat and have been able to file away some excellent feelings of a deeper seat and seriously collected canter with a light rein contact. I will describe some of the exercises in the next few blogs. Some are crazy but they work.
Spring has finally come. The winter was so terrible. Everyone has said that it was the worst Winter Germany has seen in 20 years. So I am thinking of Wintering in New England next year, it has to be better that this insane German weather! Haha! At the stable there is a beautifully groomed galloping track, so I have spent alot of time outside in the past few weeks with my youngsters just going forward and straight without running away!! So much fun!
So I promise there will be more consistent updates from now on! Thank you to everyone for reading and your continued support! I hope everyone is enjoying springtime!
-Meaghan
Friday, November 6, 2009
A Taste of Riding in Germany
Oh the challenges it presents. In the past week I have been put in the craziest situations. I rode one horse that is a big sweetheart but deathly afraid of other horses. First of all it was raining, no big surprise there since it rains at least once every day here in Germany, but that means that everyone rides inside the indoor. The indoor is beautiful with big windows, but it is exactly regulation size, there is no inch to spare! So, I had to ride my horse inside with two other horses longing, another horse hand walking, another horse schooling piaffe and passage with a ground person, AND another horse who just came in on the longe line that was rolling and enjoying himself! Ok, so trying to stay a safe distance away from each of the other horses was nearly impossible. I felt like a ping pong ball being bounced around the entire arena as my horse dodged each on coming horse. Of course, I wasn’t wearing a helmet and tried to keep a serious face so that everyone, especially Heike wouldn’t see how insane I thought the whole situation was. Thank goodness I lived till the next because the next day was even crazier.
As anyone who owns or manages a stable knows, it is a full time in and of itself to keep the grounds clean and presentable at all time. So this past week there was a bit of Spring cleaning going on. I know, it’s almost Winter, but you know the Germans clean clean, clean. They were cutting down 15 trees that surrounded the paddock, which is conveniently situated along the backside of the indoor riding arena. There were chainsaws, axes, and tractors going all day. Each horse was a little tense along that specific longside but eventually got over it and worked well. However, it wasn’t until I was attempting to mount a gorgeous 3yr. gelding from the ground, in my brand new Konigs (that I of course ordered was to tall, again) just how crazy this was! Again no helmet, and I was trying to keep him completely still while mounting, and had to keep the”oh this isn’t insane at all” look on my face!
Least to say it has been a challenging week, but I have survived and realized that if I don’t notice the million distractions during each of my rides then my horses will be less likely to react to them. Of course I have heard this several times and have even said this same exact thing to students but it’s always more difficult to put into practice!
As anyone who owns or manages a stable knows, it is a full time in and of itself to keep the grounds clean and presentable at all time. So this past week there was a bit of Spring cleaning going on. I know, it’s almost Winter, but you know the Germans clean clean, clean. They were cutting down 15 trees that surrounded the paddock, which is conveniently situated along the backside of the indoor riding arena. There were chainsaws, axes, and tractors going all day. Each horse was a little tense along that specific longside but eventually got over it and worked well. However, it wasn’t until I was attempting to mount a gorgeous 3yr. gelding from the ground, in my brand new Konigs (that I of course ordered was to tall, again) just how crazy this was! Again no helmet, and I was trying to keep him completely still while mounting, and had to keep the”oh this isn’t insane at all” look on my face!
Least to say it has been a challenging week, but I have survived and realized that if I don’t notice the million distractions during each of my rides then my horses will be less likely to react to them. Of course I have heard this several times and have even said this same exact thing to students but it’s always more difficult to put into practice!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
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
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
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