ICP California

I just got in last night from my trip to Lake View Terrace, CA (just North of LA) where I completed the dressage section of my USEA Instructor's Certification Program for Level II.  Workshops are held throughout the country.  I chose to fly to California to get a perspective on what eventing is like on the West Coast and so that Brian and I could visit the San Jose and Gilroy area where he used to live.

Our instructor for the week was Brian Sabo.  I had never met Brian before, though he is a well known West Coast trainer.  He and his wife Lisa run an active teaching and training business and one of Brian's star pupils is Gina Miles.

The dressage workshop was very informative.  I found Brian to be knowledgeable and personable.  I had an arsenal of clarification questions going into the workshop and he was very thorough in his answers.  I feel that the workshop will make me a better rider and a better coach.  When I first signed up for the ICP program I was not overly excited about going through the process of it.  By the end of the program this summer, not including the cost of the workshops and the assessment, I will have taken three weeks away from my horses and my students, traveling on my own dime.  The workshop days are also pretty grueling.  On the first day we sat for twelve hours.  The second and third days begin to feel like a marathon.  To my surprise, however, I came away from this workshop wanting to take the next round of workshops, the level III/IV workshops.  In early September I will take my assessment as a Level II, or CCI* level instructor.  From my experience in the workshops, the clinicians and I feel that I am more of a level III or CCI** level instructor.  In order to be a candidate for a Level III certification, however, you must have three or more students riding at the intermediate level or higher.  This is not currently the case, but I hope that within the next year it will be.  I know that even now I feel comfortable teaching at that level. 

My fellow instructor candidates were all California residents.  We had a good time together.  I was impressed with how different the farms were from what we have in this part of the country.  The farm where we worked was cut into the side of a hill.  It was all sand, with not a speck of grass in sight.  The property was about eleven acres and was owned by upper level event rider Susan Friend LeTourneur.  She took me on a tour one afternoon.  The front of the property had two rings, a dressage ring and a jumping ring.  It also had a cross country jumping field.  All of the riding areas looked the same because even the cross country "field" was sand.  The cross country field, however, had corners and ditches and banks and water.  To hack, you rode your horse straight up the side of the mountain and then walked along a ridge line path around the back side of the property and came back down into one of the rings.  The setup was very ingenious and even though I have never seen anything like it, I can see that it works.

I am now back in Plymouth Meeting for several weeks.  Tomorrow I compete in my second annual SheROX triathlon down by the Art Museum.  My students Lynn Rzonca and Heather Ferrell are also competing.  

Off to sit on a horse!

Ashley         

Update on the Horses:

DOC:  After three months of rest and turnout, Doc had his first follow-up ultrasound on Wednesday.  His meniscal ligament injury looks substantially better.  Overall, including the ultrasound and the lameness exam, Dr. Blauner thought he looked 70% better.  

Doc's attitude over the past three months has been amazing.  Many times horses, and athletes, go through a period of depression following a severe injury, but not Doc.  He has been the first horse every time I go in the barn to have his head over his door looking at me expectantly as if he was saying, "What are we doing today?"  He has gotten regular groomings and I have used the cold laser and Right Spot Infrared Pads on him virtually every day.  The laser we have owned for ten years and I have used it on myself and the horses with promising results with every severe injury I have encountered.  The Right Spot pads are a new addition.  While I was at Rolex, Right Spot was allowing competitors to use their products.  When Doc got injured they very generously gave me two pads for Doc, asking only that I give them feedback as to how the pads help us during Doc's rehab period.  

Right Spot Infrared Pads are a relatively new product on the market.  They radiate energy into the soft tissue of the horse, penatrating to the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints.  They improve circulation and can be used on a maintenance level or in the case of Doc to help heal an injury, reducing scar tissue.  Ligaments do not have a high blood flow, so using a product like this during rehab helps to promote faster healing.  Their website is www.equinerightspot.com. 

Doc is now allowed back under saddle at the walk.  He will tack-walk for one month and then we will go from there.  I am very pleased with his progress so far.

JET:  Last weekend Jet ran intermediate at the Maryland Horse Trials.  He jumped clean and cleverly on cross country, the phase where he is most reliable.  His dressage was steady but not spectacular and we received a score in the 40's.  In stadium he had one rail down.  I was the most pleased with his stadium round because when he moved up to intermediate two months ago it seemed that the rails were falling like rain.  I took him to Anne Kursinski for a lesson last week and she was a big help, showing me how to get him to relax and use himself better while on a course.  Jet is now qualified for the Fair Hill CIC** that will be in Elkton, MD in October.  I plan to do dressage and jumper shows with him during August and run him in a few more horse trials in September as a final prep before Fair Hill.  I am so pleased with how grown up Jet is becoming.  He is only eight years old and he has had to step into big shoes with Doc being injured.

MONTE:  Monte did the training level class at the Maryland Horse Trials and finished on his dressage score of 37.5.  We placed sixth out of twenty entries in the class.  I was happy with the result, but I still plan to keep Monte at training level for a few more months.  He has the ability to win a class, and I want to make sure he is solid at training level before moving up.  His coordination and maturity continue to develop, and I want to challenge him without pushing him out of his current range.  Last month Ginette Michelet, who was herself a two star event rider, came to visit Monte.  She now preps horses for the track and she was the one who I bought Monte through.  Monte was bred in Kentucky to race, and when he arrived at Ginette's farm as a three-year-old she took one look at him and said, "This horse is never going to make it at the track, but he might make a darn nice event horse."  Ginette holds a special place in her heart for Monte and she was very excited to see his progress.

Brian and I are boarding our plane to California for my ICP seminar.  More later!

Ashley    

  

  

Aly Cat cinches my final USDF Bronze Medal score.

Aly Cat was so good for my student Lynn Rzonca a few weeks ago at the Bucks County Horse Park's Tuesday Evening Dressage schooling series that I hatched a new idea.  I needed one more third level score above 60% to earn my USDF Bronze Medal*.  After consulting with Lynn, I decided to enter Aly in two third level classes on the July 5th recognized show at BCHP.  I opted for Third 2 and Third 3.  Aly is being leased by Lynn and another student, Sandra Stokes.  They are each able to ride two days a week, sometimes three.  I didn't want to disrupt their schedules, so this was a real test to see if Aly and I could pull third level back together in just a few rides.  

Two weeks before the show I did one practice ride and then I took him the next day to Jessica Ransehousen for a dressage lesson.  Jessica has helped me on and off for five years and she was my principal dressage trainer during the years that I was competing Cat in eventing.  She knows him well!  We did a short, to the point lesson, running Cat through each movement in Thrid 2.  Having done mainly training level and first level for two years, his collected work and his extended work were weak and he got tired, but he tried hard.  

The following week, the week before the show, I was away in Boston attending an Instructors Certification Seminar through the USEA.  My next ride on Cat was on Friday, July 3rd, two days before the show.  I knew exactly what I need to work on, however.  We worked for a little over an hour, taking frequent breaks.  I helped him hold himself rounder, and we did repetitive transitions forward and backward, especially in the canter where Cat likes to go into gallop mode (a vestige from his first career as a racehorse).  When we were done I put Sore No More all over his back and quarters.  His back was not at all hot, but his hindquarters and hamstrings were foaming!  On Saturday, the day before the show, I massaged him, took him on a hack, and let him jump a few cross rails to make him happy.    

Aly Cat has now been retired from upper level eventing for almost three years.  The Tuesday Evening Dressage schooling show was the first show he has been to since 2007.  This past Sunday, the day of the show, I had no idea what I was getting myself into!  I told Aly that I was going to work him very hard, but I also promised him that if he was good in his first test that we would go on a hack and go home.  That didn't happen!  As I trotted around the outside of the ring before my first test, the old Aly Cat came back.  I did one practice halt before we entered the ring and he threw his head up and tried to rear.  I remember that Cat!  In the test itself, he did obedient trot and walk work, but the canter came more and more unravelled, especially after the medium and extended canters.  As we cantered down center line at the end of the test Cat did unrequested flying lead changes.  We scored a 56.9%.  We were doing the second test!

In the second test, Cat was more relaxed.  He must have known that since we were going back into the ring there was only a minimal chance he was going to get to run cross country later (one of the key elements, I think, in his unruly behavior)  He didn't have as much power in his medium or extended work as he could have had, but I also knew he wasn't terribly fit for this level and in an effort to keep him "with me" I didn't push as hard as I could have.  His lateral work was obedient and he kept his head down in every halt.  He also didn't jig in the walk in either test, which I saw as a major triumph!  We had one bobble in the second canter half pass when he broke to trot for two steps and then did his flying lead change a letter early.  We continued on, however, and all in all the rest of the test was flowing and consistent.  Our score eeked in just over the mark.  It was a 60.4%.  All we needed was a 60%.  Aly pulled it off!

On the day of the show, I bathed Cat at home and my longtime groom Gina Johnson braided him.  It was just like the old days.  The whole show was a great experience for me.  Cat and I spent the day together and I marveled at him.  I've had Cat under my care for seven years now, and he has been a wonderful horse.  I was so appreciative to be able to ride him again and find more use for him.  Especially during his first year of retirement he would beg me with his eyes and his attitude to be out there working still.  Unfortunately for him, his legs were not going to hold up to the jumping.  He was not happy!  I laughed at the exhausted look on his face after our lesson with Jessica and I said, "See, Cat, maybe retirement isn't so bad after all!"  Although I may quietly do another few dressage shows with him over the next year or two (I think we have a better score in there if he knows he's not going to jump) I think he is now happy with his current life of leisure.  I know I am happy at how much he is teaching Lynn and Sandra!  Thank you Cat!

*For those of you who are not familiar, the USDF Bronze Medal is a performance award given to USDF members who have achieved a 60% or more at recognized shows in two first level tests, two second level tests, and two third level tests with two different judges at each level.  They also award a Silver Medal and a Gold Medal as the levels go up.  

      

Horsemanship

As I was brought up through the United States Pony Club, I started teaching seventeen years ago when I was in my mid-teens.  Over the years I have taught children and adults of varying degrees of ability.  Prospective students routinely call me and say, “I would like to take some riding lessons.”  One of the most important things that horses have to teach, however, is not riding at all but horsemanship.  I write this as a letter to my students.

When you are on a horse, basic balance and harmony is very important.  You learn first to control your seat, your leg and your hand.  You learn to walk, trot, and canter and maybe to jump over cross rails.  You learn to ride out in the open.  As you progress you choose a discipline of interest.  For my students that means eventing, dressage, or jumpers.  As you decide to specialize, your skills increase.

All of these skills are mechanical skills that you learn while you are on the horse.  Horses, however, are not mechanical.  They are animals.  There is an art not only in learning how to ride, but also in learning how to make responsible choices in caring for the animal that you ride. 

The art of horsemanship starts with your daily routine in the barn.  Do you know the names for the parts of your horse and your equipment?  Do you know how to properly turn yourself and your horse out for a lesson, a clinic, or a show?  In the barn you need to know which spots your horse, I’ll call him Pokey, likes rubbed on the best, which brushes are too hard for Pokey, and what kind of mood Pokey is in on any given day.  This is not just about how many treats you can give your mount while it stands on cross ties.  This is about talking to your horse, petting it, loving on it, and making it a more polite animal.  A horse that dances all over the place in the barn is a liability and indicates an owner that is either afraid or doesn’t have a good sense of discipline. 

A daily inventory must also be taken of a horse’s condition and of any new nicks or scratches that it has come in from the field with.  Does Pokey need more grain, more hay?  Does he need less grass?  How do his feet look?  Does he wince away from the currycomb in a certain spot indicating that he is sore there?  Are his legs tight and clean with no sign of swelling?  Is his eye bright?

Next is the tack.  Is the saddle fitting properly?  Is it sitting level on the back or is it rocking either forward and backwards or side to side?  Does the pommel sit two to three fingers above the withers when the girth is tightened?  Is the saddle pinching anywhere?  Many riders on low budgets will buy inexpensive or used saddles, and many of these saddles do not properly fit their horse.  Your saddle is one of your most important items of equipment.  Buy the best saddle that you can afford and have someone with knowledge help you fit it to your horse or tell you what pads to use with it.  If you want to save money, buy an inexpensive girth or ten dollar saddle pads!

The bit and bridle must also fit properly.  The bit must be appropriate to your mount.  If you have a horse who gets quick, you will need a stronger bit.  If you have a horse that backs away from the bit, you may need a rubber coated bit.  Make sure the bit is the correct width so that it does not pinch Pokey at the corners of his mouth.  The bridle should be of at least medium quality leather.  The bargain basement bridles are more heartbreak than they are worth.  The runners never fit or the stitching comes undone.  All of your tack should show regular care and attention.  Dry, cracked leather is unsightly and unsafe.  Also, if you are using a cavesson noseband with a flash, please tighten the cavesson until it is snug so that the flash does not sag down and cover Pokey’s nostrils! 

When I was growing up most horses were still kept at home.  Today, however, most horses are kept at a boarding facility.  There is a whole book that can be written about the knowledge you need to take care of horses.  The chapters would include basic safety issues on a farm, how to assess the quality of different types feed and hay and how to know which one is appropriate for your horse, the pros and cons of different types of bedding, correct practices for manure disposal, how to recognize signs of good shoeing and dental work, when and why to worm and vaccinate, how to discern which horses to turn out together, correct pasture management, knowledge of poisonous plants, how to ship a horse safely, basic first aid ranging from how to treat puncture wounds to recognizing colic, and lastly how to recognize lameness and how to know when to call a vet. 

All good horsemen will be aware of this knowledge and the more involved they become with their horse the more first hand experience they will have with it.  At the very least, though, they need to choose a strong support team.  This team includes the barn manager where Pokey lives, his vet, his farrier, and his dentist.  Will the barn manager notice if he is losing weight or acting sulky?  Will the farrier balance the shoes properly and keep Pokey’s feet at a good angle?  The best way to find out about the caliber of the various practitioners in your area is to ask the most knowledgeable people that you know.  This is another area where price is often a consideration, so if possible shop around.  Also, look at the health and well being of the horses of your source person.  If his or her horses are a good weight and well muscled with a gleaming coat and strong feet, you can bet you are asking a good source.     

Once you are mounted, there is still more to learn in the category of horsemanship.  First, you must learn your horse’s temperament.  Does Pokey get nervous easily?  Is he lazy?  Is he mischievous?  Does he lack confidence when he is alone?  You must understand your horse’s personality so that you know when to be compassionate and when to be firm.

Often times riders set external goals for themselves.  They have a paper chase they would like to go on or a certain show they would like to attend.  Sometimes they would like to move up a level.  The good horseman lays out a six to eight week plan leading up to this event.  This plan includes an honest assessment of where you and Poky are now in your skill level and what skills are imperative to solidify before the big day.  Is Pokey capable of the next level?  Are you?  This is always a good thing to talk honestly about with your instructor.  The six to eight-week plan should also include how to get Pokey to the appropriate level of fitness.  Horses are not like automobiles.  It is not a matter of putting gasoline in the engine to make it run when you want to go somewhere.  If you are planning to go on an all day ride as your goal, you need to formulate a gradual plan to build Pokey up to that level of endurance. 

Although there are often wonderful crescendos where goals are met or exceeded, sometimes goals cannot be met.  This too is a lesson in horsemanship.  Sometimes the hard truth is that a rider is not yet ready to move up a level, or may never be.  Sometimes a rider must face the fact that she is not mounted on the correct horse for her.  Other times, even with the best care possible, Pokey will go lame.  One of the best lessons horses teach us is humility.  With horses it is inevitable that at least part of the time our goals and our desires will not be met, or will not be met on the date and time that we want them to be met.  It is at these times that we must remember why we chose riding in the first place and not a myriad of other sports.  It is the horsemanship element of riding that makes it a special sport.  Horsemanship teaches us accountability towards ourselves and responsibility towards our animal.  Horsemanship teaches us generosity and gratitude, for in our mounts we see the power, beauty, athleticism, and peacefulness that they are so kindly willing to share with us.  Finally, horsemanship teaches us how to dig down deep because although sometimes we may fail, the best possible course of action is to get up, dust off the derriere, and get back going.  Pokey is waiting on you!           

Tuesday Evening Dressage Success

We took a group to the Bucks County Horse Park last night to participate in their Tuesday Evening Dressage series.  The big fun of the evening was that my student Lynn Rzonca had never competed in a dressage show.  Her only show experience to date had been in the hunter ring.  As I've worked with her over the past few years, however, I've noticed that she has a knack for dressage.  Just a few weeks ago I talked her into purchasing her first dressage saddle and I also twisted her arm to commit to doing this Tuesday Evening Dressage show. 

Lynn rides my retired eventer Aly Cat.  Aly is absolutely lovely on the flat when he is relaxed.  At shows, however, he is not always relaxed.  I very clearly remember one of my early advanced level competitions on him where he stopped and reared in the middle of the test and I had to grab my top hat to keep it from flying off.  Lynn and I both knew that his behavior at the show would be up in the air, but it was also a big unknown.  Aly has been in retirement and he has not competed in any show for over two years now.  Aly also has been diagnosed with mild arthritis in his back and some days he comes out wanting to buck to go into his canter transition.  We were hoping that last night would not be one of those days!

As it turned out, I think Aly was thrilled to be at a show again.  He put on his Sunday Best and was on excellent behavior the entire time Lynn was on his back.  She rode two elegant and correct training level tests and scored a 67% and a 70%, winning both of her classes.  As I thought she might be, Lynn was really excited by the whole experience.  She loved that in dressage the rider knows ahead of time what they are expected to perform, and she loved the feedback that the judge gives in the form of comments.  I see a future Dressage Queen in the making.

I also had several other students at the show.  Gina Johnson rode another retired eventer, Highland King, to first place in the Novice Test B division with a score of 33%.  Holley Russell rode her own Lady Livengood in training level with scores of 61% and 62%.  Kristin Sutch and Ozzie rode their eventing test to practice for the Burgundy Hollow schooling show this weekend.

After Aly Cat was finished in the dressage ring he had another treat waiting for him.  Sandra Stokes is sharing Aly with Lynn this summer.  Sandra has more of an interest in eventing.  After the dressage was done, we switched Cat's saddle and took him out to the back strip to jump a few cross country jumps.  Gone was the lazy, half-asleep expression on his face.  The evil grin returned.  After a few of the jumps Cat careened maniacally around the field, giving Sandra a run for her money.  Luckily, Sandra doesn't take things personally and by the end of the school she and Cat had worked out a compromise of trotting to the jumps and cantering after them.  Fun was had by all.           

Show Results

The past two weekends have been successful for us in the show ring.  Last weekend I took Jet to the spring dressage show at the Bucks County Horse Park.  He scored a 63.1% in first level test three and a 63.7% in second level test three.  In his second level test he won second place in the class.  I was particularly proud of him for producing solid scores at second level.  This was the first time he competed at second level at a show and he was focused and steady.  These scores mean that I am only one score away from achieving my USDF bronze medal.  I need one more score above 60% in a third level test.  Jet will not be ready for third level this year, but Doc may be back in the show ring before the end of the year.  I am hoping I will finish my bronze medal requirements on Doc by September.  Currently, Doc has one more month of rest before he is put back into work.

This weekend I took Monte to the Plantation Field Horse Trials.  He had a prep this week in the form of the Lucinda Green clinic at Fair Hill.  Lucinda's clinics are always a coming of age experience for my young horses and true to form Monte grew about an inch in his brain throughout the course of the clinic.  In the clinic, Lucinda encouraged me to wear bigger spurs with him.  He is not slow, but when he decides to look at a jump he likes to try to run out.  The bigger spurs are a reminder at the right moment that he needs to go straight and do the jump the first time.  In the clinic they were a big help and yesterday on cross country I was glad to have them on as well!  Monte jumped clean in both show jumping and cross country (with a tiny bit of encouragement on the latter at the roller coaster) and finished on his dressage score of 35.5.  He placed third in his novice division.  Next week he will move up to training level.  Carmella, Gina, and Mr. Wetherill all came to help and spectate yesterday and after the week of wet and rain, it was a beautiful day to be at a show.

Next weekend is Seneca Valley in Middleburg, VA.  Jet goes intermediate and Monte goes training level.

  

     

Rad's Passing

I cannot let the day draw to a close without writing briefly about the passing of Lester T. "Rad" Hundt, Jr.  

Rad, nicknamed by his mother who loved the Radnor Hunt, was Mr. Wetherill's younger cousin.  He passed away last week from a heart attack, although in many ways it was a blessing because for the past two years he has suffered with Alzheimer's disease.  He was seventy nine.

I met Rad the first week that I moved to live at the Wetherills' Ardfuar Farm, almost ten  years ago now.  Stacey, the girl who was living here at the time, was taking a few days to show me around.  On one of the days we drove into Malvern to the tack shop.  As we walked out of the shop on our way to lunch Rad was just pulling up to the curb.  He thought about going into the shop to get what he needed but instead he decided that lunch with the two girls was much more fun.  He trailed after us as we went into the nearby pizza joint.  From then on it was set.  I was one of Rad's gang.  

Every year after that when I would compete at Radnor in the three-day, Rad would station himself at my stall, ready to graze or wash my horse.  This was a fantastic help, although it did have it's drawbacks.  Rad insisted that my plastic sweat scraper simply would not do.  He needed the traditional metal kind with leather grips that one held in both hands.  Rad was not one to change with the times.

Rad loved to stay current on the latest gossip, particularly the gossip on horses and love affairs.  In my case he seemed to deem my judgement of men adequate, because he mainly grilled me about horse gossip.  With Gina, though, he was forever in a state of dismay over her prospects.  When we would chat he would say, "Doesn't Genie (his nick-name for her) have a boyfriend yet?!"  Even if she did have a boyfriend he would still press me about this because in his mind the beau was obviously not up to snuff and therefore she still was in desperate need.  Even at his last visit to Ardfuar Farm just two months ago he apparently told Gina that she should "find herself a good Marine."

Rad loved his traditions, including the Radnor Hunt, walking the hounds, and the Devon Horse Show.  During a normal week at Devon he would be there every day in his box with his program in one hand and his score card in the other.  It was only fitting that he passed away during one of his most important weeks of the year, the week of the Devon Horse Show.  

Rad had warmth, charm, a wonderful wit, and old world manners.  Today was his memorial service with a reception afterwards at his own Radnor Hunt Club.  The day was perfect, and absolutely to his standard.  

I hope he rests in greener pastures.  I know many will miss him.  I know I will miss him.