Here are some rider reports in their own words...
Nicola Crowther "A thoroughly enjoyable weekend , set in the beautiful surroundings of SolitaireHQ. A very worthwhile exercise for myself and Basil as he learns to cope with training in different environments, we gained a lot at the time and obtained plenty to work on until we meet again in a couple of weeks at Addington."
Rachel Crook "This was the second time I'd brought 6 year old Indy to Alison's yard and I was very pleased how settled she was and how quick to knuckle down and work.
We have been working hard at home to get Indy more forwards and responsive to the leg using some of Alison's exercises plus increasing the amount of oats in her feed. Alison very quickly noticed Indy's increased willingness to go forwards into a contact as we warmed up so we decided we would start some exercises to teach Indy simple changes, required for elementary level.
Working first on a 20m circle we did multiple trot canter trot transitions insisting firmly on an immediate reaction to the aids for canter. We found this hard to start with until Indy had some encouragement from my schooling whip coupled with much shorter reins. She soon understood I meant business. We then moved onto a harder exercise where we cantered a half 10m circle on one rein trotted a few strides then cantered a second half circle on the other rein. Although I had to use as much leg as I could muster, to my surprise Indy managed to do the exercise correctly albeit not prettily and it felt like a real achievement.
To finish the lesson we worked on getting medium trot strides. I needed to educate myself as to what these feel like on Indy as she is very different from Sebastian whom I have ridden for over ten years. Alison videoed us to convince me that we were actually producing some medium trot strides. I have now got to practice how to get them at home and trust Indy to deliver.
All in all a very good hard working lesson which resulted in a very hearty appetite later for both me and the horse"
Helen Francis "What a great time both myself and horse Rose Petal had at the Solitaire Camp. It really suits us that we can have 2 lots of intensive training sessions per day -we learn more in one weekend than we do all month at home on our own.
I feel ready for our next challenge, competing at the Pet Plan Area Festival, which before the weekend was a bit of a daunting prospect. We even touched on rider nutrition often overlooked by many riders as an important part of their competition preparation. We need good nutrition as well as our horses! Plus it's easier to achieve than you think with new handmade produce such as Higgidy quiches ( which were yummy! )
Thank you Alison and the Solitaire Team."
