Happy Days at Solitaire Dressage

Jack and the team are well rested after our weekend at Your Horse Live. We had a brilliant time sharing a behind the scenes look at creating dressage to music floor plans and music soundtracks. We also showed how helpful it can be to introduce riding to music to every horse and rider's schooling routine.
The whole demonstration was made possible thanks to Nick Reeve, a professional music producer with an interest in dressage and the impact (and fun) of adding music to create a performance the audience (&Judges) will remember. Nick produces music to ride to as well as creating scores for Grand Prix to Prelim routines that receive high marks and excellent feedback.
I rode my medium routine on Saturday and by Sunday Jack was adding in his super moves and offering flying changes which appear in his advanced medium routines. Space was at a premium and the shorter arena meant he offered some excellent and acute angled half passes. Well done Jack! I particularly enjoyed the live coaching segments with my regular pupils, Francesca, Nicola, Alasdair, Hayley and Amanda - well done team, I was delighted that we were able to give an insight into our training sessions. The Audience asked me some good questions and I was able to discuss introducing music to horses, working with tempo and different musical styles and to share the audience feedback on the process of matching music to combinations.

My thoughts are now with the approaching British Dressage Summer Season which officially begins on December 1st, my last few 2014 music competitions and the preparation for the 2015 regionals. Training at home and with Emile Faurie is going well and Jack and I continue to enjoy ourselves. Christmas is on the horizon and we have some team parties as well as training clinics to look forward to.

It's been a busy month so far with a clear round at the Area Festival at Moreton Morrell and a Coach CPD day with BD Central at my favourite venue Brampton Stables. I've also welcomed new team supporters KitBrix who have helped me organise all my kit for training and competition with their brilliantly designed modular kit bag system. Jack has been testing a few new products too; at Your Horse Live we discovered the brilliant Caviera bedding which is warm, dust free and doesn't contain any of the additives that he is allergic to. Jack has had a long career and I'm always looking at ways to support him, in the same way that I take extra supplements I am always pleased to try new products for Jack when they are from a company I've used before. Protexin have always been a trusted brand and I was pleased to review their Recover Aid. Jack has always used Equine America Applelytes and recently began to trial their new Cortaflex with added Supafen. I have been very pleased with the results.

I am always very careful with Jack's diet because of his allergies and sensitivity to starch. I feed Baileys No4, Stud Balancer and Speedibeet. This has been his staple diet since 2008 and the only thing we change is the ration in consultation with the Baileys Team. Together with good quality forage, a joint supplement and occasional digestive support this has been the winning formula for Jack's high performance career . Along with good grazing and lots of winter layers he is content. Jack is a fun if demanding horse to look after!

I'm really looking forward to the next round of clinics at Solitaire and away from home in Bucks and Northants. For those who would like a freestyle routine our next date with Nick Reeve is February 7th. I'm also looking forward to working with my partners at Elonex to promote Equestrian Sport- look out for new digital advertising campaigns at events and venues near you - tweet me SolitaireDTM if you would like to see your brand on the big screen !

Stable Makeover for Jack

Jack has a wonderful stable with excellent ventilation, rubber matting and a great view from his stable door onto the yard as well as a window overlooking the arena. He can even chat to Marmalade through the dividing bars of his stable. Horse heaven and yet still missing the extra finishing touch that would bring more light to the corners and give him a sense of peace and tranquility. I drew the line at a water feature though he does his best to upset the drinker and dunk hay in his buckets. I read about the calming effects of stable mirrors and was delighted to be asked to test a Stable Mirror and review the impact on Jack's attitude.

The mirror was an instant success with Jack who is always trying to gaze at himself in the arena mirrors at Emile Faurie's yard! Jack seemed delighted to have his very own mirror that is safe enough for him to nuzzle and chat to and gaze at himself! I think he knows it's his reflection because he still goes to chat to Marmalade!

As for the energy flow in the stable I think the mirror has created a stillness, it has certainly created an extra sense of space and lightness and I would recommend treating your horse to a mirror- easy to order and install contact Mirrors For Training for more information.

My Flexible Horse

Roughway Jack is 22 and is still enjoying work and training. Emile Faurie has been instrumental in helping me improve our dressage scores at medium. We start with a careful warm up and let Jack begin to relax and start to connect. The secret is to ask Jack to work with me and not take charge and to allow me to ride his paces in a regular rhythm so that he works in a soft,supple, swinging frame. I believe that there are lots of factors which contribute to Jack's current high performance. First it's crucial that he's happy and for this he needs a regular routine, the company of his friends, well fitting tack, a balanced diet, regular turnout and varied workloads and lots of pampering !
I think it's very important to feed a joint supplement and I was delighted to review Equine Science Supplements Flexibility for Haynet Blog. Jack was initially sceptical about eating a new supplement particularly as the loading dose is 6 measures for his body weight. I got around this by adding in a scoop at each feed and gradually increasing it and once he discovered he liked the taste there were no more dramas.
Jack is certainly on top form, we have started to improve his lateral work and develop even greater collection in our lessons with Emile and these are taxing sessions for any horse let alone a veteran. I am pleased to report that Jack is demonstrating a great desire to work and perform at competitions and giving me a feeling of cadence and expression in his paces that I never dreamt possible.

Solitaire Training - Come and join us!

Have you discovered dressage or do you want to learn more about training your horse? Maybe you would like to compete? Qualify for a Championship or join a team? At Solitaire we love coaching horse and rider combinations!

Enjoy Flatwork with Alison

I can help you to understand the requirements of a dressage test and discover how to use the Scales of Training. Lessons include how to perfect your arena craft, test tactics and how to prepare for competitions and set training goals.

Prepare for Dressage Success

I am so pleased to be able to share the facilities at KTS with the Solitaire Riders and others who wish to book a lesson with me. We have a super arena with a great all weather surface and have a full set of show jumps too as although my current riding goals center around dressage I do enjoy jumping and coaching riders over fences. We have plenty of room to park, a lovely coffee room and stables available for the day as well as overnight stays. There are plenty of places for riders to stay locally too.

Lessons with me include plenty of different exercises and often cover how to include test patterns in your schooling sessions. I show how to improve your horse's way of going as well as helping riders to develop their own position, feel and effectiveness and how to present their new skills in a competition environment as well as when training at home.

I help riders choose which competitions to enter and to plan their calendar to qualify for championships. I can prepare riders for Area Festivals, Regionals and Nationals as well as to film them for Dressage Anywhere Competitions so that they are able to compete at home. I can introduce riders to TeamQuest or Riding Club Team competitions and coach privately or in group sessions. I can also help riders prepare for Freestyle Competition by working with them to choreograph routines and recommend music producers who will create winning soundtracks.

I look forward to welcoming horse and riders to Solitaire HQ though I also coach away from home in Warwickshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and London regularly so do get in touch to find out more.

Fun times in July

Jack and I continue to work happily together - I'm sure it's the support team we have that keeps him content and interested in his ridden work and training. The storms have passed at last and we enjoyed the summer sunshine this evening. With our elementary music regionals qualification achieved and our area festival medium notifications arriving today there is a lot to look forward to. Not least designing new music routines for the next levels and Your Horse Live.
This week we have had special guests from Your Horse Magazine who came to report on a couple of lessons, Nicola and Laura rode really well and I'm looking forward to seeing the articles and iPad edition when they are published.

Summertime at HQ

During the Spring I completed the 100 Happy Days Challenge with Twitter and I still make a point of celebrating - I have a lot of positivity at the moment having recently moved to a new base and home with five star facilities for horses and humans. Mind set and environment are both important factors in improving performance. I am proud to report that Jack and I have qualified again for the Elementary Freestyle Regionals and posted a personal best in M73 of 69.4% and training is on track with the help of Emile Faurie.
The Solitaire Horses have settled into their routine and enjoy the gentle buzz of the yard as horses are produced for sport and leisure. The stables overlook the arena and I often have an interested audience as I'm coaching. The season is in full swing and we are planning for the Autumn with a demonstration at Your Horse Live to deliver.
Meanwhile we have a full schedule of clinics and workshops in the diary and look forward to helping the Solitaire Riders enjoy the Summer.

Happy New Year of the Horse

2014 is galloping along already (sorry couldn't resist!) and I realise I haven't been updating my blog. In my defence I have been posting on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook in between coaching, riding and enjoying my work. I've had update blog on my list for too long but there was no way I could let the Year of the Horse pass by without reflecting on the last 12 months and looking ahead too.

On the competition front there is a lot to look forward to as a competitor, coach and spectator. My personal goals include setting new PB s with Jack at medium and advanced medium level and with the feel of a new level of understanding I'm enjoying with Jack posting those target marks are achievable.

I am enjoying working with the Keatinge Trakenher Stud, it's impossible to single out a favourite from the impressive family group though I do have a soft spot for Singing Horatio sire of my own Keatinge Paicie and Cristobal takes my breath away with his jumping ability.
TeamQuest is a new initiative from British Dressage and I am pleased to report that Solitaire Riders have begun training for this league with two teams registered.

A side of my work I really enjoy is promoting riders and supporting them though the season. Vivian Chang has a full on year ahead as she prepares for The Asian Games and International FEI competitions. Equetech continues as a leading manufacturer of Equestrian Apparel and the new Equetech Rider Team is stronger than ever with some great competition challenges on the horizon it's set to be a busy season. RB Equestrian are celebrating 25 years of trading this spring and are continuing to lead the way in equestrian retail. The shop is increasing in size and I'm looking forward to the grand opening day- shopping heaven for horse enthusiasts!

I am also going to help promote the work of the Mark Davies Injured Rider Fund. A charity created to support all horse riders and carers when the need it most. The MDIRF support competition and leisure riders and actively work to try and minimise injury through education and understanding. They offer unrivalled emotional support to riders and their families in times of need and practical as well as financial support where possible. They rely on fundraising events to be able to support the Equestrian community and as riders and horse lovers we owe it to our extended family of fellow riders to get involved. It's a fun charity to support too with a full social calendar created to raise funds and recognise that riding is a great sport whilst realising that it has risks and riders need support when things go wrong. With Dressage, Showjumping, Horse Trials, Marathons, Fashion Shows, Dinners and Balls to come in 2014 Let's get this party started!