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 !
