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!

Solitaire Dressage Camp

I had another great weekend working with some of the Solitaire Riders and would like to extend special thanks to the team at Higgidy for supplying us with delicious quiches to help feed the riders and their supporters! Special thanks to Tracey at Midway Media for the photo shoot and live lesson filming- do contact Tracey to discuss professional filming at your event.
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."

On Location

We have had a busy few weeks with Freddie playing his part modelling with Vivian Chang. Fred also travelled with us to the Higgidy Quiche headquarters where we collected essential supplies for the second Solitaire Dressage Camp. We stopped off at the beach too though Fred was not impressed with the waves. By the time we returned home to prepare for camp Fred retreated for a well deserved nap!
I enjoyed our beach walk and as luck would have it found an old penny, this struck a chord with me- my grandfather had collected old pennies and the odds of stumbling across one on a stony beach particularly when I was not looking would have been long - a poignant moment bringing with it fond memories.

Ten things we miss about you...

Darling Archie, no more pain my boy, we are all grieving and holding on tight to the wonderful memories and character you shared. Miss you madly.
1) miss you pattering around the house to signal morning and making eye contact , tilting your head wagging your tail.
2) miss you sharing the chair, ears up waiting for the day to begin.
3) miss you sitting by the washing machine telling us its time to go outside and hang it on the line , the grin on your face as you mooched about setting up diversions for Fred to chase rabbits or toads or other mischief.
4) miss you bouncing a ball asking us to play
5) miss you waiting by the door whilst we do morning stables and your excitement when we come back in.
6) miss you in the car, your GPS telling us if we make a wrong turning and oh how many journeys you knew and travelled with us- listening to Bryan if you got fed up, stopping along the way if you spied a park or w you fancied...
7) miss you explaining to Fred that everything would be ok no matter what and giving us the same reassurance - a heavy weight on your shoulders at times I know - thank you little man
8) miss you woofing in a car park to guide us back when we forget where we parked
9) miss you on the yard at evening stables and bouncing along at last walk before bedtime
10) miss you everywhere all the time - you are cherished and loved and here still in our hearts- we have been growing flowers and you have pottered around the pots sniffing and waiting for flowers-a poppy bloomed this morning cue more tears though the desperate feelings are less sharp and the happy warmth and courage you gave me is returning just as though you were here, snuffling reassuring letting me know all would be well. Miss you Archie x