Equestrian Life – June 2013

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THE LAND ROVER BURGHLEY HORSE TRIALS, 5TH-8TH SEPTEMBER 2013
Get ahead of the game by booking your tickets early and online for The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (5th–8th September 2013). The box office is now open and there are significant savings for those purchasing tickets in advance for this famous international sporting event. For more information and bookings, visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk

POACHER HARNESS CLUB, LINCOLNSHIRE
The Poacher Harness Club was originally started by a small group of friends as a private organisation in which they could participate in driving events, drives out and social events which had a distinctly ‘fun’ ethos, with less emphasis on competitive point scoring.

Although the club has now grown beyond the original members, the atmosphere is still centred around having fun with horses and ponies in a carriage driving situation.

The club has proved to be a good ‘jumping off’ point for complete novices who want to go further in the competitive world outside the scope of Poachers, but the essential core of long-term members still remains the backbone of the club. These core members range in ability from complete novice to experienced, knowledgeable drivers and grooms who undertake their activities with zeal and pleasure. Events are held at various locations in Lincolnshire.

THE SHEEPGATE TACK & TOGS DRESSAGE CHAMPIONSHIPS 2013
Lincolnshire’s popular competition venue, Sheepgate Equestrian is delighted to have hosted The Sheepgate Tack & Togs 2013 Dressage Championships that have been reintroduced to the calendar after a three-year absence.

There were over 400 tests completed during the show and the glorious sunshine was an added bonus to the proceedings.

List 3A Dressage Judge, Alice Elliott won the Open Preliminary Championship in convincing style to take the top points in both rounds of the competition to claim then overall title, riding her stunning young horse Chatsworth Chieftain. Jess Parr from Market Rasen was delighted with her homebred dressage horse Fred who has already exceeded all expectations and took the Open Elementary Championship with another two wins in both rounds of the competition to finish well over 70%. Another familiar face at Sheepgate, local rider Jess Griffiths and her attractive bay mare DHI Blitserlady, were absolutely thrilled to win the Restricted Elementary Championship. Victoria Glasow, swapped her day job as a nail technician to claim both the Open Medium and Open Advanced Medium Championships in fine style. Glasgow was riding Mr and Mrs Savage’s black gelding Abel IV – at only eight years old this horse has had many wins under Vicki’s guidance. Full results can be found at www.sheepgate.co.uk

SCARLETT’S SUCCESS…
Proud parents of Scarlett Carter, who has just started her riding career at the tender age of just four years old, saw her recently compete at her first horse show resulting in being placed as 1st lead rein in the best suited pony and rider and 5th in a class of ten competitors at Sheepgate Equestrian. Scarlett is a keen little rider who is hoping to have a long and encouraging equine hobby. Mummy and daddy are very proud and will be taking Scarlett throughout the region to compete at as many shows as possible with a view to competing at top level in years to come.

THE FOCUS ON THE RIDER’S BODY CONTINUES WITH ‘PILATES WITH SARAH PAYNE…FEEL THE DIFFERENCE’

So are you starting to feel the difference?
From the start of this year we have been taking our focus to different parts of the rider’s body and if you have been following ‘Pilates with Sarah Payne’ each month you should be starting to feel the difference and your horse should definitely be giving you some feedback on how he feels to you and how he looks to anyone watching.

So how much can you feel?
Many riders are drawn towards looking at their horse as they ride, maybe watching the horse’s neck or ears, or looking out for a shoulder that he wants to drift through. How many riders do you see looking up at where they are going? Consider how this affects posture. How much are you relying on watching your horse while you are riding? Do you rely on what you can see rather than what you can feel?

Try this exercise
So now you are starting to feel more aware of your body and how it feels, a very simple exercise to increase your awareness of what you can feel is to close your eyes while you are riding! Make sure you are in a safe environment and are not going to ride into anyone, but try on a straight line first, just for a few strides and see how it feels. When you are feeling more confident with this, try turning a corner and then you can progress to riding in circles. You can have lots of fun changing the size of your circle while still having your eyes closed. You will be amazed with how different things feel just because you have taken one of your senses away. Does this increase your awareness that perhaps one side of your body is not moving freely or have you collapsed on one side, or are you aware that one leg is longer or looser than the other? Please feel free to contact me to let me know how you are getting on: sarah@pilatesboston.co.uk

If you want to know more, try Equipilates, it can offer simple and effective techniques to increase the freedom and awareness of the rider’s body. www.pilatesboston.co.uk

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