Sitting the Trot

               All of my life I have worked, watched, practiced and improved my sitting trot. Sitting did not come naturally to me and it was many hours in the saddle before I really start to understand how to move with the horse and then influence the horse from this place. My belief is that being able to move with the horse is a priority. Understanding how the horse moves naturally is possibly a prerequisite to this. Having an interest in the horse's comfort and freedom to move will also direct one to want to learn how to sit properly. 

                On one of my early trips to Europe I was extremely surprised to see some top competitors actually standing slightly in the stirrups when crossing the diagonal in extended trot. I was shocked that these elite riders did not even try to sit these phenomenal gaits. It was almost imperceivable, but it was happening. Yet there were plenty of top riders sitting fluently and beautifully to these amazing gaits, so I continued my quest to do the same.

                Teaching people to sit is one of the hardest things I have to do. Especially since the word Lunge in America has become a bad word. I believe that learning to sit on the lunge line with a trainer that truly understands what is happening in the horse's body, and then in the student's body is imperative to success. The rider must not have the reins to balance on and there must be someone controlling the pace of the horse.

                  So, now we propose to make it optional for people to sit the extended and medium paces up to 4 th level in America. 

                  I am 100% in agreement that this will be kinder to the horses. I am also in agreement that there is a very high percentage of people competing that cannot sit. However, where if anywhere, is this reflected in the scores, placings or even the ability for people to enter a class?

                  Saddles have become so restrictive that those of us who do move with the horses cannot! in one of these ultra deep saddles with knee blocks made for someone going to battle. People who cannot ride a horse through are allowed to put a double bridle on and enter 3 rd level. Renvers was removed from 2 nd level because the judges were tired of giving low marks.

                  Yes, dressage needs to survive. Honestly, we need to create shows that are more interesting, easier to enter and possibly on a grass roots level less expensive. We need to train the horses to be safe so that riders do not need to be scared of spectators and golf carts. I see more people at dressage shows out of control, because they are scared of disrupting the perfect neck posture, than at jumping and eventing competitions. We are meant to be training horses, not making pretend when we can't stop or steer. 

                  I believe that posting to the trot in upper levels should be a different division. I do not look down on this in anyway, and you never know, perhaps I will have a horse that needs it or someday my back will be such that I need it.

                  However, I believe that instructors need to teach people how to sit properly. I believe instructors need to know there is a progression of the seat (and maybe new judges too). In the beginning of finding our seat, our leg may not feel as tight and perfect as it did when we were clamped on and our hips aren't moving. This is a phase and should be looked at as such, let's be careful not to send people back to gripping. It is easier, I believe, for a horse to move through a seat that bounces a little bit than one that is clamped and gripped on.

                  What is an incentive for people to learn to sit?  For me it was the relationship I wanted to build with my horse. I am not saying my seat is perfect! I still work at it every day. Dressage is not easy. In this day and age everyone wants to make things easier. Students will move to another trainer that will be happy to blame the horse, get the double bridle or even buy a new horse instead of listening to the lesson; we need to work on your independent seat, leg and rein so that you can apply your aids correctly and your horse can work happily with you.

                 So, it is a super interesting conversation. I applaud Natalie Lamping for bringing this important subject to the light. I think it is fun to see the people conversing about it and all of the different opinions.

                 I personally have had riders discontinue lessons, often with their parent horrified, that I was unwilling to blame the horse for not wanting to make extended trot. When I wanted to discuss the seat and talk about how to work on sitting with the movement they stop listening. I will continue to teach this.  I am grateful to my trainers who have taken the time to help me with this and not sweep it under the rug because it is a difficult subject.

                   I have taught in other less developed countries and found that the willingness of  people to work on their seat and how to move with the horses is distinctly different from here. There are some mindset issues that play in and this is one of the reasons I did go "back to school", so that I could learn better how to communicate and encourage people to let go of preconceived notions about other peoples opinions. Letting go is a big part of learning to sit, and this is difficult when you want to be in control!

                    So, I invite everyone to join in the conversation. Contact Natalie and open the discussion wider. Have a view of where our sport is going and what it looks like five and ten years down the road. And what kind of riders can we start creating? Let's learn how to teach better and perhaps use the posting trot tests as a step along the way, but not the end goal.

                                   Love to Ride!

                                              Nancy

108 Ways to Show Yourself Love

 I started a new project, 108 Ways to Show Yourself Love. It seems unrelated to dressage, but to me it is related. Horse people tend to take care of everyone else first. We take care of the horses, students even the dog before we spend a couple of minutes on ourselves. Luckily, being active is a big part of health! And riding and training horses is an active lifestyle. However! there are other things we could do to boost our health, and they do not have to be overly time consuming.

   I hope you will join me in this project. On my Carousel Coaching page on Facebook there is a new idea everyday. Try some of these out! #108waystoshowyourselflove to see them all. I would appreciate knowing which ones have more of an impact, and I will love it when you share with others who need to pay a bit of attention to themselves.

   It is easy to get running these days. We are lucky to have horses to keep us in the present. Take time with the horses, do not overschedule and rush through the training. Mr. Schumacher always amazed me how much he could get out of one training session, how? Because he was willing to dig into the big rocks, the most important aspects of the horses learning and then go from there. When we are in a hurry we gloss over the deeper issues so that we don't have to unpack them and spend time on them. These issues will turn into monsters when not addressed. Take time every day to set an intention for your ride, warm your horse up slowly and thoughtfully and after your workout go for a hack and enjoy the relationship. If you are taking a lesson, feel comfortable to set the intention with your trainer. As a trainer I will come to a lesson with an idea of what I believe we need to focus on, but if I am not on the same page as my student, most of the lesson will be spent trying to get on the same page. Feel free to talk about your problems, goals and experiences prior to getting started so that the time can be spent well. 

                 I hope this benefits you! Please share with someone who might need to hear it today!

Be youthful in your approach, connection is the key and remember! Anything is possible.

                           Love to Ride!

                                        Nancy

    

    

More fun less work!

     We have to remember that every day we take our horses out to work, we are taking them to the gym, and they are not understanding why they need to go to the gym!

     So how do we make it fun for them? Here are three ways to keep the training mentally light while still getting your work done:

                         Have a beginning, middle and end to your training session and be flexible about the middle!

                              1. Beginning is for warming up! Loosen the body and retune the aids. Do not be too strict, be playful and vary tempo, size steps and energy.

                              2. Beginning should relate to the middle! In other words what is your intention for the work and in knowing that, how can you prepare your horse the best for this subject?

                              3. If the beginning does not go as planned and your horse got up on the wrong side of the bed, notice and redefine the work for the day. Ride the horse you have, help him to develop into the horse you want, be careful not to ride what you wish you had and then be impatient.

                               4. Give the middle a purpose. Fitness, strength, accuracy, teaching something new, test riding, suppleness, forwardness, you pick the intention before you ride.

                               5. Be flexible, stay in the moment, if the intention is not working out on this giving day do what is necessary to have a productive day, do not be stubborn!

                               6. The end is for relaxing, stretching, hacking out, praise and gratefulness. Be sure to know what your horse likes as a reward. If he/she does not like to hack, that is something to work on but not to use as a reward :)

                    Vary the work!

                               1. Fitness work can be done on a track, in the field or by utilizing groundwork, cavaletti and even free schooling.

                               2. Don't repeat the same exercise over and over! Be creative! What is another way to teach that feeling or movement?

                               3. Keep a sense of humor when trying something new.

                               4. Within each movement have a beginning, middle and end. This will help you to keep the conversation open, get ready, go and finish. When something is not going well ask yourself what aid is not working? Then create an exercise that isolates this aid. After you feel it is better understood go back to get ready, go and finish .

                     Keep your sense of humor!

                                1. Meditate in the car or tack room (or Bathroom) a couple of minutes to free yourself from work, problems or your last ride.

                                2. Visualize your best selves and be free to chuckle at mistakes.

                                3. Remember that you Love to Ride and do not let outside influence or worry of other people's opinions interfere with your peace.

I hope this benefits you!

             Please share with anyone you think might benefit!

                          All the best,

                                    Nancy

                    

                    

                            

Positive Daily Practice

     

      Hello!

                I have finally decided to start the Blog again! After a fun and productive winter in Florida, I am back in New Hampshire and trying to get back into a routine. This makes me think about Daily Practice and how do we get back on track after getting distracted or having a setback?

                The most important thing to remember is that it is okay to have slow days, it is okay to take a break. We must forgive ourselves when we make mistakes and move on from the mistakes with renewed energy and a vision for the future. 

                 What are Positive Daily Practices? For me this is self-care. The act of paying attention to myself, my energetic health, my healthy body and my mindset. If I am able to take good care of myself, I will be much better equipped to do my job well and help others.

                  Taking care of horses can be time consuming and takes a lot of energy. Training people and horses is all consuming. I have many colleagues that are bleeding themselves dry trying to keep up with this heavy load. I have never ever felt bad about working hard with horses. I feel blessed every day to be doing something I love. I have in the last couple of years adopted some daily practices that are helping me stay physically healthy and have a better point of view as I help others.

         Everybody is different, so pick things that work for you. I am here to throw out ideas. Help you to realize that self-care is not a bad word, it is not selfish but instead it is a prerequisite to success.

                   Start by getting up just a little bit earlier so that you do not have to rush out the door. Start your morning by sitting with your tea or coffee and perhaps a journal and write a bit about how you want your day to go. If you have time perhaps do a little yoga, meditation or watch an inspiring video.

            Too much? Any of these things can be done by simply getting up one half hour earlier. Think of this as something you are doing only for yourself. Do not give this time to anyone else. Do not turn on your computer or phone. This is your time.

                    Another act of self-care is to plan your food! Buy healthy snacks, prep dinners ahead of time and shop in the produce section. The energy you will reap from your healthy eating will power you through your days with ease.

                    I am also an advocate for protein shakes. I buy clean organic protein powder and mix with fruit, veggies and some vitamins to help make up for when I am unable to cook for myself.

                Mindset practices? It is important to have positive self-talk. Start to pay attention to what you say to yourself and then consciously change the recording. It is so easy to be negative about ourselves and our mistakes. What we focus on we find. So always stay with the message that "the world is working for me" and "I can do it". If there is a little blip along the way learn from it and move on. 

                           Talk to your friends! When you find yourself in a negative place talk to your friends. Reach out! It is so easy to hide and get down, but talking about things, reaching out to a supportive friend can change your energy in just a couple of minutes. Know who your real friends are, this is very important!

                  Another really helpful thing to do if you feel down is help someone else. Can be big or small. Hold the door open, compliment a smile or an outfit, or even pay for someone's coffee. Such small things can change the day for someone and this will bounce right back to you.

            I hope that this benefits you! Please share with someone you know that might need a little boost.

                         Have an amazing day!

                                            Nancy

                

                

Comfort Food is not "comfort" food, let's stay confident and energetic!

           I have been super interested lately in food and how it affects our energy and performance. Sometimes the only way to really know what foods are right for us is to make a change and track  progress with a journal or at the very least a calendar where you can track good and bad days.

           Different diets are going to suit different people, and it is up to you to find out what foods help you feel healthy, confident and strong and which ones contribute to low energy and anxiety. There are some basics that I think apply to most of us, however, playing around with eating times, quantities and types of food are going to help you maximize your potential.

                           Some basics:

                                       Eat early in the evening

                                       Prepare snacks ahead of time so you don't get famished during the day and reach for the closest bag of chips.

                                       Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables

                                       Try not to eat processed food and fast food

                                       Stay hydrated. Drink water with some sugar free electrolytes or celtic sea salt and lime throughout the day. Sometimes when we think we are hungry we are dehydrated. 

                                       Plan ahead, shop, prepare, take time to care for yourself

                                       Balance proteins, carbs and fats to be suit your energy needs, carbs are not bad! Processed carbs are BAD! 

           When we have a bad day we often reach for food, or drinks, that are going to help us to feel more "comfortable". We have a bad day so we "deserve" a little splurge. The thing is that comfort food, things like chips, ice cream, mac and cheese are the worst things to bring up our mood. These foods are going to burden your system and cause your energy to plumet, making you feel even more down, which causes you to eat more bad food which makes you feel even worse. Believe it or not it is not the guilt over eating the crap that gets you depressed it is the crap food itself.

           Part of success is the ability to bounce back from adversity. We all are finding out that making mistakes is part of learning, there is no failure, only experience. How do we bounce back from a bad day quickly if we burden our bodies with toxic fuel?

                  I encourage you to change this habit!  The next time you have a bad day instead of feeling like you "deserve" some donuts, reach for some mixed nuts, prepare yourself a colorful salad and some healthy wild rice or sweet potatoes. Feed your brain and your stomach. The act of cooking for yourself, or going to a healthy restaurant and being surrounded by healthy people with boost your mood and help you to feel more empowered to take care of yourself. This energy will spill over into your work, relationship, riding, everything.

               Remember, bounce back is everything. We all have bad days, we make mistakes and life can get us down. Get to know your body, what foods help you feel great and what causes you to feel down or less competent? When we don't have energy we make bad decisions, when we make bad decisions things go wrong, when things go wrong we lose confidence. Keep your energy up! Hydrate and eat to fuel your body and success will follow.

                              Remember:

            Stay youthful in your approach, Connection is the key, and Anything is Possible!

                     Have fun,

                         Nancy

Showing

        It has come up again, in a big way, the impact that showing has on training and on our horses. As I was riding around the arena the other day I was thinking about this controversial topic and what it means to young people coming up in the sport. It is sad to see the horses recently eliminated from a show in Denmark for distressing lesions, the article can be found here. https://www.eurodressage.com/2022/06/11/eleven-combinations-sent-home-lesions-after-health-check-2022-danish-championships

       I see a lot of conversation on social media about how competition ruins horses and mars the quality of training. This is a subject close to my heart. I have had times where the competition got the best of me and I wondered if I really belong in the dressage sport. Of course in the end of the day, it is not competition that ruins the training, it is ego.

       Can we put the two together? Can we train the horses in a way that honors their undeniable interest to partner with us and be successful in the arena? Many people would like to blame the judges. Others blame certain trainers and training systems, and yet others don't even believe that a horse is a sentient being. I think it is all of our jobs to do the right thing, everyday and at the horse shows. I do not know that I would have the same satisfaction from training without the challenge of the show, I do know that I would make less training mistakes without the pressure from the shows. There have been times where my ego got the best of me and I did not handle the emotions well. After too many mistakes I became curious about how to get my mindset in the right place to ride from my deepest values daily and then work to take that with me to the show ring. 

        Training horses is a huge life lesson, everyday. I have a book to write about the parallels between living life to the fullest and riding dressage. We make mistakes, and pressure can push one to do things that are not congruent with our identity or beliefs. Money is a big motivator, and the pressure to keep business by showing up and performing well at the horse shows is a real thing. So, how do we manage these pressures? 

          I am not the only one who has had to step back and ask myself "what am I doing here?" I have watched through the years as people have stepped out of sport, changed their tactics and reinvented themselves. We have all watched as prominent trainers have taken time off, reevaluated and come back with new perspective and much more curiosity as to how to deal with training problems and create more connection and ultimately more points.

           It is our responsibility as trainers to draw a line. There are going to be times when the timeline to an event or pushing the horses to the pressures of age appropriate training is not correct. There are other times when things align and a horse moves seamlessly through stages of training and is in the winners circle. Of course age and wisdom help us to make these decisions. Success creates the respect to be able to make appropriate decisions and in doing so builds more success. 

           We all see in other top sport when someone pushes themselves inappropriately that their body breaks down. Mentally someone wants something bad enough that they do not listen to their own body,  from the injury they learn the lesson and hopefully make better decisions next time. We do have to push hard to be at the top, but there is a limit and when we cross the limit our body does not function. There is less judgement because we do it to ourselves.

            With horses it is not the same. We are able to use longer spurs, skinnier bits, longer whips to push the horses past their comfort zone. But, we all see at the very top of the sport are the people that are figuring out that when the horse wants to do it, the partnership is unbeatable. A horse performing under stress will not be triumphant over a horse that is willingly and knowingly partnering with it's rider, or will it? It is true that sometimes the judges cannot see the difference. A horse that is manhandled a bit in the warm up, or at home, can still look pleasant in the show ring. This is our responsibility,  to train daily with relaxation and teaching, rather than manipulation and stronger bits. It is our responsibility to learn the proper skills and apply them to our horses appropriately and with sincere appreciation for their willingness. We owe the sport this. Without a shift in our perspective horse sports are at risk.

             In America we do not have a system in place, yet, that asks riders to gain a certain number of points prior to moving to the next level. There is a belief that implementing this will cause hardship to trainers and limit the number of amateurs moving into the sport. Personally I disagree. And I believe that this simple rule change will already make a huge change in the way horses are treated. Success in dressage, in my opinion, is a combination of talent, skill, practice and mindset. Without learning the skill we cannot feel confident, without feeling confident we cannot ride in balance and harmony. Skill means the ability to sit correctly and apply the aids. When we are not made aware of the levels and why a certain acceptance of the aids is necessary, it is possible to get off course. We prioritize the wrong things, which ultimately puts the horse in a bad spot. As trainers we would all have better businesses if the playing field was evened out. We would have more time to create real riders and horse and rider partnerships. I believe that trainers would also improve because they would need to learn how to teach students to sit, ride in balance and apply the aids rather than balance themselves on a double bridle and ride off the program the trainer installed. 

               Why do we ride? Because we want to partner with this beautiful animal that very easily could tell us it is not interested. And yet they don't. They try and try often to their detriment. We need to honor this. As trainers we need to be willing to say what is necessary, be examples in the show ring and not succumb to winning no matter what. We will make mistakes, this is inevitable. I have made mistakes, being to strong and by trying not to be too strong, I have actually failed to teach my horse correctly and in doing so put her in situations that were uncomfortable and unfair. I have learned the hard way how to control my emotions and try to bring my truest self out to the show, even at the risk of not winning. I am inspired by riders who prioritize the partnership and the teaching. We can all look to them for examples of how to work in better harmony.

               We have also seen on social media that we don't need a trainer that praises us all the time, but one who tells the truth. I disagree. Everyone, even most amateurs can tell what is wrong, and most people sitting on the sidelines are happy to talk about it! Let's upgrade it! Let's talk about what is right, and grow it, and then learn how to communicate and teach. Learning how to ride is not easy and does not happen over night. Showing is exhilarating, there is nothing like it when a test goes well. If we go step by step through the levels and teach the requirements, have an appropriate horse and realistic goals, chances are we can have fun with our horses and be kind to them. Where we run into trouble is when we buy an inappropriate horse, find a trainer that is trying to build his business on our success or let the opinion of others influence our judgement. This can be at any level of the sport, if we are talking people just coming in or if we are talking about riders going to top international sport. 

                We owe it to the horses and we need to be examples for the young riders, who are the future horseman. I believe in horse sports. I love the challenge and I know that without the challenge of the shows I would not put as much energy and curiosity  into my training. Let's work together to be better stewards of our sport. Do we really need a third vet check to notice spur marks and mouth lesions? This is completely distressing, and I think we all can do better.

                               Love to Ride :)

                                       Nancy

Forced Pause

       Okay, here it is try number three!

        I am not sure how it happened that I did not post this a year ago!

            Funny that now I personally am on the other side of a forced pause. Yes, the virus infected me last week and gave me some time for reflection! The world was starting to get back to some kind of normal and now they start talking about yet another strain. I am very grateful for the environment I work in. I am able to stay healthy and strong and build a good immune system. That being said, somehow the virus was able to infect me for a short time and it has been many years since I spent a week without getting in the saddle. This gives renewed appreciation for the gift of my horses and being able to live this amazing life with them. And speaking of appreciation, I have a lot of gratitude for my girls Kristal and Shealyn for taking such awesome care of everyone while I was down and out.

           We are in Florida and the show season will start for Blonde and I next weekend. As I was training the last month I had a lot of enthusiasm toward this goal. Now I have a new percpective, it is amazing how a short break can put everything right. I am not saying that it was not right, because I feel that I definitly have a healthy respect for how lucky I am to be where I am and doing what I do. However, every single day is a gift. Every single day! So where before I think I was working toward the goal and having fun everyday, I was still! feeling the pressure to do it right more than the joy of doing it at all. So, body says, you do not appreciate enough, lets take a minute to think about it! And so this week of trying to get my riding muscles back from the Pillsbury Dough Boy and encouraging Blonde back into some kind of a frame capable of collected canter has been filled with joy and gratitude for every minute. It has definitly helped that we have been blessed with incredible weather and I have amazing help to keep me going while I build my strength back.

        So following is a short Blog I wrote some time ago and never pushed publish!

      Enjoy !

  This is an interesting time and I believe there are a lot of horse lovers out in the world that are lost without the ability to make goals for competitions and championships. 

           I started this blog post early in the spring when the virus put all of our shows on hold. For some reason I did not post it. So here it is revised and I am happy to see that many activities are starting back up and we are looking forward to have competition in Florida this winter.

            When your body needs a break and you do not give it one, it will take it anyway by means of illness or accident. The forced pause we have seen because of the corona virus has brought about many interesting changes, some we are yet to feel the results of.   

         For me taking a break from showing for the summer was great. I needed to make different goals and keep my energy and enthusiasm up about training in other ways beside looking forward to the competition. For the most part this has been really nice and a great learning experience.  I am super lucky to have the opportunity to be putting together a new partnership with a great mare, and having time to do this has been a gift. I did have a couple of times through the summer where it would have been nice to go and test my work, but I have had to find other ways to challenge myself. 

          I think we will see some interesting results next year as we move toward the postponed Olympics. Some trainers I feel will have dug deep into the issues that they might have otherwise not been able to tackle because of upcoming qualifications. These riders I think will come out with stronger, with better and more thorough partnerships and true collection. Others I fear may loose track of their goals and get distracted with the fears that are being pushed at us.

            I personally believe that all of us that are so lucky to be in the horse community, and in any vocation that allows us to work outside, will weather this storm and bring strength to other areas of the community that so need it.

               Enjoy your riding!

               Stay Youthful in Your Approach

               Remember:  Anything is Possible

               Connection is the Key!

                                                    Nancy