iea Winter 2016 Good News!!!

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Cecil Riley
5 years ago
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Winter 2016 iea Congratulations! We have made it halfway through winter. Before we know it, we will have mounds of horse hair on the barn floor and embedded in our clothes.

I know I ve been calculating my PTO hours and writing shows down in my planner. In my quest for a much needed (insert sarcasm) winter project, I was led to a small, furry and full of attitude Flicka.

1 Winter 2016 iea Congratulations! We have made it halfway through winter. Before we know it, we will have mounds of horse hair on the barn floor and embedded in our clothes. Mud will be up to our eyeballs and the grass will be neon green. Have you been staring out of your office window and planning your show season? I know I ve been calculating my PTO hours and writing shows down in my planner. In my quest for a much needed (insert sarcasm) winter project, I was led to a small, furry and full of attitude Flicka. Found on a facebook page, and assured to be more than capable of trail riding to the moon and back, Flicka had everything that I did not need 1. Good for nothing size. Who wants to ride something that s 12.2hh unless it s going to go to the Maclay Finals? No one. 2. Wrong Gender. Who likes things that are not only small, but mare? No one. 3. Broke, Kind of Let s think It s 12 hands tall, mare, and it goes in a curb bit, and kind of stops and turns, owner admits it bucks Get the trailer, I want it!!! So maybe a nice thoroughbred gelding would have been a better option, but Flicka has turned out to be an ok investment. She tolerates Oliver being led around on her back and curry combing her knees, a few of our more feral lesson kids have fallen in love with her, and she keeps me current on pony antics. Ex. When one is equipped with a standing martingale to subside head tossing and rein freedom, stopping suddenly and thrusting one s head downwards is equally as effective, and generally unseats the child. So she currently gets ridden with a standing martingale, crupper, and twine grass rein concoction. I m sure she will soon devise a way to evade these as well I don t know if she will ever become the Pony Club superstar that I hope she will, but she has been fun to have around. Who wants a pony that wins the Maclays anyway? Good News!!! I figured out how to make a newsletter. I m still not quite sure why everything is purple or how to put boxes around things. Surprisingly enough, paramedic/riding instructors do not get taught much about formatting documents, so bear with me. Now I need your help Reader submissions are what makes the newsletter. Want a regular column? Want to tell a funny/embarrassing/amazing story about a fellow eventer? Want to complain about the cold? Have pictures to share? Send them all my way. I m open to any and all submissions and suggestions. Otherwise, you will be forced to read my ramblings and look at pictures of my horses.

2 I m Going to Disney World! By Sally Holman Just like that, I bought a four year old off the track Thoroughbred. Don t get me wrong, I was sort of, kind of, looking but this happened really fast. Wistful Silence, barn name Simon, came to live with us in June of I hadn t had a youngster for a few years so I decided to apply for one of the IEA educational scholarships. I was so excited when I learned at the Annual Awards Banquet that I was one of four IEA members to be awarded a scholarship in I thought, I m going to Disney World! Well, it was really Come Again Farm s Event Camp but that is the same as Disney World to eventers! Since I had to enter event camp in February for camp in July, I had no idea where Simon would be in his training. I thought I would ve done a couple of Beginner Novice s by then but that did not happen. Simon was progressing well, but slowly which was just fine. I talked over camp strategy with my coach, Nad Noon. The main thing was to know when he gets tired both mentally and physically, Nad advised. Day one of camp arrived warm and sunny. My first lesson was working on the flat with Sharon White. You know her by her orange, she says it s a happy color and I d have to agree. Sharon s theme was forward. One of the reasons I love off the track Thoroughbreds, they understand forward. Sharon s simple exercise of a 3 loop serpentine really helped me know if Simon was straight by evaluating his straightness across the center line before asking for a bend to the new direction. Later that day we had a jump school with Dorothy Crowell. We worked on my equitation, aiming for a flatter back and keeping my eyes up. Day two dawned. Yikes! Pouring rain! I mean pouring! We started with cross country with Dorothy (did I mention it was pouring). We did lots of stuff that was new for Simon. The big thing was walking up and down a bank into and out of water. We also worked on rider position going cross country. Forty five minutes after our lesson with Dorothy we had a stadium school with Leslie Law. It was still pouring rain but I had a light bulb moment in this lesson. Leslie told me Simon has a very regular, rhythmic canter but it s not very adjustable at this point. It will be in 12 months but right now Simon can only lengthen his canter a little but not shorten it much. So after the jump Leslie had me lengthen Simon s canter a bit then settle back into his rhythmical working canter before jumping again. And it was still pouring! I have never been so wet for so long! On the third day we had a stadium lesson with Sharon. She had us jump a cross rail then halt. Uh oh, we don t halt very well, or turn for that matter. Sharon helped us out by standing about five strides out in front of us on the landing side of the jump so we had to halt to avoid hitting her. She had us start working to improve the quality and adjustability of our canter and start to ask for that adjustability to shorten and lengthen and then had us practice it over a few jumps. Page 2 of 10

Day three ended with a question and answer forum with all three clinicians. We had pizza for dinner during the forum. It was a good talk about supplements, shoeing, studs and the under 25 program.

3 Day three ended with a question and answer forum with all three clinicians. We had pizza for dinner during the forum. It was a good talk about supplements, shoeing, studs and the under 25 program. The clinicians also talked about courage and how they tackle nerves. On day four we had a flat lesson with Sharon. Forward was again the theme and Simon did some lovely movements, working on leg yields and shoulder in. Sharon kept reminding us that we must be forward in all the movements. It was a wonderful experience for a green horse and an old rider. There were lots of good reminders that the basics apply no matter what level. It was also great fun to watch my friends (and make some new ones) improve and do things with confidence that they hadn t done before. Upcoming Events January 23 IEA Banquet January 30 Sharon White Clinic Come Again Farm March 5 Mary Lowry Clinic Dan Hobyn Stables March 19 First Day of Spring Show Come Again Farm April 16 Heartland Region CT Hoosier Horse Park Sally and Simon conquering the ditch at event camp Page 3 of 10

4 IEA Scholarship Rachel Rozenboom Last year, I had the privilege of receiving the IEA five hundred dollar junior rider scholarship. I would like to thank the IEA for giving out these scholarships. As all of us know, eventing is not a cheap sport and any extra money is always helpful. With this money I was able to ride in two fantastic clinics one with Doug Payne and the other with Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Law and Sharon White. These two clinics were extremely memorable and I loved every second of them. The first clinic I attended was Lee Ann Zobbe s Event Camp. Thankfully, the weather was perfect every single day (unlike her first camp). Day one could quite easily be summed up as a large challenge. Sharon White stressed the importance of straightness when approaching fences by making us ride with only one hand. This was a tremendous task and trust exercise for me and my new equine partner, Allie. Mrs. Law also gave me a grueling private flat lesson that day as well. Although, when is a lesson with Mrs. Law ever easy? Day two was filled with fun, and my morning ride was a cross country lesson with Sharon. Our challenge was to keep our reins bridged, and I was definitely pushed out of my comfort zone as my mare had only schooled cross country a handful of times before that day. Thankfully, she stepped up to answer every question and was looking for every fence. Mr. Law gave a fantastic jump lesson as well, which focused primarily on control and position through combinations. Day three was another cross country lesson and a stadium round in the afternoon. Once again, straightness to the fences was key. On our last day I signed up for a flat lesson with Sharon. Here, we focused on having horses that were developing the mentality of being responsive to our aids both laterally and longitudinally. That weekend most definitely left me with lots of new tools to apply in training. The Doug Payne clinic was also a fantastic experience. Doug has always been one of my riding idols, and riding with him was a dream come true. Lessons started bright and early and Doug stressed having the right canter from the get go. This was hard for my OTTB, who had come off of some stall rest because of a bruised foot. However, Doug was patient with all of the green horses, and by the end we were jumping our first angled combination. Little did I know, I was going to have even more fun out on cross country the next afternoon. Doug brought the idea of angles out on cross country as well. Warming up over a small log, all of the riders were told to ride the fence at an angle rather than straight on. By the end, my mare was jumping angled fences with confidence. Now, my mare and I use Doug s tips every time we jump and even in the flatwork as well. If you ever get the chance, apply for the IEA scholarship. While it may be a gamble as to if you will receive the money, it is most definitely worth it. The lessons that I learned over these two clinics will stick with me for a long time, and I look forward to riding with these clinicians again. This scholarship has made clinics like these more affordable, which is a huge benefit for me, especially at my age! Thank you, Indiana Eventing Association, for the chance to further educate myself and my mare. Page 4 of 10

5 IEA Adult Scholarship Winner- Shared Learnings Monica Foley I am so blessed to have received one of the IEA Adult Scholarships for 2015 and want to share my key learnings from my incredible experiences participating in a clinic with Doug Payne and several cross county schooling sessions with Jenna Schildmier! The ultimate goal for any rider is to keep their horse light, forward, straight, adjustable and responsive to their leg. This sounds so easy, but there is a lot that goes into achieving these results consistently. There are so many variables thrown at both horse and rider every day and every competition. Due to this, incredible clinicians who have had experience succeeding and failing at this share their learnings with all of us who aspire to achieve understanding and consistency. Doug Payne, an accomplished 4*rider, did a fantastic job setting up exercises that allowed horse and rider to get a better understanding of lengthening and shortening strides. My horse Mr. Beans and I, currently competing at Training Level, were able to complete the task at hand in the appropriate strides and leave all the rails up, but what I learned was that the way you get to the other side is very important to improve your horses strength and technique. Doug challenged us to work on lengthening and shortening our stride while keeping the impulsion and bounce in our canter. Over time, the goal is to not just throwing your horse away to get the distance but feel your horse come up from behind with power, impulsion into contact. The stadium exercises he set to work on adjustability are summarized below. 1) Series of 10+ ground rails and small fences set 8 feet apart in which he wanted our horses to sit up and back on their hind ends as they navigated through 2) 2 fences set 48 feet apart, which was about 4, 10ft strides in which he wanted our horses to be able to shorten their stride while still coming forward with impulsion 3) 2 fences set about 54 feet apart, which was about 4, 12ft strides in which he wanted our horses to be able to lengthen their stride while still maintaining an uphill balance In regards to cross country, Doug shared his standard warm-up. He typically jumps a few fences straight on and then takes a few at an angle. The goal is to show your horse harder scenarios than what they will see on course. As we warmed up and jumped fences at about a 45 degree angle, he wanted us to work on holding our horses to a line. He made the point that just getting from one side of the fence to the other isn t good enough. You have to hold yourself and your horse to a higher standard, so you improve. He set up very technical questions at very small heights for all levels of riders to improve both horse and rider s technical sharpness. He focused on slowing the canter down to give the horse an opportunity to process the question, but keep coming forward in a balanced canter. Not only was I able to participate in the Doug Payne clinic, but I was also able to do several cross country schooling days with Jenna Schildmier, who is an accomplished 4* rider. She focused on helping me become more comfortable Page 5 of 10

It is important to find a light following hand, while maintaining a forward canter that keeps coming to the fence no matter what the distance ends up being.

6 maintaining light contact with my horse s mouth all the way to the base of a jump even if the distance was short or long. I tend to throw the reins away or clench with a death grip when I get to a non-optimal distance. It is important to find a light following hand, while maintaining a forward canter that keeps coming to the fence no matter what the distance ends up being. Finding that soft but firm following hand is very important as you move up the levels, because if you lock your elbows and grip tight you shut the horse s hind end down and if you throw your reins away, you allow the horse s hind end to trail out behind. Neither of these are safe over large fences, so I continue to work with Jenna on making improvements. I want to thank IEA for the opportunity and financial support that enabled me to ride with such incredible instructors and learn invaluable skills enhancing my riding capability and allowing me to be safer as I compete. This is an incredible opportunity and I encourage all IEA members to take the time to write an essay and apply for the scholarship next year. Scholarship winners Rachel (above left) and Monica (bottom right) representing IEA. Great job Ladies! Page 6 of 10

7 IEA Scholarship Winner Melissa Crider Last year I was one of the recipients of the annual scholarship. I am still so grateful and feel so honored to have the chance to further my education in the Eventing world. Because of this scholarship I was able to take advantage of a few opportunities that I might not have been able to otherwise. First of all, I was able to participate in the IEA sponsored Doug Payne Clinic. I took my baby horse, Red, and was able to explore someone else s opinion of him and myself. Being able to spend time in the arena and on cross country with a well-known rider was an amazing experience. The gist of what I learned is that I was need to quit babying my baby horse. Doug said that if you continue to let your baby horse get away with murder, then before you know it you will have a 10-year-old horse that still falls apart in their transitions. It was also a great experience just to audit the other groups and see the exercises and his reasoning behind his thoughts and opinions. He also got on Red for a few moments on cross country day, when Red was being very temperamental during his transitions and wanting to drop his shoulder through turns. Within minutes he had Red behaving himself and ready to work properly. Apparently us three red heads got a long pretty well! The second way I decided to use the scholarship funds is very precious to me now. I used it to get lessons from Nadeem Noon. He had already been my trainer and coach for a few years and I find every piece of knowledge I gained from him to be very important to me. I have two very different horses that I am bringing up. His insight and guidance has been irreplaceably vital to the expansion and growth of not only my knowledge, but my horses abilities. He was able to break me out of my Beginner Novice slump and taught me how to engage all types of horses in just one summer. This year he helped me adjust to setting my mind back to a green horse. It was interesting to learn his technique when teaching the young horse. He really pushed for transitions and straightness on Red. However, on my more established horse, Marley, we continuously worked on his strength when trying to master the more difficult movements. We had to really put our heads together to create a good program for Marley, who has some issues with his SI and stifles. Over all the education that I learned this year in thanks to the IEA scholarship is priceless to me and I wouldn t change the experience one bit. My only regret is that I didn t take better notes of exercises and advice. Melissa and Marley at Team Challenge, Lexington KY Page 7 of 10

The Indiana Eventing Association Membership Application Form 2016 IEA Membership Benefits Include: Discounted Cross Country Schooling at the HHP, Eligibility for Year End Awards, Eligibility for IEA

8 The Indiana Eventing Association Membership Application Form 2016 IEA Membership Benefits Include: Discounted Cross Country Schooling at the HHP, Eligibility for Year End Awards, Eligibility for IEA Scholarship Program, Newsletter Please check Membership type: New Renewal Individual $35.00 Family $50.00 Pony club, 4-H, student $25.00 (Through the end of the calendar year of your 18 th birthday) Name: Street Address: City: State: Zip: Phone: Alternate Phone: Circle One: Adult Amatuer (19+), Professional, Junior (Jr. Birthdate): Family members or Farm Name (that you own or manage): Page 8 of 10

Please make checks payable to IEA and submit to: IEA Membership c/o Celia Jackson 6427 W 150 S Morgantown, IN 46160 Email: cmjiea@gmail.com Or join online at indyeventers.

9 Please make checks payable to IEA and submit to: IEA Membership c/o Celia Jackson 6427 W 150 S Morgantown, IN cmjiea@gmail.com Or join online at indyeventers.org You will receive your confirmation by . Please print a copy for your records and for confirmation of membership when schooling at the Hoosier Horse Park. A group of onlookers at Spirit s Descent Page 9 of 10

Reader Submissions can be made to Rachel Skirvin at rskirv@aol.com, or via facebook. Please make sure that you have permission for photo use prior to sending it.

10 Reader Submissions can be made to Rachel Skirvin at or via facebook. Please make sure that you have permission for photo use prior to sending it. Thanks to Andrea Baker and Lee Ann Zobbe for photo use in this issue. Now get writing! Indiana Eventers Kayla Spitzer, Rachel Skirvin and KC Paez at Jumpstart HT, Lexington KY Page 10 of 10

CHALLENGING BALANCE TO STRENGTHEN BALANCE WITH ERIC DIERKS

FEATURE CHALLENGING BALANCE TO STRENGTHEN BALANCE WITH ERIC DIERKS Horses and riders at all levels must remember the basics and strive every day for rhythm and balance in riding, training, and life. BY