Progressive Horse Riding Centre In The Heart Of Staffordshire

I can barely believe we are now in 2015. Last year seemed to go by in a complete blur.

There have been a few changes at home towards the latter part of the year:- Delamai has moved to a new home, Lottie and Ferdie are both recovering from injury, and we have one or two new horses and liveries.

Later this month we should hear whether our plans for a covered arena have been passed or not... could be very exciting if we are successful, (and very disappointing if we are not).

I'm sure you will all want to know why I sold Dela, and I have to say it was a difficult decision, but at the end of two years of hard work, some days it felt really difficult to get a genuine forward reaction to my (admittedly quite short) leg, and i knew in my heart of hearts that we would struggle to compete at the level I wanted to without that.

She is very settled in her new home, and much loved by her new owner. I really wish her every success, and I look forward to following her progress.

So, that leaves me looking for a new horse to bring on and compete, which is both nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time. I will keep you informed as the search goes on...

On the coaching front, it has been a great year. We have literally had riders at every level.

We seem to have had an influx of men wanting to learn to ride (maybe husbands / boyfriends coming to terms with a 'if you can't beat them join them' philosophy!) and lots of new junior riders too.

At the other end of the scale, we have had an advanced dressage rider from Australia, some UK advanced level riders, a BHSI who is getting interested in biomechanics, lots of event riders at all levels and my lovely young show jumping rider, Stephanie Platts, has started her International career and gained her first world cup ranking points.

I think as a coach, the more challenging horses are also the most rewarding. Recently, two horses have really made me trust my instincts that simply working on the riders' biomechanics just wasn't going to quite do it.

The first horse was a lovely warmblood horse, who was reluctant to go forwards on one rein, after two lessons I recommended a referral to the vet which showed that there was a physical cause for the horses behaviour. Although he never showed lame in a lesson, he had some quite quirky crookedness going on through his ribcage, which struck me as a 'protective' pattern. I have to say that also, the horse was kind and generous in every other way, and the owner reported that forwardness had not been a problem as a younger horse.

It is really difficult to tell a rider that you think there is a problem, but I think this rider already had her suspicions, and I think there was actually a sense of relief that there was a reason for his seemingly 'nappy' behaviour.

Back when I became a full time coach, I did a deal with myself that I would always do my job with honesty and integrity, even if my words were upsetting and unpopular.

Then, you have a responsibility to support and help the poor rider whose world you have just tipped on it's head. I sometimes feel like an expert in helping to make the most of the compromised horse. Of course, I hope that the riders who work with me can see what I am trying to do for them, with advice on alternative treatments, feed supplements and training techniques, not just that I am helping them spend their hard earned cash!

More than anything though, I hope that there is a number of horses 'on my books' around the world whispering a quiet 'thank you - my life is a little easier'.

That brings me to the second horse, a lovely jumping mare who competes at local level. Her owner has worked incredibly hard over the last 9 months on her own biomechanics, and has made some remarkable changes to the horse through doing this.

However, the horse still had frequent head tossing and a very high head carriage. She also had a very fussy mouth. Various bits had been tried, but a few weeks ago I suggested we try a bitless bridle. The transformation was absolutely stunning! The work wasn't just good, it was stunning! Really correct, over the back and 'through' to both reins. I hope this combination can take these changes onto the flat into their jumping work. I'll keep you posted!

A little lateral thinking can go a long way it seems! Don't be afraid to do something different, experiment with new ideas, and above all listen to your horse.

Happy riding!