Just a little trekking in Iceland. Photo by Ylva Falkenhem.
Ah, the arrival of August, and the beginnings of cooler weather. Honestly, could not have come at a better time, because July was getting old real quick. Did you know that horses overheat up to ten times the rate of humans? For me, I’ve always been pretty heat intolerant (you’d think I would have adapted by now living in Virginia), so I’ve always been very careful in the summer as to how much work I ask them to do, and try to stay in the woods where it’s not a thousand degrees. However, now it’s cooling off and I’m looking forward to getting back to real work with my equine partners!
Events Around the World:
Festival of British Eventing [Website] [Entries] [Timetable] [Live Stream] [Live Scores]
Also…
Definitely ride along with the Mongol Derby here!
U.S. Weekend Preview:
Area VII Young Rider Benefit H.T. at Caber Farm (Onalaska, WA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times][Volunteer] [Scoring]
Catalpa Corner Charity Horse Trials (Iowa City, IA) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer]
Cobblestone Farms H.T. II (Dexter, MI) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring]
Early Bird Summer Event at Galway Downs (Temecula, CA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times][Volunteer]
Hoosier Horse Trials (Edinburgh, IN) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Huntington Farm H.T. (South Strafford, VT) [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer]
Olney Farm Horse Trials (Joppa, MD) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
River Glen Summer H.T. (New Market, TN) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring]
Spring Gulch H.T. (Highland, CO) [Website] [Volunteer]
News From Around the Globe:
Rhythm rhythm rhythm, or at least that’s what I was always taught. These days I start with relaxation, which greatly enhances your chances of good rhythm. But without both, you’ll never master the art of dressage. The first objective when schooling the young horse is to reestablish his natural rhythm under the rider’s weight. The rider must be able to correctly drive the horse in the rhythm of the basic gaits and be able to follow the horse’s swinging back movements with his or her pelvis. [The Fundamentals of Rhythm in Dressage]
It was by mere accident that David Slagle stumbled upon the horse world and the sport of eventing. “I’m not a horse person,” he said, “but I discovered the sport. Really, Elisa Wallace is responsible, as I just happened to be watching YouTube videos and came across her mustang training videos, which led me to her. She posts cross-country helmet cam videos, and I started watching those and thought, ‘Man, that looks like fun.’ Slagle now lives in Tennessee and mainly volunteers in Area III, but he also commutes to North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky when he can. “I have some venues I go to regularly because they do a good job, have good volunteer coordinators, and are fun events,” he said. “But really, I enjoy all the events I attend; schooling shows just as much as a four-star. If there are good-looking horses and friendly people there, I will enjoy myself. [VIP Volunteer: David Slagle]
The wildest blog you’ll ever read: The Day a Wild Stallion Tried to Kill My Horses on the Pony Express Trail
No skill is more important in riding than learning to control your emotions. If you are susceptible to being influenced by the behavior of your horse, get to work. In training any horse, but much more so horses with behavioral issues, you need to remain a neutral and calming force within their world. In this article, Will Clinging explains how to harness psychology to your advantage when training your horse. [Controlling Emotions in Horse Training]
