So, once again I opened up a can of worms with my post last night. Don’t get me wrong - I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU!  But the point of my article was to remind us all ,in this wonderful New Year, to be a bit gentler, kinder, and more forgiving of others in the industry we love, as well as outside of it.  You know, it isn’t the Endurance Riders or the Jumpers who are finding such terrible fault with our sport and raking it over the coals in the media every time somewhat is caught behind the vertical.  Sadly, it is all coming from within our Dressage world, and it is threatening to wreck our sport all together and even get us thrown out of the Olympic Family.

So last night I decided to ask people to re-think the situation before they start sending around petitions to boycott the World Equestrian Games, denigrate top professionals, or call specific training methods cruel and unusual punishment. What I was thinking was a call to calm down certainly sent a few horse people into apoplexy, but nevertheless, I hold to my beliefs that we are injuring ourselves far worse by attacking one another on the Internet than everyone understands.

Here’s the thing; the reason we have show stewards is to watch for infractions and, yes, abuse.  They are trained to understand the differences between a correction and cruel and unusual punishment and they have full authority to bring guilty parties to justice through the use of the system we have in place which includes yellow cards (warnings) and, in the case that the situation calls for it, they may bring the rider/ trainer up on charges. This system has not always worked perfectly but it generally has been extremely effective. What is not effective or productive is this inappropriate public lynching on the Internet, attacking trainers and riders because of everything from a video clip to a single picture of a horse being ridden “BTV” as many call it. (behind the vertical, for those of you who don’t spend inordinate time on certain websites I won’t name) I ask myself why these people do not cry out against Western Pleasure in which horses are trained and shown as 2 year olds in gaits that I wonder what it takes to create. Or where are their chants against Endurance which calls for a horse to go 100 exhausting miles? Let’s not even mention Driving in which horses are tied into both a frame and a harness by straps and made to pull carts cross-country through sometimes very harsh hazards. And then there is the “King of Sports”, Racing.  Two year old horses running as fast as they can, even before their bones are finished growing, all because of MONEY.  Need I say more?  And yet, guess what?  I actually like most if not all other horse sports, when performed well by excellent trainers and riders.

Still,  I contend that the only truly happy horse is one that is eating and romping around, unbroken, fat and with a herd of others to play with. Once we cross the line of using them for sport, regardless of which one, the inevitable line is crossed and all we can do is try our best to love them as we train them in their discipline and think enough like them to know what is in their best interest or not.  But we Dressage people , sometimes, can truly start acting like wild animals which kill and eat their young, and this is where I want to say, ” KNOCK IT OFF!”

Our sport needs more positive publicity, more air time on TV, bigger crowds at the shows, and all this comes from more money coming from sponsors. If we lose our sponsors because of bad press and wild boycotts, we will surely end our days as an Olympic sport and that will be a very sad day for us all. so while you think that it is your civil duty to go on-line and show the world how terrible it is that a rider made their horse what you are positive is highly uncomfortable, just remember what I am telling you and let those who are there on the spot and responsible deal with them if, in fact, there is true abuse.  Instead, let’s wish all the riders around the world who are entering the qualifying season for the World Equestrian Games all the best of luck!  I, for one, will be working hard with my Canadian riders with the hope that Kentucky will not only be the greatest games for them and their horses, but that it will be a platform to catapult some if not all of them and many others into stardom!

Cheers!

RD

Once again I am absolutely amazed by how destructive so many people within our own Dressage community are to our sport. Instead of sticking up for it and reminding everyone that, of all the FEI sports, our is, to my mind, the most horse friendly one of all, we seem to have this group of fanatics who can’t wait to create terrible messages the second they see a horse behind the vertical or in draw-reins. Now, I have to tell you right off the bat that I never use draw-reins myself, and have only ever allowed students whose animals were dangerously out of control anytime the rider was on their back to use them. Still, even this statement of truth does not mean that I would ever begin to ridicule another trainer who uses them without bringing the horse into pain or bewilderment. So why are so many in our industry acting like our world is at its end because someone somewhere is using a draw-rein or, God forbid, putting there horse deep? Where are all these folks sticking their heads that they can’t see that far more harsh bits and gadgets are continuously being used in other horse sports every day, even in competition, without anyone attempting to crucify those using them?

I continue to say that we must all take in a deep breath and settle down. Every horse should be treated with respect and love, just as every person should. This means remembering that each is an individual requiring training which specifically in its own best interest. Some horses do much better when ridden deep in certain exercises or movements and this helps them to engage and use their back in a physically and mentally better way. Others are far better off never to be allowed to be too deep and even are best of when not stretched down as their hind legs learn to go our behind them which is obviously not helpful in our sport. The smart and experienced trainer knows exactly when and where to use each technique that can make the horse a better, more confident, stronger and most elastic animal. Perfect adjustability is what we seek in our training ; how fast or slow the tempo and rhythm is, how long or short the strides are, and how long or short or high or low the frame is maintained for the benefit of our beloved horses. When we are able to control these things through our half-halts, we create a true work of living, breathing art. All of this is beautiful when done by great trainers and riders, but even if it is not exactly to our liking, we need to remember that, other than really extreme situations which, in my life, have  honestly never been about deep riding or even the use of gadgets, but were mostly about mean-spirited, overly ambitious or hot tempered people who took out their frustrations on the poor horse under them. And sometimes I have to say that even well meaning riders who, through their lack of training, balance, or yes, talent, end up pulling constantly and gripping their spurs on the animal’s sides to keep them going, not understanding that their hands are telling it to stop, are more injurious then those recently in the spotlight.

Mostly, I want to remind readers that, for the most part, I truly believe that people get up every day with the full intention of doing the very best they can with what they know. I believe that about riders, trainers, and judges too. I hope we all remember this fact before jumping on certain band-wagons or chat sites. We have so much to gain right now with our sport as we create many more stars around the world and bring Dressage into more and more living rooms on T.V.  The last thing we need to do is constantly and publicly tear oursleves down and impede the positive growth of our Dressage sport world-wide.

Cheers!

RD

Well ,Friends, the good news is that, for all the Canadian riders who are flowing into Wellington this week ( and there are many), there certainly has been no great shift in the temperature for them to have to be concerned about. Not only has it been bitter cold every day for a week, it looks like we’ll be staying arctic-like for the next week as well. So no chance for those nasty bugs northern horses tend to catch when they hit our tropical climate in their first days after the arrive, because those germs are all dead as door nails!

I have been working very hard with all those WEG declared riders who have asked for my assistance and will continue, as promised, to give 150% to each and every rider and horse, if they desire my help.  I also want to remind everyone that I am more than happy to work with any rider’s personal trainer, just as I have done with Cheryl Meisner and her coach, Bert Rutten, all this week. Mostly, I want the riders to know they can always contact me at any time to talk about anything and everything on their minds.

And last, but most certainly not least, is my call out again to every Dressage lover in Canada for your help. I absolutely cannot overstate the need for everyone to understand that even though the great folks from both Dressage Canada and Equine Canada are doing everything they can to expedite the creation of programs and strategies necessary for our team’s short and long-term success, it just will not happen without your support. How can you help, you ask?  First and foremost, we need to raise funds, funds, and more funds! Our top riders for Kentucky need to gain valuable experience and exposure this coming spring/ summer in Europe, and we have created a tour which will go from mid-May to mid-July. The problem is that we do not have nearly sufficient funds to pay for this absolutely necessary trip for up to 6 combinations. Our medal chances truly hinge upon this tour and I, for one, do not believe that riders or owners should have to pay even a dime to represent their country. I know that that is a strong statement, and I have personally spent a great deal of money in the past on tours which were only partially covered by my National Federation. But that most certainly does not make it right, and the owners and riders are already spending huge amounts to compete in both Florida and southern California, and we need to help those who make the cut for the European tour, should they be in need of such support. To that end, we are in the process of creating the “Take The Dressage Podium” Fundraising Committee. If you are in a position to be of assistance to this group, or simply would like to make a donation to our team, please let me know and I will put you in contact with the right people immediately. I know that this is a very difficult economy, but it is also bad here in the U.S., and still the U.S.E.F. has an excellent history of raising private funds for its teams and programs. We need to look at this model and do exactly the same, and I promise this will revolutionize the Dressage sport in and for Canada at every level from Juniors through the Elite International Teams.
This needs to be a top priority for us to excel,  so PLEASE HELP ME MAKE IT HAPPEN!

I look forward to hearing from you!

Cheers!

RD

Every year in Florida we have our little cold snap, but this one is a doozy!  It’s been going down into the 40’s almost every night and didn’t even reach 60 degrees out today in Wellington!  Now, I know what you are thinking if you live anywhere in the northern part of the U.S.A or in Canada - “You Floridians are wimps and just don’t know how good you have it!” 

And you are right, but the fact is that we also don’t normally have the clothes you guys are accustomed to wearing to fight off the elements and while a day or two of this is sort of nice to break up the boredom, anything over a week is just plain grounds for asking for our money back, at least a little!  It’s akin to false advertising, really.  We pay what amounts to a rediculous  sum of money each year ostensibly to ride and generally bask in the warm sunshine, and that’s exactly what we expect to do.  So if I and all the rest of us living in the South Florida area want to whine about feeling cold and not wanting to go outside until it changes back to our normal summery winter, then sorry but you are just going to have to deal with it.

Or you could just click the minimize button and log ou……………..

Sorry I’ve been gone a few days but it’s been non-stop since new Year’s Eve. Once we celebrated my Mom’s 82nd birthday, we joined our friends who were already staying in our apartment in Miami Beach and prepared for a little get together at our place for, say, 20. Last year, we invited around 60 people and hired a bartender and bought a huge amount of liquor and food. So, only around 25 friends came and so this year we thought better and only invited the people we knew would come. Naturally, we had around 60 people show up. But we still had a great time and everyone enjoyed themselves a lot as we watched the fireworks both on the beach as well as from Miami from our balcony. Even Simon seemed to have a good time making sure everyone knew exactly whose place they were in.

The only bummer is that the weather has been anything but cooperative. Not only has it rained, but then it became really cold and windy -like in the 40’s at night- so beaching it has been out of the question. Still, we’ve really enjoyed spending time with our friends from New York and elsewhere, but will be heading back up to Wellington tomorrow and working in the afternoon.

I hope everyone had a safe and very Happy New Year!

Cheers!

RD