Harriet & Sultan @ BYRDS

I have just got back after spending four days away training at BYRDS camp. I was really looking forward to going so my expectations were high but I wasn’t disappointed!

The Camp was for all ages from ‘Fledglings’(aged from 6-years old!) up to 25-years- old. Riders are placed into ‘squads’ A, B and C, A Squad rider being the best riders and C squad being the less developed riders.

Unlike normal Dressage competitions the BYRDS system is judged purely on the rider and how well they ride. It is a fantastic concept and one which I think they should bring in across all disciplines and for all ages, not just dressage U25 riders.

The tests are quite simple at fledging and C squad level and become more complex at B level and even more so at A level.  The mark sheet you receive at the end of the test isn’t like a conventional dressage sheet, it is more like a detailed analysis of you as a rider; the riders posture, poise, balance, straightness. Positions of arms, hands, elbows, shoulder, back, head, etc etc. Marks range from 4 (tactless riding) to 10 (exceptional ability) and can be given to one decimal place so it’s very competitive as just point 1 of a mark can give you the edge! The judges also have boxes to make comments on various things.

The format of the camp was Friday – arrive get the horses in their stables and settled then meet up at the Welcome reception for food, which was great, it gave us chance to get to know the other riders and get to speak to the organisation and selection committee. The training was on Saturday and Sunday, with people being paired up with another rider from their squad. Hannah Moody was our trainer for the weekend and I was very impressed with her lessons, I really enjoyed them and found them extremely beneficial too. We mainly worked on getting more suppleness into the lateral work which will really help me get higher marks moving into Medium and Advanced Medium classes.

We also had a run through of our squad tests which were videoed and scrutinised in minute detail by Laura Fry. This was really helpful to me as, having never taken part in BYRDS before I was unsure what exactly was required! I had visions of me (the eventer) sticking out like a sore thumb amongst all these posh dressage riders!

I was thrilled with the feedback I received, Laura commented on how wonderful and harmonious the partnership looked and how correctly trained he was,so that felt like a big pat on the back, especially from Laura who is well renowned for not holding back and just telling it as it is!

Harriet & Maxi Moo

On the Monday there was the BYRDS annual competition, with riders from all over the region coming to take part, all vying to be their respective squad champion, as well as hoping to catch the selectors’ eye for the Inter-Regional competition at Keysoe in two months time. I was really pleased with how Sultan and I performed and I put all the advice from the training and video analysis into action and came second in the Elementary class and third in the Squad test which I was delighted with. To say that Sultan and I have focused all of our training and energies into eventing and have only recently got into the dressage in a big way I was thrilled that we were able to do so well against some seriously talented super powered warmbloods and my little Sultan tried his very best and we were only a cats whisker off the top spot both times!

The weekend has inspired me not only to improve the horses and their way of going but also to keep pushing myself and demanding more and more of my own riding and until I get 10’s every time for my riding I am not going to be satisfied!

The first thing I had to do when I got back this morning was jump! I wanted to reassure myself that I was still an eventer and I hadn’t forgotten how to jump! And I have to say Maxi Moo went very well and I was able to apply a lot of the techniques to him, despite him being a lot greener than Sultan. He jumped very well and is improving all the time!

Best wishes Harriet

I am over the moon to report that Sultan and I have been working really hard to be selected for the BYRDS Team competing at the Home International in September.

We have been consistently achieving good scores of 67-70 % at our BD competitions which has been noticed by the selectors and they have already put us on the ‘A’ Squad for the BYRDS Team which is very exciting.

I am really enjoying doing so much dressage with Sultan and he has taken to a more concentrated approach really well.

Sultan also struck again when winning both the Elementary classes at Port Royal on in early April!

I was so pleased with how he went and I am delighted with the fantastic results we are getting. What is also really nice is that the judges recognise the great partnership we have which I am sure has been built over our many years eventing together.

I was lucky enough to be invited to model the new British Showjumping merchandise that has been produced by the team at Equestrian Clearance.com. They have done a fabulous job and the finished clothing look really cool!

The photo shoot was held at Laura Robinson’s yard in North Yorkshire and we all had a great day despite the very wet weather!

There was a hair and make-up artist on site to ensure we stayed looking good throughout the day which was a real bonus.  It made a nice change to do something different and a bit more glamorous for the day instead of mucking out and getting grubby!

Catch up soon

Harriet x

I was delighted with how Sultan went as it was our first BYDRS training session with Jane Peberdy.

Jane is a list one judge, BD Northern Region Chairman and all round dressage guru!

I have heard a lot of good reports about Jane and so I was very much looking forward to having a lesson with her.

Jane’s training theory was about perfection of the basics. A lot of the exercises were done in walk and the emphasis was on being perfectly straight and totally accurate.

Once we had executed each exercise perfectly in walk we could then move on to repeat it in trot and then in canter.

We focused on having complete control over each part of Sultan’s body. By riding very simple exercises and being very disciplined on straightness I was able to really tune into which parts of Sultans body were going where.

For example we rode down the centre line in walk absolutely dead straight, then we rode down the centre line again this time with slight flexion in the neck to the inside.

Sounds easy doesn’t it! But very often another part of Sultan’s body drifted off the centre slightly as I asked him to flex his neck, so Jane asked us to repeat the exercise until  his hind legs, body and shoulders remained completely in line and the only part of his body to move was his neck.

We then progressed on to shoulder-in in walk down the centre line…. again sounds easy but again I had to keep the rest of his body exactly on the centre line and not let any part drift left or right.

Once you are riding with that amount of precision and control over the horse’s body it is so easy to execute lateral work with ease and accuracy.

These exercises are extremely useful for all riders in any discipline, not just pure dressage riders. The ability to ‘hold a line’ or stay straight in layman’s terms is essential to events riders travelling at speed to a technical ‘skinny’ fence, or indeed a showjumper trying to ride a time saving line in a jump off.  It can also be applied to riders who simply enjoy hacking out, if you spot a rabbit hole on the track ahead of you, the ability to keep your horse straight and avoid the hole could be crucial.

I thoroughly enjoyed my session with Jane and am really looking forward to continuing my BYRDS training. Jane was extremely complementary about my riding and what a fabulous partnership Sultan and I have, which totally made my day!

 Mimi and Maxi Moo shine at British Dressage at Port Royal

Mimi @ Port Royal

Mimi Medici and Maxi Moo didn’t disappoint at Port Royal British Dressage. It was Mimi’s first ever competition and she was just amazing!  She went so well and felt brilliant, I was really pleased that Jennie her owner could be there to watch her do such a beautiful test. She came home with a very much deserved third place.

Maxi Moo was full of the joys of Spring and was a bit fresh in the warm up! I am pleased he is obviously feeling well and although there was definitely room for improvement he did a nice test and was placed a very respectful sixth. I was overall very pleased as both horses are very inexperienced and green but they are showing so much potential which is brilliant.

Catch up soon Harriet.

He also did an Elementary test which he won with a good percentage of 66% which could so easily have been better if he hadn’t got a bit over excited and broke into canter in the trot work!  But I am so happy that he is feeling good and has so much enthusiasm for his work I can’t really complain! He is feeling really well at the moment and I am really hopeful he will event again this year.

The cross country course at home is up and running and I am so excited to be able to teach over my own cross country fences! It is also really handy being able to educate the young horses over cross country fences as part of their everyday training.

It’s all go go go at the yard  with the arrival of a new young horse and several schooling liveries in over the next week or so, it seems everyone has their eyes on the forthcoming event season!

The new horse is a six-year-old 16hh, grey mare, called Mimi Medici (Mimi for short) she is green but a very quick learner and is a really exciting prospect for the future. I am very much looking forward to seeing her progress over the next couple of weeks.

All Guns Blazing, a horse that I sold last summer is going really well with his new owner and they are enjoying great success in the dressage world which is so pleasing.

Maxi Moo is continuing to progress well and has started jumping again and has improved dramatically since I last jumped him in November last year. He is grown a lot since I first got him and has also strengthened up a lot too, I am very excited about him for this year.

Catch up soon Harriet x

Annie

She was placed second and third in her classes but most impressive of all was her compliant attitude and this was reflected in her great scores of 67% and 68 %!

I couldn’t be more pleased with her and I felt they were two of the nicest tests she has done.

Maxi Moo didn’t disappoint either and went superbly on his debut outing getting over 60% in both his tests….not bad at all when you consider four months ago he was still in training as a race horse.

I was delighted with his attitude and behaviour, he didn’t put a foot wrong all day and was very chilled in the collecting ring which was a nice surprise, I had been prepared for him getting a bit uptight when other horses were cantering around him, given his racing background, but he reacted as though he had been doing dressage for years and was very laid back.

He also brought home two rosettes which put the icing on the cake for a very successful and productive day!

Fiona Maynard a para-dressage rider has moved her string of horses to the yard along with her pupil Rachel. It’s great to be able to work along-side like-minded riders and also have some company, especially hacking out…. time passes much quicker when you can have a good chat while riding out!

I am really excited to say that I am writing a monthly column for Pocklington Post’s Equestrian section called Equestrian Life. The column will feature in not only the Pocklington Post but also the Driffield Times, Driffield Post and the Beverley Guardian. I am really thrilled to be asked to contribute to such a prominent paper.

With the popularity of the Winter Training Series kindly supported By EquestrianClearance.com, I am in the process of putting together some dates for a Spring Training Series so watch this space for more dates and details!

Catch up soon Harriet

Annie Dressage

It’s been a busy few weeks with Annie (Ruby Gunnar) out and about show jumping and at dressage getting prepared for the forthcoming event season.

She is obviously feeling very well as she was quite cheeky at her first show jumping competition of the 2012!

Annie was very fresh in the collecting ring and did a few rodeo horse impressions, she did a couple of rounds and jumped better and better each time she went in, which I was really pleased with.

We have been working hard on her maintaining her rhythm in front of a fence as she tends to be over enthusiastic and charge at her fences, but I am pleased to report that the hard work and patience is paying off and she is settling into her rounds more and more.

Annie Dressage

We went to a British Dressage competition at Port Royal Equestrian Centre and I was hoping that all the jumping would have taken the wind out of her sails and after 10 minutes in the collecting ring I thought it had, and she relaxed and worked well, but as soon as she went into the arena she definitely dipped into her fuel reserves and started bucking and spooking!! I was not very impressed

The judges comments were ‘lovely horse, showing lots of potential, needs to relax and show more submission, very well ridden!’ So after that fiasco I went back into the collecting ring and kept her mind busy right to the last second before her next test, which worked a treat, she went much, much better and was placed seventh in a huge class so I was very pleased.

Sultan (Sultao De Valada) has definitely put all his injury woes behind him and was on cracking form and won his first class with 70% and was second in his next class with 68%, which I am delighted with.

He too though was not his usual chilled out self, I don’t think he has ever bucked since I’ve had him and yet he gave me several heart stopping moments where he was bucking and kicking his heels, great to feel him so enthusiastic about being out and about!

Sultan -Dressage Port Royal Halt Salute

So with those two feeling fresh and raring to go I intend to take full advantage of all that energy and get out competing as much as possible! They won’t know what’s hit them!

I have also been training with Christopher Bartle and took Maxi Moo, which was his first trip out away from the yard.  He is entered for his first competition in about 10 days time so I am very fortunate to have Christopher’s expert input into the preparations.

Name: Shannon Dales Skatman
Stable name: Snowy
Owner: Kim & Harriet Morris-Baumber
Colour: WHITE! (grey)
Sex: Gelding
Height: 17hh
Age: 16
Breed: Irish sport horse
Competition level: advanced

Introduction

Won a bronze medal as part of the GB team competing at the CIC** European Championships in Hungary, also listed for GB Young Rider team.
He is extremely naughty, loves escaping from his stable, he is the ‘king’ of the yard and is the source of all mischief! Snowy loves to be really really dirty and protests violently when being washed. He is the world’s biggest show off! Snowy loves jumping and thinks dressage is a total waste of his time, I have to ‘con’ him into practising dressage tests by doing it in the field around the cross country fences

His tack

Snaffle with a lozenge for flat work (no flash) and Waterford for SJ and XC (with a flash!)

His feed

I have to be really careful what I feed him as he is very sharp but also lacks condition at times so I have found Winergy Equilibrium Growth to suit him perfectly. The quantity varies depending on work load, it ranges from ½ scoop twice a day to 2 scoops twice a day

His performance strengths

He loves showing off so he performs best when there is a lot of atmosphere! In the show jumping in Hungary the atmosphere was very intense and as he jumped the first fence the crowd gasped as he jumped it so big, then the more the crowd gasped the higher he jumped!! He was in his element! He is very adjustable despite his size and is very good at jumping and turning… great when you have skinnies on a bending line!

His weaknesses

He thinks dressage is a waste of his time so he can be very lazy, especially when warming up, the best test he ever did was when the wind roaring and rain was beating down, he was about to explode, but I managed to channel it and he produced a brilliant test, so I always pray for a mini hurricane now!

Future plans

Last year he caught a virus which took months and months for him to recover from which was really disappointing so plans for 2012 and beyond are for him to return to eventing and focus on bigger one day competitions such as Chatsworth and Belton.

Three secrets that our readers should know about him:

1) Snowy IS ‘the stig’ from top gear
2) Snowy would be delighted if he was allowed to go to a very important competition still covered in mud and dirt and stable stains… he would think he was the coolest horse there
3) He has a make-up bag that we use at competitions so he looks FAB-U –LOUS at all times

We had a quiet time competition wise over December as I had an operation and had to have 10 days off riding, which I found very frustrating,

I have been able to really concentrate on perfecting different things though so hopefully when we go out competing this weekend we should be able to put all the practice into our performance….always easier said than do though!

I suspect the horses will be quite fresh when they get out and about again, Annie (Ruby Gunnar) is certainly feeling very well at home, only this morning I was having to sit tight as the shooting party opened fire in the wood behind our yard!

Maxi Moo, the ex-racehorse is going well and will soon be ready to go to his first dressage competition, which I am very excited about. I bought him straight out of racing and considering I have only had him a little over three months I am very impressed with his attitude to his new career.

The EquestrianClearance.com Winter Training Series at the yard has really taken off and I am very excited about all the new partnerships I am watching develop as the series progresses.

We have been really really lucky with the weather as a repeat of last winter’s cold spell would have made winter so far such a different story!

I am very much hoping the weather continues to be mild as everyone is really looking forward to getting out onto the cross-country course, and the going at the minute is almost perfect.

If you are interested in taking part in the Winter Training series supported by EquestrianClearance.com details can be found here.

Bye for now Harriet

The wonderful Sultan is back to his best and looking in great shape.  He really has been a brilliant horse to produce and train and he is turning his hoof to dressage so well.

We made a visit to Epworth Equestrian recently for their British Dressage competition and had a great time.

Sultan was at his best winning both his classes with 69% and 70% so we couldn’t have been more pleased and he is only one point off qualifying for the regional finals which is very exciting.

Our young horse Annie is improving dramatically and also went really well finishing second in her first prelim test on a score of 67% before winning the second on 68%.

Fingers crossed for more wins! Will update you soon on our next outing.

Best wishes,

Harriet

Harriet with Ruby Gunnar, also known as Annie.

I have been delighted with the way Annie, or Ruby Gunnar as she is known when competing, has been going. She is proving to be a real star and I cannot praise her enough.

Our first ‘proper’ event was at Brooksby where we completed a nice dressage with just a few unsettled moments to finish on a score of 36. The show jumping also went well with just one fence down as she rushed on a bit and just tipped a pole out of the cups.

On the cross-country course Annie was great and despite going quite green at the start by fence seven she was in a lovely rhythm and was really enjoying herself.

Overall I couldn’t have been more pleased with her performance and the team really enjoyed the day.

Our next event was Bishop Burton which is quite near to home and one of my favourite competitions. The day started with a fabulous dressage, Annie concentrated really hard and really listened to me being very obedient and attentive.

EquestrianClearance.com sponsored eventer Harriet Morris-Baumber and Annie

The show jumping was much better than at Brooksby when she was much calmer and more settled. Annie jumped out of a much slower, calmer rhythm and we recorded a super clear round much to the delight of her owner Ros.

The cross-country was just brilliant and she jumped everything out of her stride and was really bold, making the course feel very easy and like she was enjoying herself.

We had an army of supporters come to watch us and everyone was cheering for her as we crossed the finish line!

For Annie to improve so much in just a week I am absolutely delighted with her. I was so pleased that she did such a good dressage and to jump a double clear was just brilliant.

Harriet and Annie tackle the cross country course

Annie has only been with us for five months and arrived as a freshly broken baby who had never jumped before so I am so pleased with her progress.

Catch up soon,

Harriet