We wrapped up our two weeks at Thunderbird in Vancouver yesterday. We are headed to Spruce Meadows in Calgary this week, where we will be based until mid-July.
Show Results at Thunderbird…
Week 1
Beezie and Kickstart II: 1st and 2nd in the 7 year olds
Beezie and Breitling LS: 10th in the CSI5* Grand Prix and 7th in the FEI CSI5* Individual/Team Comp
Beezie and Hummer Z: 8th in the $750 CWD Open Jumper 1.30m
Katherine and Baloe HP: 5th and 9th in the U-25 classes
Katherine and Fair Field: 11th in the FEI CSI5* Individual/Team Comp
Katherine and Cincinnati Kid 7: 11th in the CSI5* Grand Prix
Callie and Teddy Z: 3rd in the CSI2* Grand Prix
Callie and Garant: 11th in the CSI5* Winning Round
Claudia and Destiny Second Life Z: 1st and 3rd in the $750 Junior/Am Jumper 1.30m
Claudia and Indian Rose HW: 4th in the $750 Junior/Am Jumper 1.30m
Week 2
Beezie and Kickstart II: 4th in the 7 year old Clear Round, and 3rd in the $2,000 Crooks 7 year old
Beezie and Hummer Z: 3rd in the 1.40m Open Classic - Watch here!
Katherine and Cincinnati Kid 7: 3rd in the $235,000 CIO5* Longines Grand Prix
Katherine and Famous: 5th in the $2,500 1.35m Open Jumper Classic
Callie and Teddy Z: 1st in the $37,200 CSI2* Grand Prix
Claudia and Destiny Second Life Z: 8th in the $750 CWD Open Jumper 1.30m
Back Home…
Our retired horses made their great migration down to the summer fields. We are working on a video showing that process, check our YouTube later this week for that!
Q&A with Beezie…
“I’ve been using a free app called Equilab that tracks among other things the amount of time riding at the walk, trot, and canter. On just flatting days, I am typically spending about an hour total riding (including warmup and cool down) and about 30 minutes at the walk, 20 minutes at the trot, and 5 minutes at canter. I estimate I am using about 20 minutes total walking as part of my warmup and cool down mode. I try to ride at least 4 to 5 days a week.
Assuming the horse is in regular work and has no limitations, do you have any thoughts on how much time should spend at each gait? Does the discipline you’re riding make a difference (for me it’s Hunters)?
Thanks for any advice on this! -Zoe”
Hi Zoe,
I think the amount of time you spend in each gait depends more on the horse’s fitness, training level, and your goals for that ride, than discipline. For a younger, greener horse, you may spend more time working on things like basic lateral moves at slower gaits, than you might on a more experienced horse. An older horse that needs time to get loose, may spend more time in the walk than a fit eight year old. On a normal flatting day on a horse that is fit and not too green, I would likely spend 10 minutes walking, 15-20 minutes trotting, 5-10 minutes cantering, and another 10 minutes walking. We try to have some variety to our rides, mixing in working outside of the ring, especially at home. Some days we might throw in trail rides or hill work at the farm which might raise the walking time. On a day we are doing a more heavy flat ride, I would likely put a walk break somewhere in the middle of my ride, to break it up and then extend my trot/canter work.
I think the important thing is to not drill your horse, but work with a purpose. It sounds like you have a good system to your flatting days!
Beezie
If you would like to submit a question for Beezie, John, or another member of our team, email it to JMS@johnmaddensales.com!