Riding with Beth Underhill at Can Am Equine Expo 2015

What an amazing 3 days riding at the Can Am Equine Expo with my childhood hero, Olympian Show Jumper Beth Underhill. I was so incredibly nervous to have a coach of Beth's calibre and expertise critiquing my riding, but what a valuable opportunity!

We arrived on Good Friday and Sabio was an absolute dream - he settled into his stall nicely and we got ready to ride on day 1. Sabio is my off the track Thoroughbred gelding I purchased in the fall, and have only shown twice (January and March) before riding at Can Am.

My key takeaways from Day 1 included:

• Take a deep breathe and try to relax and focus... remembering courses is key 
• Collection is important - be able to adjust strides easily from shorter to longer
• Precision is important - riding every jump with a plan, riding every transition with timing
• Use poles at the top end of the ring to encourage riding the whole ring

From Day 2:

• Ask, Tell, Demand - this is similar to the Parelli phases 
• Transitions need to be snappy - the horse needs to respond right away
• Practice lengthening and shortening strides in the same line (although Sabio really just needs practice with shortening)
• Practice transitions within a line of jumps
• Have a mix of trot and canter approaches to jumps
• Gymnastics are key to teaching form and patience to horses while jumping

From Day 3:

• Outside aids hold a turn together
• Plan turns a jump ahead - e.g. taking a jump on an angle to set up better for the next jump
• Practice Figure 8's with jumps along the outside wall. 
• Practice roll backs for smooth turns and centred to each jump
• Count strides and know your plan of strides for every line and turn

All in all it was fantastic but I did have my fair share of blunders with successes - watch the footage and get my take on things... with both the good and embarrassing moments... http://youtu.be/1xpE6OMMpYc 

This is the year Dreams come true

There is so much starting to happen at PHH now that the weather is warming up. If everything goes according to plan, this will be the last winter we need to survive without an indoor ring J

We are still awaiting final timelines, but it looks like we will have a 250x80ft indoor arena going up and we will give you details as they become available. It’s been a goal and dream of mine to have my own indoor arena, and I am super excited for the building to start.

Easter Weekend is coming up soon – and we’ll be at the Can Am Equine Show at the Markham Fairgrounds (http://canamequine.com/). I’ve been selected to ride in a demonstration lesson with Olympic Show Jumper Beth Underhill April 3-5 at the show. This is so exciting for me because I’ve been a fan of Beth’s since I was a little girl watching her win the Shell Cup Derby at Spruce Meadows many years ago aboard her 22 yr old gelding named Monopoly.

I was so inspired I even painted my Barbie horse like Monopoly – it is so exciting to be riding with Beth many years later. If you want to come watch you can expect to see me riding Sabio around lunchtime in the main ring all 3 days of the show.

For an exciting seasonal goal, I’ve purchased two off the track Thoroughbreds for the Retired Race Horse Project’s Throughbred Makeover Contest (http://www.retiredracehorseproject.org/2015-thoroughbred-makeover). This is a show that is hosted at the Kentucky Horse Park in Kentucky, US. This is also a dream of mine to ride at Kentucky Horse Park – I visited there on a family trip when I was younger. I found it an amazing place and can’t believe I’ll be showing there later this year! The show has over 330 horses entered already and is only accepting a few more – it is going to be a busy event!

The horses I will be bringing – Kahleesi and Cupid – have begun some natural horsemanship foundation training and are making great progress despite the challenges from weather. Kaheelsi is a super smart 8 yr old grey mare that I think is going to excel in jumping, and barrel racing. Cupid is a 7 yr old chestnut gelding that is super laid back and pokey… despite being purchased fresh off the track from Ohio in February. I think he is going to do well in hunters and trail class. Either way I am excited to take them to Kentucky and am so thrilled that several students have already booked their hotel rooms to come down and cheer us on for the events.

Learn more and see pictures of Cupid here: http://partridgehorsehill.com/Cupid.html

Learn more and see pictures of Kahleesi here:  http://partridgehorsehill.com/kahleesi.html