Winter is coming to an end with longer and warmer days. Our hens are starting to lay eggs again which is a sure sign of a new season. Here are Alex and Jillian,feeding the girls their favorite pasta and lettuce and checking to see if they have enough water. 
Spring is just around the corner. It is time to start planning the summer events. Sunday, April 22 is the first warm-up cross country day at Stonegate Farm in Pleasant Valley. There is also a Jumping Derby to look forward to on Sunday, May 20. Check the website www.stonegatexc.com for details.
Check into qualifying for dressage4kids in August, go to the web site www.dressage4kids.com
Mini Hop helps Jillian celebrate her 7th birthday at Windrock Farm. Many of her friends and classmates from Brearly ventured to Windrock Farm to ride Moneypenny and Reba, feed the chickens, climb mountains of snow, eat yummy food, decorate cookies and pin the tail on Mini Hop. Here Mini is surrounded by his admirers hoping for a carrot or a piece of apple. Happy Birthday Jilli!!!!!
With only a few more weeks of winter, you will have to continue to ride indoors until the footing thaws and becomes safe. Take care to cool your horse out sufficiently before heading out into the raw cold winter weather. Make the best use of this time training indoors to practice riding your center lines, corners and circles perfectly. Here Bond observes Oassis being put through her paces.
To Know means to be silent, utterly silent
so you can hear the still, small voice within
To Know means to drop the mind.
When you are absolutely still, unmoving,
nothing wavers in you,
the doors open.
You are part of this mysterious existence.
You know it by becoming part of it,
by becoming a participant in it.
That is knowing.
Can you guess who this is?
Some of you may know that there are new regs in place as of Jan 1 2007 that require all vehicles that have a combined GVW of 10,000+ pounds have a DOT number on them. The registration is free but you have to pay to get the numbers made (which can be a magnetic sign – unless you have an Aluminum trailer) and it also requires that you carry a safety kit of 3 road triangles and a 10BC fire extinguisher mounted in the tow vehicle. There are likely many other requirements too and I have only scratched the surface. One thing to consider is that the regs apply to the published GVW of your truck and trailer not the actual weight. So if you think you can slide by because the trailer is empty or only has one horse in it think again. The GVW’s are printed on a tag mounted in or on your truck and trailer.
The form you need to register can be found here http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/forms/print/r-l-forms.htm you need both MCS-150 and MCS150A. More info can be found here www.fmcsa.dot.gov and also the NYS dot website. Don’t bother to call DMV they don’t know anything about DOT regs.
Do not risk being pulled over and fined for this new rule. Look up the rules and register.
Can you perform the excercise of “Around the World” on your horse or pony? Before and after each lesson with kids, I ask them to do this simple trick to test their balance and agility. Here you see Jillian in the reverse postion, you simply flip your leg and turn four times around in the saddle until you are facing the front again. It is adviseable to try this on a safe quiet mount with someone at the bridle just in case the shift in balance upsets your horse.
Improve your riding skills regardless of what level or disicpline you ride. Test yourself eveyday to determine if you are riding with purpose or simply meandering around the arena or countryside. Take whatever excercise you are working on and experiment, slow it down, lengthen the stride, test your balance. Remember, practice makes perfect and it takes thousands of repetitions to change a bad habit.
Study a video of yourself riding and determine what you would like to improve. Almost without fail, relaxation and harmony are common goals. Clarify your weak points and develop a plan to improve them. It is vital to keep a training journal of your goals and progress.
Most importantly, be gentle with yourself. Riding does not ever improve with tension or temper. If you make a mistake, stop, regroup and try again. If your horse makes a mistake, ask yourself if you created that error or did he simply not understand what you were asking. A wonderful rule to follow is to smile and count to 3 before attempting to correct the movement. A smile relaxes your body and lightens your thoughts. Try not to overanalyze the situation. The most beautiful riders appear effortless and light, dancing in perfect harmony with their horse.
