Cari Swanson

Penny Tweedy Chenery, Owner/Breeder Secretariat

It was a great honor to meet the owner and breeder of the greatest race horse of all time, Secretariat recently at the Belmont. Penny Tweedy Chenery is a generous kind woman with a wonderful spirit. I was sitting at the finish line watching over several remote cameras for my good friend Ken Regan, who was on assignment for Sports Illustrated. Penny was lovely and enjoyed learning that one of my horses is a Secretariat grandson, and that Mashantum was a highly successful event horse and FEI dressage horse. Life is strange sometimes how these intersections occur. The old saying that we are all connected is true.

Eventing Prospect

Elegant 2 year old TB filly, super mind, started by Rex Peterson, already trained to walk, trot, canter in ring,

hacking cross country, she loves the water and hopping over ditches, she is uncomplicated with excellent

ground manners, very flashy under saddle, 15.2 and growing. Bay is a lovely prospect

for eventing and she is reasonably priced to a good home. Contact cari@cariswanson.com for details.

Tony Mason

Sadly, Monday morning we lost one of my best friends and teachers, Tony Mason.

The Ghost-12 year old Imported Andalusian

If you are looking for a new partner, this horse may be him. Ghost is a lovely imported Andalusian, classically trained and easy to ride. He has a wonderful temperament and personality. Come try him before someone else discovers he is here.

What is Classical Dressage?

In sixth-century B.C. Greece, Xenophon wrote the first riding manual, the classic Art of Horsemanship, in which he emphasized training the horse through kindness and reward. He recognized that training a horse required building a relationship with another being, whose integrity both physical and mental should be maintained throughout the process. This is demanding for both partners and must be achieved without losing the spirit of either.

The distinction between classical dressage and competition dressage has been the subject of a great of debate in recent years. A brief look into the 2,000-year history of equitation may help the reader put this question into perspective. Starting in the Middle Ages, horsemanship began to evolve from a purely practical and military pursuit into an art form for the entertainment and participation of the ruling classes in Europe. The first major publication on the subject of educated riding was Frederico Grisone’s Gli Ordini di Cavalcare, which appeared in 1550. Although the methods espoused by Grisone were brutal, his was the first expression of horsemanship over and above the traditional utilitarian role of transportation and war. The Italian Renaissance was characterized by vigorous intellectual, literary, and artistic growth, and the sixteenth century’s cultivated approach to horsemanship was an integral part of this movement. The Baroque period of the seventeenth century gave rise to the luxurious arts in which riding took its place alongside literature, painting, sculpture, and architecture.

The horses of the Baroque period were schooled for parades, exhibitions, and carousels held at the pleasure of the king and his court, and for the most part they were of predominantly Iberian breeding (Lusitano and Andalusian). This type of haute école (high-school) horsemanship reached its climax with the publication of Gueriniere’s book, Ecole de Cavalerie, in 1733, a book still used by the Cadre Noir of Saumur. With the French Revolution in 1789 came the decline of courtly riding, as the school at Versailles shifted its focus to military preparedness and to the education of cavalry troops, who were trained to fight rather than parade. The ideal officer’s charger had to be able to participate in the equestrian sports of the time, which were now hunting and steeplechasing, the basis for the combined-training tests of today. After court (or manège) riding lost the support of the royal courts, the venue for haute école riding moved to the European circus, a combination concert hall and riding hall that preserved the dignity of horsemanship.

Cavalry officers who were aware of the splendid equestrian traditions of the past opened the doors for François Baucher, a gifted circus rider and trainer, who managed to interest the French Army in his training methods. But by this time, the equestrian world had fundamentally changed. The 1800s brought a new pragmatic approach to riding with the concept of an “all-round horse.” It was at this time that Frederico Caprilli (1868-1907) advanced his training methods in which the rider’s forward seat was emphasized to allow the horse natural freedom in galloping and jumping. Nowadays, competitive dressage (or haute école riding) is done primarily for competition, dating from the 1912 Olympics, which focused, however, on testing the horse as an effective and obedient charger, not as an expression of art.

All thinking riders should be aware of this history and the evolution of horsemanship. On the one hand, the focus is on functionality, technical precision, and the rules of competition, but on the other, the rider’s goal is also to create beauty and art for the pleasure of the audience. Each approach has its place, but the pressures of modern competitive dressage tend to place an emphasis on technique, but all great riders know that must develop communication with their equine partners. They must strive for balance between the mastery of technical execution and the development of artistic expression. True harmony with the horse can be achieved when the rider balances the execution of a movement with the feeling of oneness with the animal. It is at that juncture that the horse and rider have transformed technique into art.

In searching for ordered movement, one risks producing some form of mechanization instead of maintaining the purity of the horse’s natural paces. Some horses, of course, have a naturally powerful and elastic way of going, whereas others will look more ordinary, but both types can be trained to improve their athleticism, thereby narrowing the gap in their performance. The aim of training must always be to make the horse look more beautiful.

Kids Clinic at Windrock Farm all Summer

Ten lucky kids can sign up for the Kids Clinic at Windrock Farm this summer,

bring your pony or horse or lease one of ours to learn how your horse thinks, how to ride in balance with confidence,

ride on trails, compete in monthly competitions at the farm for ribbons and prizes.

contact cari@cariswanson.com to sign up

Tony Mason Clinic at Windrock Farm

Tonys’ Tips – From Tony Mason.

There is no Dressage without Geometry.  Start with the Straight line.  The first part of Balance is in the steady going forward without undue effort.   Over riding is the first problem and ninety percent of the difficulties are created by  “over work means lost balance”.  The scales of the riders Seat must be firm in their sitting and judgement as in the Scales of Justice.  Two evenly tuned, rounded antennae  Suddeness will often kill the Balance of the Straight Line as much as will, a misguided and  over confidant Hand.  The Balance and the Straight  Line are as brother and sister , as close friends or the happiest of Lovers.

contact cari@cariswanson.com for dates and times

Cosmo –Irish Sport Horse

Stunning imported Irish Sport Horse, grandson of King of Diamonds, elastic supple movement, excels in dressage and jumping, super eventing prospect, talent to go advanced, a wonderful personality, easy to work with, you want him in your family

Cosmo was the star of the clinic last weekend demonstrating his super temperament and  athletic ability.  His eye catching movement was noticed by all.  Contact cari@cariswanson to schedule an appointment to try him.

Understanding Your Horses Back

Did you know that horses have around 56 vertebrae which form a supporting framework for the neck, back and tail? There are 7 cervical (neck), 18 thoracic (withers and saddle region), 6 lumbar (loin region), 5 sacral (croup region) and about 20 caudal (tail region) vertebrae. The degree of movement varies greatly in different regions.

Consider the degree of range of motion in flexion and extension of the following joints;

90 degrees the atlantaoccipital joint which is between the skull and the first cervical vertebrae

15-35 degrees in the remaining cervical vertabrae

10 degrees in the first interthoracic joint, just in front of the withers

1 degee in joint at withers

3-4 degrees in joints under the saddle

30 degrees of motion in lumbosacral joint, between the last lumbar vertebra and the fused sacral vertebrae

This image demonstrates RJ/Hidalgo rounding his back, activating his abdominal muscles as he extends his back extends. Studies prove that the movements between the vertabrae are created by the forces of locomotion and are controlled by the horse’s back muscles. Thus, the back muscles do not cause the spine to round and hollow, the forces of locomotion do. The back muscles control the amount of rounding and flexing.

These findings are fascinating, allowing us to better understand our horses ability to move while training. You can find more information from Hilary Clayton at her web site www.cvm.msu.edu/dressage

Successful Clinic at Oakendale Farm

Over a dozen horses and riders turned out for an informative clinic at Oakendale on a beautiful February day.  The focus was on how to effectively communicate with your horse.  This photo is an example of how the riders learned to bend the neck of their horses while mounted.  Essentially a carrot stretch from the saddle, this is a wonderful way to demonstrate to the rider that the horse can bend and flex his neck.

Some of the problems we solved included control the haunches, keeping a respectable distance from the horse, placing the head down, maintaining the attention of the horse, and learning to read the horse’s body language.   Every horse improved after learning the new excercises.  In fact the horses were much calmer and attentive to their owner after the work.