New diary dates are up :-)
Meet Alf (Alfred, Alfie, or Jurgen Klipp Klopp, depending on the mood or who you speak to). He is a 4 year old Irish Sport Horse who joined us in December and is settling in with plenty of UDT (undemanding time) and occasional basic language and response lessons online when my time allows. Shoes are now off and he is sharing his space with Patrick getting acquainted with his new surroundings. When allowed onto the yard driveway he gazes over the roadside gate and I wonder if he thinks Ireland must be across the road since he stepped onto a transporter on the Emerald Isle and when the ramp next dropped he unloaded here. He has been ridden but will be restarted under a western saddle (if mine fits) as the weather improves. After the life lessons I have learned over the last 15 months, after my cancer diagnosis, I have now retired a little earlier than planned from my accounts and administration business so hopefully can focus my energies on Feel Timing Balance and spend more time with my horses who have always been first to miss out when the diary filled up. I might even have enough time to keep these web pages up to date! Watch this space....
New diary dates are up :-)
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Well I've already torn up one set of plans and I only made those 2 weeks ago. Patrick has already had a longer than anticipated Winter break but in good faith I sat down and wrote up the diary for the next 12 weeks fitness regime. D-Day minus3 and the new clippers had arrived and were ready but then there I was in A&E having a dislocated elbow reset (a none horse related injury I might add) and the plan was in the bin. Now I know the universe has taught me this one over and over - "never expect the plan to work" - but with Patricks tendon strain last year I knew I needed to structure this one to avoid being distracted and missing the much needed physical work. Hey ho - universe beat me again - maybe there is another lesson in there, maybe I still need to learn something different, maybe I'm just stuck in some sort of Groundhog Day parallel universe?
Oh well, I've sat down today and updated the website with what we hope can go ahead here if Covid and the next worlds apocalypse allows. We may have only managed a couple of weekend events last Summer but they certainly did not disappoint and let's hope this year we can build on it some more. We have missed everyone of you! I guess most horse people struggle at this time of year but I always try to remain positive so I'll start with this one - as I write it's only 37 days until the days start to get longer ! Now if I could add to that the wish that by then it might start to dry up as well then I guess we would all feel tons brighter wouldn't we! We are incredibly lucky just to have mud to deal with here at The Chestnuts. Despite the argument I had with the home insurance people when getting renewal quotes earlier this year, we do not, I repeat do not, live on a flood plain. I'm not sure how said insurers came up with that one given no rivers of any note anywhere close - I would think Shrewsbury (nearly 15 miles) would be the nearest and even with global warming it would take floods of biblical proportions to reach us. So my sympathies are firmly with the many who have been hit and the dreadful conditions they are faced with. Equally my heart goes out to the many parts of the world battling with fires and the devastation caused to homes and wildlife. Staying motivated to do anything outside with horses is always a big challenge in the cold and wet so I try to commit to lessons or events as that is half the battle. Unfortunately my work diary can get in the way even at that earliest opportunity and if I add in physical issues that also seem worse at this time of year then the options get seriously restricted. I did however commit many months ago to a clinic over in Cambridgeshire last month and I'm so glad I did. Originally it was just to be a bodywork session for Patrick with Jim Masterson { https://mastersonmethod.com/ } but at the last minute I was lucky enough to bag a lesson with Mark Rashid { http://www.markrashid.com/ }. The main clinic was a joint venture with Mark and Jim assessing horses on their first lesson, following up with a bodywork session, then ending with another lesson with Mark so it was possible to see what changes could be made when any physical issues could be helped. There were a really interesting mix of horses and riders and much to be learned from these 2 wonderfully humble guys and there were approximately 150 spectators each day eager to soak up what was on offer. The bodywork session reignited my interest in studying more of The Masterson Method having attending a weekend introduction course a few years ago and I'm currently following the Home Study Pack before I enroll on an Advanced 5 day course next year (universe permitting). I have read most, if not all, of Mark Rashid's books and to meet the man himself was no disappointment. My hour long lesson flew by in what seemed no more than 10 minutes. The focus of the session became breathing. I have always struggled with what I thought was nerves and the need to not hold my breath in times of stress so it was no surprise for this to be identified as wanting attention. However it was not in its simple form as the guidance received was in "how" to breath. Again, it was not all new to me as I had many years ago been told to exhale on a downward transition but to discover that there are different ways to apply that exhale, and to immediately feel the benefits and see the improvement was pretty mind blowing. Also the revelation that not only should the exhale be applied to downward transitions but also to upward ones was a bit of an awakening! So remember - exhale with every effort - upward or downward transitions, or in everyday situations, standing up, sitting down, lifting, moving... get the picture? Oh well, it took a long time to update the blog page but now I need to get back to the task of annual accounts and tax submissions - every year I wonder why I have left its so long. I guess that is down to making the most of the longer days and warmer weather while I had the chance so I can't say I feel guilty, or at least I have few regrets. Roll on Spring, but meanwhile check out the diary page for details of Horsemanship training and Jumping lessons upcoming. A never ending quest where the obstacles keep multiplying along the path, or so it seems. Maybe the universe knows better and it's just a way of giving us more thinking time or more time to catch up on the other things that are a necessary part of the rest of our lives or purpose? Whatever the reason it's damned frustrating on the horse front. Last year we made real progress, or so it felt. Patrick and I got out and did stuff. Stuff that involved a few competitions - something that I lost the desire for about 8 years ago when I came upon this Horsemanship path and found sufficient new challenges that negated that particular need. There were many highlights in 2018; the POR phase of our first ever TREC competition at Berriewood, and tackling that selection of cross country fences at home under the direction of Dave Stuart reigniting my love for jumping. After that I was raring to go but yet again fate stepped in and Patrick is now on an extended holiday until the spring. Once again though I have found positives as I'm not sure when I would have found time to complete and file last years accounts without the enforced time-out and I even got to wield a paint roller to do some decorating when we moved Mum to a different part of the house and Graeme switched to the annexe a few days before Christmas. With a bit of luck and a following wind, 2019 promises more opportunities. Buck Brannaman returns to Aintree for the 3rd time and having had to sit out the 2nd, that will be our primary aim. The plan is also to clock more miles out and about hopefully including new challenging places, and progress the jumping, not the height but for the forwards. I have been jealously following my good friends Sally & Jo as they have been coached by Alec Trickett having had to withdraw from the first date and now feeling terribly left behind - we are going to have to step up seriously when back in work. 3 main events here in the diary now for 2019 - a camp weekend with Sally Brett in May (in addition to regular clinic days throughout the year), another TREC Experience weekend camp in July organised by Julia McHugh, and 3 days with Dave Stuart in August. Arena facilities as always are available for hire - bring your own instructor/lecturer if you wish, play field/obstacles subject to ground conditions, classroom with seating and whiteboard, breakfasts and lunches may be available or pub just across the road, package rates if you wish to set up and organise your own events/camps with usually no deposit commitment so no financial risk if you have to cancel. The only pre-requisites I ask you to bring are positivity, open mindedness and be ready to exercise your chuckle muscles. Keep Kicking On... It is easy to keep putting things off thinking we're not ready yet, or we haven't got time, or any other excuse of which I have many. This year Patrick reached 9 years old and we have a lot of things still to tick off on the basics list but i suspect that list isn't likely to get torn up any time soon so I have promised myself to get on with it regardless and test out where we are at and what we can do while continuing to keep building his confidence and developing that "Go Anywhere Good Riding Horse". It seems we have found a great way to apply the test and build the skills and confidence though it may not sit perfectly with the time constraints of daily responsibilities but we can't have it all ways! We have hosted a number of TREC camps here at The Chestnuts thanks to Julia McHugh of www.yourhorseisyourmirror.com/ and although we have tried to take part in them the challenges of being a host always seemed to get in the way so my learning has been a little bitty (same as Patricks Basics really - do you see a pattern?). During the winter we managed to take part in 2 indoor TREC competitions which were a great way to get started, limited the knowledge required to only 2 of the usual 3 phases and on a smaller scale. It was quite a rude awakening to rediscover the joys of cleaning horse and tack, getting up and out at ridiculous hours and also finding suitable (comfortably sized) clothing but it was well worth it as the people involved at each event, riders and officials were such lovely supportive souls and despite the expected nerves all worked out pretty well and we had many laughs along the way. 2 weeks ago we did the full scale thing - adding in a 3rd phase which involved orienteering covering almost 10 miles but in the loveliest of countryside before completing the day with the Control of Paces phase and the PTV (obstacles) phase both scaled up to take advantage of the space and cross country course available. We were both a bit green but I learned heaps more about the sport and about Patrick, and I hope he learned a little more about me which may pay back in the future. Not sure when the opportunity will next present itself but I really hope to repeat the experience and soon.
Changing the subject completely, everyone seems to have been bombarded with mails referring to the GDPR and as I write this with less than 2 hours until the deadline, I am still uncertain as to whether my little enterprise is meant to be governed by the rules or not as I have read conflicting advice. I am therefore going to play safe but with a scaled down version of what I think is appropriate. As it is all about protection of our privacy and data I would like to reassure everyone on this mailing list that all contact information is carefully protected. It will never be shared or sold to third parties for marketing or advertising purposes. You have been added at some point due to either taking part or enquiring about an event organised by Feel Timing Balance, or hosted here at The Chestnuts, or have asked to be added to the mailing list directly. At anytime you may select "Unsubscribe" from the link that appears with each mailing, or mail me direct at chris.ftb@btinternet.com I will only retain such data as may be required for accounting purposes or to comply with government legislation. I will certainly never be offended if you no longer wish to receive any mail from me and thank you for your attention along the way. And so we head into the Summer season for 2018. Fawn Anderson arrives next week for two 4 day clinics, Sally Brett will continue to visit for lessons (private and shared) as will Parelli instructor Niki Hardwick, there is a TREC Experience weekend in July and once again we are very fortunate to host 3 days with David Stuart in August. Keep watching the website for updates and more additions. Happy Trails dear friends! The last few years have been full of uncertainty and it's been difficult to look forward and make Horsemanship plans with any conviction so looking back it's fairly clear why it's easy to perceive a lack of progress. Having said that I have learned and practiced the important need to live in the moment just as horses do, and perhaps it's a lesson that needed repeating a few times in my case. 2018 kicks off just the same but I have developed an approach of not making plans (too easy to get disappointed when they fail) but to have lots of options laid out instead. It was Buck Brannaman's foster mum Betsy Shirley who often used the saying "Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape". It's not something I find easy by any means as I have always been someone with a need to be in control and liked to plan things to the nth degree neither of which sit comfortably with the liquid approach required to flex to changes often at the last minute. Perhaps the hardest part has been needing my friends and family to make changes and allowances for me as I used to be totally independent and took pride in getting things right and with little help. The magical part of this is discovering just how wonderful those family and friends are as they repeatedly step up to support and understand which often means they themselves are put in a position of having to change their plans. For that I am sorry but equally very grateful - you know who you are!
So let's look at the "options" for 2018 - I hope many of you will come along for the ride - on horseback, spectating or emotionally In May we start the weekend clinic schedule with something totally different - bound to be lots of learning and laughter - as Guy Robertson is bringing his "Virtual Cow Working Clinic" here. No real beasties but some roping, cutting and good general horsemanship development on offer. Fawn Anderson returns in June and this time we have 2 back to back clinics - Foundation & Advancing July will see a return of the TREC Experience Weekend organised by Julia McHugh In August we have again scheduled a visit from Dave Stuart. We thought last years may have been the last but at the last minute we had enough to go ahead so Tina has been good enough once again to allocate 3 days which we are splitting into a Foundation/Intro day followed by a 2 day Intermediate/Advanced weekend. Both clinics can be taken back to back. However we are setting a deadline for bookings as if we cannot promise enough riders by it is only fair that someone else in the UK gets the chance to host Dave instead. In between we will have regular visits from Sally Brett for Horsemanship and Horsemanship for TREC lessons (ongoing even now through the winter) and also hope that Niki Hardwick will make regular visits offering Parelli training. The facilities are also available for private hire, with or without options for catering and camping. Please keep an eye on the website for changes and additions and if you have any specific interests (content or instructor) let me know and then I will try to ensure you receive more targeted information along the way. Hope to see many of you in the coming months, please share with anyone who may be interested. The theme of teamwork ran through almost every element of my recent trip to the US. I left an amazing team behind me to not only look after the horses but stepping up to look after Mum to make it all possible. I had promised to return to visit a very dear friend in Arizona before I was 60 and made it with few days to spare - what a great way to celebrate! The first few days in Fort Worth Texas revolved around the Legacy of Legends event, something I have wanted to attend for years and I was not disappointed. Set up and organised by Carolyn Hunt and Buck Brannaman in an effort to preserve and continue the approach and teachings of the late Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt, this is an annual event which is also repeated in Australia from time to time. This years focus was on colt starting but not as a competition. All the riders were invited, having been students of Tom or Ray and in some cases the next generation who may not have had the direct opportunity. Groups of between 2 and 5 rotated through the round pens each morning while the others and the audience watched on with excellent commentary along the way. To me what shone through the most was how everyone worked together for the good of the horses. Riders sharing the same pens, and riders outside awaiting their turn, as well as Buck and Rays grandson Jaton who offered mounted support from their saddle horses. It all evolved seamlessly, nothing appeared pre-planned , it was just what was needed, when it was needed, and by whoever was in a position to support. I'm sure it wasn't just the audience who came away having learned something more. After The Legacy I waved goodbye to Dave Stuart who had been one of the colt starters and to my lovely friend Cat who had shared the hotel in Fort Worth and hit the road for 2 days driving through New Mexico into Arizona. As I arrived at the Cobre Loma Ranch near Pearce in Cochise County I immediately felt that homecoming glow that I used to get when visiting Eve's guest ranch which has now been sold. I had no expectations to ride as the set up is now for the cattle business not for visitors but as well as being treated to a beautiful little home of my own I was also mounted up on one of the ranch's old favourites Sabino who had appeared on BBC1 a few years back as Martin Clunes horse when he tried his hand at becoming a cowboy. On day 1 we were off onto the flats in search of some bulls who needed to be wormed and brought back into a pasture ready to be released with their ladies in the coming weeks. On the other days we headed up into the mountains behind the ranch to check on the cows and their calves moving those who needed to be relocated or brought back for doctoring. One afternoon we spent painting the pen rails - more teamwork as with 5 of us we ran out of paint before we ran out of time. The 2 week trip flew by but I have brought home memories and lessons to put to use now I'm home. Patrick has already had a rude awakening after 3 months in the field. He has been clipped out, bathed and had rides from home and with trips in the lorry. Mentally I feel ready to face whatever comes my way and dare I say that physically I feel better now than I have possibly for 2 years or more so he'd better watch out as I won't have an excuse not to start on some arena work! Buck arrives in the UK in less than 10 weeks for the clinic at Aintree then Dave will arrive from Oz a few weeks later for his 2 month visit. My back up "team" may need to be ready and willing to step in again soon - I thank them in advance! Several blogs and a few years ago a wrote that “teachers come in all shapes and sizes” and I guess this is going to be an extension of that piece. I’ve covered a lot of ground in my time (almost 60 years), have dabbled with gymkhana, eventing, team chasing, dressage, hunting, team penning and show jumping. Will confess to not having played with vaulting or polo. Have ridden bareback, and with English and western saddlery. Have benefitted from some amazing coaches who have all tried to raise my skills in their specific fields of expertise with varying results – no reflection on them that I usually get to an acceptable level albeit never expert!
From the start Lady Luck presented me with good supportive friends who knew a bit – stepping up from the Sunday morning lesson at the local riding school in town I got to ride ponies for friends, some of whom walked or cycled many miles with me through the countryside. Once I moved into horse ownership my luck doubled as my new neighbours who would become lifelong friends (more like family really) introduced me to their instructor, a lady with a background in racing and hunting with a passion for dressage but probably more importantly who introduced me to the concept of asking myself what the horse would be thinking. Then though my Riding Club days I was always open to learning from whatever instructors were offered though occasionally that learning might have been “what not to want to take away with me” – but it was still learning. I became more selective once competing in affiliated events but a pattern emerged of choosing teachers who I loved to watch ride – how I yearned to match their calm, quiet but effective style over fences – I still do! Anyhow, the competitive streak in me was dampened overnight with my introduction to the world of (Natural) Horsemanship and the challenges that I suddenly discovered so I then turned to a whole new set of coaches. Most, I happily now class as very good friends – an added bonus along the way. The strange – well unexpected - side of the horsemanship learning has been the lessons in life that came hand in hand but I guess that is another subject for another day. So now here I am – almost 60 as I said earlier – with bucket loads of information at my disposal and plenty more empty buckets waiting to be filled. In the last couple of years, it seems as though pieces are starting to fit. Picture those buckets full of jigsaw pieces thrown up in the air and then once landed jiggling about until they start to slot together and create a picture. With hindsight when I started on the horsemanship journey I recall losing confidence in all that I knew before. It raised so many questions and the answers seemed often to be tantalisingly just out of reach. It would have been so easy to give up and walk away back to that place of comfort I had been in before. I’m not sure why I didn’t give up. I’d never really thought I had a need as such ie a particularly difficult horse. The frustrations were many, still are at times, but maybe it was my horses who convinced me to hang on in there. They always seemed to be relaxed and willing with the changed approach – even though now retired, Juno still hangs over the arena fence if there is a class in progress waiting for a turn, and whatever the challenges of the day I am guaranteed to have plenty to smile about myself - can’t say that was always the case in previous years after turning out at an ungodly hour of the morning, plaiting, travelling, hanging around, maybe collecting a ribbon or 2 but more often with a niggling doubt that I somehow didn’t do my horse justice in some way. The really good thing now is that I find myself drawing on past learnings as well as new ones and guess what… they are beginning to sit really well together. I find it sad that in social media in particular there are so many fences being built – too much of “Them and Us”, “Right and Wrong”, “Good and Bad” – barriers which close minds and block learning. When I look at some of my instructors over the years and at the many riders I have watched in awe there is a common ingredient in them all – they are all good horseman – they may or may not work with ropes and flags but they have a talent – learned or instinctive – a way of being with horses. What we all need to remember is something my mentor David Stuart says and that is “Good Horsemanship is Good Horsemanship and should not be thought of as a fad or a style” The Summer programme is evolving. Our first 4 day clinic kicks off in 10 days time with Fawn Anderson from Canada due to arrive. this one will be quickly followed up by our TREC friends putting on a Newcomers weekend with Tot Wall and Julia McHugh. Then in June we now have confirmed dates for the much loved fun camp weekend with Josh Steer and Niki Hardwick. Check out the Diary Dates page for more details. So now we have the dates in place can someone organise suitable weather please? We all have many lessons to learn in life, some are wonderful, some are painful, and some are just about how to cope or deal with the many challenges we meet along the way. I consider myself one of the lucky ones who have great family and friends to support me when things get tough and throughout my life I have been surrounded by animals, dogs and horses in the main, who have also delivered valuable lessons of their own. I used to say that horses were my Stress Busters – they helped me survive career challenges, in particular when unable to sleep as my busy brain refused to stop in the early hours of the morning, night after night, week after week. Once in the saddle – of usually a young, inexperienced or challenging horse I had no option but to focus entirely on what I was doing and therefore all else was blanked, at least for an hour or 2. Having left the demanding career and money behind several years ago I am now getting to practice those lessons of “Living In The Moment” in an entirely different situation, one that is being increasingly recognised and publicised as we get to live to a greater age, and is therefore being experienced by far more – the horrors of dementia. My mother is now into the later stages of this awful affliction and although we have been through this twice previously with first my Dad and then my Aunt, we are, even now, finding and dealing with new challenges. However, the common angle is one of adapting to the here and now. Once more the lessons from my horses of living in the moment are standing me in good stead. There are many painful times to endure but if we can just find that “moment” it is possible to enjoy the fleeting glimpses of the person you know and this lets you hold on and keep going. So once again, my lovely four legged friends are helping to keep my sanity. The occasions that I get to escape to them are being restricted by the demands of being a carer and what has been a crazy professional workload these past few months, but thanks to aforementioned family and friends I do get out to them at least to feed, skip off and on many late evenings this winter under the stars I would have been found out in the arena while they got to roll and play, just enjoying the moment. Of course riding again will be another challenge. I did get to throw a saddle up on Patrick the other week, I then got to watch him leaping and cavorting on the end of the line – well you have to laugh out loud don’t you – before stepping up into the stirrups just as an almighty hail storm commenced. So I guess that wasn’t meant to be and a week later no further opportunities have presented themselves. So I continue to live moment by moment, minute by minute and day by day with plenty of hopes and aspirations for the coming months but no expectations as they would be a recipe for stress and I have no need for any more of that. My mother sings (rather irritatingly multiple times a day) “Que sera sera” – the meaning translated in the English Oxford Dictionary is “used to convey a fatalistic recognition that future events are out of the speaker's control” - which is rather appropriate don’t you think? Anyway on to things that I can control – the plans for this season are coming together and the diary is taking shape. A few events have not yet been tied to a final date so do please keep checking in and do register your interest in any you think you may be able to come along to. It really will help my stress levels if we are not worrying about numbers up to the last minute ;-)
Did you know that a large number of riders are forced to retire their horses due to mechanical breakdowns that could have been prevented by a better understanding of healthy movement and balance? This happens in particular in Horsemanship students as they tend to ride longer and demand more intense physical work from their horses than other styles of riding. Learn how adding simple elements of healthier movement will protect your horse and give them a great posture under saddle so you can enjoy your horse for many years to come. Because Fawn has studied around the world with internationally acclaimed horsemen such as: Buck Brannaman, Pat Parelli, Philippe Karl, Karen Rohlf, Walter Zettl, Silke Vallentin, Michael Wanzenreid, Larry Stewart, Steve Byrne, Ronnie Willis & Aimee Brimhall,– she has been able to study all three areas of Classical, Natural & Vaquero Horsemanship and how they work together for the good of the horse. It is her unique ability to bridge the gap between these worlds that is sought after.
And last but certainly not least Josh Steer is about to become a neighbour and in addition to his popular camp weekends will be taking on a few colts for starting here through the summer and will be available for individual and shared lessons. Oh and don't forget we hold a selection of Thunderbrook feeds so if you are in the area you can save on the online delivery charges. Usually we have Healthy Herbal Chaff and Base Mix, but with notice we can get other items in for you, just now we have some Wheat Bran, Spirulina, Cleavers and Rosehip. Daily Essentials also seem to be rather popular for those of you with good doers if you still want to make sure they have vitamins and minerals they need. We will be placing another order very soon so do let us know if you have any specific requirements. Roll on summer - oops almost forgot - better focus on the here and now - the future can take care of itself ! |
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