April 29, 2010
While we are in between shows
right now, the schedule is no less busy for STC Dressage.
There have been more updates to the website,
clinics attended, lots of progress made in the training of the horses and some
changes to our services being made.
The online Calendar
is growing in size, and there are still more additions to come as dates become
more firm.
For those who may be
interested in having STC Dressage handle your horses at inspections or breed
shows in the area, be sure to get in touch with us soon so we can be sure to
add it to the schedule.
If you are not
sure whether it’s worth hiring a professional handler for your horse for an
inspection or show, check out our Accomplishments page to see the results!
In late April, Sean
rode Aaron in a clinic with Hilda Gurney.
They worked to improve his tempo and throughness in his collected work
and as a result have been able to get his flying changes more consistent.
After a bit more practice at home, watch for
him to debut at Third Level in the near future.
Aaron’s 2nd Level freestyle also received some polishing up
with advice from Hilda so look for a slightly modified routine at the next
show.
The updated routine, along with
new music should push his scores even higher.
Also along the lines
of training, all the horses are continuing to improve steadily.
Dost is getting more and more of his strength
back and is starting to work his piaffe/passage transitions again, along with
getting more balanced in the pirouettes and changes.
It won’t be long before he finds his new
home, so if you are thinking about coming to see him don’t wait much
longer!
Whirlaway, too, just keeps
getting better and more balanced.
She
will definitely be a perfect horse for a junior or smaller adult to bring along
through the levels with her steady mind, correct gaits and willing
attitude.
And of course there’s also
Modern Magic, a gorgeous black 4 year old mare with unlimited potential and
outstanding athleticism that will make any advanced rider eager to own this
sure FEI prospect.
Check out Dost and
Whirlaway on the Sales Horse page, and keep your eyes open for pictures and
video of Magic coming soon.
After evaluating all
of the horses we’ve had in training over the last several years, we have decided
to make a small change to our offered services.
We have, since our inception, offered a ‘partial training’ option which
included only 3 days a week of training.
This was primarily beneficial to
the horses that we were starting under saddle so as not to put too much mental
or physical stress on them for the first few months.
We are no longer starting horses under saddle,
but instead refer them to Dennis Brazeal of Bosque Farms, NM who does a superb
job of getting their initial training underway.
For older horses, a 5-6 day per week training program is required to
show any significant progress in their development, any less has proven to be
ineffective.
For these reasons, we are
eliminating the partial training option from our offered services. This will
allow us to optimize and dedicate more time to our students and full training
horses.