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Guest Post: Preparing Your Horse for Shows
We’re right in the thick of equestrian show season, with many horse owners busy preparing their animals for the big day out. Preparation begins weeks in advance of a show, as the horse will need to be drilled in the routines that it will likely be asked to perform on the day, and the hours and days leading up to showtime are quite busy as final preparations are made. The day before the show should be dedicated to enhancing your horse’s appearance as best as possible. Make sure all its body is washed and apply coat conditioner, although be careful not to put too much conditioner on the saddle area…
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At EGVUS 5th annual show
Hi! Well, spring is here and showtime begins for most equestrians! Spring has been established as a competition season in the equestrian world and at EGVUS we organized a competition among the athletes. People from age 5 to 45 competed showed their skills in a wide range of activities, such as endurance, polo, showjumping, vaulting, racing, timed exercises with poles, equestrian theory and timed bridle assembling. The purpose of the competition is to have fun, introduce the locals to the equestrian sports, show each other what we have learned and prepare psychologically the young athletes for affiliated competitions. Athletes, relatives, friends and common citizens arrived to watch the challenges that…
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End of road for Totilas’ career?
Last Thursday was a bad one for the German dressage team at the 2015 FEI European Championships in Aachen. From the first moment of the appearance of Totilas’ and his new rider, Matthias Rath in the arena, it appeared that there was something wrong with the welfare of the multi-million stallion. To the trained eyes, it was obvious that Totilas was lame and in agony throughout the test. His rear left leg appeared sore while Rath was saluting. Later, Totilas -now 15 years old- was taken to a clinic and was diagnosed with bone edema. Consequently, a long pause in sports duties has been advised, with the end of his…
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Making music for dressage
Who follows this blog for some months now has probably concluded that I am quite interested in dressage. It’s the harmony, the elegance and the need for balance and precision that makes it appear so charming to me. Today I would like to show you a BBC video about composing music for freestyle dressage shows. Victor Kerkhof, who composes music for equestrianism meets BBC reporters to show the BBC audience and equestrianism lovers how he makes music for the performances of the well-known dressage rider Anky van Grunsven. Impressive!
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How to braid the mane of your horse
As I continue discovering the world of equestrianism, I learned that braiding is compulsory for equestrian shows. This gives the judges the impression of a clean and tidy horse. And actually plaits must stay tight and in place all day when you have a show. Interesting. So, today I watched some videos about braiding manes. These ladies do it so beautifully: The lady below plaits the rich mane of a friesian horse! Oh, mon Dieu! Going to bed now! See you tomorrow!
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My new riding whip
To reward myself for going through successfully a quite harsh year, and to celebrate my first year as an equestrian, I ordered a great whip from Amazon. I had expected it for days and kept checking the mailboxes and the hall’s reception for Royal Mail notices. Today as I woke up I thought I should check again. So, I went to the stairs, looked down through them and noticed a neat cylindric parcel. I immediately assumed what it was; my new whip! I ran towards the mailbox spot like a kid running to the Christmas tree and grabbed the package. The first think I noticed was a flawless cylinder and…