Afton Stables

11/23/2024

✨What a month we have had at Afton Stables! In the last 30 days we have welcomed three new horses to our farm. 😯

Rio is Mary’s new squeeze, a beautiful who perfectly matches his elegant and talented owner.

Farm owner is delighted with her new dance partner, Nino. A kind young from with tons of potential and a calm demeanor.

Lastly client makes the perfect match with her new dressage horse Braeden from .p.dressage in Pennsylvania. This is flashy, hardy, and incredibly well-behaved.

We love seeing the right horses and owners come together 🦄🎉❤️🥹

11/21/2024

Sweet faces 🦄
📸

11/12/2024

✨💙The bright side 🦄✨🌞. Bienvenido Niño, the new owner of Angela’s heart.

11/11/2024

Today we are celebrating veterans and and all they do to support those who have served when they return. We are happy to host Hope’s Heroes as they help veterans with horsemanship skills in a safe environment. We love watching the power of horses at work!

11/04/2024

📝We had a great weekend full of learning with and Bruno Greber! Thank you to all who participated, attended, and of course thank you to our expert clinicians 🤓

11/01/2024

🍂We are ready to welcome auditors and participants for our “Form & Function” clinic with and Bruno Greber 🍁

10/29/2024

It’s very important to practice with 🤪

10/29/2024

“We have to make friends with the canter.”

If you watch many riders school a horse, they will trot until the proverbial cows come home, will walk now and again to give the horse, (or themselves) a break, but will manage to avoid doing much practice in the canter.

I don’t think I am making this up. I think that if a random group of riders could somehow be timed, the amount of elapsed minutes and seconds of canter work would be far lower than time spent trotting.

Maybe that’s OK, maybe no big deal, but schooling at the canter has some important benefits that the trot can’t provide.

The canter is the gait that has the most potential uplift, that gives that nano second of upwards thrust, Reiner Klimke said to think of each canter stride as “a miniature jump.” So to build in more lifting power, the canter, with that moment of three legs off the ground, is more effective than the trot where two legs are up, two on earth, in diagonal pairs.

I have heard it said that the trot “borrows” lift from the canter, that the quality of the trot just following a good canter will be more buoyant, if only briefly.

Also, if you are a jumping rider, the canter is the gait from which most jumping happens, and it’s so important to be able to lengthen and shorten the canter, to create an adjustable canter, and it can’t be practiced at any other gait.

Certainly, the canter is more tiring for the horse, so it shouldn’t be overdone, but neither should it be avoided. This is a good quote that I heard---not sure who came up with it---

“We have to make friends with the canter.”

Consider your own schooling practice. Maybe you already utilize enough canter, but if you realize that it’s not a familiar enough sensation, maybe that means something needs to be added?

(Note in photo, 3 hooves off ground)

https://www.allbreedpedigree.com/drf+all+eyes+on+me

10/27/2024

A note from our trainer… about her trainer!! ~

Bruno graduated from the Swiss Professional Riders Association and became a Master Instructor; showing proficiency in Dressage, Vaulting, Driving, Lungeing and Show-Jumping. Later he moved to Vienna to study with and eventually work for Arthur Kottas-Heldenburg, former Chief Rider of The Spanish Riding School of Vienna. Here in the US Bruno has earned his USDF Bronze, Silver, and Gold Medals and helped many achieve them as well.

Bruno is a gifted teacher. He has a modern approach to learning, accentuating the positive and helping riders focus. Bruno’s use of imagery in teaching is unique, providing a picture in your mind where words fail. His library of exercises is extensive and he is skilled in finding which one will work for each pair. He has worked with hunters and jumpers on their flat work, and helped eventers perfect their dressage… because good flat work is good for everyone!!!

My favorite thing about riding with Bruno is achieving things that I didn’t believe were possible. He helps me focus in lessons so that my mind doesn’t get in the way of my riding, pushing me to ride and train better than I ever thought possible.

I would encourage all riders and coaches to audit this clinic!

10/25/2024

A note from our trainer ~

As a trainer and coach I love the opportunity for my students to work with Wendy. She offers a unique perspective on balance in motion, something that we all need to work on.

Oftentimes when I’m teaching I can see an imbalance or limiting movement in a horse and rider pair. Wendy is able to address those issues by finding the root cause.

Lastly, our program has been significantly improved with the use of pads. I cannot tell you honestly how they work, but I know our horses love them! They instantly relax and engage their sling muscles, saving me precious time warming up. I am a firm believer in quality over quantity, so I love it when my horses start off on the right foot (haha).

So I encourage riders and coaches of all disciplines to come audit Wendy’s clinic next Friday, 11/1, from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm at Afton Stables in our cozy indoor!

~ Maddie

10/24/2024

🍁 Autumn is beautiful at (and around) Afton Stables 🍂

10/23/2024

Please look at the circle on the lower right. Inside it is an eight sided series of straight lines, an octagon. Most riders who believe they are riding a circle are actually riding a polygon like this series of straight lines in the circle. This is because they do not bend their horses. They either don't know how or they lack the core and leg strength to do it correctly, or both.

Bending your horse and holding a bend happens when a rider applies physical strength at the center where the red arrow in the top image is pointing. Additionally, the rider holds their horse between the forehand with the inside hand and rein, and the hind with the outside leg slightly behind the girth.

The point of the red arrow acts like the point on a compass drawing the circle. The inside leg is the compass point at the red arrow defining the center of the arc of the bend. The right hand in the top picture is like the inside rein, and the rider's left leg acts like the pictured left hand. The rider in the picture holds their horse between the right rein and left leg and the "point of the compass" determines the center of the bend.

The process of riding an entire 20 meter circle in a bend might start as an octagon with many straight lines connected by quick turns. At the beginning an accomplished rider might hold a bend in their horse for the length of two of the straight lines, then three, then four and so on.

When the horse holds the bend longer, it requires more strength and stamina from both the horse and rider. Because of the strength required riders must be patient with the muscle development of their horse. To hold a bend throughout a complete circle is much more difficult than most riders believe.

10/22/2024

✨We are excited to bring back Wendy Murdoch and Bruno Greber for our two day clinic “Form and Function” ✨

On Friday, 11/1, Wendy Murdoch will help riders and horses with body alignment and balance.

On Saturday 11/2, Bruno Greber will coach participants to ride using this knowledge in a practical sense, putting form to function!

Auditors are welcome and we will have snacks and coffee. Both Wendy and Bruno work with riders of all disciplines, so this clinic is relevant to all!

10/19/2024

10/18/2024

Join us Saturday, 11/2 for a clinic with USDF Bronze, Silver, and Gold Medalist Bruno Greber. Before his success in the US, Bruno was a Master Instructor in Switzerland as well as Assistant Trainer to Arthur Kottas-Heldenburg. Using his classical credentials and modern success, Bruno is a warm and engaging instructor capable of bringing out the best in both horse and rider. He is mentor to our Trainer and an important part of our program. Join us to watch him coach riders on day two of our “Form and Function” series! WENDY MURDOCH & BRUNO GREBER

10/17/2024

💀It’s Spooky Season and we’ve got bones on the brain! Come audit our clinic with Murdoch Method on Friday, November 1st! Your skeleton 🩻 ☠️ and your horse’s skeleton will thank you. Also learn about the witchy 🧙magic of SURE FOOT Equine. Friday, 11/1 is the first day of our Wendy Murdoch and Bruno Greber Clinic focusing on form and function. Riding spots are full but we are accepting auditors and riders for our waitlist! We hope to see you there 🎉 ...

10/12/2024

Afton Stables ended show season on a high 🙌

Our Assistant Trainer showed OTTB Gigi in Training Level receiving her first blue ribbon as a professional ( Maddie is extremely proud 🥹)

won several classes with Zeke, riding clean tests scoring up to a 64% in Training Level

and Quique rode Training 2 for the first time and showed major improvements in accuracy and rider focus!!

Darla improved her score in Third Level by 10 points

Our Trainer is incredibly proud of Yunque but scratched him after his initial rides due to an upset tummy (he is home and feeling better)

Farm Owner was a super assistant coach, calling so many tests and helping to get everyone to the ring on time!

We loved visiting with old friends and making new ones. We love our Dressage community and we are so excited for next year but first… Our favorite season… winter training!