Dovecote Equestrian

11/03/2024

Our first Musical Freestyle Day provided frivolity, creativity, and camaraderie! Special thanks to Lisa Swan and Melanie Miksovsky for organizing, Jesse Alton for emceeing, Maryann and Ann for scribing, and Aviva Nebesky for tolerating the shenanigans!

10/06/2024

Thank you Jimmy.

Where would we be without our eventing coaches⁉️ Take a moment to say “thanks” to the mentors that have helped shape you in the sport to celebrate 🏇 We are grateful for our ECP certified coaches that strive to improve their craft and provide the highest level of educational excellence to their students every day!📚

10/03/2024

Pony Club rocks! Shout out to Sandhills Pony Club for spearheading hay and grain relief for those horses affected by flooding and to rescue efforts!

Donations via Venmo to

Here is a link for those able to provide temporary stabling for all types of livestock.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSciu507xD9EEkaLKX3ZmTGk8-RmwuIkQIqO8c8HqXnqLB4rUw/viewform

09/19/2024

*Freestyle FUN*

Dovecote Equestrian is excited to present a Dressage Freestyle opportunity to show off your mad horse skills , your COSTUME, and your choreography!

https://www.dovecoteriding.com/calendar/dressage-freestyle

09/14/2024

Perspective! If you think riding a dressage test is difficult, imagine driving a four-in-hand around the boards!

Half price lesson to whoever can guess (private text plz) my new descriptive stretchy top line word!

08/25/2024

Dovecote Olympic Games 2024!! A fun night filled with friends, food, hilarity, and horses!

03/29/2024

A great read explaining why a rider needs to be centered and balanced.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/7KX7VSGLer4FFsWE/?mibextid=xOYQyo

Lightbulb moment!
This is how important balance & co-ordination are to the horse.

In my own head, from learning Human Physiotherapy first, the Cerebellum is a small part behind & below the main part of Brain (cerebrum). It co-ordinates gait, balance, and posture control.

So to see in real life, that the horse’s cerebellum is almost as big as the rest of the brain itself, was a massive eye-opener!

We know that horses don’t have a large frontal cortex, the complex thought part, like humans. But, naively, I kinda thought the whole brain was just smaller. I never expected the ratios of parts to be so clearly different.

So is it any wonder then, that horses react when they feel unbalanced? They react when their co-ordination is messed with?

The size of the cerebellum means it is VITAL for horses to maintain balance, gait & posture co-ordination.

If you put your horse off balance when riding, because your own body is wonky or weak, they have to react. Biomechanically, they HAVE to stabilise the system. But it could be a behavioural reaction too.

If you mess with their gait & posture control because you have no idea about timing of aids, or suddenly pull them around, or block their spinal movement with your rigid seat… they will probably react. You’ll be met with resistance. They might even rear or buck you off.

It’s not just about pain. A rider that puts their horse off balance doesn’t necessarily hurt them, but it does impact these vital things that horses need to feel safe.

If your horse doesn’t like their feet being picked up… or they do silly behavioural things with the farrier… Please ask yourself if it’s because they find it difficult to balance, and therefore don’t feel safe!

A lot of people these days are looking for pain when there’s a behavioural problem, which is fantastic and right. But if your Vet doesn’t find anything, don’t just assume ‘it must be behavioural then’ and try to TRAIN them better.

Consider balance & muscle/posture control. Ask a Physiotherapist to assess and teach you exercises to help your horse.

Sort your body as a rider, to improve your own balance & symmetry, to avoid throwing your horse off balance.

Save this post to remind yourself again.

03/21/2024

If you're looking for a nice, local starter horse trial, here's one! And the event helps support St. Margaret's Pony Club

03/20/2024

Thanks to Craig Haynes for building two new cabins and repairing many of the older jumps! The cross-country field has a few more Novice level jumps now!

02/25/2024

An Eventing history video! I was lucky enough to attend Badminton's fiftieth anniversary and still have eight unused bumper stickers! I can't believe they are twenty-five years old! Enjoy!

A documentary on the sport through the 20th century

02/11/2024

Women's Equestrian history! Or I should say, Herstory!

2/7 Today in Florida History from the Florida Historical Society!

1969 – Diane Crump became the first female jockey to compete in an officially sanctioned professional American horserace at the Hialeah Park racetrack in south Florida. Crump grew up in Oldsmar, Pinellas County, where she began her riding career, and was only eighteen when she first competed professionally against her male counterparts. She went on to become the first woman to compete in the Kentucky Derby in 1970 and continued to compete professionally over the course of the next thirty years, winning hundreds of races.

02/06/2024

You know you have a great barn when this many show up for hay day! Then we went for a ride! (Then a nap....)

02/02/2024

I'm so thankful I spent my formative equestrian years learning from this wonderful teacher, Jim Wofford. My favorite part of a lesson day, other than the actual lesson, was paying him. Sitting in his hallowed office while he searched for a pen, gave me the chance to gaze in wonder at all the mainly black and white photos of Olympians either related to him, coached by him, or he himself. What a gallery! An absolute history lesson of eventing. You see some of them here- 11960375@N04/with/2818993155" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://www.flickr.com/photos/11960375@N04/with/2818993155

My second favorite part was the ubiquitous humorous stories Jim told during every lesson. Thankfully many of them live on in his books. I can still hear that distinctive voice with every word.

Me on Mosha, Radnor 1994

10/26/2023

All three accepted by the judges panel. So proud of these students' dedication to the roots of eventing!

09/04/2023

What a week at the American Eventing Championships at The Kentucky Horse Park! We had all the feels... elation, disappointment, comraderie, bemusement, excitement and a little bit verklempt.

Congrats to Carissa Gavin for piloting Krysta Paradis's unicorn "The Flying Fox" to THIRD place in the Beginner Novice Master Amateur Division!

08/25/2023

Sage knowledge!

05/28/2023

My alma mater and the crucible of my equestrian journey!

05/23/2023

If you are looking for an excellent stater trial, check out Jenny Camp Starter Horse Trial at Shawan Downs! Named after the first mare, Jenny Camp, (bred at Front Royal VA Remount Center) to medal in Eventing at the Olympics in 1932!!

We are looking for volunteers from April 7th, 2023 to June 12th, 2023 near Cockeysville, MD.