Clover Run

08/31/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/sNxEDBJyC9E2y7ry/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Dear Drivers,
My most valued possession is inside the trailer behind my truck. He stepped into that rolling steel box because I asked him to and he trusts me. He’s a living, breathing creature, and all 1200lbs of him are precariously balanced on four tiny hooves as my truck and trailer wind down the road.
My horse is not a boat or camp trailer, and I cannot stop quickly or turn sharply without risking his safety and even his life.
Know that I will do just about anything to avoid hitting the brakes with a horse in my trailer. However, if your Suburban is hidden in the blind spot behind my two-horse trailer and I do have to stop suddenly, you’re too close to stop without ending up in the trailer with my horse.
When I make those wide turns, I need them to prevent my horse from scrambling. Please give me room and time to turn.
And that large distance between me and the vehicle in front of me? It might look like enough room to fit three sedans bumper to bumper, but it’s actually the distance I need to stop softly and safely without my horse falling.
Those times when we’re headed up a hill, my speed is as fast as I can go. My foot has the accelerator pressed to the floor, and no matter how hard you try, your Honda can’t push us up this hill. I promise I’ll move to the right lane when it becomes available or pull over if I find a safe spot on the shoulder, but until then I ask for your patience and some space.
Lastly, my setup weighs 3 tons, and that much weight prevents me from swerving. When you pass me going 80 mph uphill on a blind corner, you don’t just put my horse at risk: Your driving threatens the lives of the oncoming driver, my passenger, me, you, and everyone in the vehicles behind us.
So next time you see a horse trailer, assume an animal’s in there. Please give the them some space and offer some patience. By driving safely, we’ll all get where we’re going.
Thank you, horse owner
❤

08/31/2024

08/30/2024

Connemara Bay claims 4th, 3rd, 10th in pre green hunter to start off our 2024

08/30/2024

Stood like a pro for our very first braids after *technically* surviving the schooling ring. We’ll see if they still@exist in the morning!

08/22/2024

08/21/2024

08/20/2024

SPONSORSHIPS AVAILABLE! River would like to let all the veterans know that there are still tickets available for our Freedom for Veterans program 🇺🇸 Starting September 8th, veterans are welcome to join our horses for a 5-week program. This program aims to provide a space for veterans to experience personal growth and development through equine-assisted activities. We have a limited number of sponsored tickets. Veterans wishing to receive these sponsorships should contact us at [email protected] to receive a full reimbursement for their ticket. Please note that this is not a therapy program.

The dates for the program are September 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th, and October 6th. All sessions are from 1:30-3:30 pm. Tickets are $150 which includes all five sessions, materials, etc. All proceeds benefit the horses at Freedom Hill Horse Rescue, a 501(c)(3) non-profit.

Tickets and more information are available through the link below:
https://www.freedomhillhorserescue.com/freedom-for-veterans.html

08/15/2024

At-home practice is key to a winning performance in the under-saddle class.

08/12/2024

“Do the best you can until you know better.
Then when you know better, do better.”
― Maya Angelou

08/08/2024

Tickets are on sale now for our newest Equine Assisted Learning program, Freedom for Veterans 🇺🇸🐴

Veterans are welcome to enjoy this five-week program with our horses and PATH International and EAGALA-certified mental health clinicians at FHHR. This program will involve equine-assisted therapy which will provide mental and physical benefits to attendees. These sessions are intended to be a full-course five-week program in which attendees will be at all five sessions. The full cost of the program is $150 per attendee.

Being with and working with horses can provide veterans numerous opportunities for self-growth, insight, personal development, improved self-esteem and self-image, building confidence, and relief of, and management of, daily stressors and emotions. This group aims to touch on these areas as well as introduce members to the unique horse-human relationship and basic horsemanship skills.

To purchase your tickets, head to the link below or in our bio!

🔗: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/freedom-for-veterans-tickets-805745084237?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Freedom Hill Horse Rescue is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. All proceeds from this program benefit the horses at FHHR. Please email us at [email protected] with any questions you may have.

08/01/2024

By TPH Interns SAHANA PARASHER and CLAIRE WITALEC Horseback riding is fun—but being an equestrian offers so much more than just the excitement of riding. There are a number of skills required in equestrian sports, such as perseverance, responsibility, confidence, and effective communication. These...

08/01/2024

If you had expressed interest in joining our 2024-2025 National Capital Adult Equitation League team, information was just sent out! Check your email! Replies due by august 10. If you did not receive the email but would like information, reach out and I’ll be happy to send it to you!

07/31/2024

Riding schools for children -

I used to teach children riding lessons a lot. It was really fun and rewarding to instill in young people care and respect for the horse, and good riding skills. I found chikdren far more receptive and empathetic than many adults, because they hadn’t been taught to ignore horses expressions to get something done.

The pressure from parents to accelerate the kids skills to more fun stuff, or to prevent the child’s boredom, was a steady presence in teaching- along with maintaining the school horses soundness and mental well-being from being ridden by beginners. Keeping lessons good for both horse and rider was a job of creativity and constant adjustment. I believe it can be done, but the culture at large doesn’t typically make it profitable, as many parents struggle to want to pay for lessons on sound husbandry and good riding basics. The kids want to canter, by God!

I have some firm beliefs about good riding stables, and I realize the expense and strain and adjustment is an ever pressing reality, I stand by these beliefs:

-children should learn good riding fundamentals first, and not progress to trotting, cantering, jumping until they have a good understanding of a balanced seat and can demonstrate it

-children should learn care of and respect for the horse comes before their entertainment. Grooming, tacking, warming up and cooling down, quitting an activity or adjusting if the horse is stressed, learning groundwork, etc, should be a non negotiable

-children should learn to feel a balanced horse to the extent possible. A beginner horse should not simply be a lame horse that tolerates them, but one to teach th em how to ride- children should not be set up for a future of kicking and pulling to get a horse to do something, but learn to feel how to direct a horse with their body, and to feel movement that is balanced, setting them up for a lifetime of being able to balance future horses.

- children should learn to read accurately equine expression and well-being. Children should not be taught to describe horses as lazy, stubborn, etc- these are taught by adults and children learn to adapt these views. The adults are responsible for setting the culture and views of horses and their handling.

Many riders struggle with normalizing tight, crooked, and unhappy horses because this is what they learn to ride on. The instructor is responsible for setting the culture of what their program entails, and I believe this means setting firm boundaries on what the purchasing client can expect, instead of catering to unreasonable demands to keep business. That is a whole can of worms in itself, but one worth opening.

07/28/2024

The aids evolve as your horse moves up the levels.
For example, it’s OK if you are riding your intro level horse with 90% of the contact in the inside rein- if that’s what it takes to get some bend, do it!! By training level you will be utilizing the outside rein a little more. Now all of the actions you do with your inside rein will be to put your horse into the outside rein. During first and second levels, sometimes your horse will gloriously stand up on the outside rein, and other times they will fall on the inside shoulder and you will be scrambling to put them back on the outside rein. It’s normal. Depending on you and your instructor, you may be working to put all of the contact into the outside hand, or you may be working towards 50-50. But the point is, your outside hand will no longer be completely static. You will sometimes be using that hand to squeeze and release to lower the neck or limit the bend. That said, you will also likely spend way too much time still hanging on the inside rein. You may be wondering if you’ll ever get this inside leg to outside rein thing down pat. Uh, if you or your horse did that perfectly you would be at PSG by now! Once you ARE at forth or PSG, your inside hand will indeed be deathly quiet. You’ll be afraid of it- you’ll know the trouble it causes!!!! Your horse will magically and consistently stay into your outside hand which will look steady, but there will be a constant conversation going on. The outside hand may look still, but the connection will be alive with the sound of dressage music!! It’s biggest job will be limiting the bending in order to not lose the outside shoulder. That horse that used to not know how to bend will now use the bend against you like a weapon! Your life will be about straightness. The most you will do with your inside hand is open it 1 inch to get it out-of-the-way. At this level, you will always be using your hand in connection with your seat. To change the feel in the hand you will be changing the connection with the horse’s entire body.

Obviously you’re not going to ride a PSG horse with intro level aids. But what honestly would be even worse is to try to ride an intro level horse with PSG level aids!!!! That young horse would be so claustrophobic and confused!! I think a lot of talented young warmbloods have their brains fried because advanced riders try to use the same aids that they do on their FEI horses. On the flipside, I do think an advanced horse should be able to go around with baby aids. A person who is good at calligraphy should still be able to use a crayon. On my advanced horses I love to occasionally ditch the outside rein and ride them like a green bean- it’s a great way of letting them relax and checking in to see how they respond to each aid individually. If my second level horse falls in when I use just my inside hand, then I know I have been somehow secretly holding him up. Opps. So I will use that to re-teach him how to respond to that aid.

I find that a lot of riders struggle because they don’t realize that things change. They don’t know how to move onto the next step, and they don’t know how to back off to the last step when needed.

07/28/2024

Laura Collett and London 52 set a new Olympic record with a sensational performance in the Paris 2024 eventing dressage to score 17.5 today (27 July)

07/28/2024

The oldest horse at the Olympics Wundermaske is partnered by the oldest event rider, Ronald Zabala Goetschel, with a combined age of 78

07/20/2024

Having a limited budget when purchasing a horse might seem difficult but not impossible. Though it might not be the fanciest, there is a horse made for everyone. Learn about the benefits of purchasing a thoroughbred in the hunter world.

07/18/2024

Photo: Abi Kelley gives her horse, Ishana III an appreciative hug after a great round in the Low Junior Jumpers. By Kirstie Dobbs and Hailey Johns What’s the first question that you ask a young rider when they return home from a horse show? Is it, “How did you ride?” Or, is it, “How did […...

07/17/2024

BY PIPER KLEMM For those of you who work, and wait, and work some more – we salute you.  I am impatient at best. When I focus in on a goal, I am whole hog. I read everything. Evaluate everything. Put in every hour, every movement, every sacrifice. I want it. Maybe not immediately, but […]

07/14/2024

Some tears, more smiles, and many learning experiences were had at day 1 of the clinic! We are learning to trust our instincts and be to Now to build on what we learned yesterday for day 2!

07/13/2024

Wonderful start to our weekend - started with a morning workshop with and now we’re getting ready to ride!

07/13/2024

BY EMILY RIDEN / JUMP MEDIA Earlier in August, U.S. Olympic team bronze medalist Laura Graves gave a “Dressage for Jumping” clinic hosted by the Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) and presented by BarnManager. Well schooled hunter/jumper riders will know that the most important part of ...

07/11/2024

Looks like this weekend is going to be another scorcher. Take a listen to our latest podcast 𝐽𝑢𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑦𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 - 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐻𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑠 for great tips and advice. Available wherever you get your podcasts or at `https://www.buzzsprout.com/2072143/15380726