Cedar Springs Equestrian Center

01/27/2025

It's already that time again. Sign up is open for Summer Camp at Cedar Springs :)

01/12/2025

This is what it's all about, that red dot center of mass. The image shows where, when a horse is standing still, the mean of all the horse's bone, soft tissue and everything converges and where a horse feels their physical center. Horses feel this all the time, standing or moving. It's their center of physical comfort. As riders, it is our responsibility to keep that center more or less in the same centered place, so the horse always feels comfortable.

The percentages shown, front or back are expressed in plus or minus because every horse is a little different. This is due to conformation differences. If the horse's back is longer than average, the percent in the back gets a little larger. If a horse's neck is longer than is typical, the percentage in the front gets a little larger. Every horse is different.

The first thing I do when I get on a horse I have never ridden is feel where that red dot is for the particular horses I ride. This is so I can preserve it as best I can when I ride. And BTW for the nit pickers, some people call it the center of balance or gravity, but the name doesn't matter. What matters is the horse feels good when it's in that centered place.

And then we move off from standing still and the horse's center of mass begins to change. If we ride well, when the center changes along the line of impulsion (yellow lines), and if our horse is fit and we have the feel and the skill to keep that red in our horse's comfortable physically centered place, we have a great ride.

That's it folks. There isn't much more to riding well than this. It is all about the physics of energy and mass. We have to feel it. Some of us, who have watched riders and horses in lessons, training and competition almost every day for decades, can see it. When we teach, we don't teach forms like heels down or more hip angle. We teach, "let the horse move you" so you can feel it. When we train a horse, it's about keeping that red dot in the horse's comfortable center. When we judge, we evaluate how far from that center a rider mistakenly moves that center out from where the horse needs it.

If there was ever an "easier said than done" context, it is riding a horse well. This is why riders after a lifetime of riding, even with great instructors and horses, say they never learned enough. It's that challenging. But we do it anyway because nothing feels better than getting closer to this goal. This is the paradox of horsemanship, enjoying the impossibility of it all.

01/10/2025

Snow day 2025. Time stands still....except for barn chores.

01/10/2025

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01/07/2025

Dreaming of Spring....

01/02/2025

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends. Photo by Delaney Blanchard.

12/08/2024

Best group of kids around!

12/08/2024

Fun filled day with the show, 4-H meeting and Christmas Party. As usual, the teach-a-parent class was a hit.

12/04/2024

We are excited for the show and Party this Saturday. Hope everyone can make it for part of the day.

11/24/2024

Busy day on this windy Sunday. 16 lessons and 4 photo shoots.

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11/06/2024

ANWARC General Meeting- Nov 11th at 7pm at Lucky Lukes BBQ in Fayetteville. This is the meeting where you all get to make suggestions for any changes to next show season so please make an effort to attend! We will decide what all will be on the ballots at the banquet.

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09/26/2024

Ideas for the October show :)

08/12/2024

Additional Youth Halter and Showmanship classes will be held at the Fairgrounds Livestock Arena on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.
Please fill out this registration form and send copy to [email protected] or bring it to the Fairgrounds on Tuesday am.

WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIR YOUTH HALTER ENTRY FORM EIA VERIFIED________________ (ONE EXHIBITOR PER ENTRY FORM) ENTRY NUMBER:_________________ PLEASE PRINT ALL INFORMATION: Exhibitor AGE on January 1st of current year (if under 19 years):_______________ ...