JKF Dressage- Julie Franzen Dressage at Turning Leaf

12/02/2024

We are on the hunt for a weekend staff member! Saturday and Sundays 7:30-4. Contact me if you want more information or know someone looking for weekend work!

11/22/2024

We had an amazing two (freezing) days with Kim Gentry! We all walked away with so much more knowledge on finding the right bit for our horses. To see the changes was truly inspiring! Thank you to everyone that participated. I wish I would have gotten more pictures!

Are you sad you missed it? Don’t worry we are currently scheduling a summer date and two full days to reach everyone that had to be waitlisted this time!

11/12/2024

Big announcement for us! LuAnn Grover and Julie Kotlarz- Franzen have partnered on our next horse to develop. Zion is partially retired, so it was time. Leaving Holland on Thursday is our new baby girl, Tophojs Valentina a 3 year old Danish warmblood Vitalis x Floriscount! We are over the moon and cannot thank Gina Falcone enough for finding this beautiful lady for us! She should make her arrival to Ohio in early December 🥰🥰🦄😍

10/16/2024

09/30/2024

Looking to fill a few Sunday morning only shift stall cleaning and barn cleaning (with another person) 7:30-10:30am. Message me if interested! 12 stalls.

09/29/2024

Quiet rain day and the arena is all conditioned ready to work on Monday!

09/29/2024

Pasture #9 completed in one day! Thanks to my amazing family and Heather for working in the rain!

09/22/2024

We added pasture #8 in one day! We now have one grass field that actually contains grass

09/10/2024

Check out our upcoming events! We have a Ryan Yap clinic in October and in November we are hosting Kim Gentry from Bits’n such for a bit fitting clinic dressage and jumpers welcome! For the bit fitting clinic we are requiring auditors to be pre-registered DM for the link!

09/07/2024

The storms gave us just long enough to school for Donovan’s first show!

09/02/2024

Überstreichen:
Translated from the German, über means over, and streichen means to stroke or pet. Put simply, überstreichen is slacking of the reins by moving both hands forward along the horse’s neck for several strides, demonstrating that the horse is in self-carriage. During this release, the tempo, balance and outline of the horse should not change. It can also be a test of diagonal connection – inside leg to outside rein, and bend by just releasing the inside rein for several strides while riding on a curved line, the goal being that the bend and balance remain the same. In both cases the reins are taken softly back up afterward.

08/12/2024

This is why your turn does not come from pulling on the rein. Note the riders hand and leg position and hip angle in each sketch. Note the development of the horses muscles in each sketch. Note the shape of the horse in each sketch. A truly supple, truly bent horse is working through their entire body. It is OUR job as the rider to guide the horse to become soft, supple, and through in all movements.

Rider one is pulling the nose around, and trying to push the haunches in, with a following outside rein offering the horse no balance, and a hardly supportive inside leg to wrap around. This has created a rigid, stiff horse that will surely be back sore, weak in the hind end, with front end bulk in all the wrong places. This horse has every opportunity, and will likely be so uncomfortable that it will try every time, to run out of his right shoulder.

Rider two is pushing the horse from his inside leg to his outside rein. The outside rein is providing a balance point for the horse, allowing him to be both comfortable and willing to carry himself. Because the riders rein is supportive and blocking the shoulder, the horse can not blow out the shoulder, and can only become truly bent along the entire length of the spine.

In order to build the athlete you want, and to allow your horse the opportunity to have a long, successful, and most importantly SOUND career, it is important to understand how we ride, even in seemingly simple tasks such as the walk or trotting circles, is effecting each muscle in your horses body. Not all muscle is good muscle!

- Ali Hamann / South Coast Sport Horses