Five Fillies Equestrian

01/15/2024

This weeks weather has us all wishing it were summer

11/21/2021

What a long long day. But worth it! So proud of Macie and how far she’s come! And Theo giving a pretty great performance for his first time in an indoor. And of course Gus being the best show pup ever.

11/15/2021

The obsession with a deep heel in flat work….

Have a look at the photo below. Would you squash my fingers when you ride? If the answer is yes, you have too much weight in your stirrups.

Next time you are in your saddle at halt, consciously push your weight into the stirrup and feel how your glutes and hamstrings contract, popping you up. You may have been doing this for so long it’s difficult at first to feel the contraction. Go back and forth between pushing down into the stirrup and just resting your foot. Really sense into what changes in your underneath when you push down into the stirrup.

Additionally, notice how this pushing into the stirrup jams up the joints of the ankle, knee and hip. All of which are required to stay soft and mobile if we are to sit the trot effectively. If too much weight in feet is not diagnosed by yourself or your coach you will bounce unnecessarily when using your stirrups. This is one of the primary reasons for no stirrup work and why you’ll feel like your sitting better and more connected without them.

I see many riders attempting to put their weight into the stirrup in hopes of following all gaits: rising and sitting trot and canter. It will only disconnect you from the saddle and your horses back. However, if we can learn to keep our ‘foot light’ in the stirrup we will have the same success with them as we do without. Not using your stirrups, sadly, will not help you learn to ride with them and ‘foot light’ is often the fix.

‘Heels down’ is something that is shouted by many coaches universally. Unfortunately, it results in many riders pushing their leg forward to appease the coach as often their hamstrings are tight and it’s the only way the heel will go down. Now the foot is jammed forward, removing the ability to follow the movement with a soft ankle and the body alignment of the ear, shoulder, hip, boney knobble of the ankle bone is lost. In this position, the rider is no longer responsible for their own body weight in any gait. The foot jammed forward and lack of proper alignment also makes the rider fall back into the saddle in rising trot with a thump because their feet are no longer under the hip.

Think of the ball of your foot across the pad of your stirrup iron and imagine you are about to dive backwards off of a diving board. It should feel springy and light. You are in a kneeling feeling and the energy comes from the hip socket, down the top of the thigh, out the kneecap and to the ground (not to your foot). Putting a sponge in each stirrup can also help you feel how the foot can stay light and spring-like through the joints of the ankle, knee and hips in sitting trot (and canter). If you don’t have some available, just imagining a sponge under the ball of your foot can have good effect.

If this is new to you, your new conundrum will be losing your stirrups until you can sense your way into feeling just the right amount of weight that will keep your stirrup but not squash my fingers! It is a conundrum worth working through, I assure you. Once this skill is solidified, you won’t panic if you lose a stirrup because you won’t be relying on your stirrups to stand in and balance.

***Thank you to Shannyn Clarke for being my photo model

10/05/2021

Happiest of birthdays to both Kristen Watkins and Chloe Clark!! 🎉🎉🎂Burt

09/30/2021

I notice something interesting when I teach people, especially women. When I pay attention to improvements and make a big deal of them, many people are often immediately suspicious.
The conversation might go something like this:
Me: “you rode that circle very nicely!”
Student: “well I still didn’t get a good rythm, my right leg is still too tight and my horse didn’t bend well.”
Me: “ok but it still is a really nice improvement”
Student : “well it could be better”

It sometimes seems that our brains are committed to focusing on the negative aspects of our work, that we aren’t allowed to be proud of our improvements. When I ask my students to tell me something they did well, they often look visibly uncomfortable, and if they can come up with something, they add conditions to it. “I got better at x, BUT I still didn’t do y and z.” I tell them often that a successful moment doesn’t need to be described with conditions. You can be aware of what needs improvement without needing to beat yourself over the head with it.

I also think people can get accustomed to the authoritarian type teacher who just hollers your every failure at you, until you accept you are never going to be as good as them. So a teacher who compliments their improvement and draws on their strengths draws suspicion - maybe the teacher doesn’t know anything if they think *I’m* good.

The thing is, I would never in a million years teach a horse the way some people have become used to being taught. Hanging your failures over your head puts too much emphasis on your shortcomings. Yes I can see what your leg is doing, but we’ll get to that. One thing at a time. When you ride with a laundry list of your own faults, you don’t reward yourself, or notice your accomplishments - and you don’t notice the horse’s either. You can’t help it. You think you’re being hard on yourself but you’re hard on the horse too.

You are allowed to be proud of your improvements. In fact, I highly recommend it.

09/26/2021

It was a great last day here at Tryon. Even though Theo and were both tired from the derby yesterday but still managed to place top ten in each class. Cici and Pippin killed it today! Brought home a blue!!

09/26/2021

So so so proud of this duo right here.
She ended up getting a second, third and fourth in her classes yesterday! ♥️♥️

09/25/2021

So proud of and Theo this morning. First time doing a National Derby and they did absolutely wonderful. Took all the high options and rode the track we walked! Then went immediately into the adult amateur and placed top 5 in both trips!

09/24/2021

Finished the day with the sassy marshmallow killing it in the Equ on the flat! So proud of this kiddo for her first show in far too long!

09/24/2021

So far the weather (although chilly at first) has been great and completed the first division of the weekend. Finished up top 5 in the first trip, top 10 in the second and top 5 in the flat of the USHJA Hunter 3’. It’s great to be at a horse show 😊

09/24/2021

Thankful for a horse show weekend!

09/16/2021

So exciting to see Chloe and Bella work this evening together for the first time at home. Great things are gonna come from this dynamic duo.

09/14/2021

Congratulations to Chloe Clark and the purchase of Captivate The Crowd. I’m so excited to see what adventures we’ll go on and the growth that will happen in the next couple years! Welcome to the family Bella! ♥️

08/25/2021

Thank you so much Tori Duncan for wonderful pictures of this amazing crew!!

08/02/2021

What a great last day! Larsyn took home champion again in her walk halt division! Chloe and Hank finally got the pace they’ve been working towards! Macie received Reserve Champion in her cross rails equitation class. Landee and Harley had a night and day difference in their mini hunter division! So much improvement in less than a day! And Kristen and Theo had the best second classic round in the Adult division and had the best performance of their show season this year! So happy to end a long and hot weekend with some major highlights!

08/01/2021

What a long but reward two days it has been! Larsyn started the day off for Five Fillies with a blue in her Walk Halt class and came out champion in the division! Chloe and Hank had the opportunity yesterday (thanks to Horse Show Ventures!) to clinic with Dennis and Kirstin Murphy and gave wonderful tips! She applied those to today and gave Hank wonderful rides! Macie and Tw***ie gave wonderful trips in their cross rail class and I’m super excited to say it didn’t appear her “brain melted!” 😂 she remembered every course! Landee also rode in the clinic yesterday and absolutely loved it! And I couldn’t be more proud of how she performed today!! She cantered her first course in the Novice Mini Hunter and rode just like we talk about and practice at home. *proud trainer moment for her!♥️* Kristen and Theo had the most consistent rides I’ve seen them perform one after another and it paid off. She came out of the Adult division champion! Love this crew I have to call family! ♥️

07/31/2021

Great first day at Horse Show Ventures Tropic themed show! Can’t wait for tomorrow!

07/23/2021

07/19/2021

Craft time!! After figuring out how many campers does it take to clean King Dudleys stall… 🧐♥️

07/15/2021

So proud of my students and the positive attitudes they carry throughout the horse show life, during lessons, at the barn, and in the show ring! Landee Bledsoe was nominated for the Sportsmanship award for Horse Show Ventures at their Summer Country Fair Horse Show! ♥️♥️ Amy Tipton Bledsoe

07/06/2021

"...we must never forget, every time we sit on a horse, what an extraordinary privilege it is: to be able to unite one's body with that of another sentient being, one that is stronger, faster and more agile by far than we are, and at the same time, brave, generous, and uncommonly forgiving." ~ William Steinkraus, Olympic equestrian.

07/03/2021

What a perfect day with perfect weather to ride and be with your barn family! We had a great Fourth of July derby this morning and finished with food, company, and corn hole! Thank you to everyone making this barn a good place to be!

06/28/2021

Last day of camp was a success!! Learning about the history of the horse! And making posters!!

06/28/2021

What a great last two days! Full of riding fun and learning the behaviors of the horse!

06/26/2021

First day of camp is done!! Ba****ck riding always is the most fun thing to do!

06/20/2021

What a great last day! Kristen and Theo did great in their amateur classes today and the Classic finishing 4th! Macie killed it and had her game face on, even through the rain and got 3rd in her flat class out of 8! Chloe and Hank did the best they did all weekend today and it was noticed! Got top 5 in both of her classes today!! I couldn’t be more proud of my crew! And of course Gus was the best horse show dog!

06/19/2021

So proud of my team today! Huge milestones for them! Kristen and Theo did great in their adult amateur round and took home a blue! Chloe and Hank did so good and they’re both getting back into the groove of weekend horse shows. And Macie and Tw***ie did absolutely phenomenal and put a smile on my face as they took on the cross rails class! I’ve never seen her so focused and so determined!

06/18/2021

What a great first day at our first show at Tryon as Five Fillies Equestrian! Chloe and Hank are back in the show ring and did great for their first time in a while! Macie and Tw***ie did great and got too 2! And Kristen and Theo (dealing with buzzers for jumpers and announcers everywhere) did wonderful snagging a 2nd and 3rd! And Gus has been a trooper being a traveling horse show dog. ♥️

06/14/2021

Here is Macie and Landee busting out the cutest trots on their ponies today! 🥰

06/14/2021

What a great day. Landee schooled Harley over some bigger jumps and did great! Macie and Landee busted out their ponies trots in the under saddle and I couldn’t be more proud of how well they did. Dragon and Macie placed top 5 in both classes they entered! And Kristen and Theo had another great day with major highlights! Thank you for a great show! We can’t wait until the next one! .bledsoe