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12/30/2024

12/24/2024

The January issue of Sidelines Magazine is here! 🎉 Our Stallion & Breeding issue features Barbara Chappell of C**t Hills Farm on the cover, plus incredible stories about Vicky Castegren of Hyperion Stud, Leslie Butzer of , and more amazing equestrians! Don’t miss it!

Start reading now: https://vist.ly/3mqax3i

07/25/2024

Ok I am sticking my neck out and opening a can of worms by saying what I feel strongly that needs to be said.

We are living at a time where there is no privacy and everything that happens behind closed doors is spoken about and shown in public. Some of this is good and some is not.

I feel very strongly about horse welfare because we as riders and trainers have the power over horses wellbeing as well as over the misuse of horses. It is our obligation to look after them and care for them.

Saying that, we as humans learn to do the right things by often making mistakes first. When I look back on my career as a rider and a coach there have been many times that I would now say I have done the wrong thing by my standards today.
I have done the wrong thing by horses in my past, riding and training in a way that I would NOT accept today, because today I know better.

I have many times looked back at horses in my past and apologised to them, feeling bad about my actions, knowing that they came from a lack of knowledge, pressure, frustration and my own ego at the time wanting to prove myself.

All these experiences have made me the rider, coach and person I am today. I have learned, grown and have become more knowledgable and compassionate as a result of my past.

What is the point of my confession and this post?

The point is that we have a current situation where a rider/trainer is punished and dragged through social media which might threaten her career not to mention the personal trauma inflicted on Charlotte herself.

We have a whistle blower who is crucified and haunted by supporters and fans, I can not imagine how he/she must be feeling right now.

We have a horse who is no better off.

All of what is happening right now, with the time that has passed has no benefit for anyone. It is only causing pain. I beg you to put yourself in the shoes of both people involved. How terrible must they feel right now.

But we can learn from mistakes so lets learn.

Riders, if you are in a lesson where something happens that you are not comfortable with, that you feel is doing wrong by you or your horse, speak up! You can only help your horse if you speak up there and then.

Parents, friends, families, if you are witnessing a lesson where the rider is not able to speak up, support them and speak for them! Stop the lesson, pay and walk away.

I know how hard it can be, I have been there myself as a rider and as a parent where I felt I had to speak up and end a lesson. Not because the horse was abused, but because I felt it was not the right way to train. Why did I know that and why could I speak up for the horse?? Because I have learned from my mistakes in the past.

Coaches and trainers, I know how hard it is to combine your love and passion for horses with the need to create an income to be able to have a sustainable business that pays the bills.
I know how difficult it can be to fulfil riders expectations and help them to achieve the sometimes unachievable.
Be courageous enough to be honest to your riders and make them understand the importance of time! It is the shortcuts that harm our horses and they are taken because we don't allow the time it takes.
Horses are in no hurry, it is us who have to learn to be patient.

I don't know the details of what has happened but I wish that we can find a way back to having conversations. Speaking to each other even if we disagree. Taking videos, slandering each other on social media and suing people who we once admired is not who we are as a horse community. Lets do better.

Lets, learn to say YES when you mean yes and learn to say NO when you mean no. Lets have discussions, disagreements and even arguments but behind closed doors and in small circles.
This is something that we all can do better so that we protect our horses at the time when they need our protection, not years later.

06/13/2024

05/11/2024

The Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria

The riding school, established in 1572 during the Habsburg Monarchy, predates the French manege of Antoine de Pluvinel and holds the distinction of being the oldest of its kind worldwide. Historical records indicate that a wooden riding arena was initially commissioned in 1565. However, it was not until 1729 that Emperor Charles VI enlisted the architect Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach to construct the current white riding hall. Prior to this, the school operated from a wooden arena located at the Josefsplatz. While the riding hall was once used for various ceremonies, it is now accessible to the public, who can observe the training and performances by the stallions.

The Spanish Riding School derives its name from the Spanish horses that played a significant role in the development of the Lipizzan breed, exclusively used at the school. Presently, the horses provided to the Spanish Riding School are bred at the Piber Federal Stud, situated near the village of Piber in western Styria, Austria. One of the original studs involved in the breed's development was Lipizza, now known as Lipica, located near Trieste in modern Slovenia, which lent its name to the breed.

The origins of the Spanish Riding School can be traced back to military traditions dating as far back as Xenophon in Ancient Greece. It particularly draws inspiration from the military horsemanship of the post-medieval era, when knights sought to maintain their dominance on the battlefield by discarding heavy armor and mastering swift and intricate maneuvers in a firearms-dominated environment.

Traditionally, the training and riding of Lipizzaners at the school have been exclusively entrusted to men. However, the Spanish Riding School clarifies that there has never been an official prohibition on women. In October 2008, two women, Sojourner Morrell, an 18-year-old from the United Kingdom, and Hannah Zeitlhofer, a 21-year-old from Austria, successfully passed the entrance examination and were accepted as riders at the school. This marked the first time in 436 years that women were admitted for training.

11/12/2023

Lest we forget.

I was pulled from my field, from my work, from my play,
Ne'er again to see England, in lands far away,
Through death and destruction, through blood sweat and tears,
I carried my master, along with my peers,
So I ask you to remember a while,
Along with the soldiers, in smart rank and file,
Remember our beauty, the strength of our kind,
As we galloped through danger, without care to mind,
For we were the horses thrust into war,
And we gave up our lives for your peace evermore.

The War Horse, 1914 - 1918

05/29/2023

Recent studies conducted by the Institute of Heart-Math provide a clue to explain the two-way ′′healing′′ that occurs when we're close to horses.
According to researchers, the heart has an electromagnetic field larger than the brain: a magnetometer can measure the energy field of the heart that radiates from 2.4 meters to 3 meters around the human body.
While this is certainly significant, perhaps more impressive than the electromagnetic field projected by the heart of a horse is five times larger than that of a human being (imagine an electromagnetic sphere around the horse) and it can influence straight into our own heart rate.
Horses are also likely to have what science has identified as a "coherent′′ heart rate (heart rate pattern) that explains why we can feel better when we're close to them. Studies have found a coherent heart pattern or HRV to be a solid measure of well-being and consistent with emotional states of calm and joy-that is, we exhibit such patterns when we feel positive emotions.
A coherent heart pattern is indicative of a system that can recover and adapt to stressful situations very efficiently. Many times, we just need to be in the presence of horses to feel a sense of well-being and peace.
In fact, research shows that people experience many physiological benefits by interacting with horses, including lower blood pressure and heart rate, higher beta-endorphins (neurotransmitters acting as pain suppressors), decreased stress levels, decreased feelings of anger, hostility, tension and anxiety, better social working; and greater feelings of empowerment, confidence, patience and self-efficacy.

By: Alejandro Pascual Puig
CEO en E&C CONSULTING CEO en E&C CONSULTING
The artist is Valerie Eric. The copyright holder is Sarah Barnes, HeartMath certified practitioner. The image was inspired following a riding lesson on heart connection.