🌟Trainer Tip Tuesday with Kaitlyn McGarvey and Joker🌟
Freezing cold outside? Snowing? Don’t worry- you can still enjoy your lesson in comfort!
🌟Trainer Tip Tuesday with Kaitlyn McGarvey🌟
Join Allie for breakfast at the barn!
Join Allie for breakfast at the barn!
Morrison tackling his first grid with Kaitlyn on board! He started jumping just a few short weeks ago!
Just a reminder that the $50 savings for the Liberty Clinic ends on October 1st (that’s TOMORROW!)
Join Kaitlyn McGarvey, of Concordia Stables, and Lisa Pulliam, of Stableminded.us, for a unique, hands-on liberty clinic that will teach you how to develop connection and confidence on the ground, which will improve your ground skills and riding!
Register at Stableminded.us/liberty/
Our students have been braving the rain this week to get some good rides in!
In the video below, one of our students is working on developing her “following” full seat canter, as well as maintaining a neutral, following rein contact. By having a following seat, you are then able to maintain a neutral rein connection! No stiff elbows here!
🌟Trainer Tip Tuesday🌟
Today’s tip is brought to you by Lisa Pulliam of StableMinded with Lisa Pulliam
When the kids are fighting and realize mom is watching! No seriously, any guesses what they are working on?
When the kids are fighting but then they realize mom is watching! No seriously, any guesses what they are working on?
🌟Trainer Tip Tuesday🌟
This week’s tip is from Concordia Stables instructor, Kristina Runyeon!
Are you struggling to stay balanced and control your movement during the rising trot? Has anyone ever told you to stop swinging your lower leg or that you ride with a “chair seat” with your leg too far forward? If so, this tip may help you!
For our riders, we want to see ear, shoulder, hip, and ankle alignment. This alignment allows us to ride with good balance and absorb movement effectively, thus making it easier for our horses to carry us. When our leg slides forward, we lose this alignment and its benefits. To get your leg in the right position, try standing straight up in your stirrups! Make sure you stand straight up with your hips pushed towards your horse’s ears, stretching tall with a neutral spine, and stretching down with your lower body. When you stand, you want to feel that you are balanced and that the flat part of the inside of your thigh is supporting you. There should be a bend in your knee and your heel should be just below your toe. You will find that if your leg is too far back or too far forward, it will be hard to stand up straight or stand at all. When you feel balanced, sit down, but the key is to not allow your lower leg to swing forward! Try this several times first at the halt, then progress to the walk and eventually to the trot. Sometimes it is helpful to practice this on a lunge line with an experienced person handling your horse to allow you to focus solely on your position.
Hint: This will be hard to do if you are bracing against your stirrup to push your heel down! Instead of pushing against the stirrup to get your heel down, try relaxing your ankle a bit, allowing the heel to come up, and thinking of an imaginary string gently stretching your heel back and down towards your horse’s back hoof, allowing your weight to come more onto the inner thigh.
Happy balanced riding!
