Polar Vortex

Polar Vortex Voltes, Gale Force Wind Canter Pirouettes, and Accidental Snow Pile Landings. This, for sure, has been a winter to test even the most die hard of riders. it's left many of us scurrying to the barn as soon as the mercury rises above freezing, shedding layers joyously halfway through our rides, and dreaming of riding in a polo shirt again (Oh, the thought of it!) But the thought of ano...ther snowstorm, another day of winds that threaten to shake the mirrors off the walls of the indoor, and another morning of frozen buckets might just have you giving up and turning off all your Florida Horse Show and Chronicle of the Horse Facebook notifications, with their taunting photos of smiling, tanned faces and glossy braided horses (when your bottle of showsheen still lies frozen in your abandoned horse trailer). If you've struggled to keep your horse fit through the winter, and are now feeling the last ounce of dedication and resolve being sucked out of your bones, it's a great time to pick a few things from the following list to help you get looking forward to the show season, and keep your goals fresh in your mind (or just entertain yourself while you wait another five minutes to go back out to the barn to put the winter rugs back on as the temps plummet again) 1. Get out your tests. Not just the level you plan to show at this year, but the next level. At this point of the game, you want to plan on showing where you've BEEN, not where you ARE. Especially if you've only managed to get three successful canter departs in the past month (with success meaning the rider is still astride the horse) 2. Add a lesson to your schedule or watch some lessons. If your trainer agrees, and the rider is up for it (maybe you can trade a few sessions with a shedding blade) watching lessons is a great way to stay focused. While auditing clinics is also a great way to anonymously pick up a few pointers, this is not the time of year to go and start rewriting your instruction manual, so best to keep your educational sessions within the parameters of the program your trainer has helped you develop. Clinics are a great educational tool, but if you're planning to compete find it's best to try new bits and bobs all by yourself at the end of the season, not at the beginning, when you're still working out the kinks. If you're basics are lacking, a few new exercises or quick fix aid modifications probably wont get you in the ring faster, unless you have someone to help you figure out how to fit them in. 3. Go to a clinic WITH your trainer. Take notes, and have a Whine and Cheese party after (my favorite part) to talk about application to YOUR horse and where the theories fit into the path you're on, or if they don't. Training horses isn't an exact science. . . more of a sliding scale . . . but there are a few hard and fast markers of progress and correct training. programs are built on how and where these markers are developed and where they pop up. Experienced trainers are big picture thinkers, and can help you put the pieces of your puzzle together. . . and help you put aside the pieces that aren't part of your particular puzzle. This can save you months of frustration when "SuperRider So-and-So" explains his New Method at a clinic, and then you go home and try to explain it to your horse. And he doesn't get it. . . And starts running away. . . Literally. . . 4. Get your saddle checked. Reflocking, billet repair, that hole in the seat that leaves the funny mark on your full seats . . . get it fixed now before you need to. your horse is probably doing well enough to spend a week in your backup saddle. 5. Video Diary - grab a friend and start a video diary of the schooling progress for the year. in June, you might want to look back and see how far you've come. . . or how your horse looked happier . . . and in between, you might find out why. Youtube is amazing. Just remember to upload the one where you fall off as "private". 6.And Speaking of Videos, look up the good ones - find on demand videos of rides where you can look up the scores. Try to find the good, the complimentary, rather than the negative as the rider dances across the computer screen. Positive thinking starts before you get on your horse.. 7. Avoid the Black Cloud. Every barn has them - people who are critical, seriously opinionated, and are willing to tell you exactly what they think your 'problem' is. And they aren't your trainer, sometimes they don't even ride the same discipline! Maybe they really are trying to help, or maybe they just like creating drama. Either way, don't let it get you down and change your routine a little if you can, and develop a bubble of positive energy to work in. The weather's bad enough, don't fight the negative karma- reroute and avoid. Hope this all helps! if you have other positive ideas to help us all keep on keeping on, please add them! Spring is here. . . and soon we'll be feeling it. . . (I hope!)