GRS Goes to Glen Arden

Yesterday I was supposed to take Sienna and a student's horse to Glen Arden to school their stadium course in their very nice arena.... But when I got to the barn, it was to discover Sienna had been kicked and was definitely not sound. Boooo again. So load up student's horse -- txt other students whose horses are between our barn and GA and say "whoever answers first gets to come". hahaha ended up taking Nea and Rye (of Gorstella fame). Awesome job. Students were a little frazzled having not jumped actual courses since *last* summer. hahaha but other than that the world was good. Nea, for whom everything is a first -- got braver and braver as she went along! Superstar. By the end even the corner jump was no problem at all. Woohoo! 2 in a row, gates, flowers, everything :) All no problem. And for Rye, this was a great game! He was having more fun than his rider anticipated *g* But once she learns how to apply the infamous half-halt* she'll be set. Even navigated the very scary chevron. Woohoo! Overall not half bad :)

*A half-halt? What's that? "The half-halt is a hardly visible, almost simultaneous co-ordinated action of the seat, the legs and the hand of the rider, with the object of increasing the attention and balance of the horse before the execution of several movements or transitions to lesser or higher paces. In shifting slightly more weight onto the horse's quarters, the engagement of the hind legs and the balance on the haunches are facilitated, for the benefit of the lightness of the forehand and the horse's balance as a whole." hahaha no problem! Sheesh when that's how the FEI defines things it's no wonder people get frazzled by it! The most complex and yet often most subtle of movements and by far the most powerful aid available to the rider. And one that's almost never well taught and that DQs make very scary by definitions like the one above! Really people -- it's half a halt. That's all there is to it. The only trick is that it has to be half of a *good* halt (ie balanced!) not just a cliff-stop. (as in oh-my-god-we're-going-off-a-cliff-STOP!) hahaha I'm afraid it's one of those things that falls into the "simple but not easy" category. And since people really have trouble accepting simple-but-not-easy they take the simple out and make it exceptionally complicated; then their egos are less bruised by the fact that they can't do it. hahaha psyc101 eh?