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Alex Murray – Dressage rider at heart
He actually showed me how much dressage can benefit a horse but also how important it is to let your horse have a break and have fun every now and then. I also just love the idea of training these wonderful animals to go sideways, to change leads, to listen so carefully to every small…
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My 2018 Riding Goals
There is something promising about the new year. It’s an opportunity to start afresh, set your sights on new things and new journeys. I love pouring over the competition calendar at the start of each year and planning for the coming year. A really important part of planning is setting goals. I’ve always set goals…
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2017 – A year in Review – Equestrian Blog Hop
2017 was a whirlwind of changes to in my career and a different focus in my riding. A promotion at work saw my professional life ramp up. With Nonie and I being between elementary and medium level, competing took a back seat and the focus was squarely on learning. And I completed my first 12…
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Lessons learnt in my medium debut
Two weekends ago Nonie and I danced down the centreline of our first ever medium dressage tests. In the week leading up to this competition my body was filled with a maelstrom of emotions. Excitement, nerves and pride. While we didn’t make take the dressage world by storm, it was a huge accomplishment personally and…
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A lesson in simplicity – Lessons with Brett Parbey
When the opportunity to train with Aussie icon Brett Parbery lined up with the Easter long weekend, I knew I wanted to be there. I’ve been a long-time fan of Brett Parbery, having watched him on horses such as Victory Salute and Aber Halo 29. Brett lives and trains in New South Wales Australia, but…
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Flying Changes and Mind Games
Toward the end of last year, Nonie and I started work on the flying changes. Flying changes!!! Being deemed ready to ride this brand new movement felt like a huge accomplishment. It felt like we had arrived! Having now started them, I can’t help but feel that my initial eagerness belied my naivety. I have…
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I’ll be a good rider when…
‘I’ll be a good rider when…’ This is a game I used to play a few years ago and it’s about as useful as its companion game ‘If only…’ At that time the script in my head was ‘I’ll be a good rider when I am competing at elementary level’. For quite some time,…
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Daring to Suck
Daring to suck… It’s a seemingly bizarre concept that resonated deeply with me. I was listening to one of my favourite podcast’s (check it out here http://summerinnanen.com/frr-37) when I stumbled across this idea. So what does ‘daring to suck’ actually mean? In a nutshell, it means giving something a go even if there is…
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Rain Rain Go Away
As an equestrian, my relationship with rain one of love-hate. While I can accept that regular doses of rain are necessary, bringing with it wonderfully lush grass, providing respite from the oppressive humidity and filling up rain water tanks and bores, there are also several negatives associated with the rain. When summer starts and brings…