Standardbred Riding Group Inc

What a way to start off the new year!

Marilyn Smithett was our instructor this month and she was FANTASTIC! 

We ran 3 flat lessons in the morning.  First lesson included Myself and Ben and Shelley D and Piper.  Shelley M was meant to be in our lesson also but wasn’t feeling well.  Shelley and I asked Marilyn if we could work on trot diagonals and getting our horses to move away from leg pressure.  Marilyn really explained everything in a way you could understand and by the end of the lesson both Shelley and I could pick the correct diagonal and we were successfully asking our horses to turn on the forehand using our legs.

                                     Shelley & Piper                                                                                  Dom & Ben                      

Second lesson comprised Elaine on Duke, Deb on Jimmy and Jeff on Cassa.  This was a great lesson to watch as it was really good to see the improvements.  Deb and Jimmy have been having some help from Jenny from Aaron Park and the difference in Jimmy is awesome.  So well don Deb.  Elaine has been working on getting Duke to work in a frame and with some help from Marilyn she managed to get some really nice work.  Jeff and Cassa... what can I say?  If we had an award for most improved jeff would take 2 of them!  He has just come along so well and Cassa is so obliging and really looks after him.  They make a great pair.

              Elaine & Duke                                                                                    Jeff & Cassa     

Deb & Jimmy

The 3^rd lesson was made up of Jill on Eor, Connor on Cassa, Sophie on Ellie May and Kathleen on Flynn.  Jill and Eor have just come along in leaps and bounds!  He is paying much more attention to Jill and she is riding him a lot better.  It is great to see the so much improvement.  I don’t think it will be long before these two are out and about.  Connor had Cassa working absolutely beautifully.  LOVE that mare!  Sophie and Ellie May were great... as usual!  Marilyn gave Sophie some great tips in the dressage to help her with her showing so hopefully she will have even more success in the future.  This was Flynn’s first rally with SE SRG and Kathleen rode him beautifully.  She showed us why he was competed in dressage at his previous home and I know I for one was drooling at his lovely movement.  Cant wait to see more of this boy... and Kathleen too haha.

Kathleen & Flynn                                                                                            Connor & Cassa

     Jil & Eor                                                                                            Sophie & Ellie May        

After a lunch break we had a Show Jumping lesson out on the grass area outside the club rooms (to save us carrying the poles all the way to the arena).  We worked on maintaining a steady rhythm and not altering the way we ride just because there is a jump in way.  Everyone did such an awesome job and if the smiles were any indication, I think everyone enjoyed it a lot! Ben and I had a blast and lets just say that I have found what Ben likes best... Jumping!  Flynn had never jumped before but with Kathleen in the driver’s seat he took to it like a duck to water.  Once he worked out what to do with his legs he really did a great job.  Cassa... WOW.  Connor had her going around the course and she just jumps everything you point her at.  So well done Connor and Cassa.  Deb had Jimmy going around great guns.  Jimmy really takes care of Deb... they just speak the same language.  Well done Deb.  Jill and Eor were fantastic.  Jill kept Eor in a steady rhythm and he took everything in his stride.  Well done Jill.

Dom & Ben                                                                                                 Deb & Jimmy

Kathleen & Flynn                                                                                        Jill & Eor              

So all in all another awesome rally!  Can’t wait till next month!!

Happy Riding.

Dom

SE SRG President.

Another awesome rally for SE SRG and a great way to cap off the year.

Due to the BBQ in the afternoon we only ran flat lessons in the morning and they were instructed by Andrea.

The first lesson consisted of all the youngins... Connor, Sophie, Emily and our newest member Jason.  It was a great lesson to watch with the Baggs girls strutting there stuff on their pidgeon pair of ponies.  Connor did really well with Cassa (Vinnie was a spectator and is on the mend so hopefully will be back in action soon.  Jason... what a star!  His boy Z did an awesome job for his first rally!  They were cantering around the arena like pros and looked like they had been doing it for ever.  So well done Jason.

Second lesson was Deb, Elaine and I and we all had a great lesson.  Deb had Jimmy going around at a consistent trot with barely any canter which was what she was asking for. So well done Deb.  Ben and I had a great lesson with some awesome trot work.  We got into a great rhythm and he was working so well for me.  Elaine had a milestone and a half! She asked for canter from Duke and where he would normally stop after 5 strides, she used the whip at exactly the right moments and made him do at least 5 CIRCLES of canter!  So well done Elaine.

The last lesson consisted of Carol, Jeff, Jill and Shelley M.  I was cooking the BBQ during this lesson but I was able to see the lovely Malibu working very well considering her limited experience in an arena.  I also managed to see Jill getting some AWESOME work from Eor.  He was really listening to Jill and was working in a frame that was to die for.  So well done Jill.  Carol and Jeff looked like they had a great lesson.  Cassa never ceases to amaze me with the patience she shows at having to participate in more than one lesson.  And Cruze is just such gun.  So well done guys.

This was followed by a lovely BBQ of the left over sausages from the Bunnings BBQ, supplemented by everyone’s salads and sweets.  An awesome way to finish off the rally and the year.  Thank you all so much for coming.  It was great to see that you all made such an effort to come along for the Christmas rally and I hope to see you all back next year.

Happy Riding.

Dom

SE SRG President.

Another awesome rally for SE SRG.

Flat lessons ran in the morning and we had Paul Rasmus-sen out to instruct.

The first lesson consisted of Myself and Ben, Connor and Cassa, and our newest member Simone on the lovely Gypsy. It was Gypsy’s first time out of the paddock since Simone has owned her and unfortunately all the excitement proved a little too much for her so Simone withdrew from the lesson early. For the rest of the les-son we worked on controlling gait speed with our seat and upward and downward transitions. I also learned a LOT about what to do with my legs and came out of the lesson feeling like I had really achieved something. Con-nor and Cassa had an awesome lesson also. Cassa is such a good girl! She did everything Connor asked of her and did it so well. And of course Connor made it all look too easy... as usual!

The second lesson consisted of Kathleen on Duke and Jeff on Cassa. Kathleen had a few arguements from Duke... but once he knew Kathleen meant business he behaved himself. It was great to see Kathleen riding... she really knows what she is doing. And she was riding with SPURS haha. Jeff also had an awesome lesson! I am just astounded at how much he has improved since he first joined SRG. He has come such a long way! Well done Jeff!
After lunch Kathleen again donated her time to instruct the Cross-Country lesson. Connor and Cassa and Mi-chelle and Cruze participated in the lesson and by the looks of the smiles on their faces they had a great time. Kathleen really worked on controlling the speed of the approach and also keeping straight lines on the approach and between jumps. The girls were then set a course around the grounds and it was great to watch them have a go and show the rest of us how it is done.

Unfortunately no pics from this rally... hopefully someone will have a camera next month.

So despite being small due to show commitments and injuries it turned out to be another another great rally... Can’t wait till next month!

Cheers
Dom
SE SRG President.

A small but fantastic rally this month.

We had Lee Kirby out to give us a drill lesson.  Unfortunately we only had 6 riders attend but we had an absolute blast.

Deb, Shelley, Kathleen, Jeff Connor and Myself worked on basic formations and once we got going we did a great job (in my totally unbiased opinion haha).  I think the one who enjoyed it the most was Jeff!  He was a bit unsure to begin with but once he got the hang of it he looked like he was having a blast.  Great job Jeff.  Deb was having a bit of a disagreement with Jimmy who was a bit frisky with all the spring grass... but as usual they worked it out.  Shelley also had a milestone moment.  As some of you may know, Shelley’s confidence had dwindled a bit before she got Piper, and at this rally Piper was feeling a bit full of herself too.  But instead of losing her head or getting scared, Shelley rode it out and told Piper who was boss and won the arguement.  She has come such a long way since joining SRG and I for one am very proud of her.  Congrats Shelley.  Kathleen was a late addition to the lesson and looked as if she was having a ball.  She filled in for Elaine at the last minute as Elaine’s back was playing up.  So thanks for coming along Kathleen.  Connor also joined us for this lesson and did a great job.

After lunch, Kathleen kindly offered to give a free Show Jumping lesson.  So we hired the Show Jumps from the pony club and had poles/gridwork lesson.  In this lesson was myself, Shelley, Conor and Jeff.  It was an awesome lesson!  Kathleen did such a great job.  Shelley only wanted to walk over poles... but by the end of the lesson Kath had her walking over dazzle boards!  Connor was fantastic (as usual) but unfortunately Jeff had to pull out due to an ill fitting saddle.  Ben was great.  He was a bit razzed up because I hadn’t ridden since the last rally, but once I got him listening he was awesome.

     Dom & Ben                                                                                              Jeff and Cassa     

Shelley & the lovely Piper

Next month we will have Paul out to instruct.  Cant wait!

Another Great rally this month back at Ivens reserve! We had 2 flat lessons and a XC lesson after lunch.

The first lesson consisted of Sophie & Ellie May and Emily & Hope. The girls did a fantastic job, as usual, and had their girls working beautifully.

Second lesson was just myself & Ben and Serina & Duke. Serina had Duke working like and absolute pro! With some guidance from Andrea, Duke was going around working in a beautiful frame and just looked absolutely stunning. Ben and I also did some great work if I may say so myself. Considering that Ben had been unworked since the last rally, I expected him to do an impression of a Rodeo horse... but alas no!! He was cool as a cucum-ber and with some great advice from Andrea I finally let go of his mouth. It was amazing. He instantly lightened, as opposed to constantly hanging off my hands, and really started to carry himself instead of me carrying him. I instantly felt him lifting his back and working from behind and it felt wonderful. Serina also found the same thing. By letting go of them and letting them work out their own balance we were both able to control their speed using our seat rather than our hands.

Jumping came after lunch and I enjoyed watching almost as much as participating. The lesson consisted of Sophie & Ellie May and Emily & Hope, and they were joined by Carol on Sonny and Michelle on Cruze. Everyone did an awesome job. Sonny, for a horse that has only been under saddle for such a short time, was fantastic! Well done Carol. Michelle and Cruze were their usual awe-some selves with Cruze taking everything in his stride. The 2 girls on the brown ponies also did a wonderful job.

 And now for some photos!

July Rally was another AWESOME success! Once again we had 12 riders attend, with a couple pulling out due to sickness or injury... sorry guys... hope you can make it next month. I found Pam to be absolutely fantastic. She pushed me and many others and I found that I really came away with something.

First flat lesson was Me, Deb, Shelley and Nicole. Nic had to pull out as Maggie was not herself, but I hear that she has fully recovered and was most likely milking it to get out of work haha. Shelley and I got level assessed in this lesson and Pam really worked on controlling the speed of the gaits with our seat. It was great to see Shelley working so well with Piper after such a short time. You 2 are sooo made for each other :-) Deb had her usual trouble with Jimmy being a lazy bugger but he did everything Deb asked of him... just no more than that haha. Deb didn’t need to be level assessed as she has already done it, but Shelley and I were thankfully assessed at L5. Shelley was asked to try and canter Piper, and although it took a while, she got it in the end so a huge congrats to Shelley. Ben was his usual fantastic self haha. He was a bit full of himself at the beginning but definitely calmed down once he blew off a bit of steam.

Here are the links to the videos :)

Dom & Ben

Shelley & Piper

Deb & Jimmy

Lesson 2 consisted of Carol, Corinne and Elaine. This was a great les-son to watch. Elaine got some great work out of Duke... but she has the same problem as Deb... getting him to go. She eventually got her canter (with much use of the dressage whip lol) but they make such and awesome pair. Corinne had a little trouble getting Lucy to slow down, but ended by getting a lovely canter after a few VERY fast attempts. Well done Corinne, you and Lucy make such a great combination be-cause you understand each other. Carol and her new boy had a lei-surely ride. Considering Carol had only had him for a short time they did very well. Carol didn’t feel comfortable attempting the canter but did very well in the trot. Her boy was so tired at end that he thought he’d have a roll... but didn’t bother to wait till carol got off! Haha. Well Done Carol.

Corinne & Lucy

Elaine & Duke

Lesson 3 was Jeff, Connor, Jill and Sophie and it too was awesome to watch. Everyone got level assessed and all did extremely well to do everything Pam asked of them. Sophie showed off Elly May’s amazing canter circle work (JEALOUS!!!) and they both worked really well. Jeff did a great job with Cassa and got the canter that Pam was looking for too, so well done Jeff. Connor was her usual cool calm and collected self. She and Vinnie made it all look so easy and did a wonderful job. One thing that I want to say to these young girls is... SMILE!!! They always look so serious! Haha. Jill and Eor... worked very well apart from Eor’s arial acrobatics haha... but Jill told him who was boss and got some great work in the end. Well done Jill.

Connor & Vinnie

Sophie & Elly May

 Jill & Eor

Everyone

Jumping lessons were awesome Fun. Everyone did and fantastic job at getting their horses over the course and looked like they were having heaps of fun doing it.

Dom & Ben

Jumping Lesson 2

For Ben and I, it was out first time doing show jumping and I was SO proud of him. He was a little hesitant at the coloured poles... but once he knew what I wanted he did it without arguing.

Id like to say a huge thanks to Pam. She was great and really was very standy friendly. See you all next month :-) and be ready for Paul’s rantings haha.

Cheers

Dom
SE SRG President.

June Rally was a HUGE success. We had 12 riders and all lessons were great.  Unfortunately Ben and I had to pull out of our lesson as Ben had a sore back... nothing serious and he is all better now so fingers crossed for next month 

Deb, Elaine and Nicole did a great job in the first lesson.  Nic copped it a bit from Paul... but personally I think it was good for her J  She just needed that little push and by the end of the lesson she did extremely well.

Deb and Jimmy were their usual constant selves haha they did an awesome job... even cantering over the poles at the end of the lesson... on his good side of course :P  Elaine and Duke also did a fantastic job... that little horse is an absolute gun!  He suits Elaine down to the ground.

           Dom & Ben and Elaine & Duke                                            Deb & Jimmy

Nicole & Maggie                                                    Elain & Duke

Second lesson consisted of Corinne, Shelley (on her new girl Piper), Emily, Connor and Jeff.  Everyone got some great work out of their Standies and Connor and Sophie even had a go at the poles at the canter. 

Corinne had her usual challenge of slowing Lucy down... ill never understand how she wasn’t successful on the racetrack haha... but she did manage to get some nice work.

Shelley and Piper did a fantastic job.  Piper was a little nervous to start off with but once she calmed a little she worked nicely for Shelley... and SLOWLY!!! Much to the delight of Shelley haha  and... she TROTTED!! YAY!!!

                Corinne & Lucy                                            Shelley & Piper               Emily & Hope

          Connor & Vinnie                                                                Jeff & Cassa      

Group 2

 The third lesson was consisted of Serina, Jill and Sophie, and all three of them got some fantastic work.  Duke and Eor were sporting their new haircuts and both looked to die for :-)  Sophie and Elly May did a wonderful job and even had a canter at the end.  So well don’t to all of you.

        Jill & Eor                                               Sophie & Ellie May                       Serina & Duke

Please excuse the horrible quality of the pictures... it is always very hard to take photos in the arena.

Personally I think this rally was over too quickly haha... So definitely looking forward to next month :-)

Dom

SE SRG President.

Another success!!  We had 3 lessons, 2 flat and 1 jumping.  The first flat lesson was made up of Dom riding Jimmy (thanks Deb), Renee, Shelley, Jeff and Connor.  Renee unfortunately had to pull out after a while as Dookie pulled up sore, but everyone else did really well.  Shelley had Kahlua working really considering it had been a long while since she had been out anywhere, and although she was pacing, she was relaxed and did some nice canter work.  She left the lesson with some advice on getting Kahlua to trot and hopefully she’ll have her going in no time.  Jeff did some great canter work, despite the fact that he hadn’t had much experience at it so well done Jeff.  Connor did extremely well on Vinnie…what a ripper little horse!!  They were working extremely well and made it look so easy! I (Dom) can say that I thoroughly enjoyed the lesson.  Jimmy did really well, although a little lazy I just enjoyed being on a horse!  So thanks a million Deb.  I really appreciate it. 

The next lesson comprised of Sophie and Ellie May, Jill and Eor and Carol and Cruze.  Everyone did really well, with sophie getting some nice work despite having some trouble keeping her feet in the stirrups J.  Keep up the good work Sophie…you’ll be fine.  Jill and Eor worked well as always… even though Eor decided he wanted to throw in a few pigroots hehe.  Good on you for staying on Jill!  Carol was riding Cruze as Michelle had other commitments and she did a really good job.  That horse is such a star and Carol makes it look so easy riding that MASSIVE extended trot! 

Then after a very social lunch break we had the cross country jumping lesson and it was a huge success.  Jill and Eor were soaring over those jumps like pros and although Jill needed a Ciggy after a couple of unnecessarily big jumps by Eor, you could really tell that they were both enjoying themselves.  Carol and Cruze were a little slow to start, with cruze refusing because of Carol’s lack of confidence, but she soon got over it and was popping over the jumps without issue by the end of the lesson… watch out Michelle I think your mum might steal your horse.  Deb finally got to do jumping on Jimmy and they did a great job.  Although Jimmy started a little lazy, Deb knows how to get the best out of that horse and they were going over the jumps with ease.  Connor and Vinnie…Stunning Match!!  Connor has a real natural seat… SO JEALOUS.  And Vinnie is so obviously a born jumper.  He was clearing them like he had been doing it for years and you can tell that he has massive scope to go higher.  Well done Connor.  Sophie and Ellie May did really well.  Sophie had a little trouble with Ellie May running out to the side, but with some help from a couple of human side posts and a lead from Connor and Vinnie, she was jumping really well by the lesson’s end.  Considering she has only had this lovely little mare for about 3 months, she did exceptionally well with her and it is obvious she will only get better with time and they make a beautiful combination. 

Well done everyone, all in all another FANTASTIC rally… see you next time!!   

Can’t wait to have Ben going so that we can join in all the fun.