fredag 28 december 2012

Tips från Kyra


Läste några tips från Kyra i "Dressage Today". Alltid tänkvärt det hon säger.

Five-time Olympian Kyra Kyrklund shares her dressage training secrets at a Kentucky symposium.

Dressage Today's technical editor Beth Baumert attended a symposium with five-time Olympian Kyra Kyrklund, held at the Kentucky Horse Park, April 12-13. Here are some training and riding tips that Kyra passed on during the symposium. For more details about the symposium, see the July 2003 issue of Dressage Today.
1. A good rider lives on the small number of good steps and he builds on them. He forgets about the bad things. Inexperienced riders think mostly about the bad things.
2. There are many roads to the top of the mountain, but the view is the same from the top.
3. With transitions, horses find their balance by themselves.
4. A horse has a memory shorter than a dog-which might be three seconds. You must reward immediately.
5. In a proper pirouette, there is no suspension and it is bound to be four beat.
6. Even a foal can do one-tempi changes.
7. I have had to work to get flying changes because I didn't have a schoolmaster when I was learning. I count the steps: 1, 2, 3. Here is what I do:
  • I check that my horse is listening to me by doing a big half halt. If he is not listening I don't ask for the change until he is sharper.
  • I take my new outside leg back.
  • I ask for the change.
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8. A horse only works for 45 minutes. He can carry us for that 45 minutes.
9. Never work a horse until he is sour ... especially young horses in the arena.
10. Don't bother with shoulder-in or any other movements if you are not able to influence the length of the horse's steps. There is no hope in hell until you can.
11. When you train at home, do one thing at a time-pirouette one day and half pass another, so you have time to do each thing with quality. You might choose canter work on one day and trot work on another.
12. Using the Fillis method of holding the reins of a double bridle, you take the bridoon as if you were driving. It will make the muscles of the lower arm soft and it is easier to use each bit separately.
13. Horse-and rider-combinations are a bit like a marriage. You have to find the horse you can work with. I like energetic, hot horses for myself.
14. In training you have to be very honest. You cannot lie to your horse or your trainer or the dressage judges. If you only can do something one out of 10 times at home, then you know you have to be lucky at the show--and we know we're not always dead lucky.
15. There are two ways of riding. At home you have to be very aware of your problems but you can't be too picky at the show. 16. If I don't have control in walk I won't get it in trot or canter either.
17. At shows, we see many poor pirouettes in Fourth Level and Prix St. Georges. The collection in pirouette must be as great as it is in piaffe. For that reason, I teach the piaffe first [even though the pirouette appears much earlier in the tests.]
18. Many horses and riders get stuck at Prix St. Georges. You can still carry a horse around in Prix St. Georges, but when you start Intermediaire II and Grand Prix, the horse must carry himself.
19. Every time the rider uses a hand or a leg aid, the horse must respond. Even a bad response is better than no response at all.
20. Keep the good things good and don't nag about the bad things but don't ignore them either.
21. Work on the more difficult things on a basic level so the horse feels that he has succeeded.
22. For some horses, I am as happy with a score of 6 as I would be for a 10 on another horse. Continue with a strong 6 until the judges start to give a small 7 for it-instead of trying to overpower the horse to improve the movement and end up getting a 4. If you go from a strong 6 to a weak 7 in every movement you have gone from a 60 percent to a 70 percent. 23. When you have had a good ride, be sure to find time to write down some notes about how it felt. Often after you have won, everyone wants to have a champagne and there's no time to remember how it felt. When you do poorly, no one wants to come talk to you and there's plenty of time to reflect upon how it felt.
24. If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got. If you are not happy with what you are getting, you have to change what you are doing.

onsdag 26 december 2012

Boktips







En samling bra böcker, speciellt Mississippi. Den ska ni läsa!

SVART SOM NATTEN av Ann Cleeves Deckare. Utspelar sig på Shetlandsöarna. En ung flicka hittas mördad. Byns original, en ensling, får skulden. Alla blir tillslut misstänksamma mot alla.
Ganska bra och lite ovanlig historia.


SYNDAFALLET av Ruth Rendell
Deckare. 2 barn försvinner spårlöst o polisen letar förtvivlat efter spår. Har varit översvämning o kanske har de drunknat.

Ganska spännande, men lite seg här o där.

EN SPÖKHISTORIA VID JUL av Charles Dickens
Mysteriebok. Denna bok lånade jag på skoj pga känd författare. Visade sig vara ett bra kap. Jag sträckläste! Utspelar sig i London på 1800-talet. Handlade om en hemsk, elak, mycket otrevlig bokhandlare som behandlade alla i sin närhet illa. Han fick i en dröm besök av andar som visade honom hur han betett sig i sitt liv o hur hans kommande liv skulle gestalta sig om han inte ändrade sitt otrevliga sätt.
Den var mycket bra!!!

MISSISSIPPI av Hillary Jordan
Handlar om Laura och Henry som köper en gård i Mississippi där man lever på att skörda bomull. Gården är väldigt förfallen o det finns inte ens vatten inne. Henrys far flyttar med dem, han är elak o ohjälpsam. Laura får en del hjälp av den svarta familjen i granngården. Frun där är barnmorska. De väntar på att deras son ska komma hem från kriget. Henry väntar också hem sin bror från kriget. De båda hemvändarna finner varann, men det är mycket svårt för en svart kille att umgås med en vit. Den svarte blir svårt misshandlad. Denna boken var en lysande stjärna! Den skall absolut läsas!!!!!!!!!

SVÄRMAREN av Anna Bovaller
Kriminalroman med advokat Petra Wester. En kvinnlig jurist hittas mördad på ett kontor. Ingen vet varför, eller vem som haft motiv att döda henne. Man får en tillbakablick i hennes liv o saker o ting nystas upp.
Sådär, ok bok att läsa.

LÖRDAG av Ian McEwan
Handlar om en Lördag i Henrys liv. Han är hjärnkirurg o har familj, fru med två döttrar. Råkar hamna i en trafikolycka, krockar med "fel" person o det blir mycket dramatiskt.
Denna boken var annorlunda o jag gillade den skarpt!

 

söndag 23 december 2012

GOD JUL!


Önskar er alla en riktigt
GOD JUL!

Disco latar sig i hagen. Det är väldigt hårt och isigt, så det är inte så lätt att rida. Så här blir det ofta för oss på vintrarna Han har ju jobbat på hårt under hösten så det gör inget med lite vintervila.