Horse&Rider Magazine - August 2021

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EMILY KING’S

Balance

THE GRID every rider

SHOULD MASTER

BOOSTING EXERCISES

6

THE HIDDEN DANGERS

IN YOUR

Reasons we love

HORSE’S PADDOCK

fun rides!

Unlock the secret to

STEPS TO

CONFIDENT

FLYING

RIDING IMPROVE HIS MANNERS,

BOOST

YOUR BOND

Better HOOF HEALTH GUARANTEED

CHANGES

with Yazmin Pinchen

XC CLINIC

TACKLE TRICKY LINES

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Issue number 621 August 2021 n Emily King’s exercises for balance n Poisonous plants n Be a confident rider n Hoof health n The ultimate gridwork n Flying changes n Dentistry n Tackle tricky lines

The UK’s best-selling equestrian monthly

Issue 621 £4.25

24 June – 21 July 2021

Dentistry special

Just for

FUN Photos: Jon Stroud, JPC Images, Peter_Fleming/Shutterstock.com

Wondering whether to take part in a fun ride this summer? We’ve got some great reasons why you should give it a go

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ho says hacking needs to be confined to the same routes? If exploring the countryside’s just your cup of tea, why not make an adventure out of it? Fun rides are a great way to get your horse out and about so, whether it’s a change of scenery or a release of competition pressure that you’re craving, you’re sure to have a blast. And, who knows? You may even have the chance to take him to the venue of your dreams and snap that elusive photograph you’ll treasure forever! If you still need persuading, here’s six reasons we love fun rides.

DID YOU KNOW?

Some of the most iconic horsey venues hold fun rides open to everyone. You could canter across hallowed ground at Badminton and Burghley, or even head up the famous long walk towards Windsor Castle.

01

SET THE SCENE

It’s hard to beat the backdrops of the stunning rural locations that play host to many of our favourite fun rides – many of which remain off-limits to equestrians any other time of the year. So,

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why not take full advantage and soak in the hidden sights?

Whether your route of choice takes you through forests, fields, beaches or even passes over royal turf, it’s one of the most idyllic ways to appreciate the beauty of the landscape.

02

ALL FOR CHARITY

Sponsored rides provide a brilliant opportunity to raise funds for a worthy cause. Gaining sponsorship money is a pre-requisite at these events, and often you’ll be asked to provide a

minimum amount in order to take part. It’s entirely your choice whether you front the money yourself or by asking friends and family, but bear in mind that many organisers offer prizes for those who accumulate the highest amount as an extra incentive!

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In the saddle

Some of the most iconic horsey venues hold fun rides open to everyone

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In this feature. . .

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Practise cross-country fences at home

So much of riding a competitive, artful round lies in the preparation

TOP TIP

As told to Tilly Berendt. Photos: Lucy Merrell

To help you develop your eye for the perfect take-off at a corner, place a pole across the widest part of the fence, ensuring it rests perfectly straight. This will help you approach the fence from the correct angle, as you’ll be able to check that your horse is parallel to the pole.

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In the saddle

➤ Tactical

course walking ➤ Ace the optimum time

Cross-country anywhere Part four: putting it all together

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Want to ease your transition from the arena to the cross-country course? Kevin and Emma McNab help you fine-tune your skills in preparation

t’s all very well nailing your jumping skills while you’re practising over individual obstacles, but the real test comes when you’re piecing together a course. So much of riding a competitive, artful round lies in the preparation. So, this month, we’ll show you a simple exercise that’ll improve your confidence over some of the big offenders – angles and corners – giving you more options to help shave off valuable seconds while out on course.

Plus, we’ll delve into essential course-walking techniques that’ll set you up to arrive home bang on time.

In the past few issues, we gave you some masterful tips on how to ride perfect straight lines and circles, adjust your horse’s canter and see a stride in any scenario. Now, it’s time to put together these skills and work over angled fences and corners. These types of fences are classic rider frighteners because so few get the chance to practise over them regularly. But, you can easily build them in the arena at home so you can soon learn to feel comfortable with them.

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Our experts

Kevin McNab is an Australian eventer. A regular member of Nations Cup teams, he has an enviable record of top 10 finishes at CCI5*, coming sixth at Kentucky in April 2021.

He rides seven-year-old Holsteiner mare, Cute Girl.

Get in formation

Emma McNab has an equally impressive tally of top placings and has represented Australia on a number of occasions, including at the World Equestrian Games in 2018.

She rides Scuderia 1918 Vivian.

Set it up Build a pair of fences on both H quarter lines of the arena, spaced 14m 14m (three canter strides) apart. The first line should E 14m be set up as a pair of uprights, and the second line as an upright and corner. Build the K latter obstacle with a pair of A wings and a barrel.

Stagger the fences so you can ride an angled approach from one quarter line to the other.

M

B

F

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Photos: Bob Atkins

Mind matters

mojo back Get your

PART ONE

Join John Haime as he guides you through the process of understanding confidence, so you can start your journey towards gaining it

Our expert

John Haime is a world-class performance coach developing mental and emotional muscles for equestrians. He’s the author of new release Ride Big, and his clients include leading Grand Prix riders and young, up-and-coming riders.

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You know the feeling – your horse is onfidence is a must-have for going exactly how you want and you’re riding success, but building riding well. There’s an easy belief in it doesn’t come easily for what you’re doing and you know you can everyone. The mental and perform. Equally, you’ve likely emotional muscle experienced the other end of development behind the quality the spectrum, too. Those is what takes elite riders to TOP TIP days where you don’t feel the top of the sport – and, A good instructor is the first connected to your horse with some hard graft, it’s step to building confidence. and nothing’s going how well within your reach. But There’s no harm in trying a you want it to. These are what is confidence and why few to help you find the the days when you need to is it such an essential aspect perfect match. be able to trust or believe, of successful and enjoyable and feel confident, in your riding? Let’s find out. ability and decision making, even despite the challenging What’s it all about? circumstances.

Fundamentally, confidence boils down to On the good days you may take your knowing that you’re capable of what you confidence for granted, but just because want to do, whether that’s getting your you aren’t focusing on it – or your lack of horse round a hack on bin day, perfecting it – doesn’t mean it isn’t still a huge a new movement in your lesson or riding part of your success. the ultimate clear round on show day.

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