PREVIOUS EVENTS 2009

Playday
Dec 1st
Glenshee, Perthshire

(pictures in photo gallery)

Today we had 4 local savvy ladies come up to our social/playday here in Glenshee. The ladies came from Alyth, Coupar Angus, Blairgowrie and Braemar and all were up for the challenge of playing with Mark and my herd. Everyone arrived around 10am and we sat, introduced ourselves to each other and had tea and cake. The cake was made by me for Alison in Fife who has just passed her L3 audition but unfortunately Alison phoned me early in the morning to say that she couldn't make the playday as her youngest son was ill with the horrid flu bug. It was a shame, we all missed her BUT her cake was good and didn't last very long...sorry Alison, you'll have to just see the piccie in the photo gallery! lol ;-)

So, after a good chat about the Celebration recently and our own journeys we got ourselves together and walked up to the playfield where the horses were grazing quietly. Horses were picked and each got a horse that actually suited them well. Dot wanted to try a different horse to Tara, whom she's met before and wanted something with a quiet nature so she took Mark's horse Holly. Hilary hasn't been doing Horsemanship long and wanted to try something quiet that needed less energy than her horse at home so chose Tara. Everyone I think was a little worried by our 18hh Shire Stormy but brave Doreen took him on. She's got big horses at home so I was very pleased when she took on the challenge of him. That left Solly for Carin. So, with everyone with a 22' line, carrot stick and string and horse in tow the play began.

From what I could see everyone managed to suss out the horses horsenalities and did lots of cool things with them from standing on our pedastal, sidewaysing over things, fig 8's, weaves, some liberty, using more of the 22' lines and even some riding. I was very impressed with everyone's savvy, it's not always easy trying to play with someone else's horse so hats off to these ladies as they all did a great job. The horses also behaved well and enjoyed themselves a lot too.

After about 3 hours of play in what can only be called CHILLY to COLD conditions (lol) we all brought a horse out of the playfield and put the herd back into their evening grazing field and then we headed for home for home made carrot soup, bread, scones w/jam and cream and cups of tea. Everyone had earned that lunch for sure and we chatted about the day until about 4pm when it started getting dark and it was time for everyone to go home.

I thoroughly enjoyed the day, the ladies were superb company and a lot of fun to be around. Thanks everyone for contributing to food and to Mark for taking some great pictures of us all ;-)

(Shelley)

Alison Jones / October 25
L2
Brighouse Bay Trekking, Dumfries & Galloway

(piccies' in photo gallery - Photography by Rosie Chilton Photography)

What a FAB day we all had with Alison Jones yesterday. I was having a small panic attack during the week as my 'parelli partner' Connor was lame with a foot abcess and I was going to have to use my young jumper Ryan who had absolutely no Parelli experience, plus the weather forecast was awful.

It turned out that the weather was 'dodgy' to say the least - I am sure that Alison must have lost her voice by now after shouting so we could hear her in the blowing gale! But the rain helf off (just).

Students were: Myself with Ryan, Alanna with Midi, Sharon with Lule, Ann-Louse with Sophie, Jennifer with Dougal and Beth with Paddy. Ryan, Lulu and Sophie were all having their first Parelli experience so were on a very steep learning curve but their mums were there to hold their hands through it all under Alison's expert eye.

We did the morning in the outdoor arena (eeek) and learnt some new techniques/exercises - we started by playing 'touch it', 'figure eight' and 'weave', then moved on to improving our yoyo game and circling game. We practised using a longer phase 1 in yoyo with a sharper 2,3,4 which was very effective. We got help with horses who were difficult to draw - by learning 'slip, grip, tap'. And finished the morning doing circling and changing the rein whilst circling. The day was all about progress and how to move on after Alison had gone.

After lunch we went out to the new 'play area' and played with the horses over logs, through tyres, standing on tyres and tarpaulins, etc (we decided to take down the carwash as the plastic was blowing horizontal in the wind) - I think everyone had great fun out there and I now owe my boss a HUGE thank you fo rputting it up for us to use. It will be staying up so I can practice with Ryan and for Connor to play in (he hated missing out yesterday!)

We finished the day with some 'sideways' fun in the arena. This is personally the most difficult game for me, and Beth and I agreed it was a human problem not the horses! By the end of the day, with Alisons help, we were going sideways down the rail lovely adn had learnt that doing less was actually better. Jennifer and Alanna even manage to go sideays without the rail!

Th ebig finale was to have some fun by playing circling game back to back with two horses! This was new to us all but very entertaining - especially as I kept getting distracted by watching the other paird and nearly ran 17hh Ryan up the back of 13hh Paddy lol.

I learnt so much yesterday and spent time with lovely like miinded people and their fab horses. Can't wait until Alison ius back in April! (Maybe I will have send my audition away by then?)

Huge thanks to Rosie Chilton Photography for braving the weather for us!

(Elaine - Brighouse Bay Trekking / Dumfries & Galloway)

Alison Jones / October 15-17
L2-L3
Highland Wildrides, Bonar Bridge, Highlands

(pictures in photo gallery)

So, we just had Alison Jones up for our L2 course and it was AMAZING! The weather was just perfect and warm and sunny. Alison really worked us and we packed mases in whilst having a good giggle! The first morning we had a chat about leadership and horse psychology, followed by some simulations that helped us feel how training through pressure and release feels to the horse. Although I had done this before it was great to recap and go over it again as some of it I had forgotten and some of it I had never learnt in the first place! It has made me thing that I will probably go and spectate at courses of a lower level just to keep re-affirming the program and it's teachings.

In the afternoon we did a lot of the obstacles and tasks that Sarah and I had done when we did L2 with Alison at Easterton in June. ALthough some students had never done a course before they were all very capable horsewomen and picked it up easily and I was using a different horse this time having finally settled on using Hannah as my levels horse. These exercises helped us diagnose whether or not we were ready to progress our play sessions to be more precise (principle before purpose) and we learnt how to adapt the length of the phases, and the relationship of phases to blocks in order to achieve this.

Saturday saw a few more familiar faces come along to spectate and to partake and again the weather was just amazing. We had a quick cuppa and a chat about what each of us wanted to achieve during the day before going straight into the school for a full day of L2 online and freestyle. It was so much fun, and I can't even begin to list how much we learnt. Several of us had our confidence improved by trying new things and several finall ymade some headway on tasks that had previously appeared impossible to do.

I would like to thank Alison for such a great couple of days - she really is fantastic and has the answer to EVERYTHING! I would also like to thank all of the students and spectators who came from far and wide to join in - not least Shelley from Savvy Scotland who took lots of pictures that I can't wait to see once they are up on the Savvy Scotland website, and Rachel who had quite a lot to tackle with Big Ron, but did an admirable job. It was great to see how much Elaine and Felix and Saran and Sandy have come on since March, and Ella finally got some lateral flexion from Shadow (Yay!) whilst Claire and Breeze looked beautiful together in the freestyle riding. I was also delighted that this course put us in touch with Tamara and her lovely horse Clive who has done exceedingly well teaching herself and her horse from the Success Series, and we look forward to some playdays with her up North next year.

We have already booked dates for late April next year with Alison. We will do a L1/2 day on Friday 23rd, and L2 freestyle riding patterns on Saturday 24th, with L3 online/liberty on Sunday 25th. Contact me, Stacie, for more info and to book your place (ridden or spectating) on:

Stacie
L2 student
( Highland Wildrides, Bonar Bridge, Highlands)

Me and fellow PNHer from Braemar, Dot, managed to get up to see Alison for the day on Saturday 17th and it was lovely to finally meet Stacie and the group of dedicated students up in Bonar Bridge. The people were welcoming and warm and the venue was exquisite. Really enjoyed visiting L2 again and seeing so much fun being had by students learning new things. Great day out and will definitely try to get up to the Highlands again to spectate a course here.

Shelley
L4 student
Perthshire

Karen Rohlf
28-30 July
JR Foundation Station, Home of James Roberts (nr Devizes, Wiltshire)

This summer I (Diana) was privileged to be a spectator at a three-day clinic given by Karen Rohlf of www.dressagenaturally.net. I have written a few notes about my experience in the hope it might be of interest to members.

The JR Foundation Station (www.jr-foundationstation.com) is a superb set-up in a secluded area near to Salisbury Plain, south of Devizes in Wiltshire. It is run by James Roberts, Parelli professional and specialist in starting young horses. There is an indoor school, and also several outdoor areas of different sizes, from small paddock to wide-open space. JRFS has a livery yard, with temporary stabling for visitors nearby. There is also a barn for teaching, and just as importantly, catering!

There were approximately 12 riders on the course, including Lyla Cansfield and Alison Jones, Parelli instructors, there with their own horses. There were on average 30-40 spectators, some just present for one day, others, like myself, for the whole three days. It was a pleasure to see some familiar faces, including N.Z. Parelli instructors, Jackie Chant and Russell Higgins, as well as meet new people and exchange views and information.

We assembled in the barn around 9.30 each day, and, with several tea/coffee breaks, and a fairly extended lunch break, stayed until 5 or 6 pm. The food was exceptional, all home-cooked by Joanna. We had brownies and cream meringues as snacks, and marvellous lunches including homemade quiche and salad, and freshly cooked salmon. Thank you.

Karen emphasized that she regards her work as complementary to that of Linda and Pat. To put it very simply, if they prioritise the mental and emotional issues of horsemanship, she is more involved in the biomechanical aspects, or to put it simply, body use. She pointed out that tension or stiffness in the body can often cause emotion, citing Pat's mare, River, as an example. Karen has spent considerable time working with Pat and Linda on their ranches.

Each day began with the horses on-line, helping students to help their horses find a good carriage. I had rarely seen this done before, and was very interested to see how it is possible to "shape" your horse in the circle game or on-line. Much of it is a mind game. Karen suggested starting by playing with your horse "free-style" on line, then gradually, in your mind and with your own posture, asking for more fluidity of movement

To help with this, think forward, be in Zone 3 and let the horse go first, as if you were riding. Karen calls this "getting the wind in the sails". Help the horse to think about his way of moving, and to realise that using his body in the correct way is really more comfortable and easier. Two good circles with horse using correct muscles are worth 20 indifferent ones.

The ridden sessions were also about helping the horse to find this "sweet spot". Like us, horses have inbuilt stiffnesses and imbalances. With knowledge, a rider can help a horse to overcome these and discover a better way of going. There was certainly no rigidity in Karen's approach. She acknowledged that the whole process is one of constant shifting and improvisation, and that each solution is different according both to circumstances and to the individual. It is certainly not a question of imposing on the horse, much more a dialogue of discovery. Your horse will tell you when you are getting it right!

The aim is to have your horse perfectly balanced and in a constant state of awareness. Karen calls this the "get-ready moment", the in-between place that could "go anywhere" and indicates that your horse is in maximum listening and alert mode. We as Parelli students all know how our programme helps us in this emotional and mental preparedness. Karen demonstrated how riding to develop suppleness with lateral movements and body awareness enables the horse to free his shoulders and find his balance, and to offer this state of readiness and co-operation easily and willingly in his body as well.

These are some of main points that I remember from the three days. There is so much more that I do not have room for here, or which I have forgotten or missed.

I hope these notes have given members some idea of her work and perhaps inspired them to find out more from www.dressagenaturally.net

James Roberts is at www.jr-foundationstation.com

(Diana/Stirling)

Alison Jones
June
L2
Easterton Farm, Perthshire

A very successful Parelli Level 2 course was held at Easterton Farm run by the 3*  Instructor, Alison Jones. I am so impressed by the high quality of coaching shown by the Parelli Instructors.

Considerable progress was achieved over the 2 days with 7 students learning more about their own horse’s ‘horsenality’ and what was needed to help them move forward as a partnership.

The power of the Parelli programme is the understanding of the unique individuality of every horse and what that particular horse needs from its ‘leader’, in other words – YOU, to form a partnership. It helps you stop and examine yourself and ask yourself if you are really being the leader your horse requires. If not – what do you need to do to become that leader? The help is then offered for you to change. Remember it is a partnership but don’t forget you need to have 51% and the horse 49%!

Pavanne jumping a single barrel.

I am a born activist/pragmatist, in other words extrovert, and find that the young horse I am working with, homebred 5 year old Pavanne, is more of a reflector, ie introvert. One of the most powerful sentences that I have picked up from the Parelli programme is ‘Take the time it takes’. He needs time to think and absorb. I have had to learn to slow myself down. He is teaching me patience and if I give him that time the results are far more than I could imagine.

I am also discovering the pleasure of working him at liberty from the ground. I find that stiffness and old injuries sometimes makes riding uncomfortable and I can see a future when it may not be an option. Playing with your horse at liberty could be a way of staying connected. It is the pinnacle of trust between you and your horse and can give such a buzz when he matches you step by step, when completely free.

The Parelli Instructor, Alison Jones, has set me a challenge for next time – to be able to invite Pavanne to jump a single barrel in the centre of the arena whilst at liberty. The picture shows my first step on that journey. Watch this space!

Ann Hunt MBE

Jackie Chant
June 3-7th
Fife

I only managed to come to the first and last days of Jackie's course but it was superb as Jackie's courses always are. She helped me with a few things I was getting stuck with in Freestyle and Finesse even though I was only a spectator and I love that she takes the time out to help everyone on the course like that, it makes you truly feel apart of it all. There was SO much we learned that it's hard to talk about it all BUT there were a few BFO's for me.

1) To work on my own body movements more before trying to ride it with the horse. Jackie's simulations were really revealing as to how stiff my body is but that if I work on it my own harmony becomes better so that would make riding my horse more harmonious too.

2) To never release on a brace. I sometimes am so concentrated on what I'm trying to 'do' that I create a brace in my horse and I need to slow things down and help the horse to do the task at hand in a relaxed, calm manner.

3) To try not to make things too complicated. Jackie showed us in simulations how to achieve haunches in and shoulders in, leg yields and half passes. I now understand where the horses body should be with these lateral moves and because of the simulations I can work on getting that in my body first so that when I ride it should be just that easy to achieve. I was getting myself in a right pickle trying to figure out where I should be on the horse to achieve these hard moves but Jackie showed us how simple it should be.

I also loved the formats this year, to have just one savvy per session made it much clearer to me what I was watching and it also meant that if I could only attend a couple of days, I could attend those that I needed the most. I wished I had spectated all 5 days....gosh, I wished I'd taken my horse! Jackie can have a range of students at different levels and manage to take one subject and fit it to all those students no matter where they are in their journey. I watched her instruct beautifully an early L2 student up to a L4 student in the same course, on the same day, on the same subject. She's a gem and not to be missed.

Shelley
Level 4 student
Perthshire, Scotland

Alison Jones
28-29 March
Brighouse Bay Trekking Centre, Dumfries & Galloway

(pictures in photo gallery)

Had the most amazing weekend!!! Alison was absolutely fantastic again! So understanding and helpful – with some great stories!

We did theory and simulations on the Saturday morning followed by Games #1, #2 and #3 in the afternoon.  The Sunday morning was Games #4, #5, #6 and #7 before moving on to pre-flight checks, saddling up and then – woohoo – up into the saddle with just halter and line. 

There were a couple of us who had initially decided that we may not take part in this section of the course as our steeds were not overly reliable – including mine!  But needless to say there were ten of us mounted up in the 60mx30m arena trotting around and negotiating turns through barrels – plus one student who sat on her pony for the very first time ever!

Everyone who took part – students and spectators alike – seemed to thoroughly enjoy the weekend.  Many human and equine friendships were formed and I hope we are all going to stay in touch for playdays and future courses.  I was so proud of everyone – we all achieved so much I think.

Many thanks for your help in co-ordinating invites and getting me in touch with local enthusiasts.  We had 10 students – 1 from Lothian, 3 from Ayrshire, 1 from Wigtwonshire and 5 locals.

Elaine x
Brighouse Bay Trekking

Rachael Morland
16-17 February
L2
Easterton EC, Blackford, Auchterarder, Perthshire

(Pictures in photo gallery)

Students w/horse:
Isabelle, Marion, Laura, Karen, Andrea & Jane

Spectators:
Ann, Kathryn, Stephanie, Jan, Pauline, Sue, Georgie, Michelle, Kelly, Kelly and Me.

Well I went down to Easterton on the 16th to finally meet and watch Rachael as an instructor and also to meet up with the owners of Easterton, Ann & Kathryn. What a lovely day I had. The facilities were superb with a wonderful Cover-All arena for students and spectators to do the course in, keeping us out of the weather which was a nice treat.

Rachael has a lovely teaching ability and put us all at our ease. I watched as students gained skills in rope handling, using phases, being more specific about where their horses feet go, understanding about the zones of the horse and getting to grips with the figure of 8 pattern. Also after lunch saddling the PNH way, mounting and one rein riding techniques.

In just the first day they all showed improvement with their savvy and communication with their horses and it was lovely to see each one working on what their horses needed 'in the moment' throughout the day.

I had a lovely time and it was great to meet everyone at long last. (Shelley)

Rachael was a fantastic teacher and explained everything fully to the students and spectators.  Silva and I had a great time, especially since it was our first ever trip out together.  I loved my time at Easterton and thought the people and facilities were great.  I hope that I can attend another L2 course with Rachael in the future (if finances pick up) - she went way over her course time with Silva and I, and spent her lunch break on day 2 loading my horse and also loaded her to go home at the end of the course.  She was amazing, brilliant, wonderful and I wish she was on my yard!!!!
 
I learnt so much on the course and couldnt wait to get home to try out.  Before the course, I was getting a bit bored and didn't really know how to progress.  Now, not only do I have a plan, ive got so much to do i want to play every day and try hard to progress. (Marion)

PREVIOUS EVENTS 2008

PLAY DAY
4th October
Mains of Tertowie, Aberdeenshire

(Pictures in photo gallery)

The Aberdeen Area held their playday despite the weather behaving very badly - driving rain and fairly strong winds - we had an excellent turn out of horses and spectators. We played with our horses in the arena area morning and afternoon, online and then freestyle and finesse. It was great to see everyone playing at their own levels, and to see all the horses so clearly enjoying themselves and their partners learning more about them and building their relationships further.

It was fantastic to meet up with some new faces - Susan from Ballater and Lydia and James from Aboyne. A special thanks to the hardy spectators who did well to even turn up, never mind stay all day, on such an unpleasant day weather wise.

We are hoping to hire an indoor school for the next playday in January and will meet for drinks, supper and Parelli chat in November. An email will be sent out in the next few days to coinfirm dates for both events. (Anne)

Jackie Chant
2-6th July
L2/L3
Fife

"Fabulous fabulous course; Loved her teaching, her enthusiasm, her experience and herself. (Shelley)

Alison Jones
19-20 April
L1
Fife

"It was great to revisit L1 again even though I am studying L3, after all, L3 is just L1 with excellence. It was also great to see so many L1 students, by the end of the course, looking like L2 students " (Shelley)