by Cindy Mark

From Edmonton to Okotoks and all points in between, Alberta dressage riders converged on Trakehner Glen stables outside Priddis for a three-day symposium with Dutch Olympian Ellen Bontje November 2 to 4, 2006.

Organized by the Dressage Canada Coaching Committee, Bontje brought her competitive skills and classical training techniques to close to a dozen horse/rider combinations and over 90 auditors. They were not disappointed.
continue reading "Alberta Dressage Riders Learn from Olympian"

by Kathryn Kincannon

Dear Alpha Mare,

Can you help me find a way to stop my horse from screaming at other horses? Marquis is a Westphalian/Anglo-Trakehner gelding and lives alone at my place. I trailer him a few times a week to ride at two different stables where he is exposed to other horses. He used to scream at all the horses but, over time, he has improved and now only screams at some of them, one in particular, a Thoroughbred mare that my friend owns.

If I turn him loose in a paddock, he screams and runs like a wild horse, but if I call him he comes right away and will follow me without hesitation away from the other horses or towards the other horses, whichever I choose.

He is very well-behaved and respects me, although there was a time last winter when the screaming was especially bad. He did throw a fit and bucked me off, definitely not by accident. Although he may have a big mouth at times, he has a heart of gold. I thank you for your advice and encouragement.
continue reading "Communication"

by Karen Briggs

Training horses has always been a controversial process. Each faction of the horse world has cultivated its own methods and beliefs, and when the camps face off, those methods and beliefs will often be defended to the death.

In any discipline, though, one of the most hotly disputed topics is the use of training aids, and one of the most popular of these aids is draw reins.

Draw reins are particularly popular with those schooling hunters and jumpers (for some show jumpers, they are almost standard equipment) but at some time they appear in nearly everyone’s barn from dressage to Western to saddle seat.

To use draw reins or not to use them? What are the advantages, and what are the dangers? How often and by whom should they be used? Two Canadian trainers debate the uses and misuses of draw reins.
continue reading "The Use and Misuse of Draw Reins: Two Canadian Trainers Debate"

Tango Las Marismas carried Taylor Bland to a historic victory by becoming the first Canadian to win the FEI Children’s Final held October 24 to 28, 2006 at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, AB.

Bland, 13, of Calgary, AB, piloted the Spanish-bred Tango Las Marismas, owned by Las Marismas Sporthorses, to the gold medal.

After placing second in the first two rounds of competition on Wednesday and Friday, Bland was among the six riders to advance to the jump-off in the final round of competition on Saturday evening. With a clear round in a time of 29.10 seconds, Bland was more than two seconds faster than her closest competition.
continue reading "Rising Stars Compete at FEI Children’s Final (2006)"

By: Bob Goddard

Up here in the north, horse people take pride in their ability to withstand the rigors of winter. It takes toughness and dedication to maintain horses in an environment that features -20o Celsius temperatures.

Overcoming the elements gives northern horse people a sense of Nordic invincibility and self-satisfaction. Horse people in the south find satisfaction in the fact that they have the brains not to live in the north.

Of course, it takes more than physical toughness to survive a northern winter. Horse people also need practical know-how. They need to be aware of how extreme conditions affect horses and what measures need to be taken. Toughness is great, but it’s no substitute for knowing what the heck you’re doing.

As a father of a horse crazy, adolescent female, I looked at our first winter as a kind of test. If Jamie – and her horse – could survive the winter, why then, I’d have to consider her a genuine horse person.
continue reading "Ho! Ho! Ho! I’m a Bundle of Cold"