CANCELED: Christine Traurig Clinic

The inclimate weather(blizzard) has canceled the Christine Traurig Clinic. After getting weather reports from Chicago and now the East Coast, air traffic will be snarled and delays will be frustrating over the next 48 hours for traveller's on tight time-frames.

We will re-schedule Christine for early Spring. Look for Clinic Updates in the near future.

LAURIE: Del Mar, CA

I am visiting Southern California this week with Sally to see Christine Traurig and to review some horse prospects. Expect detailed updates next week.

Web site updates

There are several new additions to the site...

• Gallery includes new photos and YouTube videos
• Barn page includes a new Publications link where Timberlane is mentioned
• We have released information on the Winter Pony Camps
• All the blog entries and more can also be accessed on the Timberlane Farm FaceBook page
  

Timberlane Vaulters in Chicago

The Timberlane Vaulters have been invited to march in the 76th Anniversary of the McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade, marching down State Street in Chicago on Thanksgiving Day, November 26th from 9am to 12pm EST. They are meeting up with other Region 10 vaulting teams from all over the midwest, two horses and a float with a barrel. The team has been polishing up singles, pairs and team routines to perform along the parade route.

Look for the Timberlane Vaulters on WGN TV(Dish Network 239) as they broadcast the parade LIVE.

LAURIE: Lendon Gray Clinic Notes

Wow, I have six pages of notes! Lendon is truly a teacher’s teacher. As auditors, Whitney and I left the clinic enthused, inspired and ready to face the winter with energy! Overall, Lendon’s approach is that there are absolutes to this sport. You must be aware of your body. You must be aware of where you are going in the ring. You must know why you are doing a particular movement. You must take responsibility for how your horse is performing. Your horse’s progress is up to you and you must hold yourself to a high standard every time you ride. Her lessons frequently involved bringing the rider to a halt and asking them a question regarding their execution of a particular task or movement. This served to focus them and enlighten them as to how their aids were being perceived by the horse.

I will attempt to put my notes in a digestible size and format.

The horse learns what he practices. Good or bad.

A circle, to be a circle, has to end where it started.

Give! As you whoa. No pulling in the moment the horse makes the downward transition.

Ride meticulous corner. Every corner is a suppling, bending exercise.

Do not ride like you are in the show ring, making the best of what you have. TRAIN HIM!

ON CONTACT

Make the reins feel like the brow band on his head. No matter what his head does or where it moves, the pressure stays the same.

ON POSITION

When posting, feel the knees going up and down in the saddle slightly.

You cannot have an elastic arm with a tight fist.

Let your arms move as a unit. If your horse’s head is swinging right and left, touch your thumbs together to still your hands.

Weight must be in your heels. Go to jumping position to get depth in your leg.

You must have a passive, following position in your body in all gaits before you can have an active position.

Fix your bad positions habits NOW!

ON THE WALK

Ride the free walk marching, with the shoulders swinging and then pick up a PASSIVE contact to medium walk so as to maintain the quality of the free walk.

ON HALF HALTS

A half halt equals an immediate adjustment. The next stride must be different.

(In reference to collecting the canter) Anything you do every stride is not working! Otherwise you are part of the balance –creating the need for a fifth leg.

ON THE CANTER

The best canter/walk transitions come from a very short canter.

When having trouble in canter/walks, practice “not pretty” canter/halts, then at the last minute change your mind and walk.

ON FLYING CHANGES

For a lazy horse, finish the line of tempis faster than what you started.

(In relation to a lazy horse) “They are called FLYING changes!”

ON PIROUETTES

In both walk and canter, start from a shorter stride so that you can ride forward in the pirouette.

First stride must be small.

You must never feel that you can’t get out.

Any next stride must be able to be straight ahead.

ON IMPULSION

There should be enough impulsion that to whoa, fix your arms, to go, follow your arms.

You can only have a good lengthening if you can allow it, not make it.

LAURIE: Updates

The clinic I taught for the MSU Dressage Club on Saturday was great. Thank you to the club for inviting me as their very first clinician!

On a less uplifting note, the Patrick Burssens clinic has been postponed. Patrick is the victim of a major kidney stone attack. Speaking from personal experience, I can say that recovery from such an incident can not come fast enough. Hang in there Patrick!

Friday was the deadline for reserving your place in the Christine Traurig Clinic, taking place December 11/12. I have a few rides open and will be contacting outside riders. If you are planning to ride and have not given me your check, contact me right away.

I hope you are all enjoying the wonderful fall weather! How beautiful it has been the last few days.

Keep your eyes up and your heels down!

Clinics, clinics, clinics...

11/7:
Laurie will be conducting a clinic in Leslie, MI for the MSU Dressage Club at Stapleton Farm

11/14-15:
Patrick Burssens will be visiting Riverwood (AM) and Green Gables (PM) Farms in Caledonia, MI.

Lendon Gray will be conducting the 1st USEF sponsored Youth/Pony Pilot Program Clinic at Winter Spring Farm in Carson City. Robyn Weston and Emma Leestma submitted applications and have been selected as two of the 10 riders.

Auditing fee for this clinic is $50/weekend and it is about one hour northeast of Timberlane. Laurie recommends auditing both clinics, but in particular, Lendon should be quite educational for everyone, not just juniors.

Laurie was a working student for Lendon (25 years ago!) and she is a natural educator.
The schedule for the clinic has an interesting format of two rides per day per rider. There are two group equitation lessons Saturday morning, followed by 40 minute private lessons. Sunday begins with 30 minute private lessons and ends with each rider riding a test of choice.

12/11-12:
Christine Traurig will be back after a year long hiatus! Rides are $250/lesson and the clinic will be on a first come basis. Send Timberlane your checks or drop them to the office as soon as possible to reserve your space. As usual, auditors are welcomed. More about this clinic in the near future.

Media Star: Emma Leestma

Emma continues to rack up appearances in the media. Check out a couple of great pics in the Nov 2009 issue of Grand Rapids Family magazine. Emma is one of several teens interviewed about pursuing passions.

LAURIE: Circles & Half Pass

Wow! I can’t believe it is already November! Though we’ve had the coldest October on record, I loved riding outside all month. The footing has been great and the horses have all been forward and energetic. A couple of themes have transcended most of my lessons over the last couple of weeks.

With regard to circles, ride your circles as though you are constantly expanding them. On a 20 meter circle, you should easily touch your circle points on the rail. Do not defend your circle from a horse falling in over the shoulder. Instead, look up and ride proactively toward your circle line, focusing at least ¼ of the circle ahead of where you are.

The second theme of the past few weeks has to do with the flow of the half pass. We all know that a half pass is nothing more than haunches in on a diagonal line. However, in thinking about the haunches in aspect, do not forget about the forehand. Feel that you can influence the inside front leg to reach forward and point toward that diagonal line. Use your inside leg to create the suppleness through the barrel on your turn preceding the ½ pass, and do not put your outside leg back for the half pass until you have achieved the ability to half halt the energy from the inside leg through your outside rein.

LAURIE: Patrick Burssens Notes

The clinic with Patrick was rejuvenating. Sometimes drilling for a big show like the finals can stagnate your training because you become so focused on the test performance that you lose track of the bigger picture. When the show is over you think, "Now what should I work on?" Patrick brought the bigger picture back into focus for me with both Lizzie and Willow.

In one step, while working on the piaffe near A with Willow, I got "it". When you have a horse that wants to take over and barge forward out of the collection, you must put the horse a touch deeper, softer and make an offer for a slight degree of stretching to the hand before you allow them to step forward. They can not pull against a contact that does not brace. Once I got this, I was able to move Willow in and out of the piaffe with much less tension. The lesson is that the feel for self carriage must stay the same whether you are working on difficult movements or easy circles. The horse must trust that you will not hold in the hand.

The breakthrough with my thinking for Lizzie also came from just a few strides. During my lesson on Sunday morning, I felt a few trot strides that swelled to a point of engagement and suspension that I have never achieved with her. Her knees came up, her thoracic band lifted over the whithers and she pushed forward and upward in the trot. Gerard and I had begun to scratch the surface of uncovering the "second trot" with her back in September, but she never really understood how to use her body correctly that weekend. The difference this weekend was two fold. One, she is stronger and can carry herself with more relaxation. Two, once again, I understand how important it is to not hold in the hand. The few strides before I put my leg on to ask for more suspension, she was super soft and submissive. This feel in the mouth was maintained. I was not half halting while I was seeking more engagement. I have new respect for the quality of this mare. Those couple of steps were what make this sport so addictive. I want more!!

2009 Finals Wrap-up

Sunday morning started bright and early with Barb in the warm-up arena at 7:15am. The arena was a pool of slurry. The one good thing about being the first rider of the day is that no one else is out there competing for space. Barb and Fidelis had their most accurate ride of the weekend and received a 61%. 2010 will see her no longer competing at 1st level. She's delighted that her flying changes will finally be rewarded at 3rd level.

Laurie and Zonner were the next to go in the Open 1st Level Championships and though the footing was poor and Zonner pulled a shoe during the test, he still managed to earn a 72%.

Laurie and Lizzie rode in the same class a few hours later, earning a 71%. Zonner and Lizzie stood side-by-side in the awards ceremony finishing 5th and 6th respectively.

Our FEI riders made us proud. Robyn and Willow scored a 62% in the Young Rider PSG for 7th place, Andrea and Voom also received a 62% and a 7th place in the Open PSG and Kelly and Irioso scored 59% to win the Intermediare II Young Rider Reserve Championship.

All the results are posted here.

We have all earned a little rest before we establish goals for the 2010 Show Season and we are excited and looking forward to next year's finals in Michigan. Dressage by the Bay in Traverse City has been selected as the venue. 1999, Waterloo, was the last time Michigan hosted the Region 2 Championships. Northern Michigan in early September will be beautiful, and hopefully a little dryer.

Finals - Saturday Update

Team Timberlane is surviving the mud at Lamplight. With temps in the 40's and 50's and on and off showers, the finals are a little chilly this year. In spite of the damp and cold, we've had a few smokin' hot rides!

Robyn and Willow brought us to tears with her fourth level Beatles freestyle. After receiving a 71%, she will gather her Reserve Championship ribbon at the 9 AM awards ceremony on Sunday. Robyn and Willow also won the JR/Young Rider PSG warm up class today with a 64%.

Laurie and Zonnerhall had a great day. Reserve Championship in the open Training Level division with a 72%, plus a third place in the first level Freestyle Championship with another 72% made for a fun celebration back at the hotel.
Laurie's other horse, Letizia, had a bit of an issue with the footing, which resulted in some tension in her second level championship, placing them somewhere around 10th with a 65%.

Andrea and Voom and Kelly and Irioso had no trouble with the footing. They both had great I-1 Championship rides!
Kelly was 3rd in the JR/Young Rider division with a 66% and Andrea was 5th in the Open Division with a 65%.

Making their dressage debut at Thomet in June and going on to Traverse City in July, Lisa Seeley and Danny successfully negotiated their way around the crowded warm up arena for two days of classes and competed in the AA Training level Championship today. Though her score of 55% was not as high as she had scored in her three previous classes of the weekend, Lisa was very proud of Danny for his behavior at such a big venue all weekend.

Also competing at her first Region 2 Championship, Megan Bos was just out of the ribbons with a 60% on Jake in the JR/Young Rider second Level Championship.

Barb and Fidelis have been riding one warm up class each day and are looking forward to their 8AM ride time Sunday morning. As the first rider of the class, Barb is planning to set the bar high for the rest of the competitors!

Lastly, Whitney, Savannah and Annelies have been doing a FABULOUS job grooming. There is so much mud! The horses and tack are coming back to the barn covered. Mud is literally splashed from the tips of the horse's ears to the tops of our hats. Yet, each time a horse has to go out again, they are spotless. Way to go Team Timberlane!

New Site Design...

After years of redesign and several iterations, the new Timberlane Farm Dressage site is live!

Sign up for email updates and you will receive the latest blog entries directly in your Inbox. it is a great way to keep updated on all the activities at Timberlane. Blog entries will typically happen once or twice a week.

There were several sections of the site that needed to be delayed in order to expedite this release so expect to see those features in the near future.

If you have any comments or questions, do not hesitate to send mail to tlfdressage10@gmail.com

Stay tuned.

2009 Finals at Lamplight

Timberlane Farm riders are headed to Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, IL this week. Six riders and eight horses are loading up the trailers and creating a caravan to brave the nightmarish highways surrounding Chicago in order to compete in the annual regional championships.

Qualifying for the championships requires certain scores at sanctioned shows within the regional show circuit.

We wish everyone the best of luck. Look for updates throughout the weekend.

Robyn Weston rides for Debbie McDonald

Robyn Weston and her 9 year old, Prix St. George, Hanoverian gelding, Willow, have been selected to ride in the Debbie McDonald symposium at Albion College, Albion Michigan, September 19-20.

Robyn submitted a video and her show record as part of the application process several weeks ago and is one of eight riders that were chosen to be demonstration riders for the Olympian.

See the link for details. Laurie will be in Albion with Robyn for the weekend so stop by to say hello.

Gerard Hogervorst Clinic

Gerard Hogervorst from Rotterdam, NL is visiting Timberlane Farm through Monday. Gerard and Laurie met in Los Angeles many years ago and have remained friends and business associates. Gerard has been instrumental in the selection process of several horses Laurie has imported for herself and her students in the past 10 years. Despite the usually cool August weather on Saturday, hearty Petersen chili for lunch provided everyone with just the right heat to battle the the drizzle. Gerard is an excellent teacher who quickly identifies areas of improvement and provides students with methods and techniques to make those adjustments. If you were unable to ride or attend this session, stay tuned for future clinics.

Pony Week August 2009

Despite a dire weather forecast, the rain held off for the most part and the August 2009 Pony Week was a big success. This week, the campers spent time learning how to care for horses and ponies, how to measure and identify markings, and how to take care of tack and the facility. They also created crafts, played games, were introduced to vaulting and learned the basics of riding. Friday found them showing off their new found skills to family and friends as well as an ice cream social. Special thanks to the counselors who did a great job this week.

Stay tuned for announcements regarding opportunities for young riders throughout the year.

USEF/AVA National Championships

July 12 - Members of the Timberlane Farm Vaulting team traveled to Lexington, KY to compete in the USEF/AVA National Championships for Equestrian Vaulting July 9-12. Sasha Rouvillois placed second for her Copper Canter Freestyle routine and her sister, Cecilia won the 10 year old division with her Trot Freestyle routine. Both finished 3rd overall in both their divisions. Amazing job ladies! For more information about the vaulting activities at Timberlane, see Vaulting under the Programs section on the web site.

2009 USDF Seat Medal Champion - Emma Leetsma

July 19, 2009 - After placing 4th in 2008, Emma and Polensio (Lenny) returned to Lamplight to show a nation of 14 - 18 year olds how to ride dressage. Emma placed first and has been grinning from ear to ear since the end of July.

We are very proud of Emma and Polensio.
Check out some of her press:
USDF/Equestrian Life
USEF
Dressage Daily
MLive.com
GR Advance
EquineTrader