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The biggest news for Milagro Dressage is that Johannes has finally chosen his new owner, Jan Quain! Jan lives in Hereford and had been looking for a Friesian for at least a year when she found "Jonny" on the Internet. Jonny will be moving to Hereford where it is 10 degrees cooler sometime after the Flagstaff show. Jan is making the long commute sometimes twice a week to visit and learn how to ride her new boy, who is quite different from her Arabian mare, "Sheba." Look for Jan in future TDC shows! She can also be found managing the Cochise D&CT schooling shows and volunteering twice a week at
C.A.N.T.E.R.
A summer adventure to the Peggy Cummings Clinic in Flagstaff was an unforgettable experience for eight Arizona riders, two riders from Colorado, and two from California. This clinic was a week-long intensive, so learning was going on from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. In
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addition to riding lessons, we also had biomechanics, saddle fitting, business coaching, balancing riders in the saddle, ground work, goal setting, and an excellent farrier demo.
The farrier demo used six of the horses. We looked at how to balance their hooves by studying the topline, conformation, and hair line of the hoof to decide how to trim. We watched two horses improve their postures and movement after a minor adjustment in how their hooves were balanced.
Another highlight in learning new tools for me was how to get horses that tend to go behind the bit and on the forehand back up where we want them consistently. This included some bodywork combined with groundwork and then carried over to riding with more awareness of how our posture effects the horse's movement.
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The most fun was when we did our costume musical freestyles on Thursday evening and attempted to maintain some of our newfound skills while performing. We had hicks from Sierra Vista; a princess riding in a ballroom dress; a devil with a curved tail that bounded when she trotted; a Mardi Gras horse and rider; and a one-time performance of Cher to her songs, "Perfection" and "I've Got You, Babe." Everyone's music was great and fit their theme and their horses. Think what we could do if we had more time to plan it!
Some of us are thinking about next year already. The next Peggy Cummings clinic is in November for four days, and I encourage everyone to at least audit (no costumes until June 3rd). Clinic info: Kim Williamson, (520)452-7947; kimberw1@hotmail.com.
Until then, stay cool, and see you in Flagstaff! Cathy Schreiber
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