glenatron: (Emo Zorro)
[personal profile] glenatron
Last weekend we watched the last two days of a four day Tom and Sarah Widdicombe clinic. I forgot my notebook so I don't really have a lot of notes, but I do have a few pics...

So, do you remember Ted?

Of course you do, this is Ted:

#1 on the list of most dangerous horses I have ever seen in my life.


Here he is a year on...


... just a normal riding horse. An absolute testament to the work that Vicki has put in over the last year and a half.

Tom was working with Celeb on getting him settled with the bit. I think his thinking here has changed over the last year.

Just asking Celeb to stay still and settle with the bit in his mouth, not pulling or pushing on it.


Karen enjoys the fine weather on Saturday...


...and the finer weather on Sunday. For more insight on the work Tom was doing with Celeb you could read his own thoughts on it.

Little Seamus is three now and he's filling out nicely, if a little bum-high.

Janet working with him to present a feel on the bit, similar to the work Celeb was doing above, so that Seamus can accept it without needing to pull in any way. I think this is slightly taking over from long-reining in what Tom is teaching this year.


His first ride in the bridle. He was very well prepared for this and it didn't bother him at all.


Turning loose on Sunday morning to let some of that morning-fresh energy out.


Run, little horse, run...


Check out those heels!


Playing with a jump.


Belle was at last year's clinics too, a gorgeous horse. A proper milk-white steed. She had thrown some rather exciting stuff up the preceding days and needed to rediscover the ability to take direction even when it didn't suit her.


Also, after an accident on the way over where she got confused about the trailer and ended up scaring herself, she needed some help loading. Here Tom is asking her in and Sarah is using the spinning rope to put a bit of pressure behind her and persuade her forward.

William the gorgeous little coloured cob was back too. You remember William, too, no doubt:


A year on and he's pretty different too...

A proper riding horse, with Sarah guiding them from the ground.


Experimenting with trotting poles...


... then his first few jumps under saddle.


Feathers are for flying!


"In case of non-emergency, the exit is right behind you."


Fliss thinks William is great, and so does William.


Was there ever a more noble and appropriately dramatic name for a Fresian than "Brian"? He's the kind of awesome looking, sweet natured and charming horse that makes all the girls say "<3". I don't know why they think he's less than three.


Brian was a bit braced and jammed up in front, to the point that Tom actually hopped on and worked on it a bit himself. I'm going to risk incurring Tom's wrath by posting this because I think it's a pretty nice picture and although it risks interfering with his self-deprecating commentary on his own riding, Tom got on that horse and changed some things around for him in a way that really helped him and Trevor to get along better.


They spent a while working on getting Brian more forward. This reminded me a lot of my trials with Zorro over the last year or so. Brian is Trevor's first horse and they're doing really well together.


Although going round a jump found a whole lot of extra dash in there...


...which is not to say he wasn't up for jumping.


Brian also had itchy heels.

It was a really nice weekend, although we ended up having severe clinic envy on both our parts, and interesting to see the things that Tom and Sarah have changed over the last year in their work with horses.

Date: 20 Jul 2009 01:42 (UTC)
From: [identity profile] penella22.livejournal.com
It's nice getting to work with clinicians long enough that you get to know how they think well enough to then see progression in their ideas from year to year.

Beautiful pictures...these are "Cobs" right? Most of them? They are completely beautiful and earthy in a way most horses here in the U.S. are not...

We think he's less than 3 for our own very private and feminine reasons. :P

Date: 20 Jul 2009 10:44 (UTC)
From: [identity profile] glenatron.livejournal.com
Brian and Ted are fresians and little Seamus is a sport horse but William and Belle are most certainly cobs, which is kind of a blanket term for a chunky, somewhat drafty horse in this country. I don't know if there is a formal definition, but there has been a vogue in the US for importing our coloured cobs that you see all around the place here as Gypsy Vanners, which is why people are slightly baffled by the press the breed gets.

They're good horses, though; you don't see them at the top level of competition but there are thousands of riders all over britain who have them and love them.

Date: 20 Jul 2009 12:55 (UTC)
From: [identity profile] penella22.livejournal.com
Yes, well here we spritz their mane and fluff their feathers and then parade them around after making sure their white parts are really white...and that makes them very special. It's funny because the few people I've met with Gypsy Vanners didn't seem to know themselves why the breed was so awesome.

Date: 20 Jul 2009 15:44 (UTC)
From: [identity profile] glenatron.livejournal.com
Zorro is a cob and you'd have to go a long way to find a horse half as awesome :)

Not a cob thing necessarily though, maybe more a Zorro thing.

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