ASPIRE’s MONTHLY BLOGGERS CHALLENGE – CHRISTMAS SPECIAL….

LOCATION INDEPENDENT. ANYONE CAN ENTER. Intensive Training Day offer can only be used in the UK. Photo model: Flirting with Destiny owned by our lovely Guest Blogger: Candace!

If you would like me to cast an eye on a problem you are having with your riding and give you a mini-training plan to work on the issue, be brave and do the following:

STEP 1

• film 1-2 min of clear footage of one issue you would like a training plan for
• embed it on your blog in a post titled “Aspire Equestrian Monthly Virtual Training Challenge – Christmas Special” and a short description of what you are trying to achieve and what you are doing on the problem right now.
• send me a link to your blog post as a comment to this post

I will comment on your blog with a thorough feedback and a mini training plan. 

STEP 2

You can then pick a friend with whom you can claim your Christmas Special Offer: 1 MONTH FREE OF ASPIRE VIRTUAL COACHING FOR BOTH OF YOU! (to be used any time before the end of February 2014) and £50 OFF an Aspire Intensive Training Day in 2014 for each of you*.

Be brave  Bloggers must enter the challenge before 24th December 10pm London, UK time.

All levels and problems welcome. 

* blogger who publicly blogs about their training via Aspire Virtual Coaching programme and a friend will receive £50 OFF full fee when they book Aspire Intensive Training Day (location: Berkshire UK). Normal Intensive Training Day’s fee: £200 per rider per day. The offer can be claimed any time between Aug – Dec 2014. 

SEE PREVIOUS BLOGGER CHALLENGES HERE:

http://aspireequestrian.wordpress.com/category/weekend-bloggers-challenge-2013/

Don’t know what to expect from an Intensive Training Day? Watch our little video preview to Aspire 2014 coaching 🙂

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Aspire Weekend Blogger Challenge: Comments on Suzie & Echo’s Video Blog. How to improve weak upper body.

Suzie is the second brave rider who entered Aspire’s Virtual Coaching challenge this passed weekend and she has a quite subtle issue which she finds is hindering her ability to work on straightness in her mare, Echo.

Suzie wrote: “[…]So here we are – Echo is back in full work again and much more comfortable after her back injections. She is feeling good, which is making me even more determined to get my own position sorted out. I don’t think my position is horrendous, but I have a real issue with keeping my core straight and therefore I have problems keeping Echo straight too. My right hip is really inflexible and tends to clamp to the side of her, then I find it difficult to get enough weight in my left seatbone. I am working on the right hip flexibility, doing exercises on and off the horse, but I really don’t know how to straighten my upper body and be stronger through my core.

We are only hacking now and I will be doing all of my schooling out hacking. As of next week, we will have more varied terrain to hack on, rather than just roads. Echo has a weak right hind, so we are doing lots of pole work to build this up, but any ideas about how to sort out my position would be much appreciated.[…] Full post by Suzie together with the video where she illustrates her problem can be found on her blog here: http://diaryofayounghorse.blogspot.com/2013/08/aspire-equestrian-monthly-virtual.html

PROBLEM ANALYSIS using still frames from the video

Hello Suzie!

I’m glad to have had such a good timing for you 🙂 I hope you will find these comments useful.

To drill into your issue and come up with a plan that will help you work on something that I know you had battled with for a long time, I had a look at how exactly your body absorbs Echo’s motion. You can follow my “thought process”  by observing the below frames:

The Aspire Weekend Challenge: Comments on Helen and Bella’s Video Blog. Improving sitting trot.

Hello Helen!

It’s a pleasure to help you and I hope you will find my thoughts useful. Congratulations on entering the challenge too 🙂 My reason for doing the bloggers challenge in this format is so we can all learn from each other. Analysing issues of different riders on different horses is very beneficial for instructors too so I include myself in learners department also.

Let’s have a look and try to help Helen and her lovely mare. I love Bella’s elevation in passagey trot, definitely a talent there! She looks in a great condition, very relaxed and content.

Helen entered Aspire’s monthly virtual coaching challenge on improving your riding and said: “I would be very grateful if you would take a look at some of this sitting trot, especially in the lateral movements. I know I tend to lose the independent, unilateral movement of my seat bones and block her as soon as I ask for sideways movement – too much else to think about and trying too hard! Bella and I have found a big trot together which feels wonderful! I feel if I lose some weight from my ‘top half’ I will be able to sit it better but keeping the big trot and performing lateral movements is definitely a challenge for me! Thank you very much for any help you can give poor Bella to get me up to scratch and worthy of her, and I really do mean that!” She added a video of the issue she would like to improve which you can find on her blog: http://bellaandrico.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/aspire-equestrian-virtual-training.html

PROBLEM ANALYSIS using still frames from the video

I see a few things that stop you from feeling balanced on Bella’s back in lateral work so we will look at those first and then move on to how to work on them. I suggest they are addressed first before moving onto more consistent ability to join Bella’s back motion in trot.

THREE ISSUES I WOULD SUGGEST WORKING ON BEFORE GETTING TO THE ACTUAL “SITTING MORE CONSISTENTLY” STAGE: UPPER BODY STABILITY AND SYMMETRY, BELLA’S NECK AND SHOULDER POSITION IN LEG-YIELD, YOUR INSIDE LEG POSITION

ASPIRE’s MONTHLY WEEKEND BLOGGERS CHALLENGE – AUGUST

The Aspire monthly bloggers challenge is here again! Here are the rules for the weekend 🙂 

If you would like me to cast an eye on a problem you are having with your riding and give you a mini-training plan to work on the issue, be brave and do the following:

• film 1-2 min of clear footage of one issue you would like a training plan for
• embed it on your blog in a post titled “Aspire Equestrian Monthly Virtual Training Challenge – August” and a short description of what you are trying to achieve and what you are doing on the problem right now.
• send me a link to your blog post as a comment to this post

I will comment on your blog with a thorough feedback and a mini training plan.
Be brave 🙂 Offer expires 12th August 10pm London, UK time. All levels and problems welcome. 

(but I will run it again next month if you need time to gather your courage 🙂

AFTERTHOUGHT 

Alchemy Eventing’s comment made me think…When wondering what problem you would like to work on, be open minded. Look at yourself riding with a fresh eye, there are many basic things that can be made better and once corrected, cause less issues with more advanced elements.

There are many training issues that can be worked on in walk (like better feel for contact, improved perception of back motion, use of your psoas/abdominal muscles for better posture, arm suppleness…etc). Same goes for your horse. If you currently ride with less intensity, there might be ways to improve your sessions too – look beyond obvious 🙂

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• Sitting Trot Case Study (plus a Blogger Weekend Challenge!) (aspireequestrian.wordpress.com)