Saturday I went to Northern Michigan to audit the Manuel clinic at Glenda's. The program was right on time, I thought, with focus on flying changes, collection, and PiPa (Piaffe/Passage). Not that Remy and I are in the league of PiPa, but I was hoping to get some additional tips on the changes and collection.
Unfortunately, the clinic participants in the flying changes class were such beginners they didn't even know how to get their horses to canter. One lady, beautifully decked out riding a stunning horse, was ecstatic when she got three strides of bumpy canter. Then she wanted to quit because she was so happy. I was happy for her, but also sad, because clearly her instructor at home didn't even teach her the basics. Collecting exercises like shoulder-ins, small circles, correct transitions, etc. were just not there.
I didn't get anything out of auditing, other than being very thankful (again!) for working with Judy.
The undisputed highlights of the day -other than seeing Glenda, of course-:
1) Luanne was there so I finally bit the bullet and ordered the new Tribute saddle, after lots of soul-searching (major $$), and deciding on the design (all black, not flower tooling, basket weave instead)
2) Visiting T-Bill stables and getting a tour by the owner, Carolyn Bay. What an impressive lady, and what great stories. We got to meet Cold Cash 123, the world champion race horse on the QH circuit in 2011, and his dam Hot Cash 123. Carolyn invited us into her stunning log home. We were treated to a tour of the trophy room and got to see vintage saddles have been in the family for generations. David, her son, showed us some of Hot Cash's races. The 'piece de resistance' was a race filmed by a chest camera, that gave you the feeling of riding the race yourself - at 45 mph. Wow!
When I told JP about the run at 45 mph he was literally chomping at the bit, wanting to see what Chambord could do. Well, honey, as neither of us is a 100 pound jockey, let's leave that to the professionals!
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