[ad_1]

Kathy Young
 
| Victorville Daily Press

With so many riding lessons and events canceled by the pandemic, riders like me have been pretty much on our own when it comes to honing our skills in the saddle.

Now I am not a natural rider by any means, and I don’t have someone to tell me when I’m not in a good position or what the horse could do better, so seeking out help elsewhere tends to be beneficial.

Video yourself while riding 

This is an option that has proven effective for me. I set up my video camera on a tripod and then ride on-camera. With the resulting footage I can see for myself the the positions I have improved and those that need a little work. 

Professional athletes use this method week in and week out; it’s what they are talking about when they say they need to “watch the film.”

Another option for this method is to invest in a robotic camera system like Pixio or Pivo Pod, which essentially are mounts capable of rotating my smart phone 360 degrees as the camera records. A remote on my helmet works to move the camera wherever I ride.

Systems like these can run close to $1,000, though. And even with such a setup, I miss that pair of “eyes on the ground.”

The internet is your friend

I’ve always been an avid reader, so books and magazine articles help, but I have also discovered an informative visual alternative. It involves online training programs, such as Callie King’s Balanced Riding Course.

This online series of workshops and YouTube videos covers English riding tips, tricks and traps. Plus there are occasional videos on groundwork, and rider exercises on mats or how to use the Swedish Ball for balanced riding exercises. There’s even a video on improving riding bareback.

The Balanced Riding Courses are held regularly and offer some free training tips as well as a paid section.

The current course, which is closed for registration, offers three free basic courses. They include understanding your horse, better riding in seven days and a free confidence training session that helps you become calm and confident.

The paid sessions include a more probing course on confidence building, especially helpful for those who have serious fear issues. The Training Journals are Callie’s chronicles of real training sessions on her own horses plus monthly live Q&A sessions and mini-courses on horse care topics like nutrition, hoof care, parasite control and more.

For information on her work, visit www.joinbalancedridingcourse.com to get updates on the next course. You can also visit www.youtube.com and search for “CRK Balanced Riding.”

Another course is Amelia Newcomb Dressage, a series of short video lessons with Amelia riding horses in various levels of dressage.

She also has a Facebook page, Amelia’s Dressage Club, a Patreon channel for more in-depth videos, a weekly Zoom session and — because she is based out of Somis in Ventura County — the chance to see her in person when she teaches locally. 

Here we have covered western and groundwork sites that can provide you with another person’s perspective on making you and your horse a more effective team.

Sometimes we can hear the same thing over and over and still not quite “get it.” But learning that same information from someone new can help us see it all in a different light.

Depending on your equestrian goals — and the amount of time and energy you can spend on them — the online possibilities for improving your time in the saddle are many.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

[ad_2]

Source link