GEC held our second Horsemanship Practice Day for 2018 on Tuesday 17h April. The day was well attended and members and visitors had an opportunity to have some fun with their horses. The planned activities included horses squeezing through, over and around obstacles while ‘online’ or ‘in hand’. Members had the opportunity to develop their horse human communication utilising the Seven Games developed and taught by Pat Parelli. (parelli.com) The games and activities helped build confidence in the horses to be around man-made obstacles that are not in a horse’s natural environment.
Safety is the number one priority for a horse! Our horsemanship activities are designed to help horses feel safer in a human environment. The Reiki information evening with Linda McGregor at the Galston Club on 19 April was most interesting , and the attendees found it fascinating to learn about the Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by “laying on hands” and is based on the idea that an unseen “life force energy” flows through us and is what causes us to be alive.
On Saturday 21 April, popular local 4* eventer, show jumper and coach, Keira Byrnes, ran another very successful show jumping clinic for the Club. Twenty-five participants booked in for small group lessons at heights ranging from X-rails to 1m. Lots of happy faces and positive feedback showed that Keira had helped many of the participants acquire some new skills and techniques to get their horses to jump more accurately and/or more confidently. The Club hopes to run another clinic with Keira later in the year.
Classical Dressage is alive and well at the Galston Equestrian Club thanks to Paul Cairns who we have invited to teach us the theory and practice. We have just completed 2 sessions (21 April and 13 May) and have 4 more to go this year with new riders trying out ancient techniques on a regular basis. Most riders catch on quickly to the fact that often you have to leave old habits behind to gain the full benefit of the new tools we are all learning. Search for “Légèreté” on the Galston Equestrian Club website to find out more!
Following a very successful show jumping clinic on the Saturday, the show jumping team put on a day of show jumping on 22 April. The Rural Sports Facility was looking fabulous as usual, the weather was gorgeous, and a whole lot of riders had a great time jumping for the day. The idea of a clear round show jumping day is to let riders have a go, even if their horse isn’t going so well. Lots of riders bring their young horses to give them a chance to jump, and other riders try jumping a bit higher than they otherwise would. A great day for confidence for both horses and riders. A large number of volunteers are always required for these days, so a huge thank you to all those that helped.
Upcoming events :
27 May – Official Dressage Competition – entry on Nominate
28 May – Legerete, and Poles and Grids with Tana Subotic
5 June – Training Day – Flatwork with Caroline Hooper and Show Jumping with Sandy Lucas
10 June – Working Equitation with Kim Peterson
19 June – Horsemanship
As usual, please check our Facebook page and our website for all up-to-date information on all our events. http://www.galstonequestrianclub.org.au/
