4/20/10 - 4/25/10 Team Training.
This week/ weekend we successfully completed runthroughs at the canter multiple times. It was very pleasing. Of course, there were imperfections throughout, but only small details. It was tons of fun! Pally was so good, especially on Sunday for our last runthrough. He was so easy to vault on! I am so proud of that horse, I love him!
First, I'll tell you a little bit about our week... Tuesday was a compulsory day - Serious concentrated work on the horse and barrel. We really worked on our flight (handstands during the scissor exercise) and on our stands. We've got to be very concentrated and steady during our compulsories - we take time to visualize what we need to work on before we get on the horse, and then really focus on certain things once we're on. Comps have to be sooo perfect! Perfect practice makes perfect! All the same for freestyle! Wednesday, we only worked on the barrel, pin-pointing our choreography. Thursday was the first of our multiple run-throughs. We worked on the freestyle a lot on the barrel, did a lot of run-throughs, and then took it to the horse. SUCCESS!!! After the horse, we returned to the barrel and worked on the things that needed to be addressed. After practice, I went home to celebrate my dad's birthday - Happy (belated) Birthday Dad! Friday, just like Thursday, except the horse work was spot cleaning - work on certain parts rather than a run-through. We went good run on Friday afternoon, followed by some intense stretching! Now for Saturday and Sunday...
The focus of the weekend was freestyle, freestyle, freestyle. It was tiring, but very successful! We listened to our music, let it seep inside of us, and we vaulted to it with expression and passion. I love the strong dance influence that we have on the team! It gives vaulting so much more feeling! On Saturday, we went straight to the barrel in the morning and started to spot clean and choreograph EVEN MORE of the freestyle. Then, we did freestyle, after, freestyle, after freestyle! Lunch, and then more work on the barrel and freestyle parts on the horse. Sunday, DRESS-REHEARSAL! We did a very successful run-through on Palatine. I really think that the audience is going to enjoy our performance!
Speaking of performance, we will be having a F.A.C.E. Team Benefit Performance on May 9th at 5:00pm, at the Stanford Red Barn. If you would like to find out even more about our event, please e-mail me at horsetrayner@sbcglobal.net and/or find our event page on facebook. You can search "Equestrian Performance at Stanford Red Barn." I hope that you will be able to attend and be one of the first to see the F.A.C.E. Team perform in 2010!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Weekend #1 of 10 day training
4/15/10 - 4/18/10. Weekend #1 out of 10 day training camp. Just a short note -
Wow. Yawn. Ouch. Yay! Cool. Good boy Pally! Along with many more little comments like those... Successful weekend, very progressive. We did so so so sooooo much freestyle, on the horse and on the barrel. It was tiring, but defiantly fun, exciting, and enjoyable. I love this team to death! Palatine never ceases to amaze me. The increase in his abilities from last month to this month are huge! He is doing so well! In 2008, the last thing that came to my mind when I saw Pally was "freestyle horse," now, it's the first! He's an amazing freestyle horse! His canter flows so fluently and swiftly, he has such great movement. I can't wait to compete on him, he completely completes the performance! I love you, Pally!
Anna (banana waffles) and I got a lot of practice in on our part. It was really nice to be able to practice it over and over and over again. Although, it was pretty hard-core! Speaking of hard-core, we all went on the coolest bike ride around Woodside on Saturday. I got to ride my Bertin Racer bike for the first time. I was a little bit proud of myself for making it all the way up the hill on my bike, even around the "curve of death!" I've never been able to pedal all the way up! The nice sunny weather was inspiring this past weekend, it is so much better to vault in the warm, beautiful sunshine. I feel so much stronger, and much more fresh when it's nice out. I'm sure that is the same for the rest of the team, too! I hope that the weather stays on our side for the next weekend, crossing my fingers!
We'll be practicing all week and weekend long, so I'll write more in just a short while! I hope that you enjoy reading my blog!
Wow. Yawn. Ouch. Yay! Cool. Good boy Pally! Along with many more little comments like those... Successful weekend, very progressive. We did so so so sooooo much freestyle, on the horse and on the barrel. It was tiring, but defiantly fun, exciting, and enjoyable. I love this team to death! Palatine never ceases to amaze me. The increase in his abilities from last month to this month are huge! He is doing so well! In 2008, the last thing that came to my mind when I saw Pally was "freestyle horse," now, it's the first! He's an amazing freestyle horse! His canter flows so fluently and swiftly, he has such great movement. I can't wait to compete on him, he completely completes the performance! I love you, Pally!
Anna (banana waffles) and I got a lot of practice in on our part. It was really nice to be able to practice it over and over and over again. Although, it was pretty hard-core! Speaking of hard-core, we all went on the coolest bike ride around Woodside on Saturday. I got to ride my Bertin Racer bike for the first time. I was a little bit proud of myself for making it all the way up the hill on my bike, even around the "curve of death!" I've never been able to pedal all the way up! The nice sunny weather was inspiring this past weekend, it is so much better to vault in the warm, beautiful sunshine. I feel so much stronger, and much more fresh when it's nice out. I'm sure that is the same for the rest of the team, too! I hope that the weather stays on our side for the next weekend, crossing my fingers!
We'll be practicing all week and weekend long, so I'll write more in just a short while! I hope that you enjoy reading my blog!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Easter Weekend Training
4/1/10 - 4/4/10 - Our training weekend was a little different from the past weekends. We worked a lot on compulsories, horse and barrel, and a lot on stretching and strengthening. On Thursday, our team was moved from the gym that we were in, to a different room with a much lower ceiling, which made us hate the rain even more. Lot's of rain this weekend....
Thursday brought most of us sore arms. I wasn't sore, but I could tell that I used my arms a lot the next day! Compulsory drills on the ground, torcher stretching, workout, coping with low ceiling day. Friday, the sun came out and let us vault on the horse and outside in the sun for most of our practice. That was nice!
On Saturday, we drove out to Half Moon Bay and used the Palmer's wonderful gym (with a high ceiling) to vault on the barrel and work out. Thank you to the Palmer family for opening up their place for our team's use! When we went back to Woodside, the sun had stayed out since Friday, the arena had drained, and we got to work on Palatine. We worked on compulsories, followed by my flying parts at the canter, and some other freestyle work. I stayed at practice for about an hour longer so that Devon and I could work on our second flying part. Now, I'm not going to tell you anymore about my flying parts, they are surprises and you'll have to come to the competitions and watch our team to see them! I will tell you one more thing though, they are pretty cool!
For me, Easter Sunday meant church and Easter stuff with my family in the morning, so I was a little late to practice. The day was short, and packed with lots of compulsory drills, and jumping drills, and handstand/ scissor exercises. O yea, and we had a major meeting about the uniforms, which I think people will really get excited about this year! Devon and I carried on the smoothing process of my flying parts, and although we didn't get to go on the horse, we watched it rain and made the best of what we had. Simple weekend. Not everyone was there and the sky was against us, so please, come back and read more within the next couple weeks, for an exciting dose of our team's training! We have a 10 day training period starting Thursday, April 15, and I might even get my dad to take some pictures!
See ya!
P.S. Please visit this website - www.facevaulting.com and if you can, please make a donation! Anything is extremely helpful, even $5. Our team is in the hopes of going to Aachen, Germany, in June to compete in the Aachen CHIO*,**, The World Equestrian Festival. Please help us get to Aachen, and Kentucky, we need YOU!!!
Thursday brought most of us sore arms. I wasn't sore, but I could tell that I used my arms a lot the next day! Compulsory drills on the ground, torcher stretching, workout, coping with low ceiling day. Friday, the sun came out and let us vault on the horse and outside in the sun for most of our practice. That was nice!
On Saturday, we drove out to Half Moon Bay and used the Palmer's wonderful gym (with a high ceiling) to vault on the barrel and work out. Thank you to the Palmer family for opening up their place for our team's use! When we went back to Woodside, the sun had stayed out since Friday, the arena had drained, and we got to work on Palatine. We worked on compulsories, followed by my flying parts at the canter, and some other freestyle work. I stayed at practice for about an hour longer so that Devon and I could work on our second flying part. Now, I'm not going to tell you anymore about my flying parts, they are surprises and you'll have to come to the competitions and watch our team to see them! I will tell you one more thing though, they are pretty cool!
For me, Easter Sunday meant church and Easter stuff with my family in the morning, so I was a little late to practice. The day was short, and packed with lots of compulsory drills, and jumping drills, and handstand/ scissor exercises. O yea, and we had a major meeting about the uniforms, which I think people will really get excited about this year! Devon and I carried on the smoothing process of my flying parts, and although we didn't get to go on the horse, we watched it rain and made the best of what we had. Simple weekend. Not everyone was there and the sky was against us, so please, come back and read more within the next couple weeks, for an exciting dose of our team's training! We have a 10 day training period starting Thursday, April 15, and I might even get my dad to take some pictures!
See ya!
P.S. Please visit this website - www.facevaulting.com and if you can, please make a donation! Anything is extremely helpful, even $5. Our team is in the hopes of going to Aachen, Germany, in June to compete in the Aachen CHIO*,**, The World Equestrian Festival. Please help us get to Aachen, and Kentucky, we need YOU!!!
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