Jive Pony Vaulting Group

We did our second vaulting session yesterday, and once again it was a huge success! The first one was a few weeks ago, but what with all the snow we had to cancel a couple of Saturdays unfortunately - but now we're back in business!

We're running the group at a local riding school, Durham's Farm, and have had a group of about nine/ten girls come along, all of whom are really lovely and enthusiastic - and all seem to have boundless energy! We generally split them into two groups, with Rebecca taking one group to work on Ronan, whilst I teach the other group on the barrel. Barrel work is really important as a starting point in order to give a feel for how to move you body around in the space you will have available on the horse. It means I can teach the girls where their bodies should be in relation to the roller, how to use techniques to stay light and soft, and how to move about without getting off balance. I can then send them over to Rebecca so they can put all they've learnt into practise on Ronan! It's obviously completely different on a moving horse, so they take what they've learnt on the barrel and Rebecca builds on the techniques and helps them understand what they should be aiming for.

Ronan has been his usual wonderful self with all the girls, really looking after them. However, all the canter work has been a bit of a shock to his system - he was a hot sweaty thing even after having all his belly fluff clipped off! However, he wasn't nearly as hot or sweaty as Becca, who was cantering around next to him with each of the girls - she did have a huge amount of clothes on to keep warm but after all the running she definitely didn't need them and looked like she was going to have a heart attack! It's good to remind the horses what work is though (and us - I nearly died after leading a warm up for the girls!), as the show season will be upon us in no time so if we're vaulting regularly hopefully we'll remember what to do when we get to the first one! We're going to take Tinker to do the group next week, so the girls can try a different horse and also so Tinker can remind himself about vaulting!

Becca and I are also going to be embarking on a training course in order to become Level Two Vaulting Coaches. This will hopefully give us more ideas about how to structure the lessons and also improve our teaching skills. The course is one day a week for six weeks, starting next Wednesday in Northampton - it'll be a bit like going back to school! I must dig out my pencil case...

We did manage to get some photos of the group this time, just click here to have I look at them, and I'll let you know how we both get on the training course next week!

Lots of love

Rosie xx

Horse Hero Filming

I spent yesterday doing something very familiar to me but at the same quite different, as I was involved in some trick training filming for Horse Hero. In case you've not come across it, Horse Hero is a website described as 'a paradise for horse lovers', where you can watch an almost infinite number of videos on everything equestrian you can possibly imagine. Amongst others, there is also a section where many equestrian celebrities write blogs, a couple of which I read regularly such as the fantastic trainer Tanya Larrigan (whose book 'New Sensations for Horse and Rider' is a must read!), and Jo Eccles, the Scottish vaulter who is now European Champion. (Special mention for the lovely John Eccles who very kindly let me compete on his fantastic horses more than once, back in the day!).

Fiona and Lucy arrived in the morning, and got straight down to business by telling me I didn't look smart enough - and I'd even put clean jeans on! Admittedly, my coat is pretty grubby, but as I spend most of my time with muddy horses and muck heaps it's hardly surprising! Anyway, I soon raided Becca's clothes and found something that met their requirements, and I have to agree I did look better! Having relayed this story to Becca she burst out laughing and said its definitely the first time anyone has ever borrowed her clothes to smarten up!!

Spruced up and ready it was time to start filming. We started off with Aristo, who has never had any trick training. Aristo is a four year old stallion, and although he is broken in he hasn't done any work for the past six months. Come spring he will be off to learn polo before hopefully becoming a polo stud - lucky him! However, today was his big day - and having never really even handled him I was a bit apprehensive about how he was going to behave. I needn't have worried - he was fantastic! Considering all he's done since the summer is wander around the field, and then all of a sudden he got brought in, brushed and then spent the best part of an hour being trick trained, he couldn't have done better. I started with the head shake, which he did perfectly a couple of times, before getting wise to me tickling him and just ignoring me! We then moved on to the leg cross, which he took to really well, even balancing himself enough to bring his leg back rather than fall out of it after just a few attempts - very impressive. Finally we started the kiss, which he also worked out very quickly, and unlike Casper refrained from licking my face! I was so impressed with him, he is a clever little thing and I'm sure if I were to carry on the training with him he'd pick everything up super fast - I'm now a big fan of his!

Having shown how to start a novice horse off with some basic tricks, it was then time to demonstrate the finished tricks with my two boys. We all trudged through the muddy field to the school (which was still half covered in snow!), and started the filming with Tinker. I introduced him as 'my professional horse who I can take anywhere and I know he'll perform', which was a big mistake! To be fair to him he did do all his dancing, but it was sooooo lack lustre he looked like he was about to die of boredom. It was almost as if he was saying 'Where's the audience? Where's the music? Where's my applause? I'm not going to bother unless it's worth it.' Just like a true artiste!!

Thankfully Casper saved the day. He is the most enthusiastic little horse - I think he's stolen Tinker's quota too! He did all his tricks really well, although some were quite over zealous - the Spanish walk was more like a speedy Spanish stomp, and the kiss was definitely a dirty great snog! I was really pleased with him, he kept focused on me throughout the session, managing to ignore both the camera and Tinker in the background - a definite improvement from the pantomime! Having finished the filming he then did more tricks for the camera, you can see the snaps Fiona took of us by clicking here. (Or see some in the Horse Hero gallery by clicking here - we're right at the bottom).

I really enjoyed doing the filming, although I did find it quite difficult sometimes - I never realised how much I say 'umm' - must try and stop that! It was also hard to give a running commentary as to what I was doing. The reactions you need to give to reward the horse when you get the desired behaviour are far quicker than I can talk, so I think I may have stumbled over my words a bit. Afterwards, I also thought of loads of things I should have said but didn't - typical! It was good fun though, and I hope very much I get to do it again one day!

Hopefully the finished videos will be up on the site early to mid February, and as soon as they are I'll put a link up so you can watch them (unless I'm horrific in which case I won't tell anyone!!).

We're doing our vaulting group again on Saturday, so I'll take some more photos and tell you how we got on next week.

Lots of love

Rosie xx

Snow, Snow, Snow!

I was going to tell you all about our little vaulting group we started up last Saturday, but as I didn't manage to get many photos I thought I'd wait another week, get some more shots, and then write about it. And then the snow came.

The snow quite literally put a stop to everything for me. I couldn't get my car out of my road (parallel parked nice and tight on a very steep hill!) so was completely stranded. Thankfully the horses live with Becca, and she managed to squeeze looking after them into her busy schedule - for which I am eternally grateful!! Having not seen them for about five days and getting very bored Becca again came to my rescue and drove the ten miles to pick me up, take me to see them (and muck out!), before bringing me home again - oh for a four wheel drive truck!

I finally managed to dig my car out on Monday and make it over to my boys under my own steam, although the journey did take me 45 minutes instead of the usual fifteen! Having got back home I left the car at the bottom of the hill, which was a good decision as following the further two inches we had that night had I not I would have been stuck again! I took my camera over to the horses when I went today and took quite a few photos of them, despite the fact that everything is starting to look quite dirty now! On my way home I was amazed to see the hounds being exercised along the main road - it was a wonderful sight and just goes to show how quiet the roads are at the moment, they don't do that normally! Just click here to have a look at the photos.

The snow really has been exquisitely beautiful; I'm especially drawn to the icicles which have been absolutely stunning - I've even seen one which must have been about eight foot long! (Wouldn't want that one falling on my head though!) Aside from the beauty of it, one of my favourite things about the snow is that it makes the horses so lovely and clean! Although I turn them out covered in stable stains, by the time they come back in they have lovely white legs and feet again! They also have fluffy faces and clean manes! Self cleaning horses - brilliant! If only that happened in the summer when I need them to look smart...

Speaking of smart I will have to spruce them up a bit for Monday, as we're due to be doing some filming for Horse Hero. Fiona and the team are going to be making a short film on trick training, featuring Tinker, Casper and myself, as well as a novice horse completely new to the idea. This last part is in order to demonstrate how to start your very first session, and I will be using Aristo, a very sweet little stallion who also lives at our yard, but is unbroken and out of work - hopefully he'll enjoy doing something different and won't embarrass me on film! I'm also going to use Casper as much as possible, as after the panto debacle he needs as much 'atmosphere and distraction' training as possible. And of course Tinker, the professional, who will show us all how it's done (hopefully - he does pick his moments to embarrass me and this would be an ideal opportunity!!). I'll let you know how I get on!

Unfortunately we had to cancel our vaulting group both last week and this Saturday due to the snow, but as soon as we do the next one and get some photos I promise I'll tell you all about that too.

Becca is off to Paris again in the morning for more Annie Oakley, so is going to miss the filming on Monday, but will hopefully be having much better weather than us - fingers crossed she brings it back with her next week!

In the meantime I hope everyone is coping with the snow - and the thaw!

Love Rosie xx

Pantomime on Horseback

My boys and I have just had a very busy week, as we were taking part in The Devil's Horsemen Christmas Pantomime. Tinker, Casper and I set off on Boxing day morning for their Buckinghamshire base, and were thrown straight into rehearsals. We rehearsed all the acts and all the horses all afternoon, but before we knew it it was 6pm and the doors were opening for people arriving for the first show!

For the past two years we have done Cinderella on Horseback, but this year we had an all new show - Christmas in Fantasia. The basic story was Father Christmas being kidnapped at the beginning, and his two elves (Cam and Karina complete with bells on their costumes!) travelling through various different panto lands to rescue him. This meant we all had lots and lots of costume changes as the acts we had included Dickens, The Wizard of Oz, Aladdin, Snow White, Cinderella and Harry Potter - all complemented by fairy godmothers, wicked stepmothers and of course the ugly sisters! Phew!

For my part I had a vaulting act on Tinker as part of the Wizard of Oz section. We did a walk section and then quite a long canter section, where I pieced together both my normal show freestyles into one - I was certainly out of breath by the end! Tinker was absolutely fabulous, and didn't let me down once. Although he'd never been in the shed before he took to it really well and wasn't at all phased by the proximity of the audience - he is a proper professional! He did get quite tired towards the end of the run, but after seven shows plus initial rehearsals all in four days I can't say I blamed him! He's back out in the field now seeing 2010 in with a well earned rest- and mud bath! As well as our vaulting act Tinker and I also performed a dance during the Cinderella act. This went down really well, and as per usual after his performance I got asked plenty of times how I train him. The answer is basically bribery, although there is slightly more to it than that!

Seeing as how I'd bought Casper along for the ride (he's still not at the stage where I can do a complete vaulting act on him - much to Tinker's disgust!), I'd decided that the least he could do was some dancing to ease Tinker's load. I'd been working him in the shed to get him used to the surroundings every day, and he'd been going really well - he was really settled in there and didn't seem too bothered by anything that was going on. So, on Monday I decided it was time to put him to the test. The afternoon show had about one hundred and sixty people booked, and Casper was ready to make his debut! I'd already worked and danced him in the shed in the morning, which had gone really well - he'd danced a perfect dance and performed his catch four times in a row without mishap, even with people bustling about and providing possible distractions. So.... showtime!!

As we were backstage waiting for our turn to go on Casper was quite jumpy, the atmosphere of a show is very different to that of a practice, and one that you simply cannot create. However, he settled down far quicker than I was expecting and really concentrated on me for a few warm up tricks - including another perfect catch! Next the curtain came back and we were out in front of the 160 strong audience! Bless Casper, his eyes went out on stalks, his head went up in the air and all thoughts of concentration went completely out of his head! I managed to get him into the middle of the arena, stop, and get his concentration for a kiss. However, as soon as we did this the audience clapped, which completely threw him and he just spun around me. I then got him back and he managed a leg cross each way, but then more applause, more spinning and less concentration! We carried on like this for the duration - concentrate, trick, applause, panic - for the entire dance - if you could call it that! Despite this I was really pleased with him. In the end he did manage a nice kiss, leg crosses both ways, spanish walk in two directions, and finished with a lovely bow - you just had to pick the tricks out from all the messing around in between! Although his repertoire is far far wider, the fact that he managed to concentrate enough to do anything is quite an achievement for him - he is far higher strung than Tinker and I always knew he'd be harder to focus. Hopefully when he's in an outdoor arena the atmosphere will be less intense and he'll be more able to concentrate - he'd better because he WILL be in the shows this year, whether he likes it or not!

The other acts I took part in were the opening Dickensian street scene (complete with a milk yoke!); Snow White, where I was fed a poisoned apple before waking up to dance with Dan and Dante; the ridden Can-Can as Cinderella, and; the comedy vaulting on the gorgeous Percheron Daffodil, also as Cinders. We also had ridden pas-de-quatres, a roman riding race, carriages, Laura's impressive hoop act, Caesar the donkey, Gerard and his black horse, smokey joe and of course trick riding. The two hour show was definitely full of action! Although I've not managed to get any pictures yet, people have been posting videos up on YouTube, a couple of which you can see below - have a little watch to see what we got up to!

Becca and I have an exciting day tomorrow - we're trying to start a little vaulting group at a nearby village's riding school. Becca did a taster day back in December, but it's the first official session tomorrow, so I promise to take lots of photos and tell you all about it next week!

Lastly, a very happy new year from all of us at Jive Pony, and we look forward to seeing you at a show in 2010!

Love Rosie xx

Website Update

Our website has been given a makeover in preparation for the 2010 season! It's looks really good, and has loads of new photos and information on it. Our lovely website man Scott has been a busy boy and done a brilliant job, we're both really pleased with it! Click here to have a proper browse and see for yourself! If only Becca and I could both have a makeover too - since the frosts have thawed everything is so muddy we seem to both just be constantly filthy! I can't imagine even trying to look slightly glamourous at the moment - wading around in my wellies and stamping on muck heaps is as good as it gets, so it's a relief to know that our first show is quite a long way off!

Despite the weather I have donned the false lashes in the past week - I've been busy working over at The Devil's Horsemen Buckinghamshire base performing in their Christmas Pantomime on Horseback. I'm currently trying to get my hands on some photos so as soon as I do I will be writing all about that - however I can tell you that Tinker was his usual fantastic self, and Casper made his debut performance! Not quite so fantastic though.....

I'll tell you more soon!

Hope you and your horses all had a lovely Christmas, myself and mine certainly did!

Rosie xx

Cirque du Cheval

I had a lovely week in Dublin last week performing at the Cirque du Cheval with the Devil's Horsemen. We left on Wednesday morning (more the middle of the night - I had to be up at 4.15am!), got the ferry from Holyhead (quite a rough crossing) and arrived at the venue at about 7pm (in the rain) - so not a very glamourous start to the week! We were the headline act at the show, and were topping the bill on all the posters and programmes - along with a big photo of yours truly!

The entire show was a couple of hours long and had loads of different acts in. There were miniature horses, a Western riding display, a fantastic Cossack trick rider - and some vaulters! There were two female vaulters from France (one of whom was half Irish), but also our very own Team GB - based just up the road in Warwickshire. Team GB are trained and organised by a lovely lady called Julie, who was one of the very first vaulting coaches in this country (along with Becca's Mum Katherin) and set up one of the original clubs. I have known Julie since I started vaulting (at the age of eleven - nearly sixteen years ago now - eeek!), but unfortunately I have only seen her a handful of times since I retired from competition in 2004. It was therefore a real treat to see her again, along with her beautiful horse Go Fast. Julie's team have been selected to represent Great Britain at the 2010 World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Kentucky next September. However, in order for them to be able to compete the squad needs to raise a massive £35 thousand - so it's all hands on deck for fundraising! If you'd like to find out more about Julie's vaulting group just visit her website, or to find out about Team GB and WEG and how to contribute to the fundraising effort click here. Julie's team will also be performing at Olympia next week so if you're lucky enough to have tickets make sure to see their display - if you've never seen team vaulting before (and even if you have) it'll be a real treat!

Back in Dublin and our act was the final one of the show, and thirty minutes long. We certainly filled our half hour slot - we had me in the standing saddle, all the boys doing a big fight with lots of falls, full drags and a horse fall, Dan and I dancing, a roman ride race, Dan performing Garrocha, and finally some trick riding and a finale - phew! The audiences were fantastic for every show, and were so positive and enthusiastic with their comments afterwards - they made us feel very special! After the show we went out to meet and greet everybody and had to sign loads of autographs, which always amuses me but hey ho! I had a different horse again for the standing saddle (Bolero the old faithful was busy filming in Cardiff and Cuthbert who did HOYS wasn't very well); one who I'd never even ridden before let alone stood on! Prince is a six year old Friesian stallion - and I am now his biggest fan! He looks really impressive, has loads of presence - and a mane about a metre long! The only problem I had was keeping him cantering for the full five laps of the arena for the entrance and the chase. He much prefers trot, and as I am unable to use my legs whilst standing on him there was very little I could do to keep him going. However, being a Freisian he can trot at about the same speed the others canter so it wasn't too much of a problem - it just didn't make for a very convincing chase scene!!

When we weren't busy with the shows we spent much of our time playing cards - there were no trade stands or shops about, and the venue was pretty much in the middle of nowhere and we had no transport so there was very little else to do! Despite this we managed to entertain ourselves! All the organisers were lovely, and looked after us really well. The show was put on by Irelands Horse and Pony Magazine, so keep an eye on their website for a full report. Judging by the success of the show I think they may be putting on a summer one next year - fingers crossed we get to go back! I've managed to collect quite a few photos from our week in Dublin, just click here to have a look at them. I've also found a video on YouTube - have a watch to see what we got up to!

Becca and I are currently trying to get our hands on some tickets for Olympia, not only is Julie there but also our old friends the Metropolitan Police with their Activity Ride. We first met them at the Suffolk Show back in May 2008, and ended up stealing shavings from their stables before they'd even arrived - oops! Jean-Francois Pignon is there too, and I could never ever tire of watching him and his beautiful horses, his liberty act is just incredible! I'll let you know if we manage to get here, and if we do who we manage to see!

Lots of love

Rosie xx

Trick Training

Well it's been a little while since I've last written, but as all is fairly quiet in the Jive Pony camp at the moment there's been very little to write about! Rebecca and I are currently spending a lot of time training our baby horses, Casper and Navvy, and as we often get asked how we train them I thought I'd share a few of our secrets!

Trick training is really very simple once you learn the basics. I have run a couple of clinics now and it's really gratifying to see that, without exception, every single horse/pony has left having learnt the basics of at least two tricks. After I start them all off at the clinic it's then up to the owner to carry on with their education, but judging from the follow up emails, phone calls and texts I have received everyone is doing really well and the horses are learning fast! I also have a couple of people who were unable to attend a clinic but who I have gone and taught on a one to one basis, again with rewarding results.

So, for all of you who ask how, here is a summary of the four basic components to trick training - consistency, patience, repetition and reward - follow these and you won't go far wrong!

Consistency

It is vital to decide on a suitable cue before you start training any trick, and once chosen the cue must be stuck to consistently throughout the training. This is necessary to prevent your horse from becoming confused. There are numerous types of cue:

* touch, in the form of a tickle or nudge

* sound, either words or noises

* visual, using body language or props.

Cues can be used on their own or in conjunction with other cues. You can choose your own cues for each trick, but careful thought needs to be given whilst choosing, as once training has commenced the cue must not be altered. Consistency is absolutely essential!

Patience

The saying 'Patience is a Virtue' is never more true than when it comes to trick training. Your horse must remain comfortable throughout the training session and confident in what he is learning. This can take time and is something that must not be rushed. If your horse becomes confused or distressed during a training session it is imperative you take him back to a stage where he is comfortable and feels safe in his knowledge. Remember that you want your horse to be successful, so take very small training steps and raise your expectations slowly. Some tricks take longer to learn than others and you must judge by your horse's behaviour how much you can do during each session. Pushing trick training will just result in poorly trained, unreliable tricks and a stressed horse. Trying to do too much too fast will always cause trouble!

Repetition

Repeating each stage of every trick numerous times is necessary to ensure your horse learns the trick thoroughly. Each stage must be repeated until your horse produces the required behaviour without fail every time he is asked. You cannot ask for something and expect to get it on a consistent basis unless you have gone through a thorough and successful teaching process with him. Only when the desired behaviour is being produced on demand should you move onto the next stage. If your horse becomes confused you will have to take him back a step to where he is comfortable and repeat the lesson over and over until you are sure he is ready to move on to the next stage. The smaller each stage is the more confident your horse will be with the finished trick.

Reward

Correct rewarding is crucial to trick training. Your horse must be rewarded immediately when he performs the desired behaviour, be this a finished trick or an attempt to please during training. When starting a new trick this is especially important, and timing is everything. You must learn to recognise, and reward, even the smallest 'tries' on your horse's part. However, the reward must not be given until the horse tries to give the desired behaviour, otherwise the reward is for 'free', and he has not had to work for it. To start with the desired behaviour may only be a tiny movement in the correct direction but it must be rewarded immediately. Immediate reward allows the horse to associate the cue with the performed behaviour, and reassures him that he is doing the right thing. Failure to reward your horse correctly when he performs the desired behaviour will result in a horse that soon looses interest. The most effective way to reward your horse is with a food based treat of some kind. This can be apple, carrot or other feed or treat. However, each treat must be small, as you should leave your horse wanting more in order for him to carry on trying to please you! It is also important to accompany the reward with verbal praise, and remember to always sound as if you mean it - mumbling 'good boy' will mean nothing to him, you need to exclaim it!

It is the combination of consistency, patience, repetition and reward that leads to successful trick training. All are of equal importance and none can be discarded! The clearer and more specific you are about what you want your horse to do, the easier it is for him to learn. You cannot expect your horse to understand something you haven't taught him, so begin by asking a little and rewarding a lot, build on stages slowly to avoid confusion, and before you know it you'll be there!

Once your horse has mastered a trick you can be very proud of both him and yourself. However, the work doesn't stop there! Correct rewarding remains of great importance. Every time you ask him for a trick you must ensure it is performed correctly before rewarding him. If he only puts a bit of effort in, doesn't get it quite right, but still gets rewarded his tricks will become careless, and all the effort you both put into learning will be wasted! This applies to both of you though! You must still be consistent with your cues, explain to him clearly what it is that you want, and reward him correctly when he carries out the desired behaviour - sloppy training leads to sloppy tricks!

Trick training is a never ending journey. No matter how many tricks your horse knows, there will always be more out there that he doesn't. Use your imagination, use your horse's imagination, and the possibilities are endless! Each horse has his own personality, and therefore his own imagination. For example, Tinker ALWAYS yawns whenever he has either his headcollar or bridle on or off, so I simply put a cue to him every time he did it, rewarded him, and can now get him to yawn on demand! I applied the same process to Casper, who is forever curling his top lip up, and now he can 'smile' on cue!

I hope this has shed some light on the methods we both use to train our boys - we certainly don't just sit around twiddling our thumbs all winter!

I'm off to Dublin on Tuesday with The Devil's Horsemen for a week. We're doing a big show out there on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so I'll take lots of pictures and tell you all about it when I get back next week. In the meantime I hope all of you and your horses and ponies are well and happy and wrapped up against the horrible November weather - Tinker and Casper certainly are!

Lots of love

Rosie xx