Category: Training

It is that time of year again when resolutions are made. Here event rider and trainer Harriet Morris-Baumber offers advice on setting goals that are achievable for you and your horse this year. Whatever your resolution or goal, seeing it through is all about making sure it is achievable in the first place. This is not to say that you shouldn’t push yourself out of your comfort zone, but in equestrianism, ambition can sometimes outweigh ability, like in no other sport. Be mindful of your current fitness, time available, and…

Reduce spooking and gain more confidence with these simple tips for hacking out. With hacking already posing dangers from erratic road users, spooking can only make situations worse when out and about. As riders have naturally begun opting for safer off-road routes, horses can often miss out on great hacking benefits as a result. So, we want to give you the confidence boost you need to get hacking out again, even if it is just 5 minutes, with some simple tips… Keeping Confident… If you’re hacking out and wavering on…

Riding position is a key factor in strength, balance and functionality during your horse’s ridden performance. However, when on top of the horse, riders can find it hard to break old habits, leaving themselves and horse’s unable to achieve their full potential, plus become more at risk to injury! So, how can you improve your riding position? We were lucky enough to call on the expertise of Emma Malone, a locally-based Advanced Body Control Pilates Teacher, Equipilates™ Registered Trainer, Equitation Science Practitioner and Coach in training with Mary Wanless of Ride with Your Mind…

Systematic Training Feature with Harriet Morris-Baumber On winning Badminton 2019, Piggy French was quoted as saying: “This shows that if you have a system and work hard, dreams can come true.” This is a philosophy that event rider and trainer, Harriet Morris-Baumber, not only lives by herself but also instils in her clients. “Systematic training, hard work and consistency are the foundations for any successful partnership and once a training programme is developed, it must be given time pay off.” said Harriet. What is Systematic Training? Systematic training usually involves…

Lunging a Horse, Back to the Basics with Everything Horse In this feature, we focus on the first steps of lunging a horse or pony. These simple ‘back to the basics’ tips will help you and your horse on the way to a productive training session. Lunging a Horse  Lunging a horse can be very rewarding, it is also a good starting point for any young horse’s training. Another good reason to lunge your horse is to assess their way of going, or perhaps when time is limited and your…

Top 10 Tips for a Young Horse’s Training Schedule with Steph Gumn This month young horse producer and coach, Steph Gumn, has provided us with a ‘top 10 tips’ feature focussing on the young horse’s training schedule.  Staffordshire based Steph, who has a wealth of expertise in the field, focusses on education, recuperation, and progress. Steph’s Top 10 Tips Feed for the work you’ve done, not the work you plan to do. With young horses, the correct feed can make the difference between a productive training session and feeling frustrated.…

This month, for our young horse training feature, event rider and trainer Harriet Morris-Baumber offers readers her top tips when training a young horse. Young Horse Training with Harriet Morris-Baumber If you have got a young horse with bags of potential how do you ensure that you harness this talent in the right way to produce a well-rounded horse that is a pleasure to compete? Event rider and trainer Harriet Morris-Baumber has a wealth of experience in training young horses for herself to compete and when coaching her clients. Producing…

Training Tips from Ros Canter on Jumping at Home Looking for training tips on jumping your horse when at home? Then you will want to read this article… FEI World Number One Event Rider and Equipe-sponsored rider, Ros Canter was kind enough to lend a hand and share her top tips on how you can improve jumping at home to help prepare for a competition. Setting yourself up for success Ros explains: Start warming up with a small show jump, both you and your horse must be looking at the…

In the first of a two-part eventing series, trainer and event rider Harriet Morris-Baumber offers advice on jumping ditches. Ditches appear on every cross-country course, from grassroots level through to 5* events, with the depth and width increasing as you move up through the levels. For some horse and rider combinations, that hole in the ground can prove a daunting challenge, and they are notoriously difficult to replicate in training. Ditches that have a clearly defined edge, are not sunk into the ground, or are hidden are not very inviting…

Tackling Skinny Fences with Harriet Morris-Baumber A skinny fence can strike fear into the hearts of some riders, and course builders love to throw in this technical challenge to test how accurate your riding is, along with your ability to keep the horse straight. Event rider and trainer, Harriet Morris-Baumber is used to negotiating these types of fences when she is competing herself and instructs her clients on the best way to tackle skinny fences, which can be one of the most common causes of a run-out. Skinny fences come…

3 Easy Tips for Showjumping with Jessica Mendoza Feature courtesy of Renwick & Sons, Purveyors of the finest grooming tools. Here Jessica Mendoza gives her top three tips for showjumping. In this feature, Jessica is riding ‘Zizi’ NP Zelah, a 10-year-old bay mare, and is jumping 1m35/1m40. Top Tip No.1 For horses that rush Build a small cavaletti size fence, with a six meter distance to another fence, include a pole five strides behind this (as below). This fence set up is really good for slowing down your horse’s pace…

Straightness is one of the fundamental parts to get right when training a horse of any age. We asked British event rider Caroline Harris to demonstrate a few exercises to improve both horse and rider straightness while training at home. The Exercises For straightness, focus on trotting on a straight line down the long side of the arena and then come back to walk before the corner. When riding the bend, walk a square and have the horse bent around your inside leg so they are not falling in, or out. …

 Competition nerves can alter the way we ride, ultimately impacting on our horse’s way of going and our performance. Having confidence in the course and knowing your fences, lines, striding, and ground conditions will help enormously; this is why we ‘walk the course’. Knowing what to look out for is crucial to a successful outcome so we asked professional event rider Caroline Harris, to run through her 10 top course walking tips for showjumping and cross country. Caroline Harris has been based for the past six seasons with her mentor, Australian…

Schooling & Training – Master your Centre Line and the Half 10m Circle with Georgie Bennett One of the first basic rules of training any horse, young or old, should be straightness. everything else can then follow. Here Equerry Horse Feeds sponsored dressage rider Georgie Bennett, talks us through a few simple flatwork exercises.  Georgie explains how to turn up the centre line and the ride half 10m circle. Turns up the Centre Line Turns up the centre are not only an integral part of the dressage test but they…

Gridwork is a great way to train a horse to be agile, accurate and athletic. It also gives the opportunity for a rider to improve style, position and balance over a fence. Gridwork makes jumping easy, it improves a rider’s sense of rhythm and helps to develop any eye for distances.  The aim of gridwork is not to jump big fences, but to improve confidence and ability in both horse and rider. What is Gridwork? Gridwork is a training system using poles and fences set at measured distances, also referred…

Top Tips for Rider Confidence #EverythingHorse You may have heard the saying ‘confidence comes from within’ but it truly does, and it’s especially true for horse riders. Here, former event rider and confidence coach Anna Morris of First Focus Consultants, gives her top tips for success this competition season….   Understand your emotions. Being able to understand and name your feelings and what triggers them will give you back control when you are emotionally flooded.   Focus on yourself not your horse. Concentrate on your breathing, relax your body, focus…

The scales of training are key areas of focus for any horse’s training. Without the correct fundamental training techniques and strategy, you could well be inadvertently hampering your and your horse’s chance of success. In this article, Tor Fenwick talks about what each ‘scale’ of the training process is and what each means for you and your horse. The Basics and a bit of guts!  The young horse is both an exciting adventure as well as a rollercoaster ride sometimes you wish you never got on. However, the satisfaction that…

Cross Country Training Tips with Lissa Green A successful event rider at 5* level, Lissa Green offers some top tips on introducing a young horse to cross country. Training – Where to Start? As riders know, a young horse in training comes with challenges and excitement, especially for riders whose discipline is eventing. It is important to present a young horse to a cross-country course early on in its career because this enables the horse to absorb the process and understand what is to be expected of it at this…

Show Jumping Exercises and Training with Ian Wills Show jumping exercises and training from Black Country Saddles’ sponsored event rider, Ian Wills. Here Ian Wallis provides advice on improving your jumping through balance and straightness. Balance and straightness are key to success in show jumping Ian starts by reminding us that whilst many aspire to a competitive show jumping round, it will only be achieved by those who have persevered with the correct training right from the very first basic level. Central to all this is the importance of working…

Training the Young Horse with Gary Foggon: Improving the Trot In this month’s training feature, Gary Foggon provides advice on training the young horse with a few tips and exercises for improving the trot, courtesy of his sponsor Black Country Saddles. Although you may encounter issues when training a young horse, be patient and work through each concern logically. With dedication and determination, specific exercises will help to correct individual problems along the way. Here we look at improving the trot. It is quite possible for a young horse to…

How to ride a great jump off with PIppa Allen This month, British Horse Feeds sponsored show-jumper Pippa Allen, provides advice on how to ride a jump off against the clock. About Pippa Based in West Yorkshire, Pippa Allen, 23, is a very talented rider who is now back home in the UK, after spending two and half years in Germany riding for international showjumpers Helena and Tim Stormanns in Eschweiler. Having competed from a very young age, Pippa started on the national pony circuit winning many top titles, and…

Video Series – Loose Jumping with Ellen Terray Part 3 So far, in this exciting video series from professional trainer Ellen Terray, we have focused on ground work. Part 1 looked at the basic movements that can be executed from the ground including leading in hand, circles, way of going and bending. Part 2 moved on from this with turn on the forehand, leg yield and mounting. In this, part 3 of our video series with Ellen Terray, she moves her attention to loose jumping and includes the lessons that loose jumping…

Video Series; Basic Ground Work with Ellen Terray Part 2 Part 2 of the Ellen Terray ground work series with Everything Horse includes turn on the forehand, leg yield and mounting. About Ellen Ellen Terray is a professional trainer from Malmesbury in Wiltshire. She specialises in producing horses of all ages and abilities for dressage and eventing and uses a system that combines her classical training with aspects of natural horsemanship to produce well mannered, happy athletes. More information about Ellen can be found here: https://ellenterray.wordpress.com/ Horse: The horse used in…

Video Series; Horse and Rider Basic Groundwork with Ellen Terray – Part 1 Part 1 of the Ellen Terray horse and rider groundwork series with Everything Horse includes; leading in hand, circles, way of going and bending. Groundwork offers horse and rider the benefit of building a relationship before climbing on board. It’s an essential part of the horse’s early training that will help when being backed, in his or her working career, and even for simple daily tasks such as when being turned out. Training a horse is a…

How to Ride a Turn on the Forehand Here we take a look at how to ride a turn on the forehand with your horse. Taking the movement back to the basics, the article explains the importance of riding a straight line, the warm-up and movement itself. Teaching a horse to yield off the leg is a fundamental part of any dressage movement. Weight in the saddle, positioning of the hands and placement of the leg are all required in coordination, on the rider’s behalf. Turn on the Forehand Aim:…