Category: Ruth’s Journal

Spring is an incredible time in Canada.  On Sunday I went for beautiful walk on the cross country course which was still covered in a blanket of pristine white snow.  The temperature was a beautiful 9 degrees. 

Today however was a different scene… in fact todays weather might inspire one to google ‘Ark building techniques’. 

With over 30mm of rain having already fallen and much more on the way the landscape is quickly turning into one of rapidly flowing engorged drainage ditches.  And thank goodness for those ditches!  I vividly remember my Dad spending hours with a spade tinkering with the flow of water on the farm, and now I watch my husband doing the same thing.  There is something deeply satisfying about watching the winter drain away and make way for a new season, a season of Cross Country riding!!

To get ready for the exciting sight of the snow dissipating we brought a bit of it into the indoor this week.  With the ring conditioner finally out of the ice, the arena now has a level appearance and our dressage team once again have square corners to get into 😉.  Although now they have to work around the Event teams’ logs!  Yup, we have logs in the arena!  And to everyone’s relief the horses have not forgotten how to jump them. 

So, now that spring is definitely here, its on to the exciting business of finalizing memberships and making the first few show entries.  If you haven’t had a chance to scan through the show book in the barn, check it out the next time you are out.  We now have all of the eventing omnibus pages in there for reference, which in my world makes it officially pre-season!

If you are looking for a little extra challenge this spring, we are hosting a couple of EC Rider Level prep clinics (info on the Student Page) for anyone interested in increasing their equestrian knowledge.  And remember, there is no obligation to be evaluated.

As you look out the window over the next few days at the mud, rain and general gloomy nature of the world remember that this is a stepping stone to things like riding in the sand ring, jumping on grass, galloping cross country oh yeah and of course bugs 🐛

And spring flowers🌷

Chin up and come enjoy the beautiful trees in the arena this week… the jumpable ones and the decorations beside them.

Ruth 

As I look out at the sand ring with its 20+ cm of snow laying like a soft white blanket over top of it I wonder, how on earth will we be able to host a horse show in 2 months!  With the snow still falling its tough to wrap your head around the idea that spring will ever be here, but when I look at the 14-day weather forecast there are indeed days with a + sign in front of the temperature number, spring is definitely right around the corner.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my indoor arena but I am so keen to get out and teach in the great big outdoor world and watch horses splash through the water jump, gallop on the green grass and jump up and down banks!   Winter in Canada certainly does present its challenges for the Event horse & rider, however I have to tell you that when I am watching our riders lately what I am seeing is remarkable.  We are transitioning between the general preparation period of YTP’s and moving to specific preparation… Think of it like this:  In the general preparation period riders are working on getting a great left lead canter transition (for example) and that transition can happen anywhere in the ring, in its own time.  However, in the specific preparation period we now practice that transition in places where it will be performed in competition and maybe link it to other movements that will be asked for as well.  The winter has given us time to introduce new skills, practice them and get really, really good at performing them.  It has allowed both horse and rider time to physically adapt to the newly learned skill before having to perform it under stress. 

Imagine how that looks for a horses’ footwork and confidence over fences, not to mention our riders.  The trick is then to gently increase the competition to training ratio before actually getting to show season so that our riders mental skills are equally as practiced.  This competition exposure could look as informal as a challenge between riders in a group lesson to get a certain number of strides in a line of jumps.  The idea is to increase the consequence of getting it right in order to raise the stress a rider feels and therefore practice the skills that are going to be used to manage that stress in competition (imagery, deep breathing, positive self talk etc…).     

With this transition from general to specific preparation it means that we are one step closer to show season, finally!  And speaking of competition, this Sunday March 19^th, we are holding a super fun in-house games competition.  Contact Megan to enter or come and be part of the cheering squad, and great news the temperature for Sunday has a + symbol in front of it so wear your favorite pair of shorts!

For those of you who have yet to complete a YTP or a show season questionnaire don’t panic, there is still time. There are blank templates on the bulletin board or online versions in the student section of the website.  I know it feels like homework, but let’s face it you are good at homework.  I know this because I watch you and your horses mastering skills all the time… because you are doing your homework!  And, the other amazing people that are doing their homework are your coaches.  I watch the lessons that Helen and Megan are teaching and they have purpose, direction and a plan, and ladies that makes me proud.  For every rider that wants to go out and succeed this show season there should be a dedicated coach behind you helping to map out the daily training environment.  Cheers girls!

Its March break for many of you and some of you are off gallivanting in Europe or down south, but for the rest of you that are here doing the normal March break things like my family this week which of course include skateboarding on the ice in the hay field, trying to make unicorn cookies that poop out sprinkles (failed) or getting crafts ready for St. Patrick’s Day. Make sure you hug your favorite pony and keep up the good work.

See you Sunday at the Games competition… I will be the loud one in the front row eating a unicorn cookie 😉

Ruth      

This weeks blog is presented a little differently, if you click on the blog, you’ll see navigation buttons at the bottom of the first page:

Sammy & Rosie being rockstars during Strength Training Sunday!

For the next few weeks, the Oakhurst Coaches are busy getting ready for parties, perfecting their dance moves and doing family Holiday things, so the Journals are being replaced with visual entertainment!  This past weekend the Oakhurst Drill Teams performed their Christmas routines for a standing room only crowd.  After an intense battle, they were declared Champions of Oakhurst Winter Drill Team (it was a tie!).  Watch both teams routines and see which performance you enjoyed the most:

Drill Team #1 – The 12 Days of Christmas

Emma Richardson, Barb Eamer, Sylvain Jobidon, Megan Jenner, Teagan Maroney, Alissia Doran-Guilbault

Drill Team #2 – Grandma Got Runover by a Reindeer

Kieryn Davison, Megan Jenner, Taya Davison, Tatum Nelson

I walked out the door this morning to teach my first lesson and gingerly stepped off the porch when I was very quickly reminded that we had freezing rain overnight. There’s that slow motion moment when you feel yourself sliding and you know you need to make the decision about what to save and what to abandon. So as I watched my coffee cup fly straight up in the air and then turn making its return trip earthward I wondered if I had made the right decision. As my cup met the ground it exploded in a shower of ceramic and coffee. It was quite spectacular, however at the same time my butt hit the ground. Apparently I had been too preoccupied with watching my coffee cup to pick anything to save. #MorningFail

So there I sat wondering why I had the agility of a hippo in moments like this. There have been many occasions for people in my life to observe me trip up stairs, fall off sidewalks, tumble down stairs, slip on ice and have full on rotational falls while walking a cross country course in a flat field with perfect footing, on my own feet with my own legs. Yup, the same feet and legs I’ve had for over 40 years, you’d think I would have learned how to use them by now!

However, all that said, I don’t believe that people can be good at everything, so for me if I take the skill of walking and possibly stairs off the list of things that I am good at, oh yeah and math, then it leaves so much room for other things J. And let’s face it, celebrating the things we are good at is way more rewarding than dwelling on the things that make up our shortcomings. And in fact celebrating success is one of the things I think I am excellent at, which is a great proficiency to have this year as we have so many champions among us to celebrate!

This past weekend we attended the Ottawa Area Dressage Group Banquet to celebrate some of the triumphs of our Dressage team members:
Rebecca Walker & Kira ESD Walk/Trot Horse PW/JR – Reserve Champion
Megan Jenner & So Much To Offer – Silver Training Level Open Champion
Emma Richardson & Sokit2ya – Silver First Level JR Champion
Jackie Naida & Conquest – Silver First Level AA Champion + Award of Merit + OADG Cash award
Jenna Mayhew & Kinsale – Silver Second Level AA Champion + Award of Merit

Along with all of that success, Sarah Catt & Drummore Bay picked up the Training SR Reserve Champion trophy at the Ontario Horse Trials Association banquet last week and Emma Richardson & Sokit2ya picked up the First Level JR Reserve Champion award as well as the Reserve Champion Team Challenge East award for herself, Barb Eamer & Megan Jenner at the CADORA awards banquet.

And of course just scanning the National Capital Horse Trials Association leaderboards, our Oakhurst riders will be taking home 19 awards from that banquet in the new year! 19!!!

All of these accomplishment however should not overshadow the copious achievements gained within our Oakhurst riders this year, competitive or not. The Oakhurst Awards party is the place where we will be celebrating those wins. The wins of people who enjoy their sport, who take pride in their efforts and who share those efforts with a truly amazing partner, the horse. Its going to be a little different this year and you’ve trusted me this far so I feel confident in saying, take my hand, I will guide you through the experience even though its new. Change can be scary, but I have confidence you’ll enjoy this, and let’s face it you’ve trusted me with bigger things than party hosting before. Close your eyes and imagine… okay well do that after because right now you have to read… but do this, imagine that the indoor arena is transformed into a hall full of beautiful twinkly lights, bistro seating, a giant horseshoe shaped comfy couch for your 50 closest friends to watch a kick ass year end video on, as well as a delicious dinner, a hot chocolate bar, a super cool photo booth, fresh popcorn, awards (obviously), groovy giveaways, and some truly amazing champions to celebrate with. I look forward to applauding all of your success on December 28th at Oakhurst for our first ever ‘in-house’ Awards party! I even promise to wear sensible footwear so as to avoid unnecessary trippage. 😀

Check out all of the details about the Oakhurst Holiday Party
And don’t forget to RSVP so that I can make sure all of the awards are done. If you have award ideas for a rider please don’t hesitate to send it to me, especially if its funny or embarrassing, those are my favorite. Oh yeah, speaking of embarrassing, my whole wipe out this morning was witnessed by my son who half laughed and was half concerned over the loss of my coffee.

Until next time,

Ruth

Have you ever been in a line up at the grocery store and had someone turn around and ask you if you had horses, or work at a barn?  Then, when they tell you that they knew you had been around horses because they could smell it the only logical explanation to that is that they should be recruited by some kind of Marvel comic book group based on their unique olfactory abilities.  Seriously I can muck the barn and teach three lessons and in that time I definitely don’t soak up the smell of horses, I mean do they actually smell? 

Switching topics sort of so follow me…

The thought of sitting in a board room for multiple days with limited to no windows and super stale air is one of those things that doesn’t really get me excited.  However, the group that you get to sit with in that room might make the difference in your interest level.  And this past weekend the National Eventing committee along with representatives from the provinces all met in Toronto.  Definitely people in that room that are worth the 2 days of stale air and no natural sunlight. 

In an effort to look respectable for the meetings I brought with me a whole bunch of clothes that I never wear in the barn… I think I looked proper and smelled equally neutral.  

The meetings were, in my opinion, awesome.  Having the opportunity to idea share from each corner of this enormous country was enlightening, and the depth of knowledge in the room staggering.  There have been many before us that have helped shape the sport and there will be many after us.  Talk of athlete development, coaching, competitions and officials got everyone collectively thinking about the future of the sport and how to help it move forward as an unstoppable vehicle. Inspiring. 

I heard a quote once that went something like, “there will always be someone prepared to stand in the way of progress.  Be prepared to tell them to move out of the way… and when they don’t, simply go around”.  No idea who said it… maybe it was just what happens inside my head when I hear people complain from the sidelines without any intention of being useful.  The people who have stepped up to the plate to be in that room (and many others) for the betterment of the sport, congratulations.  Its not easy and we all have baggage but come on, lets work together to make the best we can for the next generation of athletes who embrace this as their sport.

Oh yeah, I was talking about the smell…

So after 2 days of sitting in a board room I decided I needed a moment to myself to regroup.  I like to walk and Toronto is a supremely walkable city.  This morning I embarked on a walk to see as much of the city by foot as I could… when I went to leave the hotel I put on a scarf that apparently I routinely wear in the barn and that’s when it happened.  The smell.  I could totally smell the comforting aroma of the barn on my scarf.  Not just that I could smell the horses.  And it was then that I felt grounded.  Grounded in the knowledge that regardless of the discipline that we profess as ‘our sport’, the horses are what brought us to this place.  The horses are why we give countless volunteer hours to see our sport continue.  The horse is why rule changes aren’t taken lightly.  The horse is why my scarf smelled… and I embraced it.

To all of you who give countless hours in to volunteering, I salute you.

For those of you have championed our sport forward, I salute you.

For every horse that has shared in our dreams, I salute you.

I hope you smell too,

Ruth

Great things in business are never done by one person.  They’re done by a team of people.

Steve Jobs

 

A little history before I explain the enthusiasm that is spreading through an exceptional group of people.

Almost 10 years ago in 2007 Oakhurst organized a Long Format Three Day Event that doubled as both a clinic and a competition.  We hosted approximately 40 competitors for 4 days in which they learned how to present a horse for a Horse Inspection, got feedback on their Dressage Test from a judge, discovered the inner workings of the A, B, C & D of the endurance day of a classic format Three Day Event along with making good friends and learning more about their horses and their care.  For me one of the personal thrills was watching riders master the complexities of the Roads and Tracks and the Steeplechase phases, what a lot of smiles!

In 2010 we once again held a Long Format Three Day Event and it was equally well received and enlightening for competitors, clinicians and supporters.

About 3 weeks ago I woke up one morning and unflinchingly announced to Mark that I thought we should run a long format 3-day event next summer – he left the bedroom.  I wasn’t worried… he always brings me coffee in bed in the morning (spoiled), so I felt sure that he just hadn’t processed my announcement and was on his way downstairs to retrieve my coffee…

Then I heard him leave the house.

No worries, he’s probably on the phone… he spends a lot of time on the phone, I’ll bring up the whole 3 Day subject again later.  Mark spent the next few days (possibly a week) on the tractor a lot, like a lot a lot.  I’m not totally sure what he does on the tractor all the time, but he was busy.  I guess I assumed he was prepping for winter?    I didn’t bring up the whole 3 Day idea again, I figured the time would be right and I would slide it into conversation.

Mark doesn’t always sit in the bleachers and watch me teach but one night there he was sitting watching my last lesson of the night.  When I finished he asked if he could take me for a drive to show me something.  Obviously not passing that up!  He had the RTV parked outside the barn and in the cup holder there was a rum and coke for me (don’t panic about where I am going with this story – I promise there is relevance).  I jumped in and he drove to a new trail he had been working on for ages!  It was a beautiful drive and the work he had done on it was amazing.  He then started telling me about work still to be done on it to get it ready.  Ready for what, was of course my obvious response.  Duh, Roads and Tracks for the 3 Day next year.  YAY!!!  Not only had the idea for the 3 Day been absorbed but already acted upon.  Mark works in mysterious ways.  😉

What you may or may not know about this type of competition is the amount of people it takes to put something like this on.  You take your normal Horse Trial and count up the amount of volunteers needed and then go ahead and easily double it.  So I put out a general request to our Oakhurst team to meet for an informal get together to talk about the idea of doing a 3 Day again and to ask for help.

Well holy cow this request wasn’t just met, it was overwhelmingly embraced!  With a kitchen full of individuals keen on knowing more about the inner workings of the Event there quickly grew an organizing team full of engaged, excited and talented people offering their help!

The buzz that has already begun around this project is totally infectious.  I am excited for the competitors that will participate and for the team putting on this endeavour to join us on this journey.

The 2017 Oakhurst Long Format 3 Day Event promises to be an experience to remember.  Look for more information shortly on the Oakhurst website.  Dates and prize list are in the works, and trust me with the enthusiasm of the volunteers on the job this promises to be an Event for the history books!

August is the month, 2017 is the year, the Oakhurst 3DE will be the place to be!

See you there,

Ruth

Its that time of year…    

The nights are getting cooler, the days are getting shorter and my students are extra smart!  Walking Cross Country courses this time of year is super fun because I barely get through my sentence on the way to a fence and everyone is filling in the blanks for me.  Riders at this point in the season have such a good gauge of what works for them and their horse that now we are into consolidating their skills, making sure that they remember the little details that get them to their best performance. 

And speaking of best performances, this year we departed from the normal winter programs and jumped into the realm of competition support in terms of the ‘off horse’ work to be done with our riders.  It isn’t until we get well into show season that we can see whether there were benefits to working with a sport psychologist, nutritionist and stretching expert to see if they have had any impact on the program… well with a couple more horse shows still to come I have already been looking at the numbers… shocker!  

In terms of Horse Trials results, this year (so far) our riders finished in 1^st place 12% of the time, 2^nd place 12% of the time, 3^rd place 8% of the time 4^th pace 5% of the time and 5^th place 11% of the time giving a total of 48% of the time finishing in the top 5 placings.  Last year we had top 5 placings 27% of the time, in 2015 it was 42% and in 2014 it was 40%.  So given those numbers I would say that we are on the right track.

Now that only takes into account the Horse Trials results.  When we look at our Dressage show results its 36% a 1^st place finish per test, 23% a 2^nd place finish, 12% a 3^rd place finish, 7% a 4^th place finish and 3% a 5^th place finish giving a grand total of an 81% chance of finishing in the top 5 places this year for our riders at Dressage shows.

Hey, I am just going to throw out there that maybe, just maybe our dabbling in the dressage world along with the extra off horse support we have sought out might be upping our game?

You betcha!  Just wait until you see what we have planned for this winter! 

This past weekend marked our last big local outing as a team and in true Oakhurst style we capped the weekend off by heading to the Ashton Pub for a night of celebrating each others successes.  Over 60 friends proceeded to the Pub after the Ottawa Horse Trials to applaud the seasons victories. 

This week has been National Coaches week and so this blog salutes the coaches who go the extra mile.  Helen and Meg, I salute you.  You put up with my crazy drawings of what to set in the arena, you manage to understand and interpret my ramblings of what programs should look like and best of all you impress me every time you step into the ring.  Thanks Coach, you girls are bringing your A game!

As well congratulations to each and every one of our riders who competed last weekend at Ottawa Horse Trials, they all posted top 10 finishes!

Emma Richardson & Sokit2ya – Training Junior – 1^st place

Kenzi Mitchell & Top Gun – Training Junior – 2^nd place

Sarah Catt & Drummore Bay – Training Senior – 1^st place

Taya Davison & King Stag – Pre-Training Junior – 4^th place

Janan Steward & Top Gear – Pre-Training Junior – 10^th place

Megan Jenner & So Much To Offer – Pre-Training Senior – 9^th place

Elyse Howat & Polaris – Pre-Training Senior – 10^th place

Rebecca Walker & Rookie – Entry Junior – 4^th place

Misha Wylie & Oliver – Entry Senior – 1^st place

Leona Noble & Heimdall – Pre-Entry Junior – 6^th place

Rebecca Walker & Kira – Pre-Entry Junior – 10^th place

 Don’t forget to thank your parents, spouses, grooms, siblings, etc… for contributing to your success.  It takes a village and I love our super strong Oakhurst team, you make me proud every day for trying relentlessly to be the best you can be.  Although its #ThanksCoach this week, I am also proclaiming it #ThanksOakhurstRiders week, because you make my job worthwhile.

See you this weekend at Grandview Horse Trials and Touch a Rainbow Horse Trials!  The fun isn’t over yet!

Ruth 

The starting point of all achievement is desire. Napoleon Hill

With the OHTA Championships weekend now behind us I have had time to catch up on a few of the seemingly lesser important details in my life… and now that the family has clean underwear again I can reflect on what was in my opinion a truly grand weekend!

There were of course some things that stood out for me as truly tremendous, as itemized below:

• Victory Gallops: the music, the smiles and the cheering from the spectators was truly one of the funnest things I have watched in ages! I do feel like there was a moment of alarm for our Show Jumping course designer when we let him know that a dozen horses would be galloping around celebrating their success!

• Medals & Podiums: After watching the excitement on competitors faces at having their medals put on and then subsequently standing on the ‘podium’ for pictures was priceless. I am actually going to teach all of my lessons this week from the podium… and for full effect I think I should wear a medal. The only thing that could top that would be crowns… like those gigantic ones that you see beauty queens wear? Oh yeah, that’s going to happen!

• Mowing: Talk about a satisfying job. You can see exactly where you have been, you can see where you are going and there is no gray area in between. And of course, not to ‘toot’ my own horn’ but c’mon I think I’m pretty good at it. And, I hit far fewer things when I am mowing than when I am just driving my truck 😉

• Volunteers that just don’t stop giving: Unless you run something like a horse trial it’s hard to understand just how significant volunteers are. And let me tell you, the volunteers that give their time year after year, weekend after weekend are noble beyond belief. They show up early, spend all day in the sun, and come back time and time again. Volunteers are the backbone of our sport and I salute them!

• Friends… I know I just said the ‘F’ word. I hate when people say, ‘to be honest’ because it implies they have been lying to you, but to be honest I am a terrible friend. It’s true. I don’t return phone calls and really from May to November you can’t count on me for anything that isn’t horse show related. Shockingly though there are people who stick around my unfriendly self and help in times of importance. Not to name names of course but people that would work from 7am to 8pm building, brushing, flagging, staining, whipper-snipping, roping, setting temporary stabling, raking dressage rings, and of course texting me to make sure I’m still breathing with no expectation of a reply are definitely in that ‘F’ word category.

• Sportsmanship: Watching riders congratulate each other on their performances, piling on the podium together, and cheering for each other gives me confidence that this sport has a way of pulling people together. I am such a fan of the idea that when a horse and rider leave the start box we are all rooting for them. They may be placed ahead of us, they may be from another geographic area, but we want to see them succeed. I watched some amazing sportsmanship this weekend at the championships and it was genuinely heartwarming. Congratulations to those of you that rejoiced your competitors’ achievements.

• Mentors: I am lucky enough to have had some amazing coaches as influences in my life. One of those I consider a true mentor and this weekend he designed and built the Show Jumping course for us. He was generous with his time and energy, he was enthusiastic, and he was truly invested in helping us to make the competition a success. To be able to work with one of your mentors in a common goal is a very cool feeling indeed. Jeff McKessock you outdid yourself, I cheers to you!

• Family: Yup. They filled so many roles this weekend from gate closer, driver, scorer, secretary, prize securer, jump judge, runner, builder, photographer, and countless other jobs that popped up. They say it takes a village to raise a child… Well, to run a horse trial it definitely takes one dedicated, tolerant, understanding and unbelievably strong family (and yes, Megan you do count as family). And I have no doubt that they are super excited to run the Silver Dressage Championships this coming weekend, yee haw, let’s do it again!

• Achievement: Right back to where I began; ‘The starting point of all achievement is desire.’ Napoleon Hill. For all of the competitors that competed this past weekend at the OHTA Championships or for those that are competing this upcoming weekend at the CADORA East Silver Dressage Championships, at some point your dream began with desire. Then of course you followed it up with hard work and determination!

You can check out all of the results from the OHTA Championships weekend by following this link.

Entry status for the CADORA East Silver Dressage Championships can be found here.

I look forward to watching some amazing prancing this weekend! Will you be there?

Ruth