Diane Breeze

[Sue Watson]

It is good to see that Diane Breeze is competing on the Sunshine Tour in Spain and I hope very much that she is doing well and enjoying herself. I feel that it is important for Heathers methods of schooling and teaching are taken into the conventional sphere as I have been told more than once that " that Heather Moffett is for fluffy riding club women, not for serious competition riders"

[sozzie]

That's great! I'm glad more and more people are interested in Heather's enlightened way of riding and are promoting it. I discovered Heather's book when i came back to riding and was really happy to see an alternative way to ride (which convinced me to change my riding style). I'm suprised by the attidtudes you have come across because I think that if people truely love horses they will always try to do the best by them especially when riding, perhaps peoples desires for success become more important than the horse's wellbeing?

[Heather]

HI Sue,

I had to chuckle when I read your mail! I had the local riding club here on Saturday- first time I have ever been asked to do a day seminar for them, as I was that 'alternative instructor'! I don't know what is alternative about the things I do, like simple clear explanation and demonstration, based on biomechanics of movement!! The riding club unanimously said they had a great day- everything was so easy to understand and it was also fun, so at least they seem convinced!

I suppose that not many people know that i do also teach a handfuil of competition riders. My ex working student Mike Aylmore has been doing well since his move to Wiltshire where the competition is rathr hotter than down here. HIs horse, Henry,is one that I paid £1000 for, bred by the Master of the Mid-Devon, but Henry didn' grow big enough for Graham to hunt. So I bought him as working studnet project for Mike. I knew that Henry wasn't going to be easy, but we persevered quietly with him, and Mike did a couple of unaffiliated tests with him just to get him used to shows. He won or was placed every time out. Then a couple of months ago Mike affiliated Henry. In three shows and six classes, he was second in three, won three and qualified for the novice regionals- not bad for a thousand quid horse!

Sarah, my next working student, is back training with me since her return from a year in Germany, bringing with her a lovely young Rheinlander, who had a few problems. He is going very well now, and has won his last two elementaries by a good margin, the last also a qualifier. He is now about to start competing at medium.

I also teach several eventers, whose dressage scores are always amongst the lowest. Sarah's last horse was an eventer as she competed to intermediate, and he was sold when she went to Germany to an Irish Junior who has just been shortlisted with him for the junior European 3DE team. Another local eventing pupil of mine's pony who was bred by her parents and I worked with from a four year old, had the lowest dressage in the pony club event team regionals two years in a row, and he too has now been shortlisted with his new rider for the British pony team.

So, as I am also consultant trainer to the Metropolitan Mounted Police and was the guest lecturer at the Annual Conference of Mounted Police Instructors the year before last, I don't think that they would take kindly to being called a bunch of fluffy housewives!!

I have just been visited over the weekend, by a representative of Equitana Asia Pacific to invite me to go over as a guest lecturer to Australia in November, and they are going to expense of flying the simulator all the way to Oz. This follows on from them having seen me doing the same at Equitana USA a couple of years ago. They have invited me every year since to go to Oz, but I just haven't had time to until now.

So, hopefully there are a few organisations out there who see me as a serious trainer!

Diane is a super rider and it is good to see her doing so well- a talented lady all round with her wonderful cartoons and illustrations too.

Heather

[Sue Watson]

It is interesting to read the belief that the Heather Moffett way of riding/training is considered alternative. To my mind it is totally logical to train a horse in a way that takes the least resistance - ie without force, using remedial methods if necessary, to get to a goal rather more and more force. I was interested to hear Martin Pipe on the radio when asked why he had so many winners he said that the horses were (a) fit, but more importantly (b) KEPT HAPPY, which produced more quality muscle and a willingness to work. If I had a pound for every dressage horse I have seen in fancy yards with a weakened top line I would be very rich by now. So much damage is done to horses by training them from a strong leg and seat into a strong hand at 90 miles an hour. 'Leg into hand' was never meant to be like this.

[Charlotte E]

Alternative to what, exactly?? Thing is, everything can be alternative to something else, so it depends very much where you are coming from! If you prefer an alternative to : going with the horse's movement, being kind but fair, appreciating the personality of the horse and making learning fun then, hmm... what does that say about your choice???

Sorry, I know that sounds a little tongue in cheek, but I've yet to see where Heather's methods hugely disagree with those superb classical trainers we so admire but most importantly, my horse is happy to have the alternative!!

Charlotte:D

[Lisa McLachlan]

Hi

Personally, I couldn't care less what they call it. The results speak for themselves. I started with Della at Christmas time, at Heathers yard and I've learnt more in the past few lessons than I've learn't in years. Everything makes sense, feels right, and whats more it brings results. If causing pain and discomfort is the norm then I'm very proud to say "I'll follow the fluffy riding club woman", I just wish I'd found her years ago.

Good Luck Diane!

[sweetbriar]

I really don't mind how people describe it all I know is that it works. I discovered the kinder approach purely by accident and its been a real eye opener for me. I never felt comfortable in lessons being told to kick and slap horses around the arena. I was told I was being too 'soft' and was criticised for having 'light hands'.

Thanks to people like Heather and Sylvia Loch I discovered that I was not 'mad' or 'soft'. Through their writings I've discovered the writings of Oliveira & Podjhasky to name but a few.

My pony and I have benefitted greatly from their teachings.

[Sue Watson]

I absolutely agree that the results speak for themselves, personally I have only had one lesson with Sue and thought it was a revellation. Unfortunately, with dressage being the fastest growing equine disipline there are going to be more and more horses and riders trained in an unsympathic way. Many 'top' dressage yards have have a massive vested interest in bring horses over from the continent whizzing them through the levels and flogging them on to their clients. There is huge money in dressage horses and short cuts are taken all the time, and some of the practices that go on are downright wicked. The trouble is that there are many riders who are in awe of the 'big names' and will follow what they believe is correct because that trainer is a big winner.

I think that the classical methods that Heather is teaching are spot on and it does her a great disservice to hear the opinion that they are not for the people who are competing at the very highest level. The one thing the EE book does show is that this training method is for ALL riders and their horses.

[Heather]

Sad thing is Sue, that you are absolutely right in your fears about top dressage yards- I have seen and witnessed things for myself that completely prove it.

What we have got to do is try and get as many people out there showing what can be done through kind methods. At least with having a few competition students out there again doing well, this will help.

Cheers,

Heather

[Lisa McLachlan]

Hi

I was interested to read recently about Sylvia Locke's Classical Riding Club. They have started to run their own dressage competitions, with their own marking system. As someone who has never competed but who has great determination to start, it is really encouraging to read about these sorts of changes. It is very sad that these sorts of organisations have to be set up to encourage what I see as correct riding but perhaps the more it is proved to work the more it will be seen as the right way to go. We can but hope.

Lisa

[Heather]

HI Lisa,

Sylvia has been runing the tests for a few years now, but the biggest problem is getting venues to run them, and an even bigger problem getting judges who know how to judge them. The CRC has run some judge training days, but ther seems to have been almsot no interest in running the tests down here in the SW.


Heather

[Lisa McLachlan]

Hi Heather

That's terrible news, I was thinking about joining. Although, I'm not ready for competitions yet. I'm busy with my pregnant mare at the moment who has decided she doesn't want to eat hay any more. I've got my next lesson on Saturday with Della, so was going to quizz her on how I go about attacking competitions when the time comes.

I wonder how many people out there are like me. I have never belonged to a riding club or mixed with a lots of horsey people, because to be quite frank, the ones I did start to meet I didn't like, their attitudes to their riding, horses and other people in my opinion was diabolical. I have since decided to "come out of my shell", and have met some really good people. But this for me was instigated by the fact that I am absolutely obsessed with horses.

Any advice on how I go about starting to compete would be greatly appreciated!

Lisa

[Heather]

HI Lisa,

Here in Devon, unless the CRC stuff takes off, which I doubt- I was asked for the first time ever to do a seminar for the local RC last Saturday, and that took ten years!- you are stuck with normal dressage classes.

There are not many CRC members here in Devon and Cornwall at all- think it is thought of as being 'fluffy bunny' riding down here- bit like Sue described in her first post on this thread!

Heather

[fizz21]

May I ask you who is Diane Breeze?

[Sarah]

Lisa,

You may find that you can compete HC at your local riding club then use whatever tack you like. If you don't want to do the canter bits in a test or whatever, they you don't have to. You can then see how your trot was rated when you are riding under a bit of pressure (but not too much) and how your accuracy is.

This obviously depends on having a good local riding club that isn't too stuck up!

bye!

[Sue Watson]

Your options for starting to compete rather depend on what level you want to start at. Apart from unaffiliated competitions run by RC's and various venues there are the Trailblazer series which lead to a championship and also the BD Area Festival competition as well as the regular BD affiliated competitions Novice to Ad Med have both Open and Restricted sections. In my experience the higher listed the judge the better as they will tend to judge the way of going rather than be blinded by a spectacular mover and a well known face.

[Heather]

Spot on in your appraisal of judges Sue! My pupil Sarah and her lovely Rheinlander, Raffi, is also having lessons with Mary McGinley with my 100% blessing, as Mary can give Sarah real tips on what the judges want to see- she is not working on Raffi's way of going, but advising Sarah on ringcraft, which is so useful and necessary. Mary is also a very open-minded and fair judge, and also having been brought up in Portugal is not totally entrenched in German methodology! Like me, she tends to mix the two methods according to the horse.

Raffi has now qualified for the summer regionals at elementary and has really got his lateral work very well established, so he is heading up the ladder!


Heather

[Heather]

HI Fizz,

Sorry didn't see your post until today-

Dianne Breeze is a well known equestrian cartoonist and also illustrator- she illustrated my book- but she is also a very good dressage rider and trainer.

Di's dressage cartoons- she does a wonderful calendar each year-
are particularly hilarious - she has a real knack of summing things up as they often are.

She also does great sweatshirts/polo shirts etc - in fact a whole range, all featuring her great cartoons.

I must ask Mike about selling them on NR as they make terrific presents.


Heather

[fizz21]

Thanks for explaining to me who Diane Breeze is and I hope Mike lets you put her Cartoons into the shop to be sold

[Lisa McLachlan]

Hi

Thanks for the advice! I am starting at the very bottom, but I have decided to stear clear of the riding club stuff, and CRC (because of availability). I had my lesson with Della on Saturday and she's going to help me. My riding still needs an awful lot of work, but at least I now have my goal firmly set. In the meantime I'm going to attend a few competitions so that I can get more of an idea on what goes on.

Lisa

[sweetbriar]

Hi Lisa,

I compete at unaffiliated RC competitions on my mare. I am a real fan of EE but have not had the benefit of being taught by an EE person.

I have started doing dressage with my pony again after a 2 year break. Neither of us are really experienced or proficient but we are still learning. I go to these classes purely as a 'barometer' to see how we are progressing.

I would dearly love to have an opportunity to do the CRC tests as I think they are more geared to what I believe a dressage test is all about. The way the test is judged is also very much better. As Heather says, they don't seem to have caught on and its a real shame.

It is a good idea to maybe attend a few unaffiliated or BD shows just to see what it entails. Please don't be put off by the attitude of the competitors or judges.