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Hello from the Maritimes!

I’m a former student of Kyle Carter’s, who was plopped back into the ‘real world’ and sent off to university. Now from the east coast of Canada, I do my best to endure my four years of post secondary education by getting an eventing fix when I can.

I have been lucky enough to stay in touch with Kyle and follow him around, but always leaving my horse, Feruzi (Freddy) at home. I had pretty much come to terms with the fact that while I am on the east coast, my eventing ambitions would be downscaled.

When I heard that Ingrid Klimke was coming to Nova-Scotia to do a symposium, I was beyond excited! This is something that does not happen every day for us. I couldn’t wait to get some help with Freddy, who is currently at the pre-training level.

The Symposium attracted a lot of auditors into the agricultural arena in Truro, Nova-Scotia. Ingrid was great with the crowd, she took time to answer questions between rides and really did a great job of explaining herself throughout the lessons.

Ingrid focused on cavaletti work, especially for the eventers. There were 8 groups ranging from Training level dressage, all the way to Prix St. George. As much as I got out of my own ride, watching these ‘hard core’ dressage types do their thing was just as educational, if not more.

I came out of the clinic with a few favorite horses that have sparked the eventer in me to silently question: “I wonder if he could jump too?”. Reading my mind, Ingrid told Vivian, the owner of Keiran, a Trekehner mare (that I might start a fan club for), she thinks she would be a great jumper. My fantasy just became reality. I was so hoping she would then set up a course for her and say “now go jump”… alas, this didn’t happen. But still thrilling to think about!

Here’s Vivian and her lovely horse (filmed by Tammy Smith – thank you!):

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Ingrid also took the time to speak at a lecture Saturday night, and talk about her own experiences and training methods. This was such a treat! She talked about everything from training a young horse and managing her own farm, to her upper level competition horses and her father’s success stories. What really hit home for me was when she walked us through her ride at the European Championships aboard Abraxxas. Giving us a play by play while we watched her video,was just so special. It is very rare that we get a chance to hear what a rider is thinking and doing at the exact moments it is happening.

Ingrid has had her ups and downs with Abraxxas at the Championships, that reminded me of my own troubles with my CCI** horse, Shadowplay. It’s nice to hear a professional show you that you are not alone. Sometimes things don’t go as planned but you press on and set more goals for the future.

For this symposium, I took my young thoroughbred Freddy, that I bought through Kyle and Jennifer Carter in Florida. This horse has been going just wonderfully at home, finally relaxing and really going to work on the flat. Unfortunately, my freshly clipped Freddy was not his new and improved self at the clinic. Seeing the crowd and listening to every echo in the arena, he was quick, jumpy, and less than consistent. I guess this is the perks of having a young thoroughbred, and at least I can say he came out more relaxed than he came in.

Ingrid got Freddy to work through trot poles and bounce cavaletti the first day, really trying to get him to relax through his back and stretch, emphasizing being soft and still with my hand and keeping a fairly longer rein length. The second day Ingrid asked us to put on jump tack and we worked on some stride control exercises set up a five stride line and really made me conscious of my stride length and adjustability.

The second day, we also did an exercise that made me realize how much more straightness I needed. It took me a while to actually sit up and ride through the figure. The exercises Ingrid gave our group, really gave me some homework for the winter. I feel so lucky to get an extra push of motivation just as the weather is getting colder.

Ingrid Klimke Clinic Day 1 – Pearl Macgregor and Feruzi

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Ingrid Klimke Clinic Day 2 – Pearl Macgregor and Feruzi


I know that all those who are out in Ontario got to bask in the wonderful hype around the Royal, and you got MARK TODD to come out and play. Well at least this time, I had something more to do than sit around, watching in envy from a distance. We were so lucky to get Ingrid out for this wonderful weekend, and hopefully there will be more amazing clinics to come! Here’s to hoping I survive the Canadian winter,

Cheers from the East Coast!

Pearl

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