DECEMBER 2010 THE RIDER /41


as well as his body, for the work you will be asking him to do—whether it is schooling, trail riding, pleasure riding, or show- ing.


Building A Partnership with Your Horse


Communicating with Your Aids - Keys to Success, Part 3


By Lynn Palm


Most people who do any form of exercise know that it is important to warm up. Because a horse is an athlete too, he also needs a


pre-exercise warm-up rou- tine to help loosen and lim- ber up his muscles after standing in a stall or in a pasture. A warm-up also prepares the horse’s mind,


The same principle applies to the rider’s mounted warm-up. The warm-up is time for the rider to get into correct form and balance as she loosens her muscles and joints. I find it is a pleasant time when I reconnect with my horse before starting the more serious work at hand.


Here are some tips for making your warm-up time more effective. Start the warm-up by letting your horse walk on a loose rein. The warm-up pattern should include very large


circles, large turns, and straight lines. The horse should be moving forward, but in a relaxed manner. After warming up at the walk, ask the horse for the trot or jog. The trot is the best gait to limber up the horse.


during the warm-up.


At this point, the rider should not be worried about the horse being “on the bit.” Instead, he should be allowed to move for- ward on a loose rein with the rider guiding him to stay on the circle, large turn, or the straight line. Remember the rule of thumb that you should spend equal time going in both directions. You should change directions often to loosen up both sides and to keep the horse’s interest


I recommend that the rider, even if using a West- ern saddle, post when trot- ting/jogging during the warm-up period. Doing so gives the rider the opportu- nity to warm up and to use her own muscles. As the rider begins to loosen up, she will notice that her muscles respond better and her coordination improves while her thinking slows. The rider begins to relax as her warmed-up body allows her to better follow the horse’s movement. As part of the warm- up, the rider may try taking her feet out of the stirrups to get down in the saddle and closer to her horse. As her body loosens up, she will find she is able to fol-


Randy Roy’s Viewpoint shares his knowledge


By Mallory Hendry.


When Steven Spiel- berg sends you a thank you letter, you know you’ve made it.


Randy Roy, a senior international judge, course designer and prestigious author, earned Mr. Spiel- berg’s thanks at a horse show in California. The Hollywood director has a daughter who was compet- ing and she recognized Roy. Being shy, she asked her father to find out where she could get her hands on a few of Roy’s eight books. Roy gave the information, but made sure to send copies of his first three books - Here Comes the Judge, The Judge is Back and You Be the Judge - to the family as well. Appar- ently his gift was well received, and not just by the rich and famous. In fact, Roy’s motivation for sharing his knowledge came from trying to make the information accessible to all people in the horse world.


“I wanted them to know what it takes to pre- sent to the judge,” he explains. “Not just to go to the show but to have a good product.”


Roy’s latest book, Viewpoint, is an all encom- passing follow up to his previous seven publica- tions. He felt there were some topics that needed to be revisited or expanded on, especially from the books that sold out quickly. As the only Canadian to judge for all the major U.S. shows, Roy’s viewpoint is one worth having.


Besides being incredi- bly informative, perhaps another reason Roy’s books do so well is that he doesn’t take himself too seriously. Viewpoint begins with a chapter ver- sion of Judges` Pet Peeves, complete with cartoon illustrations to drive the newest dos and don’ts home. Although good at drawing out the humourous aspects of showing and judging, Roy does have some constructive criticism - and even some harsh


words - for some. “There’s a horse show chapter and I called it ‘the good and the not so good’ and for every time I said something nega- tive, I also said some- thing positive and added a recommen- dation,” Roy explains. “But train- ers need to step up to the plate and pay attention to what’s happening in the industry.”


With a laugh, Roy adds that if they want him to shut up and go to the cottage – referring to his childhood getaway in the small community of Orlo where he still vacations, and the place where he got his first taste of horsemanship – he’ll go, but he’s said his piece. Another point in Roy`s favour is that he gives credit where credit is due. Viewpoint concludes with colour photos and biographies of the horses that have been important in his career and played a big part in getting Roy to where he is today. There is one equine athlete who stands out in the extensive ranks of horses Roy has been involved with, and that is Just Cruising, known around the barn as Sham. As a new husband and even newer father, Roy found himself starting a new path in his life. Roy credits Sham with putting him on the map. The very first hunter inducted into the Canadian hall of fame, Roy refused many offers to buy the horse and Sham won competition after competition for the new family. Eventually Roy did sell, and the money from the transaction bought him and his family their house. “Working with that horse was one of my biggest honours,” Roy says.


Perhaps unsurprising- ly, the author spends a lot of time thinking about horses. Along with the


chapter on individual hors- es - which Roy calls a trib- ute and a thanks - from the ponies to the major winners and all the others in between, there’s also a chapter written from the horse’s point of view. Roy outlined what a horse would want in their stall to make them happy, what would make their paddocks even nicer and how to keep them as comfortable as possible during shipping. “I think about horses a lot and how to keep them as comfortable as I can,” Roy says.


Not all the praise was heaped on four legged friends however. Roy


included a chapter on his friend Eric Lamaze, who wrote the foreword for Viewpoint. Lamaze had asked Roy to write his life story a year and a half ago and the two men have never gotten around to actually sitting down to do it. Roy took the issue into his own hands and wrote the chapter for the friend he’s known since he was a boy. “It’s the journey he went through, and it’s not so much the medals that we’re applaud- ing,” Roy explains. “It’s his success and him as a per- son, and him being representative of our coun- try and being inspiring to young people coming up.” From the entertaining to the instructive, from touching on the Warm- blood invasion to giving tips to grooms and trainers to humorous anecdotes about the lighter side of judging, Viewpoint is “a little bit of everything for everybody” and Roy says he’s proud of the responses he’s gotten for all his books.


“I’ve been so blessed and fortunate and I thought I need to give back to the industry,” Roy says of how he first got the idea to share his experiences. “I wanted


to put together a guideline so people could more easi- ly understand the judge and what he’s looking for, and I wanted it to be easily understood even by a new person or a parent, or even helpful for new judges or existing judges to follow the guidelines.”


That first book soon didn’t cut it anymore, as Roy had more experiences and more questions and more advice to share, and so came his series.


Now Roy is under the same old spell, experienc- ing something he wants to share with the rest of the horse industry. His book tour, called Come Ask the Judge, involves a three hour seminar where every- one brings questions and Roy answers them and gives them a copy of View- point at the end. The ques- tions and answers are being run as a monthly column in Horse Sport, but Roy has his sights set on something more for his question and answer periods.


“The questions are remarkable,” he says. “They’re so entertaining and fun and I tell them to put their names on them because it’s going to be in Horse Sport... and probably become another book!” As for Roy’s arguably most famous fan, the Spiel- bergs won’t have to feel left out. Roy plans to send them a copy of Viewpoint as soon as he can.


low the horse’s movement and stay in balance even without stirrups.


I am often asked how much time should be allowed for a warm-up. The answer is that there is no set amount of time for a warm-up routine. It depends on many factors that you, the rider, must take into account for each ride. Usually, the colder the weather is, the longer and slower the warm-up should be to loosen up cold mus- cles and joints. It must be long enough to physically and mentally warm up the horse, but it is not intended to wear him out or bore him! Enough time should be spent in the warm-up so that both sides of the horse are equally loosened up.


EOPDS Continued from Page 40


new vehicles, harnesses, horses and ponies were pur- chased by our members.


All these things point to growth in our club and I sincerely hope that this trend continues into the 2011 season!


A good gauge for the rider of how long her warm-up period should be is that she should feel the same balance and relax- ation without stirrups as she feels with them. She also should feel her mind slow down and focus, and she should feel positive about the upcoming riding session!


In the next article, I will cover the core of com- municating with your aids—your seat, your legs, and your hands. For more information about Palm Partnership Training™, visit our website at www.lynnpalm.com.


Don’t forget take Photos of your Stallion for this


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