I had another awesome trip down south to Waxhaw, North Carolina to ride with Jennifer Baumert/Cloverlea Dressage at Robindale Farm. I learned a lot in the few days I was there, and Jen was again extremely generous and hospitable, allowing me to hang out and learn and ride some fabulous horses! Thank you to Jen and her family, her assistant Angela and everyone at Robindale for giving me another warm welcome.
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I am so happy to announce that I've received a sponsorship through BioRider Fitness (www.bioriderfitness.com). I am thrilled to have another resource to build my own strength and fitness as a rider. I also am looking forward to what I will learn through my process that will help me help my students target fitness issues in their riding. I believe riders must cross train for riding. I know that when I'm getting my butt kicked in a really difficult hot yoga class, I'm also building empathy for my horses. Having the experience of letting someone push and challenge you but also guide you into correct alignment to create the final picture is so relevant to how we ask our horses to do what they do for us. Get a sneak peak at my customized workout here and check back for updates on how it's going! http://bioriderfitness.com/sponsored-athletes/locker-room/leah-nelson/ I am so happy to announce that I've received a sponsorship through BioRider Fitness (www.bioriderfitness.com). I am thrilled to have another resource to build my own strength and fitness as a rider. I also am looking forward to what I will learn through my process that will help me help my students target fitness issues in their riding. I believe riders must cross train for riding. I know that when I'm getting my butt kicked in a really difficult hot yoga class, I'm also building empathy for my horses. Having the experience of letting someone push and challenge you but also guide you into correct alignment to create the final picture is so relevant to what and how we ask our horses to do what they do for us. Get a sneak peak at my customized workout here and check back for updates on how it's going! http://bioriderfitness.com/sponsored-athletes/locker-room/leah-nelson/
My updates have been lacking over the summer! 2014 was a great year with lots of successes in the ring and culminating with a trip to the USDF/GAIG Region 4 Championships in Mason City, IA for a few combinations. It was the first Regionals for two riders and my first Regionals in many years. It was a fun show - Rhumba and I placed 6th in the Intermediate 1 Open Championship, Mandy and Stoli and Amy and Sebastian had super rides at Training and First Levels. We had a great time meeting new friends and seeing old friends. We are already eager for next year! Rhumba and I traveled to Hayriver Equestrian in Wisconsin to ride in a clinic with Amanda Johnson. I've admired Amanda's riding for some time and was dying to ride with her. The experience did not disappoint and I hope to work with her again in the future! I'm aiming to bump Rhumba up to do our first Grand Prix together next summer 2015. We worked a lot on our troublesome half passes - they need to get very steep for the GP and they've always been challenging for him. Amanda gave us some really good exercises to develop those. We also worked on one-tempis and piaffe-passage too, things he is better at! I'm looking forward to working hard on our homework over the winter and getting us both more fit and ready for the next big step! I had such a great time on my trip South. In my three weeks away I spent some time in Knoxville, TN with Nate and made a couple of trips over to Jennifer Baumert's place, Robindale Farm in Waxhaw, NC near Charlotte. My first couple of days there were spent auditing a clinic with Henk Van Bergen, National Trainer to the Dutch Team that won Olympic Silver in Barcelona. It was wonderful getting to know him and watch him teach. He has great integrity for his work and great respect for each horse and rider. I took away many nuggets of wisdom. I spent the rest of my time there riding, working and learning from Jen. She has a wonderful staff and everyone at the farm was so incredibly welcoming to me. I learned a ton and I admire and aspire to Jen's consistency, clarity and effectiveness in her teaching and training. I met some fantastic people and rode lots of fabulous horses. I'm so grateful to Jen's family for their hospitality and wish everyone there the best. Hope to return soon! It was a little hard to leave 77 degrees in December, knowing I was coming back to a raging blizzard!
August 10-11, 2013
Had an amazing time at the NWDA Schooling Show this weekend! So proud of my horses and students. Dually won his classes at 2nd and 3rd Level, keeping his composure for the most part and acting his age (17!) finally. He scored 61-67% except for one test with some mistakes for a 56%. I couldn't be happier with Brio, earning 70-75% at Training Level and performing like a pro at his first show under saddle ever! He won all of his classes too and earned High Point both days. Thanks Dale and Holly of Himmel Tanzen Farm for the opportunity to ride such fun and talented horses!!! My riders did great too! They stayed at the top in some large classes. Special congrats to Mandy Jüenemann for earning AA High Point Saturday with a 67% at Intro Level and to Christine LeMay for earning AA High Point Sunday with a 71%! Nice job also to Julie Williams and her lovely Abigail and also to Alexandra LaFleur and Jute for a successful return to the show ring after a couple of years away. Everyone looked great and learned some stuff too. Of course thanks to the North Woods Dressage Association and all volunteers for another FANTASTIC show. Such a great group to be a part of. (My favorite part being the spontaneous Michael Jackson dance party.) July 20-21, 2013
Another excellent NWDA show in Iron River! Absolutely perfect weather and lots of riders created a nice relaxed buzz. I showed Contina (by Contucci, owned by Himmel Tanzen Farm) again at First Level, scoring between 68% and 71% and received Oldenburg High Point. Julie brought her Friesian mare, Abigail and showed again at Intro Level with scores averaging about 65%. Valiant and Christine had a great show as well, averaging around 61% at Intro Level. First show of the year! We had a super show this weekend in Iron River, WI. Rhumba and I earned our final score for my USDF Silver Medal with a 62% in the Prix St. Georges, Contina (owned by Holly Sampson/Himmel Tanzen Farm) and I scored 65-68% at First Level - being beat once by Amy on Sebastian who easily earned the two First Level scores needed for Amy's Bronze Medal with two 67s. Julie and Abigail did great, breaking into the 70s in Intro Level and earning a rare 10 for an excellent halt! Mandy with Stoli looked very sharp with scores in the mid 60s at Intro Level. Valiant lived up to his name this weekend with Christine, also staying in the mid 60s at Intro Level. Really nice work ladies. Everyone looked like they were having fun and the horses were happy. Thanks to everyone who helped us out and North Woods Dressage Association for hosting a great show. Can't wait for next time!
Rhumba and I went for our first outing of the year - a quick jaunt over to Credence Farm in Superior, WI where we participated in a clinic with FEI 'I' judge, Jayne Ayers. I rode Rhumba for her last year and had a good experience so I was excited to ride in this clinic again. Jayne has a great eye for rider alignment, weight aids and always comes from a judges perspective. She shared some helpful and practical exercises to improve some weak spots in our work and I feel much more confident about riding the Prix St. Georges this year than last year. I took her advice on my position last year to heart and it was nice to hear that my homework had paid off. I happily went home with some good information and a well done video on DVD of each of my rides, expertly filmed by my generous student, Julie Williams, who volunteered to video clinic rides for the entire weekend. Thanks to Credence Farm for your hospitality, NWDA and everyone who helped to make this clinic possible.
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AuthorLeah Nelson Archives
January 2021
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