Ashley Adams (UT)
I want to express my gratefulness for receiving the Gifted Memorial Fund for Adult Amateurs! I took my nine-year-old gelding, Lopaka (KWPN bred by Deborah Harrison), to Southern California for nine days to train with David Wightman at Adventure Farms.
Getting to be among such amazing riders and horses all week was awe-inspiring. I spent as much time as I could sitting arena side. There was one day that we went from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM - 10 hours! This adult amateur could not keep up! I spent time going on trail runs for my mental and physical health and to process the lessons I was learning. I also spent time journaling all details of my rides and observations. Even though each day was full, being able to structure it around horses and dressage was relaxing and such a wonderful break in my daily life.
Many days, I do not have time to reflect on my rides because when I'm not at the barn, I am a mom, and my family is my priority. School meetings take up my gym time; my journaling time is replaced by carpool; instead of getting to watch more effective riders, I’m at my kids' activities. These are trade-offs many adult amateurs face, and it was such a blessing to have a week away to just marvel at our sport and the amazing riders and horses at Adventure Farms.
David was extremely gracious towards me, letting me hang out at his farm. I was able to watch everything from how they got the horses groomed and tacked up, to warming up, being ridden, and then cooled down. I have never been in a facility that runs that efficiently with so many happy, well-cared-for horses. I probably asked the grooms 100 questions about horsemanship and stable care, and they patiently let me follow them around. I also learned a lot about my riding. I was able to get six lessons during the week.
In our first lesson, David helped me understand how to get my horse straight. That paid off in dividends as I worked for that straightness every day after. As someone who often rides alone, I have picked up some not-so-great habits. David patiently chipped away at helping me with my position, my legs, my seat, and my hands. During our last lesson, the improvement really showed from all the time spent getting my body to work in the correct position. We worked on exercises that will help me improve my horse's canter work and the half passes in Level 3 Test 3, which I hope to be able to show later this year.
Thank you again for making this grant possible! We have been working towards moving up to the next level for some time now, and I don't truly think it would have been possible without some of the key concepts I learned this week!
