Fair Chance Farm

Team Fair Chance taking home 1st and 2nd in the Adult Mini Medal today at Fields 👍

20th consecutive annual Silverwood NIHJA attendance by Fair Chance Farm. Great weekend filled with good horses, good riding, good friends, and *perfect weather* (thanks again Dean!). I'm so proud of you all, such a great group of horsepeople, thank you for being a part of it with me.

Congratulations to Mckayla and Filbert on their big wins today in the Modified Adult Eq o/f and the Classic at the 2022 NIHJA Finals.

GIANT Congratulations to this girl, who single handedly, painstakingly, and diligently brought along this young horse from uber-green, straight off the racetrack, successfully entering the ring this weekend, off property, and delivered the win in his public debut. It's been a long road, Heather Sim, but you did it, and you should be so proud

So happy to be back at it! We had such a lovely horse show this weekend. Big wins, personal wins, and best of all, everyone proving they can lay down a solid trip. Jack approves of everyone's efforts 👍🏆🏅

Great horses, great people, and great venues make for great times. It was a perfect day. Field trip #2 in the works, contact me to tag along next month. A million thanks to Becky Kokes for photography services.

Since mine is a little sore right now (thanks to Luke circa 2011), SI joint rehab and strengthening for horses. Groundwork exercise: walking the horse on a loose lead over ground poles spaced at least 12' apart. The horse is led at a walk in a figure eight pattern, 4-5 times, before riding each day. This simple exercise flexes and twists the horse’s sacral and pelvic area as the horse lifts each leg to walk over the poles, encouraging strengthening of the ligaments in the region. It is important that the horse is only walked over the poles during this exercise. Do not ride a horse under saddle across the poles and ensure there is no extra weight (other than saddle weight) to ensure optimum stride length and lower back flexibility.
When riding your horse, there are some exercises which can assist your horse in further developing the sacroiliac region. These include walking the horse in movements such as a lateral leg yield on each side, 4-5 times. These exercise act to further strengthen the sacroiliac area.

If you like your trainer, tell your friends! If you don't like your trainer, tell your friends 😅

We find the first 2 movements most useful to our purposes of jumping a course within an arena. The author's use of 'in' and 'out' are not accurate (strangely, perhaps a bad editor), but otherwise this is a helpful article. These exercises improve strength and rideability in the horse and awareness for the rider. I like when authors seek to explain things simply rather then using overly complicated language, clearly designed to impress and maybe even intimidate the reader. Dressage is indeed crucial, but not rocket science and you can, and should, do it. We make the horse 'crooked' in order to practice straightening, because straight is hard, and really necessary. https://heelsdownmag.com/dressage-movements-explained-the-difference-between-travers-renvers-shoulder-in/

Dressage Movements Explained: The Difference Between Travers, Renvers, and Shoulder-In - Heels Down Mag We’re here to help you understand the basics of the different dressage movements: travers, renvers, and shoulder-In.

Take the contact through your elbow 👍 not your wrist 👎

To improve your rein connection, imagine your point of contact with the bit is in your elbows, triceps and back, and that your arms, wrists and hands are just extensions of the reins. This allows the connection to be held in your body rather than your hands and allows the hands and arms to be soft. — Jessica Miller

Illustration by Sandy Rabinowitz

Great weekend at Fields, full of big smiles and big wins. Good horses make our world go round 👍🐎🌎🧘‍♀️

Which is the worse day? 🙄🤔💩

With great power, comes great responsibility. Never betray the trust and they will walk through fire for you.

It's incumbent upon us to make their lives as pleasurable as possible.