Remember for saddle fitting in New Mexico and USDF Region 5 contact Ulla Hudson, Reitlehrer FN, at 505 615 5050 or ulla@windsongdressage.com
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Remember for saddle fitting in New Mexico and USDF Region 5 contact Ulla Hudson, Reitlehrer FN, at 505 615 5050 or ulla@windsongdressage.com
The Nine Points of Saddle Fitting
Your saddle affects the way you ride and the way your horse performs. Learn how to evaluate this very basic piece of riding equipment. At the risk of sounding like a school-kid returning to class in the fall, I must say that I went to camp this summer. No, not to learn canoeing, nature crafts, or even dressage. I went to "saddle camp." For the better part of a week, our group of eight, made up of professional saddle-fitters, tack-shop owners, riders, an insurance agent, a college professor and an assistant editor--me--bent over carpet-covered workbenches in a classroom at the Potomac Horse Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland. We used assorted-sized metal "flocking irons" and wooden "smashers" to push and shape soft wool into saddle panels, while our instructor, saddler David Young of Raleigh, North Carolina, looked on. "Put the flocking in there as light and fluffy as possible," he told us. "Don't let it ball up." We heeded his word and worked intently, knowing an intensive five-part practical test and written exam loomed at week's end. The course, sponsored by the Master Saddlers Association (MSA), was an education in equine anatomy and saddle fitting. As I realized at the time I enrolled in the course, it's impossible to teach or to learn everything there is to know about these subjects in just five days. But you can take people who already know something about horses and saddle fitting, teach them the basics of what they don't know and give them guidelines for standard saddle-fitting procedures.
- copyright Equisearch/Stacey Nedrow-Wigmore -
Find out more about saddle fitting at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
Your saddle affects the way you ride and the way your horse performs. Learn how to evaluate this very basic piece of riding equipment. At the risk of sounding like a school-kid returning to class in the fall, I must say that I went to camp this summer. No, not to learn canoeing, nature crafts, or even dressage. I went to "saddle camp." For the better part of a week, our group of eight, made up of professional saddle-fitters, tack-shop owners, riders, an insurance agent, a college professor and an assistant editor--me--bent over carpet-covered workbenches in a classroom at the Potomac Horse Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland. We used assorted-sized metal "flocking irons" and wooden "smashers" to push and shape soft wool into saddle panels, while our instructor, saddler David Young of Raleigh, North Carolina, looked on. "Put the flocking in there as light and fluffy as possible," he told us. "Don't let it ball up." We heeded his word and worked intently, knowing an intensive five-part practical test and written exam loomed at week's end. The course, sponsored by the Master Saddlers Association (MSA), was an education in equine anatomy and saddle fitting. As I realized at the time I enrolled in the course, it's impossible to teach or to learn everything there is to know about these subjects in just five days. But you can take people who already know something about horses and saddle fitting, teach them the basics of what they don't know and give them guidelines for standard saddle-fitting procedures. Find out more about saddle fitting at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
Does Your Dressage Saddle Fit?
A British Master Saddler's checklist for making sure your current dressage saddle (or a new one you might be trying) isn't causing your horse problems.
- copyright Equisearch.com -
Find out more about saddle fitting at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
A British Master Saddler's checklist for making sure your current dressage saddle (or a new one you might be trying) isn't causing your horse problems.Find out more about saddle fitting at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
Monday, May 29, 2006
Your Horse's Limbs: Does Form Follow Function?
No hoof, no horse is a time-tested adage. So, too, is the advice -- given in countless books, articles, and videos -- to scrutinize a horse's conformation carefully before you buy. No doubt you've seen the photos and illustrations of "good" and "bad" conformation, and you've studied them carefully and tried to measure prospective mounts against the ideal. But just what constitutes "ideal?" To some people, ideal might mean "prettiest" or "most pleasing to the eye." To others, it might mean "best suited to my chosen discipline," regardless of how it looks. To still others, it might mean "most likely to remain sound" or a combination of all three. As anyone who has ever bought a young horse as a "prospect" can attest, at times there seems to be no relationship among so-called good conformation, performance success, and career longevity.
- copyright BLOOD-HORSE PUBLICATIONS -
Get advice about buying a horse from Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
No hoof, no horse is a time-tested adage. So, too, is the advice -- given in countless books, articles, and videos -- to scrutinize a horse's conformation carefully before you buy. No doubt you've seen the photos and illustrations of "good" and "bad" conformation, and you've studied them carefully and tried to measure prospective mounts against the ideal. But just what constitutes "ideal?" To some people, ideal might mean "prettiest" or "most pleasing to the eye." To others, it might mean "best suited to my chosen discipline," regardless of how it looks. To still others, it might mean "most likely to remain sound" or a combination of all three. As anyone who has ever bought a young horse as a "prospect" can attest, at times there seems to be no relationship among so-called good conformation, performance success, and career longevity.Get advice about buying a horse from Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
Sunday, May 28, 2006
EXPANDED WINDSONG DRESSAGE AND EQUESTRIAN CENTER NOW ONE OF THE LARGEST DRESSAGE FARMS IN NEW MEXICO
Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center is pleased to announce the acquisition of forty acres adjacent to its current farm. This addition increases Windsong to eighty acres and makes it one of the largest dressage farms in New Mexico. Located in the foothills of South Mountain, Windsong is ideally suited to the training of all types of horses.
Dressage is an international Olympic discipline that seeks to train horses in obedience and precision of movement. Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center is a complete horse facility in the East Mountains of Albuquerque, in South Santa Fe County, New Mexico. It opened in 1984. Ulla Hudson is the owner and full-time instructor. She is a German born and trained dressage instructor with a lifetime of experience in dressage and classical methods of training.
NOTE: Editors call for a tour of our facility
Find out more about Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Sunshine and “Working Equitation” Raise The Temperature at Sao Paulo’s International Lusitano Festival
Working Equitation began as a competition in Italy in 1995, and one year later they hosted the first European Championships with just three nations. It is now a recognized and popular sport in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Brazil, having secured considerable following in each of these countries. In October 2006 the World Championships will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, at which nine nations are expected to participate. The sport has its own governing body in each of the member countries of the Working Equitation Federation. For phase two, Working Equitation’s governing body lists some 25 official obstacles that may be incorporated into the test in which riders are required to negotiate their way around a course, with canter being the obligatory pace between obstacles. In true dressage fashion, judges take account of a horse’s regularity of movement, transitions, execution of lead changes, submission to the aids and confidence, as well as their presence and finesse. The rider must demonstrate good position in the saddle, precision in performing each exercise and the use of aids, as well as the exclusive use of one hand (for intermediate level and above).
- copyright Equestrianmag.com -
Find out more about stallion services at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
Working Equitation began as a competition in Italy in 1995, and one year later they hosted the first European Championships with just three nations. It is now a recognized and popular sport in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Brazil, having secured considerable following in each of these countries. In October 2006 the World Championships will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, at which nine nations are expected to participate. The sport has its own governing body in each of the member countries of the Working Equitation Federation. For phase two, Working Equitation’s governing body lists some 25 official obstacles that may be incorporated into the test in which riders are required to negotiate their way around a course, with canter being the obligatory pace between obstacles. In true dressage fashion, judges take account of a horse’s regularity of movement, transitions, execution of lead changes, submission to the aids and confidence, as well as their presence and finesse. The rider must demonstrate good position in the saddle, precision in performing each exercise and the use of aids, as well as the exclusive use of one hand (for intermediate level and above).Find out more about stallion services at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
Friday, May 26, 2006
Time for a shake-up in horse racing
The breakdown of wonder horse Barbaro at the Preakness [last week] was shocking beyond words to thousands of people in Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course stands and to millions in the television audience. I was not the only one who was reminded of Ruffian, the racing champion who broke her leg in the much-heralded 1975 match race against Foolish Pleasure. Watching Barbaro try to keep running in spite of his broken, dangling leg, I got the same sickening feeling in my stomach as I did 30 years ago when I saw that beautiful bay filly's leg snap.Here's the real tragedy: The only thing that has changed in the last three decades is that breakdowns of this sort are more likely to happen. Barbaro's terrible injuries are common enough on today's race courses that anyone not blinded by the quest for glory and profit can see that reforms in training and racing methods are long past due.
- copyright MyrtleBeachOnline.com -
Find out more about veterinary services at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
The breakdown of wonder horse Barbaro at the Preakness [last week] was shocking beyond words to thousands of people in Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course stands and to millions in the television audience. I was not the only one who was reminded of Ruffian, the racing champion who broke her leg in the much-heralded 1975 match race against Foolish Pleasure. Watching Barbaro try to keep running in spite of his broken, dangling leg, I got the same sickening feeling in my stomach as I did 30 years ago when I saw that beautiful bay filly's leg snap.Here's the real tragedy: The only thing that has changed in the last three decades is that breakdowns of this sort are more likely to happen. Barbaro's terrible injuries are common enough on today's race courses that anyone not blinded by the quest for glory and profit can see that reforms in training and racing methods are long past due.Find out more about veterinary services at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Mercedes-Benz Partners With World Equestrian Games 2006
Mercedes-Benz has announced today that they will be one of eight partners supporting the FEI World Equestrian Games 2006 in Aachen, Germany. The highlight of this year's games will undoubtedly be the Mercedes-Benz Team Show Jumping event, in which the world's elite show jumpers will be competing for the highest team score. In total, the Mercedes-Benz prize is worth approximately $350,000. The FEI World Equestrian Games are held every four years. Between 20th August and 3rd September, the world's top show jumpers will be competing in show jumping, dressage, eventing, driving, riding over a distance, vaulting exercises on horseback and reining. The Equestrian Games are under the patronage of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Find out more about the facilities at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Dover Saddlery to Acquire Dominion Saddlery
Equestrian products marketer Dover Saddlery is on a full gallop toward retail expansion. The Littleton, MA-based merchant and Chantilly, VA-based equestrian products retailer Dominion Saddlery have signed a nonbinding agreement for Dover to acquire Dominion’s four stores in Maryland and Virginia. The deal is scheduled to be completed by June 15. Founded in 1975 in Wellesley, MA, Dover Saddlery sells brand-name products for equestrian riders, both English and Western. President/CEO Stephen L. Day says that the potential acquisition is in line with the company’s strategy to expand its retail presence. “We took the company public last November to get the retail rollout started,” he says. “And since then we have identified 50 store sites across the country for that purpose.”
- copyright Prism Business Media Inc. -
Saddles can be assessed and fitted on and off the premises at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
Equestrian products marketer Dover Saddlery is on a full gallop toward retail expansion. The Littleton, MA-based merchant and Chantilly, VA-based equestrian products retailer Dominion Saddlery have signed a nonbinding agreement for Dover to acquire Dominion’s four stores in Maryland and Virginia. The deal is scheduled to be completed by June 15. Founded in 1975 in Wellesley, MA, Dover Saddlery sells brand-name products for equestrian riders, both English and Western. President/CEO Stephen L. Day says that the potential acquisition is in line with the company’s strategy to expand its retail presence. “We took the company public last November to get the retail rollout started,” he says. “And since then we have identified 50 store sites across the country for that purpose.”
Saddles can be assessed and fitted on and off the premises at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
Monday, May 22, 2006
Young Dressage Horse Trainers Symposium 2006
Hilltop Farm is proud to announce details about the Young Dressage Horse Trainers Symposium 2006 which will be held this fall at Hilltop Farm, November 3-5. Once again, Hilltop Farm and Harmony Sporthorses have joined hands to provide an outstanding opportunity for professionals interested in furthering their education in the realm of young horse training. This year's panel of experts includes USEF Young Horse Dressage Coach Scott Hassler, FEI judge and competitor Anne Gribbons, and Young Horse breeding and training expert Ingo Pape of Hemmoor, Germany.
This is the second private symposium on young dressage horse training designed and provided by Hilltop Farm. The 2005 symposium was heralded as a bold and dedicated endeavor to promote interest in and develop education regarding young horse training. Hilltop and Harmony Sporthorses are dedicated to helping bridge the gap between breeders and trainers, in addition to educating professionals in the manner of developing young horses to fulfill their potential. Once again, the symposium will be a private affair, closed to auditors and press, and open only to selected participants. Some participants will be selected to ride and work with the horses directly during the three-day program. The symposium will focus on young horses ages four to six years old, determining the right pace of training for each individual horse, based upon its individual qualities. There will be an emphasis on selecting the right type of horse to direct toward FEI young horse divisions versus those that should be developed on another schedule.
- copyright USEF -
Find out more about bilingual dressage lessons at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
Hilltop Farm is proud to announce details about the Young Dressage Horse Trainers Symposium 2006 which will be held this fall at Hilltop Farm, November 3-5. Once again, Hilltop Farm and Harmony Sporthorses have joined hands to provide an outstanding opportunity for professionals interested in furthering their education in the realm of young horse training. This year's panel of experts includes USEF Young Horse Dressage Coach Scott Hassler, FEI judge and competitor Anne Gribbons, and Young Horse breeding and training expert Ingo Pape of Hemmoor, Germany.
This is the second private symposium on young dressage horse training designed and provided by Hilltop Farm. The 2005 symposium was heralded as a bold and dedicated endeavor to promote interest in and develop education regarding young horse training. Hilltop and Harmony Sporthorses are dedicated to helping bridge the gap between breeders and trainers, in addition to educating professionals in the manner of developing young horses to fulfill their potential. Once again, the symposium will be a private affair, closed to auditors and press, and open only to selected participants. Some participants will be selected to ride and work with the horses directly during the three-day program. The symposium will focus on young horses ages four to six years old, determining the right pace of training for each individual horse, based upon its individual qualities. There will be an emphasis on selecting the right type of horse to direct toward FEI young horse divisions versus those that should be developed on another schedule.
Find out more about bilingual dressage lessons at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Elvis Wins Aachen Dressage, US Drivers in Medal Contention
Germany's Nadine Capellman and her 10-year-old gelding, Elvis VA, scored 76.240 percent to win the Uniroyal Grand Prix Special at the World Equestrian Festival on Saturday, two days after their Grand Prix victory led the German team to the team gold in the Nation's Cup.Finland’s Kyra Kyrklund and Max, riding as individuals, placed second in the Grand Prix Special with a 75.360 percent, the same position as in the Grand Prix. However, Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff and Sterntaler-Unicef finished third with 73.720 percent to improve from their sixth place finish in the Grand Prix. The freestyle ride to music is scheduled for Sunday.Four of the five judges, including Linda Zang of the United States, placed Capellman first, while an Australian judge, Mary Seefried, placed her fourth in the 30-horse field. Capellman won first place prize money of more than $10,000 for Saturday's victory, which gives her a two-class purse of more than $18,000.
- copyright Equestrianmag -
Find out more about training your horse at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
Germany's Nadine Capellman and her 10-year-old gelding, Elvis VA, scored 76.240 percent to win the Uniroyal Grand Prix Special at the World Equestrian Festival on Saturday, two days after their Grand Prix victory led the German team to the team gold in the Nation's Cup.Finland’s Kyra Kyrklund and Max, riding as individuals, placed second in the Grand Prix Special with a 75.360 percent, the same position as in the Grand Prix. However, Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff and Sterntaler-Unicef finished third with 73.720 percent to improve from their sixth place finish in the Grand Prix. The freestyle ride to music is scheduled for Sunday.Four of the five judges, including Linda Zang of the United States, placed Capellman first, while an Australian judge, Mary Seefried, placed her fourth in the 30-horse field. Capellman won first place prize money of more than $10,000 for Saturday's victory, which gives her a two-class purse of more than $18,000.
Find out more about training your horse at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
Sports event planner hired to put on equestrian games
A veteran sports event planner will take charge of putting on the 2010 world equestrian championships in Lexington, organizers announced this morning. John P. "Jack" Kelly, the secretary-general of USA Baseball and chief executive officer of Houston's Space City Sports Commission, has been hired as the chief executive officer of the World Games 2010 Foundation Inc., the entity putting on the 2010 FEI Games. "I'm very enthusiastic about again having the opportunity to lead a major international sporting event, particularly one like the 2010 FEI Games in Kentucky where so much infrastructure, excitement and support for the event already exists," Kelly said in a written statement.
- copyright Lexington Herald-Leader -
Find out more about show instruction at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
A veteran sports event planner will take charge of putting on the 2010 world equestrian championships in Lexington, organizers announced this morning. John P. "Jack" Kelly, the secretary-general of USA Baseball and chief executive officer of Houston's Space City Sports Commission, has been hired as the chief executive officer of the World Games 2010 Foundation Inc., the entity putting on the 2010 FEI Games. "I'm very enthusiastic about again having the opportunity to lead a major international sporting event, particularly one like the 2010 FEI Games in Kentucky where so much infrastructure, excitement and support for the event already exists," Kelly said in a written statement.
Find out more about show instruction at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Aachen dressage
...Germany took advantage of the absence of world champion Anky van Grunsven of the Netherlands to regain the gold medal that they lost to the Dutch in 2005. The top finishing rider was Nadine Capellman of Germany on Elvis VA with a score of 75.833 percent...
- copyright Horsetalk -
Ulla receives German FN Silver Medal
If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
...Germany took advantage of the absence of world champion Anky van Grunsven of the Netherlands to regain the gold medal that they lost to the Dutch in 2005. The top finishing rider was Nadine Capellman of Germany on Elvis VA with a score of 75.833 percent...
Ulla receives German FN Silver Medal
If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German Certified Instructor.
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050
