Lucky Jen Wins Lesson with Top Dressage Rider Henriette Andersen
Dressage enthusiast Jen Englishby was delighted to find out she
had won a lesson with dressage rider Henriette Andersen after
entering a competition in Chiltern & Thames Rider magazine.
Henriette's sponsors British Horse Feeds ran the competition and
also offered ten bags of feed from their Natural Country Range as
part of the prize.
The range includes Cool 'n' Calm Mix and Cubes, Horse & Pony
Mix and Cubes and New Veteran Care Mix. British Horse Feeds
also make Speedi-Beet and Fibre-Beet.
Jen and her 16.1hh, ten-year-old, Belgium Warmblood Gizmo
(registered as Woltaire) travelled from their home in Winslow,
Bucks to Henriette's yard in Nether Westcote, Oxfordshire for the
lesson.
Jen has owned Gizmo for five years and they enjoy competing at
Elementary level in British Dressage. The lesson tackled Gizmo's
problem of becoming tense which results in him becoming short in
the neck and behind the vertical. This leads to him not taking the
rein contact forward, he therefore does not work across his back
and lacks that 'swing' Jen knows he can produce.
To target this problem Henriette began by getting Jen to
encourage his flexion on the inside rein but keeping the trot
fairly forward. They also worked on serpentines and 10, 12 and 15
metre circles on the long sides of the arena, ensuring that Gizmo
still kept the contact through the changes of rein and circles.
They also worked on keeping a consistent contact in canter and
on downward transitions. Said Jen: "Henriette explained how
important it is when training to never accept anything until it is
correct every time, then the horse can be rewarded.
"I really have to aim to create this sort of impulsion and swing
in my tests, and not be afraid to ride forward to create a big trot
and smooth canter."
Added Jen: "I would like to thank Henriette and British Horse
Feeds for my fantastic lesson."
