Jack Hardin Towell, Sr. started his own business as a hunter/jumper trainer at the age of 17. Now the owner of Finally Farm in Camden, South Carolina, and one of the leading horse trainers in the US, his accomplishments as a trainer have secured his stature in the industry. Jack has used his skills and intuition to discover and make top hunter ponies and horses. He has trained 65 champions and/or reserve champions in the best indoor shows, including The Pennsylvania National, Devon, The Washington International, Capital Challenge, and The National Horse Show.
Jack is also an R rated horse-show judge and has officiated at many prestigious horse shows including the Washington International and the ASPCA Maclay Finals.
Please join us May 7-8, 2011 at Longfield Stables located at Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, SC for an opportunity to ride with a master. Contact Lauren Marcinkoski at SwampFoxFarms@gmail.com or (912) 484 8510 for more information.
I’ve been in love a few times in my life. The most recent mare I fell head-over-hooves for was a beautiful palomino Tennessee Walker, named Annie. Oh my gosh, that girl was a beauty! Long blond hair, lovely big hip, with the most elegant sashay as she’d walk down the road. My heart went pitter-patter every time she and her person rode by our barn.
I’d not seen her in awhile. I would watch the road hoping she would come by, but nothing. Then, a long time after I’d last seen her, Annie’s person stopped by our barn and told a friend that Annie was gone. She’d gotten into something poisonous and had severely foundered. Her owner tearfully shared that they had tried for months to save her, but she was in so much pain and her coffin bone had rotated so far, that the vet had suggested that the kindest thing to do was to end her suffering and put her down. Her owner was still distraught about the decision, not sure she had made the right choice. Annie’s person’s guilt and self-doubt was tearing her apart.
It’s a blessing to us horses that we live in the moment. We don’t fear death because we don’t project our thoughts into the future and wonder what it will be like when we leave this physical existence. We are now. Being now also means that in spirit we don’t have judgment as to the reason why we may have left the physical world. Of course our natural instinct is to survive, and our fight and flight instincts will kick in if we are threatened, but that’s not a conscious thought. That’s programmed impulse.
Chester Weber is taking part in the Gift of the Horse website contest and one winner will get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend two days at Live Oak, training with the legendary combined driver. (Photo courtesy of My Elizabeth Weber)
Ocala, FL (May 3, 2011) – In the world of combined driving, Chester Weber stands out above the rest. Now, thanks to a contest being held on the Gift of the Horse website, Weber’s biggest fan can win the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend two days on Weber’s Live Oak Plantation in Ocala, Florida, training with the legendary combined driver.
Weber, the eight-time USEF National Four-In-Hand Combined Driving Champion, has joined together with the world’s most recognized and admired horsemen and women to contribute prize packages for their biggest fans. The contest is being sponsored through the Gift of the Horse, a unique and exciting event designed to be fun, interactive, educational and most importantly give back to the equine industry through the generosity of Gift of the Horse sponsors and donors. 100% of proceeds raised through Gift of the Horse will go directly to The American Youth Horse Council which impacts over 400,000 children in programs such as 4-H, National High School Rodeo, Pony Club and most Breed/Youth Organizations.
“Chester Weber is an icon and an inspiration to horse owners of all breeds and disciplines. I’ve had the pleasure of watching Chester perform in person and the thrill and excitement the crowds experience when Chester comes thundering into the ring is unparalleled,” says Jacqueline L. Robbins, President of Equine Publishing, LLC. “He is an asset to Gift of the Horse and it is an honor to have him in the line up of top horsemen that have generously contributed amazing prize packages. Spending two full days with Chester Weber and his team is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
West Palm Beach, Florida (May 2, 2011) – Many eager Florida dressage competitors awaited the announcement of the 2011 Shadow Trailer Give-Away at this past weekend Wellington Classic Dressage Show in West Palm Beach, Florida. A generous donation from Del-Raton Trailer Sales and Shadow Trailer Inc., Florida dressage competitors waited all season to see if they would be the lucky winner of the 2011 Shadow bumper-pull trailer.
FEI Dressage Rider and Trainer Bill McMullin happily accepted his new trailer. “The last group of horses just left this morning for Massachusetts and I wanted to make sure I made it to the show for the drawing. I have had a great season with my horses and clients, but it all went so fast. Winning this trailer is a great way to wrap up the Florida season!”
McMullin who resides in Wellington during the winter season and Stoughton, Massachusetts in the summer months rode Kim Quinlivan’s 9 year old mare, Rosabella, at the IHS Derby and Jim Brandon dressage shows. “What a great surprise. I want to thank the dressage show managing partners for organizing such great shows and Del-Raton Trailer Sales for making the trailer give-away possible,” McMullin added.
It’s a touchy subject. It’s one I’ve avoided for a long time, because it’s going to hit some nerves. But I overheard someone tearfully share that a trainer had told her she’d become too fat to ride, so I figured it was time to break the silence.
Weight. There, I said it. Human society is incredibly obsessed with body size. How many people don’t ride or stopped riding because they think they are too fat? How many people hide their talents and abilities behind a wall of shame because of their BMI (Body Mass Index)?
When I hear people talking about weight issues, it makes me so glad I’m a horse! We are expected to have a big, round “hip” and be well fleshed. Unless you’re a racehorse, it’s perfectly okay to be plump. In fact, we are “fattened up” for halter classes and viewed as healthier when we have some meat on our bones.
Why aren’t people like that?
I hear it’s mostly because of movies, TV, and magazines. Back when food was scarce and only the rich were plump, “Rubenesque” women were all the rage. But now that food is abundant for almost all people, you’re expected to be waif thin and wrinkle free if you want to be “in.” The media perpetuates this ideal simply by glorifying the skinny and the young.
I don’t remember my mom very much. I remember her being warm and snuggly, and very tall. I suppose I’m taller than she was, now, but I’ll always remember her towering over me. Her size and gentle strength made me feel safe. I never met my dad. I hear that I look a lot like him, though.
Are you like your mom and dad? Most people are. We learn so much when we’re little that who we are to become as adults is shaped before we’re even aware that we’re being programmed. It’s such a deep part of us that we rarely even see it.
Often, our best and our worst relationships are with members of our own family. The good news is, most of the time we find ways to resolve our issues. We can’t choose our families, so we are forced to deal with whatever comes up. The bad news is, we can’t choose our families, so we are forced to deal with those issues even when we don’t want to.
Do you have an unresolved issue with a family member? What would it take to get that resolved? Is one of you insisting on being “right” or having your own way? Could you let that go? Can you forgive whatever happened, no matter how terrible? I’ll bet you can.
Many years ago while visiting the stable of the late Hector Carmona in New Jersey, I was intrigued by a sign in his indoor arena that boldly proclaimed, “The secret of riding is the outside rein”.
I soon discovered that the outside rein (AKA the rein of opposition) has many critical jobs:
1. You control speed with it.
2. You use it to steer.
3. You use it to keep your horse straight.
4. When you combine the outside rein with both your driving aids and your bending aids for 3 seconds, you give the “connecting aids” to put your horse on the bit.
5. Later in training, you’ll use a momentary closure of seat, leg, and hand to give a half halt. (The half halt is one of the most essential concepts in riding because it allows you to improve your horse’s balance – an issue we’re constantly dealing with in training.)
LEARNING TO USE THE OUTSIDE REIN
This month, I’m going to give you some exercises to help you become more aware of your outside rein. I think this is a useful first step because riders instinctively rely more on their inside rein than their outside rein.
Some people don’t like gray horses. Some people don’t like chestnut horses. There are even a few that don’t like us shiny black horses. Some like the quiet temperament of a quarter horse over the fiery temperament of an Arabian. Some like the excitement of riding an exuberant Trakehner better than the slower paced energy of the Friesian.
Everyone has an opinion. EVERYONE. Even your dog and your horse. So, if your goal is to please everyone, you’re setting yourself up to be very disappointed. It’s simply not possible. Each of us has a different background, a different set of values, and a different way of looking at the world. We each have our own unique “lens” through which we view and interpret what goes on around us. We all gravitate toward the folks that are more like us than different from us, but even those people you feel the most compatible with will have different perceptions and interpretations of their experiences.
So, what should you do about this? What I do is… nothing. The only work I need to do is internal, on my own acceptance of the fact that everyone is going to see things a bit differently. I generally don’t try to change anyone’s opinion unless they ask. I do my best to just let my friends and family be who they are, and allow myself to be true to who I am. For the most part, I am willing to simply agree to disagree.
I’ve been dreaming of Vermont. Lots of trees, cool nights and warm days. Big fields for Indy and me to explore, and new videos to make with Jane and Rhett. I love Vermont. We’ll be heading that way soon.
I’m going to miss my friends here in Florida, but I know I’ll be back and so will they. Next fall, we’ll have new stories to share, and new goals to achieve. In the mean time, we’ll concentrate on the work at hand and know that all is well.
Change is not easy for most people and most horses. We all like predictability and security. But with change comes the opportunity for growth. When change happens, it forces us to flex our mental muscles and learn to adapt. It is a GOOD thing, even when it’s a bit uncomfortable.
You get more of whatever you think about. It’s true! Anything you give your attention to increases. That includes the bad stuff. This rule doesn’t have an opinion about “good” or “bad.” It just is.
You humans live in a “fix it” culture. You are trained to search for what’s wrong. That’s fine, if you’re looking for a stone in my hoof or a burr embedded in my saddle pad. But when you focus on what’s amiss with everything and everyone around you, you can really mess up your life.
The best example of this rule causing trouble is in relationships. It doesn’t matter if it is the relationship with your mate, your boss, your best friend, or your horse. If you spend more time looking for what’s wrong with that person/horse or the relationship you have together than you do looking for and appreciating what’s right, you will become out of sync with that person/horse until you will feel compelled to fight with her, or leave her. It’s a rule. It will happen!
