ESDCTA Collective Remarks - January 2023

Happy New Year! I hope everyone survived the frigid December weather, and we’re hopefully headed into some more seasonable temperatures come January. Of course, this is winter, so whatever warmer weather we have will only be short-lived.

I’m so happy that we’ll be able to once again hold our annual Awards Banquet in-person on Sunday February 26, 2023, at the Copper Hill Country Club in Ringoes, NJ. Everyone puts in so much effort all year that it’s nice to reconnect with friends that we haven’t seen in more than two years, enjoy some good food and refreshments, and be recognized for all our accomplishments. Even if you, yourself, didn’t win, it would be great to see you and you’ll definitely have a good time supporting friends and “talking horses.” Look for more information in the next month.

In the meantime, please start soliciting items for the Silent Auction, which benefits grants, mostly Youth grants. Please send a description of the item to Janice Pellegrino janmpel@msn.com and bring the item with you to the banquet or arrange with someone else to bring it if you can’t attend.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and some fun riding over the winter.

President

Amateur Dilemma

By, Meredith Rogers

A question I often ask myself is if our horses are happy in their work. One of the best comments I received in a test last year (ever) was “clearly happy in his work” that we received in our 2nd level Championship class in Saugerties. Leo can be very opinionated and there was a time when he was 5 years old when he clearly was not happy in his work, but now he generally does what I ask without much fuss. His ears are always up but I equate that more to his attention to his surroundings than contentment.

With the nice weather we had during the fall, we went on a bunch of hacks with a barn mate. She believes her horse loves to hit the trails. My thought is that Leo can take them or leave them. We have a river behind our farm that most horses enjoy splashing in. Leo doesn’t seem to get the point of getting his feet wet and either just stands there or makes a bee-line for the shore. Last month on a particularly nice day we went outside to do some cavalletti training. He had done trot poles before but never this type of pole work. He did everything I asked but I didn’t think he was particularly impressed. In contrast, my barn mate thought her horse had a blast.

Well, I finally found something I think Leo loves. We’re working on improving his trot quality. The exercise is to get as big a trot as we can on the quarterline, come to a halt, and then trot off again like a bat out of hell. The halt gets his hind legs under him and the trotting off gets his front end up. He gets excited when we start to do this exercise and he carries the big trot into other work like shoulder-in and half-pass.

Call it telepathy or just knowing my horse so well, but I also feel that he’s happy. Similarly, it’s how I don’t think he cares one way or the other about trail rides or pole work. He’s an athletic bugger, and so far, all of what we’ve been doing has been relatively easy for him. That’s probably why he does not seem unhappy in the work. Overall, he is a relatively agreeable guy. My main goal in our training is to keep him that way.

Leo’s State of Being: Bright-Eyed and Bushy-Tailed

Update on the USEA Convention

By, Holly Cornell

I headed down to Savannah, GA, for the annual USEA Convention this past December 8-11, and attended a number of very interesting discussions, presentations, panels, and other educational forums. Janice Pellegrino also attended and we tried to attend different programs so we could cover everything important, but some, like the rules change presentation, we both wanted to attend, so I’ve let Janice review some of those for both of us. If anyone has any questions about any of the topics covered, please feel free to reach out to either of us. Can’t wait until next year!

Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP)

• USEA is looking for suggestions on how to get more adult non-riders to volunteer

o Ideas included: gift certificates, Trainer Challenge (trainer who supplies most volunteers gets a gift card); raffle (1 ticket/4 hours, 2 tickets/8 hours, etc.; first $150, second $100, third $50), and others

o Possible source of volunteers includes veterinary school students, pony club, 4H, Chamber of Commerce, etc.

• The VIP online management tool is a big benefit for organizers; names can be manually entered before the event for critical positions, set-up can be copied, it’s easy to see what spots are available, people can be checked in after the fact (if poor reception at the event), multiple organizers can use the system, it allows for eligiblibility towards year-end USEA volunteer awards, and can also be used at schooling events

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A Volunteer Appreciation Award (VAA) is coming soon

How Tech Can Support the Best Eventers of the Future

• Presented by RideIQ Technology: Kyle Carter (Olympic rider), Tony Sandoval (physical coach), Morgan Rowsell (XC course safety expert)

• Horse technology discussed included the Bemer blanket, Ceefit fitness tracker to detect lameness, and MiM clips frangible technology, which has a new tube shape with the pin breaking away no matter which direction it’s hit

• Rider fitness tools, such as Hudl performance analytics, Whoop physical wellness tracking, and StatSports wearable data driven injury prevention

• Rider ability tools included the Pivo video system to record your ride, Sportsbox AI technology-supported skill development, and RideIQ on demand audio lessons

Constructing a Wellness Program for The Aging (15 & Up) Performance Horse

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Presented by Adequan

• Our equine population is aging, and increasing due to better care and nutrition

• Decreased organ system reserves and joint problems are common, but older horses make excellent mounts for novice and young riders

• Care of the older horse includes good foot care, routine vaccines, health checks at least 2 times a year, deworming, teeth management, and feeding of senior feed and alfalfa

• Herd hierarchy is a concern because young horses can chase older horses away from food and water

Organizers Open Forum

• Initiative proposed to add more amateur, rider and junior classes, which will encourage more entries if juniors and amateurs know they won’t be riding against open riders; greater chance for higher place ribbons in the class

• Pay for officials, course designers, and safety was discussed, since an event with only 200 entries will probably not cover costs

• Unrecognized shows are growing in entries and popularity

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Positions that used to be volunteer (scorers) are now paid, which adds to costs

• A suggestion was to run a 1-hour professional demonstration or lecture that would be free for volunteers before or after an event as an incentive for volunteering

• Awareness among local groups is being raised to the increasing costs and struggles

Dressage Q&A with Marilyn Payne & Gretchen Butts (Janice covered)

• Ride forward into transitions, carry forward instead of rushing forward, no see-sawing with the reins, no behind the vertical

Show Connect

• This is a new program being developed that will currently integrate with X-Entry, and eventually EventEntries and StartBox

• It provides real-time scoring for competitors, similar to what’s available for FEI events – jump-by-jump scoring, etc.

Event Riders & Officials Town Hall

• If a rider has a challenge, they should contact the following people, in order: TD, Rider Representative, Event Organizer, and then file an official protest of appeal and/or file a confidential USEF evaluation

Affiliates (USEA -> About -> Affiliates)

• Affiliate clinics are covered by insurance

Age is Just a Number – Strength & Conditioning for Riders Over 50

• Those over 50 have 45% less thigh muscle, and for those over 70, it is 58% less, so strength training is critical

• Bone reacts to muscle, so strengthening muscle will help prevent bone weakening

• Less muscle is related to a higher risk of falls

• Nutrition is very important, and people over 50 should make sure to eat enough protein (0.7-1 gram/ body weight) and calories, and should also make sure to take in the correct percentage of carbohydrates, fats, and hydration

• Sleep and Stress management should not be overlooked, including incorporation of breathing and meditation, walking in the sun, journaling before bed, and sleeping 7-9 hours

The horse training pyramid:

The rider training pyramid: /_\ Collection

/_\ Performance /___\ Straightness /___\ Refine – Limiting factors /_____\ Impulsion /_____\ DevelopPower /_______\ Connection /_______\ Build - Mobility /_________\ Elasticity & Suppleness /_________\ Foundation – General Health /___________\ Energy, Tempo, Rhythm

Rider Biomechanics

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Presented by Bates Saddles

• Although there was much good information, this session was mostly how wonderful Bates saddles are in ensuring both perfect fit for you and your horse

• Things to think about included even balance, length to match length of horse’s back, flap to hit exactly in the middle of the calf, and even pressure all the way down the pads/tree; if pommel too high you will end up with chair seat, if cantle too high you will end up tipped forward with lower back pain

• Stirrup leather length should be above the ankle bone for above 3’ jumping, top of ankle bone for lower height jumping, and bottom of ankle bone for flat work

• However, it is best to use a professional independent saddle fitter for problems or questions

Feeding for Health & Performance

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Presented by Nutrena

• This was a very technical discussion, including balancing crude protein (soy vs. whey) 600 g for maintenance, 700 g for light work and 1,000 g for heavy exercise; other considerations include glycogen and electrolytes – sodium, chlorine, potassium, amino acids, chromium, lysine, etc.

• Utilize a balancer as a supplement for high performance horses, or as the only feed for easy keepers and ponies

• Horses like water between 45°F-65°F

Rule Change Open Forum (Janice covered)

Meeting of Members Lunch

• Speaker was Dr. Sue Dyson

• She gave a very interesting analysis of the correlation between a horse’s pain/discomfort score and their placing, if they even finished

• According to her research, there’s a direct link between how comfortable a horse is and how well they perform

• She used an example of a horse that passed the jog before stadium, but had a high pain score, and then uncharacteristically had 6 rails down

Nutrition Tips for the Pasture Pet, Performance Horse & Everything In between

• Presented by Dr. Amy Burk

• Lots of great nutrition advice to customize your feeding program based on performance level and age