THE PERFECT COMBiNATiON

British Horse Feeds Cooked Linseed is 100% whole linseed cooked and micronized to optimize digestibility and bioavailability of its nutrients. High quality protein with amino acid profile supports muscle activity and adds top line. Contains natural antioxidants.

Speedi-Beet® 95% sugar free, quick soaking beet pulp flake for slow release energy and rehydration.

Fibre-Beet® a conditioning feed with Speedi-Beet, alfalfa and oat fiber with biotin, sodium and calcium for optimum condition, muscle tone and function.

Emerald Valley Natural Health

To find a dealer near you or order online visit: www.emeraldvalleyequine.com or call 888.638.8262

Winning With Horses

anything, and 20 to start learning.” While I’m not sure where I am on this curve, I have learned that it’s with mallet in hand that I feel most adept at building successful partnerships with my equine teammates.

Letting Go

I have often felt the paradox of caring deeply for the horses I compete, and yet needing to forget about them, in some sense, in order to play my best. I believe there exists a training mindset and a competitive one, and that it is important to distinguish between the two. “Forgetting about” my horse does not mean ignoring his feel, or pretending I’m riding a motorcycle, or treating all horses alike. It means trusting a connection with your horse to the point of letting go. In other words, appreciating that I have done everything in my power to prepare that horse for the sport, physically and mentally, and freeing myself of unnecessary concerns in order to play. The development of this partnership can take years, countless rides in different settings and circumstances, hundreds of practice sessions. Or it can

“During peak fitness and international travel, it can be tricky to

“During and international travel, it can be to keep enough weight on Simon but the Fibre-Beet really helps on Simon but the Fibre-Beet maintain optimal condition. We make sure to bring extra maintain condition We make sure to extra Fibre-Beet for overseas trips!” Fibre-Beet overseas trips!”

~ Ariel Grald, International Event Rider and Trainer Ariel International Event Rider and Trainer

Connect with us! @healthyequine @emeraldvalleynh take no time at all. In some instances where I have to rely on borrowed horses to play an important match, such as international friendlies or substituting (as I did in the finals of the 2011 Joe Barry Memorial), trust is the only option.

For me, it is more challenging to leave the training mindset behind when playing a horse that we have bred and raised. Since Shelley and I have, quite literally, been training the horse since day one, the hopes and expectations that develop naturally with each homebred can complicate things. Nevertheless, the best horses I am playing today are the sons and daughters of mares I competed on at the height of my career. Not only is it a great group, but there is nothing more rewarding than getting to participate in both the training and competitive cycles of one animal. For most competitive riders, it is possible to shift between these two states.

But for many, myself included, it is difficult to leave behind the training mindset before important competitions. Our sons’ favorite soccer camp in Santa Barbara, California—ONE.soccerchools—has the slogan Always Training. I like the logic, at least when it comes to our boys juggling a soccer ball