Blog@X

I have been asked to share some of the training techniques that I use, so I have created this area for that very purpose. I will try to post a new exercise here, with graphics, as often as the mood strikes me. If you have a favorite exercise that you would like to share, please do! The more the better!

Some of you may have figured this out already, but I will let you in on a little secret, I am a stickler for accuracy! Yes, I admit it, I am an accuracy-a-holic. Why? Simple, if you ride your exercises accurately then your horse will athletically develop, on the other hand if you ride pear, diamond, oval, or square shaped circles then your horse will struggle to maintain balance, rhythm and tempo. BR and T are paramount to training success, hence accurate circles are paramount to athletic development. Some coaches who are even more anal than I will even claim that every step you take on a horse you are either athletically developing the horse or breaking it down. Lesson 1! Ride accurately! << read more here >>

I am pleased to announce that I will be teaching the April 2007 Kudzu Klinic for the GDCTA. Details follow below:

Originally published on the GDCTA website.

GDCTA Sponsored Kudzu Klinic

April 14-15, 2007

Dressage with Chris Krowchuk

at Camelot Farm in Moreland, GA

The Kudzu Klinic program is an opportunity for GDCTA members to participate in low cost clinics which provide instruction of correct basics for lower level riders and their horses. The Kudzu Klinics are made possible by the generous work of professional trainers who volunteer their time and barn owners who donate their facilities for the day. The rider fee goes toward supporting the work of GDCTA.

The clinic format may vary slightly with each clinic, but generally for dressage clinics there will be 5-7 sessions with 1-2 riders per session. Lunch-time Lectures may be given at the clinics. Auditors may sign up at the clinic, but pre-registration would be appreciated so that the lecturer can bring enough material for all participants.

Bring your own lunch, drinks and chair for the lecture.

To Reserve your place in this clinic, please complete the following and mail to address below:

1. Completed registration form 4. Check made payable to GDCTA.

2. Copy of GDCTA membership card 5. A signed GDCTA Hold Harmless Form

3. Copy of current negative Coggins certificate 6. E-mail address

Clinician: Chris Krowchuk Krowchuk Dressage

Location: Camelot Farm
Moreland, GA

Levels Offered: Intro Training 1st Level 2nd Level (circle one)

Clinic Date: April 14 and 15 Please submit entry by Closing Date: April 11

Rider Fee: Dressage Clinics $25 Auditor Fee: $5

An entry form may be downloaded: here

More information may be found about the instructor by clicking on the BIO link by his or her name in the GDCTA website.

Please send forms and check to: Merideth Roberts

P.O. Box 552

Resaca, GA 30735

Kudzu Klinic Coordinator:

Merideth Roberts 706-280-0870

E-mail: Merideth Roberts

Originally published September 10, 2006

Click here to watch the Pas de Deux at the CCI***

On Saturday, September 9, 2006 my students Ulla Strickland on her Purebred Arabian chestnut gelding CF Chernobyll and Suzanne Lauda on her Purebred Arabian chestnut gelding CF Beau Navar performed a demonstration Pas de Deux as entertainment during an exhibitors party for the Poplar Place Farm CCI***, CCI** 3 Day Horse Trials. Competitors from all over the east coast were in attendance and cheered the girls on!

The performance was not without drama, rain threatened all afternoon, a slight drizzle starting during the warmup. The weather held long enough for our team to ride. And ride they did!

As is usual when riding a choreographed freestyle, one has to think ahead as they ride and be prepared to make impromptu decisions when things just don’t go quite as planned. The footing was a bit deeper than what we had been practicing on, adjustments needed to be made on the fly. Since the girls had really only rode this Pas de Deux once before, I was quite pleased with their ability to recognize they were behind the music slightly and made the needed impromptu adjustments.

Congratulations Ulla and Suzanne! A job well done!

Originally published September 9, 2006

Click here to watch Rehearsal Video #1

We have been invited to perform a demonstration Pas de Deux this Saturday, September 9th, 2006 at 6pm at Poplar Place Farm’s USEA/USEF recognized CIC***, CIC** horse trials featuring divisions Beginner Novice thru Advanced.

Poplar Place Farm is a fabulous eventing facility located about 1.5 hours south of Atlanta, in Hamilton GA. Their website is here!

Purebred Arabian half brothers CF Beau Navar and CF Chernobyll with their German owners Suzanne Lauda and Ulla Strickland will be performing a First Level Musical Freestyle Pas de Deux choreographed and prduced by their Dressage coach Chris Krowchuk to the original soundtrack of the German Musical “3 nuts for Cinderella”. We accepted this project just a few weeks ago so I think we are the “3 Nuts” and we are not sure where Cinderella is!

This will be a rather large crowd as this is a huge event, watching us, waiting for their food in the exhibitors party, so I imagine it will be raucous too!

I would like to invite everyone to join us as these Arabian geldings dance for the crowd and promote our breed to the craziest sport horse crowd of all, the Eventers!!

If you cannot make it to the show, I have an early rehearsal video available above and of course we will take a live one on Saturday as well!

Originally published August 8, 2006

CF Beau Navar and Co-Owner Susanne Lauda

I just returned from the 2006 GAHA Summer Classic AHA / USEF show that was held at the Olympic park in Conyers (Atlanta burbs!) Georgia. Man it was HOT! Now I know why they call it Hotlanata!

We took 4 horses in total to this show, all bred by Delana Bruce of Chatuge Farms Arabian Sport Horses and they all shone bringing home ribbons and championships and wonderful memories!

But this Blog entry is only about one (the others have or will have their own entries!

CF Beau Navar.

Co-owners Susan Zevenbergen and Suzanne Lauda arrived at the park Friday morning expecting to see their class start around 8:30. Third class in, show starts at 8am, sounds about right! Nope! Apparently they decided to start the Sport Horse Under Saddle classes earlier than the main ring classes and they missed their class by seconds.

The show management was nice enough to find a class for them to go into without extra fees - which they then went on to win!

Kudos to the GAHA show committee for doing the “right thing”!

I showed Beau in PB SHIH Geldings later that afternoon and he scored an 87, which earned him a 3rd place in a very large 18 horse class.

Beau then captured the PB SHUS Open Championship later that evening in a tough class of 8 horses with Suzanne Lauda in the irons!

On Saturday and Sunday Suzanne and Beau competed First Level winning two more Blues and their first Second Level test bringing home yet another Blue!

Congratulations to Beau, Susan and Suzanne for a great show!

Originally published August 7, 2006

CF Mojezeh with Chris Krowchuk and Owner / Breeder Delana Bruce of Chatuge Farm Arabian Sport Horses, Fayetteville, GA.

The conversation went something like this…

Dee: I would like to take my stallion Mojezeh to the Arabian show at the Olympic horse park in Conyers (Georgia, home of the 1996 Olympics Equestrian events) on August 4th.

Chris: Cool! Which one is Mojezeh?

Dee: The 9 year old Chestnut.

Chris: uhmmm… Dee… he isn’t broke yet!

Dee: I know honey, but you have two weeks!

Chris: uhmmm (thinking to myself, she is either crazy or having a lot of fun with me, play along!!)

Dee: I have complete faith in your abilities…

Chris: Oh sure, two weeks will be no problem, he has a great mind! (Chuckle)

Dee: I thought you could show him in hand.

Chris: Sport Horse In Hand? I could do that and I think he would be competitive too!

Dee: Yes, In hand, what did you think I meant?

Chris: heh heh… See if Susan would like me to show Beau in hand as well! Oh, and JB too?

Dee: That is a good idea!

Chris: I didn’t bother renewing my USEF, USDF, and AHA cards this year since I had no idea if I would be showing with the move and all. So, it would be silly to spend that kind of membership renewal money on just one class, one horse.

Dee: I will ask Susan about Beau.

Chris: Cool! Let me know. I don’t have much time, I can work with the horses this Saturday when I come to teach my lessons. Teach them to stand up and walk / trot the triangle. Then we have next Saturday… yikes! That doesn’t give us much time, I will have to try and come out one weekday.

Dee: I am sure that you will do what you can honey.

So, that Saturday arrives and I head over to Dee’s for my regular lesson bunch. I start playing with Mojezeh, he picks everything up so fast and is such a humble well behaved stallion!

Chris: We should probably put his bridle on. Where is it?

Dee: Oh, I think I will have to buy him one, his face is so small and I don’t think any of those will fit him.

Chris: Well, which one have you had on him?

Dee: He has never worn a bridle!

Chris: Ohhhhh…. (what the heck did I get myself into!, a 9 year old breeding stallion, never been bridled, YIKES!)

Dee: He will be fine honey, I trust in your ability.

Chris: hmmmm…

It is amazing how easy that old gentleman was to bridle, he actually seemed to enjoy it, like he had been waiting for this for years! I taught him how to stand up pretty quick and then I walked him around the triangle. He seemed to pick that up quite well, walking straight from and to the apex where the judge would be standing. then I would halt him again and stand him up once more. This was all going quite well and I thought perhaps there was a chance that I could get through this without looking like a fool!

Teaching Mojezeh to trot the triangle was a little more challenging. He was quite happy to walk thank you very much. I knew if I could get “electric” transitions and with his nicely uphill build we would score well. Since he had always been a breeding stallion and his owner is a single lady, his manners on the ground were important to her, for very obvious reasons! A hand whip was something to back away from! Once I taught him hat I wasn’t going to actualy hurt him with that whip, he started to trot off quite nicely. Keeping up with him was going to be my next hurdle!

I worked with Mojezeh for perhaps 3 hours total, 3 sessions of about an hour and felt that we were ready to go!

Then I find out that Mojezeh, who has only been used as a breeding stallion to this point in his 9 year old life, has only left the farm once… yep, you guessed right, to breed mares! So, here we are, going to a show with a 9 year old breeding stallion who has only been in a trailer once in his life and what did he get as a reward for coming off at the other end? Mares!!! And where are we going? To a show where the mares will surely be lined up for him, with their makeup on and all…

Now I know that some of you might be hoping to read the gory details that quite likely should have occurred, however, Mojezeh was a perfect gentleman the whole time. He acted like he had been at a horse show all his life.

I thought I had a pretty good trip around the triangle with Mojezeh, not bad for his first time at a show etc. I knew that there were things we could do better, but I was ecstatic with what this grand old gent gave me. When I saw the score I just about cried…

Dressage judge Carol Bishop scored Mojezeh a 9 on everything! For a total of 90. He won his Stallions 4 and over class and took home the Reserve Championship.

Back at home, Mojezeh is continuing his saddle training. We hope to show him next year in Dressage. I have had my weight over his back, foot in stirrup etc. I think I will take the time though, before I swing my leg over. No point rushing this 9 year old now!