Happy New Year!

Just a quick note to say Happy New Year from the herd and me. 

 

 

These photos of Tiggy and Arthur (top) and Jolly (bottom) are from January as we've had no recent snow!

 

2012 has been a good year for me - I've really improved riding wise, let's hope I can go to a few more shows in 2013!

 

Have a great 2013.



Setting Goals For 2013

Setting goals is a great way to tell yourself what you want to do in a definitive way, and can also show you how you've improved.  My riding instructor suggested that I set myself a few goals for 2013, so I think I will.

So far, I have:

1.  Achieve a few harder dressage movements.

2.  Get Merlin listening properly and work as a partnership more.

3.  Go to a few small shows.

I will probably think of more after posting this, but I think with goal setting, you have to be concise yet to-the-point.

Good luck of you decide to set your own goals!

GB Dressage Team Online

Ok, as a big fan of (good) dressage, I thought it was a good idea to show you the websites of the three dressage champions of Team GB from the Olmpics.  I watched almost all of the Olympic dressage, and was even lucky enough to see the Paralympic Grade IIII in the flesh, as it were!  I was especially pleased to see Charlotte Dujardin beat Adelinde Cornelissen in the freestyle (I disagree with Cornelissen's training methods).  Below are the links to Charlotte Dujardin, Carl Hester and Laura Bechtolsheimer's websites.  Enjoy! 

 

http://charlottedujardin.co.uk/

 

Charlotte Dujardin's website has a lovely informal feel, whilst being informative and entertaining.  She speaks very highly of her mentor, Carl Hester, and I think it gives an impression of Charlotte's views on dressage and certainly shows how much she loves her horses!  Congratulations to Charlotte on her OBE as well, which you can read about on her news page. 

 

http://www.carlhester.co.uk/

 

I think that Carl Hester's website has a very professional feel to it, and as a great lover of both donkeys and the Channel Islands, I can really identify with his backstory!  I really like the little factfiles about the horses that Carl trains, but my favourites are definitely Valegro (who Charlotte rides) and Chocolate Orange, who looks as sweet as his namesake!

(And that's a rather impressive results page, is it not?!)

 

http://www.laurabechtolsheimer.com/

 

Laura's website has a nice colour theme - very patriotic!  It is very well designed and is very easy to navigate.  I like the page about her horses - very stylish layout and a nice way to 'get to know' the equine side of the team.  I think that the reportive style of the writing makes it seem extremely well-done.

 

And to finish, have a photo that I took at the Paralympic dressage, and another of the flame!

 

 

 



The Boxing Day Meet 2012

Whilst I personally don't hunt, I enjoy taking photos of events like this, and the Boxing Day Meet 2012 was the perfect opportunity to practice my photography skills.  I didn't take many photos, but I thought I'd share a few here. 

 

This rather gorgeous Haflinger-y horse had perhaps the most cheerful rider I've seen at the meet in a long time!  She didn't stop smiling - it was a pleasure to see her clearly enjoying herself.  Her horse was rather beautiful too - such an honest build.

This Shetland was really cute!  He was the smallest pony there and clearly thought he was the best hunter there! 

I like how both horses are looking the same way in this photo - that's why I included it, no other reason. 

Hehehe, they have the same expression!  I really like this photo - the composition was practically there for me - all I had to do was point and click!

And finally, this rather cute photo is my favourite - I like how the horses are having a conversation of their own!



 

 





Enter at A!

 

Hello everyone!  Welcome to Salute At X, my blog about dressage, horses and life straight from the horse's mouth, as it were.  I created Salute At X as a way of writing about my experiences as a young rider with dressage and horses in a way that is accessible to anyone, and I hope you will enjoy reading it.  As well as riding, I also love writing (I run a monthly e-magazine called The Hay Net), photography, art and archery.  You can find my photography at www.countercanterphotography.webs.com and my Tumblr blog (for a school ICT project) at www.thebarebonesofdressage.tumblr.com

 

Let me introduce you to my horses.

 

Merlin

This is Merlin, my grey Connemara.  With his gentle attitude and calm personality, he's a brilliant horse for me, and one of my best friends. 

 

Jolly

Jolly, my black Welsh  mare, whilst an angel on the ground, can be a little bit wild to ride!  She takes a lot of her confidence from the rider, so as a nervous rider, we aren't the best mounted partners.  However, I love her loads and she's a real sweetheart.

 

Sweep

This is Sweep.  As you can see, he's rather striking, and he's an excellent little jumper!  Perpetually grumpy, Sweepie is very small, so not ideal for me to ride, but I can if I need to.  He's a great jumper, if a little too speedy!

 

Vento

This handsome Luso gelding, Vento, actually belongs to my Mum, but one day, I hope to ride him at top level.  He's huge, but a gentle giant, and has a Roman nose which makes him especially good-looking.

 

As well as horses, I also own three cats (Peachy, Magic, Daisy), a dog (Raven), two donkeys (Tiggy and Arthur) and my sister has a hamster (Rocky). 

 

Enjoy my blog!