SPILLERS® RESPONSE™ International Eventing Forum
March 2007
Hundreds of enthusiastic eventing riders, trainers, owners, breeders and supporters were inspired and educated by some of the top names in eventing at the SPILLERS® RESPONSE™ International Eventing Forum last week.
Olympic competitors Pippa Funnell, William Fox-Pitt, Jeanette Brakewell and Mary King joined reigning Burghley champion Lucinda Fredericks and her British Open-winning husband Clayton to delight the crowds with a series of ridden demonstrations, while Yogi Breisner, World Class Performance Manager for the British Eventing team, acted as compere.
Following the theme Through the eyes of the rider’ each demonstration was followed by a lively question and answer session, enabling the audience to voice their queries and gain a real insight into the way these top riders think, prepare and perform.
Pippa Funnell, with her stunning young chestnut Billy Landretti, showed how to keep him relaxed and soft but still quick to respond. She also emphasised that the faults of the horse are often a reflection of rider error.
Lucinda Fredericks and Headley Britannia ran through some advanced dressage movements, including half-pass and flying changes and highlighted the importance of rhythm and straightness. Lucinda’s top tip was how to make the best of first impressions – for example if trot is your horse’s weakest pace then enter the arena space in canter before starting your dressage test.
Clayton Fredericks used his advanced event horse The Frog to show how he uses ground poles to help him judge his stride in show jumping. He demonstrated beautifully the importance of balance and control in quick turns, in order to go clear and meet the time around today’s technical courses.
William Fox-Pitt and the advanced Hidalgo followed, explaining how ground poles to a fence can help to manage a horse that has a habit of taking charge and accelerating.
After the break and a fascinating acupuncture demonstration by vet Dietrich Graf von Schweinitz, Jeanette Brakewell presented the stallion Jazz Time III over some challenging indoor cross country fences including a roll-top, corner, rustic oxer and skinny arrowheads. She explained how to keep the weight equally in both legs without gripping with the knees and how to keep the aids simple: start, stop and steer.
Mary King, with the advanced eventer Call Again Cavalier, rounded off the day. Mary provided some great ideas for makeshift obstacles to help with cross country schooling, such as empty feed bags secured under poles for ditches and pallets and barrels for skinnies.
The question and answer session proved very popular. The panel of experts, comprising Yogi Breisner Clayton Fredericks, Jean Mitchell MBE (FEI Official International Eventing Judge and Secretary General of the International Eventing Officials Club); Angela Tucker (Olympic judge, owner, competitor, selector and trainer); and Ruth Bishop (SPILLERS® Technical Director and Nutritionist), enjoyed answering a wide variety of questions including subjects such as rider fitness and the short format. The free ‘one-to-one’ consultations with a range of horse care experts, including Sam Head Dip. WCF on farriery, SPILLERS® on nutrition and a representative from Myler Bits also received a very enthusiastic response from the eager attendees.
The date for the next SPILLERS® RESPONSE™ International Eventing Forum will be confirmed shortly. For further information visit the website at www.internationaleventingforum.com
Note to editors
Images attached and others available on request. Captions 1: Yogi Breisner, World Class Performance Manager for the British Eventing team, at the SPILLERS® RESPONSE™ International Eventing Forum 2007. Caption 2: Jeanette Brakewell with the stallion Jazz Time III tackling some challenging indoor cross country fences at the SPILLERS® RESPONSE™ International Eventing Forum 2007
The SPILLERS® RESPONSE™ International Eventing Forum is the only Forum of its kind in the UK. In the three years that it has been running it has evolved to become a vital fixture on the calendar of event riders, trainers, owners and officials. It presents a unique learning opportunity for those who are keen to improve their performance in the coming season.
British Eventing, the Event Riders Association (ERA) Shearwater Insurance and Kylix also sponsor the SPILLERS® RESPONSE™ International Eventing Forum. John Bowen chairs the organising committee, with Karen McKeown as secretary. Yogi Breisner, Jean Mitchell, Lucinda Green, Carl Bouckaert, Brook Staples, Jeanette Brakewell, Mandy Stibbe, Angela Tucker, Eddy Stibbe, Emma Hunter and Ruth Bishop are members.
Further information from: Bright Bay PR, telephone 01986 784562 or 07768 958911
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