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May 1st - 30th
Pilates with Sarah Payne is in action!
So after much anticipation my Pilates classes are finally in action. I had no idea I was going to be so overwhelmed by the interest in the classes. Enquiries were coming from everywhere. Of course the many benefits to riders is nothing new with many existing clients having joined in and to receive the great feedback week after week is amazing. Riders noticing how different their bodies feel and how significantly different their horses have been going. My passion for Pilates has grown immensely over the last six months since I have been able to share my experiences and see every person’s body develop and change with each session is so rewarding. Riders are feeling straighter, taller, more in touch with their bodies, their horses are feeling easier to ride, working more willingly forwards with straightness, their horse’s self carriage has changed, rider’s legs are feeling lengthened. It is so rewarding to be able to offer this sort of help to people to allow them to recognise how and why their body moves the way it does and then look at how their horses change as a result. |
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Kate returns to the arena.
After 14 years long years, my sister Kate decided the time had come to return to the dressage arena with her young mare Maddie. Having bought Maddie just over a year ago as a very green 4 year old, Kate has spent time working with her to develop quite a rapport. There was plenty of eager anticipation for the big debut and after two great tests it was time to raise a glass for this major achievement for Kate. There was lots of laughter along the way with Kate, Lily and several dedicated clients having a really enjoyable day out at Sheepgate. Who said Dressage was serious? This day was like no other at Sheepgate with the champagne flowing, it was mentioned that it should maybe become a regular thing!
Lily takes the casual approach and her stance at the scoreboard is scary!!!
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Well done Kate! |
Happy Birthday Laura
Laura Payne's monthly visit to Sheepgate to help horses, riders and dogs feel better in their bodies. Who needs an excuse to open another bottle and buy an M & S birthday cake! |
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Equipilates Teacher Training Course with Lindsay Wilcox-Reid
Three days away is planned in the diary for my eagerly awaited Equipilates course and unsure exactly of what to expect, simply amazing is the understatement. Three days of complete fascination of how riders move their bodies and how our horses accommodate us. The tools that we were given to look closely at what is going on with a rider’s position are amazing. I was thoroughly absorbed by the whole three days; it was a truly enlightening experience. When it was my turn to take to the gym ball and I was told to trot, I had no idea how revealing the next half an hour was going to be! I had to trot on the left rein and the right rein! It was amazing!
I returned home with my head full of so many things, it would take a few weeks for me to fully digest the sheer volume of ideas that had been shared with us during the 3 days with Lindsay. |
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A day out
Emile’s diary gets busier and busier so changes to by previously booked training resulted in just a day’s training instead. Bommel was a star and lucky for me that Dad offered to drive me there and back. |
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I think they’re coming...
So what felt like the hottest weekend of the year so far and poor Bella is puffing and panting showing some clear signs of her imminent labour. I felt like I was going to give birth myself and was fretting at 5am every morning in anticipation of today could be the day! Her labour eventually started late on the Monday and by 11pm there was no clear signs that it was going to happen immediately so I opted for bed and the alarm was set for every ninety minutes. By morning and after very little sleep it was evident that things weren’t going to plan so a dash to the vets resulted in an emergency caesarean and an hour later we were handed a box of six lively puppies while a very sleep y Bella remained in recovery. So we returned home with our box of little miracles while Bella remained at the vets until she was recovered. This wasn’t how I had anticipated spending my fifteenth wedding anniversary, a mere five years ago I had been whisked away to a romantic destination and the champagne was flowing. By teatime I managed to feed the kids but had no idea what was planned for us so sent Mark out to the local pub and asked him to grovel for a take away after the stressful day I’d had. He returned a short while later with a lovely meal, complete with a delicious pudding. It proved to be a long night as Bella was back home but not in a position to look after the puppies so with bottles at the ready, we were feeding them individually! |
Scooby (Dad) on the right with Bella resting on the left, resting, ready for the arrival of the puppies. |
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Looking out of the window...
A familiar sight these days, Harry and Josh brandishing their golf clubs in every spare moment. The Payne determination shines through... |
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Harry, what have you been doing?
So Harry returned from a school trip and I'm not sure I needed to hear every detail of the adventure, but Harry felt I needed to know. His face says it all as he is retelling his tale of mischief. |
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Trying Snip
I’ve had my eye out for Lily’s next pony for a little while now and go through phases of looking a bit more seriously but then figure that the right one will find me and I do believe in fate, there seems to be a tale to tell with all of Lily’s previous and current ponies. While catching up on Facebook early one morning a stunning pony caught my eye whose link had been shared to someone listed as my friend. Several times I looked back at the photo during that day before contacting the owner to enquire some more. After viewing over 200 photos and plenty of video footage on Facebook I was getting a good feeling about this pony so arranged to go and look at him. A four year old wasn’t what I thought I was looking for but everything about this pony gave me a good feeling. So we drove to Halifax 3 days later and imagine Lily’s face when she is presented with a field and the pony, having asked on the way if I thought there would be an indoor school! So this was a test for any pony, never mind a four year and new rider. I stood on the sidelines while Diana helped Lily and Dad was catching it all on the video. I’m nervous as Lily prepares for canter but this genuine pony never put a foot wrong, all 13.2 hands of him! I looked on in amazement as Lily’s confidence and smile grew! |
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