Author: Equiteam Instructor Liz Daniels UKCC Level 2
Event: Wobbleberries Camp May 2017 – Day 1:
Lou and I arrived at Lindores this morning at 8am to lots of slightly petrified looking faces!
We did our camp introduction to mostly silence! This is not uncommon for day one when people are sitting there wondering what an earth they have let themselves in for! Of course we always try and make people feel at home and the Lindores experience and the fabulous atmosphere is all part of that.
As an instructor and host it’s really interesting seeing the personal journeys people go on and I love remembering the transition from introduction to the final presentation on day three.
After the Wobbleberry rider introductions we started our day with flatwork. We have 12 horses at camp (and 11 riders!) and on day one I split them into three groups of four riders.
As the campers do their first lessons you can see them starting to take a breath and realise that maybe they might enjoy it! We ride in the front field, which is a great space to work in. It’s enclosed but big enough for riders to have plenty of room.
In the morning session I often go right back to basics and this morning there were definitely some eureka moments for riders resulting in some fabulous flatwork.
During the morning we also had a visit from Sarah Cruikshank, who is the Bailey’s Horse Feeds Scottish Rep. Sarah came with the weight bridge and all the campers got their horses weighed and given nutritional advice.
At lunchtime you might be forgiven for thinking we let the camps sit down and have a chill in the sunshine.. Not likely! It was time to get the trainers on and David from Culture Health and Fitness came and put us through our paces with some circuit training.. Cue achey legs and lots of sweaty ladies!!
I feel really strongly that you need to be fit enough to do the job that you are asking your horse to do. You wouldn’t expect a horse to do XC without being fit, but we often forget our own fitness levels.
After a lovely lunch, provided by Lou, the sunshine really started to break through, the sunglasses came out and our busy afternoon sessions got underway.
The afternoon was pole work which progressed to some jumping. A couple of campers jumped their PB height wise and everyone did really fantastically and came out smiling – alongside safety I see this is as one of the most important parts of my job – after all that’s why we do it!
Once the sessions had finished it was back to the Bothy where Lou had an amazing tea on the go. We had ran out of drinking water and within minutes fresh water appeared -The Black family really are the most fabulous hosts and we really couldn’t ask for them to be any more accommodating.
As some people went for a sneaky dip in the hot tub, the hardcore campers got showered and ready for dinner.
No sooner is dinner finished Jane Brindley from Horse Riding with Confidence Scotland arrived to chat about the mental impact on riding and mental toughness.
We had another great talk from Jane, followed by yummy brownies! The people staying in Lindores Lodge went back for a glass of wine and to soak their muscles in the hot tub, while the hardcore campers all relaxed in the bothy, making life long friends!
It’s been a really good day one and we can’t wait for day two which is based around grid work and cross country!
More tomorrow, Liz
EquiTEAM Confidence Camps
Wobbleberries Challenge
Horse Riding with Confidence Scotland