At the end of October I flew from Portugal to the Netherlands for the Global Dressage Forum and the 7th International Equitation Science Conference. This was the 4th conference of ISES that I have attended - following on from Michigan, Dublin and Sydney. In my role as the International Rider's Representative for the Society I attend as many conferences as possible and I can tell you they are both enjoyable and extremely informative.
We were lucky enough to have the use of the incredible facilites of Academy Bartels at Hooge Mierde, the same venue that the Global forum is held at each year. It also meant that we could look around the amazing facilities (check out the cool statues in the pics below) and I got to meet Sunrise - that's her and me having a chat over the stable door. I caused a bit of a stir on Facebook by telling people she was my new horse - as if! Maybe if I'd robbed a Rabo Bank on my way past! We got to see Demo's from some of the top dutch riders and trainers, including a sneak preview of the new superstar for Imke Bartel's "Toots" - a giant of a horse, and Oh so talented! We had a self guided tour of the stables and facilities - man what a place! It has its own library filled with ancient equestrian texts!
Scientists gather at the ISES conference every year to present papers on studies they are partaking in. There is always a fascinating array of topics, and this year some of my favorite presentations included:
1) The effect of shortened reins on rein tension, stress and discomfort behaviour in dressage horses
2) The effect of noseband tightness on rein tension in the ridden horse
3) A comparison between the Monty Roberts technique and a conventional UK technique for initial training of riding horses
4) Pressure distribution beneath conventional and treeless saddles
and so the list goes on...
The theme of this year's conference was Equitation Science: Principles and Practices - Science at Work. Some of the practal demonstrations we saw included the use of video analysis, the use of rein tension, seat pressures and leg pressure sensors, and also the use of heart rate monitors.
I was invited as the rider's representative to sit on a Expert Panel to critique some of the technological advances that science has given us as horse riders and trainers. Imagine how excited I was to be on a panel of three with Kyra Kyrklund on one side of me and the coach of the Dutch Olympic Showjumping team Rob Ehrens on the other side of me! It was definately an "arrival point" for me in my life - who would have thought a Pony Club kid from Raglan New Zealand would be invited to give her opinion amongst two such greats. I will never forget it.
Top British dressage rider Richard Davidson chaired some of the conference - it was lovely to meet him at long last after hearing his commentary for many years on so many dressage DVD's!
I also got to meet the French rider Alizee Froment who is an exceptional talent to say the least - such a beautiful and elegant rider I don't think I have ever seen before. She had bought her wonderful Lusitano stallion Mistral du Coussoul from the South of France to give a demonstration of Grand Prix dressage in a bitless headcollar. She was truely an inspiration.
The final picture in this blog just cracks me up - its of former top Danish showjumper Susan Kjaergard riding a tiny Icelandic pony testing out a version of a rein tension device. Very cool!