Andrew and Ralph never seem to get tired of us all descending upon them each winter. Andrew was his usual patient, encouraging self. He seems to have a knack at being able to help his students break down their problems into very manageable chunks. He really does bring out the best in the horses and makes all us realize that we just don’t work hard enough when we are at home, without him yelling at us to use more leg!! I know I wasn’t the only one who was sore the following day!

Ralph was his normal fun loving self. He has such infectious enthusiasm for the horses and the sport of eventing it really does give everyone a much needed boost. Saturday was spent in the stadium arena, using a grid at all levels to help the horses loosen their backs and to help us riders to be effective yet unobtrusive to our mounts. The grid was then incorporated into a course of jumps which Ralph yelled out to us as we cantered around. Everyone seemed to make great progress and looked forward to Sunday’s Cross Country session. Sunday was a glorious sunny Florida day. Each group got to jump a variety of obstacles including the sunken road and the water complex. Everyone came away confident having had a thoroughly rewarding weekend.

Our thanks go out as always to Ralph and Andrew who have made this winter getaway a much loved road trip for many of us. Also a special thanks to Alice who allowed us to invade Rocking Horse a weekend before their first recognized event of the year.