Along for the Ride – WEG Preparation – August 18, 2018
by Robyn Schiller
Robyn is the wife of horse (and people) trainer Warwick Schiller. She invites you to join her as she journeys through her life as trainer’s wife, mother, businesswoman and nationally competitive rider.
Saturday means early Crossfit – it’s called Quickfit because it’s a 30 minute class…which usually means 15 minutes of some sort of torture! Actually, it was one of the easier classes so far – or we are getting more fit – I like to think the latter.
Time to ride after Crossfit and breakfast.
Oscar was good. I worked on our lateral movements at the walk and then did full arena rectangles while counter cantering. I tried one left to right lead change and it worked perfect, so I left that alone. I worked a bit on right spins – he tends to drop his shoulder a bit. Other than anticipation being a “problem”, Oscar’s right shoulder tends to be the culprit if anything is going wrong. So far his new front shoes seem fine.
Warwick rode Petey while I rode Oscar. He looks great. He worked on his spins and then had me take pictures while he stopped him and then had me try it too. Petey feels good! There is a spot where he flattens out when he is running to a stop. I got to the point in the past that I just ignored it, but I wasn’t going to the WEG at that time either! So, Warwick is going to work on that spot a bit.
We were done in time to watch Chuy Chavez ride for Mexico at the Pan-American Reining in Brazil. We are so proud of how much Chuy has learned and grown – it feels like being a proud parent! Mexico ended up with a Bronze, so that was very cool.
Warwick rode Sherlock after dinner tonight, still continuing to make sure he is balancing the mental with the physical. Here is what he said tonight when someone asked how he is balancing all of this while preparing for such a big show:
I am aware of his mental state all the time, still take time catching him, and monitor him closely during grooming and saddling. I haven’t been doing any “groundwork” per se.
This evening when I went to get on him, he blocked me out, so I stepped back, and we did that for probably 5 minutes then he had a big lick and a chew, then I got on. Riding him, I am aware if his breathing gets tight and I back off, but for the most part he licks and chews and “briezens’ a lot.