Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2007 8:17:06 GMT 1
Towerlands last night was one of the best demos I've seen (I know I say that after each one, but it was, really!).
What made it stand out for me was the variety and the way that the ridden sections tied in with what most people do with their horses. Yes, the starters, despooking, loading etc are always amazing to watch and for those with problems really do help to show how these problems can be tackled in a way that makes sense to the horse. The majority of horse owners, though, never start their own horses, many fortunately don't have loading issues, but many, many do ride. When you can see with your own eyes what the Monty/IH methods can achieve in your own field or horse work, it makes it much more applicable to yourself, somehow.
My young (13 and 11) nieces were there. Both are good riders, having competed with show ponies at quite a high level, and having been taught be a very traditional professional. They were completely bowled over by how you can achieve such lightness in a horse and perform such amazing feats as Pie does, all with minimal rein use. They have very much been taught to use their hands first (and more's the shame). The 11 year old already started nagging Aunt Liz last night to bring over her Dually to try! This, for me, is the sort of impact that demos should make.
I loved the contrast of the ridden horses: dressage, western and, bless him, star of the show Pie, all loving their work (apart from some pesky flash cameras that upset Carrie's fantastic dressage). It really highlighted that it doesn't matter what sort of horse you've got, whether he's a stunning warmblood, a champion reining horse or "just" a family horse, they can all perform to their best given the right tools from us.
Away from the riding, the more standard demo horses - starter, spooky horse and loader - were all great. I thought the spooky horse (Sean or Shaun?) couldn't have been better, going from lashing out at the bags on a stick to following Monty over the tarpaulin (once the snake and crocodile had been dealt with!) without a care in the world. You could clearly see the options Monty was giving the horse, you could see the horse weighing up those options and then making the choice that he would trust.
So all in all an extremely enjoyable and educational evening. And judging from the snippets I heard from the audience, I wasn't the only one who thought so.
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Post by amelia on Oct 7, 2007 9:42:36 GMT 1
Wow was going to say just the same as LizP - although i wouldn't put it nearly as well anyway - yes by far the best demo i have ever been to. I've never seen Monty ride before other than in short video clips and photos so it was incredible to see it in flesh - and my god that horse was something else - although obviously not as stunning as Pie :-) The spooky horse was fantastic - and once again at the end i was crying (along with my dad who fortunately doesn't go on here so won't see that i've told you that!!). It amazes me that after the thousands and thousands of horses that Monty deals with he still learns from every single one and he still gets emotional when they release their fears and trust him. Well done everyone involved and thank you - it was a fantastic evening :-)
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suzieq
Grand Prix Poster
The mind is like a parachute, only really useful when open
Posts: 2,124
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Post by suzieq on Oct 7, 2007 14:57:50 GMT 1
It truely was a fantastic evening (I did look for you Amelia and Liz but was thrilled the reason I couldn't find you was because it was so packed! I remember first seeing Monty at Hadlow and there were maybe 200 people nothing in comparison..!) Oh and I was warm.. now that doesn't happen very often! Must have been all those people
By far the BEST demo!! (And that is really saying something) Something for everyone, though I have to admit I did fall madly in love with that Quarter Horse Archie, if he needs lodgings...! I've come away with some fabulous tips for my little restarter, thankyou again for such an inspiring show. ;D
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Post by rubyroo on Oct 7, 2007 15:20:46 GMT 1
Also think same as LizP and Amelia, it was fantastic I have enjoyed all the demo's I've been to but this one was the best one so far had a fab evening, spent too much of course, Kelly's new book, membership etc etc! and It did help that I was quite warm all evening didn't have to get the blanket out at all!! ;D (it's hard to concentrate when your freezing!!)
Thought the loader Oscar was brilliant he lept into the lorry from the side bearly touching the ramp.
Would also like to say well done and thankyou to everyone ;D ;D
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Post by jennyf on Oct 7, 2007 18:33:39 GMT 1
I was there as well, and also enjoyed it immensley, must be the 5th time I've seen him. Good the see a packed venue.
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biscuitz
Elementary Poster
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Post by biscuitz on Oct 7, 2007 21:09:49 GMT 1
Went to Towerlands last night and really enjoyed the show. It was my 2nd time seeing them as I also went to the demo in Feb 2007. I enjoyed the atmosphere and watching everyone ride but being a novice I didnt understand all the riding terms used so that was a bit of a struggle. Kelly looked great and Pie is even more handsome than his photo. Watching you ride was educational and fun, especially the Le trec bit. You're very modest about yourself and that is very appealing...I would love to ride half as good as you do!! Monty was amazing and looked great with his cowboy hat on and riding Archie....WOW...you forget his age, he looked fab up there and his riding was breathtaking. I like seeing both of you as although you are following the same principles you have different styles and that is good to see...makes it more "user friendly" if you know what I mean. I love the way Monty has a dialogue with the horse...it's very amusing. You both have such a way with horses and it makes me want to be better myself. I enjoyed the "problem" horses the most...the spooky horse was so extreme but within a short time able to deal with his phobia...just shows what you (and the horse) can do when you treat them right and act calmly and without violence! Although the riding was interesting I would have liked to have seen a few more handling/riding issues dealt with as I prefer to watch that as opposed to riding displays but it was a GREAT night and I will certainly be going to the next one!!!
I left feeling very inspired and determined to carry on with these methods even though we are the only ones at our yard who dont treat horses the "old fashioned" way!!.....they think we are a bit soft cos we dont whack him one when he plays up.
THANKS FOR A WONDERFUL NIGHT.
P.S. I'm an IH member since feb but cant see how to get that under my nickname..can anyone tell me how?
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Post by (\^/) Lotuspoint Joe (\^/) on Oct 8, 2007 13:29:48 GMT 1
biscuitz you email the DG admin with your Membership number..
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verne
Olympic Poster
Olympic Poster
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Post by verne on Oct 8, 2007 14:26:01 GMT 1
I was a helper at Towerlands,great to see you Liz,Donna,Lisa & Marissa! Thought it was a refreashing change to see Monty & Kelly riding,a great idea to show 3 different horses doing Western,Dressage,English (Pie) not that im saying dressage isn't english! ;D. The feed back i got from clients who went was they loved Kellys Trek riding & Pie running to the dually (now all determind to get their horses to do it in our pen of course!). On a negative side the shop seemed to run out of t-shirts quickly & alot of people commented on the lack of colour choice for leadropes,dually (i know its easy red for small etc but we didint even have any matching red ropes). Once again (in hope Office or Kelly may read posts) Please,please,please can you consider making Leather Duallys? Its just they do fade with use (we use ours all the time) It would be nice to have "posh" leather ones for shows & Timo can by me one for Xmas ;D
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Post by eileen on Oct 8, 2007 20:20:30 GMT 1
Hi Verne it is always difficult to gauge just what will sell on any given evening. You can buy the above items from the IH office so give them a ring or e mail and im sure they will be able to sort you out! As for dually's. i think it is probably down to cost as to why they arent made in leather. eileen x
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timobuckem
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Post by timobuckem on Oct 8, 2007 22:24:41 GMT 1
great demo at towerlands really enjoyed embarrasing donna about the ball ! enjoyed the western riding and the dressage horse but most of all enjoyed watching the partnership between kelly and pie , ps apples and balls very clever complete respect to monty watching him get on made me feel old so now going to put more effort in to it , and he certainly rode like he was born to be in the saddle(respect) look forwards to meeting you all soon. oh and verne is right about the rope and dually stuff .
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Post by amelia on Oct 11, 2007 10:31:53 GMT 1
ooh leather Dually that would be fab :-)
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Tim M
Intermediate Poster
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Post by Tim M on Oct 11, 2007 19:43:42 GMT 1
OK time to own up, who else had a tear in their eye (or broke down completely !) when Monty said goodbye to Copper last night at Merrist Wood ?
That had to have been one of the most emotional and moving equine experiences that I have ever had the priviledge of watching, in Monty's own words 'I will remember him to the end of my days'
Sorry, 'macho' facade back on now !
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Post by eileen on Oct 11, 2007 20:06:07 GMT 1
Hi all this is a quick write up of a fantastic demo at the ilph last night, talk about getting your moneys worth! The private audience started with Zoe from Blue Peter doing a JU! they asked for a very large wild horse for her as she was apparently scared of horses! Enter Daisy a gorgeous little Sec A! Zoe had spent about 2 hours with Monty a month or two back and that was her experience with horses. Needless to say with advice from Monty a wonderful JU was achieved and Zoe was chuffed. Dont miss the showing on Blue Peter next Wednesday! Next came Tarquin a very large bay horse (sorry dont know his breeding) his owner said he was very very spooky and she had stopped going out on him. Monty started with the plastic bag on a stick and progressed to lots of plastic bags on the stick by the end of which Tarquin was a very calm boy who was listening and taking everything in. However then the rivers came in, this consisted of a small blue lake that gradually got bigger and bigger alongside a very large green river! There was some confusion as to where Tarquins uncle came from, he started off in Peru but ended up in Africa! Seems they dont have snakes and crocodiles in Peru so it must have been Africa. Donna and Nate were called in to search for the snakes and crocodiles and both of them found themselves battling with one each! Seems Tarquin was correct and did the right thing not going in there! Once the wild animals were removed he gradually progressed from wakling along the edge of the river at a very fast pace to a sedate walk right through the middle! Although very funny there was a serious message in there, Tarquin started off as a spooky horse, not listening and just wanting to barge Monty away, in three stages he went from not knowing who to trust to trusting, listening and learning. With a name like Tarquin i reckon it was more like the Thames in London than Africa! LOL! After Tarquin it was Kelly's turn, she went into the round pen but no sign of Pie 2 fires were lit either side of the entrance to the round pen and Kelly asked the audience if they could see Pie at all, after a minute they said he was coming so Kelly called...Pie...and he galloped in ran through the entrance of fire and ran and stood behind Kelly with a grin on his face and his chest puffed out! Have to say he looked amazing and his coat is like silk. Kelly did lots of work, opening gates (la trec) in the pen going over a seesaw jumping large round tubes. Linda Ruffle came in then and gave Kelly a task, she had to open the gate, take the beaker of water and then stand on the seesaw and drink it. It was great fun and then a picnic was suggested though how Kelly could eat another thing after polishing off a dozen blueberry muffins, i shall never know hehe only kidding Kelly the finale was a large table placed in the entrance of the round pen over which Kelly and Pie jumped, making it look very easy. After the interval Monty began riding and it was so good to hear how he achieved the different gaits, his horse was beautiful (sorry cant remember his/her name) He was then joined by Kelly and together they did half passes and lots more and were then joined by a (very) nice Dutchman and his horse Fire, a gorgeous coloured with the brightest blue eyes, he said that they had only been riding together for about 4 months and Fire was only 4 but you would never have known by the way they rode. the last horse was a beautiful bay mare called Whisper her owner said it usually took at least 4 people and 4 hours to load her so they had given up trying. As usual lots of ground work was done with Whisper who then loaded at first not too sure but by the 10th time she was loading herself and i think it took around 20 minutes from start to finish. The owner shed a tear and we had a very funny commentary from Kelly about the owner and her husband shedding tears and gasping LOL! Of course it isnt over until the owner loads her own horse and the customary hug from Monty. If you havent been to a demo yet and there is one near you then i urge you not to miss it, as already said, where can you go for 20 quid and get such an amazing display with such wonderful people? Roll on next year! Also huge thanks to Kelly. Monty, Pie and the other horses and all the helpers who worked so hard to make it such a fabulous evening. sorry if i have any of these facts wrong but was helping as well so may have missed some of it! eileen xx « Last Edit: 10/5/07 at 15:28 by eileen » Link to Post - Back to Top Logged
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Post by omo on Oct 14, 2007 9:08:29 GMT 1
I was at The Grange, Okehampton, last night and enjoyed every minute. I have been to four demos previously and this was very different, with a large part given over to the riding demonstrations, but it was every bit as inspirational as any other I've seen. Monty's riding was sensational to watch and what a horse! (We all love Pie, it goes without saying) I have never before seen a cowboy ride in the flesh so the subtlety of the aids was a revelation and the training awesome. I don't think you would have to be a rider or even 'horsey' to have been impressed, or to have taken something positive away. Monty's message for non-violence to wards people and horses came across loud and clear. The ridden demo horses were wonderful contrasts, with a youngster, just starting his education, Pie the 'old' master, and Archie. Monty's intervention with the horses with problems was, as usual, inspirational...and as usual I was moved to tears by his methods and manner. It was good to see Kelly involved in so much in the demo, but I guess its quite hard to work along side Monty at the same performance. I hope Monty was ok after his tumble, whilst working with the extremely difficult Cracker, everyone was concerned, but he just got up and got on with the job, no fuss, frustration or embarrassment on display, and no anger. Wow!
Just want to say thank you to Monty and Kelly and the whole team, for touring again. It was a privilege to be there.
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devongirl62
Grand Prix Poster
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Back to work after 6 months xx also allowed to start riding again slowly
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Post by devongirl62 on Oct 14, 2007 9:12:58 GMT 1
A group of us went to see Monty at the Grange, I was very apprehensive this year after last years visit.....last years is a long story old hands on the board might remember the extremely long long tread which occurred.....
Well this years was amazing, first working with a horse called SID, two and half and not really touched,this made me giggle as OH is called Sid..... then working another pony who hated plastic, another called ebony who was ridden 21 miles to the event as she would not load...
Pie and Archie were the stars of the show not forgetting Fire...... watching these professionals like Monty and Kelly riding and talking you through what they do...
We left there this year with no bad feelings...... £80 pounds lighter in the pocket.... (opps dont tell OH)
Only one question I have is watching Monty get Ebony to load into the back of his big truck.. it would be nice to see him do it then into a trailer, as most of us use a trailer and can not afford a lorry.... Would she have gone into the trailer just the same...
So Monty or Kelly if you read this please give us a demo of both next year....
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