PEGGY
CUMMINGS CLINICS, MARCH 2008
(Peggy will be
back in NZ in March 2009.
Click HERE to
be kept informed.)
Rider /
Auditor Feedback
Great clinic,
I would love to have been able to afford to bring my horse along! Peggy gave great instructions and practical
examples – it was great to see the changes in the horses and riders over the 3
days.
Thanks for coming out to NZ and
sharing so much with us! I had a
fantastic time; it was great to revisit a lot of things I had learnt via Sally
Swift’s books and find that there was so much more to learn. You have a wealth of knowledge and the
ability to share it in a way that everyone can understand. I look forward to the next visit and in the
fleeting moments that I get to be with my horse I’ll put into practise as much
as I can of the things I have learnt in the last few days.
Really
awesome to meet Peggy. So very
observant. Body awareness great. So much to work on but I feel I am further
along on my journey and I feel armed with much more awareness so I feel more
empowered; and so great to have Trisha to support me on my journey. Really loved the supportive environment. Really great seeing Peggy ride the various
horses. And much more – can’t wait till
next year when Peggy comes back! Clinic
not long enough; 4 days would have been great.
So many things to take on board; would have been really good to have a
day to consolidate etc. All in all a
wonderful clinic – thank you Trisha, and Peggy for coming all this way and your
support.
Major learning – my posture. Thank you, thank you; it’s been bugging me
for ages. I knew something wasn’t right
but couldn’t isolate what. Feeling of
energy from engaged ab’s. Feeling the
glorious subtleties and the amazing way by the end my body was retaining the
feel. Clinic structure – very good,
great for auditors as they were really included. A good blend of theory + practical demo’s and
riding for the riders. Size of each
group gave most people lots of attention; great watching others ride.
I feel
really happy with what I achieved; awesome feel. Plenty of support and help with all the new
techniques. Friendly happy place to be
at, beautiful weather and view. Thank
you both for such an awesome time. Look
forward to your return visit, Peggy.
Very inspiring – good approach of
putting concepts into easy to understand language with simple exercises to
reinforce the message. Good way of
pointing out the differences in horses and how to approach different types of
problems. Peggy incorporates several
‘methods’ in a harmonious way and offers a rather ‘osteopathic’ approach to
horse training. I liked the pointing out
of the ‘energetic’ components to horse riding / groundwork. Really enjoyed it, learned heaps and
remembered heaps. I am keen to go home
and practice this. Thank you Peggy.
The
clinic was fantastic. I learned a lot,
mainly about myself and my posture etc.
I also learned heaps about the horse though. I was very impressed by Peggy’s empathy with
the horses. As an auditor my needs were
most certainly met, Peggy and Trisha were very friendly, helpful and
hospitable. Next year I want to bring my
horse. The amount of horses in the arena
at the same time was perfect. I’ve seen
too many clinics where horses have been jam packed in – it was hair
raising! Thank you for a wonderful
weekend.
Great learning curve! Peggy confirmed and clarified Trisha’s
lessons. I would have liked another
day. I would really like to carry on
from here next time Peggy visits. My
horse has improved greatly over the 3 days and I know we have a lot of
homework. Loved it!!
My back is
forever grateful for your back breathing and crease stuff. The one (un)fortunate thing that has come out
of all of this is that I have to get a new saddle! Will have to try it all out now!
It was amazing, never knew we could
change this quickly, in such a short time.
It feels so good, and heaps more to work on, and things will change only
for the better. It opened my eyes more,
to see what I can to help my horse.
Breath – posture. Thank you very
much.
Enjoyed;
have lots to work on with my horse.
Most of all I learned how to let
go! Let ME go, not my horse, and
therefore achieve softness and balance.
4 day clinic next time please!
Really liked the format, in hindsight all the people exercises are
needed before introducing a horse.
After clinic feedback:
The
energy, enthusiasm and passion that Peggy brings to her clinic was truly
amazing. And what was even more amazing it was un wavering - the same energy
was sustained from the first minutes right through to the last - not an easy
thing to do at all. I came away thinking - I want what what she has got - a
great motivator and one feels inspired to join her journey.
The
arena and view are just magic, three beautiful days with two amazing
instructors, thank you both, and Ian for all his help also. After riding the
last couple of days (post clinic), I had this scary thought, what do I do with
all this new energy? Ride it into connection of course, how easy is that!!
This
journey of mine is just starting but I can see changes already and “success
breeds success”. I have had much less lower back pain since your clinic as I am
thinking about my posture continually. The realization that correct abdominal
breathing activates the deep traverse core muscles was a light bulb moment for
me. The most exciting and rewarding moment
for me (riding my own horse in Oz after the clinic) was when I experienced the
thought that I could do this for ever – it required such little effort to have
him soft, and there was no resistance from him.
So Trisha, thanks again for making it possible and allowing me to share
the NZ experience.
Dear
Peggy and Trisha,
I
have been dying to let you know how pleased I am that I attended the clinic and
had the lesson afterwards.
The
greatest breakthrough for me was finally understanding what it is to ride from
my core! Centred, grounded, Tai Chi,
Alexander Technique, deep breathing, bottom weighting.....nothing seemed to
explain to me what it is to ENGAGE my core. The buoy and seeing you ride later
did the trick for me. And suddenly I have pictures of people riding like that
popping up in my mind...........how did I miss it!!
But
there is a whole list of things that are working a treat for me:
I
can now 'see' a horse, see the tension AND have been able to release a lot of
it, I love this TTOUCH, my horses are grateful so far (and I am, tried it on
myself, never a fan of massages I thought this was bliss!). Have a
reference in my seemingly carefree 4 year old, who does not have a lot of
tension and bracing, I think! I am very grateful, Peggy, you pointed out the
tension behind the ears. This and some other work on the face have relaxed my
mare's mouth enormously.
My
riding has improved a lot! I thought it would take a lot of thinking but so far
it is nearly coming naturally, my body is saying THANK YOU and things seem to
fall into place. Releasing the crease and using that core seems to do it all.
Still have to work on the reflexes though.
My
feet automatically look for the right place in the stirrups. My saddle with the
adjustments is working well enough for now and is allowing my legs to hang
better and is giving me better contact with the saddle.
On
my other horse rounding up the cows, I actually sensed the feeling of
cantering in that same circle of energy as the horse, something Mark
Rashid talked about ..
I
could have never imagined how 'drawing the bow' and 'combing the reins' work so
well on horseback (and on the ground).
Owning
the elbows is going down very well too! And initiating movement with the
body.
The
only thing I seem to be less proficient in is leading with contact. I am
probably still pushing or pulling, but I think it is also a mental 'block'. As
Trisha knows I am fascinated by Klaus Hempfling who works nearly solely with
body language. (I would say that working from your core will have the
body language sorted a great deal) I often use his style of groundwork to
exercise and relax my horses and they seem to follow me (connect) without lead
or just a loose one. I do my S's like that. Any comment on this would be most
appreciated. I must say when I realised why you do the things that you do (to
stop those nasty 'P' s !!!) you had my full attention. I undid the 'good'
of my groundwork with my riding. Did not get the body language right on
the horse and still got the "P's in.
Although
it is all a bit crude still, not quite 'Mary Poppins' yet, it has
been very effective so far. Wow.
Peggy,
meeting you and seeing you work has been a great privilege and a very humbling
experience.
As
I have said before, you have given me the tools to fulfil that
'dream'............you absolutely made my day with your comment about my horse
It's
up to me now.
Waitoki, 14-16 March
Peggy
Cummings Clinic exceeded all expectations. As good as, and complementary
to Mark Rashid's clinic.
Venue excellent - Michelle had everything well organised, a weatherproof area
for lectures, good safe day paddocks for our horses, and a welcome cup of
coffee and socialising at lunchtime.
Lesson format excellent - theory first thing before the brain got overloaded
and then putting it into practice during the rest of the clinic. It was a
revelation to discover that, while I knew that my riding position would need
correcting, my posture on foot also needed correcting. Peggy got us all walking
so that we had both an anchor (our lower body from the hip joint down) and a
buoy (Our upper body from the hip joint up.)
Peggy assessed us all individually whilst sitting in a saddle on a saddle
stand. We were able to compare our stability and freedom of movement
between our usual position and our new, correct anchor and buoy position. We
tested ourselves and each other to determine the difference in feel. This
translated to a clear understanding of what an independent seat actually is and
the resulting stability in the saddle and allowance of the upper body to move
much more freely. Peggy, like Mark Rashid, also demonstrated with each of us on
the ground, the difference between pulling and holding the reins, again a
revelation to all of us I think. (Just changing these two things alone
caused a positive difference in my horse's way of going.) Peggy's
teaching is clear and easy to understand and apply.
Ridden lessons: We split into groups of three and four and on the last
day into pairs, learning to use our calves in an upward jiggle to ask for
movement rather than squeezing - much more pleasant for the horse and it works.
I spent part of my final lesson reviewing saddle fit. This was also
a worthwhile exercise.
Trisha I can't thank you enough for bringing Peggy out here. I have taken
away many new useful "tools" to use and am looking forward to my next
lesson with you next month so that I can show you our progress.
If you want to ride with Peggy in March 2009, send your deposit ($50)
now! Trisha Wren Clinics,