Help from
around the world
I was recently
contacted by a Disabled Teaching Centre in the UK who had a problem with
a pupil who always lost their stirrups, especially going into canter,
which was making canter nearly impossible.
Suffering from
cerebral palsy, this British rider had contraction of both heels to the
point where keeping the heel down was not possible, and that meant
losing her stirrups and making her more nervous.
This is when
you realise that you have met people in your life for a reason! Some time ago
I donated a lecture to a club in Albany, WA. It was there I
met RDA rider Janet Hallet who had thought of a great idea to help her keep her stirrups.
This simple
rubber band twisted underneath, and laying straight across the top of the foot
kept her foot in place. As it was very thin rubber, so it would
EASILY BREAK
in the case of a
rider fall or accident, and therefore had been approved by the RDA in
her area.
I passed
Janet's details onto the UK centre, and received a wonderful email from
the UK saying their pupil was now able to
canter, and had gone to a totally new level - with help from the other
side of the world.
This is the
joy of teaching, and meeting people, to be able to connect with people,
to share knowledge and to see riders around the world experience the fun
of the horse - without fear.
Also see article:
get your
heels down
