Donoso VII-diary Sweden 2009

The diary of the summer events in Sweden 2009, see albums under his page here
19/20-09-2009 Swedish National Championships Strömsholm - Donoso VII - Campeón de la Raza/ Campeón de Functionalidad. Read about it here

17-08-2009 Elisabet training. Got some great advice on flying changes and extended trot. Recently we have had some difficulty getting the changes through to the left and I had more than usual in hand so it was nice to get some support on this one and it went real well, he is such a good boy, very ambitious. Because of resistance I wanted to him check him up. He showed no lameness which is good but I was not happy with that, I felt there was something in right hindleg as this is the one pushing through left flying change. With a special high-teq ultrasound we could see a bleeding in patella cross ligament, right hindleg. From two different ones this one apparently is the 'good' one which heals, but it takes some time so now we will take it easy. It is difficult to say how this has appeared but simple slipping or twisting in paddock is a possible reason. So no swedish PRE championship nor competiton next weekend. I am happy he had done some great competitions and his first season of breeding, it has been full on for him so this will be his holidays walking in the forest and getting perfectly fit for more!
27/28-07-2009 Training with Elisabet Lundholm in Ängelholm.
How refreshing and inspiring! This lady is positive and such a good teacher. She helped me with my Martini mare (SWB) a few years ago and just like then I now felt encouraged and inspired by her help. She isn't just a horse and dressage master, she is a good pedagogue too. It is an art to be clear in communication, give constructive advice and be open to both rider and horse. Her authority comes natural from knowledge through experience. She has been the national team coach for the swedish dressage team, now she trains national team in eventing. Elisabet also helps riders at other levels develop their riding and gives courses in leadership development.
24-07-2009 Donoso's second competition. This time indoors which turned out to be fantastic luck as impressive black clouds rolled in and we had a majestic thunderstorm. This is Sweden for you, one minute you can grow oranges in scorching sun and the other we have a monsoon.. Donoso did a lovely performance, good rhytm and suspension, flowy. He is straight, loose, totally attentive and focused, there is a soft harmony and he transmits so much beauty!
27-06-2009 Donoso did his first competiton! He had never seen a white dressage fence in his life and he was so sweet and confident relying on me to tell him where to go. Only I was not be the best pilot, had done this program many times so I simply relied on it to be there, but I got total 'where-am-I-block' - twice, puh. Never mind! We lost many points like this but I was totally humbled by this wonderful horse that did it all gracefully, powerfully and elegantly. He was a 100% with me and simply enjoyed shining and working out his extended trots, flying changes and schools. We got some positive remarks from judge which is encouraging and also appreciation from spectators. He has been covering mares until now and this has also been new to him. Good boy. We did the Intermediate level - nivel 4 - MsvB:3.