Team Collett is raring & ready to go – Here’s an update as to what we and the horses have been up to for the past couple of months & what we have planned….
TRAINING – Elite World Class Podium Potential
I have been to a few training sessions at Addington & Unicorn, over the course of these “two day” sessions we have had dressage sessions with Nick Burton & Tracie Robinson, we did the Olympic test in front of Angela Tucker and Tim Downes, show jumping has been with Peter Murphy. Liz Brown (Vet) and Rachel Greetham (Physio) are also on site looking at our horses and providing support and advice. Included during our sessions I attend Sports Psychology, Performance Lifestyle, Nutrition & anti-doping. On single days at Lyneham Heath Farm for instance, we focus on Jumping with Peter Murphy & Yogi Breisner.
Zanie has been on a Grooms for Gold Day and I have attend an Athlete Briefing day both were focused on RIO 2016:- getting there, venues, stabling, grooms’ accommodation, the competition timetable, travel preparation, best practice on arrival at competitions, pre-competition work, Owners and Accommodation, Feed, Forage and Kit to mention a few topics!! I had guest speaker “James Kerr” he talked about the mentality behind the all conquering NZ All Blacks which was utterly fascinating. We both felt totally inspired and I am even more determined to give it my best shot to get selected for the Olympics. {James Kerr the author of Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life.}
Preparation of horses behind the scenes:
DODSON & HORRELL
As the horses have stepped up their work in the last month and as the start of the season approaches we have had Dr Chloe Casalis de Pury MA (Cantab) VetMB MRCVS, Nutritional Team Manager & Dodson & Horrell Veterinary Surgeon to check we are all on song.
When asked what my favourite and most popular feed stuffs are in the D&H range my response is we very much feed to individual requirements, however our most popular feed is the D&H Staypower Cube or Staypower muesli. This slow releasing energy feed is a perfect diet for our eventers, enhancing their stamina in order to perform with the no fizz element.
For those horses lacking weight or prone to running up we compliment the above with D&H Build up Cubes or mix – a highly palatable source of oil and probiotics to enhance weight gain. For those fussier types that require top line we love the D&H Build and Glow – a high protein product with Vit E it optimises muscle condition therefore promoting top line. What fibre based feed do we use – Alfalfa oil plus is our main choice as it compliments the feeds we use in providing slow releasing energy, with no sugars or starch it is great for those fizzy types and a perfect base diet .
Feeding D&H gives me the confidence in knowing my horses are getting the very best out of their diet in order to perform at their best.
Dodson & Horrell’s CEO, Sam Horrell commented: “Laura is an incredibly talented and hardworking rider and we are proud to have her as a Dodson & Horrell Brand Ambassador, we are delighted to support her horses with the our extensive range of feed and expert knowledge from our nutritional team. We wish Laura the very best of luck and look forward to following her progress as she begins her 2016 eventing season.”
Equippe & Zebra Products
Phil Lowe, Equippe’s saddle fitter has been out on a number of occasions already this year to ensure as the horses change shape as they become fitter the saddles fit each horse correctly. He has also worked with Mark Fisher whom at the WCP training sessions focuses on Saddle fitting and rider symmetry and we have used “Pliance” {The Pliance sensor mat, has more than 200 sensors, is placed under the saddle and sends readings to a computer using Bluetooth. These are analysed and displayed as 3 moving graphs and a colour image – with ‘hot’ red or pink areas indicating harmful pressure points. Pliance can gather data through all paces including jumping}, which is amazing to see the results of how I, or the saddles are fitting the weight distribution. Gives us all great insight on what to work on and improve.
Some of the big competitions on the horizon:-
CICO 3* Fontainebleau (FRA) Wednesday 23rd – Sunday 27th March – Grand Manoeuvre, Pamero & Cooley Again (CIC**)
4* Mitsubishi Motors Badminton – Wednesday 4th –Sunday 8th May – Grand Manoeuvre is entered!
CCI1* /CCI2* Tattersalls International Horse Trials and Country Fair – Wednesday 1st –Sunday 5th June – Applications have been sent for Mr Bass, Cooley Again & Dacapo
CCI**** / CIC*** – Luhmühlen – 16th to 19th June – Application for Pamero has been sent.
So I think thats it for now and all that remains for me to say can’t wait to starting 2016 eventing season
