The Academy Newsletter

 A problem cannot be solved by the consciousness that created it.

A letter from the Editor…(Me!! Nene!)...

Welcome to The Academy of Equine Performing Arts Newsletter.

This newsletter has come about due to several requests (and sometimes threats!) from people near and far, who would like to see something in print regarding the work we are doing with our horses… and to bring up ideas to discuss with others working in the same way. 

Due to time restraints and the fact that I can’t seem to clone myself, I will be trying to keep this Newsletter reasonably brief but any and all of you are welcome, (indeed, encouraged!) to send in things you might like to share or see bought up.. . 

I would also like to say, that anything submitted for posting  in this newsletter that would be offensive, slanderous or etc, or not pertaining to the subject...meaning educating horses and riders and the welfare of horses, well, it will simply not be posted. You will receive an email stating why and from there...subject closed. This is not intended as a forum or a soapbox to grandstand views, just some (hopefully!) informative reading to occupy and amuse the mind and further our education hopefully, thankyou!

 Like everything we aim to do with our horses, this newsletter and website will evolve and be refined. I don’t pretend to be a computer savvy, graphics expert or any such like person…so it will be pretty basic. Suggestions are always welcome…now, lets see how it goes…on with the interesting bits (well, we hope they are interesting!)…

No changes to your text will be made without consent (other than typos!)

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AROUND AND ABOUT...

Working Equitation Australia

Recently I discovered Working Equitation Australia.

This is a new discipline to Australia and promises to be the 'next big thing'. It has been a long time since anything caught my eye in a positive way regarding any discipline but this one has! It will be the only discipline where what you want to wear is what you wear...meaning that if you are a dressage rider then that is the uniform you will wear. If you are normally riding Western, then that is what you wear...and its not just limited to those two selection! and best of all...Bitless is allowed! To get a better idea of what it is all about visit  http://workingequitationaustralia.com 

Gillian will be down in Bacchus Marsh and in East Victoria in early March...see the clinics page or www.facebook.com/HeartfeltHorsemanshipAustralia  for further details.

The Discipline is one that should set an example for modern Dressage... an underpinning of classical tenets firmly established from the beginning will ensure the correct and humane training of horses, there is zero tolerance and room for shortcuts and training abuses such as Rollkur etc and these problems will stand out in the dressage phase which is NOT judged as per modern dressage rules and principles. The dressage test is performed with music (any)and is judged following classical guidelines. In this way it is a little more like a freestyle and you can say goodbye to mediocre judging where all you get is 5,5,5,6,6,5,6,5,6,6 and nothing worthwhile reading!

All the while, the obstacle course provides a fun way of training and I think we'll see a lot of enjoyment derived from the emergence of this discipline, its got everything!! You can even work cattle at the higher levels!

Again, there will be clinics to introduce and explain the discipline in full in Victoria soon, Byron Bay is also on the schedule and Far North Queensland is already up and running!

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SCIENCE SPOT!

Here is where we get technical...each month a technical topic relating to horses will be bought up...please write in if you have any subjects you would like answered, and I will find the expert! Otherwise you may submit articles yourself...please respect copywright laws if using information from elsewhere!

Foreleg dissection

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Good

CAVALIA 2010

Review by Janene Clemence

I have just viewed the DVD Cavalia 2010, this is the next DVD released after the original 2005 performance and is the live performance. Once again there is breathtaking footage screened behind the horses on the backdrop and a team of really nice horses of varying breeds.

It seemed to lack a certain something that Frederick and Magali brought to it in the original but their taste is still there as they are involved with the choreography. There were some absolutely beautiful acts, and once again is worth the time to sit and watch. There is a bonus of footage of a training session with two of the horses...and a stable tour with the Art Director, Norman Latourelle as well. Most of the horses displayed a sense of freedom in thier movement at liberty that I love to watch...but as per usual I found it very difficult to watch any of the bitted work. I had hoped the 2010 show would see less bitted work but there is still a good amount of it. Zerbini's horses I found just a touch circus-like, and was expecting more creativity within a set such as Cavalia provides...I found myself willing her to just change the rein just once!!! However, there is still an amazing amount of work in dealing with as large a liberty group as hers and an amazing amount of work too! So kudos to her for that! Overall, its worth having in the dvd library, though if you have the 2005 copy you will recognise the acts they have developed and been changed enough to warrant seeing again :)

They have another show that I will be looking forward to seeing, called Odysseo. Apparently it will be staged in a bigtop twice the size of Cavalia's! The stats are as follows:

• Rises 125 feet into the sky, Covers an area of 393 feet long by 311 feet wide.Spans more than 120,000 square feet.