Time to focus, be it on training or spreadsheets! Photo: Fiona Scott-Maxwell
I love this time of year as everything is before us for the coming eventing season. The hard slog of winter while still only part way through feels more do-able as its only a few short weeks before the eventing season will be upon us with it kicking off in earnest at the beginning of March. I'm thankful that our sport has not moved to being 12 months of the year like other sports such as racing and show jumping and even dressage as I think there is something beneficial about having a defined season (beginning of March to end of October on the European circuit) as it gives time for everyone to recharge and for time to take a breath and reflect and work out areas to focus on with training etc.
During November and December Jenny and I spend time reflecting on what has worked well in the season and what has worked less well - thanks to Jenny's analytical skills several spread sheets are produced giving us facts and figures about my overall performance and the performance of each horse in the context of its training patterns and competitions. This data, plus a dose of common sense and some distance and reflection, helps me to think through the plans for the coming season which I then importantly discuss with my owners. My owners are such an important part of the team, without them I couldn't do my job, and one of the main reasons I moved to Europe in the first place (aside from access to more events and broader competitive base) was the fact that in Europe I could make a living riding for people and pursue my goal of eventing full time as a professional more easily than I could in Australia.
So once the plans are drafted I then take time to discuss then with owners and work out what they would like to do and ensure it all fits together as above. All the owners need to find it fun in order to continue to want to support and follow their horses and be part of Team Levett.
We have nearly finished the planning phase and I'm already well on with training and in some respects that started the day we finished the last season, if not before e.g. with Alfie (Shannondale Titan who was at WEG) and Womble (Improvise who was at Burghley) we started thinking through ‘what next?’ within ten days of them finishing the event so we could capture our learnings while fresh in our mind.
Working with Gareth Hughes in 2014 Photo: Fiona Scott-Maxwell
My goal for 2015 is to focus on some of the big four stars including Badminton in the spring and Burghley in the autumn as well as taking part in as many of the Nations Cup events on the European circuit as possible. I want to build on the breakthroughs I made with my dressage in 2013/14 by continuing to work closely with Gareth (Hughes) and bring added focus to my show jump training during my pre season preparation and during the season using a combination of show jump shows to prepare and ongoing training with Roland Ferneyhough. I also have some lovely young horses coming through the ranks and each of them will have their own personal goals but with the overall objective of not rushing them or putting them under undue pressure. With the younger horses I try to make sure they get a good grounding without the pressure.
Over the next eight weeks or so before the season kicks off in earnest I have a full schedule of dressage lessons, show jump sessions, cross country schooling, particularly for the younger horses and an Aussie team training camp to look forward to. Most of the older horses were 'legged up' during November and December so that I can hit the ground running early on in January with dressage and jump training. I really believe in the horses all not having to long out in the paddock getting fat and happy but making sure they have long enough for a mental break, so most have between 4 - 6 weeks max just being out 'being a horse'. The younger horses, especially the four and five year olds will have a longer spell to really give them a good mental break so many of them will come back in to work during January and do some road work then. I feel it’s important for all the horses to spend enough time doing the slow work when they come back in to work - I'm a strong believer on them hacking out and we have some great hacking near us which ensures they are not always in the school working on an artificial surface and we are lucky enough to be able to not have to hack on busy roads which is tricky for many here in the UK.
Winter is the perfect time for teaching and clinics Photo: Fiona Scott-Maxwell
Alongside my own pre season preparation I will be giving a range of clinics over the course of the season and that tends to get going again in late January after a break in December and January when many people are less focussed on training clinics. I love to give clinics alongside my own competitive riding and I've been lucky enough to do more of this in recent years.
Finally I'm stepping up my own pre season fitness and am back on the rowing machine. I find this, coupled with Pilates (yes I do that to and don't laugh - an old fella like me trying to bend my body in all sorts of shapes is something to behold!), to be the best way to stay in shape for riding both in terms of a core cardio work out and maintaining my flexibility and core strength.
So as you can see lots going on at Team Levett in preparation for the coming eventing season. I look forward to sharing more with you over the coming weeks and months.
