Sophie Wells OBE Dressage has recently joined the Baillie Haylage team - her list of achievements is endless, but multiple Gold medals in European and World Championships as well as Paralympics is certainly an impressive start! It goes without saying that Sophie's horsemanship is second to none so, a couple of weeks ago Baillie Haylage headed over to Sophie’s HQ and met up with her and the handsome Jorge.
Sophie very kindly gave Baillie Haylage some inside tips to help you prepare for the season ahead.
Create a weekly plan
Sophie said she likes to create a weekly plan of what she would like to achieve for the week. This needs to be a plan for both you and your horses for the week.
- Days of exercise for the horse
- Days of exercise for you, work or social events
- What you would like to include in this week's training such as flat work, pole work, hacking and groundwork
- Plan in any days of rest for both you and the horse
Break Your Weekly Plan Down, Step By Step
This means breaking each day into steps... for example:
What exercise you will do in the morning and for how long?
What time and how long will the farrier be? Can you do something like clean tack or ride another in that time?
Sophie says this makes the week seem manageable.
Short Sessions Can Still Be Productive
With a busy schedule like Sophie’s, fitting training/riding can be difficult. Sophie likes to work with her horses even when time is short, and this can be something as simple as 10-minute carrot stretching session or working on groundwork techniques. This benefits both you and the horse, building on your relationship and feeling more confident and happier together.
Planning For Competitions
Sophie said she likes to find the bigger competition that she would like to aim for and work backwards to what she would need to do to get to that competition. This gives her something to aim and focus for and helps with getting in the mind set to achieve those goals.
She will then plan for a smaller competition or even just getting the horses out to different venues to build up to this competition.