The Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia got a lot more serious in the second week. The army has been mobilised to assist the police in manning road blocks and keeping people at home, off the streets. At the Royal Selangor Polo Club, riding times and areas have been curtailed. We do our best to keep the horses moving with light exercise, walking, lunging or putting them in paddocks. Many members have left it to their trainers and grooms to look after their horses, while they observe the MCO.
Malaysian police arrested 11 joggers who broke the MCO to exercise outdoors. That’s how seriously it is taken here in Kuala Lumpur. As lots of riders are looking for something to do on-line, before we become Covidiots, why not look at our eLearning options.
FEI Campus is a free, cutting-edge e-learning platform featuring content and courses carefully selected by experts and professionals within the FEI community. It covers the FEI Disciplines of Jumping, Dressage & Para Dressage, Eventing, Driving & Para Driving, Endurance, Reining and Vaulting. Its horsemanship section covers Veterinary, Equine Anatomy & Physiology, Evolution & Domestication, Equine Conformation, Equine Identification, Behaviour & Handling, Horse Care & Management, Feeding, Equine Health, The Equine Athlete, Horsemanship Study, Olympic Hub, Language Training, Anti-Doping, and Integrity.
The Noelle Floyd website is popular and has a good Masterclass Library with online master classes by Ian Millar, Annette Paterakis, Archie Cox, Max Corcoran, Tik Maynard, Tonya Johnston and Missy Clark. You do have to sign up and pay for these masterclasses, although NoelleFloyd.com is currently offering a 50% discount on them.
If you want to do some British Horse Society courses, there is distance learning available from Lingfield Equine Distance Learning, Equine Distance Learning, and a few others. If you google e-Learning Equestrian, it will come up with some really good options. The University of Edinburgh even offers an Equine Science post-graduate course.
For more casual reading or dvd viewing, you can buy the following on-line from Amazon.com. Here are some of the titles I would recommend:
Equitation / Jumping Books to Read:
- George Morris, Hunter Seat Equitation. George Morris may be in disgrace today, and banned from the sport, but this is still the modern day equitation bible.
- The Principles of Riding: Basic Training for Horse and Rider by the German National Equestrian Federation (Author). The German system and scales of training.
- William Steinkraus, Reflections on Riding and Jumping: Winning Techniques for Serious Riders is a revised and updated edition of a classic work on horses and horsemanship by one of the most acclaimed riders in show jumping history.
- Anne Kursinki’s Riding and Jumping Clinic. The updated version by Olympian Anne Kursinski’s acclaimed book on riding horses over fences delivers on-target counsel and the kind of sophisticated, quality instruction you can only get in top barns around the world.
- Olaf Petersen, Design, Building & Riding The Showjumping Course. Learn course designing and its intricacies from one of the best course designers in the world.
Polo Books to read:
Rege Ludwig, POLO: Hitting the Ball with Power and Accuracy, dvd. Rege Ludwig is a polo instructor and high-goal coach who has been playing and instructing polo for over 30 years. One of his earliest and notable achievements was coaching the Aspen Polo Team with Doug Mathews, Memo Gracida (10 goals), Carlos Gracida (10 goals) and Tiger Neece to the winner’s circle of the US Open Polo Championship.- The late great Sunny Hale published five short books before her amazing life was cut short.
- Adam Snow, Polo Life: Horses, Sport, 10 and Zen. Polo Life: Horses, Sport, 10 and Zen delves into the world of high goal polo through the uniquely situated lenses of former 10-goaler Adam Snow and his wife and veterinarian, Shelley Onderdonk. Together their voices provide unprecedented access into the horse and human dynamics that make the sport tick; their passion, respect, and commitment for the sport and each other shine through each page.
- Hugh Dawnay wrote two influential books on polo. They are Polo Vision and Playmaker Polo.
- An Introduction to Polo by ‘Marco’. Written by Lord Luis Mountbatten under the pen name of ‘Marco’, it is the go-to book on polo of all time
If you get tired of equine learning and need something else, here are some other interesting things you can do online.
Free online virtual visit to 17 museums in Europe:
https://www.demotivateur.fr/article/visiter-des-musees-sans-bouger-de-son-canape-le-plan-parfait-pendant-la-quarantaine-19057
In response to the Covid-19 Pandemic, Cambridge Publishing, UK, offers 700 online reading editions of their books. The free reading period is until the end of May. https://www.cambridge.org/core/what-we-publish/textbooks#
Online Broadway Musicals, all FREE:
https://www.insider.com/stream-broadway-musicals-plays-for-free-online-limited-time-coronavirus-2020-3
If reading of watching dvd’s is not active enough for you, Horsesport.com shows you can set up your own perfect home gym for horseback riders.
Covid-19 Related Links:
African Horse Sickness Outbreak in Thailand
eLearning ~ Equine Learning
Zack’s Tack’s Handy Sanitizer and Stable Disinfectant
COVID-19 Statement by Hurlingham Polo Association
Message from the FEI President
Down Time
Locked and Loaded
Shows Down
Pink Postponement
AEF Young Rider Finals Postponed
Asia Horse Week Falls to Coronavirus
