Monday, April 30, 2012

More homeowners dump quake insurance each year than buy it | Consumer Watchdog

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Edward Gal, Andreas Helgstrand, Anky Van Grunsvan are in this clip as well as several other of the worlds top competitors. Wow Anky What a waste of a long neck and good gloves!

Friday, April 20, 2012

Are you a dedicated dressage rider just $25,000 shy of greatness? Here is your chance!

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The Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize- $25,000

The Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize was initially funded by Carol Lavell, her friends and family, in special remembrance of her mother, May Cadwgan, and in honor of her father, Gordon Cadwgan.

Photo Courtesy of Bob Langrish

Up to two prizes will be available annually in the amount of $25,000 each, to riders who are US citizens, over 21 years of age, and are selected by a distinguished national panel of Dressage leaders. Selection criteria are merit and need.

Carol Lavell has achieved high marks in all phases of Dressage – an Olympian, rider, competitor, trainer, teacher, judge – and with her legendary horse, Gifted, brought pride and honor to our country through her performance on the 1992 United States Olympic Team. Carol Lavell knows first hand of the work, sacrifice and struggle necessary to make it to the top of the Dressage world. Through the creation of this $25,000 annual Prize, she wants to help other deserving riders who aspire to climb this high performance mountain.

Prize Recipients

2012

Heather Mason (NJ) received the 2012 Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize. To learn more about Heather and her training plans, see the press release.

2011

Shawna Harding (SC) was awarded the 2011 Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize. Read the news release to learn about Shawna's plans for the future!
Shawna trained and competed in Europe during the summer of 2011. When she returned, she shared a report about her experiences.

2010

Courtney Dye (CT) was awarded the 2010 Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize.

The Dressage Foundation wishes Courtney well in her recovery!!!

2009

Jan Brons (FL) was awarded the first annual Prize in 2009. Read the release about Jan.
Jan used the $25,00 Prize to train in Holland with Anky van Grunsven. Follow along with his training updates!

Lavell Prize Application

Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize Application

Applications must be in our office by December 13, 2012, to be considered. No late applications will be accepted.

Please contact us at 402-434-8585 if you would like us to mail you a copy of the application form.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Trunk awareness exercises from Anne Howard, MPT
Her contact is below if you like her services.

These exercises will teach us to maintain that sweet spot of the neutral spine while we are riding and going about our chores. It takes a minute of thinking and getting on the floor, but will pay off for the rest of your life.

"MARCHING"
Lying on your back with knees bent and feet on the floor, feel for the bony knobbles on the front of your hips (the ASIS). Get yourself into a neutral position with a small hollow under your low back... Lift one knee up a few inches. Did your two knobbles stay still/even? Likely the one on the side you lifted the foot dipped down a bit. Did you lose your neutral spine? Try again. Your goal is to maintain absolute stillness through your trunk/pelvis as your hip joint stays mobile (lifting the knees alternately). Play with different levels of tone in your back muscles and tummy muscles. Have someone push into your tummy with a fist (gently, please!) and then use your tummy muscles to lift their fist so your tummy isn't "deformed". Try lifting a knee with that level of tone...does it help? Did you lose the neutral spine the other direction?

This exercise can be built upon in practically infinite ways to increase the demands on your stabilization...

"ANTI-CRUNCH"
I use this exercise for riders in particular to help strengthen the "front-line" muscles (abs, psoas/iliacus) especially needed for dressage riders in collection. (Same as in the horse...hmmmm! Coincidence, I wonder! *sarcasm here*) In the same start position as before, recheck for neutral spine. Lift one knee then the other to nearly perpendicular to the floor. Keep a slight hollow in the lower back. Place your hands on your knees (harder) or lower on the thigh (easier) and push. The goal is to go nowhere - hard! Recheck your spine position frequently, do remember to breathe before someone finds you out cold! Hold this for short periods at first, building to a minute of strong pressure.
If this is too hard, try with one knee at a time at first.

"TARGET PRACTICE"
(If you can come up with a better name, let me know...the "real" name for this one is "PNF: LTR R/S". And believe me the non-shorthand isn't better!)

Same start position, this one requires a helper. Check for Neutral Spine. Put your hands together and point towards the ceiling as if about to shoot a target. Your goal is to hold this position in netral spine despite external forces. HELPER on your right side: kneeling beside the victim-uh, make that exerciser, gently push their knees to their left, and pull their hands to their right, and then release the pressure and reverse so that you pull their knees and push their hands. The helper's goal is to apply enough pressure to be a challenge but not so much that the exerciser fails. You need to monitor how they are doing in keeping their trunk still, both buns on the floor, no odd contortions through the middle, both shoulders on the floor. You may need to remind them to breathe, when they turn hot pink is a good cue. :-) Remember to apply and remove pressure slowly so they can decrease the hold and not be bounced around.

These are basic starters for trunk awareness and stabilization training, there are many more, which I'll do next edition... If there are specific questions on these or topics you'd like addressed, please let me know. Otherwise I'll do a few back ex and add balance training.

Anne "Yes, I'm available for clinics and seminars" Howard
(still removing furox, betadine, cotton wisps, epsom salts, and other unmentionables from under my nails before heading to work... Patients should appreciate this... :-)
Horses are all definitely in recuperation mode! Lindgren clinic was GREAT!)

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V A L L E Y P H Y S I C A L T H E R A P Y --> 408/338-4458

Anne Howard, MPT
American Sporthorse - "Serious training for the serious rider, with a good measure of silliness for sanity."

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Horses are not here as partners for a select few, but as an example for all.
We can't talk about horses without talking about how much we have learned from them.

Watch this video:
http://news.yahoo.com/video/health-15749655/blind-horse-changing-lives-28968304.html

And let us know just what you have learned from interacting with horses!

Monday, April 16, 2012

As of December 1st 2011, We will have half points in dressage judging. This includes all test movements and collective marks. Are we excited about this?

Rule: DR122.8 (370-11)

So the scale is now:

10-Excellent (forget about it dreamers)

9-Very Good (perfect to us non S judges)

8- Good (awesome)

7-Fairly Good (great for a non warmblood)

6-Satisfactory (didn't get excited but didn't see anything wrong)

5-Marginal (you screwed up somewhere)

4-Insufficient (bummer)

3-Fairly Bad (not good)

2-Bad (forget the test?)

1-Very Bad (stop beating your horse)

And now all the .5 points will include thoughts from the judges like:

"I'm not sure I was watching--give her a 6.5"

I'm interested in your thoughts and how you think this will affect us all.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

By Dana Dratch | Bankrate.com – Fri, Apr 13, 2012 3:08 AM EDT

Unless you keep those projects practical, though, you might just be kidding yourself.

For example:

Steel front door: Good.
Master suite addition costing more than the average American home: Bad.

Every year, Remodeling magazine looks at the hottest home upgrades and renovations and calculates just how much owners get back with they sell.

[Related: 10 home maintenance tips for spring]

Upkeep is more popular than upgrades these days, says Sal Alfano, editorial director for Remodeling. These are the projects that often recoup the biggest slice of expenses at resale. But prices and returns do vary regionally, he says.

Ever wonder what brings the lowest return when you plant that "for sale" sign? Think high-dollar, high-end and highly personalized add-ons that make you drool. Like a totally tricked-out garage built from the ground up. Or a super luxe master suite addition. Or the home office redo designed just for you.

Here are the six improvements that, in their 2010 report, ranked dead last nationally when it comes to getting those renovation dollars back at resale.

Home office remodel

Want to get an idea what today's office-away-from-the-office looks like? Walk into Starbucks.

These days, a home office consists of a multiple-choice combination of wireless laptops, smartphones, PDAs and touch-screen tablets. And that worker bee might be toiling anywhere from a home patio or a favorite restaurant to a park bench.

The standard home office renovation, meanwhile -- complete with plenty of built-in storage and high-tech wiring -- is this year's biggest loser in the resale value sweepstakes. Nationally, homeowners spent an average of $28,888 and can expect to recoup about 45.8 percent at resale, according to the report.

Return on investment doesn't reflect your enjoyment of the space, Alfano says.

He offers two tips for home-office remodelers when they sell. First, opt for something that can be easily converted back into a bedroom or den for (or by) the next buyer.

Second, when you're selling, call it a study, den or hobby room. "There's lots of call for multipurpose space. Don't lock yourself into that one use," Alfano says. Don't use words that invoke images of actual work. Or the office.

Backup power generator

You see a backup generator and imagine all of the comforts no matter what the weather.

But potential buyers hailing from outside your local area may not share that vision. (And a handful of those who do might have watched too many zombie movies.)

On average, when homeowners have a heavy-duty backup power generator installed, they spend about $14,718, according to the report. Going with a slightly less expensive model or having a less complicated installation could cut the costs significantly, Alfano says.

Average amount of the price recovered at resale time: 48.5 percent.

Sunroom addition

Real estate agents will tell you that potential buyers want square footage, pristine condition and lots of light. So a brand-new room that has the word "sun" in it, it has to be great for resale value, right?

Not necessarily.

Your first clue: The word "addition" -- which means expanding the footprint of your home -- indicates that this is not a renovation for the faint of heart (or wallet). "It's one of the more expensive projects," Alfano says.

While it seems simple enough, the national average for a sunroom addition is $75,224, according to the report. Homeowners can expect to recoup about 48.6 percent when they sell.

That doesn't mean that adding a sunroom is always a bad move.

If your home needs another common area, a sunroom could be the answer, says Katie Severance, co-author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Selling Your Home." An addition is best considered in the context of the whole home, she says. "The doctor has to treat the whole patient. You have to look at the house and say 'What's out of balance?'"

Upscale master suite addition

Who doesn't want to wake up in a five-star-hotel-quality suite with an attached spa bathroom and a kitchenette that affords you coffee and pastries before facing the world?

Once you see the price tag, it won't just be the coffee keeping you up at night.

For a super-deluxe master suite addition -- which adds square footage and uses only top-dollar materials -- the average cost is about $232,062, according to the report.

That's 460 nights at a posh resort with enough left over to raid the minibar.

[Related: Best way to pay for home improvements?]

In years past, this project was "sort of a trend in vacation homes" that migrated to primary dwellings, Alfano says. Sellers can expect to recover about 52.7 percent at resale.

Your buyer can purchase a newer house with the same features as part of the original floor plan that "probably lays out better anyway," says Loren Keim, author of "How to Sell Your Home in Any Market."

So while the next buyer may appreciate your luxury accommodations (which could even tip their decision in your home's favor), chances are they won't want to pay the full tab for your remodel.

Bathroom addition

Unless you're a hermit who never entertains, you've probably wished for an extra bathroom now and then.

But bathroom additions require serious coin. For a moderately outfitted addition with synthetic stone or plastic laminate surfaces, figure parting with about $21,695, according to the Remodeling report. Go upscale, with finishes like premium marble or fine tile, and you can easily spend in the neighborhood of $40,710.

Either way, you get about the same return: 53 cents on the dollar. "In the buyer's mind, the additional bathroom isn't worth that additional $20,000 to $40,000," Keim says.

Investigate a less-expensive way to get the same result without flushing quite as much cash. While additions usually cost more, pros might be able to reconfigure your existing space to add a bathroom for less, Alfano says.

Upscale garage addition

Instead of cleaning out the garage, how much would you pay to have a new one built from scratch?

This time, it would have all the organizational built-ins, and a durable, easy-to-clean floor to ensure it would never be messy again. And windows for natural light.

Oh yeah, and you could store a couple of cars in there, too.

The price tag for a top-of-the-line detached two-car with all the trimmings is about $90,053, according to the report. You can expect to recover about 53.6 percent of that when you sell.

"This one is completely decked out on the inside," says Alfano. "It's a dream garage."

And that's likely some of the problem with recovering the value at resale. Says Keim, "You've got a very small target audience out there that wants an upscale garage."

Friday, April 13, 2012

The Dressage Judge and non-Warmblood horses

Anyone thinking dressage judges give handicaps for quarter horses...think again. Go out and buy that expensive warmblood if you want Blue Ribbons:

Candace asks:

“I have a question about dressage judges and breeds of horses. Do most judges take into account the way of going of different breeds? Should they? I have heard the owner of some PRE Andalusians state that it is always hard for his horses to score well because most judges prefer the Warmblood way of going, and might penalize the Andalusians for their natural difference in foot action or speed.”

Axel Steiner replies:

The short answer to both of your questions is, “No.”

The longer answer: Dressage training is beneficial for most breeds of horses. However, dressage competition is judged on standards based on the conformation and movements of European warmbloods. These standards and requirements are codified in rules books all over the world. (See the US Equestrian Federation rule book.) Therefore, it is not that a judge might “prefer” a warmblood, it is more that the non-warmblood may have difficulty meeting the established standards for the level being shown. Breeds that are not bred specifically for the gaits and movement of dressage competition may have trouble achieving those standards. In order to become more competitive, several non-warmblood breed organizations are now striving to breed their horses in such a way that they more closely meet the competitive dressage standards. You can see this already in some of the very competitive Friesians, Andalusians and Lusitanos that are now coming into the sport.

Thank you for a good question!

One great idea in St. Louis for horse lovers who are dust haters!
Follow this link below to find 2 homes for sale in a subdivision built for horse lovers. The common area is a barn with indoor arena, fields, and outdoor arena. Trails are close by with Babler State Park within trotting distance. Subdivision fees are only $1000 a year and the board is reasonable with all the flexibility you would have in your own barn.
Call or e-mail me for your own private viewing!
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