Annual Arrow Week

August 1st - 5th

Each year we organises a special week offering riders and horses the chance to experience the full range of our activities. I love this week and each year it just gets better! It is great to work with friends, old and new, and see riders and horses achieving real breakthroughs. We have a wealth of specialist teachers and therapists, (all fully qualified in their field) who contribute to the success of the week. (See "The Team").

Alexander Technique Bookings must be made BEFORE JULY 15th.

Don't forget that you can also enjoy some Alexander Technique before the AGM as well as during the week. Chris has a very busy schedule in Bristol but has offered us these 2 days. Likewise, Felicity, who is equally busy, is coming up from Devon. If there are insufficient numbers, it would not be fair to expect them to come.
Chris English, Sunday July 31st, pm and Monday 1st August (dismounted and /or Blackberry)
Felicity Mann, Wed and Thursday, Aug 3rd & 4th (mounted and/or Blackberry)

At last, I think I have gathered all the best teachers together in the right place at the right time so it just remains for all of you to make the most of this unique opportunity. The programme gets quite busy and the horses can only do so many lessons, so if you leave it to the last minute you are likely to be disappointed. "Blackberry" can always take more pupils as he can go on for ever and never gets tired! If the group sessions are oversubscribed, they will be divided. If there are enough people for the dismounted classes, there could be a morning "warm up" session for those staying for the week and an evening session for those who can't get there during the day. However, I need to know in advance.

NO MORE BOOKINGS WILL BE TAKEN AFTER JULY 20th

Group Dismounted Sessions

Additional sessions may be arranged during the week but here is a provisional programme:
Monday am "Exploring learning styles" Pre course workshop with Sue Adams Wheeler
pm Group Feldenkrais - Joy
Tuesday - Flexibility for Classical Riding - Sara Ann Counsell
Wednesday - Group Feldenkrais - Sarah MP
Thursday -Group Pilates - Sarah MP
Friday "Exploring learning styles" Post course workshop with Sue AW

These sessions will be arranged on a supply and demand basis. If you can't come during the day, please put in a request for evening sessions as I hope as many of you as possible will take advantage of having so much expertise in the same place at the same time.

The Teachers

Sue Nevill-Parker - well you all know me! I will be doing the ridden work and Blackberry and burning the candle at both ends trying to plan a very complicated programme.
Sue Adams Wheeler will also be taking some of the ridden sessions plus some dismounted work and, one of her many talents, showing riders how to see how horses move and how to help them to move better with massage and lunging. She is a very experienced coach having worked with able bodied and the disabled for many years and earned herself a high reputation both at home and abroad, She has also been heavily involved in the new UK Coaching syllabi. As such she has gained considerable insight into how we learn, or perhaps more to the point, how to avoid the pitfalls which prevent us from learning. She will present 2 workshops, one at the beginning of the week and one at the end to help you get the most from this week and from any other learning situation. There will be a few tasks set for you and a small amount of "homework" outside of your lessons but it will make a significant difference to your overall enjoyment of the week.
Chris English and Felicity Mann are both Alexander Technique teachers and riders. You can look them up on their website for more information but suffice to say that if they weren't great teachers they wouldn't be here! They both have practices "at home" and Felicity has a rival to Blackberry - the dressage simulator with fully integrated computer graphics.
Sarah Ann Counsell is an Arrow pupil who is also a highly skilled physiotherapist. She lectures all over the world and works wonders with people who most other professionals have given up on. She has suggested some exercises specific for riders so this is another "must do" session!
Sarah Merriam Pierce is well known to most of you and like all the teachers at Arrow has special skills which really make a difference. Last year, her video feedback sessions were extremely popular as not only do you see yourself riding as others see you but she designs an exercise programme specific to your needs. The Group sessions are fun and liberating while her private sessions provide a more in depth study.
Joy Morris is also known to many of you, and we have worked together frequently, more recently on Blackberry which has proved to be extremely valuable for both of us. She has a wide range of expertise including Feldenkrais, Craniosacral work, Tellington Touch (TTEAM) plus a few hundred miles of long reining and work in hand, much of it in Portugal at the Valenca yard. She is probably the only person in Britain to do tandem long reining - riding one horse while long reining another in front. Even Filipa says it's extremely difficult! She has a long association with Arrow and her enthusiasm is infectious.