Review Malene Nootenboom

Horsemanship: Wonderful to see how much confidence the horse has in the rider here! With small help from balance, the horse knows what is expected and you can clearly see the mutual trust!

Showmanship: The video was deliberately recorded to clearly show what Siem stands for with his horse and also a completely different branch of sport than what can always be seen! In step I already admired it. Then it became trot and even canter! Very nice to see!

Difficulty level:  The aids are very small and light and mainly from balance. The horse waits so well and does exactly what is intended. Stand slightly lit, then sit again, touch the reins! And that while driving without hands and arrows are shot! Very pretty!

Evaluation Romy Huisman

Horsemanship: I find Siem's mindset inspiring; Self regulation! You see that Siem often rides with loose reins and has to focus on 'the rose', as a rider he must also be able to let go a bit and trust that his horse will continue to go on the route, in the same posture and at the same pace. It reminds me of the relationship with a workhorse, I think towards my own passion Working Equitation, which is based on herding cattle in Southern Europe, your horse is then your colleague, you go for efficient and in the meantime you have to be able to focus on 'your work' instead of wanting to manage every step of your horse to the millimeter. I take from the video that Siem respects the horse very much in his natural attitude in carrying the rider. He does not want to make a robot of his horse, but to vary and continue to stimulate stimulation.

Showmanship:  Siem talks clearly in the voice-over, his clear explanation is easy to understand. The images are clear (silent image and Siem is easy to see). The video lasted 5+ minutes, but my attention stayed with it until the end. I would have liked it if Siem had personally introduced himself next to his horse in the first shot, to make it even more personal. Archery on horseback is not a great discipline, very unique!

Difficulty level: If we look at the history of horse riding we can distinguish 2 different styles of training. The martial art, in which fighting with a sword, is based on the fact that the horse always follows the center of gravity of the rider. Another style comes from archery and rifle shooting, the horse had to stay on the route and the rider had to be able to move/turn his upper body to aim at the opponent. I have trained my own horse dressage-wise where he stays below my center of gravity, BUT in the Working Equitation, a discipline that we also ride, there are several exercises where I have to be able to move my upper body, without this causing the horse to deviate from its place or route. I personally had to puzzle through this, especially because I have a reactive horse that wants to react very quickly to my body / weight changes. That is why Siem's video appeals to me personally and I understand the training that is required for this.

I also think it is a strong point that Siem tells that he initially wants to change the speed of the horse with his energy and uses a leg aid as a 2nd step (where necessary), in short; He is aware of the primary and secondary assistance. His starting point is to ride with as little leg and rein aids as possible and he shows this well in the video. At the end he says that the current level of the sport is currently too low for the flying switch, but that this is the perspective for the future. I find that interesting; 1 because it is a great goal to grow towards as a sport and this challenges riders to develop further. 2 because it is also 'okay' that it is not that far yet and the horses cannot be ridden over them for the 'competitive sport'.