The Bitless Bridle News section:
This section is where we will present news items for those who would like to hear about recent developments. Vistors are invited to submit items of news relevant to The Bitless Bridle for possible inclusion by writing to info@bitlessbridle.com News events for the current calendar year are below; for archival news from previous years, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the appropriate link.
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December 2011
Riding Free
It's all about a book, a bridle and the Eschbachs. A short webreview from The Sweet Feed blog.
September 2011
Harness Horse goes bitless!
The first harness horse to race in Dr. Cook�s BitlessBridle with bit bypass straps placed second at Bollnas Racetrack in Sweden on 11th September, 2011. Fritiof Piraten, a 3-year-old colt, was trained by Susanne Richter for owner, Stall Bjornberget and driven by Kajsa Frick. After trailing the field, the horse produced an astonishing burst of speed in the last 400 meters. He finished in 1 minute 14.7 seconds to win prize money of 50,000 SEK (about $7,700 US).
In standard equipment, this horse is a hard puller and frequently bleeds from the mouth during work. Because of a couple of false starts in a race three weeks previously, the horse had incurred a lacerated tongue that prevented further training in a standard bridle. At this stage, Susanne Richter was introduced to the Harness Horse BitlessBridle by fellow trainer, Kerstin Keml�n, a recently appointed Bitless Bridle Associate Clinician for BitlessBridle Inc. USA.
Keml�n has taken a special interest in harness horse problems and solutions for 40 years. For the last two years, she has worked with Dr. Cook to develop a crossunder bitless bridle for the harness horse and test the bit bypass straps. During 2010, she trained several horses in the Harness Horse BitlessBridle at Boden racetrack. She is currently translating Dr. Cook�s 2003 book, "Metal in the Mouth" into Swedish. . For more information, contact Kerstin Kemlen at kerstin.kemlen@telia.com or visit her website at www.kerstinkemlen.se
July 2011
Congratulations to Cathie Hatrick Anderson!
We are pleased to congratulate Cathie Hatrick Anderson on her First Place finish at the Versatility Challenge at Ride Like The Wind Stables in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts. 17 horses entered over 30 teams, and five of the top 6 places went to horses and riders using Dr. Cook's Bitless Bridle. The top six places went to:
First: Cathie on Ruger
Second: Carolyn on Angel
Third: Matt on Hildago
Fourth: Shannon on Ruger
Fifth: Helen on Violet
Sixth: Jeremy on CJ
May 2011
Join the Red Rein Revolution!
Are you one of the many riders who would like to compete bitless but cannot because of FEI, national federation or Pony Club rules that mandate one or more bits? Here is a way in which you can signal your protest. Click here for more.
March 2011
Dr. Cook will be conduting an interview on Holistic Horse Radio on April 5 at 1:00PM concerning "Preventing Riding Accidents." The interview will be available for download, after it airs, at Holistic Horse.com
October 2010
Addressing the Bitless Bridle Question
In her letter printed in the British Horse Society magazine's September-October issue, Janet Astley adds her voice to the call for the crossunder bridle to be allowed in dressage competition. Click here for more...
August 2010
Cathie Hatrick-Anderson Featured in Worldwide Exhibit
Cathie Hatrick Anderson, an authorized Bitless Bridle Instructor located in Massachusetts, along with her horses and her Australian Cattle Dog, Scooter, have amazed and delighted live and YouTube audiences with their bitless, bareback, and trick riding. But now their work is literally going down in history: Cathie, her mare, Cachina, and Scooter are featured in the touring equestrian exhibit, The Literary Horse: When Legends Come to Life.
Click here to read her presss release.
June 2010
Go Bitless, Go Dutch
Dressage riders who would like to compete bitless can now do so if they are able to travel to Holland. The Royal Dutch Equestrian Federation (KNHS) have approved a rule that allows riders to compete bitless for the next three years. If this trial period is a success, there is a good chance that the rule will be made permanent and serve as an example to other federations, including the USEF. A Dutch rider has already competed three times bitless and gained promotional scores. So if you have bitless friends in Holland, please encourage them to take advantage of this opportunity. With the help of our contact person in Holland, USA riders could obtain a permit to compete in a KNHS competition. Write to Dr. Cook at drcook@bitlessbridle.com and give him the dates of your visit, location and dressage level.
Bitless Dressage Tests
Inge van der Haven, with her horse Tribute, gained her first promotion scores when competing bitless in a recent Dutch Federation test. To read her report of the experience, click here.
The Warming-up Debate Heats Up
From Dr. Cook's article Cooling Down the Warming-up Debate By Raising The Heat: The FEI Does It Again, published in the May issue of Horses For Life:
"The warming-up ring is now referred to, I see, as the training arena. Perhaps it has always had this designation. Silly me. I had assumed that horses were already trained when they arrived and only needed to be warmed-up, a process for which 15-30 minutes is surely adequate. But if they still have to be trained, no wonder that such prolonged and draconian "techniques" are to be employed at the ninth hour.
To name the warming-up ring as the training arena seems to exemplify the short-cut training philosophy apparently being condoned by the present-incumbent-administrators-of-the-FEI (PIAFEI ... pronounced �piaffy�). Never mind! If one hour of training is not sufficient, the PIAFEI have thoughtfully made provision for this to be doubled or even tripled. Three hours should do it. Away with the need for those boring years of preparation." Read the entire article by clicking here.
May 2010
10th ANNIVERSARY OF THE IRON-FREE HORSE
In the year 2000, the horse industry first became aware of two welfare advances. Both freed the horse from metal accessories, bits and shoes. Since then, many thousands of equestrians, worldwide, have carried out what can be regarded as a natural experiment. Each horse has acted as its own control. The �de-metalling� experiments have confirmed that the crossunder bitless bridle provides a painless and safer alternative to the bit and that barefoot management vastly improves the horse�s quality of life. The removal of these metal artifacts has revealed that they are the cause of many accidents and diseases.
Click here for the full press release...
March 2010
Joe Camp is offering a TeleWorkshop to present reasons why you (and your farrier) might want to consider letting your horse go barefoot. Click here for more info and a link to his website.
February 2010
Dr. Cook was interviewed by John Bonner for Veterinary Practice magazine. The article is available in our Articles section, or by clicking here.
January 2010
A Poster by Michael Guillot...
Author of The Official 2060 SuperPrix! Fan Guide: The Definitive Guide to Mid-21st Century Dressage.
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