Besides the day-to-day teaching and training that is my job
description here at SFD, my calendar gets filled with lots of other activities.
I tend to mentally divide those extra activities into 3 categories: things I do
to make me a better trainer, things I do to let other folks know I’m a better
trainer, and things I do to make other riders better trainers. In the last two
weeks, I’ve gotten to do all three, and in that order.
The first event was the Young Dressage Horse Trainer’s
Symposium. This is an annual event in my
calendar. Each November Hassler Dressage and Harmony Sporthorses sponsor this
amazing event. In this event, a group of
trainers get together with some big-name expert-from-out-of town to discuss the
training process of young horses from 3 to 7 years old. This year we had two expert trainers, Ingo
Pape and Oliver Oelrich, who along with Scott Hassler, lead the discussions
about the training priorities and challenges at each stage of the young horse’s
education.
This event is unique among the clinics I attend in several
ways. First, Scott selects a bunch of horses aged 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 years
old. We see them all, one after another,
staring with the 3-year-olds. Getting
the opportunity to see the training continuum of a young horse’s education all
at once, and see how their mental and physical maturity is carefully considered
at each training stage is really unique.
Second, this symposium is typically led by two like-minded
trainers, with them alternating teaching of each student. After each lesson, the other clinician joins
the discussion about the effectiveness of the training approach, and where to
go next with each horse’s training. Getting to see two different trainer’s
approaches back-to-back really stimulates a lot of thoughtful discussion.
Third, this symposium is big on discussion. Horse folks tend to be opinionated, and Scott
does a great job of keeping all of our discussions on topic in a positive
way. Most of us trainers do the bulk of
our training alone, and getting the chance to discuss training with a bunch of
like-minded and like-experienced professionals in a positive, supportive
setting is really neat. This symposium
has, in a large part, improved and clarified my approach to developing young
dressage horses. As always, I come away
from this event inspired to start my winter training.
The Symposium ended on Saturday night, so on I took Secret
to be demonstration riders for DVCTA’s L program. We rode in groups, with Secret and I in the 2nd
level group. The rides and discussion were directed by the instructor, Jayne
Ayers.
The L program is the first step to becoming a USEF Dressage
judge, and as an L graduate myself, I feel the need to help out as the guinea
pig in their educations. Plus the
candidates and auditors get to see me in action, something they don’t
necessarily see at a show. Let’s face it, few people watch dressage shows
(because if all goes well, the rides are smooth, flowing, and, especially at
the lower levels, dull), so I try to take advantage of any non-competitive
opportunities that come up to let auditors to see me train. Since I ride so many non-traditional dressage
breeds, the ribbons at the super-competitive shows in this area really don’t
tell the whole story anyway.
The format, in which we warmed up, then stood around and
waited for the instructor to need us to demonstrate different movements, made
it tough to present horses at their best.
Plus Secret came out of the trailer feeling pretty frisky. Secret showed her friskiness as she usually
does, by showing the L candidates that shortening the Friesian neck in an
attempt to collect the trot really isn’t collection. Happily, she redeemed
herself in the canter, allowing Ayers to point out that although Secret didn’t
have as much innate elasticity as the fancy imported warmblood in our group, she
had just as much collection.
Then, last weekend, I got to go back to Standing Ovation
Farm outside of State College, PA, to teach.
This is the 5th time I’ve been up that way, and many of the
riders are repeat students. I am starting to see some really amazing changes in
the horses and the riders, which makes me super excited, especially since most
of the riders are young people. Who says
kids can’t do dressage? Of course they can. They have great feel, and they
often have the luxury of parental support to focus on their riding.
The trips to State College are additionally fun for me
because I get to help Lindsay Armstrong, head trainer at Standing Ovation. As
you probably gathered from the start of the blog, training horses with another trusted
trainer is really fun. Lindsay and I
worked with two mares last weekend, and discussed what she feels and what I
see, and using both her feel and my eye, came up with a training path to
hopefully have both mares show ring ready by spring.
As cheesy as it sounds, getting to do these three things in
this short of a time makes me feel nostalgic of how this whole
trainer-student-trainer continuum is supposed to work. I became the student at the symposium, and
was able to then become the trainer in the days that followed. Getting input on my knowledge from students and other trainers broadens my knowledge, and explaining what I have learned clarifies my thought process on what I know, in essence making me a student of my own teaching, which of course inspires my teaching and training. The circle of trainer-student-trainer creates its own inspiration. Which is
exactly how it is supposed to work.
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