AMHA Magazine picked up my article - and is running some awesome photos!

American Morgan Horse Association picked up my Dressage Experiment article for their annual Morgan Sport Horse issue, and are running it with really awesome photos.  The issue comes out this month, and I got an advance pdf of the article.  Check it out - here's the first page of the article. Click here for he rest of the article.

My girls

My mares have been absent from my blog posts for a while. A few of you have asked me about them, so I thought I would devote a post to how they are doing.

The reason I haven’t written about them is, well, they are both doing quite well. Blog posts that say “my mares are fun to ride” really aren't that much fun to read. But this week, a student forwarded me a horse personality test, and I had fun answering the questions about my girls. The quiz nailed my girl’s distinctly different personalities so well, and in such a humorous way, that I figured it was a way to spice up a potentially dull blog.

First, Venus. The personality quiz labeled her as “The Wall Flower,” which describes her perfectly.  In the write up, it details this kind of horse as sensitive, sweet, good-girl type in need of strong leadership, but if the leadership gets too strong, the Wall Flower will back off.  This kinda explains why, in the past, she was hard for me to ride–no one would ever describe me as subtle.  I would overpower her, then she would suck back, then I would get all red-headed you-do-your-job-horse on her, and she’d suck back more.  But over time, I've learned to get the balance of leadership and support right, and she makes my heart sing, because man, can that horse move.

I have been humbled by how hard it is for me to ride my good girl. Venus is definitely not loony, spicy or naughty. Quite the opposite--she is very determined to be good. As a professional trainer, no one pays me to ride "good girls." My education was all about learning to ride the kinds of horses most people don’t want to ride. So Venus has given in the opportunity to learn to ride a consistent horse.

My good girl in public :-).

With the help of all of my instructors, friends, and poor strangers who have listened to my struggles, I have learned how to ride my girl. Ironically, for Venus to really shine, I need to back off. After spending my career either settling hot horses or inspiring sour horses, I had to learn to inspire her hind legs enough to create activity without overpowering her confidence, then sit still and enjoy the ride. Most of the time, at least at home, we get it right.

Next, Silly. Silly has, against all odds, return to work sound. I strongly considered breeding her again, but I’m having too much fun riding her.   The personality test calls her “the macho man,” and says if she was a human, she’d wear colors and ride a Harley.  I laughed out loud when I read this, because we have called her “the biker bitch” around the barn for years because of her strong confidence and clear opinions.

One place she differs from her personality profile, though, is she loves dressage (especially the tricks) and likes to teach.  Or rather, she likes telling riders when they are wrong and when they are right. She had been helping me educate riders before her injury, and has returned to that role. She is so popular as a lesson horse that I have to schedule my rides on her.

Those are some amazing ears. 

Silly educates riders with her huge, amazing ears. When a rider is riding her correctly, they flop to the side. When a rider gets the aids incorrect, she flips him back towards the rider, almost like she’s saying “are you sure about that?”  The minute the rider gets the aids correct, Silly returns to the floppy – eared relaxed mare that she is. Silly and I have been together for so long, that I can practically correct the riders mistakes by just watching Silly’s body language.  She is truly a wonderful, giving mare that is a joy to ride.

Like I said, a blog about how well my horses are going is really kind of dull. But at least I can include some  fun photos.

If you are interested in the horse personality test, here’s the web site http://www.horsepersonality.com/index.html

Musings on my Florida trip

Fair warning to the non-dressage-geek types that read my dribble, this post may bore you to tears. For the dressage geek readers out there, this post will probably be right up your alley.

As you know, January 21 and 22 I attended USDF’s FEI Trainer Symposium down in Wellington, Florida. During that symposium, I got to watch Steffen Peters work with nine different riders for two days. I extend my stay for a couple of days, and spent one morning watching Catherine Haddad Staller train. The week before I went to Florida, I was down at Hassler Dressage where I got to watch Scott ride.  True to my dressage geek nature, I have spent a lot of time comparing what I saw.

The first thing I saw is there many, many similarities in good training. With all three trainers, I could watch their work and logically figure out what they were trying to explain to the horses. There was no random riding around. Everything was very purposeful and very clear. They were quick to correct, and equally quick to reward their horses. Because of this, all three trainers made significant differences in all of their mounts. Two areas where I noticed differences were slight differences in thigh position and different warm up plans.

First, the thigh position and how that affected the leg aid.  Steffen, of course has that beautiful vertical thigh/deep knee leg position that we all drool over. Ironically, with one exception, he didn’t stress the thigh position with the riders he taught. He did, however, admonish several riders to keep their toe underneath the knee. That toe-underneath-knee alignment was common to all three trainers, regardless of their thigh position. Scott’s thigh wasn’t quite as vertical as Steffens, and Catherine had at least vertical thigh of the three.

The interesting thing about the thigh position was how it affected the use of the calf and spur. Steffen uses his calf as the primarily leg aid. He was very, very sparing with the spur. He advocated a pressing half to encourage a longer stride (which differs from the leg aid discussed at the Young Dressage Horse Trainer’s Symposium in November -- which is the topic I intend to discuss with Scott when I see him next week). He used the spur more as a correction when the horse did not respond correctly to the calf.

Scott, on the other hand, was working with the horse to get a more prompt, active response from the hind legs. He used the spur further back, aligned with his hip, as the initiating aid for more hind leg activity. He supported the spur with his voice and with rhythmic taps from the whip. With the angle of his thigh, he could easily use the spur that far back without rotating his leg onto the hamstring.

Catherine, whose thigh position is the least vertical of the three (but still much more vertical than the huntseat-horizontal thigh), advocates using the spur three ways -- tapping with the spur, resting the spur against the horse’s side, and a pressing spur.   Her a-bit-more-vertical thigh position allowed her the control to differentiate these three aids without moving the rest of her leg.

Of course, since I’ve been home I played with all three thigh positions. From my research and teaching, I know that the amount of arch someone naturally has in the lower back and the tightness of their psoas muscle often determines their thigh position. With my build, no matter how much I want to, I’m not sure I am physically capable of riding with my thigh as vertical as Steffen’s. When I try, I spend so much time focusing on my thigh that I get distracted from what I’m trying to do with my horse. That being said, if there’s a camera nearby you bet I’m going to try to get my thigh to look like that. 

Focusing on keeping my toes right under my knees, however, has been helpful.  This seems to stabilize my wandering right leg, which gives me the control I need to use leg and spur in a more specific manner.  Which, in turn, helps me activate hind legs of the horses I ride that need activating-- although I need to remember to turn it off. When I got on Liz Dobrinska’s horse, Rocky, who has a quick, active hind leg, right after riding Venus, who tends toward a longer, bigger, slower stride, he got his hind legs cranking so much that he had a hard time maintaining his balance. I could hear Scott’s voice in the back of my mind, “easy, Ange, easy.”

Second, the differences in the warm-up and how that flowed into their training session. Steffen spent a lot of time discussing warm up. He has a strong advocate for warming the horse up in a balance that really helps them. Which means not every horse was warmed up long-and-low. When he chose to keep a horse in a more uphill frame for warm-up, he clearly stated that he felt that taking that particular horse long-and-low compromised their balance. That being said, he had each horse go forward in steady, rhythmic, ground-covering strides during their warm up, regardless of how high or low he asked them to carry their neck.

Another large component of Steffen’s warm up was testing the aids. He used different exercises and school figures to check if the horses were responding to each leg individually, both legs together, the seat eight, and the rein aid. Once he was happy with the horse’s responses to his test, he would then ride test figures.

For example, one horse was not responding properly to the right leg. Steffen, who was riding with microphone, commented that the horse was pushing against his inside leg when making a right corner.  He spent a few minutes schooling smaller circles, asking the horse to be more responsive to the right leg. He then tested results of his schooling with a half pass. He wasn’t happy with the first half pass, so three strides into it he turned right, and went back to schooling the horse’s reaction to his right leg. He then tried the half pass again. This time it flowed beautifully.

Catherine, on the other hand, seemed to have a fairly consistent warm-up routine with each horse she rode. She started them all out in a longer, rounder frame. Once the horse was starting to swing its back, she used transitions between or within the gait to bring the frame up. Then she gradually flowed from less complicated movements more complicated movements. For example, on one horse, she began with a half pass from the corner to the centerline. Next she rode the half pass from the corner to the second quarter line. Then she rode the half pass from the corner to X. She did the same thing in the other direction. Then she rode a half pass zigzag.  She gradually increased the degree of difficulty each time she rode the half pass.

I think both approaches have their place in my toolbox. With my over-achiever type horses, I think Steffen’s approach would probably make them anxious. When I ride them, I find I intend to build more lines, like Catherine’s approach.  Some of my more laid-back types, on the other hand, seem to understand better when I insist on quick reactions to each aid before I set up each movement.

The last week and a half, I’ve really had a good time applying all that I learned to each horse I ride. I really enjoy sorting out each horse’s mind and body, and helping them become more relaxed, fun athletes.

Special thanks to all of my boarders, who gave me the Christmas gift of a check to spend on my education. Thanks to their generosity, I was able to spend these four days in Florida. Watching this caliber of training inspired my winter training. Thank you again for investing in me.

A Glimpse at my FEI Symposium Notes

Anyone who knows me knows my education is really, really important to me.  For Christmas, my boarders took a collection to be put towards just that cause.  In Linda’s words, “investing in your education makes sense, we get it back.” 

I used my Christmas education gift to do something I’ve wanted to do for years—attend USDF’s FEI Trainer’s Symposium in Wellington, FL.  This year I was really chomping to go, since Steffen Peters and Scott Hassler were the presenters.  Plus it is in Florida at the end of January, which usually has a bit better weather than Pennsylvania this time of year.

In this Symposium, Steffen worked with 9 horse-rider combinations at various stages of their FEI journey, from learning changes to schooling Grand Prix, and Scott recapped the rides.  Steffen got on every horse at least once, and his ability to articulate what he is doing while he is riding is truly impressive. Getting a glimpse inside of another trainer’s mind is really neat.  All of the horses improved dramatically, and I think we’ll see a couple of them on future teams.

One really neat thing about symposiums with Steffen and Scott is how they emphasize the importance of indentifying each horse’s strengths and weaknesses, and creating a training plan to improve those weaknesses.  Because they were so clear about what each horse’s weakness, I could see how each training plan could be applied to specific horses I ride every day.  Plus they were super clear to emphasize that a weakness is just that, a weakness, not a limitation, which, of course, just gets me all the more excited to get home and train.  But since it is 75 here and 15 at home, I’ll stay until Thursday and visit an old friend as planned.

Here I am, at the conclusion of day two, and I thought I’d share some snippets from my pages and pages and pages of notes. Please note—these are my unfiltered translations of a master, so any fault you find in them is most likely my translation.

Train like you show, show like you train.

Don’t “kick the can down the road.”  When a training issue comes up, fix it. Don’t wait for the elusive “strong enough” to happen. 

Stay true to yourself as you train.  All of the input from judges, instructors, and peers should add to your training path, not replace it. Stick to a horse’s path.

Another word for discipline is priority.

When a horse makes a mistake in a movement, it is a problem with the acceptance of one of the aids. Figure out which aid needs tuned up, then try the movement again.  Fix the root problem, not the movement.

A good seat goes with a manageable contact. You can’t have a good seat if the horse is incorrect in the contact. They go hand in hand.

Contact needs to be correct first, then add  cadence and swing.

Every step needs to be controlled.  Each aid has to be purposeful.

Let  a horse make mistakes, then take care of it. Don’t ride to prevent mistakes.

Horses need to come back as easily as they go forward.

As a trainer, we need to figure out when a horse struggles with strength and when the horse struggles with understanding. Handle each differently.

If you need to ride strong, do it, but immediately be light.

If you can’t fix the outline/balance/rhythm in 2 strides, simplify the work and fix it. Then go back to more complicated movements.

Every movement has 3 phases:

                Phase to set up

                Phase to execute

                Phase to finish – movement isn’t over until the quality, balance, and relaxation are reestablished.

Very few horses are deliberately disobedient. More often, resistance is caused by confusion, fear, or pain. This is why attention to your horse's welfare and simplicity and clarity of aiding are paramount.

Loaded with all of this inspirational goodness, I'll bundle up on Friday and train to my heart's content. Within the limitations of the weather and my tolerance for frostbite, of course. 

Winter Workshop 2012

Aneesa Romans came to this year's Winter Workshop thanks to a scholarship from DVCTA. Her scholarship required she write an article about the experience, and I enjoyed reading it so much I asked if I could run it here. She made WW sound so much fun I wish I could come as a participant myself!  (on an aside, I can't figure out why this page saved in two colors, but I've given up on getting it all one color, so we'll call it artistic...)

Winter Workshop

By Anessa Romans

I attended the 2012 edition of Straight Forward Dressage’s Winter Camp December 28^th - 30^th and, in short, I had a blast. It was an action packed three days of fitness workouts, riding theory, and of course riding lessons. I’ve never been so simultaneously exhausted and energized after a clinic. There’s a bunch to share so to keep it semi-organized the article will be in three chunks. One on the riding & training theory topics that were discussed, a second on rider fitness (mostly physical but I’ll also touch on the mental), and finally some takeaways from my one on one lessons. I’ve also included lots of photos. Before diving in I want to say thank you to the tireless staff of SFD for hosting such a wonderful event and thank you to DVCTA for making my participation possible via the scholarship. -Aneesa

Cheryle lead the discussion for our training toolkit.

Training Toolkit. The first discussion introduced the goal worksheets. Each sheet was for a specific riding goal or problem area and there were spaces to list exercises one could do to address it including highlights for success and potential pitfalls. Tempo, relaxation, straightness, contact, impulsion, and similar goals/problem areas were tossed out by the group in the brainstorming phase. I will sheepishly admit that it wasn’t until typing this article that it dawned on me that these same goals are prominent residents of our venerable pyramid of training. However, there are many roads to Rome and it’s up to us as trainers to understand our horses and tailor our approach accordingly. As an example, under the goal of relaxation it was suggested to warm up the horse in a predictable pattern paying attention to consistency from day to day and place to place bearing in mind the possible pitfall of the horse either taking over or tuning out the rider. It was also suggested to constantly vary the warm-up routine paying attention to keeping things fresh and stimulating with the possible pitfalls of making the horse insecure or agitated. Both are legitimate strategies and excellent additions to ones training toolkit.

When talking about warm up consider the physical, the horses’ body temperature actually rising as a result of increased blood flow in the cardiovascular system, and the mental, like the relaxation strategies mentioned above. Warm up is also time to gage the horses’ attention and obedience. Reine, the resident corgi, aptly demonstrated how obedience is more readily attained once you’ve capture her full attention. Then Ange talked about how having a plan in mind before you mount can speed up the process of getting the horse focused and responding to aids promptly. Start with the basics of go, stop, and turn, and refine the aids from there, acknowledging places where you meet resistance and incorporating that into your plan.

Now I’m not a very serious person by nature and while all the theory is well and good it’s also a little heavy. Thankfully we got to spend two days putting the training scale into practice without even having to think about it. How you ask? Why quadrille practice of course! Keeping eight horse and rider teams synchronized tested everyone’s training (and our poor instructor Cheryle’s dodging skills) in a fun and positive way. Mastering the fan, the pinwheel, and carousel all required a firm grasp on the many shades of go, stop, and turn that we established in warm up. My horse particularly liked using thread the needle to show off trot lenthenings that he never gives a regular test. The highlight was finally pulling off the routine Sunday afternoon with our fearless band of junior riders leading the charge. If you’ve never tried quadrille please do!

Sadly our quadrille lacked a soundtrack, but we got plenty inspiration for next year by cozying up on the couches to watch freestyle videos, read the test sheets, and discuss what makes for a good musical ride. From the simple, like matching the beat to the gait, to the subtle, like placing crescendos to highly extensions. We were also treated to talk on competitive dressage in the days long before the grand prix freestyle test was started. Jenifer Bryant brought along several books that gave us a glimpse into the time when dressage was simply a part of a military horses training and competitions were only between cavalry members. I was floored to learn that the first Olympic dressage test was approximately 17 minutes long! (I really hope they allowed readers) The books also illustrated the evolution of the type of horse used for competition as the cavalries were disbanded, the world became more industrialized, and amateurs got into the sport. New training systems grew alongside new bloodlines and new judging requirements. Competitive dressage is changing faster than ever in today’s information age, and I appreciate the context provided by gaining a better historical perspective. Now I understand why these big kerfuffles erupt every time a new biomechanics study is published that flies in the face of “tradition”.

Rider Fitness. Owning a “fun sized” horse for the past seven years has made it pretty obvious that my balance (or lack thereof) directly impacts that of the horse. So, like most ambitious equestrians, I’ve always made an effort to maintain a decent level of fitness out of the saddle. Running is my go to activity along with yoga classes sprinkled in to counter the tightness in my hips that comes along with pounding the pavement and being a desk jockey for forty hours a week. I was looking forward to testing my mettle in the daily fitness classes. Each morning of camp was kicked started by trainer Carolyn Grashof who always came with and smile and a van full of equipment.

Yea, these hurt. They just do.

Jumping jacks raised everyone’s heart rate and squats and lunges woke up the large muscles below the waist that are vital to keeping us firmly in the saddle. It didn’t take long for participants to start shedding layers and reaching for water bottles. Bungees provided resistance for working the upper body solo and in pairs. Balance exercises that went far beyond any field sobriety test abounded, first while standing on solid ground, and then on an inflated disc, sometimes with a medicine ball thrown in for good measure. Targeted abdominal work came with the help of a squishy ball tucked into the small of the back for “support”. I later found that it was actually there to dampen the tremors as we were all soon quaking from the effort. All told I’d give myself an ‘A’ for effort but only a ‘C’ for execution. My shoulder strength is non-existent and I got bucked off the disc more times than I could count. Still, the first step is admitting you have a problem and I’ve started doing exercises at home to improve in these areas.

Liz and Chris on the balance discs.

Another area of improvement I’ve sighted in on thanks to camp is emotional balance. On day two the group sat down for a candid discussion on fear, frustration, and ambition. There’s no doubt that we’ve all had to deal with these emotions but putting it out in the open still takes courage. I’m grateful to everyone who shared their fears and their failings, along with tools to better manage those inevitable situations. I personally wrestle with performance anxiety and don’t always handle frustration too well. Especially if it’s something I’ve put a lot of effort into. In the past I’ve turned my feelings of frustration on my horse and while I know that’s totally unfair and completely irrational it doesn’t always register in the moment and it leaves me feeling like scum once I’ve regained my senses.

These types of discussion rarely provide a quick fix and often leave more questions than answers. But as long as it gets us thinking, talking, and reflecting I believe it is very worthwhile.

Riding Lessons. Camp included a half hour private lesson each day and I thought I’d share some of the things I learned. So you know where I’m coming from, and whether any of it might apply to you, my horse is a 15.1 hand 19 y.o. Arabian gelding and we show first level. He is a laid back and forgiving sort that is usually happy to give exactly what you ask for but not a penny more. He tends to be tight in the base of the neck, he avoids engaging by traveling wide behind, and he will pop up above the bit if ever given half a chance. He has a nice walk and scores well in the canter work. We struggle with the lengthenings and anything lateral.

Our warm up exercises tended to be things that tested and sharpened his forward and sideways buttons while encouraging the neck to stay long and placing the poll a little lower than you’d want it for showing. Three to four strides of leg yields on and off the wall and nose-to-the-wall leg yields for half a long side rolled into shoulder in for the second half are examples. I paid attention to getting the bend through the whole body, not just the neck, and getting flexion just in the poll and again not the neck. You’d be correct to assume that my horse has a very flexible neck and he’s not afraid to use it.

In addition to traditional dressage lessons, participants
could take a spin on Maddy's lunge line for a
"seat focused" lesson

Once he was tuned up the real challenges began. In one lesson we introduced renvers. I was given two ways to set up for it. The first was asking for it out of shoulder in where you already have the proper angle from the wall and just need to switch the bend. The second was to ask after a short leg yield from the wall to the quarter line so that the bend was already established and you only needed a change in the angle. I had better luck with method two since his haunches want to trail in the leg yield anyway but both exercises went into my “toolbox”.

In another lesson we really went for a higher degree of collection in the trot and canter. On a circle the horse was asked to open and close the stride. My job was to keep his back up and neck soft so that he didn’t go down and out like a racehorse when opening up but rather jumped up and then out. I also got some help from the ground with the instructor tactfully using an in-hand whip. After much grunting and huffing (mostly on my part) he settled into gaits with a super amount of suspension and the cheeky pony even decided to show off a couple flying changes.

Those of us who didn’t mind catching some air were treated to jumping lessons at Nancy Ligon’s lovely Firefly Farm. She provided us with excellent school horses that took care of their riders and enabled all to have a good time. One of the biggest adjustments I have to make going between dressage and jumping is in the leg pressure. After hours of lunge lessons training my legs to “drape” around the horse and using my seat to stay centered it’s quite a challenge to have to lighten the seat and hold my position with steady pressure from the inner thigh and calf. Nancy taught me how to regulate the horses speed by simply opening or closing my hip (squats anyone?). The goal was to maintain an even pace around the course and for a sensitive horse like the one I was riding, shifting my weight over the saddle was much less disruptive than using the reins or adding leg. That is a lesson that will certainly carry back over to my dressage work.

Moe, Ange and Jess enjoying after-a-good-ride glow.

The Dressage Experiment

The Morgan Dressage Association contacted me to write an article about a clinic I attended with Eclipse, the little Morgan super star who has been my competition partner for the last 6 years. I started writing, and got a little carried away. They graciously allowed me to publish the article in my humble blog, so below is as it ran in this months' issue.

Eclipse recently retired back to Ensign's Grace Morgans in MD, and I miss him in the worst way. This arrogant little turkey won my heart years ago.

Grandpa

My grandpa passed away last week. He was 92, and had a full life. When I was home to visit in August, the emotion I caught from him was one of peace.

I love my grandpa, and miss him terribly. Everyone who has said they are sorry for my loss, I thank you. Everyone who has followed that with “he’s in a better place,” well, that kind of pat answer doesn't comfort me, it kinda makes me mad. It tries to roll my overwhelming  grief into a neat, socially acceptable package that is safe to take in public.  But grief isn't neat, and it isn't comfortable. It pulses from the nagging distraction to full gut-wrenching obsession.  I won’t ever see my grandpa again, and that isn't comfortable.

Really, I don’t want comfort. I want my grandpa back. If I can’t have him, I want to remember him.

I want to grab every memory now, before the business and busyness of daily life crowd them to the back corners of my mind. I want to remember riding along with him when he drove the bank route, listening to him tell me words of wisdom of life, and which small Illinois towns had the best soda fountains.  I want to remember helping him put up hay and take care of the horses.  I want to remember him trying so hard to make things perfect that he’d get angry.  Because Grandpa felt things strongly.

He felt love for Grandma strong enough that he willingly distanced himself from his own family to marry her.  He felt strong enough love for Mom and I to show up with boxes of food the winter Mom had pneumonia so badly she couldn't work.  He felt strong enough love for me to invest in my future in the form of a pony, judging that my high-energy would better off channeled into a pony than let run wild.  He was probably right.

Grandpa gave me so much. He gave me things—my pony, my favorite car (the Delta 88), a jar of pickled beets every time I came to visit. He gave me life lessons—how to work for what was important to me, how to organize my finances, how to be stubborn when needed, and how to forgive and accept.  He gave me his time and his love.  Without these things, I wouldn't be the person I am today. 

I love you grandpa, and I will remember you.