The Dressage Experiment - part 1

I will preface this blog with the thought that I am NOT a dressage queen. I love jumping in any and all forms. Dressage does not come naturally to me. I feel that people who typically do well in dressage are more relaxed, methodical, and meticulous people. I'm a color outside the lines in a wild and erratic fashion kinda girl myself. For years, I would simply freeze after I left a beautiful warm up and trot circles around and around until the judge blew the whistle, and then I would complete my test in record time. My dressage coach growing up probably has more than her fair share of gray hairs form these experience. I have manage to end up in the top ribbons in years past due to generally clear rounds from saintly horses at break neck speeds. 

As I've gotten older, and started working with more and more horses, riders, and fabulous coaches, I've begun to really see the value in a quality dressage base (ESPECIALLY for jumping). One of my recent horses and I even ventured so far as to 2nd level with some mixed success, as most of it was trial and error on our own.Though I did manage to qualify for regionals at Training, 1st, and 2nd over our adventures. I've now set it as one of my goals to get my bronze medal over the next couple of years... Optimism right? Ideally on my OTTB or home started WB mare (2 scores down, 2 to go!) Excited to have found a fabulous coach in my area as well to help me realize these goals!  So now the real question: How does one do Dressage well when one is not necessarily on the nicest moving, flashiest, or talented of horses that simply waltzes around for us scoring 9's and 10s effortlessly?

Here's the place to start.... or... maybe not 

A few weeks ago, I got a call on a Thursday asking if I was interested in running a sale horse at Beginner Novice that weekend for a client. I love showing so that was a silly question. Polish the boots, grab the coat.... Off I go. That night, I sent a message to a good friend of mine Carrie Meehan (If you're in the MO/KS area, look her up, she's amazing) and asked her "How do I win Dressage?" She seems to do it a lot (actually, she just wins the whole event too, not just dressage. Her record includes multiple AEC wins at different levels on different horses) , so why not ask her?


Here was her response: 'People are always SO CONCERNED about keeping the horse round, but when you give the horse a solid unwavering connection with your hands, and think of just riding up and out, it does WONDERS for their movement. I focusing on making the horse stay in a happy place where he can't curl past my contact or go beyond it. Then i just ride the energy up and out, from the hind legs forward. I also hold my hands a bit higher than is comfortable...and think you're holding a tray full of glasses on your wrists. It wont like turn your fingers up...but THINKING it makes the perfect angle"


Simple right? I should be good for Grand Prix next week. But her message is a really good one. So often, people let their horses fall behind the vertical line of poll and nose, in the attempt to control the horses tempo with their hands (instead of their seat and their post rhythm) and try to make it "round", and at the expense of a swinging, relaxed back. The horse cannot achieve throughness and contact without first having a quiet and consistent rhythm and    relaxed back. One can't achieve that if they're swinging their horses head back and forth in an attempt to get them round, "wiggling the bit" or by holding their head to their chest ala Rolkur style. The best movement comes from a horse that is moving up and out (from behind, not from the forehand , a quiet rhythm with the rider continuously encouraging the horse to come up in the poll and into the bit, not onto and behind the bit.

The ACTUAL training scale

Here's a perfect example of me focusing too much on round and not enough on UP and into a connection. You can see that this results in a tight back, and a lack of reach from the hind end. 

Versus here where I've asked the horse to really come from behind and up to me, instead of letting him come down. I could even stand to have my hands up a bit more, and in front of me to better guide him. PS if anyone is looking for a LOVELY dressage horse, this horse is TOO cool. I rode him down in Florida this winter and he is available for sale down there through http://www.jsdressage.com/Sales.html

Best part about her advice (that I tried to follow to the best of my ability)? It worked. I managed to guide the mare (Parker) to a win in our class of 20! With a 29 to boot! It does help that this is one of the most talented horses I've had the pleasure to sit on, but really focusing on riding her up into the contact allowed her already stunning movement to really show through!


 


The result! (She is for sale by the way! This is a seriously cool horse... jumped around double clear and won on her first show out for the season! Can't beat that!)


So as I move forward on all of my horses, I have been really focusing on SLOWING down the rhythm so that the horses feet have time to keep up with the rest of their body, and a focus on up and out, opposed to allowing them to come down and in. I've also been working on pushing the hind legs up to the front shoe prints, to develop better drive from all my horses. This is not to say I don't work on "long and low" but when I do, it's with a forced attention to not allowing the horse to curl in on our stretch, but rather to reach out for those carrots... :)


Run fast my friends! And check out my current list of sales horses on my website, InfinitySportHorse.com