Monday, March 23, 2015

Priceless Information: Charlotte Dujardin on Choosing a Performance Horse


Olympic champion Charlotte Dujardin riding at the Dressage Symposium,

Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, California, March 8, 2014.

Photo by Sara R. Fogan

 


 

Just over one year ago, my father took me to watch a dressage symposium at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, California. Charlotte Dujardin, winner of the individual and British team gold medals in dressage at the 2012 Olympic Games, worked with her former trainer, Judy Harvey, to provide hands-on instruction for a handful of riders at the clinic. The participants weren’t the only ones to benefit from Ms. Dujardin’s experience selecting and training a young, prospective equine partner. As a student auditing the clinic from the stands, I know that the audience also learned a lot about this topic, as well.

Here are some highlights from her presentation.

·         Pay attention to the horse’s temperament, willingness and changeability. Is he or she willing to please? “A champion horse has three long [dressage] tests to do in three days. A champion horse must be fit and willing to fight through” to the end of the test, she said.


·         Believe it or not, you do not necessarily want a horse that has a big movement right from the start, the Olympian conceded. “They don’t last as long, and it’s actually very hard to keep those horses sound.”

 
·         For example, Ms. Dujardin said she never does a sitting trot on a young horse because his back simply is not yet strong enough when he is moving to support a rider like that. She also provides a lot of walk “breaks” on a long rein during the twenty-minute training session to allow the horse to clear its head and relax. You want to keep everything easy and clear for the horse, she said. “A loose, swinging tail is a good indicator of what the back muscle is doing.”
 

·         Speaking of the big movement—which so characterizes the extension you see in a high-level dressage horse such as her mount, Valegro—the trot is the last thing she focuses on when checking out a new horse. “You want a good walk and a good canter. Don’t worry so much about the trot, because it can be changed somewhat as the horse develops more suspension in this gait through its gymnastic education,” she said. (I can definitely vouch for that fact: when I started riding my horse, Avalon’s Galahad, his trot was often rushed and his extension was meh. However, through regular walk-trot-canter transitions on the lunge line, stretching and consistent work over cavalletti as part of his training regimen, his extension is much improved and the stride more refined and regular.) “To increase the strength in the hind legs, trot as fast as you can to get [that] push and suspension,” she said. And, of course, be sure to repeat the same exercise in both directions.


·         “You are there to teach/train the horse, not micromanage him. You want your legs and rein aids to be clear,” Ms. Dujardin reminded her students in the clinic. In other words: Flopping arms and legs (excessive kicking) would not do. “Look up, sit up and keep your hands still. Look where you are going. Think about your legs going up to the hands.” The more you kick, the more the horse becomes numb to your leg, she warned.

 
·          She also admonished riders about using the dressage whip to encourage forward movement. The horse needs to know how to move off a soft leg, she said. “If you have a lazy horse, take your legs off. For a hot horse put your legs on,” the Olympian suggested. “The horse has to walk on his own. The rider shouldn’t have to do anything.” And, of course, “When you ask a horse to go, let him go.”
  

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

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