New Tests

(This blog was originally posted on December 8, 2014)

 

Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan

       The first time I competed in a first dressage competition in 2011, I rode Candy, a part-Arabian mare I was leasing from Silver Gate Farms, the barn where I was training at the time. I can still remember the patterns for the classes we entered. Candy was (is) a wonderful, kind little mare who helped me get over some of my anxiety about showing my first time out. After all, she was a pro—a schooling horse who had been to (and won ribbons at) various competitions. I knew I could trust her to take care of me while we were in the arena and practicing in the schooling arena. So long as I remembered the patterns and when to apply my aids correctly I would be good to go.

          When the United States Dressage Federation announced that the new dressage tests were published for the 2015 competition season, starting December 2014, I must admit that my stomach dropped a little when I heard that news. I could still vividly remember each of the patterns I rode three years ago, and now I would have to learn new ones. During a dressage seminar at the 2011 Equine Affaire, Axel Steiner, a former dressage champion, explained that the organization updates the tests every three years. In fact, he had been on the panel that helped to construct the “new” tests, which would be out at the end of that year. He said that these revisions were made to hone and fine-tune elements that would challenge the equine and human participants while making the transitions less physically strenuous for the horse. I was and am all for making things more comfortable for the horse; however, the idea of having to memorize new patterns was a bit anxiety-inducing, to say the least.

Next time I ride in a show, I will be aboard my own horse, Galahad. Unlike Candy, who had been trained primarily as a hunter, Galahad is a dressage horse. He has the conformation for and self-carriage that is desired in the sport: every one of his movements comes from his hindquarters, from his measured walk to his rocking-horse canter. When he is training, the gelding often learns new schooling patterns quicker than I do. He enjoys doing transitions, and is happy as a clam executing them on a long or a short rein. Having said all that, unlike Candy, he has never been to or in a show arena. To borrow a sweet expression I once heard a competitor use to describe her horse, which was also his first competition, Galahad will be “a green bean” our first time out. 

No worries. I will approach training and preparing for our first competition the same way I help my equestrian clients get ready. Even though our first competition is many months away, I will start learning and memorizing the test(s) I plan to ride, now, so I don’t have to cram all of the elements in at the last moment. My trainer and I will continue to school Galahad as we have been doing, teaching and reviewing elements from the next level and incorporate portions of different tests I plan to ride, with what we are working on. I will take him on walks around the neighborhood to get him more relaxed and comfortable away from “home,” as it were, and to show him that the outside world is fun and exciting rather than scary and dangerous. (So far, to my relief and delight, Galahad is more curious about what goes on around him than afraid or wary.) And, as it gets closer to the time when I plan to take my horse to our first competition, I will arrange to bring him to a show or two to school him. I want to give him an opportunity to experience (see, hear and smell) what goes on at these events before we actually compete—to reassure him as well as me that everything is okay, comfortable and will be fun.

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/.

© 2015

Learning From the Masters: Monty Roberts, Part 1

     Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan

Me with Monty Roberts at the Pomona Equine Affaire in 2008

     I did not remember his name the first time I heard of Monty Roberts. But I always remembered what he taught.
     Let's go back about 20 years. At the time, I hadn't ridden or even spent any significant time around horses in about a decade. I was living in Southeast London, doing my post-graduate degree. But my fascination and infatuation with them was still strong enough to influence where I chose to live: My landlords--and now, friends--owned a horse; my landlady rides and competes in dressage.
     On this particular night, I was curled up in an armchair, watching a documentary about a gentleman from Solvang, California. The subject of this documentary was very personable and  soft-spoken. He provided background about his difficult (abusive) childhood and his subsequent work with, training and advocating for the welfare of horses. Then Mr. Roberts explained how his gentle, respectful philosophy of "Join-Up" was based on his observations of how horses naturally interact with herd members in the wild. 

    

     The program showed him do this at a riding stable--I think the event was a motivational seminar of some kind for business executives. No whips, no ropes, no harsh words. Just a man and a horse that had never been handled before. Mr. Roberts explained what he was doing the whole time, and in about 30 minutes the horse was following him around the arena. Afterward, several attendees gave emotional impressions of what they had witnessed. He admitted that people often became emotional at his seminars (some even faint); he went on to explain that witnessing or experiencing this kind of human-horse interaction was very cathartic when there was abuse or trauma in the person's past.

     Then, the documentary showed him using "Join-Up" techniques to gentle the wild Mustang, Shy Boy, in the middle of a Nevada desert.

     Several years ago, I had the honor of meeting Mr. Roberts and Shy Boy at Equine Affaire in Pomona, California. By then, a friend at my barn had re-introduced me to his work. I only had to read a few pages of The Man Who Listens to Horses to realize that this was the man featured in that documentary I still remembered watching when I lived in London. I still feel the hairs on my neck prickle when I think about how his interactions with horses bring people to tears, and a wild Mustang colt to trust him implicitly.

     And then I heard him introduce/describe each of the horses in his demonstration as   "equine students"...and I was blown away. 

     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®, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.