Watching a Dressage Master at Work, Seminar #3

(This blog was originally posted on October 27, 2015)

Photo by Sara Fogan

On the final day of his 2010 clinic, Olympian Jan Ebeling demonstrated why dressage riders

must master all of the elements on the Training Scale to achieve collection.

                In 2010, I had an opportunity to watch several dressage clinics that were conducted by one of my favorite competitors, Olympian Jan Ebeling. The workshop was held during the 2010 Equine Affaire in Pomona, California, during which time he worked with several riders and their horses to fine-tune their communication and technique with their equine partners. There is no better way to understand how the dressage Training Scale “looks” than by watching a dressage master ride advanced movements such as the piaffe, passage, canter pirouette and single tempi changes. These are some highlights of what I learned and observed during the third (and final) dressage clinic he conducted during that weekend.

Seminar #3, February 6, 2010

Theme of clinic: Structuring your dressage training sessions.

Dressage is a team sport: horse+rider+trainer.

Everyone can do dressage. It’s good training for everyone! Dressage improves the horse’s natural abilities by gymnasticizing its body.

Sandrina: Jan Eberling’s horse for the demo. Oldenberg mare with a lot of TB.

It takes 8-10 years to create a Grand Prix horse. Not every horse can do it.

“Principles of Dressage” guidelines for the professional trainer.

We are often our own best critic. Get video of key moments of your ride to analyze, evaluate the ride.

Goals we must achieve when training dressage: Rhythm. Relaxation. Contact. Impulsion. Straightness. Collection. You can’t have collection without establishing every other element, first.

Typically start out on the horse’s easier/better side to make it easier/more enjoyable for the horse.

Purity of the gaits is very important in dressage. Trot: a diagonal two-beat.

Change tempo of pushing poweràcarrying power. Combination of legs and hands puts the horse in frame.

Legs, seat and hands make the horse respond in a particular way. Get the horse to step actively under her legs.

In dressage, we want the horse to become more even.

When the horse gets scared, it’s important to earn their trust, to trust and listen to the aids. If the horse doesn’t trust you and spooks or something, if you punish the horse for geing scared, it will spook worse.

Shoulder-in and leg-yield helps the horse maneuver.

Balance, no resistance=good canter transition. Even a Grand Prix horse has to work on these things.

Practice sending the horse forward and bring him back.

“Leg” refers to knee on down (lower leg)

You must do the basics and know how to speak “the basics” to your horse so they understand.

In order to get good (become a good rider) it takes a lot of input.

Legs forward, hands restricting, seat assist forward drive.

In a test, the poll must be at the highest point.

Gradually work your way to the fancy transitions.

If you see that the horse is relaxed and wants to go forward, that’s good!

Profession in training, exposure to see where we are with the horse.

After movements of collection, always go forward again right away.

How pretty you sit, effectiveness of you aids, elasticity of horse and desire of horse to go forward …(?)

Backing up is an obedience exercise.

Make horse more compact and release. It should take very little aid (?)

Straight trotàput both legs on. Keep contact on outside rein so the horse turns.

One tempis: it’s like the horse is “skipping.” Keep horse straight, balanced. To train, go back to the basics, work on relieving stiffness.

Whwen horse is on a long rein, you want it to have energy. For a very eager horse, repeat stop-go.

Rhythm of the walk is easily destroyed if you mess with the hands a lot.

Get into the horse’s head to understand how it thinks/get into the horse’s psyche.

Separation of hind feet is a common mistake in canter pirouette. If frame isn’t right, the horse is too weak, back is tight, too much hand.in the canter pirouette, there’s not much to repair if it starts to go wrong.

Training is about compromise and confrontation.

JE keeps horse in a fairly round frame.

Always use positive reinforcement. Someone needs to explain what to do.

You always want to keep the horse happy: “I don’t want a slave. I want a buddy.” (Jan Ebeling)

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)