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Olympic
champion Charlotte Dujardin riding at the Dressage Symposium,
Los
Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, California, March 8, 2014.
Photo by Sara R. Fogan
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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/.
© 2015
