(This blog was originally posted on July 13,
2011)
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| Photo by Rick Hustead |
No
matter who you are, every equestrian benefits from having someone observe you ride.
Ideally, you can train with a riding instructor who can constructively critique
your position, aids, etc. while you work with your horse. No matter how good or
experienced an equestrian you are, it is almost impossible to notice every
detail about your position or technique that another person’s experienced eye could
easily see. There is nothing so valuable for improving your ride as receiving feedback—good
or bad—at the precise moment you are asking for a movement. This kind of
instruction can truly make all the difference in how you ride.
Many
years ago, figure skater Michelle
Kwan decided to train without a skating coach. She had previously won a
silver Olympic medal, and she owned many national and world championship
titles. Surely, these experiences and her talent as a skater qualified her to
work without a trainer. However, she did not skate so well on her own; within a
year Ms. Kwan re-hired her former coach and started winning medals again.
Even
trainers have trainers. At the very least, they acknowledge the philosophies of
other horsemen who have influenced their own work with horses. In 2010, I was
privileged to audit a couple of Jan
Ebeling’s dressage clinics at Equine Affaire (Pomona). In addition to
teaching his own students, he competes at Grand Prix dressage competitions
around the world. At one point, Mr. Ebeling disclosed that in addition to being
coached by his wife (also an accomplished dressage competitor), he sends video
of his training sessions to his own instructor…in Germany!
I
rode in my first horse show in 2011. To prepare, I took taking riding
lessons almost every day. I followed the mantra, “Perfect practice makes
perfect performance,” and I relied on my then-trainer’s experience as a riding
teacher and a successful competitor in dressage to help me prepare for this competition.
I wanted to ride accurate tests on show-day, and I trusted Julie Van Loo’s
insights as she advised me how to fine-tune my position and aids when I rode
Candy through walk-trot transitions. She even corrected my mistakes before I even
make them—or, at least before I was aware that I had made an error.
As
the tagline for those MasterCard®
advertisements might read, “Having a trainer to watch you ride: Priceless.”
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