Sometimes you feel the need to stand up on your soap box and this is one of them. I may not be at Hyde Park Corner in London, but I do think this message can still garner an interested audience of dressage aficionados if not the common man.
We can talk about offering classical dressage training. We can talk about competitive sporthorse dressage training and discuss German versus French until the cows come home. But really folks. If you study the classics, you will find Baucher, Fillis, Steinbrecht, L'Hotte, DeCarpentry and so many others already expounded on everything you see today. No - not seeing the Duke of Newcastle included ( God forbid we should mention the British having anything to do with it, though the latest successes of the Brits Carl Hester, Laura Bechtolsheimer and Charlotte DuJardin etc. might make you wonder). Are the great riders of today such as Kyra Kyrklund influenced more by Nuno Oliveria, Brenderup or Alois Podhasky or none of the above? Aren't we all seeking, "Dressage in Harmony," as Mr Zettl so aptly calls his book.
Did Anky Van Grunsven and Stef really invent Rollkur? Or was it Nicole Uphoff. Obviously it was none of the above. Was Gerd Heuschmann, Klaus Balkenhol and the Xenophon club bringing something to light we didn't already know about? Should we follow Barbier, de Kunffy? It has been an endless task to differentiate between French and German, classical and Olympic medal driven training. I agree with Paul Belasik's approach that he sites in his DVD The Lost Quixotes......German/French/British/Portuguese/Spanish etc...back in the day all these were joined as almost one. It's all wrapped up together.
Did Christoph Hess reinvent German dressage? Did Kalmen De Jaremak produce the best Hanoverian horses ever on earth with the Verden breeding program? Of course not. And I swear if I hear another thing about 'Legerete" and the Philippe Karl method I may gag. I am not saying Philippe Karl does not have some wonderful riding techniques to share, just that it should not be thought that other training methods are exclusive. It's all just riding folks. Not conducting an orchestra with our hands. Not using special stirrups that 'angle' or 'bounce' to help you. It is also not about 'Kick, spur, kick," and sitting behind the vertical to somehow drive your horse off the ground behind. Not choosing between French, German or whatever. It's about working with your horse on what works for his particular needs and working correctly. Using your core, breathing and positive attitude with a hands off approach to interference. Pretty much what we should be doing in all aspects of our lives.
Yes, a perfect horse never a rider made and you cannot, as another iconic equitation master George Morris heralds, "You cannot, buy a good seat." You truly do have to earn your spurs. These old sayings are cliche, but ever so often true.
Maybe. Just maybe. Instead of looking at the ins and outs, like the details of Henriquet - no, no flexion to the outside ever, shoulder in, shoulder in and more shoulder in, we should look at the bigger picture. And that my friends, is the horse on whom we have the privilege to sit!
As German team rider Gabriella Grillo once said to me and to others, "This horse did not ask to be here. In my yard. I owe him the best I can give him."
I agree.
Dr. Klimke, Herbert Rehbein, Conrad Schumacher always focused quite marvelously on the conformation and needs of the particular horse on which they sat ( or on which you sat if you were lucky enough to work with them). Mr. Schumacher probably still does.
For me when I look at the horse I see a myriad of truths and challenges to be enjoyed. To be worked through with the best interest of the horse always front and center. To look kindly at the weaknesses as well as the strengths of both the physical and mental conformation of my horse and to be flexible when he or she tells me this is too hard or too easy. Yes, here I am on my high horse. I hear my voice shrill and enthusiastic standing on Hyde Park Corner. Please. It is very easy to decry others. It is not so easy to do the right thing. To be patient. To be humble. To be 'told' by the horse. But all the ideas that trainers today expound, have already been discovered. Do your homework.
So my best advice and that which I give my students is read everything, evaluate everything with kindness and an open mind and then just ride. I'm guessing by all the links I put in this blog you may have received that message loud and clear. And enjoy the journey. Stop and enjoy the view as you climb the mountain and enjoy the breather, because those are the moments when you truly appreciate how far you and your horse have come no matter how far you may still have to go. But. The journey is everything. And most importantly remember. There is always something you don't know and welcome any opportunity to learn. We all have something to teach each other and sharing is one of the best feelings in the world and as this wonderful article in http://www.CatskillHorse.org magazine authored by Bethany Videto explains, Trust is the foundation of good training. I love to hear young talented riders like Bethany, who has now turned from English to Western, appreciate that ethic.
I can't say I was totally aware of it at her age.
We can talk about offering classical dressage training. We can talk about competitive sporthorse dressage training and discuss German versus French until the cows come home. But really folks. If you study the classics, you will find Baucher, Fillis, Steinbrecht, L'Hotte, DeCarpentry and so many others already expounded on everything you see today. No - not seeing the Duke of Newcastle included ( God forbid we should mention the British having anything to do with it, though the latest successes of the Brits Carl Hester, Laura Bechtolsheimer and Charlotte DuJardin etc. might make you wonder). Are the great riders of today such as Kyra Kyrklund influenced more by Nuno Oliveria, Brenderup or Alois Podhasky or none of the above? Aren't we all seeking, "Dressage in Harmony," as Mr Zettl so aptly calls his book.
Did Anky Van Grunsven and Stef really invent Rollkur? Or was it Nicole Uphoff. Obviously it was none of the above. Was Gerd Heuschmann, Klaus Balkenhol and the Xenophon club bringing something to light we didn't already know about? Should we follow Barbier, de Kunffy? It has been an endless task to differentiate between French and German, classical and Olympic medal driven training. I agree with Paul Belasik's approach that he sites in his DVD The Lost Quixotes......German/French/British/Portuguese/Spanish etc...back in the day all these were joined as almost one. It's all wrapped up together.
Did Christoph Hess reinvent German dressage? Did Kalmen De Jaremak produce the best Hanoverian horses ever on earth with the Verden breeding program? Of course not. And I swear if I hear another thing about 'Legerete" and the Philippe Karl method I may gag. I am not saying Philippe Karl does not have some wonderful riding techniques to share, just that it should not be thought that other training methods are exclusive. It's all just riding folks. Not conducting an orchestra with our hands. Not using special stirrups that 'angle' or 'bounce' to help you. It is also not about 'Kick, spur, kick," and sitting behind the vertical to somehow drive your horse off the ground behind. Not choosing between French, German or whatever. It's about working with your horse on what works for his particular needs and working correctly. Using your core, breathing and positive attitude with a hands off approach to interference. Pretty much what we should be doing in all aspects of our lives.
Yes, a perfect horse never a rider made and you cannot, as another iconic equitation master George Morris heralds, "You cannot, buy a good seat." You truly do have to earn your spurs. These old sayings are cliche, but ever so often true.
Maybe. Just maybe. Instead of looking at the ins and outs, like the details of Henriquet - no, no flexion to the outside ever, shoulder in, shoulder in and more shoulder in, we should look at the bigger picture. And that my friends, is the horse on whom we have the privilege to sit!
As German team rider Gabriella Grillo once said to me and to others, "This horse did not ask to be here. In my yard. I owe him the best I can give him."
I agree.
Dr. Klimke, Herbert Rehbein, Conrad Schumacher always focused quite marvelously on the conformation and needs of the particular horse on which they sat ( or on which you sat if you were lucky enough to work with them). Mr. Schumacher probably still does.
For me when I look at the horse I see a myriad of truths and challenges to be enjoyed. To be worked through with the best interest of the horse always front and center. To look kindly at the weaknesses as well as the strengths of both the physical and mental conformation of my horse and to be flexible when he or she tells me this is too hard or too easy. Yes, here I am on my high horse. I hear my voice shrill and enthusiastic standing on Hyde Park Corner. Please. It is very easy to decry others. It is not so easy to do the right thing. To be patient. To be humble. To be 'told' by the horse. But all the ideas that trainers today expound, have already been discovered. Do your homework.
So my best advice and that which I give my students is read everything, evaluate everything with kindness and an open mind and then just ride. I'm guessing by all the links I put in this blog you may have received that message loud and clear. And enjoy the journey. Stop and enjoy the view as you climb the mountain and enjoy the breather, because those are the moments when you truly appreciate how far you and your horse have come no matter how far you may still have to go. But. The journey is everything. And most importantly remember. There is always something you don't know and welcome any opportunity to learn. We all have something to teach each other and sharing is one of the best feelings in the world and as this wonderful article in http://www.CatskillHorse.org magazine authored by Bethany Videto explains, Trust is the foundation of good training. I love to hear young talented riders like Bethany, who has now turned from English to Western, appreciate that ethic.
I can't say I was totally aware of it at her age.
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| Charrington WVH Now a 'Finished"horse or "Fully Dressed Horse," and no that doesn't mean he is lame or naked, as in dressage terms - "In teaching him over the years, he has taught me more." |
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