Clinic Rock III: Overview
Jul. 24th, 2006 12:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancinghorseOverall it was a very interesting experience. I mostly picked up gestalt and a sense of the kind of forward and engaged that a horse needs to be truly comfortable (even though it's hard work). I got validation of the seat I've been working on, and made a blood pact with H to come back next year with better hands. Much better hands.
He did emphasize hands, and hand-riding is a major bugbear in dressage--but what he wanted was, I think, a way to focus riders on a simple thing that through carefully timed instruction could help them develop seat and feel. Seat can't be taught in a week, and none of the riders will try. What they do manage to do is work transformations in the horses, and improvements in the riders that should continue after the clinic is over.
I think my education was a hindrance in a way, because I would be too aware of everything else and would lose the hand--and drop the horse. I need to work a lot more on my timing and calibration (always my mantra). And my focus. No more dropping him on his nose!
For many riders this was a transformative experience--they were gaga over what they learned. I had more of a quiet sense of, Yes, this is right, I need more of this, I need my own horse and my own tack and the underpinnings that go with having worked with horse over a period of months and years, and I have to go back and keep learning. The big transformations have been with TL and the seatwork. This shows me what I need to do and where I need to go with my horses--Pook especially--and a big chunk of how I need to go about it. Lots of work ahead. Lots of fine-tuning. And finally, maybe, real progress; no more spinning wheels as the rut gets deeper and deeper.
We are having him back next year; he's willing to come and we've already got a large number of people signed up. The clinic was a huge success. I just have to figure out how to get da Pook to Dallas--but with a year to do that, I should manage something.
We had some great rides and some amazing improvements through the week. A particular treat for all of us was watching Desche school Grand Prix...with courbettes as his chosen evasion. He'd be working piaffe-passage transitions and suddenly just go Up. The strength of the horse was astounding; he could canter just about in place, hanging in the air, stride by stride, and never break a sweat. He's 21 years old, has been pounded on the exhibition circuit, and he's still as sound as they come. It was a really clear illustration of how well adapted the Lipizzan is for this work. The Warmbloods had big trots and some were very fit, but they just weren't built for strength or carrying power. They had more of a balance on the forehand and a lot less ability to sit down behind. They did well, as did the TB (who was lovely) and the various other breeds, but when it came to really collected work, the Lipps and Andalusians conquered by a mile. Nor were the baroque horses deficient in extensions, either Once they were freed in the body, they could really fly.
The SRS has been criticized for not allowing the full release of the body, especially in the neck, but I saw horse after horse freed and suppled and opened up in the neck and shoulders--notably the QH/WB with the tight shoulders. There was a Lot of expectation that horses would sit down and carry over the topline, but there was also a lot of stretching and loosening and work on a long frame. Those horses who could do the collected work were encouraged to, but those less suited to it by design or level of training were asked for different types of exercises. The result was always the same: more freedom and elasticity of movement, much better engagement, and more throughness in the body. We were working the whole horse, and H was the best of the SRS riders I've seen so far at judging exactly what a horse can do--there was no case of a horse being asked to do more than he could manage, though he might be challenged to his limits (like DS on day one). Horses blossomed through the clinic, and even in a single lesson we could see visible improvement.
On day 3, H ended up riding most of the horses (and getting overheated--we had to watch him carefully). That was an education in itself: in tact and strength, focus and expectation. Horses might resist but would be quietly persisted with until they realized they could do it. I watched his hands and saw how to do it, though that still needs more understanding on my part. It was all part of the Gestalt, the whole picture of the aids.
That was a real master class. Very few riders ride as well as the SRS, and for many in the audience, this was their first chance to see it close up and ongoing, hour after hour. (These guys are fit.) It also let the riders see his instruction in practice. We could really see how still he was, but there were almost invisibly subtle things happening everywhere, every instant. For me I noted the hands, how alive the contact was without ever letting a rein go loose or flop. It was a completely coherent system from end to end, without break or interruption. If the horse fussed--and some fussed a lot--he never yanked or cranked or lashed them, he just kept on asking. He might change the way he asked, if it wasn't working, he wouldn't slack off. Then the instant he got a response, he was soft and still. It was a constant, very active dialogue between quiet, respectful rider and attentive and focused horse. Even the ones that started off looky and distracted discovered focus through the ride.
Tact--that's the word I'd give it above all. That and focus.
And patience. Endless patience.
H did ride DS btw--on day five, when S rode him to get input on what to do once she got him home. There were difficulties with the canter, and H got on and worked on them. I felt a bit better about our ugly canter work then; H had his hands full getting a coherent and balanced gait, too. It's a young-horse thing; they're all over the place. Time and training take them from there to the null-G canter Desche was showing--it just takes a while.
I think H liked us. He smiled a lot especially in the last two days, he spoke well of the riders and horses (not just being diplomatic; he honestly did think they were a good group), and he saw how dedicated they all were to learning how to ride correctly. No one seemed to be there to count coup or play Collect-A-Name. No Dressage Queens! We did have one rider who tried to impress him with name-dropping and arena tricks, but that eased up as the days passed. He isn't easy to impress, and he's very clear on what he knows and what he wants. Nor will be ask a horse or rider to do anything unwise or premature. The young horse whose owner wanted to work on piaffe did basics all week and seemed to like it, and he was the better for it.
Altogether a most excellent experience. There were other bits--dinner Saturday in the lounge, cooked by Desche's human in the midst of packing to leave for West Virginia (the east coast is gaining a good trainer), sitting around the bar and talking and relaxing, was worth remembering. Also the young girl who was offered a ride on S's stallion, got a longe lesson and didn't stop smiling from the time she was offered it until she left on the last day. The Group Fat White Pony Photo (still to come): all the clinic's Lipizzans plus the trainer's filly (Pandora II--a lot more like Gaudia than Pandora 1.0) lined up with the SWLA board and members. Pulling off an event on this scale, at this level, and making it work. Our committee strictly and totally rocks.
We all want to do it again, and we will. It was well worth it. We would like to make it annual--and bring in the Eleve for intro through fourth level clinics. Yes, two of them a year. We're game. We can do it. Our little Gala last fall is the talk of Europe: the judge was so impressed he's been telling everyone, "This is how to do it." He was much impressed with our horses, too. We were able to show H what the judge was talking about, which didn't hurt international relations, either.
But first, before we start again, we're all going thud. Yes.
He did emphasize hands, and hand-riding is a major bugbear in dressage--but what he wanted was, I think, a way to focus riders on a simple thing that through carefully timed instruction could help them develop seat and feel. Seat can't be taught in a week, and none of the riders will try. What they do manage to do is work transformations in the horses, and improvements in the riders that should continue after the clinic is over.
I think my education was a hindrance in a way, because I would be too aware of everything else and would lose the hand--and drop the horse. I need to work a lot more on my timing and calibration (always my mantra). And my focus. No more dropping him on his nose!
For many riders this was a transformative experience--they were gaga over what they learned. I had more of a quiet sense of, Yes, this is right, I need more of this, I need my own horse and my own tack and the underpinnings that go with having worked with horse over a period of months and years, and I have to go back and keep learning. The big transformations have been with TL and the seatwork. This shows me what I need to do and where I need to go with my horses--Pook especially--and a big chunk of how I need to go about it. Lots of work ahead. Lots of fine-tuning. And finally, maybe, real progress; no more spinning wheels as the rut gets deeper and deeper.
We are having him back next year; he's willing to come and we've already got a large number of people signed up. The clinic was a huge success. I just have to figure out how to get da Pook to Dallas--but with a year to do that, I should manage something.
We had some great rides and some amazing improvements through the week. A particular treat for all of us was watching Desche school Grand Prix...with courbettes as his chosen evasion. He'd be working piaffe-passage transitions and suddenly just go Up. The strength of the horse was astounding; he could canter just about in place, hanging in the air, stride by stride, and never break a sweat. He's 21 years old, has been pounded on the exhibition circuit, and he's still as sound as they come. It was a really clear illustration of how well adapted the Lipizzan is for this work. The Warmbloods had big trots and some were very fit, but they just weren't built for strength or carrying power. They had more of a balance on the forehand and a lot less ability to sit down behind. They did well, as did the TB (who was lovely) and the various other breeds, but when it came to really collected work, the Lipps and Andalusians conquered by a mile. Nor were the baroque horses deficient in extensions, either Once they were freed in the body, they could really fly.
The SRS has been criticized for not allowing the full release of the body, especially in the neck, but I saw horse after horse freed and suppled and opened up in the neck and shoulders--notably the QH/WB with the tight shoulders. There was a Lot of expectation that horses would sit down and carry over the topline, but there was also a lot of stretching and loosening and work on a long frame. Those horses who could do the collected work were encouraged to, but those less suited to it by design or level of training were asked for different types of exercises. The result was always the same: more freedom and elasticity of movement, much better engagement, and more throughness in the body. We were working the whole horse, and H was the best of the SRS riders I've seen so far at judging exactly what a horse can do--there was no case of a horse being asked to do more than he could manage, though he might be challenged to his limits (like DS on day one). Horses blossomed through the clinic, and even in a single lesson we could see visible improvement.
On day 3, H ended up riding most of the horses (and getting overheated--we had to watch him carefully). That was an education in itself: in tact and strength, focus and expectation. Horses might resist but would be quietly persisted with until they realized they could do it. I watched his hands and saw how to do it, though that still needs more understanding on my part. It was all part of the Gestalt, the whole picture of the aids.
That was a real master class. Very few riders ride as well as the SRS, and for many in the audience, this was their first chance to see it close up and ongoing, hour after hour. (These guys are fit.) It also let the riders see his instruction in practice. We could really see how still he was, but there were almost invisibly subtle things happening everywhere, every instant. For me I noted the hands, how alive the contact was without ever letting a rein go loose or flop. It was a completely coherent system from end to end, without break or interruption. If the horse fussed--and some fussed a lot--he never yanked or cranked or lashed them, he just kept on asking. He might change the way he asked, if it wasn't working, he wouldn't slack off. Then the instant he got a response, he was soft and still. It was a constant, very active dialogue between quiet, respectful rider and attentive and focused horse. Even the ones that started off looky and distracted discovered focus through the ride.
Tact--that's the word I'd give it above all. That and focus.
And patience. Endless patience.
H did ride DS btw--on day five, when S rode him to get input on what to do once she got him home. There were difficulties with the canter, and H got on and worked on them. I felt a bit better about our ugly canter work then; H had his hands full getting a coherent and balanced gait, too. It's a young-horse thing; they're all over the place. Time and training take them from there to the null-G canter Desche was showing--it just takes a while.
I think H liked us. He smiled a lot especially in the last two days, he spoke well of the riders and horses (not just being diplomatic; he honestly did think they were a good group), and he saw how dedicated they all were to learning how to ride correctly. No one seemed to be there to count coup or play Collect-A-Name. No Dressage Queens! We did have one rider who tried to impress him with name-dropping and arena tricks, but that eased up as the days passed. He isn't easy to impress, and he's very clear on what he knows and what he wants. Nor will be ask a horse or rider to do anything unwise or premature. The young horse whose owner wanted to work on piaffe did basics all week and seemed to like it, and he was the better for it.
Altogether a most excellent experience. There were other bits--dinner Saturday in the lounge, cooked by Desche's human in the midst of packing to leave for West Virginia (the east coast is gaining a good trainer), sitting around the bar and talking and relaxing, was worth remembering. Also the young girl who was offered a ride on S's stallion, got a longe lesson and didn't stop smiling from the time she was offered it until she left on the last day. The Group Fat White Pony Photo (still to come): all the clinic's Lipizzans plus the trainer's filly (Pandora II--a lot more like Gaudia than Pandora 1.0) lined up with the SWLA board and members. Pulling off an event on this scale, at this level, and making it work. Our committee strictly and totally rocks.
We all want to do it again, and we will. It was well worth it. We would like to make it annual--and bring in the Eleve for intro through fourth level clinics. Yes, two of them a year. We're game. We can do it. Our little Gala last fall is the talk of Europe: the judge was so impressed he's been telling everyone, "This is how to do it." He was much impressed with our horses, too. We were able to show H what the judge was talking about, which didn't hurt international relations, either.
But first, before we start again, we're all going thud. Yes.
