Archives for: May 2006, 23
I have just returned home from a short teaching trip involving three clinics in the USA and one in Canada. It was a whirlwind of riding arenas and aeroplanes, but still managed to be fun despite the hard work and jet lag.
Several experiences stand out from the trip as a whole. One was the tearful and heartfelt 'goodbye' profered by the friend of three women who rode in the Toronto clinic. They were riding with me for the first time, having audited a clinic last November. They all made some terrific improvements, and I don't know how much their friend was tearful because of the sadness she felt on missing out (she booked too late to get a place) or because of her joy in discovering the changes she now saw were possible for riders like herself. I imagine it was a mixture of the two, but either way it was a very moving moment.
That clinic also introduced me to one of the most talented 10 year olds I have ever taught, who fortunately is also a pupil of Carol Martineau (who organised the clinic and has ridden with me for a number of years). I gave her only the briefest of explanations about how to steer the horse's wither, and from this she made the most wonderfully effective and subtle changes that actually effected the way in which the horse carried his ribcage. Her ability to take in information and convert that into bodily changes was a joy to behold, and far surpassed that of most of the adults in the clinic, who were, in reality, struggling to learn this!
The New Orleans clinic mostly saw me working with people I already knew, who are all making steady progress. I particularly enjoyed seeing a couple of quite novice and nervous riders who have both worked with me now for several years, and who are, in effect, 'learning to ride by numbers' (analogous to 'painting by numbers'). They are living proof that this can be done, and are graduating into riders with a level of feel and influence that would normally lie way beyond their limited number of years in the saddle. They are both great learners, which goes some way to explaining this; but the fact that they have been given doable, tangible input is a large part of it too.
In New Jersey I felt very flattered that an advanced rider who has had about 5 lessons with me took another only a few hours before she was due to fly to Germany to work with Her Schumacher. She will stay for three months, and have three horses in his barn, all at diferent levels. Both she and I know that the biomechanical input I can give her will enable her to make the most of his input on training.
I was interested by another rider there who I have taught quite a bit, and who is a very good young- horse jockey. She commented that she really needed that element of unpredictability to make her pay attention, and that she was too 'laid back' on more established horses. Of course I was immediately on her case (in a nice way, and whilst honouring the great strengths that she has). She is far too content to be able to do a reasonably good job of steering the wither and having the horse's neck reaching into the rein. But she does not search for the many possible improvements that lie beyond this. In effect, she rests on her laurels. So it was a big deal for her to start considering how she might get the horse to reach from further back in his body, and how she might organise the steering through influencing the bulge of his rib cage. This made me wondour what percentage of relatively skilled and confident riders limit their improvement in the same way that she does - by not looking for more.
My last clinic in Maryland was a blast as ever. Francie Doherty who organises that group is one of the funniest people I have ever met, and life in her presence is always a magical mystery tour. My most profound experience there was working with a rider I have taught in maybe three clinics, whose starting point was a desperate level of front-to-back hand-orientated riding. She has begun to change this very well, but the way in which old habits and desperations die hard was bought home to me when I asked her to change the rein. Immediately she stopping thrusting forward (in rising trot), stopped bearing down, and hauled the horse around the corner. We then had to spend time in which I said the words, with her understanding being that she was not to change the rein, but only to stop herself from reverting to her old habit. It took a long time for her to not react to the words 'change the rein', and then, eventually, to test her correct responses when she actually did change the rein. In the end she did well, but it bought home to both of us how careful she will have to be if she takes conventional lessons in which the way her body reacts to instructions is not the priority. Her new-found skills are so delicate, and her angst levels so high, that it could all go wrong very easily.
So I now have a few days to catch up with myself before I begin teaching here.... and doubtless more insights await!
