http://www.dressagedaily.com/article/robert-dover-dressage-horsemastership-week-rdhw-participants-perspective
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Wellington is filled with amazing equestrian facilities around every corner. The nice warm air and the multitude of shows available are just a few of the reasons so many riders come to Wellington for the winter.
On January 2nd, the 3rd annual Robert Dover Horsemastership Clinic began started the day off with fitness training with trainer Bob Gutowit where we begin to engage our core and muscles that need to be developed in order to ride effectively. Then we were honored to have Robert Dover talk to us about the basis of the art of Dressage that is required for all success. He emphasized howgoing forward is the first requirement of a broken horse. The forward motion is established by the driving aids, which are the seat, left leg, and right leg. In every lesson he addressed the importance of the half halt, which is the calling of the horse to the perfect state of balance and attention.. He organized each lesson similarly by using what he called the rubber band exercise where riders would work on a 20 meter circle and at one end of the circle they would extend in order to engage the hind legs and collect more.
Next, Robert Dover gave a great Q & A session and then continued informing us on the art of dressage. Then towards the evening, Dr. Mary Beth Gordon, an Equine Nutritionist, talked to us about ways to figure out if a horse is fit or fat, by using measuring tape then examining the amount of fat it has in certain areas of its body. Next we weighed the hay and grain to see howto measure the correct amount for each horse. Then to close the wonderful first day, some of Lendon Gray's prevoius students were kind enough to take time to talk to us about their journey as a rider and the work and effort put in to make it all happen. Overall, the main message was that you have showhow much you want it (success) in order to achieve it. All of their stories were very inspiring and we are all grateful for the time and effort Lendon Gray, Robert Dover, Shelly Francis and all of the speakers and sponsors put in to make this first day truly amazing! I know from here it will only get better, and as Robert Dover says, "you are only one half halt away from perfection!"
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Day two of the 3rd anual Robert Dover Horsemanship Clinic started out with ourworkout with Bob Gutowitz where we worked on strength training to help tone and develop the muscles. Then we went straight into the rides where Robert Dover and Jan Ebeling were instructing.
Today Robert Dover really emphasized the use of the half halt and how every corner is an opportunity to half halt and engage the hindquarters, then the reward
comes when you go out of the corner. With one rider, they practiced the centerline many times to make it as the accurate as it could be because the centerline is where you greet the judge. He again, reminded each rider that within collection there should be the feeling that you could extend at any moment and vice versa. Yan Ebeling, who is an Olympic rider and coach, worked on transitions within the gait and from gait to gait with each rider.
During the warm up he made sure that each rider started out long and low to make sure that the horses don't start out tense.
Later on, saddle fitter Charlie Tota took the time to talk to us about the correct way to fit a saddle. He talked about the three basic aspects we should look for to affirm that your saddle is safe. The condition of the stirrup bars, stirrup leathers and the billets need to be in a good state such as stirrup bars staying attached to the saddle and the thread of the billets in tact. We also discussed the different types of saddle trees and the position it needs to sit on the horse's back. The saddle could restrict the shoulder movement if you are not able to comfortably fit your hand in between the horse's shoulder and the saddle.
We then traveled to gorgeous Stillpoint Farms, which Tuny Page generously let us use for a presentation by Dr. Jenny Susser. She is a Sports Psychologist who talked to us about ways to establish emotional fitness by creating rituals to keep you on task. Improving emotional fitness will help to improve the state and mind in which we ride in. For example, gaining patience, increasing focus, or handling stress are rituals we need to practice in order to improve our mental fitness . The day was filled with great instruction and presentations in which we all benefited from greatly!
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Day three of the Robert Dover Horsemanship Clinic started off with a new routine of workouts with Bob Gutowitz. For our strength training we had to give each other piggy back rides to the middle of the arena then wheelbarrow to the end. Then Jan Ebeling instructed the riders again and one of the exercises he used with the riders was slowing down to almost a walk then pushing forward again. Each time he would ask the rider to quicken the amount of time between the transitions to really get the horse listening to you. Riders also practiced shoulder in on the long side while in canter in order to put the horses more on the outside rein and to balance them. He emphasized the importance of getting feedback so that you always know the things that need to be improved.
Next, Debbie McDonald generously took the time to instruct the riders. One exercise that proved very effective was leg yielding to the wall after a half pass on the quarter line in order to make sure that the horse was really reacting to the outside leg. A consistent message of hers was "getting 'it' (as in whatever exercise you are doing) done with the leg first". After all of the rides, Ken Braddick educated us further on how handle the media. His main point was that they want to hear a story when they interview you. Not only how you
got to be where you are, but also the horse, because each horse has a story too.
Our next lecture was given by Dr.Rick Mitchell at Stillpoint Farms, yet again an amazing facility that Tuny Page generously let us use for this particular event. He informed us on the things we need to be aware of when purchasing a performance horse. The goal of an examination is to identify the task that the horse has to do and its capabilities. He covered the detailed process in which you need to go through in order to make sure the horse gets a thorough examination. The day ended with a party hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Boyer, which was filled with great food, fun music and a time to get to know everyone!
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Day 4 of the Robert Dover Horsemastership clinic started off with our daily workout which consisted of burpees, coordinated running, and lunges. Today Debbie McDonald worked with the riders on really pushing the horse into the trot, especially in the corner so that it does not throw its shoulder out. Sometimes when the horse got a little stuck and needed to be pushed forward, she told the rider to sometimes take the leg off and just give a little
bump instead of consistently squeezing. If the horse leaned on the inside rein, she advised them to think shoulder in order to get him more on the outside rein.
Shelly Francis continued to instruct lessons and in one particular ride they worked on having shorter reins in order to get a closer contact with the bit, and not getting tighter. When practicing the shoulder in, she asked the rider to use the corner in order to set up the correct positioning, as well as the half pass. Next, Don Later, a well known farrier in Wellington, came to educate us on the importance of how well your horses are shod. He informed us that you know that your horse is shod correctly if it is balanced under the leg, stays on, and if the horse is sound. We also learned that if a horse's shoe is half way off, the best thing to do is take the rest off which you can do with a wire cutter.
The last event of the day was a lecture given by Jeremy Steinberg, who taught us about the training scale and how it is the basis of all training that we should rely on throughout any ride. He said since the overall goal is to get to Grand Prix, the levels that we compete in are steps to get there. Also, what makes dressage so unique is that the goal of our
work is to improve the quality of the gait. If a movement is not working or through, it is probably because of a lack of quality in that particular gait. Today was a great informational day and unfortunately the last full day
of this amazing experience!
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| Stillpoint Farms owned by Tuny Page |
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| Arena at the Global Dressage Festival showgrounds |
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