Remy and I had a great time at the clinic with Marius, the Bereiter from the Spanish Riding School. I had to scramble a bit to get started as I had prepared the equipment according to what had been requested by a different clinician last year. For me, Marius' approach was way clearer as it was along the lines of what I had seen and learned a long time ago back in Europe. For in hand work it meant longing cavesson over bridle with regular snaffle bit, side reins adjusted not too tight (head in front of the vertical). The lead rope was attached to the cavesson, and then Marius showed me how to lightly tap Remy's hind legs with a long 'Piaffe Whip' to ask Remy to lift the leg and place it further under his body.
Here is where Remy's training created a bit of a hick-up: As part of getting used to all kind of things around him, we taught him to stay calm should a rope accidentally be wrapped around his legs. (Believe me, that was a life saver when I forgot to open the leg straps on his blanket once and Remy was all tangled up. He stood quietly until I got him out of my self-made mess). But now he had to actually move and lift the legs when touched. He's a smart guy, and picked it up quickly - and hopefully he knows to make the difference should I mess up with the blanket again!
Long reining was fun, but also quite challenging. The biggest eye opener for me was that Marius pointed out the same flaws I have when riding: "Take your shoulders back, more outside rein, look ahead, no cutting corners, more half-halts... "
And then off we went to the Kentucky 3 Day Event in Lexington. What a fabulous weekend! Spring, horses, foals frolicking in lush pastures, lovely dinners at Le Deauville - and of course a super competition. Now, if Roxy just could have left the one jump up it would have been perfection!
No comments:
Post a Comment