A bit of a nail biting session - and a thinly disguised sales pitch

Today was a bit of a nail  (hoof) biter for us. Luckily I couldn't bite my nails as I needed my hands on the reins and Remy needed his hooves on the ground. High winds, and lots going on with a busy National show starting on Friday. We long reined Remy first, and that went well.

I got on and immediately felt that Remy was quite distracted and tense. He couldn't figure out where to look first: In the open spectator pavilion to our left where a Pilates class was going on, which meant sudden appearances of arms and legs over the balustrade. In the round pen to our right someone longed a horse that had the tail tied to its side, and this was not a smooth session. And then there was the new tent construction for the show.

It's hard for me not to get suckered into Remy's distractions and lapses of attention. In the back of my mind I do have his infamous 'jump and spin'. Roz was excellent in getting us on track and her exercises forced us to focus on the task at hand. Especially the shoulder in, then straight back to the track, then shoulder in again made Remy pay attention. Same with shoulder in in trot for part of the diagonal, then same in walk, and back to trot. We managed even to do decent canters, and finished with good stretchy trot both sides. I think we both were quite relieved when we got out of there unscathed - at least I was. And I don't have any nails to speak of I could bite, anyway.

Last night Paulette, Jota, and I went to audit what was advertised as "Training Sessions" at a famous (some say infamous) Danish Olympian's barn. It turned out that it was not so much about training as a thinly disguised sales pitch for the horses, but it was quite interesting. The two German moderators have different backgrounds; one is an international rider (I saw him riding at Global the other day), the other is a consummate sales/marketing guy who had worked for one of the most successful horse sales people in the world (Schockemoehle). Their opinions sometimes differed, i.e. regarding the walk. One said "Walk on the buckle" the other "Don't give everything away". I do think in that case both are right, it depends on the context. I also liked comments such as "No one is dying when the horse is taking the neck up", and "Most horses are not lazy, they are blocked by their riders". However, this was combined with the thinly veiled sales pitches like "I don't know why this horse hasn't been sold yet, it is clearly superb".

A feed company sponsored the libations, Prosecco being the drink of choice it seemed. Luckily I am not a fan of Prosecco so it wasn't hard to leave for my 'Remy duty'. Now if it would have been Veuve or Moet... Remy might have had to miss the turn down service.

Remy encounters his first alligator - and I the rich and famous (?)

Our second hack with Vivian and Kieran was another fun outing. Remy was marching right up, and I could feel him become more and more confident. Last time he was pretty happy to be behind Kieran, this time he had no qualms being next him. The paths go along the canals, and wouldn't you know it, just as we were strolling by an Alligator decided to take a splash. That startled Remy a bit, he did a 180 but then stopped and relaxed. This is Florida, buddy, just think of them as their version of our ubiquitous deer. (Yeah, you don't have to tell me that the deer at home won't eat you, but I promise, you are too big for these Gators!).

In the afternoon Jota gave me the insider tour of Palm Beach. I honestly can say I have never seen so many Ferraris, Rolls, Maseratis, Bentleys, etc. in one place. But as Jota and I agreed, money does not buy you taste - we were looking at a baby blue Rolls at that time. The town is fascinating to visit, and off the famous Worth Avenue with all the expensive stores (think Ferragamo, Chanel, Escada, to name just a few) are many small alleys that are beautifully maintained and decorated. They definitely were going for the 'Tuscan Theme'. 

It was a hot day and true to the theme we found an excellent place for Gelato. 

Water fountains in almost every alley

Court yard in Palm Beach

The 'Tuscan theme' 

Jota: Diplomat cum 'tour guide' extraordinaire

Orchids thriving in the alley

Meanwhile at home:

Ziggy and Jaas thriving in the snow under JPs loving care

"Oh, Remy has to eat 'sad' hay" - and a great lesson in long reining

Well, I should have listened to Glenda. She had warned me about the beautiful hay available in Florida. Yes, indeed it is gorgeous, but not what an easy keeping Morgan should eat! My stable mates feed "Valley Green" hay, which is an Orchard/Timothy/AA (Alfalfa) mix. I was told that the AA content was negligible, so I thought OK, no problem. Well, in two weeks Remy managed to get quite the belly, however, in his case not beer but AA. So back to the feed store, this time to order straight Timothy hay. I took one bale back with me (it filled the trunk of my GTI completely), in order to switch Remy over immediately. When I got to the barn I saw Sarah, a very nice young trainer from Minnesota who stables in the courtyard with us. She took a look at the hay and exclaimed "Oh, Remy has to eat 'sad' hay now". Yep, but luckily he doesn't look sad while eating it!

Every day is a new experience here. Remy has found new friends in the form of Egrets (white Herons). These cute guys stay right next to the horses in the paddocks, and neither of them is afraid of the other.

Remy and friends

As Remy was quite naughty under saddle the other day Roz and I decided to change the routine and add long reining to his repertoire. Roz has great experience in long reining and she showed me the ropes, uh, lines. Remy and I have two clinics under our belts but neither approach had really 'clicked' enough for me to continue it  on my own. Roz' system works super for us, and after some fiddling around on my part we got into the swing of things. It helps that we have a wonderful large round pen to work in. It was also good for me to have one web rein and one leather rein so I could keep left and right straight (always a challenge for me).  I really had to use my core and be very precise with my half-halts to keep Remy going correctly.

Last night Paulette and Jota were invited to a dinner party and they brought me along to another beautiful farm. It's just such an interesting crowd here. Many Europeans, South Americans, and of course the Snow Birds from the North. I haven't met a true Floridian yet. A nice Danish man told me that they bought an 'inexpensive horse' - 'inexpensive' meant $75K... So when people asked me what kind of horse I have and I answered "a Morgan" I am sure they thought I am someone's poor relation! ("Where did Paulette and Jota find her??").

Paulette, my lovely landlady, and her sidekick Fargo

Lecture Notes on "Balance in Movement"

February 13, 2019

Susanne von Dietze lecture at Yellow Bird Farm, Wellington, Florida:

Balance in Movement – The secret of invisible effective communication between rider and horse

The following is my bullet point summary from her excellent lecture:

-          Riding requires elasticity, not strength

-          Use your abdominal muscles as seat belt

-          Sit TO the inside, not on the inside in the canter

-          Aids ALWAYS need to have a FORWARD tendency

-          Outside aids give security to the horse

-          Use the outside rein in a forward and elastic way

-          You need to be able to open both front and back lines of your body

-          Hand to shoulder is the elastic part, NOT the rein

-          To become elastic, we need to expand

-          Picture a heart on your back that opens the shoulders and the lower part of the heart anchors your seat

-          You carry not just your arms, you carry also the bit

-          The principles of classical riding stay the same

-          The moment a rider gets on a horse he/she influences the balance of the horse / you always influence the horse with your weight aids (if you want or not)

-          Aids (as the word says) are there to help, not to force

-          Rhythm: Harmony and Movement, Timing of the aids

-          Balance: Symmetry of movement and weight, only exists in motion

o   Aids should support the balance

o   You need to let the horse move to balance (think of a bicycle, if you are too slow you wobble or topple over)

o   Allowing forwardness – young horses can’t canter slow

o   “Dressage riders want every thing slow”, but you need forward motion. The old masters often had an eventing background, so they knew how to let the horses canter forward.

-          Suppleness: Positive tension, dynamic, stability

o   Suppleness is elastic, like a tent spread out and holding

-          Positive tension = expanding, growing taller, reaching, stepping under

-          Negative tension = Shortening

o   Susanne explained that when she judges she looks for a horse to grow in the transition. If the horse shrinks it’s a 5

-          Rhythm: “The music starts in the hind quarters”, suppleness in the shoulders. Think dancing couple

-          Pelvis: Connection point between horse and rider

-          Seat bones are shaped like a sleigh, they are not just pointy spots

-          Having seat bones like a triangle gives a stable ground

-          We want horses narrow behind, wider in front

-          Every shift of weight has to be FORWARD, going sideways always must be more FORWARD

-          Every corner: FORWARD

-          When you start a pirouette, you are half a meter ahead of the turning point

-          Moving your leg should NOT influence your seat bones

-          Pelvis is an elastic ring, distributes the weight of the upper body

-          Change the big movement of the legs into refined impulsions into the spine

-          One seat bone will always influence the other

-          Movement starts in the MIDDLE of the rider’s head (not in the neck)

-          You need to lift the chest to have a stable neck position

-          What I ask of the horse I must do in my body

Movement of the Horse                               Movement of the Rider

Flexion-Extension                                            Same

Rotation                                                               Lateral Flexion

Lateral Flexion                                                   Rotation

-          Horses have rotation mainly in the trot

-          To ride good half-passes the rider’s body should bend equally well both sides

-          The rider sits on the rotation center of the horse, through the rotation there is influence on the horse

-          Curl and Arch = Flexion and Extension

-          Exercises: Turning from waist; Patting horse on the opposite side of the neck; diagonal stretches through body

-          Through rotation we get strength. Rotation = Activation of the spiral inside the upper body

-          Think diagonal strength like a soccer or tennis player, more powerful on the diagonal

-          Balance of the highest degree should look effortless

-          Interplay of rhythm and balance = correct timing and positive tension

-          Balance enhances rhythm / Rhythm enhances balance

-          You are the conductor (like an orchestra can play on its own but not as well), the best horse in the world needs a conductor

-          Rider needs to provide anchor – need to anchor shoulder to give, otherwise horse falls on the forehand

-          Ueberstreichen – without anchor your giving is worth nothing

-          To control your horse on your seat you need to give

-          The most important part of the half-halt is giving

From the lecture hand out:

Susanne von Dietze-Pollak is a world-renowned seat, balance, and position expert and has written two excellent texts on the biomechanics of riding (Balance in Movement, Rider & Horse Back to Back). Susanne earned her Physiotherapy degree at University Goettingen in 1987 and for the next 10 years worked actively in the field, focusing on back pain and spinal injuries. She is trained in manual therapy as well as PNF. During that ime Susanne also worked as a trainer at the German Academy of Riding, Warendorf, and also Mannheimer Reitverein.

Day off! - and Florida is a smorgasbord for rider education

Tuesday it was up before dawn to get Remy settled before leaving with Jota for Miami for the day. Jota had offered to take me as he had meetings in the city, what a perfect opportunity. This gave me the opportunity to see a beautiful sunrise at White Fences:

Early morning at White Fences

Miami is about 90 minutes by car from Wellington. I was amazed when I saw the city: All those apartment building really reminded me of Shanghai. It's not what I had expected, but during the course of the day Jota took me to different neighborhoods. I got to see the Art Deco houses, and we had a fun late lunch in South Beach people watching.

Impressions of Miami

While I was having fun walking 11 km is Espadrilles (!) Remy had the day off. Apparently all my good 6 a.m. grooming was for naught as he had let himself out and managed to grind so much dirt into his short coat that Roz decided not to get a coating of dirt herself.

Yesterday was a rain day - literally, gusty winds and heavy rains all day. Perfect for education, but not when you are on of the clinic riders. I went to see Susanne von Dietze* teach at Yellow Bird Farm and unfortunately, the outdoor arena there is not covered. I have to hand it to JJ Tate, she rode two horses in the downpour and not only managed to do a great job but also to keep her smile.  I've read Susanne's book and was very keen on learning more so I zipped back to take care of Remy and then returned for her lecture (lots of driving involved here).

The lecture was on "Balance in Movement - The secret of invisible effective communication between  rider and horse." It was great! It took copious notes and will post a write up in the next day or so. It was also great to chat with Susanne (she reminded me so much of my friend Antje, it was eerie).

Paulette and Jota also attended and they agreed with me that it was a super evening, between the lecture, interesting people, good food (including chocolate covered strawberries), and a well stocked bar: What else could you want??

*Susanne von Dietze is a world-renowned seat, balance, and position expert and has written two excellent books on the biomechanics of riding. 

Passed the one week mark - and actually enjoying the comments of a dressage judge

Sunday Vivien took us on a hack (they use the British word for trail rides here) and it was great fun. There is so much space to hack around, and it's beautiful. It was a windy day and the palm leaves were rustling quite a bit. Add the canals and birds and that explains why Remy had to take several 'second looks', but he marched right along Kieran (Viv's horse). We actually saw an eagle in its nest - how cool!.

"I am ready for my hack!"

Canals everywhere - but so far no Gator in sight

A lovely place to hack

This morning we had a very good ride. We are working our way back to the "Pre-Roz-Leaving" stage. It was our first lesson in a double bridle in several months, and Remy was very good. Our changes are becoming more natural (for lack of a better description), and the canter half-passes are coming along nicely. All good - especially for a Monday.

In the afternoon we walked across the street and a pasture to another farm that is hosting a clinic with Stephen Clarke, a British 5* Dressage Judge (highest level, he was also elected FEI Judge General at the 2012 Olympics). It was fun and educational, with lovely riders and horses. Mr. Clarke focused on the judge's point of view and here are a few of his gems:

*"You think you are riding transitions but it's not obvious enough for the stupid judge"
*"It's a sight for sore eyes when somebody rides a good transition"
*"There are marks waiting to be stolen" (on riding figures correctly)
*"People throw points away in the easy stuff"
*"Do it and make it look easy"
*"A bit shoulder fore before the change"
*"Uphill and vorwaerts (I could he sworn he used the German word) into the change
*"We want reaction first then rhythm"
*"Play with the gears so he can be active and in front of your leg"
*"We need impulsion without tension"
*"If it takes three steps to get it done it's too late"

This definitely was one of the -rare- days where I thoroughly enjoyed the comments of a dressage judge!

This is such a great place for education. On Wednesday I will be auditing a Susanne von Dietze clinic on rider biomechanics as well as attending her lecture in the evening.

Tomorrow, though, is a different day of education: Remy will be under Roz' expert tutelage and I am getting an insider tour of Miami. Once I mentioned to Paulette and Jose that I would love to see Miami Jose offered to take me as he has some meetings there. I will travel in excellent company: My tour guide was stationed in Miami - as Consul General of Argentina.

That doesn't get me out of Remy duty, though, 5 a.m. wake up, going to the barn, feeding, mucking, grooming, then back to shower and Miami. Later in the evening the reverse. During the day Vivien has volunteered to check hay and water. It's a lot of work to be a personal butler* to a horse!

* Traditionally butlers would be male, housekeepers and ladies’ maids would be female. But the female butler has steadily been making its way up in the popularity ranks and this highly versatile role is now a much sought-after member of staff.

"We need to warm up his brain" - and getting into the swing in Welly-World

We have our first week training in Florida under our belt. It's been very good so far, Roz had us start easy and we are progressively adding to the program with the goal right now "We don't need to do tricks, we need to warm up his brain". The dressage portion of Remy's brain had been on holiday -or better said -on ice- since December, hence the need for the warmup. Remy is settling in nicely. Even though his need for a friend prompted him to open Bodi's (the Andalusian next to him) door and letting him out into the paddock. At night check they were discovered hanging out in one stall. Teenagers!

White Fences is just ideal for us, it is so beautiful but also laid back and friendly. Here are some impressions:

Fountain in 'our' courtyard

Gators right next to the paddocks?

The properties of the Ueber-Rich here are just incredible. Real Estate listings for $20+ million are common. On my way to the show grounds I drove by the Aero Club. This is a community that has runways and each home has hangars for the private planes = fly to your front door.
 https://www.businessinsider.com/wellington-fl-where-the-rich-go-to-play-2017-1

It was interesting to audit the Isabell Werth Masterclass. I had not seen her teach as she focuses in Germany on her stall full of Olympic horses. The things she worked on were familiar: leg yields to improve half-passes, use of counter flexion, straightness, and encouraging the riders to let the horses go. One rider would really hang on the curb bit, so she asked him to do Piaffe and Passage one handed, and the change in the horse was stunning.

Last night Paulette, Jose, and I went to see the freestyle, and we saw it somewhat in style: Drinking wine and munching on cheese, crackers, and German chocolate (thanks, Stephanie!) - while standing at the rail because the place was packed and all the seats were taken. It also was a reminder that good genes are not enough, the son of a legendary dressage rider was a far cry from his father.

The three of us had a different winner pegged.. and in true French-Argentinian-German unity we picked the same one. How's that for intercultural understanding?