Prerequisites to Preparing to Win..

The Training of Body and Mind
“The training of body and mind is the fundamental cornerstone of all our dressage learning”, insists Herr Schumacher. “What does lunging, for example, have to do with Mental Fitness training?” he asks. “It teaches the rider to be at one with the horse,” he explains, “allowing the horse to move more naturally through its body and allowing the rider to work with their horse like a dance partner, each relaxing into the other’s rhythm so that the rider may think independently.” In this relaxed and concentrated state, the rider can easily plan the strategy of the movements rather than worrying about whether the “feel” is right – she knows and feels that it is right! When the rider is in this “feel world” and her body is functioning at maximum ability she is free to ride with confidence, “feeling” the precision of the outline, contact and rhythm. “This is how a rider’s mental fitness is developed.” concludes Conrad Schumacher.

Giving Aids in Three Phases
At the second juncture of the seminar, Conrad demonstrated the importance of giving aids in a precise and timely manner pointing out that the correct preparation of movements is the foundation of all successful test riding. To demonstrate this he asked Charlotte Ward, (now off the lunge line), to establish an active trot on a 20 meter circle in preparation for trot/walk/trot transitions and canter/walk/canter transitions. Here Conrad explained the correct manner in which to give the aids in 3 Phases: 1. Prepare 2. Do it 3. Reward. Conrad examines the reaction of a which horse gets no warning of the transition ahead, getting a sudden kick from the rider! The horse reacts with tenseness through his body consequently hollowing in the neck and setting against the hand resulting in a poor transition because it was prepared incorrectly. “Prepare the trot by correct seat and leg aids, hands quiet and secure at the mouth, then do it by moving off into the trot, hips and hands slightly forward, legs resting quietly, and finally reward with the slight giving of the inside rein.” instructs Conrad. “This fundamental sequence is the basis for the giving of all aids.”

The Importance of the Neck Position
Getting the neck into the correct position is the fundamental challenge of the novice horse and rider, comments Conrad. When the neck is not supple the contact will never be secure hence the straightness, the impulsion and the rhythm of the horse will not be correct. Working patterns at the Novice level start with teaching the horse to learn to take the contact in the correct way so that the neck is soft and flexible allowing the body to swing in a relaxed and rhythmic way. Rob Lumb, the Yard Manager at Emile Faurie’s yard, came out with our 4 year old Don Schufro gelding, Don Diorro. “The Don” is a beautiful dark bay, willing and gentle but on this day slightly distracted by his stable mate, a young 4 year old stallion who was warming up in the collecting ring next door.
A great deal of whinnying and shenanigans ensued with Rob carefully trying to get the youngster’s attention. Conrad started working on the neck position which was rather tentative by having Rob trot over 4 poles on the ground, making the horse relax in his body and be active with his hind legs. Then he was asked to do simple trot /walk transitions which then evolved into a walk transition with and turn, 90 degrees, on the forehand. Within 20 minutes, the neck became visibly softer and more relaxed, and the relaxation showed quite noticeably in all three of The Don’s paces.

Riding Effective Working Patterns at Home
Throughout the day, we were to see a number of impressive working patterns executed from the Novice level through to Grand Prix. The key to successful working patterns, Conrad advised, is repetition, patience, patience and more….patience! The patterns that were demonstrated all had an element of difficulty which challenged the horse and rider outside of their comfort zone. In doing this, the execution of the chosen test will seem much easier. As a long time student I can concur that this theory is correct! The system of challenging ourselves at home with difficult working patterns works in 2 important ways: firstly, it creates a sense of confidence when riding the test at a show because the test seems much less complicated having ridden more challenging routines at home and secondly, it prepares the horse to a higher degree of responsiveness such that he is more sensitive to rider aids, making transitions and movements such as half pass and simple changes more fluid and relaxed.

From a rider’s perspective, executing these challenging routines in front of an audience (I was given the wonderful working patterns of counter canter on a 10 meter circle and canter/walk/canter in a 10 meter square) was a big challenge for me and my young horse, Dos a Dos. It forced us both to concentrate and to block out all outside interference (such as crying babies and scary cameramen) , thus giving ourselves up entirely to the job at hand. The end result was a soft, supple and willing 6 year old horse under a relaxed, confident and focused rider who can now counter canter in her sleep and do simple changes anywhere! I felt gratified that we were able to execute these difficult patterns in front of a large audience (though there were some hairy moments!) and from that challenge feel confident that in my next competition with Dos a Dos, I will be more relaxed and focused.

For those of us in the audience as well as for those of us riding the proof was in the amazing results. Time after time we saw the difference that these 4 prerequisites can make to the end results. The relaxation of mind and body in conjunction with the correct execution of giving aids, resulting in a supple neck which ensures the complicated working patterns produce a relaxed horse and a confident rider. Mental fitness is thus achieved and the correct ground work in preparation for test riding has begun.

For more information about Conrad Schumacher Clinics, or if you would like to learn more about classical dressage training at the Aderro Dressage Centre, contact Rhegan directly at Aderro dressage by email: [email protected], by phone: 07917-333-780 or by logging onto www.aderrodressage.co.uk.

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