Dressage Immersion 101

Being in south Florida during ‘season’ is like an immersion class. Every nook and cranny is filled with all things horsey and more importantly much of it is dressage. Not only am I getting my fill of dressage lessons with Pati I can go to a different barn most every day and watch other trainers and riders working toward the same goals. For the last two days Pati and some other riders from the barn have ridden with Conrad Schumacher, one of the all time great coachs. I have forgotten how many of my go to exercises come from watching him teach in the past or an article he wrote. If you ride with me regularly you would have recognized several of the exercises like the ten meter circle in walk to canter-going straight-then another circle to walk, or the medium trot on the long side to a turn on the haunches to a medium trot-repeated several times. There were several new ones that I can’t wait to try with everyone when I get home. One tried and true one that I hadn’t used in some time (and I don’t know why) has come in handy already. That is the circle-diagonal-change-circle-repeat. It is very good for horses that get nervous or take over in the changes. Hello to Hans on that one. Of course it is interesting to listen to the different vocabulary that a trainer uses. Words are so important for getting the idea across and what works for one person may not work for another so it helps to have a few phrases for every concept. The one I liked the most today was that Conrad said the leg should cuddle the horse. I often use the phrase the leg should hug the horse, but somehow cuddle seemed even friendlier. It has been in the 80′s every day so far. If only I could figure out how to get my camera to work I would send a picture. Some things never change.

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