Jennie & Cambalda
As you’ve already read from Samantha’s report on Allison & Phillip, the second round of Aiken training sessions are well under way, with most riders returning for two days of flatwork with Coach David O’Connor. For me it was interesting to return two weeks after the first round of lessons and see how the riders have taken what they learned then, and to what degree they seem to have improved. I am glad to say that everybody seemed to be on the same page with David, and all the riders were incredibly receptive students.
I watched Jennie Brannigan on Cambalda, or Ping, first. Jennie is one of the featured riders for Rolex this year, and has been taking flat lessons from David well before the beginning of the Training Sessions, traveling down to Florida for some extra help for the season. Ping was injured in the fall of 2011, and was away from competition for a year, and returned late in 2012, jumping around Boekelo CCI3* Nations Team Cup in good form. We all know that this horse can be incredibly competitive in all three phases, and has won about every Advanced we have on the East Coast and the West, but I was interested to see where he stands at the beginning of the year. I always thinks it’s fascinating to see how different riders bring their horses along from winter break into top form. Jennie ran the Intermediate last weekend in the muck with Ping, for what I believe was his first one back.
The addition of a sound system was amazing for the auditors, and for once I wasn’t feeling like I needed one of those ear trombones in order to figure out what was going on! David worked with Jennie on “dressage as a form of physical therapy, to make sure that each side can do each movement equally well”. If you can do haunches in on a five meter circle to the left easily, how does it feel to go to the right? I was interested to see David phrase it that way, as sometimes we get stuck in a rut with our training, and only practice the “tricks” we need for the test we are to perform in the near future. However, horses of a certain level can competently complete all those tricks, and it is necessary to find different ways to strengthen and improve your horse’s flexibility, strength, and skill set.
Jennie & Ping extending down the long side
The pair were also asked to do some flying changes through a medium canter, in order to boost Jennie’s confidence about asking for them without micr0-managing the canter. As Ping has quite good changes, this was an exercise that David suggested she add to her repertoire, although he specified that it is not a good idea to always do your changes through the medium canter.
Boyd & Master Frisky working on a canter circle, David holding his iPad from filming them just previously
Next up was Boyd on Master Frisky, or Mikey, a 9 year old ISH gelding owned by Stephen Blauner and competed through the CCI** level, and was 5th at Fair Hill 2* last fall. He is an absolutely lovely type, and I was really excited to see him in person. He’s a super mover and seems quite workmanlike in attitude, although Boyd did express that he was feeling a bit hump-backed at the beginning and proceeded to have a bit of a gallop around the edge in his dressage tack to get the bucks out!
One of David’s first comments was one about basic positioning for Boyd. He noticed that Boyd’s left elbow was jutting out just a little bit, but instead of the old stand-by “Tuck your elbows in!”, he thought that it was better to mention that Boyd’s wrist was in fact crooked, and that was what was affecting his elbow. This is a wonderful example of how David’s observant eye works, in the way that he doesn’t just look at what is wrong, but why it is wrong and where the root of the problem is. Don’t worry though, the quick fix is for Boyd to visit Walmart and get a stylish wrist brace to break himself of the habit.
Among other things, David also pointed out that he thought Mikey’s frame in the canter was too low for this point in his career. He said that when you get to 2* and Advanced level, it becomes necessary for the horse to pick himself up, even at home, and work in that higher frame. The lower frame in the canter was allowing the horse to stop himself behind, and gives the rider a sluggish feel from the hind end, when in fact we are striving for the opposite. They worked on transitions within the canter to get that desired energy from Mikey’s hind legs, and were quite successful.
Another really interesting piece of advice that David gave was about when you feel a horse get “behind your leg”, or slow to your leg aids. Instead of having the knee-jerk reaction of simply booting the horse and making it bolt forward, or even moving into a bigger frame or stride of your current gait, think of why your horse is behind your leg. Is it because he is out of balance? Is it because he is crooked? If he is out of balance and you go faster, then you are faster and still unbalanced. If you are crooked and you kick him forward, you are just going crooked faster. This analytical frame of mind is exactly what makes David the great coach that he is today.
Boyd & Trading Aces across the diagonal
Boyd then hopped on his second mount, Trading Aces, or Oscar, whom we all know as the winner of the Fair Hill CCI2* in 2011 with Kylie Lyman, and was 2nd at the CCI3* at Bromont in 2012 with Boyd in the irons for their 4th competition together. Oscar is another 9 year old ISH gelding, and yet another lovely mover with a lot of presence on the flat.
However, Oscar seemed to be quite stiff in his hind end laterally, so the pair worked on improving that through leg yields, shoulder-in exercises, and walk exercises on a small circle to help him get that flexibility. David was adamant that leg yields, at least for this horse, must be used as a warm up, a flexibility exercise instead of a weight-bearing exercise. Just as you or I would stretch out our hammy’s before going for a long run, the horses must have the same sort of advantage when they begin their lessons, especially if they are naturally inclined to dislike lateral movements.
Oscar and Boyd also worked on a small circle around David at the walk, using a variation of the exercise Jennie and Ping rode earlier. While Jennie was asked to do a sort of turn on the haunches around a five meter circle, Boyd was required to do a turn on the forehand around a five meter circle. This proved to be quite a difficult exercise for Oscar, and David was quietly stern that the horse had to improve in his hind end flexibility before he proceeded to the next level in his career. However, at the end of the lesson, Oscar had improved a great deal, and both rider and coach were pleased with the effort.
Today most riders are returning for more dressage lessons, minus Will Faudree, Susan Beebee and Emily Beshear, who will all be jumping mid-day. Samantha will be bringing you all a report from that, as I am spending the day riding all my horses, prepping for the show weekend, and possibly bathing my trailer due to the disgusting amount of muddy wet sand that is plastered all over it!
