I can’t thank Shannon Lilley enough for bringing all of us around Eventing Nation right into the California training sessions. In this post Shannon recaps the final day of David O’Connor’s first training session as US coach. Click here to read Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3. Thanks again Shannon and thank you for reading.
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Photo via Two Point Photography
From Shannon:
Yesterday was the final day of the Eventing 25 and national list riders on the West Coast. Everyone walked away from the session filled with excitement about David O’Connor’s new program. The whole approach is evident as Coach O’Connor is teaching all the aspects of the sport from horse management, to media relations, of course the riding, and also how to conduct oneself in society. No detail goes left unnoticed. I was watching one lesson, while the three in the lesson were going around, Coach was watching the three other students who were supposed to be watching like a hawk. The three were giggling and chatting away. I could tell Coach was stowing that detail away in the back of his brain. These details go back to the question he asked on the very first day, “Why are you here?”
Yesterday the groups did many cross country exercises in the arena, working on galloping position, preparation position and what positions are needed for different types of jumps. As we have come to expect, Coach’s articulation was very precise making it easy for the riders to execute. O’Connor used his iPad to video one rider’s galloping position and then used Dartfish to demonstrate where the rider’s position should be versus where it was in actuality. It is a great visual tool that can be addressed in the ring rather than after the fact. Each of the Eventing 25 riders made such improvements from start to finish of the lessons and especially over the course of four days, leaving them very energized about continuing the hard work.
That is what it is going to take: hard, disciplined, detailed work day in and day out to be the best. The idea of starting young in athletes is just as important as starting young in horses. Many of us have always feel compelled to find the right young horses and then develop them the correct way, but have we really paid attention to the young, promising riders? In every other sport, I assure you, they do from the time the kids start walking, basically. We need to create depth in this sport, of which we have very little, and not just in horses but in riders as well. Coach O’Connor believes that we definitely have the talent in this country but lack in discipline. Start them off young, pass down the knowledge that the older generations passed on to the middle generations and fill in the gaps. Pony Club used to be prominent as kids grew up in the sport but is not as popular now for many reasons. However, the curriculum taught in pony club is still crucial for these kids coming up in the sport. Instead, the responsibility now falls on us as trainers to teach them.
During lunch yesterday, Dr. Jack Snyder DVM gave an incredible lecture on anatomy, soundness, types of injury and clean sport. He had fantastic diagrams with x-rays to show some of the injuries as well as CT scans. The visual effect was significant, as many of the younger riders may not have experience with traumatic injury, thus proving the need to be more detail-oriented about checking legs, knowing your horse’s body, paying attention to footing, diet, preventative care, etc – everything Coach O’Connor has been trying to convey for four days.
Overall the theme of training the body and mind in both horses and riders is the key component. Each rider is going to lack in one area, therefore he or she must identify it, take responsibility for it and then take measures to fix it. Practicing that each and every day in each and every transition, for example, is the way to get better, to get to the top. I, for one, am excited to see how the riders in this country start to develop over the next few years. This program will weed out the ones who do not want to put in the time to get better pretty quick. There is no time for apathy.
