European Training Journal Day 23 - Lessons from Herr Schumacher in English! | |
Today I was able to begin observing Mr. Schumacher teaching lessons here and at a neighboring stable. What a treat! Not only were the lessons in English, but I could ask questions during breaks, and he would explain the rationale for what exercises and corrections he chose to assign a given horse and rider combination. He is very aware of what the horse needs, but also how the rider's psyche and temperament, and skill level influences what is happening in the lesson. So, for example, if he thinks the least effective part of the combination at any given point is the rider, he will choose an exercise that addresses the rider's problem, putting his focus there for the time being, and when that is better, he will return to challenging the horse to improve. He thinks that you have to pay attention to the combination, and that too often, horse and rider are not observed as a team, with the emphasis too heavily on training the horse to the detriment of the rider. The lessons I observed today varied, but the theme was consistent. You must make the horse straight and forward, if you have that, the rest will come, and so a great deal of energy was spent on making the horses straight, and once there, then working on the movements. One exercise that I can't wait to use with my students had three cavaletti poles on one side of a 20 meter circle along the short wall of the arena. The rider was asked to canter the open third of the circle, to sitting trot for a third of the circle to rising trot for the cavaletti third of the circle to sitting trot to canter, etc., in both directions with increased demand for precise control of the movement, transitions, neck placement, rider's position, and rhythm. While the riders was attending to all of these details, the horse and rider became more synchronized, and the horse's self-carriage more correct. This was followed by increasing and decreasing canter circles around x in increments of two meters per circle, and I do mean two meters, not three, not one, but two! The result was a nicely balanced and through horse, really moving well and concentrating on his job, whereas originally he had been looking around, and playing and running through his outside shoulder at will. The highlight of the morning was watching Mr. Schumacher ride Silvano while Ellen is away getting the last bit of required showing done for Champion's stallion approval. Mr. Schumacher is the embodiment of straight on a horse, and by the time he was done with Silvano, he was the embodiment of straight underneath a rider. Very impressive to watch, with the final work being a combination of piaffe-passage in which the hind legs fairly leapt off the ground, so expressive and powerful, followed by a couple of sets of one tempis down the long side that were so forward, I wasn't sure Silvano was going to be able to sustain them, but of course, he did and they were wonderful in their power and expression. I think Silvano will sleep well tonight. I was just getting a little smug about maneuvering my little stallion friend around the arena with some finesse, and usually through his back, when Anja and Ellen decided it was time for me to ride a second horse per day. He is obviously a senior citizen, of Grand Prix level experience, although I would not have guessed until Anja started to ride him for me. By God, the horse could do everything! OK, so it's my turn, and they think I better have draw reins-not a good sign. And then I get on and Ellen instructs me to pick up the canter and do a schooling pirouette, and the next thing I know, this old schoolmaster, Aaron, is whipping me into the center of a circle, and Ellen's yelling that it is too small, and WHERE is the neck, and WHY do I lean forward, and take my spurs OUT of the horse. I knew I was too smug for my own good. So off we go and try another pirouette the other way with similar results and I'm sure Ellen is thinking about why they make her teach these people? Still, she has the equanimity to go on, and tells me to do four sets of three tempis across the diagonal, and of course, I give her three sets of four. There is silence for a minute, and then she rather calmly points out my error, and we try it again, after which she kindly says that the horse worked hard yesterday and that is probably enough for him for today. Whew! Thank goodness. So the next day with aching everything, because I could not sit this horse to save my life, Anja spends some time warming him up for me, casually mentioning that she did her first Grand Prix on him, and that he could do everything well. Then we spend time working on keeping him through his neck and back while I try desperately not to contort my body. They keep asking me why I don't relax? And I just smile weakly, and think, you relax with a 2x4 between your legs, and know that their experience of this horse is quite different from mine. Eventually I get a modicum of control and a decent place to sit, and it's time to quit. Hopefully, with practice, I will be able to ride the movements on Aaron with some proficiency. At least I don't feel as discouraged as I did the first day with my other buddy. Today, it is just my stallion friend and me with no stirrups, and we work on finding where a deep seat might be located. I am more and more finding the center of the saddle. Adjustments to my right hip and rib cage, thinking up and open, helped me to center my seat, and now the project is to get it deep and centered at the same time. Anja is telling me to sit down, let my legs be long, keep my hands QUIET (you know, before I came here, people used to comment on how quiet my hands were), keep my elbows closer to my side, etc. I thought I was sitting pretty well, and then she took my stirrups down, and then she took them away, and then my seat found a new meaning of deep. Cool! I'm looking forward to discovering and confirming my understanding of what it means to ride and train dressage. |
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