After days of watching others ride and observing, today I was finally allowed to ride (day 4), and not a moment too soon. Apparently students rarely come without a horse or two of their own and I wasn't sure I would be allowed to ride here, but the gods are smiling on me and I have been delivered from hours of watching other students ride glorious horses in the cold, damp arena to perspiring just like everyone else. I rode a 5 year old stallion that was so quiet, I didn't even know he was a stallion until after I rode him, and they asked me how I liked riding the stallion? He never uttered so much as a whinny to any of the other horses working with him, never swished his tail in displeasure with my aids, and went about his work like a much more mature horse.
Now as for the riding part, I felt like an amateur once I was in the saddle, even though the concepts were quite clear to me from the observation bench. The riders here ask their horses to be much more forward, round, and through the back than I have seen before, even if they are just starting their education. And the contact is also more solid in the outside rein than I am used to having, with the outside hand down by the neck, (and never crossed over) and the inside hand slightly higher, using it to flex the horse in an elastic, connected way that seemed particularly unimpressive to my mount. He was so strong, especially through the neck, that I had a very strong, non-elastic contact for quite a while, until I understood to push him forward, and ask more gently and slowly for the flexion that I wanted from him. He also had big gaits, and I was so focused on trying to push him through his back that my seat went to 'hell in a hand basket' so to speak and I had to be reminded to sit down and back...rather elementary for someone who's supposed to know how to ride an FEI horse. Thankfully, the horse was generous and finally come round and through for periods of time and his gaits got even bigger, but also easier to sit.
I also don't have the luxury of my own saddle and will have to ride in whatever the horse is used to going in, and today that was a Stuebben that fit me poorly and definitely did not contribute to the depth of my seat. The students who are here must have calluses in every conceivable place, because their position just doesn't vary from one horse to the next, the same, deep, following seat no matter what level of the horse they're riding. Most of the horses are 3rd level or above, and if they know less than that, they are thought of as green. And there are more than a few Grand Prix horses here, so I have been treated to lots of piaffe and passage work.
Unfortunately, most of the speaking is in German, so I often have to guess at the instruction, but I understand that there will be more English-speaking people here in November, and more lessons will be taught in English. I must say that even though there are differences in technique, my regular instructor, Uwe Steiner, has done a great job of preparing me mentally and physically for the rigors of riding in Germany, and many of the exercises used to gymnasticize horses are those I am already familiar with from my work with him. I am lucky to have had that background, or I would really be much less prepared to take advantage of the education of horses and riders that I am witnessing.
The idea is to have a system that is so consistently applied to training that success is practically guaranteed if you practice the theory faithfully. As far as I can see, it works. I'll have the opportunity to ride again tomorrow, and practice these skills again. You might also like to know that they work week is seven days long here, with Saturday and Sunday riding ending about 1:30 pm rather than the usual 6:30 pm finish, with the day starting at 6:30 am and Ellen on her first horse by 7 am. There is a short break for breakfast, around 8 am and a big break for lunch from 1:30 to 3:30 in the afternoon. People take time to run their errands, eat lunch, and if they're like me, take a nap, because when you are working, there is no respite, it's all business, and a bit exhausting for me, although I think they're all used to it by now and probably don't need as much sleep as I seem to require.
The horses are worked so thoroughly each day that they are not turned out as far as I can tell, and don't seem to mind a bit. Every morning they are mucked out, groomed, and ready for tacking by 8:30 or so. They then are tacked according to a schedule everyone seems to know (except me as the only non-German speaking person here), and stand ready to be ridden, for as long as it takes the rider to come to them, without fussing...stallions and all...amazing. In general, their manners are exemplary, both on the ground and under saddle. Freshness is not punished, but obedience to the rider, and her aids is expected at all times, without question. |