The Classical Riding Club’s 10th Anniversary

This was an interesting day out as well as a good opportunity to advertise Arrow Training and what we do here. Sylvia Locke had organised the day with invited trainers George Dewez, Sylvia Stannier, Paul Belasik and Fransisco Braganca. Unfortunately we missed most of Geroge Dewex as Lancashire is further from Herefordshire than we thought! We just saw the end of his demo with a very interesting question and answer session and he spoke very good sense. Sylvia Stannier is an expert in long reining and high school.. She is past her first flush of youth (!) so had an assistant who long reined a big Irish horse. Sylvia was very amusing and presented a horse with typical problems. “ He only had two gears , fast and stop and not necessarily when you wanted them!” The horse was worked forward and down and up on the aids and it was great to see him with his poll the highest point even though many would have said he was above the bit. Jenny, the assistant, did some wonderfully accurate leg yields and serpentines and it would have been very interesting to see this work at a higher level. Sylvia had lots of good common sense as well as years of experience and wisdom. For example, she used solid caves sons and rollers because “ the horse must give, not the tack” . This was reiterated by Paul Belasik in that “ the horse must give, not the rider” . Paul was less successful in putting his point across and it would have been great to see one of his regular pupils who could demonstrate what he was trying to explain. It is always difficult to make changes in such a short time in front of a critical audience and there were probably many “ experts” who felt that they would do a much better job (the “ Arrow “ trainers were dying to “help“! However, Paul made his point about body stability in spite of some opposition. It would have been nice to have seen more of Paul and I think a lot of us felt he was a bit wasted as I am sure his input would have been very interesting. We had our own discussion about what was leg yield and what was shoulder in and when asked privately, Mr Belasik replied “ I haven’ t seen any shoulder in here today” ! (Those who came to the Erik Herbermann lecture on 2-track work will understand what he meant!)

Useful points:

1 Fill your back with your stomach (to give core stability)

2 Drive like you are pushing a heavy door open - ie no leaning back

3 Keep your shoulders back as if there is a bee on your shirt between you shoulder blades and you want to keep your shirt away from your back.

4 You cannot get a good position by being supple - suppleness comes from practicing position

5 The base of the horses neck should always stay in extension as if it is reaching for grass over a fence (forward and down) or lifts his head to look at something in the distance (up on the aids)

6 If a cannon is pointing at the ground (on the forehand) and you put more gunpowder in it (more energy, drive, ) you will just blow a bigger whole in the floor!

7 The outside aids should be like a wall with a window and a door. If you leave the window or the door open, your horse can escape through them.

8 Mimic the horses required position - proud - and pay attention to your shoulders and position them according to where you want to go.

9 “ I have asked a lot of successful people and they all agree that good results come from hard work, sweat and tears”

Peter Madison Greenwell - Doma Vaquera and Doma Clasica 

Peter gave us a wonderful evening of entertainment in September when he brought his 3 horses to Herefordshire to show us the intricacies of traditional Spanish riding. The gallery at Weston was packed with standing room only and (which is why I insist on advance bookings - we only have just so much space and it is impossible to cater for an unknown number of people!). Peter took his horses through the movements and explained everything extremely clearly. His horses came into the arena “cold” and he went through his warm with each horse in a similar way. He explained that by doing this routinely they settle quicker which is important when they have to “perform” at a variety of different venues. The horses were all beautiful and immaculately turned out and although they were at times a little too light in the hand, the work looked effortless. His second horse was what they call a “three blood” - Arab, Thouroughbred and Andalusian and very “hot”. It said much for his skill that he is able to ride this horse so calmly. The horse reacted to the slightest touch and it was obvious that a lesser rider would soon have serious problems. There is such a thing as too sensitive! After a break when the wine and snacks disappeared at great speed, Peter came back to show us DomaVaquera. The horse he used was also very reactive and he explained that it is vital for this sort of riding that the horse responds immediately and quickly.

“If you get it wrong in the dressage ring you may lose a point; if you get it wrong in the bull fighting ring you gain a couple of points - the bull’s horns!”

All the work was performed at a much quicker rate; the changes in half pass were more abrupt and the pirouettes were more like spins but as he explained, you can’t do this if you haven’t first mastered the correct basics. The work with the Garrocha (the long pole used to “trip up” the bulls) was truly beautiful and I couldn’t wait to have a go the following day.

Of course, as we found out, it is all much harder than it looks! Peter gave lessons in traditional dressage as well as with the Garrocha and everyone said that they gained a lot from his (very patient!) teaching. It is amazing how as soon as one is on a horse one completely forgets left from right and fails to understand the simplest of instructions. I think all of us had problems handling the Garrocha but soon forgot about the horses, which of course went better immediately! I have been experimenting with a bannister rail but it is still too heavy so if anyone has any better ideas about how to make a Garrocha, please let me know. Anita and I are definitely hooked and intend to work on a Pas de Deux for our next Arrow Easter Parade.

Riding in Portugal

Many of you will have heard that Joy has bought a 6 year old Lusitano stallion which is being trained in Portugal at Luis Valencia’ s yard. After a stressful Spring trying to get to grips with DEFRA and the Single Farm Payment, I felt I deserved a break so Joy made hurried arrangements so that I couldn’ t change my mind. I am really grateful that she persuaded me because we had a fantastic time. The weather was perfect - blue skies but not too hot - and the hotel produced large amounts of food and alcohol at a reasonable price. Luis left us in the capable hands of his daughters, Philippa and Sophia who were endlessly generous with their time and their expertise. They gave us increasingly difficult exercises during the week and let us make mistakes and learn from the horses. They managed to make small but really helpful corrections which sounded more like suggestions and most lessons included a large amount of laughter, particularly as Joy and I rode together and frequently met head to head when we should have been in single file. I know that sounds impossible but when you do a series of canter half passes with flying changes it is easy to forget how many you were supposed to do and on which rein you should finish! The horses were a mixture of old and wily schoolmasters and some of the display horses (Luis organises many display and had three teams on the road while we were there. It is a testament to the depth of talent he has at his disposal). We were privileged to ride these “ special” horses especially a superb white stallion called Ibis. I had a wonderful time in and out of Piaffe and Passage while Joy had an exhausting time long reining him under the critical eye of Sergio. I was full of admiration, not only for Joy’ s level of skill but also for her stamina! Sergio kept saying “ more more” and I was quite glad that I had opted to just video the session rather than join in. Although one has to stay in walk even when the horse is cantering, it is extremely tiring. Sergio took over to show the level of energy that he required in trot and with his great long legs he completely out stepped Joy in a matter of seconds. We both decided that we either had to grow longer legs or long rein smaller horses!

So what did I learn?

It is always extremely gratifying to work with trainers who speak the same language and so in lots of respects there was nothing new or different to what Erik Herbermann teaches, or from when I rode with “ Quiko” who is one of the chief riders at the Portuguese School.. However, the chance to ride schoolmasters is always invaluable and increase ones breadth and depth of experience far more quickly than riding ones own horse. For example it was really educational to ride horses that were stiff to the right as opposed to my horses which are generally stiffer to the left. I was also able to ride passage on several different horses and although it was a bit hit and miss at times, I managed to get some lovely “ feels” and Icaro’ s passage is now coming along well. I also found a whole new level of sitting still with a relaxed but engaged seat and leg, especially in canter. The older horse was perfect for this lesson as he just scrambled along in a sort of scuttle for the first 2 days and although it felt like I needed more impulsion, actually I just needed a better seat. I would love to tell you exactly what I did but I can’ t. I just kept making subtle adjustments until the horse said “ yes!” and that is why I spend time and effort seeking out good schoolmasters for myself and for my pupils. The flying changes were also achieved with a much quieter seat and leg and with horses that change so easily it was quite a challenge to do shoulder in to half pass to shoulder in without changing legs.

Functional Anatomy of the Athletic horse by Dr Helen Davies

This day was truly fascinating with an abundance of technical information which made perfect sense (at the time… ). Helen is a practicing vet and lecturer at the University of Melbourne, Australia. She is also a rider, trainer and dressage judge. Her work includes helping racehorse trainers to improve their horses performance and rehabilitating horses with lameness problems. She lectures all over the World and we were extremely honoured that she took time out of her holiday to present her work to us. Joy Morris took video of the whole day and theses are available on DVD at a cost of £30 with 50% going to equine research at Helens request. If you would like to order the DVDs (3 of them) please send a cheque to Joy Morris at 30 Oxford Road, Cumnor, Oxfordshire, OX2 9PG

It is very difficult to sum up Helens’ lecture so I will just share the following observations (and apologise if they are not as accurate as they should be!)

Horses can be back movers (a cutting horse) or leg movers (Icelandic horse that “ trolks” ). A rider who braces against the horse with the legs stretched away from the horse’ s sides will encourage a horse to move its legs only while a rider who uses her legs against the horses sides will encourage a horse to move its back. Horses that hold their backs against a rider are likely to go wrong in their sacro illiac area . We want horses to move elastically and evenly and use their backs to carry us comfortably.

Although most people talk about muscles, Helen talked more about ligaments; the muscles pull on ligaments which stretch and spring back. If a ligament is not stretched it will contract and stiffen and weaken. If it is held stretched it will become sloppy and cease to give support. An active system is balanced and toned evenly. If a horse is holding a lot of muscular tension, the ligaments cannot use their elastic recoil mechanism and the horse will eventually go lame. However, you cannot force the horse to release tension. The horse has to trust you enough to release the tension himself. Then using the minimum amount of muscular effort, he must be encouraged to swing freely through his shoulders and hind quarters and have unrestricted use of his head and neck to regain evenly toned ligaments and correct movement.

The best person to change the way your horse goes is you, (assuming that he trusts you which is not always the case!!!) Helen had little respect for what she called “ Snake oil salesmen” who claimed to achieve miraculous results either through gadgets or supplements or massage machines! She also said that if she were to “ massage” the muscles responsible for movement in the hindquarters, she would have to wear a rubber glove as the only way to get to them is through the rectum - not something she wanted to do!

She emphasised the need for correct work including a proper warm up period - at least 12 minutes . The work can be varied and often simple things work best - transitions, working over a pole on the ground on a small circle, turns and changes of direction. Shoulder in, done properly, is also a very useful tool as it stretches and tones the fascia and ligaments in the outside shoulder region and develops the carrying capacity of the inside hind leg. However, it only works if the horse is able to flex its hocks. She also had a very interesting chart on how the position of the head and neck changes how the limbs move. This is apparent even with a carcass, ie if you move the head and/or neck on an inert (dead) horse the limbs will move. For example, neck down is front leg extension and hind leg flexion; neck up is front leg extension and hind leg flexion. A foal learns this in its first hour of life. The neck has the greatest range of movement so can be worked on very easily - usually to the detriment of the horse!

After a very intense morning we moved into the indoor school to see horses in action. Helen demonstrated her skills as a trainer with 2 very different horses and suggested exercises to help them. In the evening she gave an additional lecture to those who were interested in farriery. This was attended by a number of farriers who would have kept Helen all night to answer questions and discuss issues relating to feet. Eventually they let her go at about 8pm but we have all asked that she comes back again next year. If she does, I strongly recommend that you take the day off work and come and listen to her. Sadly I couldn’ t stay for the evening talk but I gleaned a number of snippets which sounded really interesting. I guess I will have to buy the DVD!

Helen will be back again in September 2006

Tai Chi with Brian Williams
This was a lovely way to wind down after a busy day. All the exercises are very slow and gentle designed to help the flow of "chi energy" throughout the body. This energy is believed to be the source of good health and the body breaks down wherever this energy is blocked. The breathing is very important and helps to "centre" you in your lower abdomen. We also did some "sticking" exercises where one person leads and their partner follows with their eyes closed trying to keep a consistent contact with one hand. All this is extremely relevant for riders and everyone found something of value from the session. Tai Chi movements are based on martial arts techniques but much to one students disappointment, you don't get to kill people!

Pilates with Richard Dilworth
Many people had not experienced this form of exercise so Richard gave us a brief introductory session. The technique has great similarities with Alexander Technique in that it was pioneered by one man who overcame his own physical/health problems through designing this exercise programme. It puts great emphasis on "core stability" and correct (thoracic) breathing. You may have heard the expression "zip and hollow" which requires you to engage the pelvic floor muscles and allow the belly button to "sink" towards the spine on the out breath. We spent a great deal of time mastering these essential principles and most of us found that it was quite difficult to maintain them whilst doing the simplest of exercises! However, this is only a layman's interpretation (mine!) so to really find out what it is about, you should ask an expert! I found it had great similarities to Tai Chi, Yoga and Alexander Technique and that it was enormously useful to horse riders. Hopefully we will do some more on future courses.

Shopping in Spain and Portugal

Icaro	Icaro's first experience of an English field
Cantinero	Cantinero

This little trip resulted in the purchase of one Lusitano (Portuguese) and one Andalusian (Spanish), both stallions, both grey. I have justified the expense - VASTE expense - by telling myself (and Ron) that they will be "good for business" because how often does anyone get a chance to ride these special horses? In truth however, they are the fulfillment of my own dreams, (and you might be allowed to sit on one if you are very, very lucky).

I had a wonderful few days "horse hunting" in both Spain and Portugal which, forgive my ignorance, I found to be very different cultures. The Spanish horses were mostly in a constant state of alert resulting in some spectacular work but at the expense of the softness and harmony that we are more used to. I rode a 5 year old 16.3hh Andalusian who, with a good dose of spur and curb, performed just about all the Grand Prix movements. Very impressive in some respects and great fun to ride but his neck was far too short for a young horse and predictably his hocks were in the next county. They say that the Spanish horses are very sensitive but in fact I found that they were so used to being ridden in this way that they didn't necessarily respond to anything lighter. "Light in the hand" was sometimes just "behind the bit". It was as if you had to wind them up into a frenzy first so some of them were simply "too sharp" and frightened of the aids. Even at Jerez, the National School, the horses seemed in a constant state of fever pitch with foaming mouths and dripping with sweat. The results were spectacular and the (male) riders all sat superbly but a horse like Bird would have killed them and William would be dead within a week! My conclusion was that the Spanish horse are as tough as nails and that those that aren't get sold to England for rehab. However, it taught me a lot about impulsion and how to handle it. I also had an interesting discussion about bullfighting and I think if you understand that, you can understand the way they ride.

I ended up buying a little Spanish horse which was very uptight but workable. He had been badly ridden before but has been in training with Herman Mellado and his sons for about a year. The youngest son was in Germany training with the Spanish dressage team as reserve rider for the world Games. Unfortunately I didn't see him ride.

Another horse which caught my eye was a 3 year old which was with Antonio Quinta, the top Doma Vaquera (not sure about the spelling!) rider of Spain. If you have seen Doma Vaquera demos, it was probably Antonio. He was training a horse when we arrived, not a Spanish horse although it was working like one, but a thoroughbred. I would have loved to have spent some time training with him - a true horseman. I also went to an amazing stud which was owned by a self made man who was one of the top carriage drivers in Spain. This was a lovely set up with cool stables and a courtyard with a drinking trough - just the sort of thing one imagines in Spain. All his horses were impeccably behaved and he is one of the few people, maybe the only person, who drives a mixed team of mares and stallions.

Portugal was a bit more "Irish" if you know what I mean. Far more laid back and the horses we were shown were usually produced on a headcollar and loose rein, often left to stand in the yard while someone went to get the tack. Like the Spanish horses, they were "twirled" rather than lunged but without the stress and there was a sense that the owners secretly indulged them and loved them as individuals. We spent part of our stay with Jorge Pereira who also teaches in England. He had a fantastic big moving 3 year old and, when he showed it to us, he gave a rueful smile and told us that it had only taken him an hour to put a cavesson on it!

Jorge was a very generous teacher and I had great fun on one of his schoolmasters. Lots of passage-canter-passage transitions and it was quite novel to ride a horse that was stiff to the right as opposed to my horses which tend to be stiff to the left.. Jorge also found my horse for me. I went with him to ride one which was quite advanced but had very bad melanomas. We both agreed that it was not suitable but as Jorge had not seen me ride before, it was a good trial. It did all the tricks - changes, piaffe, passage but was quite crooked and weak in one hind leg. We then "dropped in" on a riding teacher to persuade him to sell me his own horse. This teacher was obviously a very fine rider but had a worsening back problem and his doctors had told him to stop riding. For this reason the horse is not very advanced for its age but the basic work is faultless. I hope that I will be able to continue the good work and teach him the advanced movements that I know he is capable of. Jorge seemed completely confident that he could have the horse doing all the advanced movements in "a couple of days". I think I will have to take things one step at a time!

Having found my horse, I then seized every opportunity to ride as many horses as possible. I went to a dealer who had approx 70 horses of all ages and sizes. He showed me a very nervous horse which had just arrived from Spain. The interesting thing was that it didn't matter what you did, this horse constantly "over revved". I tried being super quiet and relaxed, then gave up and just went ahead and "pressed buttons". I expected an explosion but actually it made little difference. I also rode a very nice 4 year old with a lovely attitude to work, but his conformation was not great. The owner of these stables, Luis Valencia, then spent the next 3 hours showing me just about every horse on the place including his favourite who at 29 is still beautifully muscled and performs in his displays (eg The Royal Horse Gala). There were some lovely horses, all shapes and sizes including one belonging to Heather Moffat. She had bought it recently but it is staying there for one year to be schooled - she must be richer than I me! We were also shown a black cow that they use for training for bull fighting. He told me that she was very good and challenged the horses without being really dangerous, but, he added "don't try to go near her on your feet!". These black bulls and cows are completely wild, not like your average beast in the field. Luis has known them refuse food and drink and die rather than be "domesticated".

We then moved on to Lisbon to ride with "Quiko" (Frasisco Bessa de Carvalho) who is one of the top riders at the Royal Portuguese School of Equestrian Art . He was quite different to Jorge and very exacting but enormously helpful with my flying changes. He was entirely "classical" with no fancy tricks or fiddling with the reins - just good solid riding. He was like a mellow Erik but who knows how mellow he would have been after 16 years of teaching me! His chief rider, Luis was absolutely charming and Mum and I were completely bowled over by him. He gave Mum two super lessons and helped me with a 4 year old that they hoped I would buy. It was so refreshing to find a young man with so much talent and yet entirely modest and unassuming. He told me that his aim is to join the Royal School as an apprentice but not for a few years because he was "not yet good enough". It just shows how high their standards are. Meanwhile, Quiko spent a large part of my lesson just standing admiring Mum's riding. Erik would have been proud because she rode "like a professional"!

Finally, Quiko offered us the chance to see the Royal Schools weekly performance in Queluz. I say offered but in fact if it wasn't for the fact that he told us that he couldn't teach in the morning because "we have our display to do" we would not have known anything about it. He seemed very surprised that we were interested in seeing it. He immediately gave us free tickets and invited us to meet him in the Royal stables to have a look round. The palace is undergoing restoration and the gardens have been sadly neglected but the stables were superb. All "Alter Real" bay Lusitano stallions bred at the royal stud and selected for the school. The performance was fantastic with an energy and freedom of movement that you rarely see today. I thought they were far superior to the Spanish Riding School of Vienna , perhaps not in content because they did not do so many "tricks" but the quality of the work was pure gold. The stallions had so much energy and joy in their work and even though there were some mistakes, there was not one disharmonious moment. There were plenty of explosions out in the warm up area but all handled calmly and without any fuss. It seemed that both horses and riders were sharing the same joke! I felt even more privileged to have had lessons with one of the great modern day masters. I very much hope that I can go back to both Jorge and Quicko, but first I have to pay for my new horses!

More pictures of Icaro's first outing