Filippa Valenca - Clinic and lecture /Demo, June 18th - 21st

Filippa gave us a wonderful 4 days of inspirational teaching and riding including a very comprehensive evening demo. What I like most about Filippa is that she is not afraid to point out what is wrong and will do her best to help you put it right. She is not there to show the World how clever she is and only rides the horses to help you, not to "show how well the horse goes with a really good rider" as some clinicians do! She is also not afraid of pushing horse and rider when they need it even if things aren't perfect. In fact, the whole point of a clinic is to work on things that aren't so good, so I like it when things go wrong. For example, I asked her to help Icaro's lateral work with the exercises that she does in hand. It didn't work and Icaro sulked for the rest of the lesson. An exellent lesson in how not to do it! The next lesson we tried slightly different tactics with a good warm up first and it went much better.

Filippa and Joy thought it would be a great idea to do a Pas de Deux for the demo with Filippa on Trinco (Joy's much better behaved "ex" stallion) and me on Icaro. We practiced hard - for at least 10 minutes - with one run through then found some good music which we guessed was about the right length. A couple of run throughs on our feet just before the demo and away to go! I was more focussed on where I was going and what I was doing than I had been for years so didn't really see or hear anything. Amazingly, it all went incredibly well with some loyal supporters "moved to tears"! Naturally others were less impressed and of course that is the report that got most attention on the dreaded gossip pages of the internet. Equally amazingly, the gossips failed to comment on Cantinero's levade work which I thought was fascinating, but then I was actually sitting on him experiencing the fine tuning that makes such an exercise possible. I was trying to think of where else you could see such work... no, can't think of anywhere. Of course you can see the finished product in the various Classical schools but the early training? Of course I am incredibly lucky to have a horse like Cantinero who finds it easy and enjoys it. Unfortunately for the audience, the best place for this work was down the long side with our backs to the gallery so they didn't get the best view, but if they were really keen they could have got out of their seats to watch from a better vantage point. British Reserve prevailed on this occasion ... Gill Ward's Xisto was also part of the demo and behaved beautifully for his first time "on show". He is still only a baby in terms of experience but it enabled Filippa to show the work in hand that she does with young horses and then Gill showed some lovely simple ridden work. He has come a long way in the 8 months she has owned him. Other riders on the course included Anita (Maestro), Philippa (and Crisp), Sue Adams, Andrew Ward, Gill Ratcliffe, Sarah Tindal, Angela (one session in hand with Pooh) and Sarah Fox (1 session).

As you know, I usually make lots of notes but this time just about all of them relate to me me me so rather boring for anyone else but here are a few observations that relate to everyone.

• 10lbs in the hand with a snaffle or a few ounces in the hand with a double bridle - which is better? We must always try to find an easier way for the horse.
• Always forward before sideways and always flexion before sideways
• You need to feel between both reins - when you ask with one rein you need to give with the other, not pull on both reins.
• If you only ask for forward and lengthening you lose the suppleness (Very much what Anja Beran said)
• Half pass - like a drunk carrying a bottle - he falls towards the bottle but never falls over or drops the bottle.
• The aids are brief - do not hold
• Half pass and shoulder in - profit from making a volte to gain more impulsion and to reposition.
• Shoulder in and travers on a circle - keep the same position when you go from one to the other - your body stays on the circle line.
• Find the right balance between angle and flexion then use your set and legs to increase the amplitude of the stride. (lateral work)
• After half pass, do not try to straighten or hold the horse with the reins, ride forwards into straightness
• The horse should respond to your seat and back when you reduce (collect) the stride. Find the balance between seat and leg
• LEAN BACK - ie stay in your back and on your seat. Do not tip forward and perch, especially in transitions and lateral work.

Lastly, for those that may be interested, in levade, the shoulders of the horse do not lift at all, the back end goes down. There is something you don't learn every day!

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Clinic Report - BHS Day - Anja Beran

Philippa and I went all the way to Bishop Burton to see the German classical rider Anja Beran and in doing so found a great Thai restaurant! But that wasn't the only good thing that made our trip worth while. Anja gave a 40 minute introduction which was somewhat scathing about modern competitive dressage but absolutely true. She talked about the great "masters" and the origins of Classical Riding and said that people nowadays have lost the ability to train the gymnastics. They only train to win the competitions. Ideas like "rollkur" have developed because real horsemanship skills have been lost. She cited several examples of incorrect gymnastics;

• "Camel" walks
• Back problems
• Incorrect trot - big front leg movement with nothing behind
• Canter not true 3-time
• Passage where the horse "stands" on one diagonal that then goes back to the same spot.
• Non existent piaffes

She retrains many dressage horses and is absolutely against any kind of auxiliary rein or gadget. She said that the horse either switches off or goes mad. Instead trainers must analyse how to balance and straighten the horse. This is very difficult to do well but they must look for it every day. This is her primary aim every time she rides and she is pleased even if she gets just a few seconds. There is no point in trotting around out of balance and crooked. Asking for big paces too early merely stiffens the back and most problems come from an incorrectly trained back, one which does not "carry".

She shocked the audience by claiming to teach piaffe and passage before any extensions and introduces piaffe at quite an early age, (5 or 6 years) Just a few steps to teach the horse to flex the major joints in his hind quarters. Finally, she stressed the importance of a good seat!

The rest of the day was a bit of a let down in that there were no Iberian horses or riders who had some experience of this work (even though several had applied to be guinea pigs) and so the riders and the horses were unable to show any real improvements. What they demonstrated admirably was everything that Anja had said was wrong in modern dressage! The riders all seemed obsessed with "getting the head down" and seemed incapable of giving forwards or riding the horse on the bit from the seat and legs. Those that had done some piaffe had trained it incorrectly by working backwards (with lots of pulling) from the passage and when asked to step with the hindlegs from halt or walk, the horses were completely incapable and all 3 horses went to rear. Why does a horse rear? Only when the rider asks for energy from the legs and blocks it with the hands! (Incidentally, a levade is NOTHING like a rear - see below!). The Grand Prix horse had completely incorrect muscling - hollow - and the rider of the medium horse seemed to think it was all a bit of a joke and seemed completely uncooperative. Interestingly, this horse had consistently been scoring in the seventies at medium level but Anja pointed out that the horse had no back end and simply dragged itself along on its forehand. In fact she really went to town on this horse and its the rider even though the rider had recently been awarded his BHS Fellowship! Anja seemed to think that he had no back or seat, his legs were all over the place and so were his hands. Some advert for the BHS!

Most of the exercises and school figures were old hat to anyone who had trained with a Portuguese trainer (Filippa) - lots of lateral work, true flexion and counter flexion; leg yield/shoulder in on small circles etc. etc. She slowed things down to enable the horse to step with flexibility. "Slow walk, like a cat"! The bigger more expressive steps only come later when the horse has learnt to carry his back and step with his hind legs. I guess it was all very alien to the modern way of pounding around pulling the head in!

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Clinic Blues

Clinics are not the easiest thing in the world either for those that organise them, the participants or the trainer/teacher. The organiser because there is a mountain of work to be done "behind the scenes": preparing the school, the stables, the time table; endless phone calls and e-mails and always at someone's beck and call. The trainer and the riders all have an infinite number of likes and dislikes that all need to be accommodated and just when you settle down to actually watch a lesson, something else crops up. Then there is the issue of some poor horse who is left filthy dirty with no hay or water while the owner pontificates about the finer points of "Classical riding". It drives you nuts! By the time you actually get to sit on your horse you are totally stressed out!

If you are a participant, no one seems to appreciate how much money you have shelled out for stabling and B & B on top of the tuition fees, nor do they realise the amount of effort it has taken to organise you and your horse, plus your cat, dog, other horses, partner, work load etc... The directions are rubbish and when you eventually arrive at midnight, there is nowhere to park, nowhere to put your tack, your feed, your hay, no lights anywhere and no one to help you. The organiser seems deaf to any of your requests and you find that your lesson is at the worst possible time right after the rider you especially wanted to watch. You desperately hope your horse will behave but you become so anxious that you ride worse than ever and your lesson is a disaster.

If you are just a spectator it is not much better. After criss-crossing the countryside trying to find the place, you arrive to what seems like a totally deserted yard. You creep around, furtively looking for the loo, the school and access to the gallery where your view is largely obscured by pillars and guard rails. The trainer is inaudible because the PA system is useless and although questions are invited the trainer responds with such complete disdain that you wonder why you drove 200 miles and paid £30 for this experience.

Now you may think the trainer has it easy. Not so! This is the 10th clinic in a row and after a hellish journey, you just want to go to bed but your hosts want to "talk horses" all night. Your pupils are all shapes and sizes with some serious basic problems but you have to somehow "pull something out of the bag" which gets results within a couple of lessons. Feeling desperate, you decide to demonstrate by riding a horse and the gallery fills miraculously with everyone expecting a minor miracle to be performed. If you manage to get a tune out of the terminally stiff, backward thinking beast, there is always some "expert" criticising your seat, your hands or your less than perfect "Classical" approach. And of course all the negative stuff flies around the internet chat groups faster than you can say "half halt"! If you could just pay off the mortgage....

Of course, it's not all bad and eventually things turn out fine and everyone has a great time. The organiser has some fantastic lessons "half price" and feels that all her hard work paid off. All the participants are inspired by the experience and go home with lots of positive aims for the future. The trainer feels that his tuition really made a difference to both horses and riders and is delighted to have met such an enthusiastic and dedicated group of riders and spectators. Even the stable staff are happy because everyone kept the yard looking immaculate and left their stables spotlessly clean. (Well maybe that's taking things too far!).

Finally - Is it another case of Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus

It has been brought to my attention that many trainers are male and many pupils are female and that the males cannot a) take female riders seriously and b) are too much the gentleman to make serious criticisms. Female trainers have no problem criticising their female (or male) pupils and are therefore less popular! If one compares the attitudes of Bettina and Filippa with Rodrigo and Herwig it would be easy to believe that this is true. Certain types of men like to flatter women rather than "teach" them. Of course there are a few misogynists who like nothing better than to reduce a women to tears for the "good of her equestrian soul" but maybe one should look at the sex of ones teacher rather than the qualifications? A good discussion point for "The road less travelled"?

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Clinic Report - Rodrigo Matoz, (Portuguese school of Equestrian Art) - Devon

Having seen how beautifully Rodrigo rides, I was looking forward to hearing him teach. There were a couple of other riders on the clinic that I had seen before (with Bettina Drummond), so this added to my interest. The first lesson followed a pattern of exercises which were to be repeated again and again. They had a good logical progression but with very few comments from a largely inaudible Rodrigo it was hard to see where he was going with it all. It appeared that he was assessing the horses and riders as he watched them carefully from front and back on the centre line. He taught as if he was riding the horse but it looked like "directing traffic" with lots of leg yield/shoulder ins in various directions and if that went well a progression to travers and half pass. I guess this works well if the riders ride as well as he does and with the same knowledge and understanding, but I am not sure how much one learns just from following a monologue of directions.

All the riders had 2 lessons a day so I was looking forward to seeing him get down to some real work in the afternoon. Sadly, the lesson we watched seemed to follow exactly the same pattern as the morning but it was much shorter. At approx £75 a lesson I think I would have felt somewhat short changed. The riders who had been pushed to their limits by Bettina clearly enjoyed Rodrigo's mild mannered approach but personally, I think they got more from Bettina even if they didn't enjoy the experience! Rodrigo said the right things but if the rider didn't or couldn't do it, he did not seem to pursue the matter. For example for shoulder in he would say bend the horse around your inside leg, outside leg behind the girth and yet the riders inside leg was back and the outside leg was forward and completely off the horse, consequently the croup was escaping. This was either not noticed or ignored. Personally I would rather a teacher who told me the truth even if I don't like it.

Sadly I was unable to stay for more than one day so do not know how the lessons progressed over the next few days. The feedback from the riders was more positive and clearly they felt that it was money well spent.

The exercises:

• Straight down the centre line, 10m circles to the right and to the left ( a much neglected exercise)
• Leg yield from centre line to outside track (eg from the left leg) followed by 1/4s in on the track (leg yield from the right leg)
• On the track, shoulder in out of a 10m circle; then counter shoulder in out of a 10m circle at the half marker. (These were more leg yields than shoulder ins)
• Switching from leg yield to half pass in the same direction.

The use of voltes and 10m circles and work on the centre line reminded me how seldom these useful exercises are used.

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Clinic Report - Filippa Valenca - Luis Valenca's daughter from Equestre da Leziria Grande, Portugal

This was arranged at quite short notice when Filippa suddenly became available due to some cancellations of the "Appassionata" show dates. Their loss was our gain! The lessons seemed very expensive at 100 euros - approx £90 at the current exchange rate but she gave real value for money frequently running over on lesson time and working tirelessly through the day, (and part of the night!), without any proper break. Her work was noteworthy for the calm, confident way in which she dealt with both horses and riders and her genuine desire to help them improve. Her tuition was clear and purposeful and very "hands on" although when she took a break from the PA headset, it was difficult to hear her from the gallery. However, everyone should have studied the way she worked the horses from the saddle and from the ground; she stayed completely in her back - very "grounded" yet "carried" and exemplified Erik's description of sitting "like a 200lb canary"!

Her lecture demo was inspirational and this word was used many times by other people who watched. She started with Joy's 8 year old Lusitano stallion, Trinco and showed how she would start with lunging and work in hand. She then proceeded to do the same type of work under saddle demonstrating a clear logical progression through simple leg yield, to shoulder in, to half pass and counter flexions then progressing to canter work and an introduction to flying changes, piaffe and passage. It was all the more interesting because it was not all perfect and she talked through some of the issues as she was working through them. She then did some more "finished" advanced work in hand with Andrew's Jaguar, a Lusitano gelding, and complemented both Andrew and Joy on their horses. (They didn't stop smiling for hours!). To finish, my Luso stallion Icaro and and Andalusian stallion Cantinero were put through their paces, Filippa on Icaro and I rode a very flamboyant Cantinero who seemed quite excited by the idea of a late night party. Filippa worked on making Icaro more supple through some flexions as a warm up for Piaffe then we did some more Piaffe with Cantinero. It was interesting to see the difference between the horses as Icaro finds it quite difficult to engage and bend through his hind legs so goes against the rein whereas Cantinero "curls up" and sits with his hindlegs so far forward that he gets stuck. Again, Filippa talked us through the good and the not so good as she worked and showed an improvement with both. When Cantinero did a few good steps he was immediately dismounted and rewarded. The evening was much more about the horses than it was about Filippa's ego and I for one thought it was a refreshing change!

Sadly, I was so busy "observing" that I did not make many notes but here are a few observations. (I have been a bit free with poetic licence for the quotes...)

Shoulder in versus leg yield

• "Shoulder in is the aspirin of dressage"
• "The volte helps the shoulder in and the shoulder in helps the half pass. We use this combination all the time."

She and other Iberian trainers often talk about shoulder in or counter shoulder in when I would say leg yield. When questioned, Filippa used a Portuguese expression which she translated as "lateral work" and the expression "leg yield" was new to her. I have heard the argument before when people say that they never do leg yield because the technical definition requires a straight horse with a slight flexion at the poll. Therefore they argue, they would prefer shoulder in which asks for a bend through the whole body. True, if you only do leg yield on straight lines, but you can also leg yield on a curve or circle and therefore it can be done with quite a wide range of angles and bends which makes it a very useful suppling exercise. Shoulder in (in my opinion) is far more exact in terms of angle and bend and has a much more specific collecting feel. The difference in expressions and words and understanding what the trainer means goes a long way to explaining the weird and wonderful techniques sometimes advocated for shoulder in. It is so easy to just bend the neck with the inside rein and shove the horse sideways with the inside leg back thus ending up end up losing the shoulders or the quarters and therefore no chance of collection. (I am pleased to report that there is a very clear explanation in Erik's latest book, the 4th edition of "Dressage Formula".)

Bending, Lateral work and Flexions (or whatever...)

• "I don't really do the Baucher flexions in hand. My father used them once on a very difficult horse but I don't do them. (said with a shrug of the shoulders)"
• "I don't read books much. How can I know what they mean when I haven't had the experience of riding with the person who wrote them? I read Oliviera because I rode with him and therefore I understand what he means in his book."
• "When I ask for flexion I never ask the horse to bring his head in, I only ask for flexions to the right or to the left."
• "I don't oblige him to stay round"
• "I never give the position (flexion to the inside) if they don't want to advance (go forward)."
• "I give the position and then do nothing with the hands."
• "With the young horses I will use these exercises (bending, leg yielding etc...) every day but once the horse understands I don't need to do them more."

Most of you know that I am not a big fan of flexing the horse's head and neck no matter how many "Great Masters" write about it. I am far more interested in what the horse feels like under my seat than what it's front end looks like. Therefore it was interesting working with Filippa who flexes the horse and uses a lot of lateral work from almost the first day of training. She explained that the Iberian horse does not have the big paces of a warm blood and therefore they need exercises to develop the strength to move better. The warm bloods have different weaknesses so need different exercises. What I find fascinating about this argument is that even with the specific training traditions of each country, the majority of warm bloods still don't bend their hind quarters and collect and the majority of Iberians still have choppy paces and can't extend. The problem with flexing the horse in his head and neck is that it appears to make the horse "soft" and "round". If only it had the same miraculous effect on the hind quarters! True suppleness comes from bending the major joints in the hind quarter - the hip, hock and stifle - which is far more difficult than just making the neck, poll and jaw supple.

HOWEVER, and it is a big however... seeing Filippa work the horses it is transparently clear that she has such an excellent back and seat that she rides the horses with her whole body, not just the hand which is a minor, (albeit important) player in the scheme of things. She also has a lifetimes experience of riding and training horses and knows the feel of a horse that is truly engaged behind. She knows what she is looking for - no one seeing her could doubt that. But if you haven't got sufficient knowledge and skill you end up playing with the front end only which at best looks and feels quite nice and at worst gets the horse going in two halves with his head pulled down. There is another "however" in that working with more flexion and lots of sideways stuff lends a certain clarity to the work: the horse will more obviously either fall in ("stiff" side) or fall out ("soft" side) so the rider has to use their seat, legs and weight to counteract this. By taking the weight off to the outside you can influence the horse to fall out more (sort of leg yield - sit right and go left). By taking the weight more to the inside you can influence the horse to fall in more (sort of half pass - sit right and go right). Filippa sometimes used her weight aids very clearly changing direction from leg yield/shoulder in to half pass but again, her seat was right where it was needed. Also, the forward energy from the inside leg and the contact on the outside rein played a crucial role.

During all this lateral work her hands remained absolutely quiet. There was no hint of fiddling left and right and using the reins as a crutch when things went wrong. Everything came from her body.

If only one could teach this in just a couple of days!

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Clinic Report - Herwig Radnetter, (Spanish Riding School) - TTT, Surry

I went there with high expectations because I had heard that he was "different" and really stuck to classical principles and was very honest with the riders. After watching 3 riders and horses all with their heads fiddled into an over bent position I asked Herwig if he worked competition horses differently from the horses in the Vienna school. His answer was somewhat confusing. First he said "No" he worked them exactly the same which I found rather depressing. Then he said that competition riders had a much easier time because they had time to practice with their horses whereas in Vienna they do so many displays that they only have time to gymasticise their horse in between displays. "The only horses that get training are the difficult ones"! I would have loved to follow this up but with only 30 minutes allocated to each lesson, (cost £90 and sometimes the lessons were shared), it seemed inappropriate to take up too much time.

Like so many others Herwig said all the right things, (see below) but the words did not match what was actually happening in the arena. Most of the riders seemed more than capable with excellent riding positions and the horses were medium and above but "on the bit" tended to be behind the vertical with polls low in true competition style. Too often the riders seemed more concerned with getting the head down than with anything else and I wondered how such a group of talented well educated riders had such a big gap in their riding and how were they going to change if no one challenged them? Why was a rider allowed to saw his horse's head from side to side? Why was another rider allowed to bully her horse in such a negative manner?

The one real highlight was seeing Herwig ride a Lusitano which was having trouble with Piaffe. It did all the other tricks easily but when it was asked to do piaffe it swung its front legs sideways in a most unusual fashion and its hind legs just "hitched" a bit. Herwig simply sat on the horse and very calmly said "energy under my seat please, now!" and within a few minutes, the horse was doing some lovely steps. His hands were completely relaxed and quiet, his seat just planted on the horse and his whole attitude was exemplary. So why doesn't he try and teach that I ask? I guess because it is just too damned difficult.

At one point Herwig accused me of not watching but a lot of the time I preferred to keep my head down on my notepad and listen to his (excellent) words rather than look at what was happening in the arena, (but I don't think that excuse would have been accepted). Here are rather a lot of useful words and phrases that I jotted down:

• Keep it playful, use short half halts, don't pull
• Always ride forward - ask to go, but if they go faster, use a small circle to slow down and get more lift.
• The horse will use his inside hind leg more if you use the bend through the corners and on 10m circles.
• The more relaxed you are with power, the more jump you get. If you create tension, the horse just gets flat.
• If the horse gets too deep, lower the hands.
• You need to feel that your leg directly effects the horse's hind leg.
• Even, quiet support - that is the best you can do for your horse.
• There has to be a moment of silence (in canter) when all 4 legs are off the ground.
• Be very straight (direct) with your horse. He won't respond better if you just put up with his loss of power.
• If you lose power in the shoulder in, lessen the angle
• In shoulder in the rider just brings the inside shoulder back a bit; that should be enough to weight the inside seat bone and leg.
• There should be no time in the ride for the rider to just go la la la la la! (This is what I wrote so I guess he said it!)
• Sit comfortably.
• In piaffe sit completely still with a big smile on your face
• You are responsible for the rhythm; the horse is responsible for the work
• A loose contact hurts his gaits; a strong contact hurts your hands!
• Have the softest contact you can imagine.
• Half halt with "little stitches", not great big loops.
• There is no tolerance for a horse "sucking back". Trot/canter, it's the same - GO!
• Exhale for a downwards transition.
• The horse must be comfortable so his breathing is regular and he can exhale.
• Must be relaxed in the hind legs so they can bend.
• Only do with your seat enough to stay with the horse
• Slow means powerful
• Holding your horse together with the hands is a fake.
• Piaffe and passage - how good can I keep the diagonal steps?
• 1/2 pass - use the outside rein as he steps his outside leg across.
• Don't worry about the neck: there is nothing you want to fix in front

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Clinic Report - Bettina Drummond

For those of you who don't know (and I didn't?) Bettina Drummond was taken to Nuno Oliveira when she was 7 years old and her mother said "teach her to ride"! She trained with Nuno for 17 years and became the youngest student to earn the title "teacher". While most of us were galloping around on ponies, she was executing airs above the ground on highly trained stallions. She now lives and works in America so it was with great interest that I went to Devon to see her teach and work the horses in hand - her speciality.

It is always easy to sit in the gallery and criticise but I have to say that I was extremely glad that I wasn't in her shoes as she had such a wide range of abilities and horses - from "happy hacker" to a completely messed up "high school" stallion! She gave every one of them her total attention and time, more than that, she gave every ounce of energy where I would have gone for a tea break and said "Let me know when you decide to start riding your horse". I?m not sure if she had experienced "Natural Horsemanship" previously but she must have learnt a thing or two while she was there...?!

Joking apart, when she was in familiar territory her expertise was tangible. The messed up stallion was seriously challenging and his lessons were "right on the edge". Fortunately his rider was extremely experienced and it made for some exciting moments. Some other exciting moments were provided when she rather foolishly told a rider not to bother with Alexander Technique as it made you sit like a ballerina with a hollow back. I took great pleasure in repeating this comment to the 4 Alexander Teachers who had been watching and sat back and watched the fireworks! Sally Tottle, Philippa Morrell and I challenged her directly and it was clear that a) she knew very little about the technique and b) she was not going to change her mind, (unless we could show her a Grand Prix rider who used the technique and as she had absolutely slated Anky van Grunsen this seemed like no win situation for AT.) Sally told her about her work with the Irish Young Rider Event Team but this was dismissed as completely different and not real riding. Her main argument seemed to hinge on the use of the back and seat and she felt that Alexander Technique puts you in the "wrong" position to do this effectively. About 20 years ago, I would have agreed with her. ?It is all very well to sit there looking elegant but that?s not "real riding"! I had no idea how to influence the horse without using a great deal of power and so did not recognise any other sort of riding, (unless of course it was the Spanish Riding School but that was something completely different and unattainable...!). It is easy to admire the flash and exciting, the horses that look as if they are barely under control, the riders that have you on the edge of your seat, and not so easy to see the much greater skill that appears effortless. Each to their own...

However, she had some lovely expressions and here are some of them:

Training the horse:

1. Half pass - (the horse's) legs cascading over each other
2. Canter depart like you are setting him up for a big upright fence, not like you are going at a water jump.
3. In order to bend well the horse has to be in front of the leg.
4. Position his nose in line with his inside shoulder (for bend), not beyond it
5. The horse either is or isn?t connected. There is no more or less
6. Brake! (half halt)
7. Horse must be one piece before you do higher level stuff
8. Steering and brakes are not optional extras in cars. Neither are they with horses!

Rider responsibilities

1. By neglecting the gaits and the transitions, you cause your own problems
2. You guys may have all the time in the world but I am on an agenda - the clock is ticking!
3. You doubt your riding to the point when you don?t ride well
4. You are a good listener but you also need to be a leader
5. It is useless to ask the horse anything until the rider has the hands, seat and legs in position. These are basic skills.
6. All that Classical theory and horse whispering stuff is no good if you can?t sit in walk, trot and canter.
7. Join up the dots
8. Get in the front seat
9. Good catch! (when someone caught and corrected a crookedness at the right moment)
10. Have your hands like you are holding 2 lit candles
11. Think of your hands creating 2 funnels and send the horse through them.
12. Lift your hips and back into your hands

Horse and rider "know how"

1. The horse evades and says "she'll never notice so what the hell" Make (the horse) take you seriously.
2. You created a monster - you sort it out. (talking about a horse with no discipline)
3. (This horse) has the eye of a chess master not a tiddly winks player!
4. Who cares about doing it properly when (the horse) is being improper - get in there!
5. It is suicidal to ride horses without training them to the leg.
6. You are afraid of wrecking it but you will wreck it anyway (if you don't do something)
7. Don't sit like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

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Julio Borba Clinic - rider with the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art

I had heard on the grapevine from a super-critical friend that Julio “was worth having a look at” so off I went to Claytown Farm in deepest Devon. The clinic was hosted by Jenny Rolfe who has written some very ointeresting articles in the Spanish Horse magazine. She has a couple of nice Spanish horses and one of them was being worked as we arrived. Julio does quite a lot of work in hand, mostly in leg yield which he then takes on into the ridden work either with the riders or with Julio himself. He explained the importance of body language and position when working the horse from the ground, and insisted that horses stay out on the rein and are not allowed to turn in when they halt. This is often a problem with horses trained in Spain where they tend to twirl them at speed one way then flick the rein or whip to twirl them around in the opposite direction. It was refreshing to hear that “classical” horsemanship and good old BHS rules were in agreement on this point.

Most of his ridden exercises were also standard BHS schooling – serpentines and loops, leg yield from the centre line to the track , decrease – increase the circles, shoulder in to half pass, rein back to trot, increase and decrease the pace/stride. However, he used the exercises in a much looser way, encouraging the horses to free the necks and stretch though their top lines. He frequently asked riders to yield their outside hand forward to allow the horse to bend rather than the usual pull on the inside rein that is seen all too often. He also used counter flexions which he explained were easier and more natural for the horse. (A horse in the field will turn with his head to the outside than to the inside). This had nothing to do with hauling the horses head around, merely allowing it to free its neck so that it could move more easily. He used this for canter strike offs and counter canter but as a correction to help a horse. It worked especially well with horses that bent too much to the inside and therefore blocked the inside hind leg.

So what was different?

Julio often apologised for his lack of English but although he was sometimes a little difficult to hear, the way he expressed himself was crystal clear.

“Big problems small circles; little problems, big circles”

“You can only earn respect; you can demand submission”

“Feel the quarters step sideways through your hips”

“Hands without legs; legs without hands”

“There is no magic; it is daily work”

“The best way to get a horse to concentrate on the work is the work itself”

“Piaffe is between trot and rein back”

“Only do sitting trot if it is fantastic; if not do rising”

“If things go wrong, stop – correct everything you need to, then continue”

“The reins must be stretched”

“Teach half pass in canter” (rather than in walk or trot) – “it teaches the horse what the outside leg means”

“A foal is born knowing how to do everything; the rider must make it easy and calm”

He also rode with the same clarity and it was a joy to watch. His seat was exemplary and his pupils would do well to copy it. Unfortunately, he made few rider corrections and while he demonstrated working the various horses through their problems in a very direct manner, the riders struggled to do the same. One of the big differences was the level of energy he expected from the horse. As soon as he took the reins he asked, and got impulsion and therefore the leg yield exercises became instantly more effective in suppling and engaging the horses. Without this energy, a rider tends to ends up using too much rein and a nagging leg which serves no purpose.

“An aid that does not get an effect merely serves to dull the horse “ – (Erik Herbermann).

So is he “worth having a look at”? Definitely, but that is another story!

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Danny Pevsner Clinic

Sue Adams Wheeler, Penny Corbett and I, all long term students of Erik Herbermann, took our horses to a one day clinic with Danny Pevsner, encouraged by Sally Tottle and Margaret Clayton, the organiser. The forecast was miserable and we saw the odd flurry of snow but the welcome was extremely warm and friendly with cups of tea and coffee offered on arrival. We had been warned that Danny did not teach to a strict time schedule so Penny was first on ahead of time while Sue and I watched. Penny’s horse is a TB off the race track which she hunts and rides for pleasure. Danny rode him and insisted that he went in a much more collected frame than Penny was used to but she really enjoyed “the feel” when she got back on. “Gramski” also seemed to enjoy it once he had got used to the idea of using himself and he showed some very nice paces with much improved activity. Danny was more than generous with his time and both Sue and I badgered him with questions which he patiently avoided! He kept throwing the question back at us until, as he said we “had run out of answers” and then he would help us. Some of his ideas on flexing through the poll and jaw were very alien to Erik’s way of teaching but very interesting when seen from an Alexander Technique viewpoint. (Danny is also an Alexander Teacher). We all wished we had more time for discussion but possibly on a warmer day!

Danny rode both Sue’s Lippizaner and my Lusitano, although for one embarrassing moment it looked like Johann was not going to let Danny get on. I guess he knows what these trainers are like! Johann eventually accepted Danny and the mounting block and was put through his paces. Sue has owned Johann for several years but he was quite wrecked when she first saw him. He had been completely soured so she was very pleased that he stayed so positive when put under pressure. Danny gave Sue some very useful tips for riding the shoulder in and his Alexander Training came to the fore as he re positioned her shoulders and pelvis enabling her to ride the movement with much greater ease. He was very impressed with her half pass and transitions.

My own horse was in a very forward mode and looked positively sulky when Danny made him slow to what he thought was a crawl (normal speed for collection). He also didn’t seem very impressed with Danny’s request for flexion but eventually gave in! I felt that we had lost something and gained something when I got on after Danny - lost a bit of “connection” and gained a bit of bend and suppleness. Danny asked for quarters in and shoulder in on a small circle and it made me realise how lazy I had become. 30 metre ovals are so much easier!

I still have lots of questions but we all came home with lots to think about and some very useful ideas to put into practice.

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More Clinic Reports - Patrick Print FBHS

One snowy cold day last autumn I went to another BHS Refresher Day with an interesting theme - "Riders position and influence on the horse" - just my cup of tea! Patrick Print lead the day and as usual I have listed all of the key points of interest below. I am sorry to say that I left at lunch time...

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