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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

CDS Adult Amateur Clinic - Part 2

5/11/2017

 
After Saturday's marathon of a day, I woke up tired and ready to just head home. Dinner had gone so late that I barely touched my food (I am an early bird), and frankly, I was just wore out from such an intense clinic. Whether by luck or design, I tend to ride with trainers who find the lighter side to dressage. That's not how Hilda Gurney operates. But then, maybe that's what it takes to get to the Olympics. If so, I am not getting there any time soon.
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I was first up for the day with an 8:00 ride time. Best friend and I had an early breakfast, checked out of our hotel, and arrived at W Farms by 7:00. I tacked up as usual and trudged up to the arena. I wasn't exactly looking forward to another beating, but if nothing else, I am a "trier," and I really want to learn.
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Hilda explaining something to the auditors.
The lesson went pretty similarly to the one I had on Saturday, but this time, Hilda seemed to give me a bit more credit than she had the day before. I still heard about all the problems with my seat and aids, but she offered better constructive feedback.

When Speedy had difficulty picking up the canter, she realized that I was putting my outside thigh too far back. She instructed me to swing my leg back from the knee only which helped me keep my seat bones in the saddle.

We retackled my sitting trot, but this time, she insisted I sit back and she reminded me every single stride. I finally realized that she wasn't talking about my shoulders only, but that she meant to sit back ON my seat bones. Yeah, I've only heard that about 10,000 times, but with her relentless coaching, I finally plugged my seat into that saddle and kept it there. I couldn't help it; I smiled!
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While the "yell at you until you get it right or quit" style of teaching isn't how I best learn, I still had some great take aways. That trick about "fluffing the reins" - putting your hands closer together and raising them to lift a horse's head will serve me well, especially with Speedy. Feeling where I need to be for the sitting trot will also help me get to Second Level sooner. And finally, fixing the twist in my body by putting only my lower leg back will definitely help in the simple change, and some day in the distant future, flying changes.
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If you're looking for me, front row, first on the right.
I still have some thoughts I'd like to share about the clinic, but they seem a bit woe is me even to me, so I am trying to figure out how to share without sounding like a cry baby. I am looking for that humorous twist on the story. I'll see if I can get it by tomorrow.
Jan link
5/11/2017 05:52:14 am

Sitting down and back with your shoulders all the way to your tailbone is hard. GP Trainer usually has to tell me to sit on the back of my bum at least 20 times a lesson (down from like 100 times at our first lesson, lol). It is the single biggest thing that has drastically improved my sitting trot. Sitting like that forces you to engage your core, which lets you sit the trot better and lift your horse off the forehand too. Now to remember how to do that while asking for a medium... always something!

Bakersfield Dressage link
5/12/2017 05:20:31 am

Hilda at least said I have a strong core, now I just need to remember to sit back on my seat bones, not just push my shoulders back. Why does everyone else make it look so easy?! :0)

Tracy link
5/11/2017 06:11:04 am

Some trainers take the "break you down to build you back up" approach, which certainly can be quite effective. I'm like you though -- I'd prefer to skip the yelling and just get to work. No one is more aware of how much I have to learn than me.

Bakersfield Dressage link
5/12/2017 05:21:28 am

I am with you. I am already hard on myself and don't need help with that! :0)

Teresa link
5/12/2017 05:00:11 am

Wow- that sounds intense. I don't learn well by the tearing down unless there is something given to get me back up. But I know that it's a common type of instructing. I am glad that you got some good things from it. I think that it's fair to compile your thoughts even if they are negative. You have the right to an opinion about something that you paid for. :)

I think that you need a strong relationship with someone before you can tear them to pieces- we don't accept that in other parts of our life (imagine if on your first date a guy started telling you all the things that you are doing wrong). But once you build up a bank of trust you can be critical but it still needs to tell you want to do.

I understand that she had to get to it in a clinic and sometimes that requires a direct approach but words like 'bad' or 'good' are of no use. Saying that your sitting trot is 'bad' doesn't help you to fix it.

Bakersfield Dressage link
5/12/2017 05:25:13 am

It was tough, not gonna lie. :0)

Today's post is a bit about the relationship. I love working with Chemaine because she knows how critical of myself I already am. A person can only take so much of a beating. She tends to focus on what I am doing well and reinforces that.

I do worry that Hilda will read these posts as she lives in the same area as my regular trainer, so we have "friends" in common. I have certainly expressed criticism of her style of teaching, but only to say that it's not for me.

Teresa link
5/12/2017 08:39:21 am

Well it's a critique of her teaching and that's fair. Same as the critique of your riding.

Bakersfield Dressage link
5/12/2017 08:49:05 am

:0)


Comments are closed.

    About the Writer and Rider

    ​I am a lifelong rider. 
    I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010.
    ​Welcome to my dressage journey.
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    Photo by Lori Ovanessian

    About Speedy G

    ​Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
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    July 2020 (PC AJSK Photography)

    About Izzy

    Izzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
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    March 2021 (PC Tess Michelle Photography)

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Site Designed and Managed by: Karen Sweaney

Among other things, Karen is a Wife, Friend, Reader, Writer, Rider, Traveler, and Dog Lover
Contact her at bakersfielddressage@gmail.com
  • Home
  • About
  • My Horses
    • Horses
    • Imperioso
    • G Ima Starr FA
    • Sunshine
    • Nakota and Gideon
    • Corky
    • Sassy
    • Montoya DSA
    • Mickey Dee
    • Sydney
  • Show Results
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
    • 2010
  • Dressage Organizations
    • Dressage Organizations
    • Memberships
    • 2019 Dressage Tests
  • Local
    • Shopping List
  • Home