Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
I am really, really behind in reading my magazines. I am still reading the December and January editions of Equus and Dressage Today. I hate tossing them out unread because I know that I'll find something useful once I do get to them. I am so glad I didn't toss the January edition of Dressage Today because I just found the best article that I think I've ever read. It was entitled, "How to Embrace Incompetence" and was written by Eliza Sydnor Romm. I don't mean to take any of Mrs. Romm's words as my own, but I simply have to share her point. You can read the full article here, and you should. She writes that there are four stages of learning, and these are applied to anything that we learn - bowling, cooking, driving a car, or riding. The four stages are these:
While all of this is quite interesting, it wasn't the point of Mrs. Romm's article. She focused all of her attention on the first two stages of learning citing that we should "embrace" those first two levels. It's in those levels that we learn so much.
I really appreciated how encouraging she was about not feeling any shame or embarrassment when you don't know something. She stressed that good students recognize that until they truly master something by going through those early stages, they can never get to the stage of Unconscious Competence. She even went so far as to that we should be excited about being incompetent because "it's the first step to learning this skill inside and out." It was quite liberating to hear that being incompetent, and knowing it, is the first step toward mastery. So let's hear it for the dummies!
M
5/6/2015 04:29:12 am
One of the recent Equus issues has an article about headshaking, but I can't remember which one. Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI 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. About Speedy GSpeedy 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.
About IzzyIzzy 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.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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