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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

Lesson With Chemaine - Part 1

8/12/2015

 
KG and I loaded Izzy up yesterday morning and drove down to Moorpark for a lesson with Chemaine Hurtado.

When we got there, she was schooling Belle, her very upper level horse (Grand Prix?). Rather than untack the mare, Chemaine insisted that I ride Belle while she schooled Izzy.

She assured me that I couldn't screw up her horse and that she was quite well behaved. This was the first time I've ridden a school master. I've heard this said before, but it was hard, so hard that I could barely get her to trot!

With Chemaine riding my lunatic horse, she schooled me through the half halts and even helped me get some piaffe steps. And while there is video, the piaffe didn't get recorded. Oh well, it wasn't that good anyway.

Watch the whole thing if you like watching paint dry. There are no special moments to point out, but for me, it is helpful to watch how Chemaine schooled my horse.

Chemaine is wearing the dark t-shirt, I am in yellow, and the other two riders are Chemaine's assistant (on the gray), and Chemaine's daughter on the palomino. This is the first time that Izzy has been schooled with so many other horses. Being out there with everyone else was enough of a good experience in itself to make the trip worth it!
What I like about the video is watching how Chemaine schools Izzy through his shenanigans. It's also helpful to see that it's not (entirely) ME; he's just a green bean who needs a lot more wet saddle blankets. 

I know Chemaine really wanted me to learn a few things by riding Belle, but it was pretty difficult to focus on my riding while trying to watch Chemaine ride. The truth is, even though I was on a fabulously trained horse, my mind just wasn't there. 

Eventually, everyone else left the ring, Chemaine got Izzy under control, and then she was able to focus her attention on what I was doing, which wasn't much. I had gotten off and was putting Belle away. She insisted I get back on. It's not that I didn't want to ride her, I just didn't know what to do with her. Chemaine fixed that.

As everyone already knows, those really well trained horses know how to do their jobs, but they're not going to offer it up for free. Belle really made me work for it. While I was riding her, it felt like she was all strung out and racing around on her forehand. Watching the video though, she looks pretty well put together, all her own doing, I assure you.

Despite my best efforts to demonstrate otherwise, Belle's gaits are really lovely. That walk was something else, and her trot looks floaty and energetic no matter what I was doing up there.

While the video doesn't capture these later moments, Chemaine had me get the piaffe steps to show me how much leg needs to accompany the half half. She said something like the amount of leg has to equal the amount of hand. To get a piaffe, she had me think trot, but then don't.

It took me a few minutes to get it. I had to use enough leg for a trot, but then I had to use just as much hand to say no to the trot. What I finally figured out was that I wasn't moving my seat. Once I got a little bounce in my seat, I felt Belle get lighter and lighter and then her steps changed from walk to bounce, bounce - piaffe!

Oops, one last thing. Belle was in a double, so I just dropped the curb rein and used the snaffle rein only. From the video it looks like I am riding with a big loopy rein!

Tomorrow, more, including ME riding Izzy.
SprinklerBandits
8/12/2015 03:48:54 am

Oh Izzy. Glad he's coming along, and even more glad your trainer was there to address the shenanigans. He'll figure it out.

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/12/2015 02:17:46 pm

He actually got better pretty quickly, and he was LOADS better for this trip as compared to the first time he saw her. I rode better as well. Unfortunately, it will be at least six weeks until C can work with him again. It's all good though. Today's ride was quite productive. 😊

Sarah link
8/12/2015 05:04:52 am

WOW! I am seriously jealous. That is awesome you got to ride Belle!! Izzy made progress even in the 3-minute video, and can't wait to hear more about it! =D

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/12/2015 02:19:19 pm

He did get better quickly, but riding a well trained upper level horse is harder than it looks. Riding Izzy was a lot easier. 😁

Val
8/12/2015 05:56:31 am

What an awesome opportunity, but I agree that I would be seriously distracted by what was going on with my own horse.

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/12/2015 02:21:10 pm

It was much easier to focus once she had Izzy under control. It wasn't that I was worried about him, I needed to watch how she schooled him so that I would have more tools in my box. 😉

Teresa link
8/12/2015 10:45:55 am

That was interesting. Watching that I see a lot of similarities between Carmen and Izzy...

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/12/2015 02:22:06 pm

I think green beans probably have a lot in common!

Karen B
8/12/2015 11:06:52 am

I confess to being puzzled as to why your trainer was yanking so hard on Izzy's rein to get his head down rather than just turning him into his shoulder? It has been a very long time since I've had a horse, and we were just trail riders, so maybe things have changed from the time when I was a consistent rider.

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/12/2015 02:29:24 pm

I know it might have looked that way, but that wasn't what she was doing. He's a bit of a bully right now. What he tries to do is throw his weight around to avoid listening. Once he gets his head way up there, he can ignore the outside rein. She's really just telling him NO and not trying to get a head set. In fact, she encouraged me to do that only if I really have to. One good NO should get his attention. After that, she had me keep my hands down low and resist when he flings his head around.

Once he quit trying to bolt, she showed me a counter bending exercise that helped me get control of the outside shoulder and haunches. I used it today and found it to be very effective against the head flinging. Just bending him doesn't work as it's actually his haunches that I was losing. Video coming tomorrow. 😀

KarenB
8/12/2015 03:25:47 pm

Got it. Thanks for taking a moment to explain. I understand it now. Am learning a lot here. Looking forward to Thursday's video.

emma link
8/12/2015 11:17:07 pm

what a very productive lesson. i haven't ridden many school masters either (esp not at that level) and think it would be a humbling experience for me lol. glad Chemaine made good progress with Izzy too!

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/14/2015 10:58:16 pm

Chemaine is so down to earth that "hopping" on her horse was no big deal. There wasn't a single word of caution - "Just get on and see what she can do." So actually I never had a reason to feel humbled. It was like a friend saying I could zip around on her horse. Chemaine is a REALLY good trainer. :0)


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    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.
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    ​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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    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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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
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