The Clinics

The Tellington Jones clinic I rode in on Friday was great!

There were two of us in the clinic; Cassie on a 4 year old draft cross, and myself on Tango. We started off just riding around the indoor ring doing what ever, both to get our horses used to the ring and warmed up, and to allow the Tellington team time to assess us and our horses. Tango dealt with the scary ring and all the people much better than Dexter ever did! We had time to walk/trot and canter, and she felt reasonable in that ring, and more stretched down than at home.

So then they pulled is into the middle to dismount and untack so they could work on the horses; starting with a light massage to feel for sore areas, then moving the horse around to check for stiffness, and finally working through the labyrinth to work on flexibility. The handler for Tango had a wand she would stroke Tango's sides and front legs with, the idea being it would help her think about her entire body. As hokey as that might sound, she was halting square by the end of the work! Tango was slightly stiff, but didn't show any soreness or tension which is good for an old grey mare!

Meanwhile I had been pulled out of the ring so I could work on my position in the bleachers. I was sat down and told to put my hips/pelvis in "neutral", and then we tested the positioning by having me press forward and then down against her hand. I could tell when I had it right as I would then feel the pressure going down into my seat, rather than into my lower back, shoulders or crotch. I was able to find neutral easily as this is a concept I work on already...but key was finding neutral in my seat, and maintaining a softness and correctness in my upper body; I tend to get stiff to hold to pose.

So she put a hand on my lower back, and one on my chest, and wanted me to feel and stretch into the pressure, like I was walking into a wind (fortunately I have had lots of practice with strong winds lately!). She then also wanted me to imagine that between my spine and my skull, there was a space that my head could float above....this feeling of lightness and tallness in my head really helped lengthen my spine and felt great...so why do I keep letting my head push forward and look at Tango's ears?!?

Finally she had me jump up and down, and consider if I was thinking more about the up or the down. I was thinking more about the up, so she told me to think more about the down...and in doing so I realized I started to use my core more to control the down...which is exactly what I should be doing when posting...so time to start thinking about the down phase of my post to.

Ok, so finally I was allowed back in the arena, where we put a body wrap on Tango to try to connect her more front to back...and to try to get a more enthused walk out of her. Did seem to help much, so we decided to tack her up, and put the wrap on over the saddle for me to ride with.

Once on her back, we again went over the neutral pelvis, and the feeling of her hand on my chest and lower back. We discussed how I tend to lean too far back on Tango...even though it feels upright to me! So we worked on finding what was truly sitting tall...with my head floating on top. Next, she had me think about relaxing my inside thigh, and outside shoulder. The change was amazing! Tango really loosened up, and had a lovely walk (and later trot)!

Then we were attacked by birds...and the hitching ring started to fill with donkeys...so Tango started to get spooky....so I started to get grippy....but then I was corrected...and interestingly, but softening the inside thigh and outside shoulder, Tango softened and relaxed considerably! Interesting...I am going to have to play with that concept!

All too soon time ran out, and I had to get off Tango to take off the body wrap. At which point I was asked to summarize what I had been working on for the crowd (as Robin had been giving play by plays on the green horse, not on Tango). A pop quiz in front of a crowd speaking into a microphone?!? I am not a particularly shy person...but speaking into a mike on something I JUST learned is the edge of my comfort zone. I just started blurry eyed at the mike being handed to me...but somehow I managed to organize my thoughts and speak coherently...or at least I think it was coherent!

On Saturday i got an invite to come back to ride for a demo (for free), but as I was already home with Tango that would have been complicated, so I sadly had to decline.

I can't wait what I learned on Bliss and Dexter too!

Now the jumping clinic:

Watched the last 3/4 or so of the jumping clinic. I liked what I saw, but I think I missed some of the theory behind what he was having the riders do, but this is what I took from it:
- He had the riders do a lot in two point, both to work on their fitness, and to free up the horse's backs.
- Did a fair number of transitions to help connect the horse's front to back.
- Had the riders correct the horse very simply with an upward bump on the reins (with leg too), and then soften. Reminded me of western riding....which makes sense for a hunter as you want to ride on a loose/soft rein.
- Didn't like riders who couldn't control their bums and let themselves bump on the horse's backs for downwards transitions.
- for the jumping he discussed 5 parts:
1) A good approach with a square corner, straight line, and good gait.
2) Either a steady rhythm to the jump, or a slight increase in pace if needed to get a good distance (remember it was a hunter clinic, not jumpers...in hunters you want slightly long distances so the horse can jump "cute").
3) Rider then lets the horse jump and stays out of the way.
4) Horse lands, rider stays off the back
5) After the jump the rider either halts the horse (if needed for schooling) or half halts before the corner to re balance and prepare for the corner/lead change.

I think step 5 is the one most often forgotten. Often riders are just so focused on the jump itself, that after the jump is left to take care of itself...so the horse ends up careening around the corner, possibly not getting its lead change, and definitely not being set up as well as could be for the next jump. This lack of re balancing can also lead to the horse's stride getting longer and longer and longer and the horse getting further and further on the forehand as the round continues...does that sound familiar?

Wish I could have seen how the jumping clinic progressed for day 2 and 3, but the farm called me home!

Karen