Obstacle of the week: well, not really an obstacle but a movement, the turn on the haunches.
This is a difficult movement to perform correctly, so this is a rather long explanation. I see mistakes all the way up to the upper levels, in working equitation as well as in the dressage shows.
The most important thing to understand is that the correct rhythm must be maintained. The minute your horse’s hoof sticks or spins even one step your score goes way down, the more steps that stick the more your score suffers. Personally I prefer to see larger turns with correct rhythm rather than riders that make them too small for their horse’s level of training.
Here are Joni and I practicing movements 8 & 9 from the USAWE level 4 dressage test. Joni is an extremely sensitive horse with a precarious rhythm in the walk, so I have to really focus on keeping a clear four beat walk rhythm at all times. He shows his tension and anticipation before the first turn to the left by losing rhythm slightly, although he keeps the footfalls nice and even in the turn itself.
As I prep for the TOH, I shorten Joni’s steps and his frame while encouraging him with my legs to stay active and “quick” behind. I solidify his bend in the direction of the turn with a shoulder-in like positioning, and I keep my inside leg actively monitoring that bend all the way through the movement. He could definitely be more engaged on his hindquarters and the turn ideally should be smaller for the best score, but my focus here is keeping him calm with a clear rhythm throughout. After the first turn he anticipates and loses rhythm again, jigging a few steps, but I’m able to recover the walk and he gives me a decent collected walk the rest of the way to the next diagonal line.
You can clearly see my prep for the second TOH to the right, and I take my time, 5 or even 6 steps of straight collecting steps before I ask Joni to start the turn; I want to be absolutely sure he is waiting for me, not
Obstacle of the week, Drums!
Here I am several years ago on Diva at level 5 riding the drums. Diva was very tense that day, spooky and looking for distractions. You can see her spook sideways on the turn to the approach and swap leads back and forth. Nevertheless, she comes back rather nicely once I point her to the first drum.
There is a costly mistake on the first drum, can you catch it?
I try to sit deep to keep her from unseating me if she decides to spook again, I focus on keeping the symmetry and activity I need in the canter so I can get a good change exactly between the two drums I am passing through. I am careful not to lean and throw my body at the change, especially on a horse this size; changes in my balance can really have a strong influence on a small horse. I am able to settle her and keep her mind on the job, and I get some rather nice loops around all three drums with good bend, and the changes are clean. Diva is a German Riding Pony, and at only 14.1 hands she makes this look pretty easy, and I am able to ride nice, tight loops around all three drums. On the third drum I lose the rhythm slightly, just a small interruption in the jump and activity, again because she is looking at something and wanting to spook. At this level these things are important, much more so than at the lower levels. Judges really want to see a steady, active tempo in the canter through all the turns and the changes, calm and without resistance. I was able to ride through this little distraction and salvage the rest of the element for a decent departure. Lucky for me, with her small size she is easy to control!
Did you catch the big mistake on the first drum? Diva swaps leads behind right between drums 1 and 2 on the first turn, just one step and then back to correct, but this is a very costly mistake. I don't remember if the judges caught this that day, it's easy to miss, but if they did, the score should have been in the negatives, with maybe a bit more ta
Obstacle of the week, double slalom!
For me, this obstacle is the true test of your readiness at any level. Make no mistake, this is difficult for the horse to perform well, and without the correct balance relative to the criteria of the level you are riding, your training mistakes will show very clearly in the double slalom!
Here I am schooling Ike on a normal day at home. I had been having trouble keeping his haunches straight out of the turns so he was struggling with the changes and swapping leads behind. We did some basic straightening exercises and came back to the slalom several times, concentrating on turning his shoulders and keeping the haunches as straight as possible out of the turn so he can balance for the change. I am careful to keep the quality of the canter throughout; just as in tempi changes in dressage, the quality of the canter determines the quality of the change, and slaloms are simply tempis with turns. I try to focus on the quality of the canter immediately after the change to prepare for the next turn, and through the turn to prepare for the change, and so on. In the double slalom there is NO time to sit on your laurels, you must always be readying your horse for the turn or the change! For the lower levels you would be preparing for the change of bend rather than the flying change, but my point is to PREPARE!
In this clip my half circles are a bit large for competitive purposes, but in practice I try to keep things a little easier when my horse is struggling to do what I ask. In this exercise I like to practice different counts and be able to nail 7, 8, 9 or even 10 strides between changes.
I strive for quality every day in my riding, playing with exercises instead of drilling them. Often this means that my plans for a particular ride might change depending on how my horse feels that day. I use the obstacles in different ways, not always riding them the way they were intended, or in their entirety, so my horse stays a happy pa
Obstacle of the week, the Bank
This is one we don't often get to ride, or even judge, because it's rare to see one in an arena setting. I love to see courses set up in a field, since it's more true to the intent of the sport and there's a chance to navigate less even ground and challenge my skills.
Here I am on Tiger at level 4, but this could be level 2-7 as well, since the execution is the same at all levels, with the exception of the allowance of trot or canter at level 2.
As I approach, I try to keep the balance in the canter without losing any momentum. Since Tiger is a bold and game guy, he is ready to go and doesn't hesitate at all, even though we never had the opportunity to school this at home. I make sure to keep my elbows and hips elastic and following, being careful not to bang him in the mouth or back as he jumps up. My goal is to keep the canter strides all the way across and still help him balance for the down bank in order to help him land on the correct lead for the turn, so I do my best to half halt but stay out of his way. For a better score I could have kept him a bit more contained on the down bank, but since I wasn't really sure how this would go I was happy to keep the canter strides even and regular. I plan my turn to the next obstacle as we land, gauging how much I need to bring Tiger back to balance him. Luckily there was plenty of room in this arena for me to do so.
I hope you get the chance to ride this fun obstacle sometime.
Good rides this week everyone!
Rein Back L
Obstacle of the week: the Rein Back L
Here are Ike and I doing the rein back L at level 5.
As I approach, as with every obstacle, I am concentrating first and foremost on my downward transition. Transitions are considered part of every obstacle and also play a role in your collective marks for Navigation and Impulsion, so it's critical as you go up the levels to work diligently on your transitions to make them clean and balanced by using collecting steps before you ask. It's also useful to remember that as you collect you must activate the hind legs to keep a "quickness" to the steps; a slow hind leg goes out behind instead of under the center of balance, causing most of the horse's weight to drop onto the forehand. When this happens you are sure to get trot steps or resistance in the contact. Judges want to see the horse sit into the transitions, balancing his weight in the haunches and lifting the shoulders, staying light in the contact, and by the time you get to level 4, there should be ZERO trot steps on the EOH course!
Here I use half halts and concentrate on a clear walk rhythm as I enter the corridor, and since Ike was tense that day, I am careful not to block him too much in the halt or force him too close to the bell. He is restless and does not maintain his immobility here, and I lose points for leaning too much, but trust me, it would have been worse had I pushed the issue with him!
In the rein back I find it much more effective to use the shoulders to control the swing of the haunches rather than trying to control with my legs: just like you use the steering wheel in your truck to control which way your trailer turns, the same goes for the horse: if you feel the haunches start to swing left, turn the shoulders slightly left momentarily (maintaining the rein back steps) and the horse will straighten. It's critical to make tiny adjustments though, not major ones, or you will over correct, and the horse will go crooked the opposite way and create
Obstacle of the week part 2: Pen
Here is another version of the Pen at level 4.
Here Ike shows a good canter on the approach, but since he was super spooky and resistant that day I chose to transition to the walk pretty early to give myself a good chance of getting him to go into the pen at all. He surprised me by being quite brave and obedient on the entry, and shows a good walk, although maybe a bit too forward for the purposes of the pen, where I would like to see a calmer, quieter stride. I concentrate again on keeping him in front of my leg, because when he is spooky he will balk strongly and I don't want him to stop and have problems inside the pen, so again my tradeoff for the more forward walk here. He loses a bit of rhythm just inside the opening before the turn, and again in the turn due to his tension, damaging my score considerably. (which is a moot point because I ended up DQing later on the course) The second loop is fine, and prepping for the approach to the next obstacle I start to change the bend a bit just before the exit to let Ike know I want the right lead. On the depart he shows his tension and becomes quite resistant while spooking at the banners on the fence line, but I do my best to keep him focused on me and going forward in front of my leg.
Good rides this week everyone!
Obstacle of the week, the Pen.
Here is Tiger again, performing the pen at level 4.
On my approach I collect by shortening and energizing the steps in the canter before I ask for the downward transition to walk. I am careful to nail the downward without any trot steps at this level. Because my next obstacle is in the direction of the camera, I chose to circle right first so I can exit the pen in the right direction without having to make an awkward turn.
Because Tiger does not have a good quality walk, I do my best to relax his back and focus on clean rhythm. I allow him to stretch a little into the contact and I keep a clear 4 beat walk by staying tall with a gentle swing, not a push, of my seat and arms to allow his neck and back to oscillate, encouraging bend through Tiger's body with my inside leg. As I exit the pen for the turn here, I do not maintain a straight perpendicular path, and I go way too far out. I was taught early in my WE training to go to the side like this to help me remember which way to go back in, but I have since learned that a perpendicular path from the center of the pen opening is a higher degree of difficulty and will score better, and indeed at levels 6-7 is required in the USAWE rulebook. During the turn I focus on balancing Tiger on his hind legs while keeping the walk rhythm clean. Tiger shows a slightly better walk quality on the second circle, and gives me a nice upward transition, again without ANY trot steps at this level, although I could have asked a little more promptly after crossing the opening.
Thanks for watching, stay tuned for more video variety coming soon!
Working Equitation obstacle of the week: Bull line
Here are Tiger and I again at level 4, cantering the bull line.
For this obstacle I can't stress enough the importance of requesting permission to adjust the pole. This is the one element in WE that you are allowed to approach before the bell rings, and even the steadiest of steeds can look a little at the open top of the barrel, so DO adjust the pole, even if it is placed just how you like it, and give your horse a chance to see it up close. If you forget to ask, and the pole is placed too far away for you to reach it, your line will almost certainly be compromised. I always adjust the pole, or if the judge mandates that the ground crew will adjust for me, I still stand next to them as they adjust it to give my horse that last look at it.
You can see that I exit the pen at the beginning of the clip, and I change the bend and be SURE to get the correct lead for my approach, which is the right lead since I use my right hand for the obstacles. In every approach to an obstacle I try to make as few lead changes as possible, to keep the navigation lines as smooth as I can. For the bull line you want to be on the right lead if you are handling obstacles right handed, and on the left lead if handling with the left hand. If I were riding at a lower level, I would be very careful to plan my downward transition in plenty of time to collect my horse, change the reins into one hand, and be straight before I reach the pick up. In this line I could show better bend to the right for a higher score, and at level 4 I would like to see a more engaged canter, balanced more in the haunches.
I do my best to stay solid on my seat bones without leaning over to pick up the pole, as this would cause Tiger to adjust his balance to compensate and lose straightness. I ask him to be a little rounder on my approach to make sure he stays solid on my aids without pulling once I put both reins in to my left hand.
This was several years ag
Leg yields at the trot
One of my favorite exercises for suppleness and straightening my horses is the leg yield. I use it every day in my warmup and anytime I feel my horse resisting my bending aids. This is a basic movement that I start early in the training process, and to gauge the horse’s reaction to my aids.
The leg yield is a forward lateral movement performed with the horse’s body straight and the poll slightly flexed away from the direction of travel, while the inside legs cross in front of the outside legs.
The shoulders should be slightly in advance of the haunches.
Here I am riding Jonico in several leg yields to both sides. As I make my turn I use my outside aids to keep him from bulging through the turn and make him very straight before I ask him to move sideways. I keep his head and neck aligned between his shoulders while playing a bit with tiny flexions at the poll to keep him from stiffening so I can maintain my ability to make minute adjustments to the angle. Jonico is more advanced so here, rather than flexing him away from the direction of travel, I start to ask for more flexion and bend in the direction of travel as I work towards positioning for half pass. I remember to keep his tempo and ground cover exactly the same throughout the entire movement.
If your horse struggles with staying forward or drops the shoulders too much in the leg yield I suggest re-establishing straightness and reaction to your driving aids before continuing your lateral positioning again.
Working Equitation Obstacle of the week: Figure 8 at the Canter, level 4!
Today's clip is of Tiger and I (sorry for the poor video quality).
On the approach I do my best to keep Tiger absolutely centered between the barrels on the right lead with a slight right flexion to prepare him to begin the turn.
I have heard many of my clinic students say they have been taught to make these turns with a haunches-in position: In my experience this makes it very difficult for the horse to balance, stay active and straighten in time to make the change. Instead, I ride a little towards shoulder-fore through the turns, steering his shoulders while keeping his neck somewhat straight. As I begin my first circle, I am careful to keep his neck aligned between his shoulders as they turn, as Tiger is super "gumby" flexible and tends to overbend easily, causing the shoulders to fall out. I focus on keeping his haunches active and tracking directly behind his shoulders, while being careful not to allow them to fall into or lead through the turn. I straighten and collect for the downward transition, concentrate on getting 2 to 3 clean, collected walk steps, then ask for the upward to left lead. Here my change could be better centered for a higher score, and Tiger gets a bit braced in the neck in the upward, causing my left circle to start a little large, but I try to keep the quality regardless of the loss in precision. To finish I again try to nail the center of the two barrels and show my straightness for a stride or two before making my turn to the next obstacle.
Have good rides this week everyone!
Rounding posts for upper levels
Working Equitation Obstacle of the week
In this clip I am riding Ike again, this time in the rounding posts at level 5, one of the more difficult obstacles to master, in my opinion.
Ike was a bit amped on the approach due to some problems with an earlier obstacle, and because I over aid him a bit in the preparation for the halt he reacts by anticipating it a bit early. Luckily he is very sensitive so I was able to save it without a true break of gait and he gives me an abrupt but square halt in spite of my strong aids on the approach.
Ike is really honest in the rein back and goes where I put him, but he also can be super reactive if an obstacle moves or falls, so I’m really careful to steer his haunches by controlling his shoulders in the rein back and being sure not to hit a pole with my foot. This is one obstacle where it helps to have a mud knot in the tail to avoid putting a pole down with a swish!
I keep his feet moving in diagonal pairs with even steps as best I can, sitting evenly on both seat bones to help him balance, and I soften my aids as I near the last pole to let him know to stop. Ike gives me another nice halt to finish, and I give him a moment to settle his nerves before moving on. I watch my straightness as I prepare for the upward transition, being sure to nail the lead I need for my next line.
I hope these tips will help you master the rounding posts!
The reverse gate
Here I am riding LL Valdivia through the reverse gate at level 3.
I didn’t prepare my downward transition to the walk enough so I get a few unclear steps between canter and walk. I’m allowed to transition through the trot at this level but these are not clear enough walk steps. I am careful to approach perpendicular to the gate as close to center as possible and then gauge my turn to arrive as close to the latch as I need to avoid bumping it or having to lean over to reach it. Once I settle Val into the halt, being mindful of what’s on the ground on this obstacle, (ie sandbags, wide feet on the gate construction) I start the execution of the gate with a slight turn on the haunches. I make sure the end of the gate is clear of Val’s shoulder and that he is parallel to the swinging gate before I start my rein back. I am careful to keep his feet moving fluidly until I reach my final halt on the exit side of the gate, again being mindful to avoid asking him to step on the feet of the gate standards and paying attention to the balance and squareness. My upward transition could be more prompt, as here Val anticipates a little and moves his feet before I ask, so I take a moment to balance him and make sure I get the lead I need for my next line.
Practice the individual parts of the gate with someone to help open and close the gate for you to give your horse confidence before tackling the entire obstacle by yourself!
Tips for success in the side pass poles
In this clip I’m riding Ike in the side pass poles. As I approach I’m first concentrating on my downward transition, watching my angle and preparing him to turn. I’m careful to get his alignment just right so he doesn’t bump the poles with his ankles; I look down at the pole, being careful not to lean and staying centered on my seat bones, and keep the pole under my heel to give both his front and back feet room to maneuver without knocking it. I keep his tempo in the walk steps as consistent as I can while going sideways, into the change of direction and all the way through the second pole. (Here Ike loses rhythm momentarily during the turn) I want the crossing to be consistent and even, and I take time to set up my depart with a well-prepared upward transition. This one earned a 9 and an 8 from the two judges, I hope these tips can help you too!
A truly balanced horse has confidence in the double slalom, straightness makes the changes possible!
A truly balanced horse has confidence in the slaloms, and straightness makes the changes and the count possible. Here I concentrate on keeping Ike’s shoulders turning around the poles and his haunches behind his shoulders without swaying in or out. I must keep my seat bones centered in the saddle without leaning or throwing my body into the changes.
Course walk from the 2023 Spanish National Championships
Full video of the course walk in Cuidad Rodrigo, Spain
That’s how they ride the bull line in MI!!
