Cross Training, Round Two

I realize I'm veering off the prescribed topic slightly. But I had something to say, and I didn't know where else to say it.

Last weekend, I attended a Boyd Martin clinic for dressage and show jumping with a Haflinger mare who's coming back into work after having a foal. For those of you unfamiliar with Boyd, he's an Australia native upper level eventer who's been quite successful competing internationally.

Obviously, Boyd is a better rider than me; that's why I paid over $300 to ride with him. As with any lesson, I expected that he would give me exercises suitable to me and my mount, constructive criticism and critiques, and things to work on at home. That's what I try to provide to my own students.

While he was very friendly, the lessons were not very helpful, especially the jumping lesson. Boyd sent the other riders and me through the jumping exercises with hardly any feedback. After completing a round of anywhere from five to fifteen jumps, he would say, "That was good." It's great to hear something positive, but to me, that's not the purpose of a lesson. I want to hear what parts were good, what needs work, and what I need to do differently to improve. Because that's why I'm there-to improve!

After one of my rounds, Boyd didn't even say anything; he walked towards the next jumps with the group of riders. I did get the impression he wasn't too thrilled with the pony or me, but I had a right to be there, just like everyone else.

Because I was riding a pony, I knew the striding would be different through the lines than for the bigger horses. I told Boyd this, but he told me to just try to make it anyways, which I did. One of the exercises was a line of five verticals one (horse) stride apart. Having jumped the pony quite a bit (with various trainers in similar grids, as well), I knew that I would be able to get the distances for a few of the combinations, but not all. Again, I told Boyd this. He told me to try anyways, so we fumbled through. Placing poles in between the jumps prevented us from trying for two strides, so the mare had to struggle through the end of the exercise, time after time. But like before, we did not get any feedback on our attempts.

I'm sure Boyd is a nice guy. He might even be a great teacher; maybe he had an off weekend. But by the end of the clinic, I went home wondering if the lessons had harmed the horse more than they had helped. I went home wondering if our riding is so poor he didn't even feel it necessary to comment on it. And considering he didn't give anyone much advice, I have to wonder if he feels that it is a waste of time to be teaching lower level riders.

I would hope that these things aren't true. But, as many have pointed out before me, we pay Boyd's salary, we let him compete at the highest levels of this sport, and whether they think we're valid or not, we are riders. We're trying to educate and further ourselves, and I would think that alone would be enough motivation to teach us.

So I learned. I likely won't take lessons with him again. And again, as I've learned so many times before (and will re-learn hundreds more times, I'm sure): listen to the horse. The horse knows, better than all of us, what's right or wrong.

We just have to listen.

A little bit of cross-training...

So this is going to be a little more upbeat than last time.

Last weekend, I hosted a vaulting clinic with Karin and Rebekah Meister of the Heart of Illinois Vaulters. What is vaulting? More or less, gymnastics on horseback. Most importantly, it's a lot of fun. I had a turnout of fifteen, most of them under eighteen, but a few adults who had just as much fun as the kids.

So what on earth does this have to do with dressage? In my opinion, quite a bit. Just as we cross-train our horses with jumping, trail riding, and roadwork, there's a lot to be said for cross-training ourselves.

Vaulters gain:

• Strength: To vault safely, you need to have strong ab, back, and leg muscles (or core muscles!). These are the same muscles you need to ride effectively.
• Balance: Vaulting moves are ultimately done on the back of a moving horse. Not only do vaulters have to keep their balance on the horse in a sitting position without hands, they have to do gymnastic exercises while staying with the horse's movement. The horse sets the rhythm and pace, and the vaulters need to move with the horse.
• Flexibility: Just as with gymnastics, flexibility is an important part of making the moves look graceful and correct. Muscular flexibility helps keep tissues healthy and in good shape.
• Trust: When you're hanging upside down off the side of the horse, you have to trust not only in the person lunging the horse, you have to have faith in your mount. While we probably don't want to do vaulting on every horse, vaulting horses are specially trained to be very good at their jobs. But regardless of the riding style, just as in any relationship, there must be trust. The horse trusts us to get on their backs and treat them fairly, and we have to trust that they are acting from their instincts and training. Where there is no trust, there can be no beautiful riding. Dressage is about communication, and there can only be open communication when the two parties trust each other.
• Teamwork: Vaulting is traditionally a team sport. It helps vaulters work with each other towards common goals, recognizing the strengths of every vaulter and helping each other along the way.
  

So these are some of the benefits of vaulting. We had a great time at the clinic, young and older alike. Visit americanvaulting.org for more information.