Still tired from our 4 day clinic extravaganza at The Ashby Stock Farm we packed up our 13 horses and started the long haul to Florida from Massachusetts. It is always with a bit of worry that I put my beloved horses in the trailer and make them endure this long trip. I am always so relieved when we are in Florida safe and sound and my horses are all healthy, thank goodness.
Although I do not have a "Smart Phone" I am able in a bit archaic way to get some emails on the road.
I have added to my blog below the delightful article written by Jessica Hainsworth about our clinic last weekend. Reading this article made all the hard work worth every minute! I am so happy that even one of the girls had this kind of an experience at our clinic. But, I know that she is not the only one! Thank you Jessica for your kind words. Thank you again to Mr. Schumacher, Bill McMullin, Dr. Brett Gaby, DVM, my husband Matt and our great staff, Taylor, Ariel and Omar for making the weekend such a fantastic success. :)
Please find Jessica's article below:
In late
summer, I turned 16, and my best present was being awarded a grant from the
USEF as part of the High School Equestrian Program as the best submission from
the USDF. I was thrilled to say the
least, but was also told I needed to have the grant funds disbursed by October.
A few days later, I received information about the Region 8 clinic that
would be held with Mr. Schumacher and be hosted by Nancy Later. It was a huge
opportunity despite the 8 hour drive, so I immediately applied to be a rider, and
was so excited when I was notified I was accepted to ride in this clinic! In mid-August, I sold the horse I had just
finished my USDF Silver Medal on and moved on to a new project horse that had
just been purchased as a potential horse to campaign at FEI Jr's. This
clinic was only our second major trip and clinic together in just about three
months together and a big step for us to start creating a better bond as a
team. This horse has not had a "real
job" for a few years now, he is an East German WB and is now 10 years old,
he is the type who needs his own rider and has some trust issues, so we have a
bit of work to do to get us both speaking the same language and working as a
team. ( Let alone just being able to
stand quietly in cross ties at the wash rack!)
We had a uneventful drive to Massachusetts
and that started what became an amazing clinic with Mr. Schumacher! I must
start with a huge thanks to Nancy Later for being such a great hostess and her
wonderful staff, working students, and husband as without them this clinic
would have never been such a great success! Throughout my experience at the clinic I
participated as an EDAP program rider and as part of every EDAP clinic the
participants are expected to observe every lesson or discussion when not
riding. I brought my riding journal as I
do to every clinic and recorded notes and points on each lesson. I learned so much and met so many new
friends, as well as made connections with other teens who have a passion and
love for horses. Both days I rode right
before lunch, so I was able to bathe my horse
first thing in the am (my new mandatory morning duty as an owner of my first
gray horse) then watch several lessons before having to get ready for my
lesson. A clinic like this is such a
great learning opportunity yet so many try to get as much as they can out of it
by just listening and trying to remember the details... it just won't be enough! If they are truly trying to take what they learn
and then apply it to their own riding it is a must to write down what they learn
so each lesson I jotted down notes and comments to help me recall the focus and
main point of the lessons.
My new horse
can be stiff and blocked in the neck that in turn leads him to have the option
of being behind my leg and often ends in
a battle between us trying to get him to respect and react from my application
of the aides. Mr Schumacher was so amazingly
patient to wait for him to give at his poll, even giving him a sugar when he
had been quiet and soft in his neck connection with what my hand was
asking. He acted as my interpreter
between what I was asking and finding a generally quiet and kind way to work
through the tension until I was able to feel a better connection up into my
hand that came from behind. The first
day was spent mainly finding ways to use lateral work to reduce tension to get
him through his neck. One exercise
especially useful was the use do the counter bent extended canter on the long
side turning on the 1/4 line and focusing on leg yields and straight lines. The second day we used a ton of cavaletti
work which my horse had not had much exposure to in the 3 months I had him and
from his reaction not much prior to that either. Despite a few excited "discussions"
the cantering cavaletti work helped to
loosen him to a point where we really established some trust as I helped him
figure it out. Mr Schumacher told us
during that lesson "That only in the dictionary does Talent come before
Work." That it was my job to show
him how and where to take off, cantering within the small corner bordered by
cavletti showed how precise your straight lines need to be coming into a
quarter pirouette and then how straight you need to ride out of them to be able
to maneuver this short corner in 4 or 5 short strides on every straight line. My horse was excited at times but I have to
say the improvement in his gaits once we went back out on the track was amazing. I felt the future passage that is in there, the
flying changes we made after this work brought new meaning to
"flying" as they were the most uphill I had ever had with him. We had established a new level of connection
not through toughness but through making him use his body in new ways to
release tension and create trust.
At lunch Saturday, we had a lecture from USDF
judge Bill McMullin about test riding and judging and were even lucky enough to
watch Taylor Lindsten ride a beautiful Junior test and then listened as he gave
each score being able to hear his remarks
with each movement was so helpful as a rider considering that test for the next
year. We also had Dr. Brett Gaby, come on
Sunday to discuss how to keep your sport horse sound by sharing a wonderful
PowerPoint presentation. Then, each day
finished with some more really great lessons, and no matter what level or age
the horse and rider, I was learning something new as Mr Schumacher found ways
to get the best out of each pair. He was
really an inspiration to watch as he found a new and refreshing approach with
each lesson and I was amazed by the tactful and kind approach to each horse and
rider. Never did one lesson resemble
what the last rider had done or if it did it was presented in a way to address
the specific area of tension or stiffness in either the horse or rider that he
was being presented with. Being able to
ride with Mr. Schumacher was such an amazing opportunity, my horse has great gaits and a lot of
potential, but is tricky based mainly on the inconsistency that he has had in
his training. He said in my lesson that
retraining a horse is "one of the hardest things to do and in Germany it
would never be done by a "young lady"
that instead it would be the job of a professional." Yet he
was very supportive of my efforts so far in the short time we have been
together, and focused his lesson on ways giving me some great tools to work
with to get my horse to soften and allow us to work together rather than
holding that tension between us. In just
two lessons I learned so much and I could feel the change in my horse and as we
became more connected.
We had
a great dinner Saturday night followed by a lecture by Mr. Schumacher about the
preparation for a show and how it's not just about packing up the equipment
and walking into the show, but that you as the rider need to be mentally,
physically, and emotionally prepared before you consider entering a show. He explained that a rider should see mediate
through each part of the test, be in good physical condition and fit, and
emotionally know and be prepared for whatever they are about to do. Also, a rider should have a planned warm up similar
to the warm up done at home rather than the 45-60 minute warm up he sees so
many people do at shows. He said that
essentially providing this consistency of the warm up routine to your horse
often will help your horse behave more similarly at a show ground if what you
ask there, is the same or very similar
to what you ask of them at home. One
of the best parts of this lecture was his explanation of the difference between
being a good rider and a good competitor.
I hadn't really thought of it that way and he shared many points of
preparation that go into being at the top of your sport. I was able to meet many of the riders from
Region 8 that being from 8 hours away, I just haven't had the chance to do so
before. We also had a chance to discuss
some plans for the NAJYRC region 8 teams and discussed the planning and
commitment that goes into that program.
I am so very thankful for the opportunity to
come to this clinic to learn from Mr. Schumacher! I had an amazing time getting to meet the
other Region 8 riders, and of course the excellent staff at the Ashby
Farm! This was my 3rd EDAP program
clinic and thanks to the support of Dressage4kids and Lendon Gray several youth
riders will be getting some funding to help cover the cost of this clinic and
more importantly we had the opportunity to get some incredible education
offerings as part of this program. Most
of all a huge thank you to Nancy Later, and the USEF and USDF for helping to
support kids like myself through programs like the High School Equestrian
Program and therefore allowing me to participate in this amazing opportunity!
Happy Riding :)
Nancy
