Today, we are back to our normal schedule. I am really looking forward to riding with Imke this afternoon. On the mornings schedule, all of the riders have a session with the Bartels physical trainer, Bouke van Spreeuwel. Fitness is a very important element of being a successful rider. If we are not fit enough to ride our horses well, then what we are asking for can become unfair. We need the strength to keep our own balance and to keep up with the movements, reactions and developments we are asking of our horses. If you are having trouble riding your horses current trot, asking for a better one is unfair. If your reins are an important part of your own balance, then asking your horse to become lighter in the bridle is unfair. If your leg migrates around a bit during your ride, asking your horse to take your leg aids seriously is unfair. We should have goals of improving our own bodies, just as we have goals of developing our horses. This is not something that happens overnight. We all have to start somewhere and this mornings focus was on balance. We warmed up by stretching out, slowly gaining flexibility in our hips, shoulders, back and chest. Next we moved into some yoga poses that help to challenge our balance and compare our bodies left to right. The table pose or Dandayamana Bharmanasana (I had to check the spelling on that one!) was especially revealing. I love yoga and have been in this pose more times than I can count, sometimes successfully and other times not, but there is something about doing it in the mindset of how my lack of balance would be effecting my horse during training that really clarified its importance. We started on all fours then slowly slid one leg back at a time, being sure to not drop or twist in our hips. Once this was flowing nicely, we began to lift the opposite arm to varying levels, beginning at just above the ground and gradually building to eye level. Bouke watched that we all kept our core engaged and our backs long and flat. It is amazing how we all knew a way to twist just enough to get that arm up, but when we were corrected, even the slightest amount made the balance much more of a challenge. The final step of this pose was slowly alternating between lifting the left arm and right leg, then right arm and left leg, being mindful to not lose your core steadiness. We all joked that we were already sweating and had not even begun the actual exercises yet! Bouke brought out a few large balance balls from the closet for our exercises. We did a circuit of challenges on the balls until we got to the big one. This exercise was one of those that caused some of us to laugh hysterically at how quickly and easily we failed. I was one of those people. We were to sit on a large balance ball, while holding rubber stretching bands that were wrapped around a beam in the gym as reins. Up until this point, things were looking good. Then, we were to bring our feet up onto a thin piece of rigid board that was balancing on top of a foam roller the size of a soup can. As soon as my feet left the security of the gym floor, I started to resemble a baby giraffe attempting to stand for the very first time. It was an eye opening experience to put it mildly. We were told to shift our “reins” from side to side at first to help us gain our initial balance, but as soon as we were stable, we were to begin becoming independent of the rein pressure. We did small tests of looking over our left or right shoulders, asking for bend with our “reins” and closing our eyes. Every single addition challenged us and this was something that I definitely kept in my feeling throughout the following rides. It was a fun challenge that really proved how something very small can impact us in a big way. This should also be kept in mind in regards to our horses. When they lose their balance, we need to have a little more empathy for them in the way that we give our corrections. Struggling with balance is no fun for us or for them. I changed into my riding clothes and headed towards the barn to get Floratio ready for our next ride. Every time I have Floratio in the cross ties, I get the feeling that I am being seduced. Seduced into what is not clear, but he sure is a charmer. He has a very affectionate and mushy personality and absolutely loved being groomed. It was fun spending this time with him each day. The grooming area of the barn is where all the action is. You get to see one beautiful horse after another being groomed, tacked up, bathed, massaged… its all here, so preparing the very handsome Floratio for my rides in this area was a fun, motivating experience. Our ride today really focused on developing a quick reaction to my leg aids, like we had done on previous days, but today we expected this same quickness now given within more structure. Whether it was a specific neck position or on a specific line, I was to achieve a quick response there. Not close to that line or in a similar neck position, but on that exact line and in the exact neck position. It required quite a bit of focus mentally and balance physically. It really worked out that we had worked so hard on improving balance earlier this morning. When you want to ride a straight line, you need to possess the ability to maintain your own straightness, regardless of what your horse is struggling with. This is difficult enough when riding center lines or long quarterlines, but riding varying rhythms and balances on these lines takes a bit of magic. Horses lose their balance, even the strong ones, and when they do, they tend to lose it to left or right. This isn’t always super obvious if you are riding on a circle or against the wall, but when you are riding on a straight line on an inside track, this is much easier to diagnose. When working on these lines, if you are not capable of maintaining your own balance, as soon as your horse loses his, you are going to follow and this only aggravates the issue. “Sit down and keep riding” was spoken over and over the sound system all day today and it served as a wonderful reminder to keep working towards the goal of straightness and control, even if my horse was not quite there yet, I would only hinder the process by getting tense or overthinking the stage of that process that he was working though at the moment. We had great responses and some not so beautiful ones, but none of them caused Imke to say, “Tighten your seat and raise your hands.” because this is never the answer! I feel that this is something that unfortunately many riders must learn with experience. You have probably been told this by your instructor, but until you believe it from experience, you don’t give it the importance it deserves. Learn from my experience… sit down and keep riding are words to live by…
Tomorrow, I am riding Eduard and I am excited for the opportunity to practice all that I have been learning on a different horse. Click here for Training in Holland 3.0 - Part VI
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