9 Educational Opportunities For the Financially Challenged

9 Educational Opportunities For the Financially Challenged

Recently I got a letter from a dressage enthusiast who explained that dressage was her passion, but she was concerned because she couldn’t afford regular instruction. She said she was willing to do almost anything to continue her education but didn’t know where to start.

Her story sent me on a trip down memory lane to the first few years of my own training. I had been introduced to dressage by Linda Jaskiel-Brown as part of the combined training program at the University of Massachusetts. Linda inspired me, and she was readily available to guide me as I started my journey.

After graduation, however, I had to leave Linda’s nest because my husband and I moved to Vermont. Suddenly I was on my own with my newly acquired dressage prospect–a $500 Thoroughbred off the track named Happenstance. (That $500 was our life’s savings so there was nothing left for “training”.)

With no money for training, Happenstance and I progressed at a snail’s pace. I know dressage is a process…but it was a year and a half before I could canter without having him run away with me. I thought, “I’ll be ready for social security before I’m ready to do Training Level, Test 1!”

During those first four years in Vermont, I did manage to take a couple of 2-day clinics each year with Cindy Sydnor. Count ‘em. That means I had a whopping four lessons a year.

Since I didn’t own a truck or a trailer, I had to borrow a rig from generous friends to get to those clinics in Hamilton, Massachusetts. My primary source of income at that point was from my job as a waitress. So Cindy often got paid with an assortment of change from my tips.

Those lessons were such a joy! I was like a sponge soaking up every bit of information. When I got home, I rode those lessons over and over. Good thing Happenstance didn’t mind repetition!

Unfortunately, four lessons a year were hardly enough for me so I was forced to come up with other ways to supplement my education. You’ll find some of them in the pages that follow. I hope these ideas inspire you to come up with your own. That’s what’s so cool about riding. The learning never stops. It’s just that sometimes you need to get a little creative to find inexpensive educational opportunities.

1. READ

Magazines, newsletters, and books are wonderful sources of information. They give you a chance to “ride” with top trainers from all over the world without leaving your living room.

I recommend that you keep a running list of all of the training articles and tips in your favorite magazines and newsletters. Post it somewhere that is easily accessible. That way you’ll know at a glance where to go for a refresher course on a particular movement, exercise, or training issue. Keeping a list is particularly helpful when an article comes out on a subject that you’re not yet ready to tackle but probably will be at some point in the future. Your list gives you an easy reference so when you do need the article, it’s right at your fingertips.

Books give you a wealth of information as well. I’m not only referring to books on riding. Explore other fields. Since our sport is such a mental game, I made a study of basic sports psychology. Those books helped me deal with my own mental monsters.

When I moved to Vermont in 1975, books were my primary sources of education. I absolutely devoured The Complete Training of Horse and Rider by Alois Podhajsky. That book became my bible. My library is stocked with several dog-eared editions from over the years. To this day I can recite much of it by heart. My daily routine included reading a section, and then getting on my horse to practice what I had read.

I have to admit that when I started reading Podhajsky’s book, much of the material was over my head. But I read it anyway trusting that the information would be stored somewhere in my brain. I believed that when I was ready to understand and use it, I’d be able to recall it.  At the very least, I’d know where to find the material so I could review it.

For many years I used that book as a reference whenever I encountered specific training problems. I never failed to find the answers in Podhajsky’s straightforward explanations.

In addition to Complete Training of Horse and Rider, some (but definitely not all!) of my favorites include:
Centered Riding by Sally Swift
Riding Logic by W. Museler
Practical Dressage Manual by Bengt Ljungquist
My Horses, My Teachers by Alois Podhajsky
Practical Dressage by Jane Kidd
Advanced Dressage by Anthony Crossley
Horse Gaits, Balance, and Movement by Susan Harris
The Competitive Edge by Max Gahwyler
Heads Up! by Janet Edgette
Psychocybernetics by Maxwell Maltz
Feel the Fear…and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers
The Psychology of Winning, Seeds Of Greatness, Seasons of Success and
anything else you can find by Denis Waitley
The New Toughness Training For Sport by James Loehr
What To Say When You Talk To Your Self by Shad Helmstetter
Anything by Anthony Robbins

2. THE DRESSAGE TESTS

The USDF dressage tests provide many opportunities to help you with your continuing education program. Here are just a few of them.

A. Use the tests to help you design a systematic training program.

The tests are designed so that they follow a logical progression. Take full advantage of them. Get copies of all of the tests at your current level as well as for the next higher level. Use them to outline a training program. The tests will help you come up with both short and long-range goals.

Let’s say you’re just starting out at Training Level. To figure out your short-range goal, get copies of all four Training Level tests. First, turn the sheet over, and read the section that says “PURPOSE”. At Training Level the purpose is “to confirm that the horse’s muscles are supple and loose, and that it moves freely forward in a clear and steady rhythm, accepting contact with the bit.”

Keep those words ringing in your brain as you work on all the requirements in the Training Level tests– medium walk, free walk, working trot rising, working trot sitting, working canter, 20-meter circles, transitions from gait to gait, transitions to and from the halt, shallow loops, turns across the school, changes of direction across the diagonal, center lines, straight lines on the long sides, and allowing the horse to chew the reins out of your hands.

Then, figure out your long-range goal by looking at the First Level tests.  Note that the purpose of those tests is to “confirm that the horse, in addition to the requirements of Training Level, has developed thrust (pushing power) and achieved a degree of balance and throughness”.

This directive tells you to maintain all the qualities you’ve been developing at Training Level as you go on to new work. It reminds you to preserve the looseness and suppleness in the muscles and the regularity of the rhythm as the horse covers ground freely forward.

The First level tests also add some new challenges.  Now, not only must your horse accept a contact with the bit, but also he must work “on the bit” to show a greater degree of balance and throughness. He’s also asked to show the development of thrust through lengthenings in trot and canter.

So when you have a good session with your horse, you’ll know exactly what to tackle next. Look ahead to the movements in First Level, and introduce some new work such as lengthenings or leg-yields.

B. Another way to use the tests creatively is to go through each sheet, and study the directive ideas listed to the right of each movement. These ideas help you focus on the heart of each movement.

For example, let’s say you’re practicing 20-meter circles in the canter. The directive ideas say, ‘quality of the canter, roundness of circle’. For a canter transition, the directive ideas say the ‘calmness and smoothness of the depart’. That’s what you should concentrate on.

C. You can also use the tests to outline a program for preparing your horse for what’s coming up next by concentrating, not on the movements themselves, but on the connective tissue that allows the movements to flow seamlessly. What I’m talking about here is half halts. (Don’t groan. You’ll find lots of info on the half halt and “Connection” at http://janesavoie.com/shop/index.html)

My long time coach and friend, Robert Dover says, “The half halt is the doorway through which you should do every change of movement, direction, or exercise. That’s because the half halt brings the horse to a perfect state of attention and balance. And that’s the difference between amateurs and professionals. Amateurs ride from movement to movement. Professionals ride from half halt to half halt.”

D. Take blank copies of the tests, and jot down your own personal directions in the space reserved for the judge’s comments. For example, let’s say one movement is to turn left across the school at E. Write on your sheet, “Two strides before E, half halt and establish left bend.” Include reminders about your position such as, “Keep weight on inside seatbone during the turn.” or, “Outside leg back in the turn.”

3. THE TRAINING SCALE

Use the training scale as a guide to help you keep your priorities straight as well as to solve problems. There are 6 ingredients in the training scale. They are:
1.    Rhythm/Tempo
2.    Suppleness
3.    Contact/Connection
4.    Impulsion
5.    Straightness
6.    Collection

Every time you start a movement, run through the training scale in your mind as a checklist.  If you’re at Training or First Level, you’ll live in the first three ingredients of the training scale. Repeat them to yourself as you ride a circle or transition or leg-yield. Over and over, say, “Rhythm, suppleness, connection.”

If one ingredient is missing, concentrate on improving that one quality. For example, you start to ask for a transition from walk to trot, and your horse revs up in the walk. As a result, his steps become quick and irregular before he trots. You’ve lost the rhythm and tempo. Repeat the transition, but this time concentrate on keeping the rhythm and tempo of the walk before, during, and after the transition.

If your horse is missing more than one ingredient, start at the beginning of the training scale and correct things in the order listed above. For instance, let’s say you’re on a 20-meter circle in the working trot. Your horse speeds up. He leans on your inside leg. And he comes above the bit.

Don’t get overwhelmed because everything seems to be falling apart. Think about the training scale. Break things down into digestible pieces.

First, steady the trot by slowing the tempo down. Then, improve your horse’s lateral suppleness by momentarily making your bending aids more active. Finally, ask your horse to come on the bit by doing the following: Close both legs to create energy. Then, close your outside hand in a fist to recycle the energy. Finally, vibrate or squeeze and release on the inside rein to keep him flexed to the inside. Apply those aids for 3 seconds, and then soften.

4. HORSE SHOWS

In keeping with a suck-every-last-drop-out-of-it approach to education, horse shows provide another wonderful educational opportunity.

A. After you ride your test, get your sheets, and study them. It’s a wonderful chance to get an extra “lesson” from an educated and fresh eye. Start by looking for common themes throughout the test such as: “needs more energy” or “too short in the neck” or “needs more bend to the right”. Those themes give you tons of homework.

B. Next, take note of the comments that tell you to pay attention to particular details. Maybe you’ll see frequent comments that say “circle not round”. Those comments remind you to review the four reference points for circles, and to ride more accurately from point to point.

C. Take advantage of your “off-time” at shows to study top riders. Think of it as a free clinic where you can learn by example. Divide your time between the warm-up area and the competition arenas.

At the warm-up, be sure to watch only the best riders. Never watch bad riding at shows (or anywhere else for that matter!) I know watching bad riding holds the same fascination as rubbernecking to see a traffic accident. But your goal when you watch other riders is to get the “perfect picture” in your mind’s eye.

Study the top riders to etch their positions, their elegance, and their finesse firmly in your mind. That way when you go home, you can conjure up that image, and ride as if you have Betsy Steiner’s classical position, Guenter Siedel’s strong back, or Debbie MacDonald’s softness and harmony with her horse.

When you go to the competition arena to watch tests, pay attention to how the best competitors demonstrate their showmanship. How do they use their time when riding around the outside of the arena? Do they do some lengthenings to make sure their horses are in front of their legs? Do they face their horses straight at the judge’s stand for a moment since that’s what their horses will see when they come down the center line?

Study how these experienced competitors deal with mistakes in a movement or distractions such as shying or bolting?

Notice how accurately they ride. They ride every extension from marker to marker and perform every transition exactly at the letter.

Case in point: Once I was fortunate to ride in a clinic with the late Reiner Klimke. I knew my horse, Zapatero (“Z”), had trouble with the steep trot half pass to the left in the Grand Prix. So I would “cheat” by starting a couple of meters before the letter so “Z” had more room to do the half pass. Well, Mr. Klimke was not going to let me get away with that! He made me go back and repeat the movement several times until I started it EXACTLY at the letter. It’s that kind of attention to detail that makes the German dressage team such a force.

D. Many of the big shows offer spectators a unique educational opportunity. They rent headsets so you can listen to movement-by-movement commentaries by top trainers and judges. This service gives you an incredible amount of information for a nominal fee including helping you to sharpen your eye, learning how to prepare for upcoming movements, and how to deal with mistakes. If the large shows in your area don’t offer this service, perhaps you can suggest it or even organize it yourself.

5. AUDITING CLINICS AND SEMINARS

Auditing clinics with top professionals is also a wonderful way to supplement your education. There’s usually either no fee or only a minimal charge for tons of information. I often find it more educational to observe others than to ride myself. When I ride, I miss the sessions before and after my lesson. When I audit, I get to see everything.

Be sure to watch ALL of the sessions. Even if your horse is schooling at Second Level, you should still watch the Training and First Level rides. What does the clinician stress? Does he remind riders that they need to emphasize one or more of the basics? Maybe he’ll use a new term or expression that clicks for you.

Also, even if it seems over your head at the moment, carefully observe the advanced lessons as well. Besides inspiring you, they’ll give you a clear picture of your long-range goal. After all, it’s hard to arrive someplace if you don’t know where you’re going!

I do have one word of caution about attending clinics though. Be careful about “clinic-hopping”. There are many roads to Rome, and it’s very easy to get confused if you try to assimilate different systems. It’s better to totally immerse yourself in one method. Then, when you go to a clinic, rather than replacing your entire approach to training, simply add some of the new information to your core system.

6. VIDEOTAPES

Videotapes give you a wealth of relatively inexpensive ways to supplement your education.

A. Borrow or buy a video camera and have someone tape your ride so you can view it later. Ideally, watch the tape with your instructor who can point out key issues. It’s often a surprise to riders that their position or movements feel very different from the way they look.

For example, I’ve had students habitually lean too far forward. When I remind them to sit up straight, they make a small adjustment in their position. But, usually their upper bodies are still in front of the vertical. So then I ask them to exaggerate the correction and lean too far back. When they think that they’re leaning way behind the vertical, it turns out that they’re finally actually upright. It’s hard for them to believe that this is what “upright” feels like. Studying tapes allows them to align what things “feel like” with what they actually “look like”.

B. There are many wonderful educational tapes on the market now. There are great training tapes such as the six part series by Kyra Kyrklund. (And, of course, my own DVDs…Sorry about the shameless plug!)

There are also lots of tapes that show the top professionals competing. What could be better than being able to study the best riders without the cost of a ticket to Europe?

C. Another way that you can take advantage of the technology of videotapes is to create your own “Perfect Practice” tape.  Let’s say you’re having problems with a movement such as a walk to canter transition or a leg yield to the left.

Ask someone to tape you doing those movements. Then take the very best transition or leg yield, and edit the tape so that you show just that one movement several times in a row. You can edit the tape yourself if you have two VCRs or take it to a duplicator. Watch your “perfect practice” tape several times before you ride so you can plant the image in your brain. Then when you actually get on your horse, simply go by the picture in your mind’s eye.

I remember making a tape like that when my horse Eastwood (”Woody”) and I were having trouble with the canter zigzags. We were working with Robert Dover at the time, and luckily we managed to do one really good zigzag in my lesson.

One of my friends was taping my lesson. When I was done, I took the tape to the local video duplicator’s store. I asked him to string about 10 of those zigzags together so I could just watch them over and over. I watched the tape that night and before my ride the next day. Robert was astounded that our zigzags had become magically better overnight!

If you don’t have any tapes of yourself doing an exercise as well as you’d like, ask your trainer if you can tape him. This “perfect practice” technique works just as well whether you’re watching yourself or watching someone else.

7. EXCHANGE PROGRAM

Here’s an idea. How about doing an exchange program with a buddy at your barn? You can offer to swap videotaping services. Or you can exchange some actual “lessons”.

For instance, ask your ground-person to remind you to sit straight every time she sees you sitting crookedly, or to keep your eyes up when she catches you staring at your horse’s head, or to keep your horse’s neck straight when she notices that you’re hanging on the inside rein and cranking his neck to the inside. You don’t need to pay a trainer to help you with these kinds of corrections. All you need is an observant ground-person to help you pick away at these habits.

For over 20 years Olympian Sue Blinks and I exchanged lessons. When Sue moved to the West coast, I was fortunate enough that Ruth Hogan-Poulsen was able to step into that role. Ruth and I have been exchanging lessons ever since. Sometimes we do formal lessons. Other times we ride together and just keep an eye on each other when one of us is on a walk break.

8. WORKING STUDENT

Apprentice yourself to a top trainer by becoming a working student. Tuition is a lot of elbow grease and a good attitude, but the opportunities are endless. You get a chance to take lessons, to sit on other horses, to thoroughly immerse yourself in a program, and to study the management practices of the operation.

Usually, farms require some kind of a time commitment to enter their apprentice program, but that’s not always the case. Ask around. At our farm, we’ve had people come up as working students over their week’s vacation from work or school. We even had one woman who came up just on weekends. Also, some barns are happy to exchange lessons if you’re willing to fill in one day a week to cover a regular staff member’s day off.

Everybody benefits. The farm gets an extra pair of hands, and the student doesn’t pay for her lessons.

9. THE INTERNET

There are lots of awesome websites like Dressageclinic.com that offer you the chance to watch lessons with both European and American trainers for a nominal fee. Many of those sites also post rides from big competitions as well as interviews with top trainers.

Google keywords like “dressage training”, “dressage books”, and “dressage newsletters”. You’ll find a ton of sites that offer great resources.

Have fun on this lifelong educational journey. It’s an exciting adventure. And remember:

Opportunities always exist if you’re willing to look for them.