Hi Chris,

I was kind of shocked when I saw how long it had been since we were in contact.

How are you doing? I hope your plans to compete have gone well and that you continue to pursue your dream as a horseman.

I'm riding less at the moment as winter here in South Eastern Ontario is quite brutal this year, so even when holiday social life has allowed its often been too cold, too wet, snowing too heavily. Zuckie and I went for a trail ride yesterday but there were drifts that he had real trouble getting through and his movement was so extreme, it was hard to stay on. It was good in one way because he was really wired, and the snow slowed him down. Lol.

Take care, John

Good for you Chris!

Thinking about the first rat of the video, the neutralizing or flattening of the back..when you reach down to feel the motion of the points of the horse's shoulders, look between the horse's ears (always look where you are going!) and keep your sternum aligned with the horses crest. Don't worry yet about making contact though the reins, contact actually has to start with the legs be transmitted up trough the rider's spine, through the shoulders, and arms, through the hands and reins throught the bit to the mucous membranes of the horse's mouth. A rider must prepare for this in stages, starting witht he stabilzation of the calf, absorption of "shock" in the ankles, and absorption of shock in the thighs. Don't worry yet about your arms and hands, except for holing onto the reins and learning to shorten and lengthen them with your fingertips (with out looking down) you should otherwise FORGET about your upper body.  But consider this image of yourself (for which I give Sally Swift's Centered Riding, FIRST EDITION, credit. "Be a string puppet HUNG FROM ABOVE!" Imageine yourself being tethered to the cloud your horse is following forward, and let yourself go with it, hugging your horse just in front of the girth with your calves. At all three gaits. 

Thanks, Christopher. That's nice. One can't have too many friends even when they are only online.

CHristopher, good man,

Here is a link to a short video, that for you, would better be shorter. The awareness enhancing exercise at the beginning is my offer to you...I would refine the instruction to the rider by saying NOT "Look at your tummy," but "Look at your nevel." When you chomp into the feast that is Charles Harris' Workbooks from the Spanish Riding School, you will understand why. You can do this exercise on a school horse while your young instructor is distracted <g> and come back and review the contact development part of the vid when you reach that stage in your riding. http://www.dressagetrainingonline.com/6-25-12-susanne-von-dietze-elastic-contact.html?utm_source=Final+June+29th%2C+2012&utm_campaign=June+29%2C+2012&utm_medium=email

CHris

Christopher, Although my current practice is Dressage, and of the mission of DressageUnderground.com is to collect and curate examples of excellence in Dressage, I come from a long background of foxhunting, showing hunters and jumpers, eventing, Pony Clubbing, teaching hunt seat to college coeds for PE credit, and to juniors contesting the Medal and Maclay Finals, managing horse shows and horse trials, and equestrian photo-journalism. Any honest horseman will tell you that to achieve competence in dressage, you have to start in field school, i.e. forward seat, and you have to ride cross country. I continue to believe that 3-Day is the ultimate equestrian sport, and evented at Novice 2-day, as recently as '07.  Am continuing to develop that horse as a dressage specialist. Some of my students particiapet in horse trials and will manage to get a jumping gymnastics session out of me ocassionally, but I'd rather just 'ftat' them. All of that said, I hope you will use me as a resource, ongoing, and that you will participate in DressageUnderground by making comments there. Your new friend, Chris

Oh, I forgot.  I have a lot of blogs written here on Barnmice.  I have MS and I am handicapped.  Most of my blogs are about riding differents horses and how I come up with solutions for the problems I face, both with my body and with the horses.  I ride Hunt Seat though I will probably never jump again or get to gallop cross-country since I mainly ride at the walk and trot (with an occasional canter thrown in.)

I saw you joined our men riding English group--good!  We need more men riding English!

I'm sorry you lost your dog.  I remember how hard it was to put down my first horse, my angel from heaven.  I still miss him.

Do not get discouraged if the riding doesn't seem to come through right away.  AT THE SAME TIME you are learning new balance, new movements, how to understand another somewhat intelligent species, AND a new language (mostly touch) to communicate with horses.  It can take a while.  And guess what, even with over 40 years of experience I often feel like a beginner when I get up on a new horse, we horsepeople never stop learning.  Each horse is different, a person in its own right.

Enjoy!