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(Continued from page 8)
rhythm and establish a frame that was round and down. She worked them through trot-walk-trot exercises until she was satisfied they were ready to go on to the focus of the lesson: canter transitions.
When making an upward transition from trot to canter, Shelley offered several guidelines. First, she said, "You must have enough trot before you even ask for the canter depart. Work for a forward, energetic trot. Stay on a 20m circle to help maintain the bend and better utilize the inside hind. When you give the aids for canter, ask like you mean it. Make sure your aids are purposeful and correct every time."
Several problems were noted as the riders practiced their canter transitions. One of the most common problems was the horse coming above the bit. Shelley reminded the riders to half-halt on the outside rein and give on the inside rein. "You have to be willing to give the rein and let the horse step off into the canter."
Another problem several riders had was their horse was behind their leg or not sharp enough to the aids. Shelley observed that some of the riders had a tendency to nag at their horses with their legs, constantly nudging and squeezing without getting a response. She adamantly told everyone that there was to be no more nagging as it only deadens the horse to the leg. She went on to explain that soft aids are desired and that one should "use the least amount of action necessary to achieve a reaction. In other words, ask softly once, if no response, ask more firmly with a stronger aid, and if still no response or not enough response, then a touch of the whip is required.
During this discussion, I learned an important tip about carrying a whip. If you ride with your thumbs pointed up, as is correct, the whip will make contact with the horse right behind your leg with just a quick wrist motion. If, however, you ride with piano hands, or
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thumbs pointed towards each other, the whip will connect with the flank. This contact produces less of the desired effect and serves to annoy the horse.
The most common problem seen in the downward canter-trot transitions was the horse bracing against the hand. Once again, Shelley admonished the riders to always apply the leg before the hand, ride the horse forward into the hand and then soften. Bracing is usually the result of too much hand and not enough leg. Both legs must be on during a downward transition in order to drive the hindquarters underneath. The hand is steady to absorb the energy and then softens immediately to reward the horse as he makes the transition.
To finish up a very educational University Session, Jade Dotson on Cast Iron treated us to a demonstration. Jade is a student of Shelley who is currently competing as a Young Rider at Fourth Level. The purpose of the demonstration was to show us how canter transitions progress up the levels.
Jade began with the same trot-canter exercises that the students had practiced, first on the circle and in the corners as appropriate to training level. Next she and Cast Iron showed the change of lead through the trot across the diagonal as seen in First Level. Some of the other transitions we watched were simple change of lead followed by four-, three- and two-time tempi changes! She performed walk-canter and canter-walk as well as collected canter to medium canter and back again. It was all quite impressive and inspiring!
I, for one, am certainly looking forward to further canter-work with Shelley later this month. Do yourself a favor and join us at the Dressage Center of Oro Valley for the next exciting, eye-opening, and educational session of Dressage University!
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