It's interesting to me that now that horses are used primarily for pleasure or entertainment instead of as a means of survival or transportation that we are less patient with putting them to work. Perhaps that is a reflection of our throw-a-way society. Or maybe it is the fault of the the veterinary community that has perfected the band-aids necessary to keep a horse working when it maybe shouldn't be. Or maybe it's the fault of the high end competitive venues that have turned towards making money off of equine children rather than equine adults and the rest of us just follow suit.
I'm talking about the incredibly controversial issue of skeletal maturation and optimum age of starting a young horse. There are many misconceptions and widely spread misunderstandings in this area of the horse world. The modern horse world seems to be more and more impressed with the advanced abilities of a young horse as showcased in a futurity. We prize that young horse who achieves enormous amounts of money earnings early in his career and then retires to the breeding shed as a 3 or 4 year old.
You can see this change in almost every aspect of the horse industry, but maybe nowhere so dramatically as in the American Racing industry. Where race horses used to have to be at least 4 before they began competing in long heats of 4 mile feats of endurance, the concept of the quick sprint futurities was introduced to allow betters a "glimpse" of the talent coming up. Racing of 2 and 3 year olds in shorter more "humane" races became the norm and were immensely popular for the ability to stage a shorter race in a track that could seat more people, allow for more prospective betters and overall increase the excitement of the race. Soon the only horses racing at maturity were cheap claimers or geldings that didn't have a career in the breeding shed to look forward to. What has occurred in the racing industry is a significant drop in the number of starts a horse will have in his life paired with an increase in the number of breakdowns.
The same has occurred in the western reined cowhorse industry. What used to be a competition for a mature bridle horse (generally 6 or older) was then turned into a futurity for hackamore horses. As the snaffle bit increased in popularity for it's ability to accomplish more advanced training more quickly the snaffle bit futurity was born. This is a high dollar competition for young Quarter horses that are 3 years of age. In order to compete in this highly demanding and physical sport those horses are often started under saddle at 18 months.One of the sad parts about this is that right there on the first page of the NRCHA rule book is the purpose of the association: "The purpose of the NRCHA is to improve the quality of the western reined stock horse: to perpetuate the early Spanish traditions of highly trained and well reined working cow horses;" It has traveled quite a way from the goals at it's inception.
Sadly the tradition of the early Spanish horseman were to not put any metal in their horse's mouth until age 5 or 6 and to bring them along slowly to protect not only their physical well-being, but mental well being. Spanish tradition would start a horse at 3 or 4 with very light riding with a hackamore until he was ready to move into the two-rein at 5 or 6 and only after he was carefully prepared would be be straight up in the bridle and riding one handed. For many horses this wasn't until they were 7 or older. Today, a 7 year old reined cow horse is likely ready to retire from the show ring. Not always, but often. It's like seeing Billy Etbauer still riding in the NFR. Not impossible at his age, but very rare.
But it's not just high dollar performance horses that are being started as 2 year olds. Conventional wisdom seems to push folks to start their backyard pleasure horses sometime during their 2 year old year. The conscientious owner knows to wait until "the knees are closed". This piece of equine wisdom is referring to the growth plates at the distal radius. While you can't actually tell by palpating the horse if that growth plate has fused or not, many folks feel that you can and use this colloquial rule of thumb for starting youngsters under saddle.
What we know about rate of skeletal maturity is that the growth plates in the equine body slowly fuse between 1.5 years and 5.5 years. Across the board. There is no truth to the myth that some breeds of horse mature faster than others. All horses reach skeletal maturity at about 5 1/2 to 6 years of age. This really shouldn't surprise us as we know that the horse continues to erupt molars until they are 6. Why shouldn't the timing for completion of growth be at about the same time.
What may not be common knowledge is that it's not the legs that are the slowest maturing part of the body. The growth plates of the knees mature ( or close) at about 2 years for the small bones and 3 years for the distal radius and ulna. The very last growth plates to fuse are in the equine vertebrae. All 32 of them. The last of those are the ones in the base of the neck.
The reason this is relevant to our young horses that we plan to ride well into their advanced years is that the process of riding our young horses can contribute to not only excessive wear and tear on their young joints (the hocks also don't fuse until 3.5 years) but strain to their backs and necks as well.
The process of teaching a horse to be ridden at a very young age teaches the horse to protect itself from back pain. To do this the horse braces his back and drops his shoulders and hollows out so that he can help take the weight of his vertebral column. It's a minor thing at first and one that every young horse being started under saddle goes through to a certain degree until their back muscles get better at carrying that weight. But if you persist in riding a young horse who's vertebral column is not able to bear that weight even with muscular conditioning, you create a habit caused by pain that becomes deeply ingrained and prevents the horse from properly learning to round up and use his body.
The next step in training a young horse after getting on their back (especially in many of today's "natural horsemanship" methods) is the one rein stop. This is accomplished by repetitively pulling the horse's head over to your foot and limbering up the neck until it is quite soft and "rubbery". Isn't this putting added stresses on the last vertebrae to fuse in the horse's entire body? Pain here causes stiffness in the bridle that causes the horse to flex by turning his head at the atlas rather than flexing his entire vertebral column. With vertical flexion he then learns to brace his withers and instead of flexing along his entire column will flex at the third vertebra to protect the rest of the cervical vertebrae. All of this might look like a broke young horse to the uninitiated, but in truth it is a horse with reflexes built on pain. Those horses can never move in a true collected frame.
So while the now common and widespread practice of putting a 2 year old to work in a rigorous training program undoubtedly leads to increased incidences of breakdowns in race horses and the widespread practice of injecting young horse's joints to try to stave off juvenile osteoarthritis, the other long lasting effects of braces and pain through their back and neck are less often addressed.
Does this mean that we shouldn't start our horses until they are fully skeletally mature? That, for me, is a harder question to answer.
Paired with the data of skeletal maturity is the data that exists on mental maturity. Horses can and do learn to learn. One of the great things that have been bred into the Quarter Horse performance horses is their ability to calmly and easily learn what is expected of them. They are almost "born broke". This is because they have been selected for train-ability which is really the capacity to learn. (Whether that makes them the smartest breed of horse or just the most trainable is a discussion for another time!) For most folks that work with young horses and start colts the ones that have had an introduction to good handling and training as yearlings are much easier to start as 2 or 3 year olds. That ability to retain a lesson and understand what is being taught is a learned behavior. The younger they learn that, the easier they seem to be to train and quicker to trust.
Therefore, I believe the answer lies in moderation, as with most things. I think you have to take into consideration your youngster and your training program. I am 100% not in favor of futurities that demand a horse be put into rigorous training as a 2 year old. I am also not in favor of any practice that deems it common and prudent to inject a young horse's joints in order to maintain joint health or cover-up a lameness and keep them working. But, that's just me. I have many colleagues happily preforming these procedures and building their retirement accounts much faster than I am.
I don't think you necessarily need to completely stay off your horse until they are 4. I think you can teach a horse some valuable lessons, expose them to important stimuli and situations and in general build their confidence and ability to learn as a young horse. I personally put 10 short (all but one of them were under 20 minutes) rides on my 2 year old this summer. He had already had about a month of various groundwork exercises to establish some basic commands and improve his comfort with me and the tack. Riding sessions would generally consist of going both directions at a walk and a trot with some simple directing with the hackamore. We established whoa and the beginnings of a back. I pushed him into a lope just to get him to feel it and then allowed him to trot again. That was it. I did take him on one short trail ride just to expose him to an area other than our arena and home trail. In my mind, that was about all he could handle.
This year as a 3 year old I will put some more rides on him throughout the summer. He will be lightly ridden and exposed to basic commands and stimuli in a rotation with the other horses. He'll probably be ridden about twice a month lightly through his 3 year old year. He certainly won't be loping circle after circle, going on 4 hour trail rides or schooling on spins and sliding stops. He's almost 15 hands and probably 900#. Had he been smaller (or I bigger) I would have waited until he was 4 to start the process.
I don't feel that lack of skeletal maturity means no work or riding at all, but I think it means conscientious riding and training to preserve not only your horse's mind but his physical ability to be a good sound partner throughout his entire life. I want to be riding my horses well into their third decade and possibly longer. There is nothing sadder to me than a 6 year old that is too lame to be ridden in the show pen anymore because it was ridden too hard as a youngster. That's like seeing a teenage girl that trained too hard as a gymnast and now has collapsed bones in her wrists and deformed radius. Too much work too soon. We need to be smarter than this for our horses. Increasing the usable upper age limits of our horses through smart training will go miles to decreasing the numbers of unwanted or crippled horses out there.
Friday, March 20, 2015
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Top Hand
Do you have what it
takes to be a Cowboy Dressage Top Hand? If so be ready to ride at our 2015
Gathering and Finals Show Nov 5-8 at Murieta Equestrian Center, Rancho Murieta,
CA.
This is a new division
just for our Gathering and Finals Show. We are looking for the best of the
best, a Top Hand.
Look for details to
follow this summer. We can tell you this
much:
- · It will be a $200 non refundable fee
- · Preliminary tests will be on Thurs Nov 5th
- · Top 5 high scores will come back on Sat PM Nov 7th to compete for the event High Point.
- · Both the preliminary and the championship tests will be judged by 3 judges.
- · Both test will not be known until just before competition time
- · Riders can ride more than one horse
- · Top scores will be the accumulative scores from all 3 judges in both the preliminary and Top 5 tests.
- · Eitan, Lyn and Garn will judge the top 5.
- · The top 5 will ride a different test from the qualifying tests and will then return to ride a different horse from the top 5 . (riders will be required to switch horses. This will be determined by a draw)
- · All order of go times will be determined by a draw
- · High Point will receive a Cowboy Dressage Saddle and Buckle. Top 2-5 will receive a buckle and Top 10 will get ribbons.
- · Top Hand is open to amateurs and open riders. No juniors.
- · The awards are in addition to the awards usually given at this show.
·
Final details will be at
www.cowboydressageworld.com in the next few months.
·
This is subject to
change so keep in the loop.
In the tradition of the Cowboy and the ranches of the west there is no higher compliment than being christened the top hand. All Cowboys worth their salt strive to be worthy of such a title. It is not a title given lightly nor one that is awarded to a man that hasn't put in their time. It is a title of honor and respect. While the Cowboy needed to be a man of many skills, including some of the dirtier ground crew work, the highest skill of the Cowboy and the one most respected was the horseman. In all the skills the Top Hand had mastered, it was his skill as horseman that most earned him the title.
In Cowboy Dressage we honor the tradition of the Cowboy and the lifestyle of the West while building partnership and harmony with our horses. We believe that in order to create the ultimate horse we have to be the ultimate partner for that horse. By working to improve communication with the horse through soft feel we aim to create the perfect working partner that is soft and willing and capable and able to take on any job on the ranch or in the arena.
Creating that partnership and relationship with a horse requires a rider that is dedicated to the goal of soft feel. While it takes time to develop true partnership in a horse, a rider that embodies soft feel can cultivate partnership in any horse that he mounts. A true horseman can quickly adapt to communicate with each horse that he comes into contact with. You might say the rider that has embraced the principles of soft feel and partnership in Cowboy Dressage is worthy of being called a Top Hand.
As we in Cowboy Dressage honor the Cowboy we also honor the horseman and no skill in the horseman is as highly valued in Cowboy Dressage as the skill of soft feel and partnership. Do you think you have what it takes to be a Top Hand? Cowboy Dressage World is poised to give you the opportunity to find out.
While the end goal of Cowboy Dressage is not the competition we feel that it is right and fitting to honor the Top Hands out there that have dedicated the time and energy to become worthy of the title. Though we no longer have the ability to prove our worth while riding for the brand each season, we can get together to showcase and honor the work we have done with our horses and recognize the men and women that have made themselves worthy of being deemed Top Hand.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
New Year's Cowboy Dressage Clinic
Photo Credits to Mrs. Chris Holloway, Post Falls, Idaho
It takes a lot of grit to come out for a clinic in the middle of a North Idaho winter. Grit is something that comes easily to a dedicated group of North Idaho horsemen. The temps hovered around a frigid 15 degrees or so the first day and a balmy 20 degrees on the second day. There was snow on the ground and still they came ready to learn and ride and grow in Cowboy Dressage.
The clinic was sponsored by the Northwest Saddle Sisters and featured the charismatic clinician, Dale Rumens Partee from Snohomish, Washington. We had two sessions, one on New Years Eve and one on the 3rd of January that was open to riders and spectators alike. Though we had new snow fall that limited the ability of some folks to haul in we were still able to have 8 riders for our final date on the 3rd. For those of you that were stymied by weather, here is what you missed!
but for all folks that are learning Cowboy Dressage or teaching a young or new horse partnership and softness. I think a lot of the clinic attendees were surprised to find some holes lurking in their groundwork. I know that almost every person had some difficulty leading their horse properly from the right side. Because Cowboy Dressage emphases balance in the horse, the partnership on the ground splits the pattern between leading the horse on the right and leading the horse on the left. It sounds easy until you try to do it with bend, softness, and accuracy! Dale was able to help us find our holes and fix them so that we could lead and position our horses as easily from the left as the right.
The other wonderful part of a ground work is that it gives you a way to go back and fix maneuvers that aren't working for you under saddle. For instance, I have a problem with my horse executing a proper turn on the haunches. In Cowboy Dressage this is a forward movement. To be executed properly the horse must almost walk a small circle forward with bend but moving only his forehand while the hindquarters stay in place. They pivot on the inside hind leg. Some programs, especially cow horse programs, teach that the turn on the haunches is a backing maneuver and it is often taught to back the horse a few steps to shift that weight onto the hindquarters and then open the hands forthe forequarters to come through.
When performing groundwork exercises it is important to be particular. By not being particular in how my horse was stepping I had allowed him to develop the habit of not initiating that turn with the correct leg. When you are particular about which foot should move first, suddenly your groundwork takes on new meaning to the horse. It's not just drilling or mindless lunging, it's a dance and that's when you start to have partnership and feel and without that you won't be able to properly execute a partnership on the ground test.
Most of us had skipped learning how to do the partnership on the ground when we started cowboy dressage. We were anxious to get onto the riding tests and like most folks we really wanted to get to the loping tests! Imagine our dismay when we found out we couldn't even do partnership on the ground properly. This clinic really emphasized for the participants how important it is to get that groundwork solid if you hope to go on to have success under saddle.As we moved onto the riding portion we again worked on some basic horsemanship exercises before moving onto riding Cowboy Dressage tests. This allowed us to again clean up some holes in our horses and our partnership. I think the thing that surprises folks that are new to Cowboy Dressage the most is how difficult it is to ride with accuracy. When you read a Cowboy Dressage test, say Walk/Jog 1 it sounds elementary. It's just some circles and some straight lines. No fancy roll backs, spins, obstacles or even loping are required.
There are so many great things to learn when it comes to Cowboy Dressage. Softness. Accuracy. Cadence. Bend. Straightness. All great things for horse and rider. But the most important thing and the beautiful thing to watch as you work on these things through Cowboy Dressage is to watch the development of partnership and harmony through soft feel. When you learn how to communicate with your horse softly and accurately the partnership grows and it's so rewarding to watch some one that was struggling with their horse being with them at the beginning of the clinic suddenly make that final turn on to the center line for the last test of the day and have it be soft, accurate and lovely in every way. Cowboy Dressage builds better horses and better riders but ultimately it builds better partnership and therein lies the beauty.
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Fanning the Flames
There has been a spark of Cowboy Dressage smoldering in North Idaho. Whiffs of smoke and fleeting glimpses of flames had started folks whispering in barn alleys and arenas across the northern counties. What is this Cowboy Dressage? How can we learn more? How is it different from Western Dressage? Yesterday a dedicated group of Cowboy Dressage enthusiasts met at a local barn to fan those flames and firmly establish the fire of Cowboy Dressage in North Idaho.
Through word of mouth and a heavy campaign via local and national Facebook pages local horse enthusiasts were invited to the gorgeous Running W ranch in Rathdrum, Idaho for an introduction lecture and demonstration rides on Cowboy Dressage. We were expecting 25 people to attend. We were hoping for 50 people to attend. We were blessed with over 125 people in a standing room only gathering of what can only be called a mob of dedicated and enthusiastic horsemen and women and children hungering for a better way of being with their horses.
The presentation described the origin of Cowboy Dressage and it's evolution and brief association with Western Dressage. The emphasis throughout the presentation was always soft feel as that is the driving principle of Cowboy Dressage and the hallmark that sets it apart from every other equine discipline. The courts, tests, and rules were explained in brevity and then in more detail why each and every western horseman and western horse can benefit from time spent on the Cowboy Dressage court.
Looking out across the packed crowd of enthusiastic faces with one poor lady left to stand with just her head in the door I was struck by the enormity of the blessing and privilege that we have in spreading the word about Cowboy Dressage. The Cowboy Dressage movement has been largely an organic one. Eitan and Debbie Beth-Helachamy, the founders of Cowboy Dressage, have gifted this to the equine community because they believe in making better horseman and making life better for horses. Through a campaign trail of expositions and clinics and appearances they have set small fires through the country and left the fires of enthusiasm and the spirit of Cowboy Dressage in the hands of the local horse folks to fan and build and grow Cowboy Dressage in their own communities.
Through the founding of Cowboy Dressage world they have selected leaders to help spread that word and grow the discipline for folks craving the competitive side of Cowboy Dressage. The judges certification (boot camp) program is working hard to teach people how to judge Cowboy Dressage because the future of Cowboy Dressage as a competition lies in the hands of the folks sitting at the table at C. Without judges who are rewarding soft feel and harmony we will lose the focus and purpose of Cowboy Dressage. As this side of Cowboy Dressage world grows, so too will the shows available for folks across the US and Canada grow to.
But, for those of us waiting in rural parts of the country where Cowboy Dressage is still a smoldering flame and whisper of smoke on the air it is difficult to know how to get started. Waiting for a show to come to your area so you can give it a try is backwards thinking. That's how the other disciplines function, not so Cowboy Dressage. While the shows and gatherings are fun and will grow, that is not the purpose. Anybody interested in Cowboy Dressage that has access to flat ground and a tape measure can set up a Cowboy Dressage court and get started. Invite your friends, fire up the BBQ and have a Cowboy Dressage party. Even if you are still struggling with the concept of soft feel, if you are riding with soft feel in mind and beginning the search, it will come. Everything that you need to get started with Cowboy Dressage is out there for the taking at www.cowboydressageworld.com and www.cowboydressage.com.
If you will allow me to wax rhapsodic, the Cowboy Dressage court really is the field of dreams. If you build it, like minded horseman will flock to learn more and try this new discipline. What may start with just one or two friends playing in a field with some white buckets will grow as more and more people come to see what it's about and stay because they love how good it feels.
Spreading the word about Cowboy Dressage is up to us, my friends. I can't tell you how good it feels to share Cowboy Dressage with a horse person who has been hungering for something to do with their horse or a community of horse folks they can ride with and feel welcome. I've seen ladies moved to tears and exclaim with feeling, "This. This is what I've been looking for." Haven't we all? With a handshake membership we can all be part of the movement.
For North Idaho folks local resources include:
http://www.cowboydressage.com
http://www.cowboydressageworld.com
Marcia Moore Harrison of Potlatch, Idaho
http://www.mm-horsetraining.com/marcia/
Cowboy Dressage World of Idaho Facebook page
Running W Ranch, Rathdrum, Idaho hosting Eitan Beth-Helachamy July 24-26, 2015
(you can find them on facebook)
Michelle Binder Zolezzi, of Spokane, Washington
http://www.relationalridingacademy.com/
Jenni Grimmett, DVM of Sagle, Idaho
drgrimmett@live.com
Through word of mouth and a heavy campaign via local and national Facebook pages local horse enthusiasts were invited to the gorgeous Running W ranch in Rathdrum, Idaho for an introduction lecture and demonstration rides on Cowboy Dressage. We were expecting 25 people to attend. We were hoping for 50 people to attend. We were blessed with over 125 people in a standing room only gathering of what can only be called a mob of dedicated and enthusiastic horsemen and women and children hungering for a better way of being with their horses.
The presentation described the origin of Cowboy Dressage and it's evolution and brief association with Western Dressage. The emphasis throughout the presentation was always soft feel as that is the driving principle of Cowboy Dressage and the hallmark that sets it apart from every other equine discipline. The courts, tests, and rules were explained in brevity and then in more detail why each and every western horseman and western horse can benefit from time spent on the Cowboy Dressage court.
Looking out across the packed crowd of enthusiastic faces with one poor lady left to stand with just her head in the door I was struck by the enormity of the blessing and privilege that we have in spreading the word about Cowboy Dressage. The Cowboy Dressage movement has been largely an organic one. Eitan and Debbie Beth-Helachamy, the founders of Cowboy Dressage, have gifted this to the equine community because they believe in making better horseman and making life better for horses. Through a campaign trail of expositions and clinics and appearances they have set small fires through the country and left the fires of enthusiasm and the spirit of Cowboy Dressage in the hands of the local horse folks to fan and build and grow Cowboy Dressage in their own communities.
Through the founding of Cowboy Dressage world they have selected leaders to help spread that word and grow the discipline for folks craving the competitive side of Cowboy Dressage. The judges certification (boot camp) program is working hard to teach people how to judge Cowboy Dressage because the future of Cowboy Dressage as a competition lies in the hands of the folks sitting at the table at C. Without judges who are rewarding soft feel and harmony we will lose the focus and purpose of Cowboy Dressage. As this side of Cowboy Dressage world grows, so too will the shows available for folks across the US and Canada grow to.
But, for those of us waiting in rural parts of the country where Cowboy Dressage is still a smoldering flame and whisper of smoke on the air it is difficult to know how to get started. Waiting for a show to come to your area so you can give it a try is backwards thinking. That's how the other disciplines function, not so Cowboy Dressage. While the shows and gatherings are fun and will grow, that is not the purpose. Anybody interested in Cowboy Dressage that has access to flat ground and a tape measure can set up a Cowboy Dressage court and get started. Invite your friends, fire up the BBQ and have a Cowboy Dressage party. Even if you are still struggling with the concept of soft feel, if you are riding with soft feel in mind and beginning the search, it will come. Everything that you need to get started with Cowboy Dressage is out there for the taking at www.cowboydressageworld.com and www.cowboydressage.com.
If you will allow me to wax rhapsodic, the Cowboy Dressage court really is the field of dreams. If you build it, like minded horseman will flock to learn more and try this new discipline. What may start with just one or two friends playing in a field with some white buckets will grow as more and more people come to see what it's about and stay because they love how good it feels.
Spreading the word about Cowboy Dressage is up to us, my friends. I can't tell you how good it feels to share Cowboy Dressage with a horse person who has been hungering for something to do with their horse or a community of horse folks they can ride with and feel welcome. I've seen ladies moved to tears and exclaim with feeling, "This. This is what I've been looking for." Haven't we all? With a handshake membership we can all be part of the movement.
For North Idaho folks local resources include:
http://www.cowboydressage.com
http://www.cowboydressageworld.com
Marcia Moore Harrison of Potlatch, Idaho
http://www.mm-horsetraining.com/marcia/
Cowboy Dressage World of Idaho Facebook page
Running W Ranch, Rathdrum, Idaho hosting Eitan Beth-Helachamy July 24-26, 2015
(you can find them on facebook)
Michelle Binder Zolezzi, of Spokane, Washington
http://www.relationalridingacademy.com/
Jenni Grimmett, DVM of Sagle, Idaho
drgrimmett@live.com
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Balancing Act
Brothers Bill and Tom Dorrance used to argue about the "big 3" covenants of horsemanship: Feel, Timing, and Balance. Which should come first? Which is most important? If you are serious about your horsemanship I doubt you could pick just one; you really can't have one without the other three. One day you may strive to improve your timing, but the next you will work on your balance. The next you will be trying to tune your feel. When you learn to use all three in concert you may begin to approach that coveted title of horseman.
But, as mind boggling as contemplating the finer points of horsemanship often is, it is easier to attempt to consider each of the big three separately. Today I'd like to turn the spot light onto Balance and make a case for it's importance in horsemanship and especially Cowboy Dressage.
Balance is often thought of as an attribute of a good rider. If you have good balance you can stay in the seat and stay mounted should your horse do something unexpected. It's an athletic quality in a good rider. My brother has amazing balance in the saddle. He always has and can sit anything I put him on. I can also count the times my brother has been in a saddle during his lifetime without the need to take my shoes off. He's athletic and has good balance but he does not use his balance like a horseman. When we talk about balance in the framework of horsemanship it is about so much more than your ability to stay mounted. We are talking about balance being one of your aids in communication. We are talking about balance not as sport but as art.
In Cowboy Dressage where we aim to ride always with Soft Feel it is of utmost importance that we use all of our aids, including balance, to greatest communication with our horses. Soft Feel isn't just about the hands. Soft feel isn't just about lightness. It certainly is not just where your horse's head happens to be carried. Soft Feel is really about maximizing soft communication with your horse so that you co-exist almost as two halves of a whole. It is so hard to define Soft Feel. It's like trying to describe color to a blind person or melody to a deaf person. It is a conglomerate of sensations that when working together just "feels" right. When you really have soft feel working for you and you have established partnership and harmony with your horse, your horse can feel you breathing or changing your seat and will follow that change almost before you even complete the thought. That is where Soft Feel can take you with your horse.
Balance is a integral part of riding with soft feel. We can use our balance to effectively communicate with our horses. While bad balance and rider positioning can impede a horse's movement, so can good balance enhance a horse's movement. Balance in horsemanship is a constantly shifting dynamic weight game. The neutral position is the home position sitting directly over the horse's natural center of gravity that lies somewhere about the level of your girth. A rider that is sitting in this position is telling the horse, yes, that's right, stay straight and right beneath me. Any shift outside of the neutral or home position should communicate a transition of some kind to your horse.
For instance, if you would like the horse to lift his left front leg, your body needs to be in a position to not block that movement and allow the horse the freedom of movement to adjust his weight and carriage to properly lift that leg. If you are leaning forward and looking at the leg you wish to move (which is a very common mistake) you are impeding the horse's ability to adjust his weight to carry out the cue. This may lead to either an undesired response such as moving the wrong leg, or the horse having to execute the maneuver handicapped by your weight and therefore impeding his next maneuver or transition. However, if you transfer your weight from the neutral position to the the diagonal leg that will be carrying the weight when the left front leg is in motion, the horse can execute the maneuver to lift the left front leg by shifting his weight back under your seat. In this dance the horse follows your lead as you adjust your body position. This happens before you even cue the horse to move the leg. You prepare the horse for the maneuver and help him to set his body up for the maneuver and then you cue for the response.
Balance, then, can work as a sort of pre-cue. Before asking your horse for a maneuver, such as yield the hindquarters to the left, you first position your body to be in balance for the execution of that maneuver. You sit up and active in your seat. Shift your weight slightly to left in preparation for bringing your right leg back to cue the horse to step over. The horse moves under the motion of your shifted balance to be back underneath your seat and back into perfect balance.
When walking a 10 m circle to the left you do not want your balance to be tipped to the inside of the circle. You want your horse to carry his bend throughout his body in a 10 m arc from head to tail. In order to adjust your balance to create the bend you will shift your balance just to the outside of the circle and ask the horse to move his body under your balance point. It is very important to remember that while balance is an aid, it is not a cue and so it is more dynamic in it's affect. It is constantly shifting and changing. You ride your horse with balance in each and every stride, coming back to neutral between each transition in balance.
Balance is also important in creating forward impulsion and stop. You can create impulsion in your horse just by shifting your balance slightly forward into an active seat. By shifting your balance forward of the horse's center of gravity the horse is obliged to move out reaching and lengthening the stride. Shifting your balance back behind the center of gravity can indicate stop, or other transitions requiring elevation of the front end or shortening of stride.
Imagine, now, if your balance is poor or inconsistent. Instead of your horse adjusting to slight changes in your body position, he must learn to ignore that because he has found those changes to be meaningless. Instead of following your seat and balance he may even push against it to compensate for a rider that always sits heavier to the left side. Does your horse have a lead problem or do you as a rider have a balance problem? Is your horse really stiff to one side or do you tend to sit on that side interfering with his natural carriage and suppleness.
If you watch great horseman ride you can see how the rider's body seems to mirror what the horse is doing. This is truly riding with balance. The horse can feel small shifts in the rider's seat and balance point and shifts to follow that change. So, the next time you mount up and ride, focus on your balance and what it is telling your horse. Are you telling your horse to ignore your balance or are you helping him by leading him through the dance by your body position? Be sure that your balance is meaningful to the horse and doesn't inadvertently become white noise to which he is desensitized.
But, as mind boggling as contemplating the finer points of horsemanship often is, it is easier to attempt to consider each of the big three separately. Today I'd like to turn the spot light onto Balance and make a case for it's importance in horsemanship and especially Cowboy Dressage.
Balance is often thought of as an attribute of a good rider. If you have good balance you can stay in the seat and stay mounted should your horse do something unexpected. It's an athletic quality in a good rider. My brother has amazing balance in the saddle. He always has and can sit anything I put him on. I can also count the times my brother has been in a saddle during his lifetime without the need to take my shoes off. He's athletic and has good balance but he does not use his balance like a horseman. When we talk about balance in the framework of horsemanship it is about so much more than your ability to stay mounted. We are talking about balance being one of your aids in communication. We are talking about balance not as sport but as art.
In Cowboy Dressage where we aim to ride always with Soft Feel it is of utmost importance that we use all of our aids, including balance, to greatest communication with our horses. Soft Feel isn't just about the hands. Soft feel isn't just about lightness. It certainly is not just where your horse's head happens to be carried. Soft Feel is really about maximizing soft communication with your horse so that you co-exist almost as two halves of a whole. It is so hard to define Soft Feel. It's like trying to describe color to a blind person or melody to a deaf person. It is a conglomerate of sensations that when working together just "feels" right. When you really have soft feel working for you and you have established partnership and harmony with your horse, your horse can feel you breathing or changing your seat and will follow that change almost before you even complete the thought. That is where Soft Feel can take you with your horse.
Balance is a integral part of riding with soft feel. We can use our balance to effectively communicate with our horses. While bad balance and rider positioning can impede a horse's movement, so can good balance enhance a horse's movement. Balance in horsemanship is a constantly shifting dynamic weight game. The neutral position is the home position sitting directly over the horse's natural center of gravity that lies somewhere about the level of your girth. A rider that is sitting in this position is telling the horse, yes, that's right, stay straight and right beneath me. Any shift outside of the neutral or home position should communicate a transition of some kind to your horse.
For instance, if you would like the horse to lift his left front leg, your body needs to be in a position to not block that movement and allow the horse the freedom of movement to adjust his weight and carriage to properly lift that leg. If you are leaning forward and looking at the leg you wish to move (which is a very common mistake) you are impeding the horse's ability to adjust his weight to carry out the cue. This may lead to either an undesired response such as moving the wrong leg, or the horse having to execute the maneuver handicapped by your weight and therefore impeding his next maneuver or transition. However, if you transfer your weight from the neutral position to the the diagonal leg that will be carrying the weight when the left front leg is in motion, the horse can execute the maneuver to lift the left front leg by shifting his weight back under your seat. In this dance the horse follows your lead as you adjust your body position. This happens before you even cue the horse to move the leg. You prepare the horse for the maneuver and help him to set his body up for the maneuver and then you cue for the response.
Balance, then, can work as a sort of pre-cue. Before asking your horse for a maneuver, such as yield the hindquarters to the left, you first position your body to be in balance for the execution of that maneuver. You sit up and active in your seat. Shift your weight slightly to left in preparation for bringing your right leg back to cue the horse to step over. The horse moves under the motion of your shifted balance to be back underneath your seat and back into perfect balance.
When walking a 10 m circle to the left you do not want your balance to be tipped to the inside of the circle. You want your horse to carry his bend throughout his body in a 10 m arc from head to tail. In order to adjust your balance to create the bend you will shift your balance just to the outside of the circle and ask the horse to move his body under your balance point. It is very important to remember that while balance is an aid, it is not a cue and so it is more dynamic in it's affect. It is constantly shifting and changing. You ride your horse with balance in each and every stride, coming back to neutral between each transition in balance.
Balance is also important in creating forward impulsion and stop. You can create impulsion in your horse just by shifting your balance slightly forward into an active seat. By shifting your balance forward of the horse's center of gravity the horse is obliged to move out reaching and lengthening the stride. Shifting your balance back behind the center of gravity can indicate stop, or other transitions requiring elevation of the front end or shortening of stride.
Imagine, now, if your balance is poor or inconsistent. Instead of your horse adjusting to slight changes in your body position, he must learn to ignore that because he has found those changes to be meaningless. Instead of following your seat and balance he may even push against it to compensate for a rider that always sits heavier to the left side. Does your horse have a lead problem or do you as a rider have a balance problem? Is your horse really stiff to one side or do you tend to sit on that side interfering with his natural carriage and suppleness.
If you watch great horseman ride you can see how the rider's body seems to mirror what the horse is doing. This is truly riding with balance. The horse can feel small shifts in the rider's seat and balance point and shifts to follow that change. So, the next time you mount up and ride, focus on your balance and what it is telling your horse. Are you telling your horse to ignore your balance or are you helping him by leading him through the dance by your body position? Be sure that your balance is meaningful to the horse and doesn't inadvertently become white noise to which he is desensitized.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Raccoon Syndrome
I have to admit I'm a sucker for shiny things. You wouldn't think it to look at me since I don't often get to wear jewelry or "blingyness", but just walk with me through a trade show and the shiny sparkly belt booth will draw me like a beacon. Dan calls this my raccoon tendency and so I'm going to have to admit it, I guess. My name is Jenni Grimmett, and I suffer from Raccoon Syndrome
I know I am not the only one that suffers from this. I think all horse folk like shiny stuff. We admire pretty and not just function and if we were all honest I think we would all prefer to be riding the prettiest horse in the arena. If you aren't owning up to it, you aren't being honest. I recently had the opportunity to ride the amazing Santa Fe Renegade and that horse is drop dead gorgeous. He draws folks like a shiny belt, even with just little ol' me riding him. When I finally looked up and around at my surroundings instead of just loping around grinning like a fool I noticed the side lines were packed with folks watching and I know dang good and well it wasn't ME they were looking at!
It's the prevalence of Raccoon Syndrome paired with the competitive nature of all equestrians that drives us to show our horses. It's amazing what pains we will go to to earn a 50 cent scrap of pretty shiny ribbon. Then add other shiny things like buckles or pretty tack and we stand there drooling in envy imagining jogging around with the sun glinting off our shiny new prize.
It's well known, if not largely admitted in competitive venues that competition can screw up horsemanship. The more money at stake or the higher the prestige the more short cuts likely to be taken in order to stay in the running for the big prize. It's human nature and it's hard to fight it. Cowboy Dressage is trying very hard to keep that from affecting the competition side of this new discipline. Doing away with competition sure isn't the answer because riding in front of a Cowboy Dressage judge is of immeasurable worth. Here you have a knowledgeable person scrutinizing every aspect of your ride and your communication with your horse so that you can improve your ride. How can we ever really improve without the crucible of competition? Because Cowboy Dressage has 30 points of your score wrapped up in Soft Feel and another 20 in harmony and partnership, they are trying very hard to keep those things at the forefront even in the face of competition.
But, we can all fall victim to the raccoon syndrome. Recently at the Cowboy Dressage World Finals show where there were many, many buckles up for grabs you could see some folks that were definitely entering classes just for the purpose of buckle chasing. My Morgan and I entered all of our classes in a single division instead of spreading out our tests into different areas were he may have been more likely to excel because we were hoping to stay in the running for a buckle. We started out our weekend in pretty good shape placing first and second on our very first ever dressage tests. Suddenly that gorgeous buckle for the Vaquero division seemed like it might just be within grasp. Enter raccoon syndrome, exit responsible horsemanship.
The next day my horse was quite nervous and uptight and unwilling to settle on the court. Because I was still chasing a buckle, I didn't want to change anything that might take me out of the running and so I kept my horse in the one handed bit. He looks finished and pretty when carrying that bit. The problem is that if he gets into trouble or gets tense I can't really help him out. All I can do is put more pressure on that bit and make him more and more tense. When he is relaxed, listening and with me it takes a mere change in my body position and very little signal with the bit. When he's completely distracted and out to lunch he cannot "hear" my body and I end up "yelling" with my hands. Well, you can imagine how my soft feel scores suffered. We got through our tests all right, and survived the day and even placed but my horse was getting more and more upset. Finally on day three he blew a test. I couldn't get him quiet enough to even back up for a maneuver and he tried to exit the court as we free jogged past A making me grab him to keep him on the court. Well, that day I placed 5th in one of my classes and got a 7th in another with the lowest scores of the weekend. Now I was thoroughly and completely out of the running for any of those shiny pretty buckles.
That was probably the best thing that could have happened to me from a horsemanship standpoint. It was like somebody walked up and dumped a cold glass of water on my head and said, "What the heck are you doing? Can't you see your horse needs you right now?" So I took off the big pretty bit and but him back in the hackamore where I could support his insecurity. I lost my pretty formal flexion and finished look but in exchange I got quiet easy mind. I got some of our bend working for us again. I stacked the deck in his favor for our last day of tests. I kept him as quiet and calm as possible even walking him out onto the court during a break and letting him stand at 8 eating treats with no pressure. When it came time for him to ride his tests we lined buddies all up down both of the long sides of the court so he felt supported. He rode beautifully. He was quiet, responsive and happy. Lo and behold my soft feel and partnership scores came back up.
I was berating myself a bit for getting sucked into raccoon syndrome so easily and was thinking maybe just doing away with buckles and shiny things was the way to keep this out of Cowboy Dressage right up until I watched the award presentation and watched all those folks graciously accept the shiny buckles I had coveted and they had worked so hard for. How could I justify doing away with their prizes just because I had a moment where I lost focus?
Just like finding a chink in the foundation of your horse's training, I found a chink in my own this weekend. Chico has a nervous active mind that needs support from me at all times. I have a competitive drive that craves recognition and shiny things. It's a bad combination and will be a struggle for us in our partnership, but Cowboy Dressage is the very best place for us to be. When we get off track and my horse needs help and I need a wake up call there are folks here that are ready and able and willing to help us reach our goals. Maybe we will win a shiny soft feel buckle someday; maybe we won't ever even get close. That doesn't matter. What matters is that the two of us continue to build a partnership where we can rely on each other in times of need in all situations not just at home on our own court or out on the mountain trails we love. If I support him and he can trust me, this partnership will grow. I just might have to not walk by the awards table before the end of the show!
I know I am not the only one that suffers from this. I think all horse folk like shiny stuff. We admire pretty and not just function and if we were all honest I think we would all prefer to be riding the prettiest horse in the arena. If you aren't owning up to it, you aren't being honest. I recently had the opportunity to ride the amazing Santa Fe Renegade and that horse is drop dead gorgeous. He draws folks like a shiny belt, even with just little ol' me riding him. When I finally looked up and around at my surroundings instead of just loping around grinning like a fool I noticed the side lines were packed with folks watching and I know dang good and well it wasn't ME they were looking at!
It's the prevalence of Raccoon Syndrome paired with the competitive nature of all equestrians that drives us to show our horses. It's amazing what pains we will go to to earn a 50 cent scrap of pretty shiny ribbon. Then add other shiny things like buckles or pretty tack and we stand there drooling in envy imagining jogging around with the sun glinting off our shiny new prize.
It's well known, if not largely admitted in competitive venues that competition can screw up horsemanship. The more money at stake or the higher the prestige the more short cuts likely to be taken in order to stay in the running for the big prize. It's human nature and it's hard to fight it. Cowboy Dressage is trying very hard to keep that from affecting the competition side of this new discipline. Doing away with competition sure isn't the answer because riding in front of a Cowboy Dressage judge is of immeasurable worth. Here you have a knowledgeable person scrutinizing every aspect of your ride and your communication with your horse so that you can improve your ride. How can we ever really improve without the crucible of competition? Because Cowboy Dressage has 30 points of your score wrapped up in Soft Feel and another 20 in harmony and partnership, they are trying very hard to keep those things at the forefront even in the face of competition.
But, we can all fall victim to the raccoon syndrome. Recently at the Cowboy Dressage World Finals show where there were many, many buckles up for grabs you could see some folks that were definitely entering classes just for the purpose of buckle chasing. My Morgan and I entered all of our classes in a single division instead of spreading out our tests into different areas were he may have been more likely to excel because we were hoping to stay in the running for a buckle. We started out our weekend in pretty good shape placing first and second on our very first ever dressage tests. Suddenly that gorgeous buckle for the Vaquero division seemed like it might just be within grasp. Enter raccoon syndrome, exit responsible horsemanship.
The next day my horse was quite nervous and uptight and unwilling to settle on the court. Because I was still chasing a buckle, I didn't want to change anything that might take me out of the running and so I kept my horse in the one handed bit. He looks finished and pretty when carrying that bit. The problem is that if he gets into trouble or gets tense I can't really help him out. All I can do is put more pressure on that bit and make him more and more tense. When he is relaxed, listening and with me it takes a mere change in my body position and very little signal with the bit. When he's completely distracted and out to lunch he cannot "hear" my body and I end up "yelling" with my hands. Well, you can imagine how my soft feel scores suffered. We got through our tests all right, and survived the day and even placed but my horse was getting more and more upset. Finally on day three he blew a test. I couldn't get him quiet enough to even back up for a maneuver and he tried to exit the court as we free jogged past A making me grab him to keep him on the court. Well, that day I placed 5th in one of my classes and got a 7th in another with the lowest scores of the weekend. Now I was thoroughly and completely out of the running for any of those shiny pretty buckles.
That was probably the best thing that could have happened to me from a horsemanship standpoint. It was like somebody walked up and dumped a cold glass of water on my head and said, "What the heck are you doing? Can't you see your horse needs you right now?" So I took off the big pretty bit and but him back in the hackamore where I could support his insecurity. I lost my pretty formal flexion and finished look but in exchange I got quiet easy mind. I got some of our bend working for us again. I stacked the deck in his favor for our last day of tests. I kept him as quiet and calm as possible even walking him out onto the court during a break and letting him stand at 8 eating treats with no pressure. When it came time for him to ride his tests we lined buddies all up down both of the long sides of the court so he felt supported. He rode beautifully. He was quiet, responsive and happy. Lo and behold my soft feel and partnership scores came back up.
I was berating myself a bit for getting sucked into raccoon syndrome so easily and was thinking maybe just doing away with buckles and shiny things was the way to keep this out of Cowboy Dressage right up until I watched the award presentation and watched all those folks graciously accept the shiny buckles I had coveted and they had worked so hard for. How could I justify doing away with their prizes just because I had a moment where I lost focus?
Just like finding a chink in the foundation of your horse's training, I found a chink in my own this weekend. Chico has a nervous active mind that needs support from me at all times. I have a competitive drive that craves recognition and shiny things. It's a bad combination and will be a struggle for us in our partnership, but Cowboy Dressage is the very best place for us to be. When we get off track and my horse needs help and I need a wake up call there are folks here that are ready and able and willing to help us reach our goals. Maybe we will win a shiny soft feel buckle someday; maybe we won't ever even get close. That doesn't matter. What matters is that the two of us continue to build a partnership where we can rely on each other in times of need in all situations not just at home on our own court or out on the mountain trails we love. If I support him and he can trust me, this partnership will grow. I just might have to not walk by the awards table before the end of the show!
Cowboy Dressage World Finals: Here's what you missed!
It's a long, long way from North Idaho to Rancho Murieta, California. As our temperatures dropped and our horse's haired up and our arena became a mud pit through early November Dan and I began to wonder just what the heck we were doing thinking about loading up and driving 16 hours through what might be very inhospitable road conditions to attend our very first Cowboy Dressage show.
But, I'm nothing if not stubborn and stuck to our chosen course and Dan grudgingly had the truck serviced and made sure the trailer was ready to go, secretly hoping for a snow storm that would shock some sense into me. Luckily, our trip down was uneventful and we arrived at the gorgeous Rancho Murieta Equestrian Center on Tuesday evening.
The facility is absolutely breathtaking. We were overwhelmed with the shear size and number of arenas on a single facility. We have a few small private indoor arenas back home but nothing in our area that can even hold a candle to this beautiful horse Disneyland. We were greeted by smiling faces and welcoming arms and the ever gentlemanly Garn Walker who helped us to find our stalls and get settled in.
I'm not sure that you will believe me when I try to describe the welcoming environment present at the finals. This is the big Cowboy Dressage show that wraps up the entire year. Hopes are high for good rides, of course, but more than anything else, people are just universally happy to see you and happy to share this dream with others who are trying to find a better way to be with their horse. This is a community of horse people that is inclusive instead of exclusive and that is dang rare in ANY equine discipline. They are supportive, helpful, gracious and kind. They embody this movement in horsemanship in everything that they do. You can't be a kind person in the barn and a jerk outside of it. It doesn't work that way. These people carry kindness in their hearts to their best abilities and inspire you to do the same.
The long weekend kicked off with a mini clinic presented by Eitan, Lynn and Garn with demonstration riders to help us understand what was being asked of us in some of the trickier maneuvers in the tests. Tricks of the trade were shared and questions were encouraged. Every single person riding this weekend was more than willing to share tips, ideas or encouragement as needed and that included our "founding fathers". The Cowboy Dressage World Leaders (a title that makes them sound much more intimidating that they are!) were always willing to answer questions, offer advice or lend a hand. It means so much to have them so accessible and willing to help. Garn and Eitan especially spent some very valuable time with Dan and I just helping us to figure things out and what we could do to improve our scores a bit over the weekend.
Every evening there was either a demonstration or presentation to attend and though it did make our days seem a little long, this is a dedicated group of folks and the evening activities were well attended. I was honored to present a talk on taking what we are learning on the Cowboy Dressage court out into all the other things we do with our horses. The illustrious Dr. Miller gave a great presentation on equine behavior sharing some of his wonderful videos. We were treated to the unveiling of a great and instructive new DVD on the court and the maneuvers that is hot off the press from Cowboy Dressage World. Anybody who is new to Cowboy Dressage or those of you teaching others will want a copy of this great, easy to understand DVD. The highlight of the evening demonstrations was a rare performance of Eitan and his Morgan stallion Santa Fe Renegade on Saturday evening. Eitan rode with a host of mounted riders on horseback surrounding the court. It was breathtaking to watch and I don't believe there was a dry eye in the house when the music changed to Garth Brook's "The Dance" and Eitan directed the applause to Santa Fe and sat and stroked his beloved partner as the riders filed out of the arena.
The afternoon freestyle programs were also well attended and are, I think, everybody's favorite class to watch. It was during the first afternoon of freestyle performances that an event occurred that really embodies the spirit of Cowboy Dressage as a competition. If you aren't familiar with the garrocha, it's what Eitan likes to call a "big schtick". It is a 13' pole that you carry while riding and perform maneuvers including canter and roll backs and swapping of the pole from side to side. It's highly technical and incredibly entertaining to watch. One of the garrocha riders dropped her "schtick" after only about a minute into her performance. When it hit the ground the crowd collectively moaned and all looked at each other wondering what happens now. She had been riding so beautifully and we all wanted to see more and felt the little bobble entirely forgivable. The rider shrugged as she sat her horse looking at the pole on the ground while the music played. Soon members of the audience were offering to run out and pick it up so she could continue. The judge nodded that it was fine to continue and somebody jumped the rail and handed her the pole. The music had a little trouble getting restarted and things were rough for 15-20 seconds or so but then the music and rider got in time again and to the absolute delight of the folks in the audience the ride was completed and there were cheers and applause for the horsemanship demonstrated and not another though given to a dropped pole.
There were over 800 rides in 4 arenas over 4 days at the Finals. It was impossible to see it all. We were privileged to watch some amazing riding and excellent horses. There were also plenty of folks there having a little trouble. Life with horses is not always perfect is it? My horse was one of the ones having some trouble. He had a lot of trouble settling on the court and was nervous and tight and not listening making it extremely difficult to keep soft feel at the forefront. Soft feel is a partnership and a dance and my dance partner was doing the Hokey Pokey while I was trying to lead a waltz! At a normal horse show, that's just tough luck. But, here at Cowboy Dressage the horse always comes first. We tried at first to just have his buddy stand quietly in the arena on the side lines or at one corner but it just wasn't enough and he was getting progressively tense as the days passed. So, in order to make my horse feel more comfortable and secure on the court I asked several of the waiting riders to just line the court while we rode our test. For our final tests we had 8 helpers giving Chico moral support on the sidelines. It worked! We were able to quietly complete our tests and Chico was able to end on a positive note staying quiet and calm with a good experience on the court. Hopefully that will be a good starting place for him and we can build from there.
The final evening award ceremony was also a highlight for us. There was a pile of ribbons, buckles and tack to be given away and each person that won was so thankful and excited to be recognized. I was so proud when Dan won the reserve "Most Improved Award" and was presented with a vintage silk wild rag. He will wear it proudly and will never forget the time he spent at finals with his little red horse. But the very best of all was the high point award of the weekend. We were all waiting on the edge of our seats to see who would be awarded the big award. I don't know about anybody else, but I sure didn't have an inkling of who might have won. There is just so much going on all weekend it's largely a surprise to find out how the scores tallied. The big award for the weekend went to none other than our young 12 year old Ambassador of Cowboy Dressage Avril and her Arabian mare Myla. They took home the Dale Chavez saddle, bridle and breast collar. Again, not a dry eye in the arena as this amazing young horsewoman bounced her way to the saddle that she will have to grow into! I cannot imagine a more fitting end to the weekend than to see this hard working girl take home the big award. Were else could something like that happen where a 12 year old and her horse come in and beat them all? I think it means we are doing something right with Cowboy Dressage.
The 2014 Cowboy Dressage World Finals Gathering was an unbelievable success. If you missed it I encourage you to make plans now for next year. This show is going to continue to grow. The 2013 Gathering had 500 rides and we had over 800 rides this year. This is a movement that is going to continue to grow and flourish because it is being guided and guarded so carefully to be sure the mission remains in tact. This is something you want to be a part of. It's something you need to be a part of. So, come along friend, and ride. The Cowboy Dressage world is just waiting for your handshake membership. What are you waiting for?
But, I'm nothing if not stubborn and stuck to our chosen course and Dan grudgingly had the truck serviced and made sure the trailer was ready to go, secretly hoping for a snow storm that would shock some sense into me. Luckily, our trip down was uneventful and we arrived at the gorgeous Rancho Murieta Equestrian Center on Tuesday evening.
The facility is absolutely breathtaking. We were overwhelmed with the shear size and number of arenas on a single facility. We have a few small private indoor arenas back home but nothing in our area that can even hold a candle to this beautiful horse Disneyland. We were greeted by smiling faces and welcoming arms and the ever gentlemanly Garn Walker who helped us to find our stalls and get settled in.
I'm not sure that you will believe me when I try to describe the welcoming environment present at the finals. This is the big Cowboy Dressage show that wraps up the entire year. Hopes are high for good rides, of course, but more than anything else, people are just universally happy to see you and happy to share this dream with others who are trying to find a better way to be with their horse. This is a community of horse people that is inclusive instead of exclusive and that is dang rare in ANY equine discipline. They are supportive, helpful, gracious and kind. They embody this movement in horsemanship in everything that they do. You can't be a kind person in the barn and a jerk outside of it. It doesn't work that way. These people carry kindness in their hearts to their best abilities and inspire you to do the same.
The long weekend kicked off with a mini clinic presented by Eitan, Lynn and Garn with demonstration riders to help us understand what was being asked of us in some of the trickier maneuvers in the tests. Tricks of the trade were shared and questions were encouraged. Every single person riding this weekend was more than willing to share tips, ideas or encouragement as needed and that included our "founding fathers". The Cowboy Dressage World Leaders (a title that makes them sound much more intimidating that they are!) were always willing to answer questions, offer advice or lend a hand. It means so much to have them so accessible and willing to help. Garn and Eitan especially spent some very valuable time with Dan and I just helping us to figure things out and what we could do to improve our scores a bit over the weekend.
Every evening there was either a demonstration or presentation to attend and though it did make our days seem a little long, this is a dedicated group of folks and the evening activities were well attended. I was honored to present a talk on taking what we are learning on the Cowboy Dressage court out into all the other things we do with our horses. The illustrious Dr. Miller gave a great presentation on equine behavior sharing some of his wonderful videos. We were treated to the unveiling of a great and instructive new DVD on the court and the maneuvers that is hot off the press from Cowboy Dressage World. Anybody who is new to Cowboy Dressage or those of you teaching others will want a copy of this great, easy to understand DVD. The highlight of the evening demonstrations was a rare performance of Eitan and his Morgan stallion Santa Fe Renegade on Saturday evening. Eitan rode with a host of mounted riders on horseback surrounding the court. It was breathtaking to watch and I don't believe there was a dry eye in the house when the music changed to Garth Brook's "The Dance" and Eitan directed the applause to Santa Fe and sat and stroked his beloved partner as the riders filed out of the arena.
The afternoon freestyle programs were also well attended and are, I think, everybody's favorite class to watch. It was during the first afternoon of freestyle performances that an event occurred that really embodies the spirit of Cowboy Dressage as a competition. If you aren't familiar with the garrocha, it's what Eitan likes to call a "big schtick". It is a 13' pole that you carry while riding and perform maneuvers including canter and roll backs and swapping of the pole from side to side. It's highly technical and incredibly entertaining to watch. One of the garrocha riders dropped her "schtick" after only about a minute into her performance. When it hit the ground the crowd collectively moaned and all looked at each other wondering what happens now. She had been riding so beautifully and we all wanted to see more and felt the little bobble entirely forgivable. The rider shrugged as she sat her horse looking at the pole on the ground while the music played. Soon members of the audience were offering to run out and pick it up so she could continue. The judge nodded that it was fine to continue and somebody jumped the rail and handed her the pole. The music had a little trouble getting restarted and things were rough for 15-20 seconds or so but then the music and rider got in time again and to the absolute delight of the folks in the audience the ride was completed and there were cheers and applause for the horsemanship demonstrated and not another though given to a dropped pole.
There were over 800 rides in 4 arenas over 4 days at the Finals. It was impossible to see it all. We were privileged to watch some amazing riding and excellent horses. There were also plenty of folks there having a little trouble. Life with horses is not always perfect is it? My horse was one of the ones having some trouble. He had a lot of trouble settling on the court and was nervous and tight and not listening making it extremely difficult to keep soft feel at the forefront. Soft feel is a partnership and a dance and my dance partner was doing the Hokey Pokey while I was trying to lead a waltz! At a normal horse show, that's just tough luck. But, here at Cowboy Dressage the horse always comes first. We tried at first to just have his buddy stand quietly in the arena on the side lines or at one corner but it just wasn't enough and he was getting progressively tense as the days passed. So, in order to make my horse feel more comfortable and secure on the court I asked several of the waiting riders to just line the court while we rode our test. For our final tests we had 8 helpers giving Chico moral support on the sidelines. It worked! We were able to quietly complete our tests and Chico was able to end on a positive note staying quiet and calm with a good experience on the court. Hopefully that will be a good starting place for him and we can build from there.
The final evening award ceremony was also a highlight for us. There was a pile of ribbons, buckles and tack to be given away and each person that won was so thankful and excited to be recognized. I was so proud when Dan won the reserve "Most Improved Award" and was presented with a vintage silk wild rag. He will wear it proudly and will never forget the time he spent at finals with his little red horse. But the very best of all was the high point award of the weekend. We were all waiting on the edge of our seats to see who would be awarded the big award. I don't know about anybody else, but I sure didn't have an inkling of who might have won. There is just so much going on all weekend it's largely a surprise to find out how the scores tallied. The big award for the weekend went to none other than our young 12 year old Ambassador of Cowboy Dressage Avril and her Arabian mare Myla. They took home the Dale Chavez saddle, bridle and breast collar. Again, not a dry eye in the arena as this amazing young horsewoman bounced her way to the saddle that she will have to grow into! I cannot imagine a more fitting end to the weekend than to see this hard working girl take home the big award. Were else could something like that happen where a 12 year old and her horse come in and beat them all? I think it means we are doing something right with Cowboy Dressage.
The 2014 Cowboy Dressage World Finals Gathering was an unbelievable success. If you missed it I encourage you to make plans now for next year. This show is going to continue to grow. The 2013 Gathering had 500 rides and we had over 800 rides this year. This is a movement that is going to continue to grow and flourish because it is being guided and guarded so carefully to be sure the mission remains in tact. This is something you want to be a part of. It's something you need to be a part of. So, come along friend, and ride. The Cowboy Dressage world is just waiting for your handshake membership. What are you waiting for?
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