Next, riders do trot-canter transitions--jumping freely, half halting, saying "yes." Werth moves on to shoulder-in at the canter and works on competition pirouettes from a straight line with Jeremy Steinberg of San Diego, Calif., and his 8-year-old Brandenburg gelding, Hallmark. "Collect, control every step, let him chew, outside leg and shoulder-in aids," says Werth. The work is progressing quickly but easily.
And now the riders are asked to do flying changes from the counter canter. "Jump, counter flex, change. Make the change a bigger jump than the normal canter," Werth advises Barnes. "And no losing the rhythm."
For Rhys-Evans and Merlin, perfect bend out of the corner to start trot shoulder-in is the order of the day. "Circle and start again," says Werth repeatedly to Rhys-Evans--and most of the riders who come later. "The introduction was not good enough." Next, they do trot-walk transitions in shoulder-in. "Think of piaffe steps in the transitions," Werth says, and Merlin's trot becomes loftier. When the rhythm is compromised in the shoulder-in, Werth directs Rhys-Evans to straighten and start again. She and Merlin achieve a good bend in shoulder-in and transition to half pass with little stops every second or third stride. When the rhythm is lost in half pass, Rhys-Evans is directed to return to shoulder-in. The work gets more difficult faster, but it is easy for them because the principles are the same.
| In Search of Talent The traditional American attitude is that Training Level horses do Training Level, First Level horses do First Level, Second Level horses do Second Level and so on. But for Isabell Werth, schooling a horse is all about making a Grand Prix horse and building on his natural talent. At the USDF National Symposium, Werth finds talent imbedded in horses at any level, plucks it out and develops it. During the two-day symposium, Merrie Velden's Second Level horse, Don Fiereto, starts developing piaffe. On the other hand, some of the high-level horses work simply on the basics. "If you have a Second Level horse, you don't have to just school him in Second Level work," says rider Sue Halasz. "It's better to start flying changes before you've confirmed counter canter too much. There are many young horses that have natural talent for piaffe and passage, and while it would be disastrous to overwork that, it's silly not to cultivate it. If you horse is offering that as a youngster, you should let them know that it's a fun, happy thing to do." |
The riders move on to piaffe: "Think if piaffing forward so he doesn't stop," Werth says. "Come back slowly. Bend to one side so he doesn't run against the hand. Then pet him so he knows that he does it by himself and enjoys it." The directions come constantly and the results are extraordinary.
By the end of the symposium Werth has developed the horses to the best of their abilities by encouraging the riders, yet demanding they work. "My goal is to find the best connection between me and my horse," she says, "and to find the key for each individual horse--find his special abilities and build on them. Like children, they learn the easiest way when they are playing games. It's not always a game, but the horse has to enjoy it and think it's his choice to do the work."
Two additional symposium riders were Beverly Rogers of Cave Creek, Ariz., riding Lois Arnold's 13-year-old Hanoverian mare, Captiva and Karin Cassidy Lencyk of Clint, Texas, on Patricia Slade Crow's 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Kanoa. USDF Executive Director Sarah Jane Martin thanks volunteers from the Arizona Dressage Association and the USDF staff for their work at the USDF National Dressage Symposium.
This article first appeared in the July 2001 issue of Dressage Today magazine. For copies of articles, email Dressage.Today@EquiNetwork.com.
