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- Hubertus Schmidt
- Photo by Carole MacDonald
The tempo and elasticity must remain the same, through corners, in shoulder-in, in half pass and so on. In half pass for example, if the swing or energy fades, it's likely the horse has fallen onto his leading shoulder. The answer is to half halt the energy back over the hind legs, increase the cadence and then ride forward and sideways in the cadence to show the horse how to reach and keep "his front legs in front." If the horse gets tight in the back, take a moment for a slight stretch (if only for a stride), regain the looseness and then try again.
Once the horse does something well, or at least better, move on to the next task. If you and your horse normally perform a half pass for a five, fix the main issue and be happy when you get the quality of a 6 or a 7. Drilling the movement after a significant improvement is counter-productive and frustrates the horse, and often the rider! Big leaps forward in quality take time.
It's easy for horses to get stuck in the canter pirouettes. Approach them in shoulder in, never haunches in. The rider should be able to vary them by starting with a large working pirouette, then making it smaller after a few strides, then larger and vice versa. If the horse gets stuck, stretch him down so that he must use his back and ride forward in the pirouette, while maintaining a deep frame, keeping it large, as if aiming for the hours on a clock. This will encourage the horse to push independently with his hind legs.
It was a real treat to get so much feedback and explanation on the training of piaffe and passage. Hubertus always teaches piaffe before passage, to avoid a horse learning to hover on the spot in a passage-like piaffe. Fanale is still learning both movements and while she has the concept, there are issues we are working through. Hubertus quickly saw that in piaffe, she carries too much weight on her front legs, which avoids the sitting requirement and leaves her earthbound in front. In my efforts to keep her thinking forward in piaffe, I was asking her to cover too much ground and allowing her to escape the increased carrying power necessary for a good piaffe and transition out to passage.
Hubertus asked me to ride from a very collected walk on a 10-meter circle to piaffe and back again. He recommended I keep her thinking forward in piaffe but remain more on the spot so her weight was naturally more over her hind legs. He also suggested I think about a very slight turn in piaffe. This makes the piaffe easier for a green horse and helps me keep the hind legs active.
Whether is was passage, piaffe, one tempis, pirouettes or any other footfall, the underlying focus still remains relaxation and looseness, through which balance and power brings expression.
The ultimate thrill for me occurred on Sunday when Hubertus rode my horse while he gave a running commentary about what he was doing and why. I am a visual learner and to watch him work through the same issues we attacked over the previous two days was priceless. Fanale kicked into a higher gear over the session with an energy, reach and self-carriage I had never seen. She no longer looked like an Intermediaire I horse working Grand Prix movements. She looked like a Grand Prix horse! And she was happy about it!
I am extremely grateful to NEDA, the volunteers, the sponsors and the staff at UMass for giving me this opportunity of a lifetime. As one of NEDA's newest members, I knew next to no one when I arrived. However, the warmth and hospitality of everyone involved made me feel very much at home right from the beginning. I am also thankful for those who have given me the background and training over the years (most notably Jeanne MacDonald, Bob Orton and Lars Petersen) to be able to take full advantage of Hubertus' instruction, and for a little chestnut mare who strutted into my life as a 3-year-old and partnered with me on a journey beyond my wildest dreams, one that even included riding in the NEDA symposium with Hubertus Schmidt.
Susan Springsteen of Chester County, Pa,, is an adult amateur, with a 25-year long career as a financial advisor and a long history of providing daily stock market commentary on KYWNewsRadio in Philadelphia. Recently named Chester County (PA) Female Business Leader of the Year for 2010 by the Chamber of Business and Industry, Springsteen is currently a First Vice President at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and a partner in nth Solutions LLC, an electronics firm that designs and builds products that save lives and preserve natural resources. She and Fanale, a U.S. Hanoverian mare bred by Janine Malone, currently train with Lars Petersen and have competed through Intermediaire I. Career highlights include Regional Championships at Fourth Level, Prix St. George and Intermediaire I. They also placed in several CDIs, ranked first in the 2008 USDF AA Horse of The Year standings at Intermediaire I and earned the first alternate slot for the 2009 USEF Intermediaire I Championships at Gladstone.
