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- Anya Bershad and her 4-year-old Lipizzaner gelding, Halo, work on correct canter transitions.
Steady, Quiet Work
Judy Grant, a long-time student and teacher of dressage, had a powerful emotional response to the clinic. Three patient years of gaining the confidence of her sensitive, spooky horse, Hans, were rewarded. Andreas' complete focus, his respect for the rider and his understanding of the horse made every second valuable. He started Judy off at the walk, doing tiny circles around him. "Come closer, Judy, I can't see you" he teased her from 10 feet away.
By the end of the lesson Judy achieved a new level of communication with Hans because of the step-by-step progress of the exercises. Andreas insisted on precision and correctness, then rewarded with praise and sugar. Judy exclaimed, "We used an entire box of cubes!"
Sometimes there were funny misunderstandings due to accent or unfamiliar terminology. Valerie Melio was perplexed when told to "race" her 5-year old Lusitano stallion after some really nice trot half-passes. Andreas actually said to "praise" him. I tried very hard to sit like a feather when Andreas told me to lighten my seat in a canter stretch circle; he meant for me to stand in the stirrups.
Andreas paid particular attention to refining position and aids. He believes that a rider must be supple and correct before the horse can be. It is up to the rider to focus on proper balance, contact and rhythm and to praise the horse often. Being longed by a qualified instructor can help establish these basics.
From the clinic I learned what a wonderful canter my horse has when I am balanced and connected with him in an elastic way. I learned how things fall apart if I sit unevenly, pull too much on one rein, don't support with my legs or generally lose the connection with my horse. I discovered that any horse can improve its way of going when the rider is correctly seated, clear with the aids and tuned in to the horse. I learned that event riders like me really need these skills.
We hope that Andreas will return to Santa Fe. Maybe next time he'll show us his bicorn hat, and we'll talk him into riding for us. More than 20 years of daily riding, teaching and training horses have given him a remarkable eye and talent that we deeply appreciate.
