January 6, 2009 -- Influencing your horse to be a better athlete by using a strong position was the overall theme that Olympic show-jumper Anne Kursinski stressed to the eight young riders participating in the 2009 George Morris Horsemastership Training Session in Wellington, Fla.
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- Anne demonstrates how she wants riders to sit in a two-point and use an automatic release while jumping.
- Photo by Sandra Oliynyk
The riders earned a spot at the 6-day clinic by being at the top of the Bates Equitation Rankings List or placing well in top equitation competitions. During the week, they are being trained by five Olympic riders and learning stable management skills from top veterinarians and grooms.
After dressage trainer Robert Dover worked with the riders Monday, teaching them about the principles of dressage, Anne's goal was to serve as a transition to jumping, which she did by working on flatwork and gymnastic exercises.
Flatwork Fundamentals
"It's important to understand fundamental flatwork, how to change your horse's muscles, not through draw reins and big bits, but by using your position to influence your horse," she told the four riders in the first session. "If you can't control your own body, good luck being able to feel his body and influence his body.
"Horses are always trying to put us in a position where we're not effective. Basic equitation is that you can control your body, that you have body awareness."
To begin working on their positions, Anne instructed the riders to have their upper bodies 30 degrees in front of the vertical at the posting trot with a straight line to their horses' mouths. At the sitting trot, she wanted the riders to have their bodies on the vertical.
"Taylor, get your heels down," Anne told rider Taylor Land. "Your heels, really your feet, are your anchors, especially when we go to jump. They're shock absorbers. When we go to jump, you want to be sure your base of support is down around the horse."
"Jacqueline, make sure your upper arms don't come back behind his body. Keep them ahead of your hips," Anne told Jacqueline Lubrano.
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- Anne Kursinski rode Taylor Land's horse to show riders, from left, Jacqueline Lubrano, Chelsea Moss and Sophie Benjamin, how she maintains a strong core to push the horse forward into the bridle.
- Photo by Sandra Oliynyk
Anne wanted riders to have a sense of pushing their horses with their seats to the reins and giving with their arms--not hanging on their horses' mouths to round their necks. "The engine is in the back. You receive the energy in your hands, through elastic elbows," she said.
When the horses began to stretch their necks forward and down, Anne encouraged it. "He's relaxing his topline," she told Jacqueline. "When he's trying to be in a good shape, you can be more supple in your arms. Then you're allowing self-carriage." She later clarified when a horse stretches his neck, he brings his back up and you get a better jump.
To work on these things, Anne had riders ride a lot of transitions from walk to sitting trot to posting trot and lengthen and shorten their horses' strides in trot and canter. She also had them ride shoulder-in, which makes the horse use his hind end and straighten.
To show what she wanted with position, she got on Taylor's horse. "The first thing I do when I get on is close my legs a bit to see the reaction." The horse started dancing around a bit and flipping up his head. "I ask him to go forward and straight and go to the bit. He's testing me. I'm tickling him with my spurs. When he comes above the bit, I resist with my arms and seat--my center--until he says, 'Yes.' My position stays the same. After he lowers head and neck down from the withers, then I can give with the inside rein as a reward and say, 'Hold yourself.'"
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- Chelsea Moss and the other riders can focus on their positions while riding gymnastics because the distances are set up for the horses.
- Photo by Sandra Oliynyk
Gymnastic Work
The position work continued in the jumping phase of the lesson. The point of riding gymnastics is that the jumps and distances are all set up for the horses, so "you don't have to do anything but think of your position," Anne told the riders. "It's about you being in a good position and not interfering. It's about being one with the horse."
