2015 Succeed USDF FEI-Level Trainers Conference Mary Anne McPhail’s High Meadow Farm in White Fences, Loxahatchee, Florida I’ve just returned from the FEI Trainer’s Conference and thought you might like a quick overview of the two day event. FEI Dressage Judge General Stephen Clarke of the UK presented and Lilo Fore of Santa Rosa, CA was present to collect questions from the audience. I had a nice surprise unexpectedly running into Stephanie Beamer at the venue so we sat together and tried not to chat too much. Riders included Shelly Francis of Loxahatchee, FL riding Danilo, a ten year old, Hanoverian gelding by Deniro; Jennifer Baumert of Mathews, NC riding Ramiro, an eight year old Danish Warmblood gelding by Don Romantic; Claire McNulty (14 years old), of Holland, MI riding Reel Adventure, a fourteen year old Hanoverian gelding by Rotspon; Annie Morris of Columbia, CT riding Julia’s Magic, a six year old Danish Warmblood; Lisa Pierson of Hopewell Junction, NY riding Baryshnikov, a fourteen year old Hackney gelding by Forewood Commander; D’Re Stereos of Petaluma, CA (student of Lilo’s) riding Sarumba, an eight year old Hanoverian mare by Sir Donnerhall I; Christina Vinios of Wellington, FL riding Donna Carina 6, a nine year old Oldenburg mare; and Noel Williams of Wellington, FL riding Sir Velo and eight year old Westfalen gelding by Sandro Bedo. Each day followed the same format of a 40 minute riding session with Stephen Clarke followed by a drag of the arena before the next horse entered. The scuttle butt was that the footing had just been delivered the previous Wednesday and was perhaps a bit deep so keeping it compacted was a must. Most riders rode a test early on in their session while Stephen commented and scored throughout and then after a rest, he’d give exercises to improve the weakness. Lilo collected written questions submitted at the end of the ride and Stephen made sure the person who wrote it understood his answer. General Clarke is a master of his craft. Quite the British Gentleman with a grandfatherly way of teasing and encouraging. He found a way to identify the specific issue with the horse’s basics and come in the back door to address it without needing an “in your face” declaration of what was wrong with your horse. It worked beautifully. A few questions were asked about his lack of verbally pointing out the obvious evasions (tongue out, gait impurity for a moment, disconnected topline, contact issues etc.) and the gist of his answer was that he would rather address the fault in the basics instead of drawing the rider’s attention to the “symptom”. And that’s exactly what he did again and again. The main themes were: Clean, clear basic gaits, stretchy warm up in all three gaits to ensure there were no limits to the horse’s quest for contact and no blockages through the topline, Go/Whoa/Turn, poll the highest point in the work phase, change of frame after strength work (stretching after collection), sitting “Like a Church Mouse” (still) as a reward for a response to Go or Whoa, frequently test with Uberstreichen for self carriage, change gears frequently and don’t stay in a metronomic tempo with the horses that take advantage of it and start “humming to themselves”, shake it up with tempo changes within the gaits as well as lengthening and shortening of the strides frequently, don’t be afraid to bump the horse up in the contact to raise the poll as long as you then immediately adopt a correct hand position, controlling outside aids/suppling-activating inside aids. Stephen Clarke-isms: “I’m not interested in what happens today. I’m much more interested in the future. Today maybe I sow a seed for the rider and they’ll think about it”. “First you make it possible and then you make it happen”. “People are embarrassed when their horses are above/off the bit. But they are never embarrassed when their horses come behind the bit/contact or low in the poll. They should be”. “You (The US) have the best national tests in the world”. Sting like a bee and then sit like a church mouse. “Organize when you have to. Leave it alone when you can”. “Don’t finish on something high pressure. Finish on something easy. “Make sure there is nothing backward or supporting in your contact so she can learn to balance herself”. “Passage has a limited lifespan”. “Don’t let him dry up and slow down”. “Don’t let him boil behind the aids”. All in all this was a very interesting look into the world of a top class coach.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 04:53:44 +0000
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