On our Classical Dressage Discussion List I seem to have started a little controversy with my remarks that riding hurts sometimes. Some of you, especially those of you who ride with me, understood what I meant. Others misunderstood me, so I will try to clarify.

First of all, when I say that riding hurts, I don’t mean that it hurts all the time, obviously, but that occasional (physical as well as mental) growing pains are an integral part of growth. (Cf. Sherry Ackerman, Dressage in the 4th Dimension, p. 28: “There is no gnosis without pain”).

Nobody can have good performances all the time. Each high quality performance has to be earned by many practice sessions that bring us face to face with our limits and our current shortcomings. C.A.Huang & J.Lynch quote the Buddhist proverb “The arrow that hits the bull’s eye is the result of a hundred misses” in their book “Thinking body, dancing mind” (1992, 93). This captures very well the essence of what I am trying to say. Every correctly executed half halt, e.g. is the result of many others in which the timing, coordination, and intensity of the aids was incorrect, which led to completely different results than we had intended.”

P.T. SUDO talks about the same phenomenon in his book “Zen Guitar”, 1998, 44: “Frustration results when the body will not perform as the mind directs, or the mind becomes confused about what it wants the body to do. These confrontations are an integral part of training. They bring us face to face with our motivations and limitations: Why are we putting in all these hours of practice? Why do we desire what we desire? Are we willing to make the sacrifice necessary to progress? Are we asking more of our body than it can do?”

These two quotes make it clear that the mental anguish I was referring to has little, if anything, to do with the teacher, nor is it unique to riding. It arises from our caring, our passion about what we do, in our particular case: riding. Serious riders, and I am only talking about those who want to learn to ride in a narrower sense of the word, have to compare themselves all the time with the ideal they strive for – and that is often frustrating.

My own most humbling, even humiliating, moments were always brought about by horses, not people. Sitting on a correctly trained Grand Prix horse, and realizing that one has no control over the horse, is painfully embarrassing. Understanding just how difficult it is to ride something as simple as a correct (my teachers use “correct” synonymously with “perfect”) corner, circle, volte, or transition, is humbling. This frustration comes not from being, unable to do something difficult, being overfaced. It arises from the realization that, no matter how advanced we thought we were, we still have not truly mastered the basics (Once we have mastered the basics, we are masters of the equestrian art). Every time this realization hits home, we become a little more humble, by catching a glimpse of how much farther we still have to go.

The emotional pain comes from wanting to ride well, so much so that it becomes the most important thing in one’s life. In this quest, we reach ceilings in our progress, plateaus that seem to stretch on forever (even if they only last for a few days or weeks). The only way to improve is to re-examine (and question!) everything we do, keep the good things, discard the bad things, and replace them with a better way. The reason for this is that anytime we encounter a problem, whether we are unable to ride our horse on the bit, or whether our horse raises one diagonal higher than the other in the piaffe, the underlying cause is always somewhere in the basics, the training pyramid, and beyond that, in our seat, and the timing, coordination, and intensity of our aids. If we find the mistake we are making in our riding, which causes the flaw in the training pyramid, the original problem will disappear. Finding this mistake requires some serious soul-searching. It has to begin with the admission to ourselves that we are not nearly as good as we may have thought we were. We have to be willing to question everything we have accomplished, everything we thought we knew. And the pain that is caused by this process, and the honesty which is indispensable for it, is probably greater than the pain any trainer can inflict. Sherry Ackerman (1997, 28) puts it very well: “The pain of destroying personal ego cannot be imagined or described: it is beyond words.”

On the other hand, since we have to earn each little bit of progress with so much effort, we treasure even the smallest success. It is something that nobody can take from us. We have earned it, and these moments in which we accomplish a breakthrough and experience the harmony and balance that we dream of, carry us through the moments in which we cannot seem to find the right way. There is nothing like the sense of accomplishment and inner peace that is created by a breakthrough in our riding.

The plateaus have a habit of re-occurring periodically, and they bring the need for a thorough re-evaluation with them each time. Initially, the necessary adjustments can be quite dramatic. The more we progress, the more subtle they can hopefully become. Since we are trying to do something that does not come naturally or easily to most of us, we may get worse in the beginning – until we become comfortable with the new way (of sitting, e.g.). In the long run, the new way will take us beyond the last plateau (if we are on the right track). In time, we will reach a new plateau, and the cycle begins anew. Just like Sisyphus, we go back down to the foot of the mountain in order to start rolling the boulder up the hill again. As soon as we think we have reached the top of the mountain, the rock rolls down, and we realize we have to start over. I don’t believe that this cycle ever ends, no matter how accomplished we may become. The difference between the cycles is that each time we are a little more accomplished, a little more knowledgeable, and hopefully a little wiser than the previous time. P.T.Sudo (1998, 155) describes it this way: “The first rule of mastery is this: Those who think themselves masters are not masters. There can be no letup of your study, no matter how far you’ve come. Even the highest priests of zen say to themselves, mi zai: “Not yet.” You have not yet learned all you can know. You have not given all you can give. You have not yet reached the summit. Empty your cup and keep going. Same mountain, farther up.”

Put differently, each time we reach a goal, we realize that there are other goals behind it, and yet others behind those, without end. Probably all of us have had “bad” rides after which we thought we would never learn how to ride, because things just did not work. At first, we cannot see the reasons why. But if we continue to analyze and to rethink these bad rides, we will eventually figure it out. This is terrible, and it is wonderful at the same time. It is terrible, because there is no quick fix, no shortcut, no easy way, only diligent practice of the correct (!) basics. It is also wonderful, because correct diligent practice will always bring success in the long run. Riding is very democratic that way. We cannot buy a good seat, tact, understanding, and knowledge. We have to earn them.

In hindsight, I think I learned the most from my worst rides, because they challenged me to be brutally honest with myself, and to change the way I thought and the way I rode. As long as I tried to fight the plateau, avoiding to face the necessity of a fundamental re-evaluation, the slump continued. As soon as I admitted to myself that I knew nothing, I was enabled to make progress again. In that sense, the frustration and pain that arise out of mistakes are not only inevitable, they are catalysts in our learning. They are opportunities that we must take advantage of.

What is important here is that the teacher gives the students confidence. No matter how badly I rode, no matter how much I struggled with my own incompetence, my teachers always believed that I could overcome the difficulties, that it was just a matter of time and diligent practice. I try to do the same for my students. When you believe deep down inside that you can do it, and you keep searching honestly, you will always progress.

The teacher has an important function in showing the student the discrepancy between their actual performance and the ideal we are all striving for, which creates frustration. But the teacher also has to instill the confidence in the student that the difficulties can and will be overcome – if the student is willing to do what it takes. This is one of the differences with the Old Masters and many modern trainers. The masters never compromised their standards. They demanded perfect executions of the simple things, and over time, the more advanced work grew out of this.

This takes a lot of patience on the teacher’s part. It means reminding the student of the same things over and over, until he has gained sufficient control over his body to be able to sit correctly and to give correct aids. This kind of work is often tedious, it takes a long time, but once it takes root, the progress is phenomenal. Today many riders and trainers don’t want to subject themselves to this discipline. They skip ahead to the “fun part” without ever mastering the basics, with the result that the more advanced work is fundamentally flawed.

Somebody said the teacher should be an inspiration to the student. Probably the most inspiring teacher I have had is Thomas Faltejsek. He was able to motivate me like nobody else, by conjuring up a vision of perfection and making it seem to be within my reach (in addition to providing us with a shining example of what horse and rider should look like together). On the other hand, he demanded every ounce of effort I could muster, and more (there is no such thing as “good enough” when it comes to the rider). He told me more than once (only half jokingly): “I don’t care if you die trying, but first you WILL RIDE. Then you can die.” I remember one lesson in particular, many years ago, where I thought I was giving everything I had. Then he screamed at me at the top of his lungs (which was quite rare, by the way) – and I discovered that I still had some energy left, after all. It carried the horse across the threshold, and we outgrew ourselves at that moment. If he had been less demanding, I would never have had this experience of success and accomplishment. Thomas Faltejsek has the power to make students ride a couple of levels above their normal ability, because of this mixture of encouragement and strictness.

However, not every student wants to learn how to ride. He also complained to me that people had approached him saying they wanted to learn how to ride. When he presented them with the opportunity to learn, they were unwilling to make the necessary effort. So he felt betrayed and lied to.

This is at the heart of the anecdotes Jessica and Annette related of Dr. Klimke. There are many riders who want a babysitter, someone who cuddles them verbally, and holds their hands while they are going through a number of tricks. These students will never learn how to ride, even though some of them may be able to perform some upper level movements with certain horses.

As far as the physical pain is concerned, I was thinking of my own experiences. Many years ago I went through a phase in which riding without stirrups at the walk and the trot was excruciatingly painful, because the sheer weight of my legs stretched my stiff adductor muscles to such an extent that it sometimes felt as if someone were tearing my legs off. That was just from the weight of the leg itself, without even trying to stretch it actively. Over time, the muscles became more flexible, and the pain went away. I may very well be an extreme case, but I think that everyone who rides seriously has experienced some discomfort and muscle soreness at some point. I don’t believe that there is any top athlete or ballet dancer who reached the top without ever becoming muscle sore, without ever experiencing discomfort or even pain. Progress is only possible by stretching one’s limits, by leaving one’s comfort zone.

One of the attitudes that one encounters more and more often these days is that “riding is supposed to be FUN”, and easy, without discomfort or pain, without frustration. This attitude originates in the myth that there can be mastery without effort. P.T. SUDO addresses this very issue in a completely different context, i.e. playing guitar (1998, 75): “Too many of us today want instant gratification . We want reward without work. We want the thinking done for us. We want to understand something right away or we can’t be bothered. This attitude demeans the accomplishments of those who are true masters.”

Mastering a skill cannot be accomplished with complacency and superficial thrill seeking, but only with serious studying for a period of many years. This is something many riders don’t realize or refuse to acknowledge. Richard Waetjen, one of Egon von Neindorff’s two principal teachers, puts it this way (Dressurreiten, 6th ed. 1989, 19): “It is only the love for the work itself that can help the rider get through the many years with many disappointments and give him the strength not to despair but to continue to strive. The crown of the art of riding can be attained only through decades’ worth of work and experience, and with great patience that precludes temper tantrums and any violence.”

If even a great master like Richard Waetjen experienced the frustration and the emotional pain of learning how to ride, it would be unrealistic of us to think we could find an easier way. Two expressions in Waetjen’s quote probably hold the key to the discussion: “the love for the work itself” and “the crown of the art of riding”. Those people who emphasize the importance of having fun are usually not interested in achieving the classical ideal, nor do they really love the work process.

Rather than looking for “fun” in riding, the rider should enjoy the process of learning (P.T. SUDO, 1998, 39f.”There is joy in the struggle”), including all the ups and downs. When we are trying to accomplish something meaningful in any aspect of life, an art, a sport, a science, it is impossible to do it without a certain share of pain and frustration. The negative experiences are the ones that give meaning and importance to the positive ones. They are the ones that keep us searching for a better way. Success rarely does that (if it ain’t broke, …) Without the struggle we would not value our progress the same way. There always has to be a balance.

© 1999 Thomas Ritter.  All rights reserved.

Maybe you’ve known this forever, or maybe you’re like me, and you had an epiphany that really changed the way you see riding.  But somewhere between begging for pony rides and longing for piaffe the realization sinks in.  Training can be done from the ground or mounted.  But riding…is riding. You’re up there trying to make things work, for better or worse.  You’re training that horse, like it or not.

There’s a reason my Mom’s slogan is Ride Your Horse. It really is the way to improvement – for your riding and hopefully for the horse as well.  Ride your horse –meaning often and well.  And you will know if you are improving or not by what you get back from your horse.

Of course, there are those horses that can have a 2 year old, a disabled rider, or even a complete lunatic on board for a lesson without batting an eyelash or learning bad habits.  These horses know they are putting up with teaching, are few and far between, and are selfless angels.  Zac is one of them.

The other 99.9% of horses in this world cannot be ridden without being influenced.  The epiphany is that good riding does not exist in a vacuum.  It always influences and improves the horse.  There’s no way to say to a horse, “hey, today doesn’t count because I need to work on some stuff”.

“A horse has no future. It cannot greet the sun and say today will be better. It can only reflect upon days of past experiences. It is our job to create a positive past.” ~ Karen West

Horses know what has happened, and they think they know what is going to happen next based on their past experiences.  This is why re-training is so much more difficult than having the correct training applied in the first place.  You have to convince a horse that things can be better without them having a concept of the future.  That means lots of little moments of improvement that slowly make up a new past.  This is not a quick process.  This is the boat most of us who aren’t backing and training babies find ourselves in.

It’s your riding that either creates moments of increased capability (and if you’re lucky, brilliance) or hinders the horse and stunts further progression as an equine athlete – both mentally and physically.  Each error on your part that produces confusion or pain takes you back three steps, while each positive experiences takes you forward one, hopefully.  Those steps will be small in number until you make those positives steps a much bigger part of the horse’s memory and past.  Never forget how important they are and always reward the horse for them.

The point is that when you realize that you are the catalyst for the horse’s development, the goal of improving your riding takes on a new meaning.  Suddenly it’s more than looking in the mirror to see if your leg is underneath you (still important), asking an observer on the ground if your shoulder-in is correct (still important), or thinking your horse’s head position is the most important thing (come on, you know better by now!).  It’s the way your riding affects the horse over time.  As your rides add up, week in and week out, how has the horse changed?  Keep a journal, write this stuff down.

“If a horse becomes more beautiful in the course of his work, it is a sign that the training principles are correct.” ~ Alois Podhaisky

If you can look back and honestly tell yourself that your horse has become a better athlete, has developed the correct muscles, and is progressing according to the training scale, then guess what?  The odds are pretty good that you have also become a better rider during that time.  On the other hand, if your horse suffers from stiffness or other physical ailments not otherwise explained, if you aren’t seeing the correct muscles develop, and if your horse shows irritation and lack of a work ethic…it’s time to look in the mirror.  And then head back to square one.  Don’t think of it as a step backwards.  Think of it as the only way forward from where you are.

This realization that the path to becoming a better rider is to put your skills to the test through the training of a horse has made me turn down offers to ride horses once a week.  The sheer frustration that would result from not being able to consistently help the horse (especially when the horse is ridden by a much less skilled, non-classical minded rider several days a week) would be too much.  I couldn’t fairly ask very much of a horse like that, and I want to practice asking. What I get by asking tells me so much, as the weeks roll by.  Not that a leisurely trail ride on a loose rein isn’t fun, but put me on a horse I know and have a history with so it’s a fun break for both of us, not a meet and greet.

I was really lucky that during my 6 weeks in MI not only did I get to ride Wilt and Zac and several other horses, but my friend Cindy let me make her horse Misty my project.  While I wait for Trixie to become mine, I had been simply dying for a project horse.  Misty had an injury that put her on stall rest for about 7 months, so we were starting all over with her and Cindy was a bit nervous.  Misty is a true mare and can be intimidating.  Don’t let the picture below fool you.  :-P  I rode Misty 5-6 times a week, and we started slowly as she was very out of shape.  Lots of short sessions in the beginning, most of which I had my Mom put me on the lunge line.  Then progressively longer sessions, adding more and more figures and even riding in our outdoor arena (which is a bit deep) for longer sessions to help her get stronger.  It did take my Mom getting on towards the end to ask her for more for me to see that she could do more than I was asking.  The bad part was why the heck didn’t I know or feel that, but the very good part was that I was erring on the side of asking for too little than too much.  Before I left, she was looking like a little baroque horse and was soft and light.  There’s still so much to work on and improve, but I can’t even begin to explain how much confidence getting her that far gave me in myself.  Thank you Cindy.

Riding several horses is also a big part of getting better.  I’m also lucky that Wilt puts up with me and essentially gives me a lesson every time I ride him.  I feel like I can help and improve all the other horses I am able to ride, but Wilt is way beyond anything I could teach him – for now!  (And I’m so lucky my Mom lets me ride her special horse – thank you Mom!)  Basically Wilt is saying “keep up with me, keep up with me!” the entire ride, but it lets me practice things I can’t practice on other horses and Wilt expects you to ride so if you don’t ask for something correctly, you don’t get it.  The best part is, Wilt is brutally honest so you do get what you really asked for….as evidenced by my frequent walk-to-canter attempts that ended in half pass. 

I don’t want to dismiss lessons.  Working with a trainer that is willing to go the distance and follow classical principles is essential as well.  It especially helps you from continually doing the wrong things because you think they’re right or you don’t know that you’re doing them.  Obviously I haven’t discussed the unique needs of different levels of riders.  Most of what I’ve said doesn’t apply to beginners.

For the rest of you, get out there and become better riders.  Ride your horse – often and well.

It’s necessary at some point to take the horse out of the equation.  Pure and simple, if you want your horse to be better, you have to be better.  The horse knows how to be a horse, but you weren’t born knowing how to ride.  I love this quote:

“The horse knows how to be a horse if we will leave him alone…but the riders don’t know how to ride. What we should be doing is creating riders and that takes care of the horse immediately.” ~ Charles de Kunffy

It illustrates so beautifully that there’s no point in looking for answers outside of yourself.  You have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and take responsibility for your riding.  If your horse isn’t improving or is having problems, it’s you.  (Barring any pain/physical issues going on with the horse.)  Even if you don’t feel like you’re doing anything wrong.  Even if you look in the mirror and you look good.  Even if your instructor massages your ego at every lesson.  If as a team you and your horse are seemingly stuck, guess what?  It’s you!

As classical riders, when things aren’t working, we know that we have to return to the basics.  But what does this mean?  What are the basics?  Obviously you have the training scale, but for some riders it’s difficult to (remember to) put it into practice or really understand why they aren’t able to, for example, keep a steady rhythm.  I like to always come back to the seat, as SO many problems are caused by the rider trying to accomplish something that requires their seat to be more independent than its current state.  It’s easy to forget that all good riding comes from the seat when you’re bopping along feeling like you’re riding pretty darn well.  Meanwhile your horse is mildly annoyed that you’re off balance, gripping, and in general disharmony with the movement.  Sometimes it’s not as plain as day, but it comes through in your inability to improve.

A light bulb should be coming on about now and you should be sprinting for the lunge line.  Yes, you.  As advanced as you are, you need to work at maintaining and improving your seat.  There’s nothing better if you have someone to lunge you.  If your instructor knows anything, he or she should be more than willing to watch you go in endless circles.

I was recently home for 6 weeks in MI, where my Mom and our horses are and where we’re moving back to hopefully by the end of the year.  I was so lucky to be able to ride 2-3 horses a day, 5-6 days a week.  Don’t underestimate the importance of getting on different horses either.  Every chance I got, I got on the end of that lunge line and tried to improve my seat.  Increasing and slowing the gaits.  Transitions with arms out like an airplane.  Transitions with hands on my helmet.  Transitions with arms behind my back.  Vaulting. (Balance is essential to a good seat and it’s FUN!)

And at the end of those 6 weeks, I think I improved.  A little.  It’s daunting to realize how much time and effort you have to put into this sport to get better.  It’s sometimes hard to realize you have to work so hard and wait. But don’t you think it’s worth it?

Sometimes a super horse appears at the events where our instructors are showing that really catches my eye. He is already such a nice mover or I can see that he has the potential for three good gaits as he progresses. The following year, however, I might not even recognize the same horse much less tag him as a rising star. His flowing gaits have become short and choppy. His soft jaw and relaxed back are now clamped and tight. Instead of moving forward in his training, he has deteriorated. When a setback like this happens, the reason is often that his rider does not have an independent seat.

Developing a truly independent seat is the ultimate goal for a rider. It is not about looking pretty on the horse. It is about being in the right position with the right control over your own body in order to be able to communicate clearly and logically with the horse. If your horse feels the bit move in his mouth, it should be because you are deliberately asking him for a specific shape or a cadence or a degree of collection, not because you have momentarily lost your balance or have become tense somewhere in your body.

Obviously, if you are bouncing around on the horse’s back or grabbing at his mouth in order to keep your balance, that “noise” is what he is going to listen to. If the way you are sitting or moving on his back creates pain or discomfort for the horse, then any communication is gone. Without an independent seat, it is impossible to properly influence the horse’s mind and body in order to train it for any higher level equestrian sport from dressage to eventing or cutting or reining.

The rider must master six distinct skills as she or he develops an independent seat. These skills have to be mastered in order because each builds on the ones previously mastered to create a solid foundation like the trunk of a tree. In fact, we call it the riding tree. With a firm base, the rider can confidently branch out into any higher level equestrian sport. If the rider tries to branch out without that solid trunk beneath her, however, the branch is eventually going to break or maybe the whole tree will topple.

The six skills to be mastered are, in order:

• relaxation (both physical and mental)
• balance
• following the motion of the horse
• learning to apply the aids
• learning to coordinate the aids
• using the aids to influence the horse

It takes many hours of riding on many different types of horses to develop a truly independent seat. Even students in an intensive riding program like the one here at Meredith Manor who have access to a great variety of horses may spend their first year mastering just the first three stages of the riding tree. Every student progresses through each stage at a different pace depending on his or her own physique, temperament, and previous riding experience. Sometimes a student masters one level very quickly and easily only to find herself on a plateau at the next level for weeks or even months. It doesn’t really matter as long as she strives toward that ultimate goal of an independent seat. Once a student achieves that, he or she can move confidently into any riding discipline on any horse.

One of the big problems in the horse industry is the fact that many amateur riders and even some professionsals do not develop the independent seat that they need to correctly influence a horse. When that happens, their limitations end up limiting the horse.

Now every horse has his limits, both physical and mental. But those limitations should be determined by the horse’s conformation or his athletic ability or his temperament, not by the rider’s inability to stay in balance over the horse or to follow the motion or to coordinate the application and timing and degree of a set of aids.

I have seen even professional trainers trying to ride upper level dressage horses who cannot follow the horse’s motion at an extended trot. The minute that happens, they lose communication with the horse. They cannot communicate with the horse and influence one stride and the next and the next because they cannot follow the motion. Their “trunk” is weak. The same thing would happen with a reining horse rider trying to set their horse up for a spin or a rollback. If the rider is not relaxed, balanced and following the horse’s motion as the horse runs down the arena, he will not be able to coordinate the aids at the end of the slide to communicate with the horse and influence the smooth transition to the next movement he wants the horse to perform.

Having a truly independent seat means mastering all six skills at all three gaits on any kind of horse. As you look along the trunk of the riding tree and evaluate your own progress, you may find that you have some of these skills on every horse but you only have others on some horses at some gaits. Don’t be discouraged. It takes a lot of hours in the saddle, a lot of mental concentration, a lot of small corrections of a lot of mistakes, a lot of feedback from your horses and your instructors to develop an independent seat. But what a high when you achieve it! Just keep riding.

© 2001-2010 Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre. All rights reserved.
Faith Meredith has successfully trained and competed through FEI levels of dressage during her more than 30 years as a horse professional. She currently coaches riders in dressage, reining, and eventing in her capacity as the Director of Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre (147 Saddle Lane, Waverly, WV 26184; 800.679.2603; www.meredithmanor.edu), an ACCET accredited equestrian educational institution.

Developing an independent seat is absolutely essential if a rider aspires to the upper levels of any equestrian sport.  An independent seat is wonderful to have, beautiful to see, but difficult to describe in words.  A rider with an independent seat can move each body part independently.  Each part of his or her body is flexible enough and strong enough to do its job without any compensation in another part.  He or she can balance perfectly over the horse’s center of gravity at any gait without any hint of gripping or tilting.  She can shift her pelvis to half halt without tensing her shoulders or falling behind the vertical.  He can shift his weight on his inside seat bone and bring his shoulders back to ask for a spin without collapsing a hip or grabbing with his legs.

An independent seat starts on the ground.  If riders cannot independently control their body parts before getting in the saddle, there is not going to be a sudden transformation when their feet are in the stirrups.  A rider whose balance on the ground is a bit shaky or who is physically unfit will not be able to achieve a completely independent seat once mounted.  Activities that help develop both strength and balance such as skating, skiing, yoga, dance or martial arts can help riders cross train to achieve an independent seat for riding.  Mounted riders can work without stirrups or reins on a lunge line or in a jumping lane to achieve balance without gripping.  The more control a rider develops over his or her own body movements, the more precisely he or she will be able to use body language to communicate with a horse whether on the ground or from the saddle.

Relaxation is absolutely key to development of an independent seat and relaxation, too, starts on the ground.  Meredith Manor’s “heeding” system of groundwork teaches students to move with relaxation and rhythm so that their horses will move that way too.  Students learn that their body language communicates a huge vocabulary of nuances to their horses.  This attitude of rhythm and relaxation and the understanding that even small movements can create huge responses in the horse also figure in the development of an independent seat when they carry them over from handling the horse from the ground to working with it under saddle.  Starting out on reliable schoolmasters can help more timid riders relax as they develop balance and other skills on their way to achieving an independent seat.

The rider who is gripping with her thighs and knees and whose heels angle downward from a locked ankle may look like she has good form.  She may even win ribbons.  However, her stiff form blocks full communication with her horse.  Her aids will be like cell phone static.  They may be garbled.  Worse still, the batteries may go dead and communication may stop altogether because the horse starts to ignore her constant aid pressures.

The rider with an independent seat is completely relaxed yet able to use any muscle independently of any other muscle at any time in order to use that muscle as an aid pressure whenever she wants.  Her ankles, knees, hips, and elbows are relaxed, flexible, and soft.  Her head and shoulders are loose, nodding almost imperceptibly at the top of her spinal column in rhythm to the horse’s gaits.  There is no unproductive tension anywhere in her body.  She is able to communicate with her horse with great nuance.

There is a mechanical level of understanding of horse communication that tells us what combinations of aids communicate what patterns to the horse when we ride.  Riders need to comprehend this mechanical language but they also need to understand that it is like speaking only to their horses in the present tense.  Communication may be clear but limited.

Developing an independent seat is like developing an understanding of more sophisticated verb forms.  Now the rider can talk to the horse in the present tense, future tense, future perfect and so on.  They can fine tune their performance by small degrees.  Muscle memory develops over time so that the rider no longer even thinks about each mechanical aid sequence every time he or she asks the horse for a particular maneuver.  Now they communicate so effortlessly that they appear to be of one mind.  Both horse and rider have reached a level of athleticism that is a beautiful thing to see.  This should be the ultimate goal of every serious rider.

© 2001-2010 Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre. All rights reserved.
Faith Meredith has successfully trained and competed through FEI levels of dressage during her more than 30 years as a horse professional. She currently coaches riders in dressage, reining, and eventing in her capacity as the Director of Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre (147 Saddle Lane, Waverly, WV 26184; 800.679.2603; www.meredithmanor.edu), an ACCET accredited equestrian educational institution.

Anne Wilson Bio
Anne Wilson has been training people with their horses for over 25 years.  She trained with the modern master, Sylvia Loch, and has been an active member of the Classical Riding Club since its inception in 1995; in 1998 being awarded the CRC Gold Award Certificate.

Anne has written two books; her first ‘Top Horse Training Methods Explored’ was published by David & Charles in 2004.  Her latest book ‘Riding Revelations’ was published in 2009 by Black Tent Publications – www.black-tent.co.uk

Anne also co-publishes, with Susan McBane, a quarterly subscription magazine called ‘Tracking-up’ – www.tracking-up.com

Anne’s website is – www.classicalridingannewilson.com

Anne Wilson Interview

Bree: What does the term “classical riding” mean to you?

Anne: Classical riding to me is nothing more nor less than correct riding.  It can be applied to every equestrian discipline and to every horse and rider.  Too many people believe that the term classical is somehow elitist, stuffy, or a specialist type of dressage. It is none of these things. A good classical seat is the foundation for cross country riding and jumping. Although the seat is altered, by taking the weight off the horse’s back, the principles of balance and laws of gravity are the same.

Classical riders follow the laws of nature, utilising the weight aids, which the horse can follow without any ‘training’ in order to do so.  This paves the way for a more harmonious partnership, less reliance on the reins, and the true classical training is far more enjoyable for the horse.

Of course true classicism, is far more than this. It encompasses an ethos of love, respect, humility, a willingness to admit when one is wrong, and a respect for the horse as a sensitive being.  This does not mean that we have to be ‘soft’ – on the contrary it takes more will power and strength of character to follow these ethics than to take the attitude of ‘I will be boss come what may’. The horse needs fair discipline, and I believe horses understand fairness and need a strong, kind, leader.  All the great masters have advocated this ethos. However, throughout the centuries there have been cruel training methods practiced by so called ‘classical masters’ as there still are today. This is confusing to some people but, when you think about, it is inevitable.  Human nature is such that there will always be some people who stray from the straight and narrow path.  In my opinion these trainers should not be called classical.

Bree: In your opinion, what is the biggest misconception about classical riding?

Anne: I think the biggest misconception is that classical riders are ‘soppy’ and that classical principles are out-dated. Many competitors believe that they cannot follow classical principles if they want to win trophies. They may also believe that modern methods must be better simply because they are modern. What they seem to forget is that the basic biomechanics of horses have not changed, nor have the laws of nature, such as Newton’s law of gravity, and all these laws seem to be ignored in much of today’s competitive riding. Classical principles have stood the test of thousands of years of time and cannot be shaken.

It may in fact be true that the quickest way to the top is not to follow classical principles, but that is only because the judging system has become misguided (some may say corrupt).  Where is the sense of achievement in winning under these circumstances, especially when it is undoubtedly at the cost of the horse’s well-being?

Bree: Why is classical riding and training best for both rider and horse?

Anne: In short classical training is designed to strengthen the horse, instead of strain him.  One only has to look at the longevity (or lack of it) of many competition horses to see that they are worn out at an early age.  It is not uncommon for the stallions at the Spanish Riding School to still be performing in their late twenties or even early thirties.  The Lipizzaner are a long lived breed, but I am sure this is not the only reason.

A classical trainer would not start to work a horse until he is at least four years old, and then very gently.  It takes many years to build up the strength, flexibility and stamina to perform the more advanced movements, but it is so much more worthwhile. For example, the movements are more beautiful and the horse is able to perform them, usually for the rest of his long life. Classicism works to enhance the natural beauty of the horse, not to use or abuse it.

When the classical horse is trained he is able to lift his forehand, taking more weight onto his haunches, thereby making him more agile, and relieving the stress on the forelegs which are much more vulnerable. This is one of the ways in which he is enhanced, rather than worn down.

Bree: Who are the riders that you admire most?  Why?

Anne: I have always admired the work of Col. Alois Podhajsky.  His books were my first real taste of classicism back in the 1970’s.  His whole ethos struck me as uplifting and his riding impeccable.

I have huge admiration for my mentor Sylvia Loch. I believe that her riding and training techniques are second to none in the world today.  She treats each horse as an individual and has great empathy and patience. Her riding is light and harmonious.

There are other classical riders I have admired but these are the two who have influenced me the most.

Bree: What would you like to see aspiring classical riders work on more?  Work on less?

Anne: I would like to see aspiring classical riders being prepared to work at the horse’s pace and not expecting too much too soon.  People need to understand that a young horse needs time before his back and hind legs are strong and supple enough to enable him to flex his jaw and come onto the bit.  Of course I would like to see all hyperflexion (or Rollkur) practices ceased forthwith.  Horses should be given a chance to use their head and neck as nature intended. It is only natural for a young horse to poke is nose outwards, until he has built up the strength to use his body in a better way – time and the correct exercises must be employed to facilitate this.  In some cases it takes longer than others. Breeding and conformation play a part in this, but all horses, in my opinion, need more time to develop.  The horse should come onto the bit when he is ready – the rider should not attempt to put him there.

Bree: Besides your book, can you recommend books on classical riding to readers that have been particularly helpful to you?

Anne:
The Complete Training of Horse and Rider – Col. Alois Podhajsky – Harrap 1967

My Horses My Teachers – Col. Alois Podhajsky – J.A. Allen 1997

The Riding Teacher – Col. Alois Podhajsky – Sportsman’s Press Edition 1993

The Classical Rider – Sylvia Loch – J.A. Allen 1997

The Classical Seat – Sylvia Loch – new revised edition D.J. Murphy 2009

Dressage in Lightness – Sylvia Loch- J.A. Allen 2000

Dressage for the 21^st Century – Paul Belasik – J.A. Allen 2002

Revolutionize Your Riding – Susan McBane- David & Charles 2007

Horsemanship – Waldemar Seunig – J.A. Allen Classic series 2003

Exercise School for Horse and Rider – Lesley Skipper – New Holland 2008

Many of these books are new editions of old classics.  There are many more but these are a few to be going on with.  When you’ve read all of those I can give you more!

I would also suggest you join the Classical Riding Club (started by Sylvia Loch)  – www.classicalriding.co.uk

Bree: What was the best riding advice you ever received?

Anne: That’s a hard question to answer, because there has been so much wonderful advice over the years.  However, I think the best collective advice (I have heard it/read it from many classical masters), is not to be disheartened when things go wrong, and not to keep practicing something in the same way if it is not working.  Ride a different movement or pace which you know the horse enjoys and come back to the difficulty either later or another day, preferably approaching it in a slightly different way.  Often sleeping on something helps; thinking about the problem when doing other things often brings about an idea of how to approach things differently.

Bree: What is your biggest equine regret?

Anne: My biggest regret is probably the fact that I have never managed to get to train at one of the centres of excellence, say in Portugal or Spain.  However, one should never say never – maybe one day!  I still count myself extremely lucky to have trained with Sylvia Loch in the UK and was able to ride her absolutely wonderful schoolmaster, the late Lusitano-Arab stallion Palomo Linares.  I don’t suppose I could ever better that!

Bree: Proudest equine moment?

Anne: When my uncle, after watching me school my mare, was bemused by the fact that we were performing trot shoulder-in, then cantering across the school, more shoulder-in and then half-pass one way, then changing the bend and back to the track.  He asked how I was instructing the horse because he couldn’t see me move, nor any action of the reins.  That was extremely gratifying, making me proud of the partnership I share with my mare Lucy-Lou.

Bree: How can riders help promote awareness of classical riding?

Anne: Promoting classical riding has never been easy.  Probably the biggest drawback is the fact that it is hard to define – hence my lengthy answer to Question 1 above.  I wish I had a pound for every time someone has asked me ‘what is classical riding?’  If I need to give a quick answer I usually say “it is just correct riding, following the laws of nature, gravity, etc., and never going against the nature of the horse, never forcing anything.”  Obviously one has to mention the great classical masters, the length of time that classical riding has been around; thus proving itself to be the best method, but sometimes this comes across as staid and old fashioned.

I think that probably the best way to promote it is by example – to ride harmoniously and to be able to show, as I did to my uncle, that there is no need for harsh aids, nor for the horse to be stressed in any way. I would advise against being too critical of other methods; try to be humble but point out that you believe there is a better way. If we are too aggressively critical, people are often put off – and remember that not all trainers or riders calling themselves ‘classical’ actually are what they say!

“But I can’t stop him…it’s a safety thing…”

“I need my child/spouse to be safe.”

“But she puts her head down with this bit…”

“My horse listens to this bit!!”

You see? For the first two, don’t ride that horse. For the second two, because it hurts!! Riding and training are all about establishing a partnership with your horse and in a partnership you work together. My Mom likes to use this analogy that she heard from her trainer: “Your horse is your dance partner. If they take a wrong step, do you whisper in their ear or smack them upside the head?” If you want a future dance partner, the latter isn’t an option.

As the human in the partnership, your first responsibility is to protect your horse’s well being. That’s a wonderful sounding ideal, but the fact is that it can cause you to have to make some very tough decisions. For example, if you find yourself in unsafe situations frequently because the horse is taking off, instead of swapping your bit, maybe get some help or swap yourself out for a better rider. If you’ve just spent a fortune on a horse (or currently spend one every month), that can be a very hard thing to do. But it isn’t about you. Would you duct tape a toddler’s mouth shut to avoid a screaming tantrum? No, you would work through the child’s issues and help them modify their behavior with age-appropriate methods.

A harsh bit is not an equine-appropriate solution to any problem. Ever.

Horses are incredibly strong. If they want to do something, no bit is going to stop them. That’s why correct, classical training is safe training as it is not based on a horse’s submission to pain and pressure, but rather the progression of learning and muscle development that is appropriate and in turn fosters willing cooperation. A piece of equipment that fixes something quickly is the exact opposite of “training”. It’s the most wonderful thing when a horse is given the chance to learn painlessly and in his own time. Working with you becomes something he looks forward to rather than fears.

Personally, I think I would be very afraid to ride such a powerful animal if I truly believed that a piece of metal was my method of control. That’s just insane!

If you need a quick fix, if you need perfection from your horse, if you want a certain “look” no matter how it is obtained..you are most certainly in the wrong sport. A book I recently read noted that the late Reiner Klimke was very happy receiving a 6 or a 7 for a movement if that was good for that particular horse…while others pushed their horses too much in pursuit of a perfect 10. It’s not about the score; it’s about the horse.

Later on, as I acquired more knowledge about certain things supposed “dressage riders” were doing out there in the world, I stopped answering the question as to what kind of riding I frequented with “dressage and jumping” and simply said “English”. If elaboration was called for, then I would say “dressage and jumping” still…but it made me uncomfortable. I didn’t want anyone to think I did what I saw a lot of riders do who claimed to “ride dressage”. It was just embarrassing. And you don’t even have to get into serious topics in the equestrian world like rollkur. For example, I recently witnessed a woman, who loudly proclaims to be a “dressage rider”, get extremely upset with her horse after the mare refused to stand still and allow her to shut the gate after exiting the arena. The horse apparently took a few steps forward, and this woman tried to get the horse to back up to where she felt she should be…and when the horse refused she pulled and pulled and used her entire body weight to pull on both reins. The horse braced herself and refused to move. The lady then continued pulling and proceeded to kick and kick and kick…with spurs. And then used her whip on the horse’s chest with every ounce of her strength. The horse at this point kind of half-reared, and still refused to go backwards. All this time, the lady is not only out of control physically, but emotionally she is a wreck. I swear, this must have gone on for 20 mintues. If it had been my place rectify the situation, believe me, I would have done it. Unfortunately it was not, and I had to witness this with my blood boiling and threatening to blow the top of my head off. In my mind I saw myself running over, throwing the fit the horse probably would have liked to throw, and screaming “Don’t you EVER tell anyone you do dressage!!” But…that wasn’t really a possibility. And so…this is a definite dilemma. I really don’t want to be associated with that and I definitely don’t want some to-be or novice rider seeing that and thinking that’s ok. Because yes, “dressage” is and should be so much more than just what you do in the arena. It’s everything about how you treat your horse.

“If training has not made a horse more beautiful, nobler in carriage, more attentive in his behavior, revealing pleasure in his accomplishment, then he has not truly been schooled in dressage.” ~ Col. Handler

So why has dressage become categorized as a discipline, a mere subset in the sport of riding, when it is the basics to all riding? One of the reasons I have come up with is because there are dressage shows. So people think, “Well I don’t ride dressage so I can’t show at those shows”. Not exactly. What I usually tell people if I have the golden opportunity to explain is that dressage is just French for training and they should try to think of someone who only “rides dressage” as being like someone who works out just for fitness’s sake. Not for any certain sport, just to be the best human being they can be. Theoretically, if that very fit person chose to do a sport they would have a clear advantage over their unfit counterparts. So dressage is riding for riding’s sake, making the horse the best athlete he can be and therefore expanding his options. I tell people that when you go to a dressage show, what you are really doing is showing how well your horse is trained at the level at which you’re competing. The qualities dressage judges look for are not specific to dressage at all. Would a western or hunter jumper rider ever claim that things like suppleness, flexibility, and accuracy aren’t important to them? Of course not. So if they are training correctly they are doing dressage without even knowing it. It’s just correct training. And riding is always training because it is darn near impossible to ride a horse and not influence the horse. All influence on the horse is training, whether it is good or bad, correct or incorrect.

The coolest thing would be to see an influx of riders who typically only go to other types of shows start to show up at dressage shows to gauge their training.

The real shame here is that a lot of horses are missing out. Every horse deserves the chance to be trained correctly and to be the best he can be. If dressage weren’t considered an area to specialize in, and instead were the basics to which everyone learned to ride and then chose what “discipline” to show in or what saddle to ride in, or what-have-you…how many horses would be better off? Not to mention the riders. This is one reason why I love K.A. von Ziegner’s version of the training scale in Elements Of Dressage: A Guide To Training The Young Horse so much. He has a “Training Tree” where the trunk contains the scale and the leaves are the discipline in which the horse competes after he has been trained according to the scale. Dressage, Jumping, and Eventing are up there. And so maybe what we should really be calling dressage is the higher levels (4^th Level onwards perhaps?), where horses move onto after receiving correct basic training. And so all of us sub-double-bridle classical dressage riders would instead tell people “I just ride…correctly…but someday I hope to do dressage” – ha!

I would really love to tell people “I ride dressage” and have them understand what I really mean…but I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon. So nowadays, when I am asked what type of riding I do, I say “Classical Riding”. And I do it because 99.9% of the time the person will say, “Huh…what’s that?”

Then I get to say: “I’m so glad you asked…”

I would really love to hear your thoughts on this!

Here is what classical riding has come to mean to me:

1. It means you follow the training scale. All the time. There are several slightly different versions, which I will go into depth on later. Even when you feel like you can do things a faster way, you need to remember that this is the fastest way. If you don’t have time to do something right, you must have time to do it over. And guess what? It takes a heck of a lot longer to re-train than it does to train correctly in the first place.

2. You don’t pull or yank on the reins. This is a tough one, because inevitably after reading this you will have a life-threatening emergency, be at a dead gallop heading towards the edge of a cliff, or just plain scared. I have been as guilty as anyone of the last one…and I am really hoping that as I progress as a rider, my instinctual response to something like a bolt or spook can be to just relax and calmly help the horse recover. Besides situations involving large amounts of adrenaline, pulling back on the reins in general blocks the action of the hind legs and creates tension – two things that go in the opposite direction of progress.

3. You use the softest bit possible. Translation: You use a soft bit – it’s always possible. The bit is not a brake, it’s not a getting-the-head-down device, it’s not a punishment. It’s a method of communication, a fine-tuning of the energy created from the hind end, and your horse should LOVE IT. Someday I will have to post a video of my Mom standing next to her horse with the bridle – he actually tries to bridle himself when he sees his bridle and if he could walk around with his bit in his mouth like a pacifier, he would. He loves it.

4. You understand that all good riding comes from the seat, and the classical seat is something that takes a long time to develop and must be maintained. You work at it. The lunge line is a great place to start if you have somebody willing to help you.

5. You don’t use force. You don’t beat the crap out of your horse for any reason, and you don’t use gadgets. (Gadgets don’t include the use of the dressage whip and spurs – when used correctly they can be useful aids.) For example, I used to use running/draw reins occasionally…but the more I read, the more I realized it wasn’t such a hot idea. You shouldn’t use a gadget to compensate for your lack of riding ability, and if you had the riding ability you wouldn’t use it. On the other hand if you’re using a gadget to compensate for your horse, then you need to back up and start following the training scale again; if you horse can’t perform the way you want without the gadget, then he isn’t ready for what you are asking. If you ride correctly (from back to front), you will get there.

6. The horse is your training calendar. Sometimes things may seem to be going unbearably slow, but this doesn’t mean you start skipping steps or using force. If things are going slow, they are going slow for a reason. Find the reason! It might be a physical injury, certain muscles might need more time to develop, and it might even be you. Whatever it is, take the time to try to figure it out, and never stray from the training scale.

7. The horse is innocent. Always. Horses are products of how humans have treated them. They don’t have hidden agendas and secret plots to get us when we’re not looking. Behavior is functional and always has a reason. So many times I hear things like “I’m doing everything right, my horse just has a mind of his own”. You have to be willing to accept responsibility for your riding and for your horse. Or don’t ride that horse.

8. Be fit! This is a quote by Ernst Hoyos from the book Dressage Masters: Techniques and Philosophies of Four Legendary Trainers: “A rider should be very fit. His condition should be good enough that he can always help the horse to perform better. He should be able to ride double the amount that is required. A tired rider makes a lot of mistakes. He becomes a heavy burden for the horse to carry.” Enough said.

9. Read – a lot! Seeking out knowledge is one of the easiest and best things you can do to help yourself ride your horse better. Find the best books, articles, and magazines and get crackin’. To help you out, I’ve compiled a list of books that I really like – click on the Read tab to check them out.

10. See the whole picture, and make sure your horse gets to be a horse. A happy and healthy horse is a much more willing partner. This can mean anything from making sure he is getting adequate nutrition and turn out time to checking that his tack is fitting correctly. It’s important to learn about equine physiology and psychology as well so you can be sure you are safeguarding your horse’s well-being to the utmost.

That’s what it means to me. What does it mean to you?