DRESSAGE DAILY
DressageTrainingOnline.com - Are You Experiencing Any of the Issues Mentioned in the Scenarios Below? Let Our Trainers and Judges Help You Solve Your Problems.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Posted by DressageTrainingOnline.com
Do you find yourself watching a Dressage test, hearing the score and begin wondering why you or another competitor received this test score? Watch the session and take in the words of wisdom of Natalie Lamping FEI I Judge-USA (right), popular clinician and gold medalist. What a fantastic way to improve your own performance by watching tests and listening to the allocated scores and commentary at Intermediare 1/S Level. This type of training tutorial is excellent to help the competitor to gain a much clearer picture of what the judges are looking for. See the movement and score comparisons to be able to take away the needed visual imprint that will be helpful in bettering your own test scores.Watch Mini Clip
- Would you like to see the judge's view of training, movements and scoring at each level with multiple horses and riders for comparison?
Watch one of the most articulate and experienced International Judges, Axel Steiner from the USA. This FEI O Level Judge and trainer explains his theories in depth as he leads The Developing Nations Dressage Symposium.
View GP/S Level MiniClip
View I1/S Level Miniclip
View 3rd/M Level MiniClip
View Training thru 2nd Level/I-L Lev. MiniClip
- Do you have a sensitive horse that demonstrated the "fear/flight response and bolts off when the leg is applied or in the upwards transitions?
You can watch the expert Katrin Bettenworth from Germany at work. This talented and sensitive rider is a Pferdewirtschaftsmeisterin who has achieved more than 150 wins in Klasse S (Advanced) Dressage shows that reins are not necessarily helpful when the horse has lost confidence! It takes an expert to explain how to handle this potentially dangerous predicament and Katrin works with a very sensitive horse, previously known for bolting forward when the leg was applied and especially reactionary in the transitions. This 5 year old is shown in a real training session and you will be able to relate to Katrin's logical and effective methods. This beautiful horse qualified for the Bundeschampionate and scored 8's across the board in all categories, so it has been well worth the special consideration and care that Katrin has invested to address the sensitive and reactionary nature that he had to cope with in the early days of training.
View MiniClip
- Are you a para-equestrian dressage rider, wanting to whisper your aids and improve the engagement in order to achieve better balance and harmony between you and your horse?
Take in the wisdom of Walter Zettl of Germany/Canada. He is an Olympic-level dressage horse trainer-Para-Olympian and we capture a training session with Walter and Lauren Barwick, a para-olympian dressage rider. She works with Walter Zettl to improve her horse's response and sensitivity so that she can be effective even with her physical difficulties.
Mr. Zettl faced some extra challenges and considerations, but says it mostly comes down to the same good basics that all riders need to keep in mind ... and in this session, the trainer and student focus on the activity of the horse's hind legs, recognizing that this is where the lightness and engagement begin! They employ basic exercises like transitions and half halts to encourage the horse to work in self carriage and reduce any dependency on the rider to "lift and carry"! We can all use help to create these ideals and Walter Zettl has some great pointers for the devotees of dressage.
View Video Intro
- Are you having problems with the intricacies of the half pass zig zag?
Rafael Soto Andrade (ESP) - head trainer of the Spanish Riding School in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, presents a special session which demystifies some of the most complex training principles. Dressage Training Online has had MANY subscriber requests for a half pass zig zag tutorial, so looked into the archives and found a good one which clearly explains the important considerations and gives helpful exercises to achieve work which will be rewarded with high scores.
This Grand Prix horse and rider work specifically on exercises to improve the contact, making it more secure and even. Rafael constantly reinforces the need for riders to address ways to preserve the acceptance and softness of contact and says, "You must able to lengthen the horse's neck to ease any tension and expand the length of stride." This is a skill that the modern Spanish rider has developed and has come about because of the unique conformation of the talented Spanish horse with a flair for collection and gathering. The modern Spanish breeding programs have seen the emergence of a type which is now highly regarded for their special talents and Rafael worked specifically on the half pass zig zag and the transitions from piaffe. He presented his lessons in an effective way that will help all riders to achieve some of the brilliance which is his unique trademark. No matter what your level, the miniclip shows training exercises that will help you to achieve the connection and throughness that will ensure the ease and balance to make a perfect zig zag half pass (counter change of hand)!
View MiniClip
- Do you have a horse that feels too light in the bridle slightly hiding behind the contact?
The leading riders will acknowledge that this is a most difficult evasion and must be addressed in the basic education ... if the horse is to go on and train up the grades! Jan Bemelmans from Germany is considered a "modern day Master" when it comes to the training of Young Horses and in this role, he insists that a correct contact is the primary consideration in the early part of the horse's training. Jan is currently the National Trainer for the Spanish Dressage Team and the winner of 50 Grand Prix Dressage Tests. In the movie clip, Jan works with a rider on a PRE (Spanish horse) who is too light in the hand and needs to accept a more positive contact if the training is to be considered correct and therefore the basis of improvement and progress. The rider and trainer do extensive work to secure relaxation and once a more consistent contact is achieved, they are able to move on to the collected canter and tempi change work. When this exercise is done well, it becomes a true indicator of 'throughness". The quality of the changes and executed in the correct sequence, are only possible when the correct contact is achieved and the horse is accepting, even and straight!
View MiniClip
- Do you find yourself looking for new inspiration to improve the piaffe or passage scores you are getting?
Catherine Haddad from the USA and more recently based in Germany, is a very successful competitor at World Cup Level and WEG. She is a World Dressage Master and US Team Member as well as a gifted clinician who is very easy to watch, easy to understand and has a special gift for simplifying the difficult concepts of the sport. Catherine's DTOL tutorial addresses how the ordinary rider and trainer can perfect the piaffe and passage and she explains the application of the aids and how she coaxes the best work possible from the horse. This lesson is aimed to assist the advanced rider and with the help of the obliging horse Winyamaro, the viewer is shown some of the weaknesses that we are all looking to overcome in our piaffe/passage training.
Catherine creatively delivers exercises to improve the quality of the movements whilst maintaining the quality in the paces and warned that riders must avoid just learning movements or tricks! "The QUALITY of all aspects of the sequence of movements that are set out in the directives column is what the modern dressage rider needs to achieve if the marks are to reflect a "fairly good" (7) or "good" (8) score. 5's and 6's pull down the overall percentages dramatically as most of the piaffe/passage tour scores carry a co-efficient which gives a double effect on the good and bad marks.
View Miniclip
- Do you know how to set your horse up to make it easy to get a clean and straight flying change?
Heath Ryan - AUS is known for his skill as a rider, his sound technical knowledge and his special communications skills which enable him to convey his lessons in a way that transform learning into an interesting journey of discovery for his students and now ... subscribers to Dressage Training On-Line! Heath has been at the top of Australian rankings in both Dressage and Eventing for a long time and was on the Australian Dressage Team at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, riding the well trained and obedient gelding Greenoaks Dundee. Heath is short listed for London on the Rubenstein stallion Regardez Moi and the pair have won almost every Championship open to them in Australia!
Heath gives a wonderful tutorial on each step of the process he uses when training the flying changes. He explains in great depth, his methodology and shows you clearly how the aids are applied.
View Miniclip
- Do you feel like you apply your aid correctly but your horse is not reacting?
Debbie McDonald from the USA, is a USEF Developing Dressage Coach as well as WEG and Olympic competitor. She knows well the feeling that most of us have when we seem like an insignificant passenger, and not in charge of the energy and quality of our horse's work. Asking for self carriage and how to get the responsiveness you need from light aids is the focus of this session.
Debbie shot to international stardom during the time that she partnered the sensational Brentano mare, Brentina ... and their achievements together are legendary! Most everyday riders relate to Debbie who is a 'vertically challenged" mum as well as highly successful rider and trainer and she understands that most women rider cannot rely on strength to collect and activate their horses in the same way as we would expect to see from their male counterparts.
Debbie McDonald and Adrienne Lyle explain the considerations and steps that are involved in teaching the horse self carriage along with some valuable exercises to help you get in tune with your horse so as to achieve the responsiveness that is needed to maintain harmony and ease of the movement.
View Miniclip
- Do you have problems with your balance aboard your horse and recognize that the answer lies in perfecting (or at least, improving) your seat?
Dressage Training Online gives you a fantastic opportunity to take in the lessons of one of the most influential horse woman of our time! Mary Wanless from the UK (left - picture taken from her web site) is renowned for her special lessons to improve the rider's seat and position. Her aim is to refine the communication with our horse so that a more effective and harmonious influence is possible. Mary's teachings have been incorporated into the methods of many of the leading riders in all disciplines and there are also a large number of riders who are devoted to "Wanless" simply for the pleasure of a better relationship with their horse and the joy that this noble pursuit brings!
The Mary Wanless lessons that are available to Dressage Training On-Line subscribers are sure to become a frequent reference throughout the training of the "thinking rider"! The concepts apply with equal importance whether you are riding at Preliminary Level or right up at the top in Grand Prix. For those who love the special moments that dressage facilitates, Mary will help you to tap into a heightened level of co-operation between the two partners of the dressage sport ... and the horse and rider will truly be as one!
This is an excellent video for riders at all levels and the perfect reference whenever things just do not seem to be going right! The session is filled with tips so that you can improve your very next ride. Easy to understand and implement, it is a favorite for many.
View Miniclip
Visit DressageTrainingOnline.com to learn more about the carefully selected resource material for Dressage riders, thinking riders, horse trainers and Dressage Judges - there is something for everyone - and an annual or monthly subscription will provide much thought provoking and stimulating education for all lovers of horses with a desire to ride better.
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