The
Centerline
Arizona Dressage Association
Vol. 16, Issue 3
www.azdressage.org
March 2016
AUTHORITY by Susan Downs Parrish, Ph.D.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way. . . . A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. Charles Dickens rode dressage. Never mind that biographers neglected to mention his passion for riding. He knew the elusive nature of the art. How else could he come up with a description to describe exactly what every dressage rider endures? The “best of times and worst of times” came to me after the Tucson Dressage Club’s Winter Heat Shows, I and II. My ride on Saturday, my first Intermediaire 1 attempt with Maronda, didn’t go well. Tension rather than relaxation infused every movement. Upon exiting the ring, Ellie Masek, my long time friend and former instructor, said, “You win the Rodeo Award.” The judge, Debbie Riehl-Rodriguez, responded similarly. She wrote, “Obviously talented & athletic horse, but many unfortunate problems. Rider maintained composure throughout—well handled!! Keep working!” Not the words any rider dreams of reading in the comment section of a test.
How did other riders avoid the rodeo antics? What did I do or not do to cause similar outbursts on different horses? Saturday night, lying in bed, I pondered “the rodeo.” My dear Riesling, may he rest in peace, popped into my head. Every show in at least one class, Riesling erupted. At seventeen-two, his airborn maneuvers caught everyone’s attention. Warm-up arenas tended to thin out when we entered. Fear rather than mischief motivated Riesling. I began riding him when he was four. A big, gangly colt, he couldn’t travel a twenty-meter circle without breaking into a trot. The first time I rode a training level pattern at home, he became anxious because I concentrated on the sequence of moves, and didn’t reassure him every minute or so with my voice. Maronda is more confident than Riesling ever was. Puffed up with tension, her reactions on Saturday were deliberate. Losgelassenheit? Not a trace. Many horses felt tense, but they didn’t explode in the arena. How did other riders avoid the rodeo antics? What did I do or not do to cause similar outbursts on different horses? Here I was training my last horse, hoping to get to Grand Prix
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