British Dressage National Convention

MAKING Medallists

BRITISH DRESSAGE NATIONAL CONVENTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH HARRISON CLARK RICKERBYS. KEY POINTS SUMMED UP BY JOANNA BOWNS.

DAY ONE: TESTS FOR TENS

Day one focused on test riding in standard and freestyle competition. German FEI 5* Judge and President of the Ground Jury at Tokyo 2020, Katrina Wuest and German young horse specialist Philipp Hess were joined by Tom Hunt, the man behind many of Great Britain’s freestyle medals.

SUBTLE SHIFTS IN WEIGHT AND BALANCE

Our fi rst rider, Rebecca Lock and her 12-year-old cob Brickell Mr Pickwick (left) rode Elementary 53. It was a precise test showing good range of movement. Katrina and Philipp liked the steadiness of the contact. They wanted more cadence in trot and more collection in canter, helping the horse with half halts to activate from behind. horse with half halts to activate from behind. A term used was ‘friendly fl exion’, asking for A term used was ‘friendly fl exion’, asking for fl exion then allowing.

AN EASY HORSE TO JUDGE

Sophie Taylor and seven-year-old Jerrydale (by Everdale, top right), rode the FEI PSG. “A super horse, well presented,” said Katrina. She gave high marks for the trot work. There were mistakes in canter but also one pirouette was a highlight. Philipp commented that it was incredible a sevenyear-old performed like that in this arena. “He’s an easy horse to judge,” added Katrina. “A complete, very functional, uphill horse.”

KEEPING THE HORSE IN FRONT OF THE LEG

Lucinda Elliott and -year-old Hawtins Soave (by Sir Donnerhall, below) rode the FEI Inter I. It was a test of two halves with

convincing trot work, but mistakes crept in during sequence changes and pirouettes.

Mistakes happen when the horse is not completely in front of the leg, said Philipp. He asked Lucinda to ride quarter pirouettes on a square, then half, then full. “Keep the rhythm and keep the horse always in front of you,” he said. “Keep the horse reacting.” Katrina advised riding training pirouettes with a slight outside fl e ion to prevent the horse leaning on the inside rein. horse leaning on the inside rein.

BE CREATIVE

Craig Messenger and eight-year-old stallion Treliver de la Crème (by Treliver Decanter, above) rode their Novice freestyle. “If you show every movement only once it’s quite a simple way of doing things,” said Katrina. he made suggestions to make the fl oorplan more comple including showing circles twice and in une pected places

Tom Hunt brought music samples, looking at diff erent approaches to take for each horse. “It’s easy for music to drift into the background,” he said. “Have music that works dynamically with the horse and transitions”.

Stylistically it’s good to develop a theme, agreed Katrina.

“The walk is a chance to bring the music down a little,” said Tom. “The aim is to elevate what the horse is doing and e press the horse and rider combination. Be creative.” Katrina doesn’t mind vocals so long as they aren’t distracting or dominant. TELLING A STORY

Elice Willett and her nine-year-old gelding, Gerento (by Sorento, above), performed their Advanced Medium freestyle. Katrina likes to see a highlight at the beginning and a highlight at the end, she commented. She made suggestions to spice up the fl oorplan including repeating the fl ying changes and fi nishing in e tended trot one handed

Tom enjoyed the dynamics of Elice’s orchestral fi lm music t’s easier to create a story with orchestral music. Many artists are fusing pop and orchestral, which can be very eff ective, says om

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY

Louise Bell presented her freestyle with 15-year-old Into the Blue (by Ublesco, above). Louise commissioned Tom for this music when ‘Dynamo’ was new to GP. She’s now on the cusp of changing it to match his e perience out the degree of di culty, atrina said it counts as only one tenth of the mark. “There are three movements that don’t appear at other levels the piaff e pirouette, the passage half pass, and the canter pirouette more than 360deg but not more than dou le hese are regarded as di cult, the rest is combinations of movements and transitions. Everything assessed 7 or higher counts as di culty nly include di culties you can e ecute well, she advised

DAY TWO: BACK TO BASICS

Philipp Hess (above right) was joined by his father, leading coach and former FEI 4* Judge Christoph Hess (above left), to look at the relevance of the Scales of Training through the levels. the levels.

RHYTHM

ophie ells presented fi ve year old mare, LJT Egebjerggards Samoa (by Blue Hors St Schufro, above). uppleness, rela ation, rhythm and tempo are closely connected,” said Christoph. He commented on Sophie’s a ility to allow the horse to fi nd a good rhythm. Sophie used leg yielding and shoulder in to rela the horse

“With very active horses, ride with a forward tendency to maintain rhythm, allowing the horse to stretch.” Christoph advocates frequent giving and retaking of the rein, which ‘makes a happy horse’. The rhythm in walk is the result of good training in trot and canter. Sophie’s excellent position enables her to regulate the horse’s rhythm through her balance and seat. Canter was amazing, both left and right.

SUPPLENESS

Jonathan Sutton’s nine-year-old mare Ferrera Torres (by Fernando Torres, above) started behind the vertical, so they suggested simple yet eff ective exercises to bring the horse into better self-carriage with a more correct suppleness.

Christoph asked Jonathan to hold both reins in the outside hand. The horse immediately opened her frame. When Jonathan retook both reins, the contact was very good with the mare seeking the bit. Leg yielding and adjustments within the pace brought the horse beautifully between leg and hand. STRAIGHTNESS

Rebecca Edwards presented her nineyear-old mare Laerke Stensvang (by Blue Hors Zack, above), currently at Medium/ Advanced Medium.

“An amazing horse with a lot of cadence and motivation,” was Christoph’s impression. Straightness through corners and on circle lines, along with lateral work, is the secret to making a horse straight, he suggested.

In canter always have fl exion so you can just see the corner of the inside eye. Ride forward with a feeling of shoulder-fore. Sometimes use a light seat and give and retake to allow the horse to fi nd her balance.

IMPULSION

Lucinda Elliott rode the 10-year-old mare Hawtins Duchessa (by Decamerone, below left), currently at Small Tour.

“Impulsion is the spirit of good riding,” was Christoph’s opening line. “When a horse comes into the arena with a lovely swinging trot and a lovely swinging canter, it gives the judge a great fi rst impression.”

Lucinda’s horse is a good example of a ‘back mover’, he said, which is the secret of riding with impulsion. Maintaining energy through all movements, the mare is supple with good cadence. “Lucinda’s sensitive hands and excellent position gives the horse every opportunity to swing over the back and move with impulsion.”

CONNECTION

Sarah Rogers presented the 10-year-old mare Viva Lotta (by Vivaldi, above right), currently at Small Tour.

Frequent giving and retaking was used to open the frame. “Always have a feeling that the horse is stretching, that the horse can fi nd their own balance.”

In the pirouettes, they worked with Sarah to maintain the rhythm. “The mare is so talented that she’s almost sitting too much,” said Christoph. “The secret is to have her in front of you in collection.”

Using a light seat every so often gives the horse a little more freedom, which helps with connection. “Light seat is like a piece of sugar for the horse.”

COLLECTION

Hayley Watson-Greaves and her 17-year-old gelding Rubins Nite (Rubin Royal x Limbo, below) showed the process of warm-up for the Grand Prix. The horse showed relaxation and seeking the contact as Hayley gradually developed impulsion, and later, collection. “Energy from behind is the secret to collection,” said Christoph.

Hayley and ‘Squeaks’ brought the weekend to a conclusion with an impressive line of 21 one-time changes. “A well-trained horse who loves his work and a super partnership!”

THERE’S STILL TIME TO PURCHASE A DIGITAL PASS AND WATCH ALL SESSIONS PLUS INSIGHTS AND OVERVIEW FROM THE STUDIO TEAM OF JENNY RUDALL AND SPENCER WILTON, AND ‘MAKING MEDALLISTS’ PANEL DISCUSSIONS BOTH DAYS. BROUGHT TO YOU THROUGH HORSE & COUNTRY, WATCH FROM THE CONVENIENCE OF HOME UNTIL 5 FEBRUARY 2022! VISIT BRITISHDRESSAGE.CO.UK