Summer School with Felicitas von Neumann-Cosel

By, Paige Zimmerman

From July 14-16, Olivia Steidle Dressage welcomed Felicitas von Neumann-Cosel for yet another fantastic clinic! I rode Ducati in one lesson. He is currently almost all the way recovered from one of those bumps in the road. He is now sound and feeling good, and the clinic ride was really helpful for both of us to get back in the groove.

In my lesson we worked mostly in-hand and at the walk, with short bursts in trot and canter. We focused on his relaxation and ability to listen to the aids without tension. This meant that he needed to go forward when asked, off of the lightest possible aids, but also slow down and rock himself back onto his hindquarters when asked by the lightest possible aids. This forward and back on the ground and under saddle really helped focus him, since sometimes (especially warming up) I have a hard time getting him in front of my leg, and then by the time I get him where I want him, I lose the brakes. Finding that middle ground is a challenge, although things have improved lately, especially in the last few months.

One exercise we worked on was asking him to halt without using the reins, only using my seat and leg. Then I was to wait for him to chew and maybe take a breath, then ask him to rein back without using my hands. From there I could ask him for a few steps of turn on the forehand and then to either walk, trot, or canter off, maintaining the bend and suppleness that I’d just created with the inside leg and turn. We kept the trot and canter short, focusing mostly on the transitions and making sure he didn’t slam on the brakes or rush off. We also worked on this exercise on a square rather than a circle, since the straight lines gave me much more to work with regarding checking his straightness and focus. Then on the turns I could rebalance him with the halt–rein-back–turn exercise.

When we went into the trot and canter, Felicitas said that I should try to rise the trot a little less high, but more quickly. Ducati has a very big, bouncy trot, so it is easy to rise the trot super high and then get stuck in the air with no time to sit back down. Thinking of making my rising a little shallower and quicker helped me encourage him to take a quicker, more engaged stride that was more in front of my leg as opposed to a long and strung-out stride. As Felicitas said in another lesson, “don’t ride the trot he gives you, ride the trot you want”.

In the canter, Felicitas had me think of bouncing him up with my lower leg and calf, so that he lifts his back instead of getting flat and resistant. She also showed me on the ball of my foot where the point of balance is. It is that joint where the middle toe connects to the rest of the foot! She said that this is the point on which the rider balances, and it is where the stirrup should sit so that our foot and leg can stay in position, thus stabilizing the rest of our body. If we are unbalanced, our legs will be in front of us or out behind, and the horse will not be able to balance themselves. In the canter, this image was especially helpful, since Felicitas told me to imagine bouncing on the ball of my foot to create the jump and suspension while maintaining collection. I really liked this visual!

Thank you Firecreek Farm, Sara Schmitt Dressage, and Bailey Ridge Farm for opening your facilities for riders and auditors alike. Thank you Olivia Steidle for organizing the busy schedule and keeping us all in line, and Brenda Curnin for continuing to share Ducati with me to learn on. I always look forward to working with Felicitas. She leaves us with such innovative tools to add to our collection. This was a fantastic learning experience, as usual.