Aachen Day Two (Wednesday July 13th, 2016)

We had another incredible day yesterday here in Aachen! The Prix St. George class didn't start until 3:30pm, which meant plenty of time to speak with another amazing and inspiring group of people.
                                                                                        
We began our day with Betsy Juliano. Our discussion focused mainly around sponsorship, what it entails and tips on how to achieve it. A lot of her discussion related to her personal experiences, such as her relationship with Laura Graves and Adrienne Lyle, but a lot of it also focused on the basic foundation of achieving sponsorship as well as being a well-rounded athlete who represents both themselves and their country well. We initially discussed how opportunities can surprise us. Betsy spoke about how she never thought she would be as involved  in sponsorship as much as she is now, but the team aspect was so important to her that it became a path she pursued and became very passionate a
bout. Her biggest advice was to always be aware of how we behave under pressure, no matter the situation, and how a person's reaction to unfortunate circumstances, how they handle themselves and treat other people as well as their horses, is what stands out and leaves an impression. This lead to how our reputation is so important and how we are always building it one way or another; we never know that someone we may or may not know today could be in a position to sponsor us tomorrow. This is not to say we pretend to be someone we aren't and walk around with a smile pretending everything is OK all the time, but that we be aware of ourselves and act in the best way possible. Essentially, she stressed how we behave in public, how we dress and how we present ourselves resonates with the people around us and always leave an impression.

Because of Betsy and her unbelievable support towards Team USA, we have Andy Thomas, a renown physical therapist who works solely on the riders. Lucky for us, we also were able to speak with him yesterday. Andy is here with the team in Aachen and he discussed a lot about what he does in his field and how he works with riders to improve their performance and body condition. He worked with Great Britain's team for 11 years before coming to the U.S. team. His biggest focus is working with asymmetries. In order to target these areas and problem solve, he investigates the rider. First he studies whether the rider has problems with movements and which side tends to be stronger than the other. When he worked for the British team, he focused a lot on the half pass scores because most of the time one side scores higher than the other. For us, as Young Riders, we're prone to back problems because we are pushing to develop independent seats and a natural balance. Both back and hip problems are common; Andy told us to think of ourselves as 4 and 5 year old young horses, the age where horses are developing, growing and getting stronger. Typically, he said, most riders are weak on one side and in order to compensate for that weakness we will cheat by gripping/tightening with the lower leg and hand of the side we're weak on. Core stability is the ultimate goal, but we won't be able to achieve this until we are symmetrical; once we're symmetrical we can be in full control of our forces both side to side and forward and back and move our pelvis independently rather than moving through the lower back and twisting. Andy is very involved in the daily life of the riders. At Aachen, for instance, he has a table set up in a stall in the stabling area so he is able to work on riders within 2-3 minutes of them getting on a horse. Typically he works with muscle releasing and muscle firing. This lead him to explain that the horse follows what we do with our body and how influential weight distribution is; if we're asymmetrical then they will be, too. We asked him how he approaches a rider when working on them for the first time. Typically he doesn't want to see the rider on the horse; most of what he discovers is based on your initial body alignment, but also something as simple as how you stand, such as which leg you rest on, how you lean, slouch, etc. can tell him a lot. His area of expertise was particularly interesting, especially since he is known for being so successful in his work. One of our concerns towards the end of his discussion was how to relate to an ordinary physical therapist or chiropractor we work with at home and how to explain to them the important points to focus on with riders. He answered that hip range of movement and lateral stabilizers in the hips are key. A tip he gave us: one way we can tell we might have some asymmetries is by looking at our gloves and boots- does one glove or boot have more wear than the other?

We were also able to speak with Stephen Clarke and Gary Rockwell. We asked both what they thought the most common mistake among riders is. They answered that the accuracy on the centerline and the halt at X are areas where riders lose the most points, typically. Another area was the walk and canter pirouettes because they have found riders often do not start on a straight light, sometimes it's a slight diagonal that disrupts the entire line of the movement and eventually puts it off center. Accuracy became a major point because often valuable points are thrown away that can't be regained very easily. Later on in our discussion we moved into the general world of judging and the responsibilities judges hold that the public doesn't always see. Stephen Clarke commented how judges face a lot of trust issues and how there's too must misunderstanding in the public sector about scores. In a panel of five judges for instance, both commented how judges are often expected to score within the same range but, in reality, that's unrealistic given each judge sits in a different position around the arena and see movements from entirely different angles. We asked how both judges deal with the pressure they often feel, and they responded that they remain confident in their work and ability to complete the job; they deal with it because they do their best and have good training so they should be able to do what's required of them. Stephen Clarke commented that he has been around long enough that he knows when something looks right or wrong and so he tends not to over-analyze it, and instead scores it accordingly. We asked why each became a judge and they said that there's a lot of fun and excitement when competing, but when those days are over it's fun to stay involved in the sport at the highest level. For Stephen Clarke, it's a challenge because it's hard to get it right and it never gets easier; for him, the more pressure he's under the more he enjoys it. I would end up with an entire novel if I continued writing about our discussion. It was so interesting!

Next we were able to sit down with Emile Faurie, one of Great Britain's top riders. It was great getting to hear about how he got involved in horses and who he has been able to train under. However, perhaps the most interesting part of his life is how he gives back to society through his charity 'The Emile Faurie Foundation', an organization developed back in 2006. He explained how, in Sweden, there are the lowest teenage crime and pregnancy rates and the highest school attendance. This is because riding schools are subsidized by the government and allow children and teends to have every opportunity to ride and enjoy horses after school, rather than pursuing negative alternatives. Emile found Great Britain had the highest teen violence and pregnancy rates and lowest school attendance. This inspired him to start a program that gave teens the opportunity to purse any and all areas having to do with horses, essentially giving them a more healthy outlet in life by giving them access to horses, a farm, lessons, etc. Teens must be in enrolled in school full time in order to be eligible, but the program has proven to be successful given he has helped 11,700 teens so far make a better life for themselves. It was so inspiring hearing this story and how Emile is willing to give so much of his time and effort towards bettering the lives of others. More on his foundation can be found through his website: http://www.emile-faurie.co.uk/index.php/emile-horses/the-foundation

Later on we were able to speak with Tuny Page. She was so generous with her time and spoke at great length about a variety of topics. A lot of what she touched on had to do with being a competitor, specifically one who spends as much time as she does over in Europe training and competing. She mentioned her involvement with Laura King and her list of quotes that serves as a source of inspiration for her. A few include:
          * "I'm focused on the process not the outcome."
          * "If I'm not flappable, I'm unstoppable."
          * "Nothing will bother or upset me today."
          * "I bring confidence to every corner and bravery to every line."
Her biggest point to us was our attitude and how it is imperative that we live with an attitude of gratitude. She spoke to us about how we might often assume that the village of people sacrificing their time and energy so that we can meet our goals are aware of our appreciation for all that they do.  Instead, it's so important that we truly show them how much their sacrifice and hard work means to us. Whether it be your vet or farrier, or your entire team be sure to check in with them regularly and tell them how you truly appreciate their hard work, never assume they know you are thankful- show them.

I could go on and on about everything we have learned. This trip is absolutely amazing and definitely a one in a lifetime opportunity. Thank you to The Dressage Foundation for all that you do and for making this possible for us to experience!!

Aachen Day One (Tuesday July 12th, 2016)

The trip couldn't have started out any better! We arrived in Düsseldorf around 9am and took the train into Aachen. After arriving in Aachen we took a taxi to our hotel and immediately walked to the show grounds and began our adventure, at this point we had been up for roughly 36 hours.

We started out by observing each team as they schooled in the arena. It was so interesting watching how each team represented their own style and training tactics. Charlotte noted how observing a team of horses lets you see general weaknesses and strengths that are common among the combinations. Being able to see one team after another allowed us to notice a clear difference in every rider and horse's mentality, training tactics and overall approach.

Part of what makes this trip so amazing is the incredible amount of people we have the opportunity to meet while we are here. Yesterday we were able to speak with Juan Matute Sr. His discussion with us was particularly interesting because he spoke about buying horses. He stressed that we should always aim to buy young horses, typically around two or three years old. In order to select a good young horse, he emphasized having a good eye and a good program that the horse can be submerssed in once it's purchased. It was particularly interesting to hear how he felt there is no need to buy the most expensive horse, that partnership and development together, as horse and rider, is the most important thing to focus on; we all laughed when he said, "If you have $2 million, buy a house, not a horse"; our money, instead, should be put money towards training. After discussing when to buy horses, we wondered what we should be looking for. A a nice walk/trot and a super canter, cheap price, personality and natural balance seemed to be the most important things. When we discussed personality, Juan emphasized that the horse's personality much match the rider's in order to ensure they will be a compatable team capable of achieving success.

Later on in the day we had the opporutnity to speak with Robert Dover and Steffen Peters. We asked Steffen how he is able to maintain such incredible harmony with his horses. His reply was through suppleness. Steffen emphasized that to achieve and maintain suppleness is one of the most important things he focuses on and he is very aware not to drive his horses too much into the hand and contact and how that can ultimately ruin the element of harmony between horse and rider. We also asked him how we as Young Riders can prepare ourselves for international competitions. His repsonse was that we should do what we are doing; watch top riders, understand what the judges want to see and watch the international standard so we have a clear picture of what we should be striving to achieve.

We asked Robert what he thought the biggest mistake is in everyday training. He felt that riders tend to practice imperfect trainging when we know it's not perfect; we accept only 50%. He used Steffen as an example, a rider and trainer who has been able to produce successful horses year after year because his mentality, rules and training program stay the same. Robert's message was that our workouts do not need to be long, but the quality needs to be 100%; ultimately, it's quality, not quantity and being midnful that we are practicing good riding all the time and that we maintain a consistent program that is proving to be successful. Along the same lines, Robert emaphsized that we ensure we are receiving the best instruction possible, which leads into our discussion with Debbie McDonald.

Debbie stressed we be accountable for our program and who we are training under. Typically, she said, if things are going well and you're program is proving to be sucessful, then riders don't change anything. If the opposite is occurring, however, we are expected to make the necessary move towards fxing our program in whatever aspect necessary. We also asked Debbie about the riders who have been based in Europe for the last few months and how they have been managing their schedules leading up to Rio. She said after Rotterdam the horses had some well-deserved downtime. Now, they work five days a week, with one hack day and lots of daily hand-grazing. The horses ship to Rio on August 1st, which means around the 28th they will work roughly 25 minutes a day with a few rest days incroporated as well. The workouts, at that point, will focus primarily on refining transitions, working on corners and paying close attention to accuracy.

A few riding and training tips we learned while observing:
* We watched Katherine Bateson-Chandler school in the arena. We noticed how, when schooling her centerline, she never halted at X. Charlotte noted that this was to prevent the horses from anticipating the halt in the test and to always practice halts anywhere but at X.
* While we watched one team school in the arena, we began disucssing the rider's general hand possition. Charlotte mentioned that a rider's hand position allows you to see whether the horse is being ridden back to front or front to back; typically, how the rider carries their hands and how much weight they appear to be holding, will allow you to see how the horse is being ridden.

Lesson with Kim Herslow

I had my first lesson with Kim Herslow on Thursday and I absolutely loved it. She had traveled to the farm last month but I was unable to do the clinic due to my exam schedule. Kim's teaching style incorporates an approach where no lesson is the same, she addresses each horse and rider combination differently and with close attention to detail. You know you have a good lesson when it's filled with a ton of 'ah-ha!' moments, which is exactly how mine was. I rode Havanna and I loved how Kim emphasized the importance of the rider's balance and how crucial it is that it is developed and used properly.

We worked a lot on getting my seat bones to drop down into the saddle so that Havanna (or Nana as we like to call her) is ridden more off my seat. Kim wanted me to work on bending my tail bone slightly more under my seat. She said that Nana would feel that in her back and realize she too could engage her hind end. Kim's biggest emphasis was that this change to my position would essentially jump-start Nana's hind end and move a positive wavelength of energy from back to front, rather from front to back. This brought her to an even more important emphasis, which was rein length. Once I drop my seat bones and allow Nana to do the same, I have to give the newly-generated energy someplace to go. With a short rein length I would be able to capture the energy, allow Nana to lift with the withers and reach with her shoulders. If my rein length were too long, however, Kim emphasized how my hands end up back behind the saddle, towards my waist and therefore restricting the newly created energy and blocking it from where it should be going. We have all been told how important it is to maintain the correct rein length, but this put it even more into perspective because Kim showed how it truly effects the horse in its entirety.

We then worked on riding corners, proper corners. This wasn't simply riding as deep as you could in into the corner and trotting out with an even and balance horse. Instead, Kim explained step-by-step how you prepare for the corner, ride it once you're in it, and how you direct you and your horse out to prepare for the next movement. Coming into the corner with a steady, yet forward pace was important, but immediately she asked me flex the inside bend, push with the inside leg, half halt with the outside rein and position my body so that, although we are turning, to stay centered in the saddle. In the middle of the corner, Kim wanted me to think that my half halt transferred the weight back onto Nana's hind end so that she was able to sit and lift with her shoulders; essentially, I should feel a moment of slight suspension and lift as though she were going up a hill.

When we moved on to our lateral work, my leg aid became a major focus. In the half pass, instead of applying my outside leg as on constantly applied pressure, Kim wanted me to try applying my leg in a rhythm. I found that applying my leg one second on and one second off helped slow down the movement and prevent us from rushing through our line. This immediately made a huge difference. The half pass became more rhythmic, steady and ridable.

Next, we worked on our tempi changes. Our biggest goal has been straightness, jump and adjustability between and within changes. Instead of schooling endless lines, Kim had us start on the quarterline. Instead of worrying about the count, she had me focus solely on the quality of the changes rather than the quantity. Instead of schooling five fours or five threes, we spaced each change out 5-6 strides, it varied depending on how the line was going, and waited to ride each change until I had a proper response to my half halt and adequate straightness. The other thing we addressed was not rushing or demanding too much forward so that it created an energy level that couldn't be adjusted or controlled. I had been so fixed on maintaining enough energy that I ended up demanding too much, which caused her to get flat and too low. Focusing on the line, jump, a proper halt halt and a strong, quick leg aid brought us to a set of changes that flowed well and had a nice jumping feel.


The best part about this lesson was how Kim directed us back to basics that are often overlooked, but make the biggest difference in your riding and day-to-day training of your horse. Something like riding corners isn't always on the top of our list of things to train but without them we can rarely ride a good short side and end up sacrificing the movement we should be preparing for; as Kim says, "Your corner and short sides set you up for your next movement. If they aren't ridden well or correctly, then the movement will suffer." Not to mention, everything Kim explained was delivered in a way that was easy to understand. Sometimes it's so easy for people to get caught up in offering long explanations of the mechanical aspects to every step the horse takes. Kim offered me just the right amount of knowledge and understanding so that I didn't feel too overwhelmed when I went back to try and perfect what we were working on. Overall, it was a great lesson and I can't wait for her to be back next month!

Eastern Township Acreages- Masters Circle.

Very excited to be joining the Masters Circle team! Their supplements work towards building the strongest foundation for the horse by using their 'Four Founding Pillars' approach, ensuring your horse maintains a healthy diet in all aspects. They use only the best ingredients, which is one of the most important things I look for, particularly in a line of supplements. Aside from their supplements, they grow their own hay with a similar approach towards providing only the best and most effective dietary resources for your horse. A huge thank you to Mark-Anthony Samson and Katie Brennan for this opportunity, I truly look forward to working with you both and the Masters Circle team! Visit their website and discover their terrific line of supplements and hay! http://eta-equine.com/ 

This horse has been a really fun, new ride for me. I've learned quite a bit from her and can't wait for our first show together next weekend! A huge thank you to Gayle Bontecou for this opportunity and for sharing her special mare with me!