MASTER a BEAUTIFUL BRAID JOB Improve Your Horse’S Rideability
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DRESSAGE, EVENTING, HUNTERS, JUMPERS VOL. 12 MASTER A BEAUTIFUL BRAID JOB Improve Your Horse’s Rideability Brought to you by Amy K. Dragoo SCHOOLING NOTEBOOK Improve Your 3 Strides 36' Horse’s Rideability Top equitation and hunter/jumper trainer Frank Madden shares an exercise to increase adjustability and responsiveness for smoother rounds. or a successful equitation, hunter or jumper round, your aids need to ef- fectively communicate with your horse. And he must respond to those aids—shortening his stride for a steady line or lengthening it for a forward 3 Strides line and moving laterally for turns and to navigate bending lines. How well 42'-45' he responds determines his rideability—forwardness, straightness, balance Fand rhythm. And the more rideable he is, the smoother—and in jumpers, the faster and cleaner—your round will be. To help you and your horse develop and improve these skills, I’m going to share one of my favorite exercises. The Exercise but avoid monotony. Practice each This exercise is basically a figure eight piece of the exercise approximately with jumps. It’s a course of four lines— three to six times, and always try to two bending 3-stride “fans” at the short end on a positive note. The next time ends of the arena and two 3- or 4-stride you school the exercise, repeat the 3 Strides lines across the diagonals. The exercise is pieces you’ve already done (you’ll 36' straightforward and simple, but it’s a re- master it faster), then add the next one ally good way to test that your horse is in so you maintain a forward and under- front of your leg and on the outside rein, standable progression. Set two crossrails on a bending line 36 a basic requirement for you to be able to feet apart from center to center at the recover and maintain his rideability. Benefits short ends of the arena and two more With all riders, break down the This exercise: crossrails across each diagonal 42 to 45 exercise into small, doable pieces. We • Controls and balances your horse feet apart. start over one of the fans. Only when • Improves the coordination of your you and your horse can make that look inside and outside aids having trouble with the diagonal lines, easy, comfortable and confident in both • Supples your horse put just one jump on the diagonal or directions, do we add a diagonal line. • Increases adjustability canter through the diagonal without When that’s going well, we add the • Improves recovery a jump, making a simple or flying second fan, then the second diagonal. • Diagnoses problems change, then ride the next bending Finally, we can put together the figure- line. For my more advanced equitation eight pattern, with you working at all Who Can Do It riders, I use higher fences. times on your your horse’s rideability in The exercise can be adjusted to suit both directions. riders and horses of all levels. For Setup Repetition will help you and your novice riders and green horses, I use Following the diagram above, set two horse tune in to doing things better ground poles or crossrails. If you’re crossrails on a bending line, 36 feet apart Frank Madden has been a fixture in the winner’s circle at all the major equitation finals for over four decades. Recognized as one of the most successful trainers of young talent, his students dominate the junior ranks and finals. In addition to teaching, Madden is a respected clinician, top “R” judge and the head trainer and owner of Capital Hill Show Stables in Middlefield, Connecticut. 3 PRACTICAL HORSEMAN EXTRA | TRAINING SCHOOLING NOTEBOOK from center to center at the short ends horse from falling in, use your inside down into your heels, keep your seat of the arena—these are your three-stride leg and rein. Jump the center of the first close to the saddle and give a limited fans. There should be enough room so fence, keeping your eyes ahead to the release. This will help you recover your that you can canter on the rail to the center of the second jump to tell your position as you land, which you’ll need outside of the fans. Set two more cross- horse where to go. Maintain your inside to do immediately when starting the rails across each diagonal 42 to 45 feet leg to ask your horse to curve his body second fan line to your pattern (Step apart—a normal three-stride line for a in the line but keep a solid connection 5). Upon landing, balance and shorten horse. Lay ground rails on both sides of on your outside rein so he doesn’t bulge your horse’s stride (after going over the all of the jumps so you can jump them in his shoulder out and drift left. Ride the diagonal line, you’ll have more momen- either direction. line in three even strides. As you land tum than you did to the first fan line). from the second fence, reestablish your When you feel comfortable riding the How to Ride the Exercise connected seat and rebalance your horse first fan line to the diagonal … First warm up your horse at the 1walk, trot and canter. Practice riding Add the second fan line. As you forward-and-back transitions at the Practice each piece 5rebalance after the diagonal line, look canter. When he’s easily responding to at the second fan line. Through the turn, your aids, pick up a balanced, rhythmic of the exercise push your horse over with your inside right-lead canter. (left) leg and maintain a steady connec- approximately tion on the outside (right) rein so you Warm up by riding the individual don’t lose his shoulder and he drifts right. 2fan-line fences on a small figure- three to six times, Ride this bending line as you did the first eight-like pattern. To do this, first pick bending line (Step 3), remembering that up a right lead canter and ride toward and always try maybe your horse is stiffer in this direc- the second fan-line fence with a “con- tion and you might have to use stronger nected” seat—a little closer to the saddle to end on a aids. Once you’re comfortable over the than a half-seat because of the collection three lines … needed. Hold your upper body on the positive note. vertical and guide your horse between Add the second diagonal line. After your legs and reins, riding him forward 6the second fan line, rebalance your from your leg but closing your fingers before the turn. Practice riding just the horse in the turn, and ride the second on the reins and half-halting to keep fan line in both directions until it feels diagonal as you rode the first one (Step him light in your hand. Ride past the easy, and when you’re doing it in three 4). Even though this is the last line of the outside of the first fence and jump the even strides. Then you’re ready to … exercise, pretend that you’ll be riding the second fence. Land, reestablish contact fan line again so you can practice your with his mouth and rebalance him. Use Add the first diagonal line. Jump modified shorter release and recovery your right aids to turn left and ride a 4through the fan line off the right over the “out” jump. Once you’ve half-circle so then you can jump the lead. As you land from the second fence, jumped the second fence, ask or allow first fence backward. Because you’ll be rebalance your horse and maintain your your horse to go forward a little as a jumping this fence on a bit of an angle, inside aids to keep him from falling in on reward (horses naturally prefer to go keep an even feel of your reins and use the turn. Look at the “in” jump of the forward). Circle at the canter, then collect both legs to steer him to the center of diagonal line. As you turn, lighten your him back to a walk. the fence. Use your left aids to turn right seat a little to allow your horse to move By practicing each phase of the exer- and repeat this exercise. Do this exercise forward out of the turn, then maintain cise, you’ll eventually master the entire a few times, then … that balanced canter to the first fence. If pattern. And when you go to your next you have a nice distance jumping in, stay competition you’ll be pleasantly surprised Ride the fan line. Start on the right in balance and follow your horse’s even to find that your horse is listening to your 3lead and ride to the first fence of the stride to the second fence in three strides. aids and you can quickly and smoothly fan line in the same balanced, controlled Over the second fence, stay connect- recover his rideability: pace, balance, canter you had in Step 2. To keep your ed with your horse: Push your weight rhythm and suppleness. 4 PRACTICAL HORSEMAN EXTRA | TRAINING Master a Beautiful BRAIDPro braider Jennie Vigliano shares insider tips on how to create picture-perfect hunter braids. BY JENNIE VIGLIANO JOB WITH JOCELYN PIERCE PHOTOS BY AMY K. DRAGOO he main purpose of braiding is to enhance the horse’s appearance. A good braid job—neat, tidy and uniform—shows the judge that you are a winner. A bad one—loose, messy and unkempt—is distract- ing and gives the impression that you don’t care about Tyour presentation.