The clinic was given by Denise O'Reilly from the UK, an accredited RWYM instructor. We were 6 riders and we all got a private
lesson in the morning, which was videoed, then after a late lunch there was a
video crit and theory often with simulations then we all saddled up again for a
short shared session in pairs to consolidate what we learned and plan what to
work on next day. We were there for 2 days instruction.
About 2 days from the clinic I had a
meltdown over what tack to use, tried all my saddles and decided it would have
to be the Randol's hacking saddle despite its rustic cowboy look. I decided to put reins
on the rope halter as I've always ridden Fina bitless. That didn't work well,
there was too much play, and although I have Fina light and responsive in the
hackamore at home, we were in a different environment and clearly contact was
going to be expected. For the afternoon session, I was lent a bitless with a
padded noseband and metal sides to attach the reins to, which we both hated,
Fina didn't even want it on! it gave no feel, only constant indefinite pressure
and resulting in a heavy hand and a dull horse. The morning lesson had gone
really well with lots of improvement in my position and Fina's way of going, so
the afternoon was a bit of a downer and left me with a dilemma about what to
ride in the next day.
I dug out all the tack I had and found
Fina's old bit (thank you Helen!!) lathered an old headpiece in Hydrophane,
went over early to give myself lots of time to reintroduce a bit and test drive
it. Fina was absolutely fine about it and I had her reaching for it, so on it
went. We both benefited from the
more effective contact and were able to concentrate on the lesson with a much better
connection and understanding. I had to change my
thoughts here to suit the situation, and from the result I think I made the
right decision. I will be looking at bitless bridle alternatives for the next clinic and for Interdressage, where bitless is permitted.
What we achieved and worked on was the
rider's position and the effect it had on the horse. Watching the other lessons
showed how much could be improved with minor adjustments, how they affected the
horse and often enabled the horse to find the relaxation or comfort in a
movement as the rider gave them that release. When we were trotting a circle I
felt as if Fina was leaning in at one point on the circle, so I would try to
hold her out onto it. Once I really engaged my inner thigh and pushed with it,
she made a true circle with lightness in hand and we stopped leaning on each
other. Another rider had a skittish mare who held her head up, gritted her
teeth and looked stressed and unhappy, until the rider adjusted her rib cage
slightly and released something for the horse, whose head dropped and form
rounded and she relaxed, that was so good to watch! lots of jokes about having
the headlights full on or dipped. My trouble is the opposite, I needed to lift
and work on my core muscles, my default is to round my back, the C shape,
although I did get positive comments about being supple. After years of laid
back hacking, I have let things go, which is why I wanted this sort of lesson.I am already finding it beneficial when hacking, and feel that Fina is able to lift herself more because I am releasing her back instead of sitting heavy on it. I feel I have regained an effective riding position, such as I used to have and can see in old photos of me riding.
A bit of video from our second day's lesson:
