Archive for the "Clinics" Category
RJ, the co-star of Viggo Mortensen and Omar Shariff from the Hollywood film “Hidalgo” demonstrated some of his tricks to an eager audience on May 5 at Windrock Farm. RJ is charismatic and funny, entertaining the crowd with his favorite tricks of pushing the ball around in an imaginary game of soccer or dancing on his hind legs. RJ was very patient meeting his fans, allowing some to be photographed up close and posing for the cameras. He will be performing again at the farm, so if you missed this special event be sure to check the web site for new dates. www.cariswanson.com
Horses are extremely intuitive animals picking up on your mood and emotion each day. Take the time you have with your horse to pay attention to how he is feeling and if he is reacting to your energy. Set the tone for your ride by working with him on the ground before mounting. A calm horse on the ground generally translates to a good ride. However, if your horse is dancing in the cross ties and misbehaving, you are likely to have a lousy ride. Take the time while grooming to feel how your horse is doing. As herd animals, horses look for a leader and that should be you.
Is your horse trying to tell you something? If you take the time to watch and listen, you will often find your horse is actually talking to you. I have one horse who is constantly moving his upper lip, no matter what we are doing. He can be standing in the cross ties or performing highly collected movements in the arena. It is important to know what is normal and what is unusual for your horse. They are expressive creatures who want to let you know how they feel. It is useful to keep a journal of your observations as well as your training program. Working with horses is fascinating. Being with these noble animals forces us to be in the moment which is the key to life. When you live in the present all fears of the past and future subside.
Here is RJ making funny faces while I work with him at liberty. He is an unusually “talkative horse” with his eye never leaving me. We rode out alone on a hack yesterday when suddenly he stopped on the trail. He would not budge, so I sat and waited. After a few minutes several deer appeared out of the forest in front of us. He was waiting for them to pass. Once they were out of sight he moved on with a purposeful walk looking for more wildlife. I think he is enjoying his move to the east coast.
Patience is critical when working with horses. There is no place for temper. Horses are incredibly generous animals who usually want to please. They are herd animals, seeking the alpha leader. I am reminded of this each day as I work with this special stallion, RJ, the star of the Hollywood film Hidalgo (2004). He teaches me important lessons as we learn from each other. Moving from the desert of Southern California to Dutchess County New York has been an adjustment. He is not familiar with crossing muddy streams on trails or galloping through the countryside where we often meet hawks and deer. Although he is curious, these critters are not as strange as the camels he worked with on the set of the film in Morroco. I teach him some basic dressage movements and he is reminding me of sliding stops. Communication is easy if we remain clear in our request and patient in understanding what is desired.
Come meet the Hollywood Star of Hidalgo on May 5 at Windrock Farm in Millbrook New York. Limited tickets available so if you are interested in seeing RJ perform some of his tricks contact cari@cariswanson.com.
All proceeds will benefit the Horse Rescue, Rehab and Retirement Foundation.
Posted March 17th, 2007 — Filed under
Clinics,
Training
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Learning to ride is a lifelong endeavor. Riding is a constant challenge for me as I seek to feel the invisible connection of harmony with my horses.
It was tremendous fortune when a mutual friend insisted I meet Tony Mason. We share the same phylosophy of working with horses. That is tuning into each individual horse’s character and talent to find a common ground for communication. I have always been a firm believer in cross training all of my horses (eventing, jumpers,dressage), instinctively knowing they were happier and healthier horses.
Each lesson with Tony is a journey where we discover new secrets of communication while attempting to achieve our goal. He begins each day with a plan, however, remaining flexible when something else evolves. The combination of his psychic abilities, solid classical training methods, and sheer joy of life produces magical dances each day. By training the muscles from the inside out over time, my horses are strong and supple achieving peak performance.
During our training sessions together I realized it was important to share this amazing experience and thus our company, The Horse’s Eye was born. Tony was reticent because of the danger of our words being misinterpreted in translation, however he finally agreed if our sessions are presented as works in progress. These tapes will allow you to experience the harmony of three spheres, the teacher, the rider and the horse. Our idea is to include you in the journey of discovery and show you the remarkable results in spite of inevitable errors and mistakes that are crucial to learning. Enjoy these sessions which I hope you can learn from and allow you to dance with your horse.
If you are interested in ordering these lessons contact cari@cariswanson.com
Friday April 6th Jumper Schooling Day
Sat and Sun April 14-15 Dressage Show
Friday May 18 Jumper Show
Sunday June 3 Dressage Show
Thursday June 28 Jumper Show
Friday July 20th Jumper Show
Sat and Sun August 18-19 Jumper weekend
for details and entry forms contact www.cooleparkfarm.com or call 845.373.8591
Larkin Hill has a Stadium Series in Chatham New York April 6th, May 4th, and June 1 for practice and fun. This is a wonderful opportunity to test your training and skills over courses comprised of cross rails up to 3 feet 3 inches. Please pre-enter so schedules are more accurate.
There is also an Eric Horgan clinic scheduled for April 13-15. This is an excellent opportunity to hone your jumping skills through learning proper training on the flat followed by gymnastic and jumping excercises. You can learn more about Eric at his web site, erichorgan.com
In a recent lesson, I was focused on bringing attention to my students leg postion or lack thereof. I video taped the ride so that we could discuss what was going on and this was her response; “You really do keep a good humor, no matter how painful the picture! I read a few parts of the book and looked at parts of my video. I definitely can see the gripping in the trot – it looks like my knees become a sort of pivot point – the knees don’t move, but everything else does! I understand about not gripping, but when the horse takes that first stride, my legs get a life of their own and grab on! The book had an interesting bit about becoming aware of the trot as a side-to-side movement, not just an up-and-down movement – that is, each side of your pelvis has to rise and drop independently as the horse’s body tips slightly side to side, and if you just think of it as up-and-down, you end up bracing against it and bouncing. I’ll pay attention to that next time I ride, and see if it makes sense. Her discussion of using the stomach muscles to pull the pelvis up was interesting, too, because she points out that the other thing those same muscles can do is pull the chest down and upper body forward, which you have to deliberately counter by lifting the chin and chest (sitting tall, as she says). Makes sense”.
I recommend a wonderful book called Anatomy of Dressage
by Heinrich and Volker Schusdziarra. This book will help you feel your body and determine where the tension is. Riding is a lifelong adventure, exciting and frustrating at times. Keep on learning and experimenting and you will find the moment of harmony that is the utmost reward.
Posted March 9th, 2007 — Filed under
Clinics,
Training
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Today I was teaching a student who had an “a-ha” moment of how to improve the transitions. First of all you must prepare your horse with a half halt, next you ask with your weight aids first, and very little hand. It is important to test your horses responsiveness to your aids of lowering the heels, shifting the shoulders slightly back, lengthening the spine and sinking into the saddle with relaxed hips. The horse should melt into the transition smoothly and easily. Always take care that your horse has a soft neck which will only be possible if the rider is relaxed in her neck, shoulders and arms.
If your horse tends to brace against your hand in the transition up or down, chances are your hands are too strong. Remember, less is more. Ride with feeling and finesse.
Have someone video your ride to study what you are doing correctly and incorrectly in order to learn how to improve your transitions. 