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<\/a><\/h3>\nWords and photos by Roz Neave<\/h3>\n
What makes a champion? Some rare indefinable quality, and usually these people are useless as trainers, because their genius comes naturally to them. The Event Rider of the Century, Mark Todd, is an exception. He is also a great teacher, witty, approachable, ready to jump on any horse and with a collection of exercises\u00a0to make his point to his students.<\/strong><\/p>\n Mark, like all top horseman, was very\u00a0particular, “get your reins untwisted.” His\u00a0first words on position were on the\u00a0dreaded eventers’ elbow.<\/p>\n “You must have a bend in your elbow for\u00a0elasticity in contact. Feel his mouth with\u00a0your hand. Feel you can ride\u00a0the horse forward with\u00a0more energy into a soft\u00a0contact. Half halt if he runs\u00a0into your hand. You need\u00a0balance, feel and coordination,\u00a0looseness\u00a0through the hips, hands and\u00a0arms. You must be able to\u00a0ride forward, straight, and in\u00a0rhythm. Make the horse\u00a0supple so he can use his\u00a0body.”<\/p>\n Mark used a simple square in\u00a0the paddock for his flat\u00a0work, but if the exercise\u00a0seemed simple, it certainly made the riders work.<\/p>\n “Keep the horse’s shoulders in front of\u00a0you, don’t let the shoulders fall out. Walk\u00a0straight to the corner, positioning the\u00a0turn, then ride straight out of the turn.\u00a0It’s important to control the shoulder\u00a0through the turn, because it has to come\u00a0in off the track, not the hindquarters.”<\/p>\n “Make the walk active through the turn.\u00a0In the walk, use alternate legs, when the\u00a0horse’s outside leg is back, use your\u00a0inside leg. Keep in contact with the\u00a0horse’s side, but quite loose. Then collect\u00a0the horse around the inside leg for a half\u00a0pirouette to the inside of our square. Flex\u00a0the horse in the direction of the\u00a0pirouette.”<\/p>\n “You don’t want to ride corners like this\u00a0in a test necessarily, but it’s very\u00a0important to be able to ride into corner\u00a0and come out straight. If you have\u00a0something like a transition from working\u00a0to medium trot at the quarter marker,\u00a0you need to have the horse straight so\u00a0you can make the transition right on the\u00a0marker, not 3 or 4 strides later. You have\u00a0to have the horse coming out of the\u00a0corner with energy. You want the horse\u00a0in front of your leg through the corner so\u00a0you don’t come out of the corner and\u00a0have to push, because that unbalances \u00a0the horse. You want to be able to come\u00a0out and just go forward in medium trot.”<\/p>\n “Ride across the diagonal in medium trot.\u00a0Ride out of the corner straight and\u00a0forward, make a clear downward\u00a0transition and ride through the corner.”<\/p>\n “Practise getting your horse sharper to\u00a0the leg on a circle with two or three\u00a0forward strides to build energy. Circle\u00a0him out of the corner and then ride\u00a0straight, forward and balanced.”<\/p>\n “Leg yield to really get them moving off\u00a0the leg.”<\/p>\n “Then come back to walk, relax your\u00a0arms and encourage left right and bigger\u00a0walk steps.”<\/p>\n It was a lesson about riding corners,\u00a0structured around very simple exercises,\u00a0which helped the rider learn those elusive basics which all great trainers talk about.<\/p>\n Next morning in the morning mist, it was \u00a0showjump time for this group. The\u00a0session started with 3 or 4 poles on the\u00a0ground, and riders just trotting around on\u00a0a big circle, as a group.<\/p>\n “We are just doing the same as we did on\u00a0the flat yesterday, but now there’s a pole\u00a0on the ground, the horses are in jump mode\u00a0with heads in the air, hollow and\u00a0rushing. You’ve got to train them, and\u00a0poles are the place to start.”<\/p>\n “When you are working over poles, take\u00a0your time, keep the rhythm. Don’t ask\u00a0them to jump over poles, just let them do\u00a0it by themselves. Keep your line down the\u00a0middle of the pole, with a balanced trot,\u00a0use little half halts if they get too fast.”<\/p>\n “Let them think about what they’re doing\u00a0with their feet. If they trip, don’t tell them\u00a0off, they learn by doing it.”<\/p>\n Next cantering over the poles…<\/p>\n “Think about what he’s doing under you.\u00a0Go forward and back within the canter.\u00a0Now come steady over the first pole and\u00a0think towards medium over the second,\u00a0then back again. Watch the pole. Now\u00a0forward off the turn to the first pole and\u00a0then sit up and make them wait to the\u00a0second, half halt wait.”<\/p>\n “Practice riding over poles at home at a\u00a0forward stride, he’s got to learn to stay\u00a0relaxed at a forward stride and not go\u00a0hollow.”<\/p>\n “Come around the corner in canter and\u00a0over the little rail. They can jump it\u00a0no problems, but I want you to ignore the\u00a0fence – think you are riding down the side\u00a0of the arena, if you’re crooked or stiff or\u00a0not straight, you correct it. If you let them\u00a0go like that, that’s the way they’ll stay. Pick\u00a0a line to follow, find a post in the fence and\u00a0ride straight.”<\/p>\n “I’d like the canter a bit more together and\u00a0with a bit more energy. I want you to get\u00a0the feel of the canter you need from your\u00a0horse to get the striding you need.”<\/p>\n “It’s not a matter of chasing them to get a\u00a0distance, it’s a matter of letting them go\u00a0forward with the leg on. When you’re\u00a0waiting in front of a fence, you must also\u00a0keep your leg on. You’ve got to train them\u00a0to come forward and back.”<\/p>\n “Did you feel as you came around the\u00a0corner, the right shoulder was out? So the\u00a0whole line was a bit crooked.”<\/p>\n “Your job is to set the rhythm, aiming for\u00a0even strides keeping the rhythm, staying \u00a0calm and balanced. Their job is to jump.”<\/p>\n “Make the horse obedient after a pole, it\u00a0will become a habit and you’ll never have\u00a0any problems.”<\/p>\n “When you want to open up, don’t come\u00a0around the corner and then try to get them\u00a0forward. Establish a rhythm and keep it,\u00a0then it’s easier on the approach.”<\/p>\n Another super-simple exercise that really\u00a0showed up weaknesses was a 30 metre\u00a0circle with three 30cm verticals spread\u00a0evenly around the circumference. “Let them think about what they’re doing\u00a0with their feet, let them jump. Don’t throw\u00a0them at the jump, just sit there and keep the\u00a0rhythm. With repetition they learn to land\u00a0on the right leg. Try to remember what it\u00a0feels like when you get it correct.”<\/p>\n Riders made about six circuits and the\u00a0exercise was repeated on both reins, and\u00a0most horses were leading with the inside leg\u00a0and maintaining balance well by the end of\u00a0the exercise.<\/p>\n Next exercise was riding a bending line of\u00a0three little verticals… “To ride a bending line you need control\u00a0rhythm and balance. Don’t angle the first\u00a0fence – ride a nice smooth line, sit up and\u00a0use an open rein to turn and encourage\u00a0them to land on the correct lead. I don’t \u00a0want to see you just riding the jumps – plan\u00a0every stride and keep the rhythm. If you\u00a0want to slow down, sit up and put your leg\u00a0on.”<\/p>\n NEXT A CLINIC WITH MARK<\/strong><\/p>\n Mark starting off riding a chestnut gelding\u00a0that was straight off the racetrack:<\/p>\n “We are going to start out with a real greenie, like a lot of you have to deal with. I’ll just let him wander around for a minute.” At this stage Greenie was where he was, and overawed by the crowd and lights in the arena. Mark Todd noticed Vicki Roycroft in\u00a0the stand. He announced to the audience\u00a0that there was to be a special addition to\u00a0the program, Vicki would give a showjumping demonstration on the horse\u00a0instead…<\/p>\n In reality Mark was not in the least fazed by\u00a0the horse’s confusion, and just keep quietly\u00a0insisting that Greenie accepted his lower\u00a0leg.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n“You don’t need to just know your course,\u00a0you need to know how you are going to\u00a0ride it. Balanced turns, know exactly where\u00a0you’re going to turn. If you get unbalanced\u00a0on a turn riding to these poles, ride a circle\u00a0and re-balance.”<\/h1>\n
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\n<\/p>\n“When we get a young horse, the first\u00a0thing is we want the horse to go forward\u00a0from the leg, then to accept the hand and\u00a0eventually work in a rounded outline into\u00a0the rein. Use an open rein, we don’t just\u00a0pull on the inside rein, because the\u00a0shoulder drops out. Quietly correct\u00a0resistances. We don’t want the horse to\u00a0feel trapped by the hands. Don’t just pull\u00a0on the reins, close the thigh and reins. As\u00a0they become used to them, they become\u00a0sharper.”<\/h1>\n