{"id":39340,"date":"2018-02-02T11:28:49","date_gmt":"2018-02-02T00:28:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/?p=39340"},"modified":"2019-04-24T16:43:21","modified_gmt":"2019-04-24T06:43:21","slug":"finding-the-light-with-stefan-wolff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/2018\/02\/finding-the-light-with-stefan-wolff\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding the light – with Stefan Wolff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rebecca Ashton sits in on a dressage clinic with an exceptional trainer
\n– she also took the photos<\/h2>\n

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Stefan Wolff shines the light in numerous ways. Stefan is a living walking embodiment of the world’s most successful system of dressage training – the German Principles – which is not surprising since he learned his art under the tutelage of one of the great modern masters, Klaus Balkenhol, and then polished his communication skills in the USA before returning to Germany where he is a successful professional trainer – that is when he is not soaking up the warmth of one of his regular visits to Di White’s Sydney arena in Australia…<\/p>\n

Stefan was focusing on getting the horses to respond to their riders; to become animated themselves, rather than run away from the aids. He also wanted good pushing power before collection was even considered. Good contact also figured large, and of course, perhaps the most important thing, patience. Lessons were spent consolidating these things before playing with the movements further down the track. Keeping in mind, most of these riders are familiar with Stefan\u2019s way, and all had more than one lesson\u2026 working within a system is always a key to making good progress.<\/p>\n

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Brett Peel, had a few horses in front of Stefan, the first being HerzAss W, a six-year-old Trakehner mare owned by Suellen Saals. Stefan began with getting the tension out of the horse, and getting her to reach out of her frame a little more. \u201cTap tap the hind leg until she responds. When the back is up and soft, work with the hind leg. Better. The frame gets longer, that\u2019s a good thing. Ride a half halt as if you want more frame, not less. Don\u2019t be too careful about it. Things happen. You won\u2019t find the perfect momentum if you\u2019re worried that it\u2019s too much. Let her drive more to the bit. Long rein again and if she blocks, don\u2019t avoid it. Know it\u2019s coming and be soft enough but steady and don\u2019t fiddle with the rein.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spiralling exercises from the 20 metre circle worked on the mare\u2019s alignment and to introduce some gymnastic work. \u201cBring the neck in front of the inside shoulder so the shoulders are 100% aligned with the bit. Now she isn\u2019t dying or blocking. Spiral in so the neck comes more towards the inside shoulder. Just calmly move your hand. Don\u2019t fiddle. If it takes three more strides, who cares. If she struggles, let her struggle. That\u2019s the point. Don\u2019t help her, let her sit in that situation and work it out. That was good. You waited. You felt it wasn\u2019t going well so you waited for the shoulder to realign.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Next was a little recheck of the horse\u2019s relaxation while changing her balance. Twenty metre circle left in counter flexion into 10 metre circle right and back onto the 20 metre circle left. \u201cEverything stays the same. She shouldn\u2019t change the straightness when she changes direction. I just don\u2019t want her to snap into tension again.\u201d<\/p>\n

In transitions, the idea was to leave the horse alone a bit, trust yourself as a rider and wait for things to fall into place, so that tension is avoided, and the horse remains soft in the back. In the walk to trot transition: \u201cTrust your aid. Even if it takes longer, don\u2019t add to it. We don\u2019t want her to rush in the aid and tighten the back. It\u2019s only that you touch the horse. The entire horse moves forward, not that she runs off the hindleg. Stimulate the hind leg, don\u2019t push her body away from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the trot work, \u201cShe can come to your leg and be a bit stronger on your leg, as long as she is staying responsive and not getting dull. Better if she\u2019s light in front. Don\u2019t push her off your seat or sit faster than the swing. Sometimes your leg pushes her off your seat. Know that you can use your leg to get a response, but leave her on your seat. If it takes longer, it takes longer. Her body can come back, but the hind leg should not hesitate.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The sun was coming up and the big umbrella was being put up outside the arena. Knowing his mare, Brett wanted it to wait to after his lesson, but Stefan was having none of it. \u201cNo, focus, put it up. The second you focus on the umbrella, the horse does.\u201d And it was immediately back to the work in canter. \u201cKeep your inside hand ahead. If she\u2019s not quite through to your inside leg, do something, do circles, don\u2019t just waste the whole long side. She doesn\u2019t want to use her inside hind leg that\u2019s why she doesn\u2019t want you to put your inside leg on. But you can always remind her how she used her body in the trot then take it back into canter again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mare tried to avoid her inside leg being engaged, \u201cTry and keep the contact even here. Then back to the trot spiral circles to get her back responding to the leg and engaging the hind leg before trying the canter again. Inside leg, outside rein and less collection. You have to fix it in good working canter. Let her come to your seat. Give to the stretch. Right. From there you can bring her back but keep the frame longer. Now canter again. Right. You want that momentum with the inside hind leg. You want that response. Transition to trot. Don\u2019t slow down. Hands low on the crest and forward. More frame. Keep your leg on. Good work. Long rein.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a break it was back to the canter, \u201cTry now to put her in a certain position and see if she has the nerve and the trust that she stays with you, not that she always just moves off you when you touch her. If you think about it, when you do changes for example, she needs to be solidly on your aids for three or so strides. So think of that. Don\u2019t give so much. Don\u2019t always give to loop the rein, just release the pressure. Let her settle under your seat and back.”<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t let anything interrupt you. If there is a mistake, it\u2019s not just that she comes off the aid, she sometimes gets you off the aid too. Keep her on your seat. If she trots, keep control. Don\u2019t get lighter and off the aid. Don\u2019t have it so it takes you five strides to recover. More collection on the hind leg and off the shoulder. There you go. That\u2019s how she canters from now on!\u201d<\/p>\n

Stefan was trying to get Brett to keep the mare on his aids. Finding the point where it could happen, where Brett could rebalance and supple the mare and she would accept it without pushing her to the point of her having a tantrum. Moving her haunches around or sometimes her shoulders, taking her back to the trot, taking walk breaks. The exercises find the \u201cuncomfortable\u201d point and it was a matter of using the certain exercise to gymnasticise the horse, address the issue, but getting out in time so it isn\u2019t too much for the horse.<\/p>\n

more follows<\/em><\/p>\n

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Gail Benson is also a Stefan regular with her 21-year-old Prix St George horse, the appropriately named Stefan.<\/p>\n

The pair was asked to warm up in trot. \u201cMake sure there are some variations, forward and back. Make sure you get a response from your leg. It\u2019s not necessarily about power, but more suppleness in the horse\u2019s body. It doesn\u2019t always need to be much, but it\u2019s about preparing the horse mentally as well as physically, not just working it round and round.”<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he hangs on the bit, get a reaction from the leg. Trust your feeling. Don\u2019t only hold, that\u2019s never a good option.\u201d The horse was getting a little stuck on the inside rein, \u201cSpiral in to improve the diagonal aid. Inside hand is light and get him to react to your leg. The exercise only has sense when the horse does it with a supple body. The idea is that he gets better on your inside leg, that he accepts your inside leg better. Then if he gets heavy again, you don\u2019t always have to spiral in, but you want a response to the inside leg again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then a change of rein, \u201cHe\u2019s more hollow to the left so you don\u2019t want to do it as much to the left. Remember, the straightening work is not always the same left to right.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Time for a walk break but Stefan emphasised that the break didn\u2019t mean to just dawdle around, which was easy to do in the heat! \u201cIf you do a walk break, do a proper walk break; a good extended walk or transitions from collected walk to extended walk or vice versa. All those things we don\u2019t practice enough. Use your walk breaks to work on that.”<\/p>\n

\u201cMore ground cover and more frame. Push your hand forward and the neck stays in front of your forward moving hand. He doesn\u2019t need to come lower. He needs to push forward with his mouth and not downward. Stabilise with the neck. The neck could be used more powerfully. Build up a bit more pushing power.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Next was canter work and it\u2019s the German\u2019s attention to detail that makes him so special. The horse and rider picture was nice but Stefan knew it could be better and insisted on a bit more rhythm and activity, \u201cEven when he\u2019s elevated, the neck should feel soft and ready to drop, responsive. The collection is fine, but he needs to be more responsive to the leg. Do something out of your comfort zone to get a response, don\u2019t just go around and wait. He\u2019s hanging on the inside rein, don\u2019t pull on the inside rein. Use the outside rein and have the inside rein light. Not more flexion and bend, just a better quality of it. Less poll, more shoulder, and still a better response to the inside leg. Good, getting better. Transition to trot. Make it a proper transition. Always have a bend in place before you start the circle. Don\u2019t fly into a circle with a straight horse. Always try to ride excellent transitions with good power and good bend. And that\u2019s gymnastics, that response and reaction to you, and the efficiency of your aids and the exercises.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back into the canter to have a look at the half passes and Stefan reminded Gail to keep the quality of the canter right through the whole movement. \u201cYou might even need to go straight and circle half way through the half pass. Be ahead of him mentally. Trust your own skill that you can fix it. Have the nerve to interfere with him a little bit in the half pass. Don\u2019t be too careful. You need to make a difference. When you have your horse between inside leg and outside hand in half pass, there\u2019s no need to use your inside hand. Get rid of all the unnecessary aids.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That carried through to the changes, \u201cRide with increasing energy, not decreasing energy. It\u2019s not speed, but rather rising energy and collection. I want to see you improve it, not wait and hope there\u2019s no mistake. I want to see you affect his entire body.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were no second measures when it came to lengthening the canter either, \u201cFly! Good job. None of this half hearted stuff. When you have him straight, go for it. Don\u2019t waste your marks. When the technicals are right, he\u2019s straight and in front of you, go for it.\u201d That was enough for today\u2026.stretch, walk and finish.”<\/p>\n

another combination follows<\/em><\/p>\n

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Debbie Eisenhauer-Rodney was on here 11-year-old Flash and both she and Stefan decided they needed to work on the bay\u2019s dynamics. Stefan liked the horse\u2019s steady poll and swinging back, but wanted the neck a little bit more giving to accommodate the movement of the back and Stefan wanted to focus on Debbie to get the changes in the horse\u2019s body.<\/p>\n

\u201cStart in trot. Hands forward but I don\u2019t want the reins looping when the hands move forward. Then ride slight tempo differences. Don\u2019t chase him forward. Take the poll in front of you, let it move forward and then the body follows. Let your hand move away from your body. Try not to bring your body back. Bring your sternum forward with your hand. Don\u2019t sit behind the vertical otherwise you\u2019re sitting against the stretch, not with the stretch. Be careful not to lose the contact. When you give, you want to maintain or even improve the contact. Have a playful hand, invite him. Keep a low hand. The higher the hand the more difficult it is for the horse to maintain the contact.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Debbie worried that when she gave the hand the poll went down, the solution: \u201cSit behind your hand and take your seat with your hand. Now he\u2019s starting to move and soften his jaw. Good, there you go.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a break it was time for the canter, \u201cDon\u2019t pick him up. No need, keep your upper body in motion.\u201d When Flash wanted to hide, \u201cGet him to fill out the space in front instead of shortening the neck. Right. Now you can ask for more rhythm, not more speed, just that the entire horse works more, jumps more and responds more to your aids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Changes in tempo and the gelding started to get a little strong, \u201cDon\u2019t fight it, but wait for the back to supple. Keep your hands forward. More bend. Inside leg pushes a little bit outwards but make sure your outside leg isn\u2019t losing the hindquarters. He needs to jump toward the outside rein without the outside rein coming back.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThink of the dynamics; let him rock through his neck. Forward with light hands. Careful with your rein. Now downward transition, it should be forward not backwards. If anything, click your tongue. He\u2019s not supposed to stop, he\u2019s supposed to move.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI do understand that at the beginning it feels dull, but instead of trying to fix it and he gets more restricted, you\u2019ve got to get him moving from behind instead, and then it will improve and he\u2019ll get more supple and through and that will get the neck giving. If you correct it from the hand in front too much, it gets more restricted.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was still a bit more finessing to do at the trot to get the pair completely in synch.<\/p>\n

\u201cSit up, chin in, just because his legs move quicker, doesn\u2019t mean the back is giving. The seat keeps it all together even as your leg drives for impulsion. Not faster but more powerful. Don\u2019t back off with your leg when you pick him up. Don\u2019t stop riding. There you go. Exactly. Then he\u2019s more giving in the poll. It\u2019s not just forward, the point is that he responds more to you with more dynamics. Don\u2019t confuse that with speed. Now you can bend and flex, but keep your priorities. The hand is the last in the chain of aids.”<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he runs away from you, sit longer. Turn by giving with the inside rein to make room for the horse to come to the inside leg. Don\u2019t pull with the inside rein. Now you have more push. Good.\u201d Stefan also made sure that there was no loss of power during the transition. “If you lose pushing power, the contact becomes weaker and there is not enough for the horse to do the transition. The collecting aid is a half halt and that is pushing. Make your horse brave and strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the end of the session, Flash was really using his whole body and working from behind with a good over track showing back activity and the horse working forward into collection. Stefan gave us all food for thought challenging us to question ourselves everyday and to constantly develop our feeling as riders.<\/p>\n

more follows<\/em><\/p>\n

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Holly Lewis was on her 12-year-old Heatherton Park Romeo. Straight away Stefan was after more ground cover without speed; a longer, smoother stride with no hesitation. \u201cLow hands, let the neck drop. Let go. Don\u2019t let him hesitate in the air.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holly complied and the ground cover improved while Stefan elaborated that the stride had to stay long so the horse didn\u2019t snap its legs up. \u201cThe longer, lower, straighter the neck the better, especially for later on. Don\u2019t fiddle around if he gets a bit solid in the neck. Good, now get a response once you get the ground cover. He should almost feel like he has a hard time to lift you up to the rise rather than you needing to pull back with the hand,\u201d and again Stefan was looking for a good connection through the whole body of the horse, \u201ca solid contact so that he can take your hand forward. Don\u2019t give your hand so much though that he can no longer take it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not too much, not too little. That\u2019s riding right there!<\/p>\n

Stefan also advised practising everything needed for high collection in the canter, rather than the trot, as it\u2019s easier for the horse. It\u2019s all about balancing the horse in tempo rather than just \u2018collecting it up\u2019 or else you\u2019ll never be able to ride powerfully through a test.<\/p>\n

There was a warning on the need to correct the little faults early before they turn into big problems. Dear Romeo was trying hard and offering a bit more than needed so Holly had to be aware and bring it all back a step, \u201cDon\u2019t get hung up on the idea that you need to ride that big, hovering trot or else it will backfire on you. I\u2019m not going to be over critical, I just want to warn you or else you\u2019ll notice too late the faults that can happen. One of those is rhythm faults. Especially a horse that offers it. Rhythm faults are the first thing, and then lameness. Develop a consciousness on how a horse uses it\u2019s body. Is it a tight, flinching of the muscles or is the horse\u2019s body roaming? He needs to keep moving his limbs. You can only bring him back if you can get him to not hesitate in the suspension phase.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Stefan still wanted to play a bit more with the trot. \u201cSitting trot, not pushing, but keeping the seat without restricting the horse. Now you can use your leg more without him running away from it. You still want to improve his longitudinal forces because he wants to come up and back a bit. Hand forwards and use the leg until the stride gets longer. You want the feeling that the horse can touch your hand and you\u2019ll let him take it forward a little.”<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he gets too much, don\u2019t come up with your hand and body, that is a driving aid and you end up holding him and you\u2019ll compensate by pulling. Instead, move forward into the movement and hands lower and it\u2019s easier for the horse to balance. I\u2019m actually happy if he gets more. He\u2019s a dressage horse! He needs to sparkle! You want the increased strength.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the idea of pushing power. The horse will come back, you just need to be patient enough to wait for it. It\u2019s a natural thing to happen. He\u2019ll swing under your butt rather than rush off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holly was listening to every word and has the skill to put it into practice immediately so we got to see instant changes in the horse. \u201cRight. Now this is the beginning of cadence. Can you see the difference to what you had before? Now he starts swinging with the back. That\u2019s a collected trot!\u201d<\/p>\n

A bit of walk was well deserved before some collected walk to canter transitions. Stefan encouraged, \u201cStrong, solid neck, on your seat, more momentum but don\u2019t over power him. Come, not shorter with the neck. Good frame now. Now he\u2019s looking for it. Don\u2019t forget it; don\u2019t forget this feeling. Collection means more dynamic, more balanced. He consistently needs to press on your butt. Now do that in a slight medium canter on the circle. Good. Now he’s working though his body.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Caroline Hooper was on her eye catching Becks Gold II. The youngster wanted Caroline to help him out a little bit too much and Stefan focused on getting the gelding to lift up and out of his shoulder more and be more on his rider\u2019s seat. \u201cI want a normal trot where you can bring your hand further forward and he doesn\u2019t run way. What you give in your hand you should gain in your seat. Longer rein and hand further forward. Give him the freedom to use the neck. The time that you\u2019re sitting, really see it as a true sitting moment and try to stay there a little longer. Don\u2019t shorten the rein as you give your hand forward. Don\u2019t respond to every little sway of the line. Let him find himself a bit.”<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not a coincidence that the ears were pointing forward there all of a sudden. Now he comes into better balance and he looks for your leg. At the same time, try and get a bit of a response to your leg, yet not pushing him off the contact of your leg.\u201d Allowing hand, waiting seat and demanding leg was the focus, \u201cThe more you have him on your seat and legs, the less you need your hand. Your hand does not need to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Up into the canter and like Holly\u2019s horse before, \u2018Ben\u2019 needed to be a little more solid and steady in the neck and remain in front of Caroline\u2019s hand. \u201cDon\u2019t fiddle with your hand to weaken that. You want it more to stabilise, until you get enough drive and dynamics to have him stretch over the top line. Then you have more of a positive influence.\u201d And there it was, \u201cNow he reaches through to the bit rather than have that slight hesitation.\u201d<\/p>\n

A walk was in order but Stefan didn\u2019t want it so big that it no longer remained on the rider\u2019s seat and leg. \u201cExactly. Now hand forward and more frame. Now turn on the haunches. Try and work a little more with the balance. He needs to work into the inside leg and not hesitate when it touches him. The key is to get the inside leg on. He needs to move toward the inside leg, not off it at this age. He needs to work into and around it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back into the trot and Stefan wanted the horse to respond to Caroline\u2019s leg but within the swing of the stride. \u201cHe needs to be in the right frame and on your seat before you use the leg. Keep the hand forward. Keep some weight over the neck. Use the whip right behind your heel and when you\u2019re sitting. Too high is not good for him. Forward! Don\u2019t chicken out! Don\u2019t hold it. Your back has to hold it, not your hand. He doesn\u2019t really have too much in your hand, but I want to be very exact so you don\u2019t run into problems later.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Then Stefan decided to jump on for a ride and there was no ambiguity as to what he wanted. Stay in front of my leg and respond! There were a few kicks and bounces from Ben but Stefan just stuck to his guns and waited; waited for the horse to release and move. And there it was, big, powerful movement without the horse coming back at the hand and remaining supple through its body. He was in balance and once he knew the game plan, it was pretty impressive. He\u2019s a very willing horse.<\/p>\n

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Caroline was back in the saddle and Stefan wanted her to just pop her hand forward and let the horse grow up and out in front and do things himself. \u201cHe needs to do it alone. He won\u2019t run through the wall. If you don\u2019t hold, you don\u2019t need to make up with it with the leg. You don\u2019t need much leg.\u201d It\u2019s not until you sit on such a big mover that you realise that it\u2019s not as easy as it looks, but Caroline\u2019s a professional and by the end of the session, there was a pair you’d better keep your eye in in the competition arena.<\/p>\n

As always, Stefan is on the horse\u2019s side and onto the riders to influence their horses correctly with clear, consistent aids that influence the horse but don\u2019t push them away from the rider; letting the horse to get on with the job at home without the rider getting in the way and over organising. It all requires subtle, clever riding. This as well as catching and correcting faults early in the training help nip them in the bud so they don\u2019t turn into big problems or even lameness later.<\/p>\n

I hope that as you read this you noticed what an extraordinary trainer, Stefan Wolff is. Maybe you even asked the question – why are our dressage management team not using this man in a more organised way to help Australian dressage move down the path to international competitiveness?<\/p>\n

There is a whole library of articles with Stefan just a click away…<\/p>\n

Wolff, Stefan<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n