{"id":4448,"date":"2010-11-29T03:27:11","date_gmt":"2010-11-29T03:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/?p=4448"},"modified":"2017-02-09T16:00:46","modified_gmt":"2017-02-09T05:00:46","slug":"the-education-of-amy-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/2010\/11\/the-education-of-amy-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"The Education of Amy – Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The former head of the Spanish Riding School, Col Alois Podhajsky once wrote a book entitled: \u2018My Horses My Teachers\u2019. It\u2019s a concept that showjumping trainer, Michelle Strapp has made good use of in her training program with exciting young showjumping rider, Amy Graham. Michelle has deliberately used different horses, with different levels of education to give Amy that all-important \u2018feel\u2019 for how it should be.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amy\u2019s imported jumper, Transatlantic may be the horse in her string that is capable of matching them in a World Cup Qualifier, but it\u2019s her eight year old mare, SE Prada by Damiro, a son of Ramiro, out of a Favoured Bay mare who is helping with feel. Prada started life as Michelle\u2019s dressage prospect, but really wanted to be a showjumping horse, and has been the perfect partner for Amy as she furthers her equestrian education. When Amy sits on Prada she looks like a totally different rider, as Michelle is quick to comment:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you ride Charlie (Transatlantic), it looks a bit like you are trying to pedal a bike really fast, you are working hard, you are really busy \u2013 why do you think it is different when you are riding this mare? What quality do you have now that you don\u2019t have with the other horse?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s naturally in front of my leg\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s more educated in front of the leg. When you jumped Charlie yesterday and you jumped the line and said, that feels awful \u2013 what do you think was the weakest link that allowed you to get such sloppy distances?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe canter was too weak\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, because he wasn\u2019t in front of your leg! That\u2019s what has caught you\u00a0 in practice arenas sometimes, and that\u2019s what has caught you on a turn to a big oxer sometimes, where your eye sees a distance but you don\u2019t actually get to the distance, because he is too far behind you. Why couldn\u2019t you get the bigger stride with Charlie?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to chase him every stride\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you felt like you lacked the activity, right. It is very hard to ask a horse to come through and use his whole body if you are having to chase him. We\u2019ve got to get to a stage where you feel that quicker.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday Charlie was lacking his own motivation \u2013 he helps you in the ring sometimes because he creates his own motivation\u2026 and that is something you have to be prepared to assess when you canter into the ring. At Toowoomba he was really on the job and in front of your leg, but at occasionally at Elysian Fields, he wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow when you sit on Prada, you can feel the difference and how easy it is to get down to a distance because she is taking you more. So you have to take that feeling to Charlie so you don\u2019t feel you have to kick him every stride and chase his front legs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In the warmup session, Michelle keeps reminding Amy that it is her body that should \u2018tell\u2019 the horse what she wants:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the trot gets faster if we rise faster that encourages an even faster trot, as our body gets busier it encourages everything to be faster \u2013 instead of large, elastic strides. That\u2019s what you\u2019ve got to visualise. If you try to get big elastic strides out of a horse, then your body language on the horse has to do the same thing\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis mare has a natural cadence. She marked very well in the Young Dressage Horse class at DWTS, where she is a little hard \u2013 and where Charlie is actually easier \u2013 is her canter gets over-powerful. She gets quite croup high, and that\u2019s a little the way she is built, I think it was probably a good idea for her to go jumping because I don\u2019t think the high collection work was going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

So now Amy has a new challenge, improving the mare\u2019s canter, trying to get it straighter, trying to get her to lower her hind end and make the stride bigger:<\/p>\n

\u201cForward and let it swing. Keep the same rhythm, and yes, get her softer to the inside leg, but still keep her forward \u2013 so that when you make her move across, she is still in front of your leg. Certainly enlarge the circle and push from inside leg to outside rein, but keep the rhythm. Make sure that left hind leg keeps coming forward to the bridle, otherwise she just cheats \u2013 she moves her quarters across but she doesn\u2019t stay in front of your leg.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Amy is lucky in that her instructor gets on her horses and can relate to the problems she is having\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I rode Amy\u2019s young horse yesterday, I felt he needed to be a lot more in front of my leg, but I bet if Franke Sloothaak sat on one of my horses, he\u2019d probably say that it was not quite enough in front of the leg\u2026 When I took Prada to his clinic, Franke said to me, she\u2019s nice, she travels sweet but because she finds it quite easy, it is very easy for her to actually be just sitting behind you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want you to move into a little shoulder fore on the circle, but make sure she stays in front of that inside leg. I don\u2019t want the rhythm any slower, move her off your inside leg, off your inside leg, and forward to two reins. Good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you leave your stirrups at jumping length?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat means you have to canter without your stirrups then. Canter then drop your stirrups, when you feel her hoppy behind, just ride her straight and forward, keep the neck straight, the nose in the centre of the chest. If she feels like she is cutting the corner, don\u2019t correct her just with your inside rein, change her longitudinal balance. Feel like you\u2019re trying to lower her croup and bring her balance back on her hind leg. Good, then forward again, back on the hind leg, and forward again. Don\u2019t stay short too long.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, of course, the aim is to improve all the horses in the team \u2013 especially Transatlantic: \u201cIf Amy can take the feeling from this horse to Charlie, then instead of him jumping off a canter that is a little weak and a little flat, he\u2019s going to have a lot more power.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But with Prada, Amy has another problem, to get the mare to sit, to take the weight behind and lower her croup:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf she starts to get bouncy in the canter, make sure your leg stays back, even though she feels energetic, still keep your leg there, that\u2019s it. You are still riding the hind leg to your hand. What you are trying to do is alter her longitudinal balance. You can\u2019t just pull her short, you can\u2019t just pull the head in. You\u2019ve actually got to feel like you\u2019ve changed her balance, otherwise all that happens is that her nose comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you shorten you\u2019ve got to feel her balance. If you shorten her, think about shortening her with no hands, just think about altering her balance and then relax your hand, see what happens, test her. Relax your elbow, come forward a little for a stride \u2013 short release. Shorten your reins so your elbows are ever so slightly in front of your body, now short release again and see if she is carrying herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know if she is carrying herself unless you actually soften up. Just give, how much you give depends on how the horse feels like. If you over-give you might lose everything \u2013 just a slight give, very good, now go full circle again, and look for self-carriage so she sits on her hind legs and carries herself. Heels down, toe up, don\u2019t let the lower part of your leg get sloppy, bring your leg back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you change rein, think about the crookedness this way. She\u2019s much straighter today, yesterday she was on permanent two tracks, travers right, and the mare uses that as a cheat, rather than bring her balance back. Just try and keep it so her hind legs follow her front legs, so she has to keep her balance back on her hind leg. Relax your arm, very good, she\u2019s dying to swing those quarters at you instead of bringing her weight back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow go out of the small circle onto a big circle. Heels down, toes up \u2013 gradually let her down into a longer frame without her running. Your body still says \u2018half halt\u2019, your body still says \u2018wait\u2019.\u00a0 Do it inch by inch with your reins, don\u2019t suddenly drop them, feel it, feel the balance \u2013 you\u2019ve got to balance her now, not from your reins but from feeling your longitudinal balance. Then soft again, then half halt again, soft again. Follow her mouth for half a stride, relax, put your hand forward, now half halt again \u2013 that\u2019s better. Then give again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cA jumping horse should be able to work in any frame you want, so that they are starting to use all their body. What you want them to do in mid-air over a big oxer is to use their neck. So if we can\u2019t canter just allowing them to stretch and use their neck, it makes it very hard for them to be able to do it in mid-air. She\u2019s getting much straighter, now try to give again, it doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s not perfect, give again, and if she falls in a heap then you know what has gone wrong. Heels down, toes up, give again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot easier when you are trying to make a horse take more rein, if you don\u2019t let your reins get too long \u2013 because then if she starts to run, you have to be too busy with your hand. Shorten your reins, and give from your elbow \u2013 give again. Better \u2013 that\u2019s the idea. A half halt with your position, and give again. Two reins forward, up the neck, let them go \u2013 that\u2019s it. Half halt again, your reins have got long again, now give again. Follow, there you go, good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Okay, now try it in trot, try to get her to stretch and lengthen without losing her balance:<\/p>\n

\u201cFollow the mouth and if she feels like she is falling down, do a half halt by slowing your rise down, good, you dictate the rhythm. Dictate it by the way you rise. If you are rising fast, she\u2019ll run and fall out of balance. Half halt with your position, slow your rise. Okay let\u2019s have a walk then we\u2019ll give her a jump.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"AMY<\/strong><\/p>\n

When did you start riding Prada?<\/em><\/p>\n

“Back at Easter time last year. I had one ride on her when I first met Michelle. Michelle was training her at the time, and she said jump on, because she wanted to have a look at her over a jump. I was based here for a little while, and Michelle taught me on her every day – then we took her to the show at Mt Gambier, and that’s when we purchased her and I started riding her.”<\/p>\n

What is she like to ride?<\/em><\/p>\n

“She’s beautiful, because she is so well educated she gives me a feel of what I am trying to achieve on all the rest of my horses. If you don’t have a horse like her, then you are not sure of where to go, you know you want to educate your horses, but you are not sure to what level – or what it is supposed to feel like. She is not easy because she has so much power that it can be difficult trying to get her to sit on her hocks, but she does do it if I work at it. She has such a god mind as well.”<\/p>\n

What got you into jumping riding?<\/em><\/p>\n

“I started riding at six, Pony Club at around seven or eight. Then I had to choose between netball and pony club, I chose pony club – and then I had to choose which discipline. I decided jumping because mum and dad had done jumpning – but i also thought it was better because if you got eliminated there was always the next class, but if you got eliminating eventing, that was it for the weekend.”<\/p>\n

“I didn’t mind dressage, didn’t mind flat work back then, but I guess mum and dad were keen on jumping.”<\/p>\n

Who were your first trainers?<\/em><\/p>\n

“My grandmother was first. Mum and dad never wanted me to ride. When I was about eight or nine, my grandmother bought mt first two ponies and broke them in with me. Finally mum and dad gave in, and they started travelling around with me.”<\/p>\n

“Obviously I had pony club coaches, various coaches through the years, especially when I got on the State Squad. Alexa Bell, Jamie Coman a little bit – no one major until Michelle. I was overseas in Ireland, that’s when I found Charlie and I had dressage lessons there, that was my first real flat work lessons. That was with Niall Quirk. The state coaches were basically jumping lessons, not so much on the flat… He was okay, he got me started on Charlie then I came home and found Michelle.”<\/p>\n

The Education of Amy – A Showjumping Clinic Part 1<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n