{"id":6318,"date":"2011-08-03T03:48:36","date_gmt":"2011-08-03T03:48:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/?p=6318"},"modified":"2015-01-22T07:35:51","modified_gmt":"2015-01-21T20:35:51","slug":"cross-country-training-with-rebel-morrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/2011\/08\/cross-country-training-with-rebel-morrow\/","title":{"rendered":"Cross Country training with Rebel Morrow"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Competitive fixture on the Australian eventing circuit, Rebel Morrow, is as Aussie as they come \u2013 genuine, hard working, and determined to succeed in a tough sport. Many remember her partnership with Oaklea Groover, the horse that took her to the 2004 Athens Olympics, where they finished 11th<\/sup>, the highest placed Aussie. But in a sport where performance is a duet, not a solo act, trainers earn respect based on how they got there.<\/p>\n

After graduating from high school, Rebel managed to campaign four horses while working full time at the local meat works, Kilcoy Pastoral Co, chopping and packaging meat to fuel her hobby. After four years in an environment where most workers don\u2019t last a year, she saved enough money to train full time and make riding her profession. Rebel\u2019s put in the hard yards, and she was passing on this experience at the Fig Tree Pocket cross-country course in Queensland to a group of four riders with a range of problems.<\/p>\n

Meryn Cooper was riding an exuberant, off-the-track Thoroughbred, Whataway (Woodman \/ Dawn of Light) who tended to get strong, often charging at the fences and then stopping at the last minute. It didn\u2019t help that a wicked wind was whipping through the trees, inciting creaks and cracks that were being mistaken by her five-year-old gelding as something more sinister.<\/p>\n

Rebel said if your horse runs at the fence, ride transitions to get their attention: \u201cWalk him to the fence and make him stand in front of it. Then have another go in trot, but if you feel him tuck his bum under and go to take off again, walk to it, halt and bring him back around.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou could make him go over it, but he\u2019s only going to leap over it, and it\u2019s going to be ugly. Sure, that might happen on the day of the event, but we\u2019re schooling, we want to change the way he thinks about approaching a fence.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea was to get the horse back on the aids and listening to the rider, rather than panicking. This meant riding the transitions as you would in the dressage arena: \u201cSit down, heels deep, and walk him to the fence. As you\u2019re pulling up, don\u2019t ride a desperate screech to walk, think of how you do a downward transition, it\u2019s the same aids. Use your knowledge from the flat on the cross-country course. You don\u2019t just come out here all-guns-blazing and then pull on the brakes. You want to keep his neck soft and not have his head up in the air.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When your heart\u2019s pounding in your ears, it\u2019s difficult to think logically. Which is why Rebel reminded Meryn not to get lost in the moment: \u201cI\u2019m sure you\u2019d just love to pull him up, but that\u2019s only going to keep him revved up. Get him thinking, get him listening and responding to the aids. If you just sit there pulling on his mouth, he\u2019s only going to get worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn your approach, start to think about half halting, bringing him back in trot. If you have come back to walk, make sure you walk in straight and ask him to drop his nose down into walk, so he doesn\u2019t look like a lama.\u201d<\/p>\n

After several attempts, the combination was making progress: \u201cGood, he\u2019s looking much better in his whole outlook now, and he\u2019s actually listening to the aids!”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At the water jump, Whataway\u2019s blood was back up and he was refusing at the last minute, Rebel\u2019s solution? \u201cMake him stand in front of it, don\u2019t just turn away, but be polite and steady about it, because he knows he did the wrong thing, so you\u2019ve got to be careful because he might panic that you\u2019re going to get after him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rebel\u2019s theory is simple when it comes to dealing with a legitimate refusal: \u201cI know the horse, so I know he\u2019s not doing a dirty stop, he\u2019s genuinely scared. When that\u2019s the case, I always let them stand in front of the jump. When you do that you can feel them breath, relax, they take it in, and they look at it, and it gives the rider a chance to regroup.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making the rider more tactical in their second attempt: \u201cIf Meryn had just turned and come at it straight away, she would have been more irrational, more upset, and she wouldn\u2019t learn anything from it, the horse wouldn\u2019t learn anything from it. Pausing gives the rider a chance to think about what they\u2019re going to do. Otherwise, she probably would have come at it kicking and smacking, this doesn\u2019t make it a positive experience for the horse and he\u2019s not going to want to do it again is he? In competition a stop is bad, but in training there\u2019s more to it, it\u2019s an opportunity to read the horse and train them to get over it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s natural to want to avoid a stop, and this time Meryn bustled the horse over the jump\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t over-ride it now, that was all too much, we want him to feel relaxed over the fence so he enjoys it. Instead of using the whip, use your hand to give him a little slap. I do it with the young horses until they get used to it, then you can take the whip again, because you\u2019re having a few stops, so you are going to need the whip at some point. You might go out next time with the whip in your left hand, so you can actually use your right hand as your slapper, then he won\u2019t over-react so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t start riding to the fence like you think he\u2019s going to stop, you\u2019re fiddling on the reins and you\u2019re getting defensive. If you start jamming, he\u2019s going to get anxious and start thinking, Meryn\u2019s really nervous there must be something wrong, <\/em>then they get on edge. Let him take you to the fence, stay in your two point position with your legs wrapped around him, and give him a squeeze when you want to take-off, if he stalls there, then you\u2019ve got to cowboy up and get him over it.\u201d<\/p>\n

If your horse continues to be strong, Rebel said the solution could be sought in a change of tack: \u201cI\u2019m a believer in finding the right bit for a horse. If they continue to be too strong, I use a bigger bit, so my aids can be delicate. People are always boasting about their horse being snaffle mouthed, but if you\u2019re swinging off his head and he\u2019s got a snaffle mouth, that defeats the whole purpose. I\u2019ll go up a bit, but I\u2019ll only tell a rider to use a stronger bit if they are responsible in how they use it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As I watched the group of riders make their way over the jumps, there seemed to be no strict formula on how to approach it \u2013 some cleared it from a bold canter, some from a trot, and some even cleared it from a stand still. The point is not to be fussy about the pace, as long as the horse is poised for take-off. Rebel instructed the group on how she likes to approach a fence:<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to be holding the horse off a fence, that\u2019s not how you enjoy a course. I want to set the canter and let the fences come to me. When I\u2019m schooling, I like to trot whenever they start to over-jump, or get too exuberant, because a horse can trot over anything as long as you go with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people think you have to canter, or need a bit of speed to get over a fence, but it\u2019s important not to mistake a fast canter for a confident canter, you can do it in trot. Trot can be a confident pace, as long as you allow them forward, the horse will get over it. But a backwards trot, that\u2019s a drama.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The riders shared a common problem when jumping the ditch: \u201cYou don\u2019t need a wild open canter, you just need a positive canter. A fast canter causes a panic and a flat jump. We just want a positive canter, there is a difference, and it\u2019s up to you to feel that difference. Don\u2019t mistake an arrogant ride for an elegant ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to jumping, it\u2019s about making each fence a positive experience: \u201cIt\u2019s about keeping the horse confident. Then it doesn\u2019t matter what the situation is, they\u2019ll feel secure. If you have to take off from slippery ground, or uneven footing, the horse might not be happy about it, so you might have to really close your leg around them and nurse them through the next fence, they\u2019ll let you know how they feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can have a stop because they\u2019re not sure about the footing at a fence, but if they get over it, and it wasn\u2019t easy, you know they\u2019ll come to the next fence thinking, I didn\u2019t like how the ground felt underneath me so I\u2019m wary of this next fence<\/em>. That\u2019s what makes a good rider, someone who can feel what\u2019s going on with the horse and act on that information.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe worst thing we can do is sit on their mouth right until take off, we\u2019re not pulling back on the contact, we\u2019re keeping the contact, and that keeps horses positive in their approach. If you pull back to a fence, it makes it awkward for you to sit on and it\u2019s uncomfortable for the horse.\u201d<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t want to have loops in your reins either: \u201cDon\u2019t drop your contact in your approach. You have to keep riding them into the contact, and then relax your hand forward over the fence, there\u2019s a difference between throwing the rein at them and relaxing the rein forward into the fence, feel it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rebel also made a point of getting riders to open their rein to turn, rather than pulling back on it: \u201cYou need to open your turning rein so the horse stays forward in the turn, if you pull back it just turns their neck and locks them up through the body, then you lose the momentum and you distract the horse from the jump. An open rein is an allowing rein, it gives the horse a direction to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Riders with a habit of pulling back on the rein to turn often come unstuck jumping combinations. This was the case when we reached the stair fence, a triple combination with two strides between the first and second fence, and three strides to the third. Rebel warned the group: \u201cOn an incline like this, it only takes a grab on the rein to turn their neck and add a half stride. That\u2019s enough to cause you to come in deep and lose your momentum, then the horse is either going to make an awkward jump, if you\u2019re lucky, or lose their confidence and stop if you\u2019re not, then boom, there\u2019s twenty penalties because you pulled on the rein instead of opening it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re always out in front with your hands and not restricting the horse, we want an allowing hand, not a restricting hand.\u201d And while practising: \u201cTake note of your canter on the way in and how that affects the stride through the combination, start remembering that sort of stuff so you can read a course.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rebel encourages learning by observation: \u201cNot all riders will watch others, but the ones who are tuned up and want to learn will, and you learn so much from watching someone else do it. I got told once that teaching was only ever going to improve my riding ability, I didn\u2019t want to get my level ones (Instructor qualification), but I did it because you get so much out of watching what happens when a rider does this or that, and how the horse takes a fence from different approaches.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rider\u2019s job is to make it as easy as possible for the horse to clear the fence, and when the fence is going up a hill, that means keeping your weight forward and out of the saddle. Rebel warned the group: \u201cDon\u2019t sit back coming up a hill because you\u2019ll make it harder work for the horse than it already is, and you\u2019ll make them stall. Stay parallel to the hill and go with the horse so you\u2019re not behind the motion, you\u2019re up there with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staying with the horse, even when it\u2019s going wrong, is vital: \u201cYou can\u2019t fall to pieces, if the horse is scrambling over the jump you have to keep your mind on the job for what happens after. It\u2019s better to go with him, you\u2019ve got to ride your way out of the action, because on course, if we fall to bits, it\u2019s all over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you drop your stirrup, you have to keep going, because that\u2019s what you would do if it happened on the day. Yes, it\u2019s not the best ride, but you have to cope with it in a competition, so learn to cope with it in training. It\u2019s too easy for us to say, \u2018Oh no, that wasn\u2019t 100% perfect, I\u2019ll do it again.\u2019 We all want to be perfect, but sometimes you just have to learn to get on with it, get the job done, and make the most of what the course throws at you. Never say die, stay positive, look forward and keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

A surprising point Rebel had to make several times throughout the lesson was that it helps to look at the fence: \u201cBelieve it or not it\u2019s a recurring thing with so many people. Before I went to the Athens Olympics I trained with Michelle Lang-McMahon for a year, and I had a habit of dropping my eyes, I\u2019d already competed Internationally and I still had this terrible habit. It wasn\u2019t until I had someone there drilling it into me daily that I changed it, and it\u2019s small things like that which have a big affect on the quality of your jump.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which is why Rebel believes a rider needs to do the hard slog at a working stable if they want to be serious: \u201cMost riders might have a lesson a week, and for the rest of the time they are riding on their own. If that\u2019s only a half hour lesson, that\u2019s only two hours a month with someone watching you, that\u2019s not enough time to make new habits. Training full time with someone is the only way to do it. If you can\u2019t cope doing it full time, you\u2019re not going to cop it as a professional eventer anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople often ask how I did it, and the answer is I wanted to do it. I worked from daylight to dark, you have a goal and you live and breath it. You have to, it\u2019s a cut throat sport and you can\u2019t forget that, if you don\u2019t put in the hard yards someone else will, and they\u2019ll take your opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rebel wants to make the most of the opportunities she has left: \u201cLife is short, I think when you get over thirty you realise that, before I thought it was endless\u201d, she said with a laugh.<\/p>\n

Which is why Rebel\u2019s focus is shifting: \u201cI\u2019d like to have a few horses that have already been started so I can move them up to the level I\u2019m good at doing, I really love riding the four-star tracks.\u201d This means downsizing to a smaller property: \u201cI don\u2019t want it to be a factory, I just want a few really talented horses.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eventer Rebel Morrow takes a cross country clinic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[439,73,438],"class_list":["post-6318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eventing","tag-cross-country","tag-eventing-training","tag-rebel-morrow"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6318"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20782,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6318\/revisions\/20782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}