Do you like making puzzles? I do. I always have. I’ve come to the realization that dressage is simply a puzzle. It has an infinite number of pieces in its 20×60 frame. I’ve been working for years on completing the boarder (that’s how you do puzzles – border first – right?). I think I can confidently say the border is complete (i.e., I am pretty good at keeping the horse between me and the ground and often with both of us in decent balance) but now I must fill in the middle. So, I’ve been finding pieces that sort of look similar and gathering them then testing to see if they fit with one another. Sometimes they do; lots of times they do not.
When I get to this stage of a puzzle, I know I need to study the image on the box so I have a clearer idea of what I’m looking at in all those pieces I’ve gathered. This is where I’ll leave the metaphor behind and get to “real” dressage. The “box” is the training scale and my instructor (Chris Erbskorn) is clarifying what it is that I’m seeing on the various puzzle pieces and why they seem similar, but often are not.
Today’s lesson hit strongly on mindfulness, alignment, and letting go of judgement. It sounds a bit metaphysical and it is, but isn’t. I’m often concerned with getting my aids “right” and “wrong” and blaming myself when I didn’t get the results I sought. Rather than judging myself harshly, Chris suggested I remember that horses don’t judge whether what the rider asks is right or wrong, they just give you what you ask for. With that in mind, I need to be more attentive to what my desired result is and then what actually happens when I ask. Was the result the result I wanted? If so, move on. If not, assess what did happen. How did I ask that I got that undesired result? What can I do differently to achieve the desired outcome? Be more mindful of the details in aids, timing and desired outcome.
Last but most definitely not least, we substituted the word straightness on the training scale with alignment but also added to it. Straightness can be misinterpreted as a straight line and we know bodies just are not straight in that way so Chris used alignment to mean correctly positioned through the body and on the line of travel. In addition, he spoke of alignment of the energy. The horse’s energy (presumably the rider’s as well) must be aligned with the line of travel in order to create flow through the body. When these two pieces are in place (they fit!), the look and feel is very harmonious – easy and fluid. I love when I achieve it and I will focus on that as my “desired result” much more often.
The GDCTA grant has me looking at my riding in a new way – with a timeline. I’ve always just gone about learning what I learn when I learn it and not really setting many deadlines because this is, after all, a recreational passion. Now that I’ve been given the grant and can spend more time on training, I feel a renewed sense of excitement in my riding. I am writing about the journey in an attempt to retain more of the information I’ve been given and with the horse that maybe you, too, will get some tidbit or other from it.
Homework (as opposed to riding focus): watch Steffan Peters freestyle videos. I think I can manage that!
See you at the barn!
June
Horse Prints in Time 
Alignment of energy is a good way to think about straightness. As you progress up the training scale without alignment you will not have strength for the demands of the upper level movements. FYI. Steffan is my idol. I could watch him all day everyday. :>)
The instruction resonated with me. It’s one thing I hope to always remember, 🙂