More Words from Debbie

The thing I love about being a teacher, trainer, judge and active competitor is that the view from one side affects the perception from the other. This week-end as I was teaching Judith at Steel Prize on her seasoned Grand Prix horse, I was reminded that the rider's position is often influenced by the horse's position. Judith was sitting in a very elegant and functional position in the left lead canter and yet when she went right the seat was not centered and supple. And on this day the difference was quite obvious.  So I asked Judith what she was feeling in her position. And the answer was focused around how the horse felt,  not normally the answer that the dressage trainer is looking for (the ones that KNOW that every fault is the fault of the rider). So the end discussion and conversation ended up focusing on the quality and straightness of the right lead canter.  And as the horse's canter showed it's crookedness through the shoulder's it became apparent that it was difficult for the rider to keep  even position. So Monday comes around and I was home schooling a horse for a student (who by the way has difficulty staying positioned in the right lead canter) and I was able to transfer what I had seen over the week-end to really getting this horse straight through the shoulders in the right lead canter and have no doubt that the rider will be able to sit the right canter with a correct position once this straightness is more confirmed. So once again the benefit of taking the same issue from different (teacher, trainer)  perspectives comes in handy to reinforce the solution.