WILLIAM MICKLEM - HELP NOT HINDER Part 7

Simplicity

New legs for old is a phrase I often use when explaining that horse riding is a sport for all and a sport for life. In most sports the road to elite performance is tightly controlled by age and maximal development from youth by your thirties you become a veteran. But in equestrian sports extraordinary heights are possible even into middle and old age. Just last weekend, for example, 57 year old Josef Vana won probably the worlds toughest steeplehase, the four and a quarter mile Velka Pardubice in the Czech Republic, which includes the worlds biggest steeplechase fence, the Taxis, among the 31 fences.

In addition in recent times show jumpers Ian Millar from Canada, Nelson Pessoa from Brazil and Irelands Eddie Macken have won championship Grand Prix classes in their sixties. While in horse trials Bruce Davidson from the USA, and New Zealanders Mark Todd and Andrew Nicholson all continue to defy the aging process at the very highest level. In Dressage there are also numerous examples of older riders doing well.

A GREAT LADY SOME UNUSUAL AIDS

One of the outstanding older dressage riders was Lorna Johnson who rode El Farruco for Great Britain in the 72 Munich Olympic Games at the age of 70 years! She even made the ride off, doing the Grand Prix Special, and finished ahead of the great Swiss champion Christine Stckelberger with Granat, who won the Individual Gold 4 years later. Look at this superb picture of Christine Stuckelberger teaching a horse piaffe in hand:

So the quality of Lorna Johnsons work was better than most and the best of the British. However she was no ones fool and after the Munich Games decided she had had a good run and the time had come for retirement from competitive riding. As her horse had still to reach his prime she looked for and found a good young Grand Prix rider to take over the ride on El Farruco.

Great things were expected but the new partnership never got off the ground. The first few rides were so bad it was the sort of performance that only a mother could love! Why was this the case? The answer was that Mrs Johnson used such an unorthodox and complicated combination of aids, including taking a leg out of contact for the changes, pressing the withers for extensions and a vast range of weight aids, that it was impossible for El Farruco to understand his new rider or for the new rider to learn this unique language.

THE AIDS WE ARE NOT AWARE OF

In addition the truth was that due to some understandable stiffness and positional movementa bump here and a bump there Mrs Johnson used a number of unintentional aids that the horse was aware of but not the rider. The new rider was supple and still in her position and therefore did not reproduce the cues expected by El Farruco. This use of cues that the rider is unaware of almost certainly happens to some degree with most horses and riders who have a long term partnership. It yet again illustrates what a good student the horse is and what a range of aids you can use for the same exercise. But the question we must answer is what aids are efficient and best?

OPPOSITES

Reiner Klimke used to move his body forwards at the start of a medium or extended trot, whereas many others do the opposite. Some are taught to press with the legs to stop while others put the leg on to go forwards.. and if that doesnt work some prick or poke the withers with a stick to go forwards. (Yes some do this even today.) A show jumper slows down at the end of a round as their rider puts the seat back in the saddle whereas a dressage horse tends to slow down as the rider changes to a light seat, simply because this is what happens in their day to day work. Some are taught to turn using just the leg aids, while others are told to use just the weight aids. Some are taught to move their weight to the left to go to the left, while others are told to move their weight to the left to go to the right. Yes there is more than one way to Rome but much of what we do with aids means we have left the motorway, left the main roads, and are on the cycle track!

OK YOU DO IT WITHOUT REIN AIDS

I even hear novice riders being told not to use the reins for steering or stoppingbecause this is all done with the seat and weight aids. Therefore there is no need for any rein aids. In these cases I often wish I could put the coaches in question on a horse bursting with impulsion, but then take away their reins and say dont worry, just use your seat and weight aids! It is madness not to use the rein for aids to steer and slow down. They are the most readily understood by the horse and the easiest for the rider to apply. Therefore we need to learn how to give rein aids and practise their application within an allowing rein contact.

REIN AIDS AND THE ROOT OF THE FINGER

The way we hold the reins is of crucial importance to giving rein aids within an allowing rein contact. The rein needs to be held right up at the root of the finger instead of round the second or third joint of the finger as is often seen. What many do is open the fingers too much and actually do the rein holding with the thumb and first finger. The cause of this problem is often riding ponies or horses that are too strong for us when we start riding. So No 1 novice riders need to avoid strong rein contacts and No 2 they need to wear gloves.

We need to think of the rein being attached not to the fingers but to the hand above the fingers. By doing this, as the hand (and arm) goes with the horse, the fingers can give finger aids as required. If there is a poor response the finger aid can be repeated, followed up as appropriate with wrist and arm aids, but always coming back to the small finger aid.which I describe as a tweak because it is both small and of momentary duration.

The added value of holding the rein like this is that it is the route to riding successfully with a double bridle, keeping a lighter rein contact on the curb rein than on the snaffle rein. When the rein is not held between the fingers the snaffle rein slips through the fingers until the contact on both reins is equal, with both reins actually being held between the thumb and first finger and no longer independent.

A SIMPLE AID SYSTEM

If you want to fulfill potential you need a simple aid system that works for all exercises and levels. Sadly there are undoubtedly thousands riders who never fulfill their potential because of using aids that inefficient or are inappropriate for higher level riding or a different discipline.

All exercises can be ridden with this simple aid system: Inside leg for impulsion, outside leg to control or move the quarters, inside rein for direction and outside rein to control the speed. Then you also need a separate aid for canter. I use the outside leg in a small swinging motion, just as the vast majority of riders use when doing flying changes, but without any inward pressure as this tends to move the quarters sideways.

A STARTER PACK OF AIDS MORE SIMPLE & MORE HELP FULL

NBbut the horse needs to be between the aids and connected through the back to respond easily to the above aid system, and the rider needs independent use of the legs and hands. So lets be even more simple and natural:

Its 1, 2, 3, for simple aids: .1) Ride forward from the legs and go with your horse - the legs in the normal position, stirrup leather parallel to the girth, mean go forward, whether you use one leg or both legs. . 2) Look where you want to go and point the horses head in this direction..3) Use the voice in a logical way to help going forwards and slowing down.and for praise.

Even novice horses will then understand you .and understanding is the heart of an aid system! Simple and help full. Happy days. William

www.WilliamMicklem.com

STILL TO COME .Some small add ons to the aid system; difficult riders and egos that lead us astray; lungeing for communication; and the emergency stopyes I promise you its coming next time!

WILLIAM MICKLEM - HELP NOT HINDER Part 7

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