This message is from: debora seely <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Wow,
What an opportunity!! Fjords seem to have a way to win most people
over or at least to get them to see that this breed has potential for dressage
or for that matter anything else an owner wants to do.
Deb Seely, dressage enthusiast
Starfire Farm <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
This message is from: Starfire Farm
BDF Obelisk and I had the opportunity to train with Conrad Schumacher
during this past week. It was with some trepidation that I signed up for
this clinic, as Mr. Schumacher is recongized as a dressage trainer of
world-class dressage competitors. I found this text regarding Mr.
Schumacher on the internet: Mr. Schumacher personally has trained
students to win 37 gold, silver or bronze medals earned in international
competitions, including European Championships, World Championships, and
Olympic Games. He coached Sven and Gonnelien Rothenberger to their
silver medal team finish and Sven to his individual bronze medal in the
1996 Atlanta Olympics. He [was] named as the official trainer to the
British team, and [was] selected by the USDF to train the American
Advanced Young Riders through a series of annual clinics (1999).
Because of his credentials, I wasn't sure if he would enjoy coaching me
on my "unconventional" horse, but having been encouraged to participate
by my dressage friend and fellow trainer, Sandy Hotz, I thought I'd give
it a try.
After watching our warm-up, Mr. Schumacher (as he likes to do) discussed
with me my goals for this lesson. He complimented Obie, saying, "I like
how he moves. I've seen these horses like this, and they don't have the
same movement. He has really good movement (for his breed)." He also
complimented his forward way of going. The first day's lesson consisted
of working to get Obie rounder and deeper through his neck, and
achieving more "sitting" and self-carriage through his work, especially
in the walk/canter/walk transitions, using lots of voltes (small
circles). The second day was more of the same, with Obie much lighter
and rounder in the bridle and neck. We progressed from the voltes to
shoulder-in/renvers transitions, deep half-passes and some half-steps
(precursor to piaffe) with lots of voltes interspersed to achieve better
lateral balance and "throughness," all the while focusing on a rounder,
deeper connection through the reins. Mr. Schumacher gave us many
compliments throughout our session, saying, "I like that!" and
"Exactly!" (which are words that he uses when one is performing the
movements correctly and well), including noting that Obie displayed
talent for piaffe. At the end of our second session, he said, "I like
your horse. He is a very willing horse and works very well." This I took
as a very high compliment, especially taking into consideration the
quality of horses and riders that Mr. Schumacher has worked with
throughout the years. I have been told (and have seen in previous
clinics) that he does not dole out compliments lightly.
Afterwards, I learned that my trepidation about participating in this
clinic was not unwarranted. Prior to the beginning of the lessons,
Sandy Hotz was reviewing the list of riders with Mr. Schumacher, so he
would know who was riding. Some were new to him, and some were not. When
she came to my name, she told him that I would be riding a Norwegian
Fjord. He looked at her and said, "You don't like me any more, do you?"
She told him to just wait, and reserve judgement until he had seen us.
So, though I don't think that Obie won Mr. Schumacher over as a convert
to the Fjord breed, he did show a world-class trainer that there are
Fjord horses out there that can do a respectable job in higher level
dressage. We hope to be able to work with Mr. Shumacher again in the future.
Beth
--
Starfire Farm
Beth Beymer and Sandy North
http://www.starfirefarm.com
The FjordHorse List archives can be found at:
http://tinyurl.com/rcepw
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The FjordHorse List archives can be found at:
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