Barbara and Star Go Off to See the Wizard
Once again, I wish to thank the Dressage Foundation for the generous Gifted Fund grant which enabled me to spend a week at Fireside Farm with Star (Nyzelster Boy) working with Patti Becker. I also wish to thank my relatives who generously allowed me, and my dog Lady, to spend six nights at their house less than fifteen miles from Fireside, thus saving me from having to pay motel bills. Their generosity and support were priceless.
Fireside is a gorgeous facility full of wonderful horses and helpful, fun people. It was an education in and of itself to watch Patti ride horse after fabulous horse. Patti emphasizes the basics, and is a real stickler on straightness. The horse cannot come through unless he is straight. Most of the horses at Fireside are successfully working at FEI levels, so I got to see Patti and her students working on tempi changes, pirouettes, extensions and all the other "sexy" stuff with a constant emphasis on straightness and forward and pure gaits.
All of the staff at Fireside were just fabulous. They couldn't have been more helpful. I didn't have to worry about feeding or cleaning Star's stall. I could just concentrate on my riding.
Patti found Star for me about 18 months ago, and we imported him from Belgium, where he competed through Prix St. Georges. He has tempi changes, a piaffe and a passage. However, Star and I have had a difficult time bonding. Between bad weather and injuries, I just have not been able to get it together with him. It got to the point where this spring I could not even make him trot! All I got when I put my leg on was a piaffe, and when I tried to correct it he would threaten to rear. Well, I am a fifty-six year old adult amateur who mostly rides by herself and things were getting pretty ugly. At recent clinics Patti fixed some of the problem, but it is awfully difficult to create a remedy in just two or three lessons at clinics spaced six or more weeks apart. The time I spent at Fireside enabled us to repair the problems and lay the foundation for future progress. I couldn't have done it without the Gifted Fund!
I arrived on Monday evening, August 3, and unpacked Star. I had lessons every day Tuesday through Sunday and watched Patti ride and give lessons. It has been a long time since I rode so hard or so consistently. I nearly died! At the end of the first lesson Patti had to hold Star while I got off because I was so tired I couldn't get my leg over the saddle. I am resolved to dedicate myself to trying to maintain this level of intensity in my riding. As an adult amateur with competing commitments this will be hard to do, but I intend to give it my best.
The entire time was spent working on "Go!". Star had to be more forward, in a rounder frame and be more in front of my leg and accepting of the aids. He just was not allowed to back off. This was really tough for me, but we got it done. I had to work on keeping my hands lower with more consistent contact and pushing him into the bridle every step. Every lesson he felt better and better and I had more and more fun. By the end of the week he felt really comfortable and I was able to feel where he needed to be. I think I now have the tools to get him there and keep him there.
On Wednesday evening I was able to have Star worked on by an equine chiropractor. That is just something which is not available to me up in the North Woods of Wisconsin. I had never actually seen an equine chiropractor work on a horse. It certainly seemed to help Star's comfort level and flexibility the next day. It didn't hurt that the chiropractor really seemed to like Star.
I was also able to spend time cleaning my tack and thinking about my riding. I am at the point in my life where I need to make some long term decisions about such things as retirement and future goals. I just don't see myself taking care of ten to twelve horses and running a breeding operation when I am seventy years old. The time the Gifted Fund gave to me enabled me to make some plans regarding what I want to do in the next five to ten years with respect to my life and my riding. In the immediate future I intend to try to get back to Fireside every four or five weeks if Patti is not able to come up for clinics closer to me. I have been going to clinics at a beautiful barn approximately two hours from Annie B Farm, but sometimes these clinics have to be cancelled for a variety of reasons, making it difficult to create consistent progress. It has dawned on me that Fireside is approximately four and one half hours from Annie B Farm, which is not that much of a difference. The real work is hitching up the trailer, packing up all the paraphernalia that has to go along with the horse and getting the horse into the trailer. The additional drive time is not that much more. This puts me more in control of my riding, which makes me feel great!
I truly feel that in my case the Gifted Fund has served its purpose, which was to enable me to take the time to focus on my riding, my goals and my purpose. I have been given the tools to move forward with my riding, to reassess my goals and to analyze my purpose. It has truly been a wonderful experience from which I will benefit for the rest of my life.
Barbara A. Cadwell