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Major Anders Lindgren Scholarship Recipient for 2004
 European Training Report
by Emily A. Gershberg
Last summer, I was lucky enough to be able to take my horse Pancratius to Bad Worishofen, Germany, to train with Ulla Salzgeber. Although it was at first quite intimidating to be in the barn of one of the best dressage riders in the world, I was quickly reassured to find that the training was fundamentally the same. The expectations and intensity were higher, but when it came right down to it, it was all about the basics.
Ulla uses the expression "truly through" a lot. By this she means that the horse must be honestly in front of the seat and legs, accepting the contact, particularly the outside rein, in a positive way without disturbing the rhythm and regularity of the gaits or the mental and physical relaxation of the horse. This does not mean that there will never be bumps along the way, or moments of tension, but that the priority is always maintaining the quality and purity of the gaits, and in fact enhancing them through proper training. Yes, we are talking about the training scale.
I spent the first several weeks of my time there working on getting my horse "truly through". The goal was to have the horse accepting the aids well enough that I could ride the neck deeper, or higher in "competition frame", or flex to the left or to the right without resistance and without sacrificing the quality of the gaits. The muscles of the neck, and therefore the back, were to be loose and relaxed so that this was easy. My horse has a slightly short, upright neck. This allows him to look quite nice without really creating an honest connection from back to front. In order to address this problem, Ulla used many gymnasticizing exercises, particularly the leg yield. Sometimes we leg-yielded across the entire diagonal, flexing the jaw first away from the direction of movement, and then as a suppling exercise, in the direction movement. She also had me ride a very steep leg-yield across the open side of a circle, again flexing the jaw to the inside while maintaining the contact on the outside and vice versa. She stressed over and over again how important it was to maintain the contact on the outside rein with a low outside hand. This helped the horse accept the flexion and shortening of the frame in a way that did not require a lot of wrestling from the rider. The contact, however, even when steady, should be elastic. Ulla would say "play" in the contact, meaning that the contact should stay alive and keep a conversation going with the horse's mouth. It should never be dull or rigid. If the rider simply pulled on one rein or the other to turn the horse's neck left and right, the horse only bounced from rein to rein and never really settled between the reins. It was also very important that the rest of the horse's body stay relatively straight when changing the bend and flexion in the neck. The haunches were not allowed to swing in or out, nor were the shoulders allowed to fall in or bulge out. When done properly, these exercises went a long way toward achieving softness and acceptance of the contact.
It was also very important that the horse remained in front of the seat and legs. In order to achieve and maintain this, we did many transitions both between and within the gaits. We used mainly short bursts of forward energy to create more impulsion. This helped to create a quicker, more active hind leg, where as long, drawn out periods of forward tended ultimately to make the horse longer and more strung out. And of course, we also rode many half-halts, making the trot or canter shorter and more active and then going more forward again. Always, the forward reaction from the seat and leg had to be there. If it was not, the correction with the leg or whip was lightning fast. Every time an aid was applied, there had to be a reaction. The rider cannot be constantly nagging at the horse to go forward or to come back or to be round. The acceptance of the contact and the energy from behind helped to complete the circle of the aids and allowed the energy of the horse to recycle itself.
Once we began to master the leg-yielding exercises, we started to add in more shoulder-in, travers, and renvers, and the half-passes. In these, we also at times exaggerated the bend and flexion without changing the angle, again to test the acceptance of the outside rein and to increase suppleness. It was important to be able to control the neck position without changing the horse's rhythm. Sometimes we rode with the neck deeper, sometimes in "competition" frame. The point was to be able to control the neck. Neck control is horse control. If the neck is loose and adjustable, so is the back. Also, riding the horse with the neck higher and lower, longer and shorter, flexed more or less, to the right or the left, not only made the horse more adjustable, but also helped to prevent muscle fatigue. Control does not mean force. What we mean here is that we have prepared the horse in such a way that he is easily malleable. We also sometimes adjusted the tempo within the lateral work, sometimes riding more collected, and other times riding more toward medium paces, just as we did on straight lines, circles and other exercises.
One of the most beneficial things for me was the consistent day after day eyes on the ground. Form facilitates function and enhances the communication with the horse. It was so helpful to have someone watching me every day and reminding me to maintain my correct position. After being reminded every day to keep my legs down, to maintain my upper body position even when things were falling apart, to maintain my swinging seat, etc., eventually these things began to stick. It is the rider's responsibility to maintain the correct position no matter what the horse is doing, and in so doing, the rider might then be able to make corrections. And the faster those corrections can be made, the better it is for the horse.
This is an area where I found it very helpful to watch Ulla and some of her students ride. I chose to train with Ulla partially because I think she is a beautiful AND effective rider. It's important to train with someone that you wish to emulate. When I rode after watching these beautiful riders, I always rode just a little bit better. It not only helped my position but also helped me "feel" through these other riders how to better ride through problems or how to ride better movements or exercises. I can remember one lesson I had where Ulla said, "Emily, these are the half-halts that I've been talking about for weeks. What is different that you are riding them now?" I knew that it was because I had watched her schooling Rusty that morning and had seen and felt the seamless, flowing half-halts that she rode.
It was also clear from spending time at Ulla's how focused and determined she is as a rider. These qualities are very important if you want to be successful. When you get on a horse, you must be able to put all of the extraneous things that are going on around you out of your mind and really focus on your horse. Then and only then can you really "hear" what your horse is telling you. You must also be able to set the horse up for whatever it is that you want to do, and then ask for it with determination. You must have the will to make it happen. This is not the same as forcing something to happen, because you have already taken the time to prepare the horse. But if you lack the will, it is left up to the horse to decide whether or not to do whatever it is you are trying to accomplish.
Lastly, I feel that it is important to have trust in the trainer that you have chosen to work with. This does not mean that you should blindly follow without thinking. But if you do not trust the person and are not willing to try what that person is telling you, you are likely to get much less out of the experience than would be possible. It often takes time for something new to work, but if you trust your trainer and let her guide you, you will likely reap the rewards.
I would like to thank The Dressage Foundation for awarding me the Major Anders Lindgren Scholarship. I am honored to have received this scholarship, which helped make it possible for me to go to Europe and train with one of the best riders in the world. It was an inspiring educational opportunity. I learned a tremendous amount and am enjoying sharing my new knowledge and understanding with my students. Thank you again.
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