Laurie Bauchman

Laurie Bauchman Essay

     As the recipient of the Gifted Fund for Region One, I had the privilege of spending one week training with Scott Hassler.  I traveled from North Carolina to Maryland with my six-year-old KWPN gelding William, who I have owned for three years.  We had worked with Scott in a clinic a year and a half before, when William was a bit of a challenging four-year-old.  I was impressed by the high standards Scott set during his lessons and found him to be a very inspiring instructor.  Now that William had matured some, I felt he was ready for a week of intense training, and I was excited at the idea that we would really be able to make some progress.
    There were several things I hoped to accomplish during my week, along with some specific training issues I wanted to address.  William and I had been competing at Second Level, but at the shows, we were having the same problems with the same movements in the tests.  His medium trot had been slow to develop.  It was either too conservative or there was a loss of balance and rhythm.  William would sometimes become tense and resistant in the movements that were more difficult for him, including the transitions from medium to collected canter and haunches-in.  I was also hoping to get Scott’s help with some of the Third Level work that we had just started schooling, particularly with the flying changes. 
Additionally, I wanted to spend this time at Hassler Dressage because I knew there would be so much I could watch each day when I was done riding.  I am planning to have my own barn one day and am especially interested in working with young horses.  Scott is currently the USDF Young Horse Coach, so there are lots of talented young horses that come to him for both short and long-term training.  I knew there was no better place for me to go to observe the riding, training, and barn management skills I wanted to develop.
    My trainer, Becky Blikslager, worked tirelessly to help me prepare for the trip, and I doubt I would have ever made it to Chesapeake City, Maryland without the GPS system she insisted I borrow!  The drive itself was an adventure - eight hours of towing my extra-tall, extra-wide horse trailer over major bridges, through underwater tunnels, and in major holiday traffic on Easter Sunday.  William and I were both quite exhausted when we arrived later that evening, so I got him settled in at the barn as quickly as possible and headed to the guest house to unpack.  The accommodations were nothing short of incredible - a beautiful four bedroom house that made me feel like I was at a resort!  Best of all, it was just a short walk to the barn, so I could be there to watch everything that was happening on the farm that week.
    I had my first lesson the next morning.  Scott asked me to do my usual warm-up while he watched.  When I was through, he shared his observations.  Scott commented that I had too much inside bend at times, but that the overall suppleness was pretty good.  He thought that I needed to focus on strengthening William’s back in order to improve the collection and to do the more difficult Third Level work.  He said that we would do this through work on transitions between and within the gaits.  I spent much of the lesson riding forward and back in both the trot and canter.  Scott used numbers to describe the variations within the gaits.  My regular working canter was an “8,” so he would ask for a lengthening as “gradually go to 10.”  Next, I asked William to go from “10” to “12".  When that started to feel fairly easy, we brought the canter back to a “7” for just a couple of strides.  Scott stressed that it was important for William to do this work early in the ride, before he became tired and therefore resistant.  Throughout the lesson, we used counter-flexion to improve his straightness and throughness. 
Scott encouraged me to ride more assertively when there were problems.  When I was asking him to do something that was difficult for him, William would sometimes get quick, too strong, or I would lose the connection.  In some cases, I could make a small correction and go on with the work.  However, when I got a major resistance or William became disobedient, Scott pointed out that I would back off.  He explained that, when I did this, I was basically teaching William how to get out of hard work.  Scott wanted me to ride actively through the resistance and keep asking for what I wanted, regardless of how much William was protesting.  I could use shoulder-in or bending lines to encourage him to relax, but I needed to keep asking until he complied.  At the end of the ride, Scott reviewed the things we had done and what he thought we needed to work on.  “This week will be about knowing what to do when,” he said. 
    On day two, we started early on with the forward-and-back exercises from the previous ride.  The collection began to work well, and I felt William’s gaits getting more and more expressive.  I did some half-pass in trot, which was improved through an exercise Scott suggested.  Towards the end of the ride, we decided to try a flying change.  After I explained the problems I had with William getting too strong, Scott suggested a plan.  I would ride a short diagonal in canter to B or E, counter-canter down the rest of the long side, and then ask for the change as we approached the wall.  During the first couple of attempts, William did not change behind.  On the third try, he gave me an exuberant, clean change, after which he got quite strong and quick.  Scott insisted I keep riding the canter through the rest of the short side and through a circle until William settled down again.  “Now the pat!” he said when William relaxed.  “The change just finished there.”
    By day three, Scott suggested a basic training plan for William.  He thought that I needed to start each day with my regular warm-up, followed by the forward-and-back work.  Two-to-three days a week, I could then incorporate a couple of specific movements.  We then went to work on haunches-in, which was lacking bend - especially to the left.  An exercise of leg yielding from the centerline, and then slowly developing the haunches-in, produced great results.  At the end of the ride, we decided to try to ask William for some half-steps.  I had watched a ride the day before during which Scott explained the approach he used to train half-steps with different types of horses.  He discussed the pros and cons of starting them from the walk versus the trot, and how a horse’s strengths and weaknesses help him decide which way will work best.  We decided to try it from the trot with William.  Again, we used the “numbers.”  I started with a “4” trot, and then gradually went to a “3,” then “2,” with the idea that we would eventually get to “1”.  Whenever it felt like William might fall behind my leg, I immediately rode him forward.  Scott coached me through it and we gradually produced some good steps.
     By day four, things really began to click.  I felt like I was able to take some of the things we had worked on in the earlier rides and apply them at the right time on my own.  I began to see that the “teachable moment” for my horse often occurred at the exact time that it felt like things were falling apart.  Again, when William started to try to evade the collection, Scott told me to “ride through his emotions.”  When I did, I found that the next time I was much more likely to get the right response.  William was starting to learn that there was no easy way out!  We spent some time in this lesson discussing and clarifying some important points.  Scott stressed the need for the rider to be absolutely clear with the aids.  We talked about using the whip more creatively in producing the half-steps, depending on the reaction I got from one moment to the next.
During my last lesson, we reviewed all of the things we had worked on that week.  Scott also further explained the variations of leg and seat aids that he uses for different gaits and movements.  In the trot, he uses the inside leg for impulsion and the outside for balance.  Conversely, the outside leg creates the impulsion in the canter.  Scott explained the subtle differences in the way he uses his seat in the mediums, Piaffe, and Passage.  He cautioned me against using both legs at the same time a little too far back, because it feels “like a clamp” to the horse and can cause him to invert. 
According to Scott’s methodology, there are three phases of training: harmony (those rare moments when everything is perfect), coaching (explaining to the horse what you want), and correction (when there is a clear mistake).  I tried to be aware of these phases as I rode, and it helped me communicate more effectively with William.  This was what Scott was talking about in that first lesson when he said I would be learning “what to do when.”
    As I had expected, there was an incredible amount to learn just by watching.  Each day I had the opportunity to watch Scott and his very talented wife Suzanne ride many of the horses they have in training.  This included several of their incredible stallions.  There were many lessons I saw that included everything from Training Level to Grand Prix - young riders, amateurs, and several top professionals.  I was especially excited to get to watch Scott working with several young horses during the week.  It was amazing to see the way he was able to bring out their brilliance without pushing them out of their comfort zone.  They always looked happy, and you could see how Scott was building their confidence all the time.
In the barn, I tried to take in everything, including the way the horses were groomed, how the barn chores were done, and what type of bedding and feed they used.  I paid attention to all of the equipment I saw on different horses, including bits, saddles, and nosebands.  Scott has such a great staff, and everything about the barn is very clean, well-organized, and functional.  The people all seemed as happy as the horses.  It was very apparent that the safety of both the horses and riders was a top priority and nothing was left to chance.  One of the highlights of the week was getting a tour through the new Riveredge Facility that is currently under construction.  To try to describe it would in no way do it justice - let me just say that you will absolutely have to see it for yourself to believe it! 
    The week went by much too fast.  It was such a luxury to have an entire week where I did not have to think about anything but riding.  I was also so grateful to have had that one-on-one time with my horse.  Without a doubt, I had met all of the original training goals I had set for myself, and then some.  Just before I left, I thanked Scott for everything, and he gave me a few final words of wisdom: “Believe in your horse, believe in yourself - go for it.”  I told him I definitely would. 
Thanks so much to Scott Hassler, Carol Lavell, the Dressage Foundation and all who have generously donated to this fund.  It was an amazing experience that I will never forget.