Nancy Spear and Guinevere

2010 Region 2 Gifted Scholarship Recipient, to Train in 2011


The ABCs of Colonel Christian Carde:

Activity (impulsion)
Balance (straightness)
Connection (submission and contact)

Photo by Studio 131 Photography

When I submitted my application for the Gifted Scholarship last fall, I had plans to spend a week in Kentucky with my long-time instructor and mentor, Ed Rothkranz. Unfortunately, Ed became quite ill this past winter, and he is currently undergoing intensive medical care. I had to cancel my scheduled April visit with Ed at his Rhineland Stud Farm, and I am not sure when I will have the opportunity to work with him in the future.

After discussing this situation with The Dressage Foundation staff, they kindly gave me permission to use my Gifted Grant to train with Colonel Christian Carde of the Cadre Noir, who was visiting the United States this past April from Samur, France.  I had previously audited a symposium with Col. Carde in June of 2010, and at that time I was drawn to his kind, gracious demeanor towards both horses and riders. So I had hoped to have the opportunity to work with him when he returned this spring.  I truly appreciate The Dressage Foundation approving this change to work with an instructor who is considered to be one of the dressage masters.

On Friday morning I introduced myself and my mare, Guinevere (Gwen), to Colonel Carde, and after a few minutes of his observing us warming up, he and I had a discussion about dressage and the common difficulties that most riders experience.  Col. Carde indicated that most riders have issues with contact – too much or too little – and, of course, I was no exception! While I was still sitting on my mare, he walked along beside us and held the reins in his hands, and showed me exactly how much contact he felt I needed and why correct contact was vital.

Colonel Carde emphasized that after a rider obtains permanent contact with a horse’s mouth, the rider must then be responsible for maintaining the correct tension (weight) of the reins.  He stated that when a horse fights the reins, never pull back, but instead keep equal contact in both reins and close the fingers, resisting until the horse accepts the contact. He indicated that contact with the bit must be very persistent but also precise, and he said to ask for soft contact regardless of what Gwen did with her head. He also emphasized that as soon as she accepted the contact that I should “give generously” in return.

He then asked me to re-take the reins and to walk Gwen around him in a circle as I maintained a quiet tension in the reins.   As I initiated transitions from walk to halt and walk to trot, he began to speak of how to increase the activity (impulsion) to maintain the contact. “But do not speed up” he admonished me. “Think of activity first and contact second”. As the lesson progressed, we discussed his concepts of activity, cadence, tension of the reins, and speed, and how one should maintain the correct quality of all these concepts at all times.

Saturday and Sunday’s lessons were a continuation of Friday’s lesson, adding canter work and lateral movements to the arsenal. Colonel Carde said it is like there are three traffic lights, one for each concept, and all three lights must be green for the horse to go correctly.  If activity is not correct and the “lamp turns red, then it must be fixed before you can continue;" the same precept holds for both balance and contact. All three must be correct at all times.  For example, in a downward transition, a rider should maintain the forward movement (activity) in a progressive manner, and not suddenly make changes, or the light for activity would “turn red." We were then to expand the walk, but do so by progressively giving the reins, so that the mare would neither pull the reins out of my hands nor would she be surprised when I picked up the reins. In either case the contact light would “turn red." We also worked on slowing the gaits while keeping the activity from behind but to never use hands and legs together at the same time; he explained that to a horse, this would only be confusing.  It was thus my responsibility to not let Gwen anticipate downward transitions by slowing down, but maintaining activity and balance at all times instead.

During my lessons, Col. Carde was always very encouraging, and when he asked me to try something new, he would say “if you try, you will succeed."  He would always insist that Gwen be submissive at the walk before going into the trot and canter, and that there should be a good connection between my hands and the horse’s mouth before proceeding to the next step. He remarked that “Paris was not built in a day," so that I would understand that he did not expect perfection in every aspect of the lesson; teaching his theories on riding were of utmost importance to him.  We discussed collection and lengthening as being the next steps, as well as how to improve my riding to be “like a swordfighter” – accurate and precise.

In addition to my daily lessons, I was fortunate to be able to watch Col. Carde work with several other horses and riders. Many horses were working on piaffe and passage, but Col. Carde’s mantra of activity, balance, and connection continued to be the theme of every lesson.  I was able to ask him about his experiences at the Cadre Noir and had the opportunity to watch a video of his riding and working in hand during his tenure there.

We ended the lessons with his instructions to maintain, at all times, straightness, activity, and contact during my riding at home in my own arena.  He asked me if I would remember these three basic tenets, and I assured him that I would remember them very well.  Col Carde smiled brightly and said, “Then we will be friends."

In closing, I would like to thank Carol Lavell and her father, Gordon Cadwgan, for providing such a meaningful scholarship for adult amateurs with a strong volunteer background. Those of us who often work behind the scenes for our GMOs sometimes feel as if our own riding may suffer due to the amount of time we donate to keeping our GMOs running strong. It is particularly gratifying to know that Carol and her father recognize the importance of these contributions to helping dressage at the local level.  Also, great thanks are extended to The Dressage Foundation's Gifted Scholarship Committee who graciously made arrangements for me to use my scholarship money for the experience with Colonel Carde. Very special people I would like to thank who help me with my dressage passion include: Mike Madigan, Jane Morris, Katharina Nowotny-Boles, and Linda Pruisksma, each of whom contributed in some way to making this scholarship a reality.