Robyn Davis Hahn and Bravo

2010 Region 1 Gifted Recipients, to train in 2011

Robyn and Bravo - Photo by WNC Photography

When I began the application process for the Carol Lavell Gifted Fund grant for adult amateurs through The Dressage Foundation, the most important decision was picking the right trainer for my perceived weaknesses. The training goal with my coming-7 year old Hungarian Warmblood (Bravo) was to establish and solidify the connection equally on both reins, improve straightness and throughness in our transitions, and develop true rideability back to front as my horse and I confirmed our recent jump to Second Level.

Jules Nyssen was an obvious choice for this week of intensive training--he has shown at the highest levels of the sport, has trained many horses from their beginnings to Grand Prix, and his training base at Stonegate Farm is a reasonable 3 hour drive. Mostly though, the reason was much more visceral: he trains and rides his horses in a way that makes ME want to ride them--they all look fun to ride and happy in their work. The farm is owned by Jennifer Brinkley, who graciously accepted Bravo and I to her barn for the week, and immediately made me feel comfortable and welcome.

Bravo and I arrived on a Sunday, and I eagerly reported in Monday morning not really having any idea what to expect. Despite getting there at 7:30 AM, Jules was already riding his third horse of the day. I settled in to watch for a while and was immediately struck by how straight his horse moved on the rail. This realization would prove to be one of the key basics we worked on all week.

When I got back to the hotel that night, I titled my training journal “Control the Shoulders, Control the World”. In my lesson that day, and in the four days that followed, maintaining control of the shoulders would be the foundation for all other work. Like many dressage trainers, Jules uses exercises on a circle to help the horse (and in this case the rider) maintain a more cognizant feel of all the moving parts and where they belong. His main exercise is simple, but not easy--control the shoulders by the “feeling of pirouette” at all 3 gaits, pushing the ever-wanting-to-escape outside shoulder inward on the track while keeping the haunches under and not letting them slide anywhere. This could not be accomplished until we addressed my main position flaw--my hands--frequently too low, and always too busy. Jules did not tolerate my “sweater knitting” and immediately had me shorten the reins, put my hands up where they belong in front of the saddle, and just hold them there while I used my legs and seat to turn Bravo. The focus was not on what my horse did with his head, but rather to have him seek the connection into the rein because his body was moving correctly. On the third day of lessons Jules added just a little to his simple exercise--once I felt Bravo was solidly in my contact I was to ask with both legs for a bigger gait for a few strides. By the fourth day I was allowed off the circle to try and maintain the connection around the ring on the second track, while controlling the shoulders and keeping the straightness. Any time I felt resistance, or that the connection had been lost, I was to immediately return to the small circle and regain control of the shoulders without doing anything with my hands. When the connection felt good I was again told “two legs, and forward”. As my competence increased with the basic shoulder exercise, he introduced new ones--shallow serpentines moving the shoulders just a few inches left-right-left-right and a few steps of a forward turn on the forehand with an outside flexion. In my last lesson on Friday we basically just put it all together, interspersing a few steps of medium gaits with transitions back by moving the shoulders in on the track, and using any of the lateral exercises I’d been practicing to keep Bravo straight and connected rather than pulling back with the reins. The bonus was that all these correct basics resulted in more correct, beautiful gaits with a lot more freedom in the shoulder, more forward energy with less work on my part, and a less resistant (and therefore less naughty) horse.

In addition to my daily lessons, I watched Jules ride his horses every day, and he often discussed what he was doing and why during each ride. Currently he has a range of horses from a green 4 year old to a 9-year-old Grand Prix horse (and aptly demonstrates the fundamentals of proper connection by showing him in a snaffle). We also talked about his opinions on husbandry, farriery, feeds, tack, and grooming--basically his entire training philosophy. A very fortunate coincidence was the scheduling of a two-day clinic with Carol Grant that occurred during my stay. In addition to teaching Jennifer and 2 other amateurs, she schooled Jules on most of his horses both days. Carol is a fantastic teacher with a great eye for matching the deficiencies in a horse with an exercise to address it. While her exercises were slightly different than the ones I used with Jules, you could see how the two trainers complemented each other and the overall emphasis on shoulder control was apparent in her lessons as well.

I was frankly surprised at how much progress Bravo and I made in just 5 days of lessons. The beauty of Jules’ system lies in its simplicity. While it is not easy to always maintain the connection for various reasons (stiffness, resistance, disobedience); the concept of controlling the shoulders with the outside rein and leg, reverting back to the circle as necessary, and allowing the forward movement as reward resulted in much improved throughness and connection, more uphill gaits, and my horse being relaxed and content in the work. I look forward to training with Jules again in the future to build upon the knowledge I gained in this all-too-short week.

I must offer heartfelt appreciation to Carol Lavell and The Dressage Foundation for the generosity of the ongoing funding for this grant, as well as the time and energy to process the applications. Without their time, money, and dedication to helping adult amateurs through this scholarship, I would not have had the ability to have such a wonderful and worthwhile opportunity realized.