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Abigail Sykes - 2017 Van Cise Grant Recipient

This spring, thanks to The Dressage Foundation’s Carolyn Van Cise Grant for Michigan Youth, I was able to participate in a two-day clinic with Fred Weber at Winter Spring Farm. I rode my own Oldenburg mare, Luce Della Luna, or as she is known in the stable, Fly. Our trailer ride was eventful due to winds as high as fifty miles an hour, but thankfully we made it safely and were ready to ride at 3:30 on Friday.

Our first lesson was in the indoor due to the weather, so we had a long stretching warm up since she can be spooky at the end of the arena. I made sure to stretch her and get her bending easily in each direction through both the trot and the canter as Fred watched. Fred then began to dive into our strengths and weaknesses. He explained that he saw a higher level of collection in our trot, so our focus would be improving the collection in the canter.

Fly is a relatively long mare in her neck and back, so the ability to shorten her stride and collect her body is difficult. Because of this, we worked on the idea of canter pirouettes. First, Fred had us start with being able to create strides of very collected canter on the long side of the arena. By doing this, I was able to understand and feel a new level of adjustability within the gate. He then had us bring the canter work onto a circle, gradually making it smaller while using haunches in to promote the beginning of the pirouette. Through this exercise, I was able to better understand the aids that are needed in order to ask for the movement, while feeling the collection that it would take to complete it. Finally, this exercise transitioned into the half pirouette in the Prix St. Georges test. Fly found this much easier to the right than to the left, but I was able to prepare before the turn and ride the pirouette much better. It was very interesting how the things we had done previously made the corrections before, within, and after the movement easier to understand and complete.

In my second lesson, we still focused on our canter and pirouettes, but also worked on self-carriage, with the goal of lightening the weight that I often have in my hands. Because I have been riding in a snaffle bridle recently to improve the connection and solidify the basics before moving to the double bridle, Fly can become strong and heavy. In our pirouette work, we went through all of the previously stated steps, while adding the half pass. After working on the movement in the test, Fred asked us to half pass from the corner to X, go straight for two strides while keeping her shoulder up in the same way that it is in the lateral work, and then ask for the half pirouette. This was especially interesting because it helped me with the preparation piece of the end movement while improving her frame and shoulder carriage. Overall, the self-carriage was improved because of this, making the control in the pirouette easier for both Fly and I. Finally, we worked on the trot work from the test. Throughout this, Fred gave tips about keeping Fly’s shoulders up during extensions through half halts in the corner before the movement starts while also helping her to balance through circles by being aware of my inside leg and outside rein.

Overall, Fred felt that while we were struggling with our pirouette work, Fly’s ability to sit and collect would allow for fast learning now that I have new tools to teach her. Fred was tough, but he made learning fun while understanding when we made mistakes. I now feel motivated and excited for our show season. We hope to compete in Prix St. Georges and I feel confident that Fly and I will be able to do it successfully.