Invited as a special guest speaker at this year's Global Dressage Forum, Australian dressage rider and horseman Tristan Tucker will present the 2012 forum with some of his methods of response training as well as illustrate how his techniques fit into the modern day sport of dressage.
"I was recommended as speaker at this year's GDF by Catherine Haddad, who approached the GDF Board," saaid the 33-year old from Melbourne. "Catherine is a good friend and is a great person to work horses for."
Tucker will give a presentation and a demonstrate of the horse’s ability to learn; not just the movements of the test, but how to respond to all things the horse will be exposed to in a dressage environment.
"The focus will be on preparing the entire horse mentally and physically before taking him out, so that he can trust in the knowledge you have given him and not have to rely on his instincts to survive," Tucker told Eurodressage.
Led into horses by his grandfather who had a great passion for the animal, Tristan comes from a horsey family with his mother also being a rider. He was lucky enough to help out at the racing stable where she worked.
"I was surrounded by horses all the time even though I was young and I had a feeling that for someone to start work at such a ridiculous hour of the morning, work all day with horses, then on the weekend go to the races and watch more horses, there had to be something to it! This was not just my mum , but almost everyone I knew at that age was doing the same thing," he said. "I realised from that point there was something about this animal that was worth knowing. Mum of course was putting me up on her big horses and leading me around, until I nagged enough to get my own pony (Blue Bubble)."
Tucker was educated "the normal Australian way," he said, adding that he "Yahooed my way through pony club as a games rider, then a mad event and jumping rider, until I eventually realized the thing I was doing in the first phase as an eventing rider was kind of important, and what I was doing was kind of terrible. That’s what led me to dressage!"
Developing what he terms "Response Training" Tristan aims to teach the whole horse the when, why, and how, in order for them to function in our human world. Tucker created his own niche in the dressage world, starting and training young horses, especially those that had been given a bad start, or which are hyper sensitive.
Currently running at a 14-horse barn in Holland, Tucker has some very sharp personalities in the stable, but more and more of his boxes are being filled with horses coming in for "specialized piaffe training."
"In terms of the rider, I help riders and horses at the top level, by reducing the negative effect on their performances that are the result of the atmosphere and the environment at the big shows," he explained. "The dressage horse can learn to be totally relaxed and confident in his work, with total focus on the rider in any given environment."
Tristan spends his days teaching horses, riding, attending shows,
keeping the 14 horses in work, and running clinics in Denmark, Germany,
Holland and the US.
"I also host horsemanship demonstrations in those countries and run a separate Equine Entertainment Business (Elite Horsemen) that tours right throughout Europe," he said.
Absorbing anything that is useful from anyone that can do something with horses, Tristan is constantly inspired to push the boundaries of what is possible between horses and humans.
"My greatest achievement is that I have never had a horse that I had to give up on. However my career highlight was being asked to present at this year’s Global Dressage Forum," he laughed.
Setting out to teach his audience that there is far more to dressage and horses than learning a system of riding, Tristan is most looking forward to sharing his passion with the dressage world.
"My aim is to soak up as much as I can from everyone else attending. I plan to make the most of the chance to be around so many people with the same interests as me, without the competition atmosphere where there is often no time to talk about training ideas, philosophies and horses."
The survival line through his life, Tristan has developed his own character via his work with this amazing animal.
"Determination, passion, success, failure, patience, learning about people, learning about myself, who I am as a person, all comes from my healthy obsession with horses. My goal in the future is to use what I learn at the forum, to share what I have learnt, and to continue to learn more. Hopefully the GDF will give me the opportunity to work with some new people, and some top quality horses, that will go on to produce some worthy performances in top level dressage."
by Sarah Warne for Eurodressage
Photos © Ridehesten.com
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