Good training is just good training and a horse and rider should express a harmonious and a happy partnership, whether it be for competition success or just for the reward of the training. The 2013 Dressage Convention proved in a fun and interactive atmosphere, that no matter what your philosophy or level of experience is, whether your aim is to win the gold or to just perfect a good working stretch, at the heart of everyone's training are the same fundamental goals.
"After the massive success and positive feedback from this year's Dressage Convention it's future as an annual event has been secured, and Carl Hester and I hope we can provide a platform where training methods can be openly demonstrated and considered within a positive and fun environment," said host Richard Davison.
Carl agreed adding "we are interested in learning at first hand all training systems and methods, whether they be in or outside of what is perceived to be 'the competition world'. There are so many amazing horsemen and communicators out there and we want to enjoy inter-acting with them and see what we have in common."
Uniting a range of different trainers from around the world, this year's convention held at Bury Farm featured Miguel Ralao and Sylvia Loch who demonstrated how they apply their classical methods to the modern day sport horse, and how, no matter what shape or size your horse may come in, the key is just to find the right balance for you and your horse so that you may succeed.
"We have loved watching and listening to Miguel and Sylvia," Richard added, "they are both very genuine and horse-friendly trainers and it was a pleasure to spend the weekend with them and watch on as they enlightened many people to the joy of dressage."
Sylvia set the show running with a detailed look at the classical seat, and while adjusting the rider's position, she talked about the outside connection and the common misconception that riders have. "Riders think that they need to be constantly pushing with their inside leg into the outside rein, but this is not the case," Loch explained. "The inside leg should not be always pressing, but should be long and down and the rider should then ride with the outside aids and balance the horse around that solid and stable inside leg."
Miguel then looked at the Iberian horse and how they are developing as a modern day dressage horse. Discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the breed as I took the arena on my 7-year old Lusitano stallion Batialo, who to my delight behaved so well faced with a football atmosphere type arena complete with moving image big screen, Miguel used different exercises to show how a rider can learn more about her horse and help him to achieve his full potential.
"In the shoulder-in Sarah is losing the cadence of the trot, so she must allow more with the outside rein to enable her horse to step up and forward with his leading front leg," said Miguel.
Richard and Carl's demonstration was truly special, in particularly the star appearance of the world number one dressage horse himself Valegro, really providing the audience a glimpse of a true dressage pair.
I learnt so much in those two days, not just on the detail and precision of top level riding, but on the fundamental elements of dressage that are universal and that will help a horse and rider find strength no matter what their goal or ability. Overall however, it was just so much fun, and unlike your typical business like dressage convention, the Bury Farm get-together was filled with character in all fields, horse, rider, and trainer, and the audience could feel that these dressage greats, or dressage want-to-be greats (me), just love what they do!
For the competitive rider, the training types and exercises from Carl and Charlotte in particular, have already helped me nut out my fly by corners and lack of movement preparation issues, and for the "do it for the love types" Miguel's tips on making that all important mental checklist, will surely help you to nut out where you are going wrong.
Richard feels that what is so re-assuring for him and Carl is that almost every visitor to TDC felt the same as they did, and the emails, tweets, forums, posts and messages that are coming back to them right now are over-whelming. "We didn't expect TDC to have such a big following and interest, and even more so we didn't expect everyone else to share our curiosity and enjoy the weekend as much as we have! Bury Farm worked their backsides off , early in the morning to late at night as did our other event partners. They all are behind it 100%."
Not wanting to just travel the usual beaten paths, Richard and Carl want to make their own journey through their study of horsemanship and they hope in the years to come that they can experiment and try different ideas and see where things can lead, while always aiming to provide an enjoyable, fun and relaxed learning environment - an organic TDC!
I was honoured to be a part of its beginning, and if you missed it, well you are lucky, you can get it all and more, on a pay-per-view basis by clicking here.
by Sarah Warne for Eurodressage
Related Link
Dressage Greats Unite the Community at The Dressage Convention