Inaugural African Dressage Forum a Massive Success

Stephen Clarke and Jan Bemelmans were the keynote speakers amongst numerous other high profile veterinarians, saddle makers, physiotherapists and dressage riders that participated in the very first African Dressage Forum at the Vybrant Dressage Club at Ronelle Gilbert's Manor D’or in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 24 - 25 November 2018.

Lights! Camera! Action! And so began the very first Africa Dressage Forum with a mesmerising opening video, on huge LED screens, featuring the ‘Big Five’ African Wildlife, interspersed with pictures of dressage riders, all to the haunting music of the Lion King, rising to a crescendo which generated a huge round of spontaneous applause from the audience!

Suzanne Horne, President of Johannesburg based Vybrant Dressage Club, the Forum organisers, opened the proceedings by welcoming Stephen Clarke, Forum Leader, and no stranger to South Africa, plus a truly international audience – world class presenters from South Africa, UK, USA, Canada and Germany, and delegates not only from South Africa but also from neighbouring African countries - Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

First up in an action packed two days, was Stephen Clarke, with updates on the latest FEI judging trends and thinking with particular reference to the decisions made in 2017 concerning the collective marks and the Hi Lo system.

The first workshop entitled "Making the Transition from Small to Medium/Big Tour," was ably led by Jan Bemelmans, with three riders gaining the benefit of Jan’s immense knowledge and the insistence on the horse being absolutely reactive and on the aids. Jan joked, “I am impressed with the quality of the horses. I would think I am in Germany, not Africa!”

Science Meets Dressage

A World First in Diagnostic Imaging, from Equicare, with the ability to scan a horse’s legs up to the fetlock without general anaesthetic, was presented by Dr Sheelagh Higgerty , (FEI Official and Treating Veterinarian in South Africa for six disciplines), of Crowthorne Veterinary Clinic, one of the founder members of Equicare. The presentation video showed the ability of this 128 slice CT scanner to be ‘upended’ and descend into a specially made pit, allowing the horse to step safely on to a pedestal with imaging done in less than 1 minute. Said Sheelagh “This is a great diagnostic tool for all treating veterinaries and surgeons, showing detail not able to be seen on normal radiographs.”

African Horse Sickness, the dreaded and often fatal disease, was next on the agenda. Led by Professor Ian Sanne, Head of the Equine Research Fund with contributions from Dr John Gruwer, BVSC, Research & Innovation Manager at the South African Equine Health and Protocols NPC, and Candice Hobday, Director of International Horse Transporter, Hobday Equestrian Enterprises, every horse owner in the audience was delighted to know that a new recombinant vaccine was on the horizon, with benefits not only to horses already in Africa but also assisting in movement control protocols.

A huge ‘crowd pleaser’ that every rider, coach and judge in the audience could relate to, was Andy Thomas, Director of Event Physio in UK, who talked about identification of imbalances and weaknesses of riders and their effect on performance. Andy worked with Advanced level rider, Eleni Constas, her coach, Lilian Möller, and her horse, Callaho Gabriella (Granulit/Lucy in the Sky/Land Earl) , and gave Eleni just a couple of exercises to work on. Said Andy “It’s not about changing one thing by 100%, it’s about changing 100 things by 1% that makes the difference”. Andy used a specially designed jacket with fluorescent green lines to improve visual perception of straightness.

Last up on Day One was Stephen Clarke, with his usual deep insight and immense knowledge in judging at Grand Prix Level. In the arena with him was the current SA National Grand Prix Champion, the imported Oldenburg gelding, Adelprag Stud’s Quicksilver (Quarterback/Starleit/ Stedinger) ridden by Chere Burger.

Practical Workshops on Day Two

Stephen Clarke welcomed an enthusiastic audience back to Day Two for Jan Bemelmans’ second workshop. This workshop showcased three novice horses. Jan emphasised the importance of the contact to create true ‘throughness’ in preparation for the flying changes.

The much anticipated presentation from Dr Hilary Clayton on Biomechanical Perceptions of Dressage Performance, with superb powerpoint presentations and videos, held the audience’s attention for over an hour. Although now officially retired from her post as the Mary Anne McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine at Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Hilary continues to perform collaborative research with colleagues in universities around the world and is applying her technical expertise to develop practical tools and equipment that benefit riders, trainers and veterinarians.

Joachim Schleese, a German Certified Master Sadler, currently based in Canada, gave an insightful presentation on the critical importance of saddle fitting, to allow the horse to move forward willingly, happily and with great comfort. 

He worked with Manor D’Or’s lovely grey horse, the Namibian warmblood, St Vincent (Salinger/Midgard Saskia/Eichbaum) and made use of coloured crayons to outline various anatomical parts of the horse which affected how the saddle should fit.

Following on from Joachim, Dr John McVeigh, BVSC, of the international veterinary practice, Baker McVeigh, talked about his passion for his continuing interests in the “mysteries” of the horse’s back and the treatment thereof, which can have a major impact not only on the horse’s gaits, but can completely change their personality and resultant behaviour.

The Coach the Coaches Session, with international coaches Niall Quirk (USA) and Natalie Hobday (S.Africa) was an interactive session, involving the audience and the three demo riders, one at novice level, one at elementary medium level and the more experienced medium horse. The session involved the tools coaches should be able to use to assess different riders at different levels and be able to identify areas for improvement.

Last on the Agenda was Spectator Judging with Stephen Clarke. Each delegate had a copy of a special Elementary test written for the 40m x 20m arena. Again, Stephen referred back to the Training Scale and also to the ability to reward quality and accuracy of the movements, as well as giving positive remarks on things that needed improving.

Verdict from delegates : “A world class event, so professionally organised” ; “The whole weekend was beyond my wildest imaginations”; “I was blown away by the quality of every single speaker and how much I learned”; “Magnificent attention to detail and professionalism” ; “A weekend full of inspiration and learning”; “I can honestly say it was the best equestrian event I have ever attended in South Africa – world class”.

Text by Judy Vertue - Photos © Hilary O’Leary Photography

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