It was our first 75-degree spring day after a long winter. I couldn’t wait to get Makana, my naturally gaited Walking horse mare, saddled for an afternoon ride.
I had thought that the gale-force winds would be our greatest riding challenge as I negotiated Makana past the disco tree dancing to and fro at the corner of the arena. I had no idea we’d be riding 100 yards from our new neighbor’s artillery range practice, plus enduring a steady stream of overzealous motorcyclists roaring by!
The frenzied sights and sounds gave us plenty of opportunity to practice riding bio-mechanic techniques I have learned from Mary Wanless that helped me maintain a secure riding position each time my explosive horse reacted to unexpected gun fire, thundering motors, and swaying bushes. Among Mary’s riding tactics include breathing deep into my stomach, bearing down of my internal anatomy to lower my center of gravity, holding my weight in my inner thighs to distribute my weight across my horse’s back instead of my weight resting on my horse’s spine, and pressing my fists forward toward the bit instead of pulling back.
The distractions challenged me to practice what I learned from Larry Whitesell about becoming a trusted leader. Whenever my horse got tense, nervous, and distracted it was my job to lead her back to balance and relaxation, and while doing she became a safer horse to ride. The best way to lead Makana back to balance and relaxation is through many transitions and lateral exercises.
So I practiced the suppling and lateral exercises I learned from Jennie Jackson and Outrageous, the gaited dressage school master I rode while I was at the March 2015 Dressage as Applied to the Gaited Horse Clinic in Tennessee. Lateral exercises, such as pivot the fore, shoulder in, and haunches in break up tension, lead to balance and relaxation, and improve the communication between me and my horse. As Makana realized that I was helping her find balance and relaxation through this harried situation, she learned to trust me more as a reliable leader.
In addition to riding bio-mechanics and leading my horse back to balance and relaxation with suppling exercises, we also practiced what I’ve been learning from the Philippe Karl Classical Dressage DVD series regarding the separation of the rein and leg aids, riding my horse into balance, and encouraging Makana to open and close her mouth, salivate and swallow by making my connection with the less sensitive bars of her mouth instead of from tongue pressure. These elements help to produce relaxation in the jaw and poll which help to produce a relaxed body which makes for a more trainable horse.
Although it wasn’t the joyous and relaxing spring ride I had hoped for, it was a successful milestone for me and my naturally gaited Walking horse Makana. I faced my riding fears, trusted the skills my mentors have imparted, remembered to breath, (prayed a bunch that I didn’t get shot by stray bullets), and managed to work Makana through the distractions in real time. We managed to end our ride with quality flat walk possessing good rhythm, balance, over stride, and impulsion.
High scoring dressage tests award the horse and rider who demonstrate a culmination of rhythm (with energy and tempo), relaxation (elasticity and suppleness), connection (acceptance of the aids and bit), impulsion (energy and thrust, straightness with alignment and balance), and collection (engagement, self carriage, and lightness of the forehand) as they move through a series of gaits, transitions, and movements precisely on the letter. Gait quality, harmony, and submission are factors in scoring, as well as rider’s position and use of aids as they are applied to ride the horse through the required movements of the test.
From time to time I’ve seen “needs more balance” written on gaited dressage tests I’ve ridden. While I know that balance is a dressage essential, I began to explore the “feeling of balance” as I ride my naturally gaited Walking horse. What does it feel like when my horse is in balance? What does it feel like when my horse is out of balance? As the rider, how can I identify, restore and maintain my horse’s balance?
Recently two of my favorite traveling clinicians came to town: international bio-mechanics riding coach Mary Wanless and successful Grand Prix dressage rider Heather Blitz (who is also a long-time student of Mary’s). While Mary’s clinic helped each rider discover the feeling of a balanced riding position, Heather’s clinic offered metaphors to help rider’s get in touch with the feeling of their horse’s balance and offered terrific training tips whenever their horses lost balance. Both clinics featured trotting horses, yet the teachings of rider bio-mechanics and the feeling of balance certainly translate to the riding of gaited horses.
In regards to the feeling of balance, Heather encouraged riders to imagine a medicine ball inside the horse’s body while they rode and to notice where the weight of it tends to rest. If it feels like it rests in the horse’s chest then the horse tends to be more on the forehand, and if the medicine ball feels as if it is right beneath the rider’s seat, that indicates that the horse is more in balance with the rider.
Heather’s “medicine ball” metaphor has helped me gain rider awareness with the feeling of balance. My awareness of balance is an essential first step in me being able to guide my naturally gaited Walking horse into reposition her body as she learns better balance. Whenever my mare feels like her balance is in her chest instead of beneath my seat, or whenever she leans on the bit or rushes with short, quick strides, I calmly and quietly half half, halt or halt and softly rein back a couple steps until I feel her balance shift from in front of the saddle to under my seat. Then I calmly and gently cue her forward.
The more we practice this at a flatwalk, the more balanced steps we have in succession. It feels like my seat and my horse’s core snap together like a Lego, and we travel together as one unit with power from her hindquarters through her body, an engaged abdomen which lifts her back and withers, and the forward energy flows through my fists and pushes forward towards the bit with each head nod.
I’m so excited with how this feels and the difference it is making in our gaited dressage. Please share your thoughts as you experiment with the medicine ball metaphor and the feeling of balance.
Fear is a struggle many riders can relate to, like me. Yet there is hope. Today, I ride with much more confidence, and my horses have more faith in me, too.
Here’s my story…
Spooky Horse or Nervous Rider?
By Jennifer Klitzke
A traumatic fall in 1990 gripped me with paralyzing riding fear. I became a precautionary rider and only felt safe riding in a highly controlled environment. I only rode in an indoor arena, no distractions, on a calm day, in a small circle at a slow walk.
Control only lasted so long.
Famished, fear awaits another opportunity. My horse moves unexpectedly. Fear whispers, “Just what MIGHT happen next?”
Replaying falling flashbacks across my mind I must have fallen a hundred times by know. I halt frozen. I can’t breathe. My horse tenses. “Uh, oh, here we go again!” says fear.
I snatch up the reins. My horse begins the “I gotta get outta here” dance. “You’re going to fall off again!” warns fear. I quickly dismount in self-protection and return home wet with tears. Again.
Am I reacting to a spooky horse? Or am I leading my horse into a spookiness with my nervousness?
I faced a crossroads: Do I give up my passion for riding horses or courageously face this fear.
My passion wins out, and I courageously face my fear. Just how do I break this cycle?
Facing fear hasn’t been easy, nor was it an overnight fix. There were many who have helped me―including my faith. I couldn’t have overcome fear on my own.
Since 1990, I have developed a theory based upon my plight: Some horses are more reactive than others, and a fearful rider heightens a horse’s reactivity.
My husband proves it to me each time my horse spooks at the swaying bird-filled bush on a windy day. My darling husband hops on and in minutes he’s riding my horse by the disco bush without a care. I’ve had hundreds of riding lessons, and he’s had a handful. How does he do it?
For starters, I believe God brought horses into my life to mirror my soul and help me get in touch with what’s really going on. After a rough day at the office, I used to think going to the barn to ride my horses will make me feel better, only to have had a horrible ride and leave feeling even worse than when I arrived.
Two lessons can be gleaned from this. First of all, I believe God has used horses to teach me about myself and lean on him as my source of life, not wrongfully place the burden on my horses. From time to time, I lose sight of this, and horses continue to humble me and keep my priorities in order. God has given me life purpose, meaning, and an identity. He has also given me the courage to persevere through facing my riding fear and not give up.
Secondly, horses are sensitive creatures and react to what’s going on in me. When I have a rough day at the office, my horses mirror the junk in my soul. Now I’ve learned. If I desire a quality time with my horses, I need to leave work at work.
Larry Whitesell demonstrating and explaining shoulder-in as I get a feel for it from the saddle.
In addition, I learned the importance of leadership from Larry Whitesell and Jennifer Bauer. If my horse reacts to noise or sudden movement, how I react to my horse makes all the difference. When I maintain a sense of calm and redirect her attention back to balance and relaxation, that’s when we are successful. BUT when I react to what she MIGHT do, irrational fear springs up in me, my body tenses, I snatch up the reins, and this only reinforces my horse’s nervousness.
Larry and Jennifer taught me how to become a trusted leader with my horses and riding with the mindset of meeting the horse’s needs. Horses look to the rider for leadership. If the rider doesn’t lead the horse to a place of wellbeing, the horse will take matters into their own hands. Horses generally don’t make good decisions, so it is in our best interest that I learn how to lead well. I will stay safer, my horse will remain calmer, and the voice of fear will not whisper in either of our ears.
Jennie Jackson teaching dressage as applied to the gaited horse.
Another mentor who has been instrumental in building my riding confidence is Jennie Jackson. She is the only person in history who has trained and shown a Tennessee Walking Horse to the highest levels of dressage with her naturally gaited stallion Champaign Watchout. Jennie has taught me how to ride my naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse using dressage to develop quality smooth gaits. She has challenged me to confidently ride through the storms, and not react to them. These tips have increased my riding confidence and consequently, my mare spooks less.
Finally, developing a secure and balanced riding position builds rider confidence like none other. Right after facing my crossroads in 1990, I began studying riding bio-mechanics from Mary Wanless when she published her first book, The Natural Rider. This book addresses riding fear and how to overcome it.
Jennifer Klitzke riding her Spanish Mustang getting established in the ABCs of riding bio-mechanics with Mary Wanless.
Since then I have purchased Mary’s Ride With Your Mind DVD series, several of her other books, and have audited her clinics whenever she comes to my region. I was fortunate enough to have ridden at one of her clinics in 2012. Mary brought my book and DVD studies to real-time application. She taught me the importance of aligning my external anatomy, breathing deep into my stomach, and the isokinetic effort of bearing down my internal anatomy and sealing my seat and thighs alongside the saddle for a more secure position while distributing my body weight more comfortably along the horse’s back. Instead of fixing the horse, she challenged me to fix my riding position which naturally restores my horse’s way of going.
Mary’s riding bio-mechanics have taught me a more secure and balanced riding position. Because of this I am better able to confidently ride through spooks. As a result, there is less fear in me and I produce less reactive fear in my horse. This translates into less overall spooks and a more harmonious riding relationship with my horse.
So, what is my darling husband’s secret to calmly riding my horse by the disco bush? I think he is deeply grounded in his faith, he presents a trusted leadership with the horse, and a naturally balanced riding position. He doesn’t think about what the horse MIGHT do. In fact, his mind doesn’t even go there. If the horse were to spook, his secure position would keep him in the saddle, he wouldn’t react to the horse’s nervousness, he would bring the horse back to balance and relaxation, and the horse would look to him as the trusted leader.
Some horses are more reactive than others, and a fearful rider heightens a horse’s reactivity. The example of me and my husband riding the same horse within minutes of each other with the same conditions and completely different outcomes reinforces my theory.
If you struggle with riding fear, hang in there and persevere. Find others who can help you through this and don’t let fear win out. I’m sure glad that I did. My struggle with debilitating fear didn’t disappear overnight. But today I enjoy showing my naturally gaited Walking horse at open schooling dressage shows, trail riding, team penning, sorting cows, endurance races, jumping courses, and trail obstacles.
Fear no longer controls my life—thank God—I am FREE!
After the TWH Celebration Show, my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse and I were back to being the solo gaited horse/rider entry at the St. George Dressage Academy schooling dressage show held Saturday, August 9, 2014. One of the spectators saw us gaiting and asked if I would be trotting my gaited horse during the test. Was I ever glad that I had contacted the show manager ahead of time and received permission to ride the NWHA gaited dressage tests en gait, otherwise that’s what I’d be expected to do—trot!
Our NWHA Training Level Test Three and NWHA First Level Test One were among the 46 dressage tests ridden—Intro level through First level. Our training level test felt like our best yet with a respectable score of 66.8%. I attribute our success to Jennie Jackson who traveled to Minnesota for the second year in a row to teach a “Dressage as Applied to the Gaited Horse” clinic. Jennie really set us on course in establishing rhythm, connection, and forwardness without rushing. My mare is no longer “flat walkin’ in a tight skirt.” Her hind steps are deeper, more even and consistent, combined with a deeper and straighter head nod. Makana’s canter has also improved. While we love to see a true “four-beat” flatwalk, Makana has achieved a solid “three-beat” canter which is rounder and more engaged.
After our first level dressage test Judge Jim Hatch remarked, “Thank you for bringing your gaited horse to the show. This was a first for me!” I thanked him for his willingness to provide feedback for where we are at in our training. Even though my gaited horse doesn’t trot, the elements of dressage still apply: rhythm, balance, forwardness, harmony between horse and rider, acceptance of the bridle, rider’s correct and effective use of aids, rider’s position and seat, and precision of the required movements.
Thank you to St. George Dressage Academy for opening their beautiful tree-lined facility up for this venue as a chorus a song birds kept us company while we rode our tests.
Video: NWHA Training Level Test Three
httpv://youtu.be/-Iv6XNCcQfY
I took my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse Makana to Lakeview Farms on Saturday, June 21, 2014. The farm hosted an open schooling dressage show featuring traditional dressage, western dressage and gaited dressage. It isn’t surprising that we were the only gaited entry, but, I was surprised to learn that our First Level Test One ride was the highest level test ridden of all competitors that day!
Lakeview is a well chosen name since the facility is located on a lake shore. Only June’s record rains have created a few more than the one lake it is known for. Flooding forced the schooling show to the indoor arena.
After we rode NWHA Training Level Test Three, judge Nancy Porter, a long time USDF R-judge remarked, “That was very interesting. Judging a gaited horse in dressage is a first for me!”
I smiled and thanked her for accommodating us as there are few venues for gaited riders to get expert feedback from an “R” judge on where we are at with our balance, rhythm, harmony, relaxation, suppleness, transition, submission, rider’s position, and use of aids.
Our recent lessons with Jennie Jackson helped us maintain our bending through serpentines and 10 meter half circles at a flat walk, our connection has improved over last year, and my mare’s canter was clearly three beat with more roundness. We received respectable scores of 64.2% in Training Level Test Three and 65% in First Level Test One.
Lakeview plans on one more schooling dressage show this Fall. I hope more gaited folks will give it a try. This is a very low-key, beginner-friendly show with beautiful trails to ride and even a trail obstacle course to play around in after your tests are complete. In fact, I met two women at the show who own Tennessee walking horses and one of the women tacked up after my last ride and we took a lovely trail ride through the beautifully groomed wooded trails.
Thank you to Lakeview Farm for accommodating gaited dressage at their schooling dressage show and to Nancy Porter for judging. It was a privilege to ride for and receive feedback from a USDF “R” Judge.
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