Tag Archives: rider position with gaited horse

Dressage for the Gaited Horse, Gaited Dressage Clinics

2014 Jennie Jackson Dressage en Gaite Clinic

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By Jennifer Klitzke

2014 Jennie Jackson Clinic: Dressage as Applied to the Gaited Horse

Coming from 28 years as a devoted dressage student riding trotting horses, dressage is not new to me. But applying dressage training methods to my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse has raised a few questions: How do I ride a head-shaking horse on-the-bit? Does the dressage training pyramid apply to the gaited horse? Can a gaited horse reach high levels of dressage? Is it possible to collect a gaited horse without trotting? What about rider position?

In January 2013 I stumbled upon Jennie Jackson’s Dressage en Gaite training DVDs and purchased them with my Christmas money in hopes of finding answers to these questions.

Jennie is the only person I’ve come to know IN HISTORY who has trained and shown a Tennessee walking horse to the highest levels of dressage: piaffe en gait, passage en gait, canter pirouettes, tempi changes, and has developed the full range of motion–collected through extended walks, gaits, and canters.

Watching Jennie’s DVDs began to answer my questions. That’s when I invited her to teach a Dressage as Applied to the Gaited Horse Clinic in MN last year. The clinic was a huge success. So this year, I team with the Minnesota Walking Horse Association for the 2014 Jennie Jackson Clinic held Friday-Sunday, May 30-June 1 in Proctor, MN.

Not only is Jennie the pioneer of Dressage en Gaite, she is an international Walking Horse judge and clinician and has a full scope of knowledge and experience with Tennessee walking horses‒from breeding through breaking, training and finishing, in and out of the show ring: English, western, trail obstacle, driving, stadium jumping, cross-country, and dressage. Plus, Jennie and her husband Nate have been on the front lines fighting soring and abuse for 30 years. What an honor to have them in our midst!

Auditors, riders, gaited horses, and a gaited mule came to the clinic from various backgrounds: some from the Walking horse show world, others from the trail, some new to dressage, and a few returned for more advanced dressage teaching.

Clinic riders and auditors experienced the importance of: teaching the horse relaxation, stretching and seeking a snaffle bit contact; teaching the horse to move away from the rider’s lower leg, step across and under its belly with its inside hind leg, and into the outside indirect rein through leg yield, turn on the fore, and shoulder in exercises; using ground rails to break pace; using half halts to discourage trot and establish a smooth four beat gait; establishing correct canter leads over ground rails; using travere through counter canter to maintain lead; applying the freshening canter to establish a true three-beat canter; collected walk-canter-walk transitions; simple changes at “X”; transitions between collected, medium, flat walk, and running walk; turn on the forehand; turn on the haunches; walk pirouettes; leg yield to half pass; introducing the kinton noseband and its function; introducing a double bridle and the function of the curb vs. the snaffle bit; plus demonstration rides by Jennie on some of the student’s horses to help riders, horses, and auditors understand the exercises Jennie taught.

I hope everyone who attended the clinic enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you Jennie and Nate Jackson for traveling to MN and to the MWHA for sponsoring this clinic!

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For more about Jennie Jackson and Dressage en Gaite, visit Jennie Jackson: Dressage En Gaite

Dressage for the Gaited Horse, Gaited Dressage Shows, Gaited Dressage Videos

Gaited Dressage at St. George

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naturallygaited-dressage-at-st-geroge-canter-2

By Jennifer Klitzke

What could be more unusual than seeing a Mustang among Warmbloods at a dressage show? How about a barefoot horse that doesn’t trot!

Last month I took my Spanish Mustang to St. George’s Dressage Academy Schooling Show and was so impressed with the facility, the friendly people, and the show organization, that I asked if I could bring my Tennessee walking horse to the next show and ride the NWHA tests that mimic the USDF tests with gait in lieu of trot. After the show secretary talked with the judge, they both welcomed us into our own division.

St. George’s Dressage Academy not only has a state-of-the-art facility, they really know how to order the weather! A perfect “10” summer day: sunny, slight breeze, 75-degrees, and no bugs, made for a very comfortable outdoor show. Warming up in the St. George’s 80 x 220 indoor arena was such a treat: giant fans kept the air moving, dust-free felt footing was so comfortable to ride on, and mirrors along the far wall helped me see what I was feeling in real time. There was plenty of space for everyone to warm up. The outdoor arena at St George’s is on an even plane and the footing is also well groomed, watered, and consistent through out. If you’ve ever ridden your horse on inconsistent footing or in an arena on a slope, you know how much that affects consistency of gait and balance.

Gift of Freedom (Makana), my naturally gaited barefoot Walking Horse, had the second highest score of 72.4% among 58 rides ranging from Intro to Prix St George. Not bad being the only gaited horse among trotting Warmbloods. Training Level Test Three includes flatwalk, flatwalk on a long rein, medium walk, freewalk on a long rein and canter with movements as serpentines, 20 meter circles, straight lines across the diagonal and center line halts.

Makana and I also earned a respectable score of 68.79% in First Level Test One which includes all of the gaits in Training Level plus medium canter and running walk,  and canter circles are reduced to 15 meters. The coaching I had received from Jennie Jackson has really helped us be more forward, connected, and engaged. Plus, the longer leg position Jennie showed me is helping to keep my heels from creeping too far back.

St. George’s Dressage Academy plans on having more schooling shows next year. A schooling show doesn’t get any better than this, so we’ll be back and I hope to see you there too!

A huge “thank you” to St. George’s Dressage Academy for opening up their luxurious facility to schooling shows. It is a treat to ride at such a nice place!

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Video: Naturally Gaited Dressage at St. George: NWHA Training Level Test Three

Video: Naturally Gaited Dressage at St. George: NWHA First Level Test One

Dressage for the Gaited Horse, Gaited Dressage Clinics

2013 Jennie Jackson Dressage en Gaite Clinic

Jennie Jackson dressage for the gaited horse clinic
Jennie Jackson dressage for the gaited horse clinic.

By Jennifer Klitzke

Still seeking answers as I apply dressage with my naturally gaited horse, I learned about a DVD by Jennie Jackson. In January, I purchased her DVD set with my Christmas money.

The DVDs showcased naturally gaited horses moving in collection, engagement, and forwardness within their smooth gaits. I watched every DVD back-to-back for hours. This is what I wanted to learn how to ride my naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse using dressage.

An Amazing Connection

To my amazement, a couple weeks after my purchase, Jennie Jackson contacted me and asked for feedback about the DVDs. ME? I was a bit spellbound that the famous Jennie Jackson, only person in history who has trained and shown a naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse to the highest levels of dressage, was interested in knowing my thoughts. More so, I was thrilled just to connect with her.

She was interested in knowing, “Who is this person who bought my entire DVD library?!”

During our conversation, I asked, “Do you hold clinics in the Midwest?”

That’s how the first Midwest “Jennie Jackson Dressage as Applied to the Gaited Horse Clinic” got started. Six months of preparation came together June 29-30, 2013.

So how was the clinic? Stupendous! The Jennie Jackson Dressage as Applied to the Gaited Horse Clinic exceeded my already high expectations. There was a terrific mix of gaited horses, ages three to thirteen, green to advanced. There was a unique mix English and western riders who were new to dressage as well as experienced. Riders and horses were challenged and took home effective dressage methods that addressed their riding goals.

Jennie drew from 40 years of training and showing experience with Tennessee walking horses and the dressage she has learned from top instructors.

During the clinic, both horse and rider received individualized instruction. Jennie explained dressage concepts to the horse as she rode. Then she coached each rider through these concepts as they rode their horse.

My training questions

I brought two questions to my sessions: 1)How to ride a head nodding horse with contact and 2) How to cue my horse forward without rushing into short quick steps.

Jennie addressed both questions with effective tools to help me at home. During each lesson I experienced moments of “the feeling of right.” Connection, forwardness, and engagement while riding at a medium walk, flat walk, and canter.

I’ve been an avid dressage rider since 1988, so the concept of inside leg to outside rein is not new. In fact, I believed I had been riding this way. Jennie explained a more effective use of my rein, seat, and leg aids. She helped me understand why “hands together” equals “horse together” and the difference between direct rein and indirect rein.

Riding at a Jennie Jackson dressage for the gaited horse clinic with my 9-year-old naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse.
Riding at a Jennie Jackson dressage for the gaited horse clinic with my 9-year-old naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse.

Jennie also addressed my forwardness issue with Makana. Jennie noticed it took twenty-two cues of squeeze, cluck, tap, and repeat before my horse finally moved forward.

Jennie said, “Your horse reads you faster than you read her.”

I didn’t have a lazy horse. I have a smart horse. Makana had duped me into believing she’s doing the best she can when she’s only been giving me 20% of what she is capable of! It is quite sobering to realize I had desensitized my horse to my leg aids.

Jennie’s intervention was just what we needed. She showed me the need to establish myself as the leader in our relationship as I retrained Makana to respond to my first cue.

Riders and their Walking horses learned lateral exercises to break up pace or hard trot, engage the hindquarters. She helped others introduce the canter or improve the quality of the canter over cavalettis. We all got an adrenaline rush watching Jennie coach one of the riders hand gallop.

Jennie taught us how lateral exercises, such as pivoting around the fore, shoulder in, shoulder fore, and leg yield molded each horse into exquisite, round and beautiful frames.

Riders and auditors took pages of notes to jog their memories as they returned home.

One of my favorite sessions was watching Jennie ride a multi-gaited Tennessee walking horse through medium walk, flat walk, fox trot, rack, and running walk. Then Jennie coached the rider through the same series of smooth gaits. Another session Jennie transformed a pacey horse into a natural four-beat gait using dressage methods. Then she coached the rider how to maintain the smooth gait.

An enormous “thank you” to riders and auditors who helped bring Jennie to Minnesota and a huge “thank you” to Jennie who drove the 2,000-mile trek from Tennessee to Minnesota and back. We are already talking about when Jennie will be back!

In my quest for answers the last six years riding my Tennessee walking horse using dressage methods, I feel like I have finally connected with “the feeling of right” as it relates to riding a head nodding horse with contact and forwardness.

About Jennie Jackson

In the 1980s Jennie began applying and perfecting dressage methods of training to gaited horses, and in 1998 she introduced dressage as a humane training alternative to the Tennessee Walking Horse breed. In 2006, Jennie and her famous Tennessee Walking Horse stallion Champagne Watchout performed the first Dressage En Gaite Musical Freestyle at The Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. The team demonstrated Prix St. George movements as canter pirouette, tempi changes, and piaffe and passage en gaite.

Tribute to a Legend Champagne Watchout

In 2010, Jennie and Champagne Watchout were formally invited to exhibit their Dressage En Gaite Musical Freestyle at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games as the official breed representative of the Tennessee Walking Horse. For more about Jennie Jackson and Champagne Watchout, visit Jennie Jackson: Dressage En Gaite.

I hope this is helpful. Let me know your thoughts by sending a message.

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Dressage for the Gaited Horse, The Versatile Gaited Horse

Naturally Walkin’ in Wonderland

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walkin in wonderland

By Jennifer Klitzke

Naturally Walkin’ in Wonderland

I live in the frozen tundra where the winter’s cold and dark imprisons us for up to six months. No indoor arena. No deep pockets to travel South. If I want me and Makana my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse to stay in shape, I have to get creative.

Winter riding is not new to me, but using the snow to improve and condition my horse’s naturally smooth gaits is a new concept. The snow has encouraged my gaited horse to lift her shoulders and engage from behind, so much so that I now know what the rocking chair canter feels like. I’m hoping that winter riding will ingrain muscle memory in Makana and for me, the “feel” of the rocking chair canter.

The snow has also introduced Makana and me to the Tennessee trot. Yes, I know that I’m crossing the thresh holds of taboo, but I believe that my Walking Horse is established enough in her naturally smooth four-beat gaits to develop another gait on cue.  So adding to the free walk, medium walk, flat walk, running walk, canter and counter-canter, we are tackling the trot. After all, I’ve enjoyed 25 years of riding traditional dressage horses, so trot is a welcomed gait. I believe that as long as the trot is trained on cue, it will not disrupt Makana’s naturally smooth four-beat gaits.

My cues for flat walk and trot

For flat walk and running walk, I encourage Makana to lift in the shoulders, and I follow her head nod with a light rein contact. At the same time, I lighten myself in the saddle by distributing my weight into my thighs. This allows Makana to neutralize instead of hollow her back.

For trot, I hold my weight in my thighs and hug my calves through the upward transition while holding a light steady contact with the reins. This holding the reins with a steady contact discourages the head nod and encourages the trot. Then I post instead of sit each trot step. Every stretch of trot on cue is followed up with flat walk and canter.

Not only is riding in the snow an utter blast, but it has been a good workout for both me and Makana (especially the posting trot). Who knows, if I can develop Makana’s trot on cue in and out of the snow, nothing will stop us from entering the traditional dressage shows!

Remember, dressage is more than trot (but gaited horses can learn trot on cue, too, and it won’t ruin their naturally smooth gait!)

Video: Walkin’ in Wonderland

What are your thoughts? Please reach out send me a message or stay connected by subscribing to the Naturally Gaited youtube channel and joining our community on facebook.com/naturallygaited.

Dressage for the Gaited Horse, Gaited Dressage Clinics, Rider Position for Gaited Horses

Gaited Dressage: Taking Hands vs. Giving Hands

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By Jennifer Klitzke

How much does a horse sense from a rider? Can my insecurities get transmitted to my horse through my reins? Can this really affect how my horse moves? These questions were raised at a recent gaited dressage clinic with Larry Whitesell and Jennifer Bauer. I spent five full days taking in new perspectives and training techniques—as much as my brain could hold. Among the many “ah-huh” moments was an exercise we did that showed the difference between “taking hands” versus “giving hands.”

Jennifer led us through a dismounted exercise. She held one end of the reins as the rider and each of us took turns holding the other end of the reins as the horse. When it was my turn, I closed my eyes, held the other end of the reins, and followed the rhythm of gait she established on a light connection. When Jennifer changed something like clenching her jaw, tensing her shoulders, holding her breath, or looking down vs. ahead, each of us immediately felt heaviness through the light rein contact. Amazing! If I can feel these changes through light rein contact, just what would it transmit to the horse?

Then Jennifer let each of us experience the effects of “taking hands” versus “giving hands.” Taking hands follow the horse’s rhythm in a non-pulling backward motion while riding with giving hands follow the horse’s rhythm forward. When Jennifer’s motion with the reins demonstrated giving hands, it gave each of us the feeling of freedom to move in lightness. Then when she demonstrated taking hands, it felt constrained. If I can feel the difference between taking and giving hands through light rein contact, imagine how much more is communicated to my horse through my seat and weight aids?

Up until this point, I had not been conscious of whether or not I rode with taking or giving hands. For years I had battled with riding fear and had unknowingly developed a “taking hands” riding mindset as a reaction to stay safe and in control. Then I began to think about the mixed messages I had been sending my horse whenever I unconsciously rode with taking hands and at the same time squeezing my horse to go forward. Or the times I had anticipated a spook, tensed my body, held my breath, and rode with taking hands instead of riding my horse forward into balance and relaxation.

Experiencing the difference between taking hands and giving hands has given me new awareness to ride my horse with a forward hand and body position and mindset. I am already noticing a difference this is making with my horse—more willingness to more freely forward with less leg on my part.

What a powerful exercise. Why not find a friend and try this exercise for yourself? You’ll be amazed with how much of an impact a riding mindset and position can have on your horse’s way of going, and just how much can be communicated through a light rein contact.

For more about Larry Whitesell, his training DVDs and clinic schedule, visit www.WhitesellGaitedHorsemanship.com.
For more about Jennifer Bauer, visit www.gaitedhorsemanship.com