"Dressage is more than trot...and the saddle you ride in."
-Jennifer KlitzkeSome traditional dressage riders believe that dressage is ONLY for horses that trot. While many gaited horse owners believe that dressage will MAKE their gaited horse trot. Others believe that teaching their gaited horse to trot on cue will ruin their horse's natural gait.I challenge these notions and here's why...Dressage improves the quality of natural movement in a horse whether it trots or has a smooth four-beat gait.Dressage is a French term for training the horse and rider. Whether a horse is ridden in an english or western saddle; whether the horse trots or gaits, it doesn't matter. Dressage brings about the best natural movement whether the horse walks, trots, flat walks, fox trots, or canters.Why? When a rider grows in knowledge, awareness, and application of a balanced riding position with the horse's center of gravity and applies effective use and timing of leg, rein, seat, and weight aids to communicate with the horse, dressage improves relaxation, balance, rhythm, connection, harmony, engagement, straightness, and collection. These elements improve the quality of movement and the full range of motion. For the naturally gaited horse, this means, smoother gaits, deeper strides, and a sounder horse for longer.Enjoy the journey!
Jennifer Klitzke riding Gift of Freedom her 7-year-old TWH mare at the Walker's Triple R Schooling Dressage Show held Sunday, July 24, 2011.
The record heat wave with 82% dew points and 105-degree heat indexes broke just in time for the Walker’s Triple R Schooling Dressage Show in Cambridge, MN. Mike and Judy Walker put on another relaxed and well-run schooling show for 22 rides ranging from Intro through 2nd Level.
Many breeds were represented including Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, a Paint, a Swedish Warmblood, Appaloosa, Haflinger, Friesians, and my 7-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse Gift of Freedom. We’ve been working hard on our dressage since the B.L.E.S.S. Clinic and it must have paid off. We placed first and second in First Level Tests 1 and 2 with scores of 66.2% and 61.9% against trotting horses.
Judge Val Vetos commented, “Very nice team. Good on the basics of bend and balance.”
Jennifer Klitzke riding Gift of Freedom at the 2011 BLESS Your Walking Horse Clinic with Bucky Sparks
By Jennifer Klitzke
June 5-6, 2011 marked my fourth trip with Gift of Freedom to Proctor, MN for the B.L.E.S.S. Your Walking Horse Clinic with Bucky Sparks. And yes, clinic participant Barb Nunke said it best, “The sun really does shine in Proctor!” No parkas, rain suits, or knives to cut through the thick Proctor fog this year.
For me, the 2011 BLESS Clinic was all about breaking through the mystery about contact. How do I ride a head-shaking horse with contact? Do my hands move with the motion? Do I keep the reins slack so that I don’t bump the horse’s mouth with each nod?
Not interrupting the head-nod was the main reason I switched to an Imus Comfort Bit, but a curb and a snaffle function differently. A curb bit has leverage and poll pressure that a snaffle does not, and for dressage, a snaffle is essential in training the lateral movements, and it is the only legal bit in showing at the lower levels.
While I love how free Makana moves in the Imus Bit without contact, Bucky helped us ride forward into a light (not loose) contact without stopping. This was simply breakthrough for us! A training level frame we get, and now Bucky has helped us capture impulsion into the outside rein for a first level dressage frame.
We began the exercise at a flatwalk on a 20 meter circle with a shoulder-fore position. As Bucky’s German schoolmaster would say, “You need to ride shoulder-fore for the rest of your life.” Shoulder-fore can be ridden on a circle and a straight line where the horse is slightly bent to the inside. You should see the inside eye of the horse, and the horse should bend slightly through the poll, neck, rib cage, and spine. The outside rein helps keep the horse from overbending the neck and popping the outside shoulder.
On our second day, Bucky helped us school second and third-level movements as shoulder-in, hauches-in, traver, and renver. He helped bring awareness to the rib cage. Whenever Makana was stiff on the inside rein, it was because she was stiff in the rib cage. Once we established bend through the rib cage by applying inside leg at the girth and outside slightly back to hold the haunches from falling out, Makana became soft and round and light on the inside rein through these exercises. Once we learn these movements fluently at a walk, they can be ridden at a flatwalk.
According to Bucky the shoulder-in and haunches-in are three-track movements and the traver and renver are four-track movements. All four exercises help establish balance, suppleness and softness, a more upright frame, and contact.
For more about Bucky Sparks, visit www.blessyourhorse.com.
Whoosh! A Nokota drill team zips into the arena. The horses are ridden by young women half my age. I’m dressed in my formal English attire, and awaiting our team performance at the Minnesota Horse Expo. The arena is filling up with more Nokotas. In an effort to respectfully stay out of their way, I ask the fearless Nakota leader, “Do you mind if I join your drill practice?”
Hearing muffled snickers through the team’s gestures, “Sure,” the leader replies.
My Tennessee Walking Horse, Makana’s white braids swing wildly with each nod as we tag along.
Suddenly the young women stop and form a circle with their horses facing inward. Thinking the drill pattern is complete, I ride away.
“Hey, we’re not finished yet,” the Nokota team says as they and motion me to join the circle.
As Makana and I return the young women arise onto the backs of their Nokotas, slide off the backends, run from behind their horses, hop back into their saddles, swing a leg over to one side, and flip off their saddles backwards faster than you can say ‘Jimmy Johns.’
Now I know what the muffled snickers were about!
I thank them for their kindness and ride out of the arena where we encounter a wooden bridge trail obstacle. We face the object until Makana relaxes. Then we take a couple steps onto the bridge.
A few minutes later the Nokotas blast by and applaud our efforts.
You see, if you knew me 30 years ago, I was young and fearless like the Nokota riders. I was a trail guide. It was a dream job: ride for free and get paid for it, too! However, the guides rode the mystery horses that had just gotten purchased from auction. We introduced them to the trail and rode bareback for lack of saddles. I was game.
One summer evening I led a group out for an hour-long sunset trail ride. Half into our ride, the wind began to swirl through the mature forest. Fireflies and lightning lit our way as the ominous clouds set the tone. Sounds of distant thunder grew near. Then drops became waves cascading from the sky.
Riding bareback on a drenched mystery horse straight from the auction trailer was like riding with the Nokota drill team for me. I led our group safely back to the club house with a thrilling story to share.
Still invincible, five years later I was talked into the talent of a four-year-old off-the-track thoroughbred mare. I was clearly over horsed and under skilled. It didn’t end well. I fell off more times than kept track. Fearlessness now replaced with phobia. I faced a crossroads: Quit riding horses or face the fear.
Thankfully the latter won out.
Fear hasn’t disappeared, but it has been managed by perseverance, good instruction, finding a suitable mount, wise counsel, and my faith in God.
Will you see me standing on my saddle, flipping of the side, and riding bridleless and bareback with the Nakota team?
Maybe next year.
One of the three demonstration naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horse/rider teams at the 2011 MN Horse Expo
I hope this is helpful. Let me know your thoughts by sending a message.
Jennifer Klitzke riding Gift of Freedom at the May 2011 Walker’s Triple R Schooling Dressage Show.
A lovely spring day blessed 21 horse/rider teams at the Walker’s Triple R schooling dressage show held May 15, 2011. I rode my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse mare, Gift of Freedom, She was the only gaited horse entered among Friesians, Warmbloods, Arabians, and Thoroughbreds and placed second in both First Level tests with scores of 65.9% and 63.9%.
Gift of Freedom ridden and owned by Jennifer Klitzke was one of the three demonstration TWH horse/rider teams at the 2011 MN Horse Expo
Horseback at the MN Horse Expo: I have never had this much fun experiencing four seasons in three days (sunshine and 70s, rain and clouds, snow and wind)!
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