Tag Archives: gaited dressage clinic

Jennifer Klitzke riding a gaited dressage school master — No better way to discover “the feeling of right” than by riding a gaited dressage school master.

By Jennifer Klitzke

Blooming trees and sunny daffodils, friendly southern folks, and lots of gaited dressage learning experiences to apply with my naturally gaited Walking horse Makana.

March 20-22, 2015 was my third Dressage as Applied to the Gaited Horse Clinic with Jennie Jackson. Only this time I traveled to White Stables near Knoxville, Tennessee instead of hosting a clinic in my state. I thoroughly enjoyed time with my gaited dressage mentor and an early spring with daffodils and flowering trees in full bloom, plus no snow. (Well, not until I returned home!)

En route to the clinic I had to stop by and visit the legendary naturally gaited dressage stallion Champagne Watchout. Still wearing his winter fuzzies, he stood handsome for a picture!

The first two days of the clinic were held in the spacious outdoor arena where Jennie taught riders the importance of teaching their horses lateral exercises such as pivot the fore and leg yield.

It is easiest to teach lateral exercises to the gaited horses in hand before applying them from the saddle.

Both leg yield and pivot the fore are helpful in relaxing the horse’s back and break up pace to establish a natural four beat gait. The pivot on the fore is a great exercise to teach riders the coordination of inside calf to outside indirect rein which relate with the horse’s inside hind leg as it steps beneath its body and neck, shoulder, and outside fore. Once each horse and rider understood these exercises in hand, they mounted up and applied the exercises from the saddle.

By day two every horse and rider were catching on wonderfully to these new exercises. Then Jennie proceeded to coach them to establish forwardness, rhythm, relaxation, and depth of stride in medium walk and gait. Each time the horse began to pace or stiffen, Jennie asked the rider to turn the horse into the fence and leg yield until the natural four beat gait returned.

Naturally gaited Champaign horse — Leg yield breaks up pace to restore a natural four beat gait.

The more advanced dressage riders worked on canter departs from a shoulder fore position, as well as breaking up stiffness at a flat walk (or trot) using shoulder in and haunches in. (I say “trot” because there were a few non-gaited horses at this clinic in addition to us gaited folk.)

This dressage rider brought her fiance's three-year-old TWH filly and got established in flat walk, running walk, rack and canter by day two! — This dressage rider brought her fiance’s three-year-old TWH filly and got established in flat walk, running walk, rack and canter by day two!

On the second day Jennie demonstrated canter and counter canter; showed the difference between flat walk and running walk; demonstrated how shoulder in, haunches in, shoulder out, and haunches out at a flat walk break up tension and stiffness within the horse to make them soft and supple; and she showed us ways to lengthen the gaited horse’s depth of stride.

Jennie Jackson demonstrates canter and romvere on a gaited horse — Contrary to popular belief, cantering the gaited horse actually improves the four beat gait while lateral exercises improve relaxation and suppleness.

Video: Jennie Jackson demonstrates cantering the gaited horse

Video: Jennie Jackson demonstrates how lateral exercises supple the gaited horse and improve depth of stride in the flat walk

The third day our group headed out to the trails to enjoy the beautiful 135 wooded acres surrounding White Stables.

Gaited horses and trotting horses riding together on a trail ride—who said it can’t be done!

What a great group of people I met in Tennessee. I couldn’t help but giggle at your friendly Southern accents, yet ya’all kept insisting that I was the one with the Minnes-O-ta accent!

Jennie Jackson Clinic Photo Gallery»

Thank you to White Stables for opening your beautiful facility to host the clinic. Thank you to Ronance for lending your exquisite gaited dressage school master to me, and thank you to Mary and Sydney for taking photos of me while I rode.

For Jennie Jackson’s Clinic schedule or to book a clinic in your area, connect with Jennie on Facebook at Jennie Jackson Dressage en Gaite.

Dressage for the Gaited Horse, Gaited Dressage Clinics

2014 Jennie Jackson Dressage en Gaite Clinic

June 4, 2014 Jennifer Klitzke

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!

Photo gallery>

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

Gaited Dressage Clinics

2014 Gaited Dressage Clinic with Jennie Jackson

May 24, 2014 Jennifer Klitzke

Pictured above: Jennie Jackson riding her famous Tennessee Walking Horse stallion Champagne Watchout.

A Riding Clinic with Jennie Jackson:
Dressage as Applied to the Gaited Horse

Friday-Sunday, May 30-June 1, 2014
Dirt Floor Arena, Proctor, MN

Jennie Jackson has traveled the world teaching and exhibiting Dressage En Gaite, and we are honored to bring her to Minnesota for a three-day riding clinic held Friday-Sunday, May 30-June 1, 2014 at Dirt Floor Arena, Proctor, MN. Auditors are welcome to enjoy three full days of professional gaited dressage instruction by Jennie. Cost: $25/day or $50 for all three days. Pay at the door.

Whether you ride english or western, are new to dressage or just want to learn exercises that will help improve your horse’s smooth gait, everyone will learn from Jennie’s wealth of teaching and training experience. Riders and auditors will learn effective dressage methods that improve the quality of natural gait through lateral exercises, balance, bending, rhythm, impulsion, and relaxation.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to watch first-hand instruction from a seasoned dressage professional and the pioneer of Dressage En Gaite.

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. 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 www.walkinonranch.com.

Please note: Still photos are allowed, but no video recording is allowed. DVDs will be available for sale at the clinic.

Photo gallery from last year’s clinic>

Dressage for the Gaited Horse, Gaited Dressage Clinics

A Riding Clinic with Jennie Jackson: Dressage as Applied to the Gaited Horse

June 5, 2013 Jennifer Klitzke

A Riding Clinic with Jennie Jackson:
Dressage as Applied to the Gaited Horse
Saturday-Sunday, June 29-30, 2013
Walker’s Triple R (indoor arena), Cambridge, MN

Dressage as Applied to the Gaited Horse
Jennie Jackson has traveled the world teaching and exhibiting Dressage En Gaite, and we are honored to bring her to Minnesota for a two-day riding clinic held Saturday-Sunday, June 29-30, 2013 at Walker’s Triple R, Cambridge, MN.

Whether you ride english or western, are new to dressage or just want to learn exercises that will help improve your horse’s smooth gait, this clinic is for you. Jennie will teach riders and auditors effective dressage methods that improve the quality of natural gait through lateral exercises, balance, bending, rhythm, impulsion, and relaxation. Gaited riders new to dressage as well as experienced dressage riders new to applying dressage to gaited horses will learn from Jennie’s weath of teaching and training experience.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to get first-hand instruction from a seasoned dressage professional and the pioneer of Dressage En Gaite. A limited number of private 55-minute lessons are available. Unbroke or green young horses are welcome.

Whether you ride your gaited horse western or english, don’t miss this rare opportunity to learn how to improve your horse’s gait through dressage training methods by a seasoned dressage professional.

Dressage for the Gaited Horse

Preparation for What’s Next with My Naturally Gaited Tennessee Walking Horse

November 18, 2011 Jennifer Klitzke

It’s interesting how experiences prepare us for what’s next. I never imagined I’d be showing dressage after a 16-year break on a horse that doesn’t trot!

Preparation for What’s Next with My Naturally Gaited Tennessee Walking Horse

By Jennifer Klitzke

I never got into this “gaited dressage thing” to show. In fact, I only wanted a smooth horse to ride that would be gentler on my aging body.

In 2007 when I bought my naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse Makana, dressage is how I trained her. It’s all I knew. Yet riding dressage on a Walking Horse is so different than on a trotting horse.

Tennessee walking horses do unusual things I had not encountered with trotting horses. The faster they travel the smoother they get, their head and neck nods with each step, their ears flop, and their teeth sometimes click.

That’s when I joined a local Walking horse association to learn more about riding this unique breed.

BLESS Clinic with Bucky Sparks — Jennifer Klitzke riding Gift of Freedom at a Gaited Dressage Clinic with Bucky Sparks

Shortly thereafter, I took my Makana to a gaited dressage clinic with Bucky Sparks. Later that year, I rode at a Larry Whitesell gaited dressage clinic.

Jennifer Klitzke riding at a Larry Whitesell gaited horsemanship clinic — Larry Whitesell demonstrating and explaining shoulder-in in-hand with a rider.

Indeed, my worlds were colliding.

In 2008 the Walking horse association pleaded for more entries at the Washington County Fair. They were worried the Tennessee walking horse classes would be eliminated unless more people entered.

“Well, okay, we’ll give rail class shows a try,” I said.

TWH 3-gait Trail Pleasure Rail Class — Jennifer Klitzke riding Gift of Freedom at a TWH breed show in the 3-gait Trail Pleasure Rail Class

It wasn’t ribbons that kept us returning to Walking horse shows. My naturally gaited Tennessee walking horse came alive in the show ring. She seemed to enjoy the people and other horses, so we’ve kept it up.

Gaited Dressage: Training Level — Our first gaited dressage show in 2010.

Now that I was officially riding dressage on a gaited horse and showing in rail classes, I entered my Tennessee walking horse at a local schooling dressage show the fall of 2010. We were the only gaited entry, and because of this it drew the attention of two women who owned gaited horses. We exchanged phone numbers and began to trail riding at state parks. Makana seemed to enjoy the fresh air, arresting scenery, and varied terrain as much as I did.

encountering the moose obstacle — *Encountering the moose obstacle* at a Gaited Trail Trial.

Trail riding prepared us for the next step. If it weren’t for the dozens of trail rides we had been on with the women I had met at the schooling dressage show, I would have never considered riding the 2011 Gaited Trail Trials which proved to be the most fun I’ve ever had on horseback!

So what’s next? I’m tinkering with the notion of eventing my gaited horse now that we have started gymnastic jumping.