Dear Rita,
I know you are sitting on pins and needles to hear the next episode of the Schultheis Chronicles, but I’m off on another tangent!
Dressage is a sport of ritual and routine (much of mine I learned from Schultheis), and since living in Germany for over 16 years, I am no exception to this rule. My routine begins the moment I wake up, which is a surprisingly flexible hour since I almost always adjust my day to wake up with the sun. That means 8:30 a.m. in the depth of winter and 4:30 a.m. during the longest days of summer.
The first part of my day involves Pet-the-Corgi. So whichever dog happens to be lying next to or on my bed gets the first rousting-morning–wake-up wrestle. The second dog is probably on the couch and pretending to be asleep as I approach. That is usually Gigi. After her morning roust, she will then get up and follow me to the kitchen in case she has missed any of the fallen crumbs from the night before. Gizmo always remains cow-tipped until he hears his food bowl hit floor.
Those of you who know Corgis will know what I mean by “cow-tipped”.
Now, I know what you are already thinking. Oh not another who always talks about her Corgis…
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But be patient. Gizmo goes along to every horse show and is responsible for many of the friendships I have made over the years. He knows EVERYTHING that happens in this close-knit world.
I start my morning ritual with 10 minutes of Qi Gong because I try to keep myself as supple and healthy as I would like my horses to be. I fail. But I try. Then I take my first breakfast of tea with fruit. (Laughing now because I eat breakfast 3-4 times per day! Any food consumed before 12 p.m. goes into that category.)
Then I sit and chant for 10-15 minutes. Of course I think about all my friends and family during this time and take a special moment to concentrate on any injuries (mine, dogs, horses) that might need healing. But my absolute best riding days evolve out of a good chanting session when I have actually concentrated on what I would like to achieve with each horse on that day.
In the years that I trained with Rudolf Zeilinger, one of the best “riding” techniques that I developed was training through chanting. I had an hour and ten-minute drive to his stable every day during which I chanted and concentrated on the work ahead of me. By the time I had arrived, saddled my horse and put my right leg over the saddle, I had already solved many of the problems I wanted to work on. And, more importantly, I was 100 percent focused and ready to communicate with my horses.
Since the beginning of 2008, I have kept all my horses at home. While I do not miss getting out of bed at 4:45 a.m. EVERY DAY to make that drive to Rudolf’s, I do miss the hour of chanting. I have to remind myself of that when a training problem arises. I CAN fix it off the horse if I meditate on the problem long enough. So this is of course a very important part of my routine, and one that I adhere to religiously at horse shows.
Gizmo, Gigi and I set out on foot for the stable after breakfast. We have the great luck to live on the edge of a forest, which borders the stable property. As we step out of the back door onto the forest path, I always take a moment to observe the bloom of the day. Normally it is gray. We do not have the pleasure in this part of the world of seeing the sun very often. Cloudy, gray mist tends to be the norm… year round.
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One begins to appreciate the many different shades of gray when living in Germany.
“Im Morgengrauen” is a common term used for daybreak or sunrise. Literally translated, you would get “in the grey of the morning.” Occasionally, if there is a bit of color in the sunrise—meaning the clouds are not actually blocking your view of the sun—you will hear the term “Im Morgenrot” which means “in the red of morning.” Learning German will tell you a lot about life in this country.
My rituals extend throughout the day—all the way to the stable and back. Don’t worry, Dear Rita, I’ll tell you all about my day in the saddle too! I promise there is a lot more to come about training and teaching and the inside of top dressage sport! I just happen to be spending the rare week at home, so I’m getting started with a bit of history and background for the future blockbuster stories from World Cup tour and beyond…I’m back in the show ring next week.
I’m Catherine Haddad and I’m sayin it like it is from Vechta, Germany.
Training Tip of the Day: Is your mind focused before you put your left foot in the stirrup?
