WEG, shmeg—all the action is clearly here in Marshall, Va. (Or at least there’s so much action here in Marshall, Virginia, that Nicole and I have worked ourselves into a sick, virulent froth just trying to keep up with it all. Tomato, tomahto.)
Yes, with 12 horses in the barn, a crazy lessons schedule, a clinic, Dressage at Devon and an Open House all in one three-week period, the Cold Of Death that I thought I’d tossed five weeks ago returned to me, and then, because I’m of the Sesame Street Generation, I shared it with Nicole. Isn’t sharing great? So we’re both sick as all get-out, and then my plague morphs into Strep, which Nicole seems to be dodging for now, thank GOODNESS, but really? Seriously? Why now?
Fortunately a) my doctor is a morning person and got me in early early early Friday, and the antibiotics have been freely flowing since then, b) Nicole is a trooper, c) Lindsey, my new girl who can’t fully start for two more weeks, pitched in over the weekend to get us through, and d) Michael Barisone didn’t seem to mind all the insanity going on around him for his clinic with us. And e) horses cure all illness, at least for the 50 minutes I’m on them. So I got through the clinic just fine health-wise, although I’m not regretting getting to spend today curled up on the couch one bit!
I’ve known Michael for years, but never had a chance to work with him before. Everyone I bring in to teach on a regular basis is, of course, fabulous, but none really ride anymore. And two things converged: I watched Michael teach not only my best bud Liz Austin (who is easy to teach because she’s a spectacular rider and a great student), but also some very average amateurs on very average horses, and was extremely impressed. And then I realized that other than Kyra Kryklund getting on Midge for one day back in May, no one’s sat on either of my two Big horses since 2007. Um, whoa.
So I was keen to bring Michael down. He was fabulous, as I’d hoped, and taught everyone from myself and one of my professional rider students on coming-Grand Prix horses to amateurs on a range of horses to the 8-year-old daughter of one of my students, on her charming little pony. Michael is chronically upbeat and has ceaseless energy, which is hard not to catch (the one contagion around my barn right now I’m pleased about). The weather was swell, and a great time was had by all.
I rode a student’s Gribaldi gelding who is a great guy but has a bit of a tricky neck, and we had a really candid conversation about being through the damn neck and how to get there. His honesty was refreshing—they have to get the neck out of the way, period, end of story. And you can’t force it down and hold it there forever, of course, but if you have to put it down, even by briefly less-than-elegant means, PUT IT DOWN and move on.
“He’ll figure it out” was the theme of the clinic. Make your instructions clear, concise and consistent, and the horse will find his way to them. Totally in line with how I teach and ride, and how others have taught me to teach and ride. Fab.
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I rode Fender, who was GREAT, much to my pleasure. I still want him a little more connected, but Michael was quick to point out that he’s 4, and needs to be a 4-year-old. More “he’ll figure it out.” Michael was really pleased with Fender’s quality, and assumed that he’d been an import; when I told him he was American-bred, he was surprised. Hoorah for the American breeder!
Ella was next, and she’s always been my tricky one. She’s SO talented it’s disgusting, but she’s not the easiest. Even now, as she’s matured and her temperament is less of a training obstacle, she’s powerful but insecure in her body, and while I’ve been feeling like she’s been going quite well, Michael was all over me for not having enough giddyup in the piaffe and passage. She has to be more rideable and adjustable, he said. She has to have more gears. I’ve heard this before, and just haven’t found the answer.
So MUCH to my joy, he was willing to sit on her on Sunday, and WOWZA!!! The missing piece: I’m both strong and clever, and have pretty sneaky arms. I can feign looseness when my horses are really strong, which is great in the showring, but maybe not such an asset in training. And I thought I wanted Ella more in my hand than I actually did. Once Michael got that pressure out of the reins, she had to carry herself, and the energy I created didn’t just go from hind legs out the front door—it stayed within the body, and the resulting half-steps were amazing. 8 and 9 pi-pa tour, Michael’s predicted. Eeee!!
Miles to go, obviously, and Michael was quick to reassure me; she’s 9. There is no schedule, and even if there was, she’s ahead of it. She’ll find her way! But he encouraged me to play with half steps instead of thinking “piaffe” or “passage.” They have to be pieces of the same fluid trot, not separate gaits, just like pirouette canter isn’t a separate thing from canter. It’s all just canter, or just trot.
I’ve known that the piaffe and passage have been my weakness. In my defense, Billy got 65 percents with craptacular piaffe, because everything else was so good. And Cleo could piaffe pretty well, and was well on her way to a great piaffe when she got hurt, but her Small Tour-esque work carried her scores, too. I’ve had very few experiences in the saddle on trained horses, and it’s just something that I’ve never really understood kinesthetically, like I do the canter. I am a canter girl, always have been. Time to get some new skills.
Midge got a bit of the same lecture, which is also not news to me. He makes his piaffe too much on the spot, and loses the momentum through the body. He just picks his legs up and down, which is pretty, but not really correct. Ooze him forward (where’ve I heard this before? Oh, right, Lendon Gray, in pretty much every ride I’ve had with her. I’m eventually going to learn it for real.), and he makes piaffe that is supple and amazing and forward without being wild. He’s SO rideable in this work now. Awesome.
We also played with a new way of approaching the ones—keeping my leg a little closer and on a little longer, and being more creative in his lines. When riders are learning the ones, they are almost always too slow, so we’re drilled into thinking fastfastfast with the aids. That’s great, but Michael said that sometimes my aids are so (correctly!) quick that my leg is gone before Midge can really process. Keep the leg there a little longer and he can really perceive the aid. Cool.
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Piaffe really helps the ones, too and makes those hind legs fast like lightening. I’ve been leaving the piaffe alone lately in favor of getting him stronger at the passage, which Michael was fine with. He did change my idea about the passage and how I cue it for Midge. Piaffe is about carrying power, whereas passage is about pushing power; therefore, when I cue it, I should think about using my aids to PUSH him forward into it, not be light and quick about it like the piaffe aid. It took Midge a minute to figure it out (“wait, Lauren, he’ll figure it out!”), but when he did, it was like WHOA. And he could turn left! In passage! AMAZING.
I saved little Tres for last, and I thought maybe Michael could help me with his piaffe a little. The woman who trained Tres in Spain did a lovely job of everything except the piaffe, which was QUITE ruined when he came to me. I’ve gotten his confidence back, but still didn’t really feel comfortable digging in and saying hey, dude, show up. Michael said something I loved: at some point, horses who’ve had bad training in their past have to get over it. “He has to accept the fact that YOU DIDN’T DO IT TO HIM.” Love it.
So we played with half steps, just like Ella and Midge, and suddenly I had this WONDERFUL, HOT, fabulous and fun thing to ride. But because Tres is a rock star, as soon as I let him walk and put down the reins, he was TOTALLY cool. This is such a super horse; he’s exactly how you ride him. I can make him a firebreathing FEI horse, but I’d feel 100% comfortable putting a baby on him, even in the same session. How many horses out there can do that?! This guy is going to make someone a helluva horse.
The riding was great, the instruction was great, and Michael is an impeccable guest. But the best part of the weekend? A new partnership. A new helping hand for me, to help take me to the next level. Michael told me that I know how to ride, and that I’m 98% of the way there. He told me that he thinks that riders like myself, and like Liz and Adrienne Lyle, the two best riders of my generation, need to get cracking, because riders of his generation can’t keep it up forever. And the best part? That he’ll help get us there. Woohoo! A huge boost to my confidence along with a HUGE kick in the pants to get motivated and knuckle down.
I’ve got a ton more to learn, but I’m feeling better and better equipped to get there. I just sent in my stall deposit for my three-month Florida tour, and it’s starting to sound like a wicked exciting three months. Bring it, baby!
