never planned to show him and had no expectations. Yet, he will die trying for me.”
FROM STAGE TO ARENA For Robert, the discipline and patience of a professional dancer trained at the School of American Ballet, the Joffrey School in New York and the San Francisco Ballet School was what he needed to get the job done with Nikko. As a dancer Robert had worked at the Charleston Ballet
Theatre, the Sacramento Ballet and the Fort Wayne Ballet. When he retired, he and his longtime dance partner Diane Cypher bought the Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. He also is resident choreographer of the theatre and co-directs the Santa Cruz Academy of Ballet. For Robert’s job number
three, he rides and assists in training horses for “S” dressage judge Alexsandra (a.k.a. Sandy) Howard of American Sporthorse in Watsonville, California. “As a ballet teacher, I could never afford to own a dressage horse and train with Sandy Howard. So I also manage the barn,” he says recalling his five years of riding. As if Nikko’s problems
were not enough, Robert has constantly battled his dancer’s body and the dancer’s training, neither which are particularly compatible with the position, seat and effectiveness of a dressage rider. “As a ballet dancer, you’re always up, with a showy chest lifted, feet turned out, always in ‘second position.’ Ballet is all about elongating yourself. I’m 6’1” with a 30 inch inseam. I have the world’s longest torso which makes balance and the correct elbow angle in the saddle very difficult. In the video of my first show, I entered the arena with my elbows down. By the time I was going down center line, my elbows were up and my chest was up. Today my body has changed. I swear my torso has become shorter.” One important attribute that a successful rider and a
dancer have in common is a strong work ethic. “I was open to change and would do anything to change. With ballet you have to be self-motivated. You have to be a loner of sorts. You are constantly being coached and being told what to do. Ballet work is a one dictator world with one boss who says how it is. But then you have to be malleable because a new choreographer comes in and says this is
how it’s done. You have to be open to constant criticism. With dressage lessons, I say, ‘bring it on.’” Robert had retired as a dancer by his first year with
Nikko and had owned two other horses. However, he was still demonstrating ballet to students, and unfortunately he was in pain. He had to make a choice—toes out or toes straight. “My hips were grinding to a halt. They were rotated in on the horse all day, and then needed to be out to show ballet at night. I decided I can’t do that. Now I’ll pick a ballet student to demonstrate what I need shown.”
NIKKO’S TRANSFORMATION Nikko’s body has changed as well, but not without great effort. His training to revive his body began with arena play and lots of carrots. Then, Robert walked him under saddle for weeks, often around the farm, long and low, working over his back. At last Robert asked for three steps of trot, jumped off and praised him. “We played. That’s what
we did mostly for a long time. We still do. We play catch and
follow the leader in the arena. Neither Sandy nor I ever have
expectations about him or from him. It’s only what he wants to give. Giving him the time to sort things out
on his own schedule was a huge step for him. Not rushing, not cutting corners and consistently letting him know that there was no
punishment for making the right or wrong choice were keys to earning his trust.” One afternoon when Robert was riding Nikko in the
arena, he heard shouts that a mare was caught in the hot wire around her turnout. He jumped off Nikko, ran to turn off the hot wire and rushed into the barn to help the mare. Nikko ran after Robert on his own, up to the barn. He then parked himself in the grooming bay and stood, saddled and bridled, awaiting further instructions. The big bay horse has had an intensive regime of
chiropractic therapy, physical therapy, massage therapy and dental work. Particularly successful was tree sap therapy. Tree sap mixed with an anti-inflammatory is injected into the back through dozens of needles. The theory is that the anti-inflammatory, carried directly to the back muscles by the tree sap, relieves the pain and allows the horse to use his back and develop its strength.
Warmbloods Today 25
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