Warmblood I
By Boyd Martin Why Commas Matter
’ve been in this horse training and competition racket for most of my life now. To me, one of the most awe- some aspects of equestrian sport is the
continuous opportunity to learn more, no matter how successful you are. In my opinion, American riders do a great job of getting regularly “tuned up” by profes- sional trainers. Last October, I took a clinic with show jumping legend Joe Fargis. I was in a group of five riders for the lesson and it was two hours of reminders about the importance of correctness in our riding. Sometimes in my day-to-day training routine, things get to a point where I’m just trying to get through the day and finish riding all the horses on my list. As a busy professional, it’s easy to forget about focusing on the small details that set you apart from your competitors. In other words, it’s easy to get caught in a rut. Joe went back to basics with me, pick- ing on things like my lower leg position, upper body posi- tion and balance. Every small question I asked, Joe im- mediately had the perfect answer. I left the clinic feeling completely reinvigorated with my riding. Since the main focus of the clinic was jumping, Joe
gradually built up a big, challenging grid. My mount was a good young event horse named Ray Price and Joe built the grid bigger and bigger. Each time we managed to jump it successfully. Next he had us jump three bounces off turns, canter
through the grid again, then canter a couple of other ex- ercises and finally canter through the grid again. This was a challenging exercise to do perfectly—and believe me, Joe wanted it perfect! After the clinic was over I asked Joe why he frequently
wanted the horses to come back to a trot between the jumps. “Boyd, when you’re rushing a sentence, lots of commas in the sentence help pause the conversation,” he responded simply. His analogy made perfect sense. He wants the horse to be able to jump an exercise, regroup and rebalance, then
98 March/April 2018
jump another exercise and regroup and rebalance again. In his experience, the more they jump, the more wild and unrideable many horses get. So his focus is to have the horses in a place where they’re rebalancing and thinking in the middle of their jumping course, not getting more wound up. That rebalancing moment is the “comma” in the course. His advice that day really got me think- ing about some of the horses I have in training. I raced home and set up the same course of exercises in my jumping ring and went to work. Long Island T is a new horse for me this
Boyd and Joe Fargis discuss as- pects of the jumping clinic that Boyd participated in last year.
year. While he is a fabulous jumper, he gets very keen and excited out on course. The further we get into a course, the more wild and out of control he becomes. At the last couple events, we’ve had rails down late in the course, not because the horse is careless but because he becomes so strong and out of balance.
The lesson that Joe gave me was exactly what I needed
to regroup and work on Long Island T’s balance. I’m eager to take him to a show to see if this technique will carry through at our next competition. What my two-hour lesson with Joe did for me was
remind me to focus on the finer details of my riding and the importance of rideability on course. Fresh eyes from the ground are invaluable! Just because I’m riding a lot doesn’t mean I won’t get a little sloppy or caught in a rut. When you can, take a break from training at home and ride in or audit a clinic given by the best in your sport. Those commas in the sentences of your riding and train- ing may be just the punctuation you need to move you and your horse to the next level. Thanks, Joe.
Four-star event rider Boyd Martin represented the United States at the 2010 World Equestrian Games and the 2012 Olympics. He and his wife Silva, a G.P. dressage rider, own and operate Windurra USA in Cochranville, PA. Learn more about them at
www.boydandsilvamartin.com.
Amber Heintzberger
Courtesy Boyd Martin
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100
