“Use as much aid as they need, but as little as possible.”
you look is important in keeping bends and circles round.” In addition, she said, the rider is responsible for the right
line and tempo; therefore, the rider must encourage the horse to maintain the rhythm. And always, the horse’s efforts should be rewarded. “If the
horse is trying, there should be no punishment or the horse gets more confused about what we want.”
Half Halts Half halts are properly done by seat, then leg, then hand, Ingrid explained, noting they cue the horse that something is coming and to get more balance. “Your half halt must be more interesting than anything else around!” “The half halt finishes with giving not holding! Many forget to give and only take,” she cautioned.
Pesky Habits Rushing: “Take your time. Do not ask the horse when it is not in position to do what you ask.” “Time the cues to make it easier for the horse. Be definite.” Reliance: “Work away from the wall (or fence) so that the horse is not looking for that as support.” How much: “Use as much aid as they need, but as little as
possible.” “For a turn, first you use your weight (inside seat bone and look through the turn), then your leg and then your hand.” “After making a horse work collected, do medium in the same gait as a reward.” Placement: “Do not carry your hands too low and/or too wide. Keep your hands together at the withers.”
Cavalletti Work Ingrid Klimke is known as an expert on training with cavaletti, with a popular book and DVD on the subject. (Her father, the late Reiner Klimke was also a big advocate of cavaletti work.) She prefers solid wood poles, not plastic ones and not the type with sharp edges on the standards. “If they touch something, they must feel it in order to learn from it,” she explained during the clinic. She also said colored stripes (running around the pole, not lengthwise) make seeing the center of the poles easier for the rider. She uses cavaletti to build muscle, especially in the hind-
quarters, and incorporates them into several exercises for dressage and eventing, as well as for jumping. “It is impor- tant to place them at the right distance for each horse,” she warned. She recommended starting with one cavalletti and even-
tually progressing to four, but never more than that. With four or less, she explained, if a horse gets into trouble, he can get out without hurting himself or becoming intimidated or uncertain. For warm-up and for young horses, start the cavalletti on
a straight line and progress to cavalletti on the bend as the horse matures.
36 May/June 2018 One impressive pair was the KWPN mare Sashay and
her owner/rider Kat Southam who were the 2017 Dressage Northwest Reserve Champions at Intermediare I and were looking to move up to Intermediare II and Grand Prix. They demonstrated The Ingrid Klimke Cavalletti Method, showing how properly-spaced cavalletti can help the horses go from collected trot through the four cavalletti to passage with just a half halt and a deeper seat after the poles. The supe- rior action required for performing a collected trot through the cavalletti was definitely evident in the following passage, and it did not take a lot of imagination to see how easily a passage/piaffe transition could evolve.
Feedback The audience was quite impressed and often clapped when a horse improved, as well as when Ingrid took riders to task for inappropriate or ill- timed cues. As one would expect,
afterwards there were several rider comments like “really good,” “super” and “great,” but some went a little further stating: “That was perfect, just what we needed at this stage.” “She’s a classic German instructor, but softer. She let you feel relaxed and gave you time to think,” remarked Andrea Taylor, former coach of the Canadian Paralympic Team, who rode Demarko NPF, in the Prix St. Georges segment on Saturday. Eventer Chelan Kozak of British Columbia rode two horses in the clinic and was able to watch the other riders both days. Her first horse was the Canadian-bred Autocorrect, a Hanoverian Thoroughbred cross. The other was her two-star mare Heirloom, a Canadian Warmblood who is actually a mix of Trakehner, Thoroughbred and Holsteiner blood. Chelan says she was impressed that Ingrid had her standards and a system she would follow. “Every horse, no matter what level they were at, were required to stretch down into the bit first before the serious work began. Ingrid was adamant that she needed to see a good relaxed connection in every horse, every ride,” she said. “Ingrid also encouraged the riders to be detail-oriented,”
Ingrid autographed many of her books that she sold at the event.
Chelan continued. “Every transition, corner, halt, etcetera had to be performed correctly. If not, then the rider had to repeat the exercise until it was right. Every fine detail of the ride needed that level of consistency. This is how you build excellence.”
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