Laura signed autographs and posed for photos with spectators during the clinic.
Corsair (Westfalen by Tagant xx), Kama Godek on the young mare HRR vd Elsakker (KWPN by Indoctro), Maya Aryal on Ra (Oldenburg by Cash), Stephanie Ober- hausen riding Caruso (Hanoverian by Chas- seur I), Casey Osborne on Heir Apparent (OTTB), Abby Grabowski riding Limoncello 18 (Olden- burg by Lapis Lazuli) and last, Stefan Parker on
Handyman B (American-bred BWP by Coconut Grove xx). Kama’s mount HRH vd Elsakker is currently the top six-year- old in the USEF standings after being overall circuit cham- pion in Ocala and winning the Devon 6 YO Young Jumper class this spring. HRH was also invited to attend the WEG this September in an invitational young jumper division to promote North American breeding. A consistent message Laura stressed throughout the
day was her “less is more” philosophy. She challenged riders, asking “How hard are you working on a scale of one to ten?” The response was typically a seven or an eight, while Laura confessed she herself was lazy and preferred to work at a one. “Do as little as possible, as much as necessary,” she said, as she helped riders get their horses in front of their legs and more sharp to the aids. Another way she explained it was that if the riders were working at a three or four, then that would give them room to ask more of their mounts. If they are always working at an eight, that doesn’t give them room to bump up the work or improve the exercise. At one point she asked a rider to “let him participate” so her horse would become more eager in the work. “I want eager partners when I walk in the barn,” she said about her own horses. “If your horse makes a mistake, find a way to
say ‘yes’ to him so he learns. Make him a little smarter,” she advised. Later on, she also remarked that learning often happens, or at least begins, in miscommunication. The rider then has a chance to retry the exercise to obtain a different reaction. Aware that straightness is very important when approach-
ing jumps, Laura helped riders in the clinic achieve that by focusing on the position of the horse’s neck. “I know you are taught to never look down, but look down!” she said with a laugh, noting that the rider has to make certain the neck comes straight out of the shoulders at all times with a steady outside rein connection. Riders needed to look down at their horses’ necks in order to see crooked necks (thus crooked horses) and make the correction. Instead of getting technical and focusing on specific aids,
Laura preferred to address the rider’s mindset. “Have a plan for each request of your horse,” she said. She asked that riders concentrate on being in tune with their horses to achieve the responses they want without working so hard.
RIDER TAKEAWAYS We asked the riders what they learned from Laura that they’ve been able to incorporate in their own riding. Also, we asked if this kind of experience—taking a clinic from a top dressage trainer—is something they would recommend to other jumper riders. Below are their enthusiastic responses.
Erin Gilmore
Trainer Kama Godek riding her six-year-old mare HHR vd Elsakker during the clinic.
36 November/December 2018
“Since the clinic, during my rides, I’ve found myself repeat- ing the question, “how hard are you working?” Laura asked all the riders this, on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being no effort and 10 being total exertion. During the clinic, at the start of my ride, I told Laura I was working at an 8. My horse is quite lazy, especially at the start. Laura said she begins her ride working at a 1, and goes on to sometimes a 5. Throughout the clinic, she made the point that if you are always working at an 8 or 9, you have nowhere to go from there, i.e., you’re just making it difficult to improve upon your ride or your training. This has helped me, since then, to regularly ask myself how hard I’m working during my ride, and remind myself that riding isn’t pushing and prodding a horse along, but rather, finding a balance that creates positive energy and helps the horse move forward freely. “Any work with a good/top dressage trainer is absolutely of benefit and hugely valuable to riders of all disciplines, including jumpers. At its foundation, we are all riding dres- sage and if our dressage work is strong, we are better riders in our chosen discipline. Laura in particular gave us incred- ible insight into how detailed and focused dressage riders are in the things that we jumper riders might gloss over or ignore in our pursuit to get around the course and over the fences. Breaking down the basics of our flatwork/dressage was an excellent reminder that if we don’t have our fundamentals in place, we’re not going to be reaching our full potential over the fences.”
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