10/ NOVEMBER 2023 THE RIDER
Pro and Non-Pro Reiner Article Series Straightness
Sharon: Picture this. It’s 2017, September time; a nice fall day. You’ve been riding for years and reining for a few, previous coaches have focussed only on what the horse is doing and you are wondering how your riding ability is, thinking to yourself ‘can I actually help develop myself as a rider as well as develop the horse?’ So you’re trying out a
new coach, she observes you in silence as you ride. The silence is un-nerving; you may be used to a coach who starts talking at you to ‘pick the horse’s head up’ or ‘ask the horse to pick up the pace’ or ‘your horse is suck- ing back, push him’’ or ‘use more leg’. All of these of course
are valid comments and I am sure coaches sometimes wish they had these things pre-recorded so they could just hit ‘play’. But often, the rider is not given an expla- nation of why and wonder- ing exactly what more leg will achieve. And then this quiet
coach says: ‘Ride that horse like a coffee table, not a 1980s wiggly coffee table but a nice, straight coffee table. Your horse is not straight, she’s wiggly’ The analogy struck
me immediately as I looked down at my horse and saw yes, she was indeed wiggly. And so began my re-
lationship with Jen, first and foremost as my coach and also now my equine busi- ness partner in J&J Reining Inc.
Jen has a way of de-
in the horse. Under a bal- anced and soft rider, the horse can be in a correct frame with no rigidity and the rider will feel almost no resistance. This is a horse with
Horse and rider tense Horse not in self-carriage
self-carriage, pushing from their hindquarters (this is why you may hear your coach/trainer telling you to use more leg!) The horse is light on the forehand and rounds from the withers through to the poll. Their jaw softens, their back widens and lengthens with a free, consistent, smooth rhythm in their stride. They will look happy! Two tell-tale sign of a that has been
horse
ridden/trained in self-car- riage are: 1. They will have a
well-muscled topline. Their neck will be rounded & muscular, the withers will not be protruding but filled out, the back will not have an “A frame” look to it but will be flat with the tender- loin muscled up and their hindquarters will not be “slab sided” but will have a round muscle look to them. 2. They will be light
Horse in self-carriage
scribing what she sees and what you need to do, in simple terms. I loved the coffee table analogy and another one she uses which I refer back to all the time – is imag- ine the horse is a motor boat, the engine is in the back – that’s where the power is.
Jen always explains the why. We are both big believers in getting the foundations perfect, we often work on
putting the horse in self-carriage. I learn something new every time I ride with Jen.
Jen: Frame vs self-carriage I think a lot of people confuse frame
and self-carriage for the same thing, but they have two very different meanings. A horse can be in a correct frame but
still be rigid if held there by stiff aids from the rider. Stiff aids restrict fluid movement
Shari Irwin
2023 Judges Committee (905) 440-5941 email:
shari_irwin@hotmail.com
Kelly Lehman Secretary: Kit Bartle 2023 Sr. Judges
Cally Jo Fritz 21 Taylor Blvd., Elliot Lake, ON P5A 3H5 H: (226) 289-8563, C: (519) 280-8169 Email:
callygene@gmail.com
Shari Irwin 166 Gleasons Corner Road, Castleton, ON K0K 1M0 Cell (905) 440-5941 shari_irwin@hot-
mail.com
Jamie Kuhl 899 10th St. W., Owen Sound, ON N4K 3S3 H: (226) 909-1447. C: (647) 290-6093 jamie@archlines .ca
Kelly Lehman 895893 Oxford Rd. 3, Drumbo, ON N0J 1G0 C: (519) 807-2660. E:
maddavery@gmail.com
Anne Marinacci 65 Swayze Court, Smithville, ON L0R 2A0 905-957-5619 Email:
annemarinacci@hotmail.com
(519) 807-2660 email:
maddavery@gmail.com (519) 732-0263 email:
drumbolady@hotmail.ca
Website:
www.whao.org
Erin O’Drowski 253 James St. N., PO Box 2767, St. Mary’s ON N4X 1A5 C: (226) 377-0244 Email:
eodrowsk@gmail.com
Kris Simpson 711 Middletown Rd., RR #1, Waterdown, ON L8B 1P7 Cell: (519) 831-7299, email:
richlandshowhorses@gmail.com
Don Stauffer 104 - 44 Ferndale Dr. S., Barrie, ON L4N 2V1 Cell (519) 604-8864
thestauffers48@gmail.com
Robyn Storey 6-120 Dudhope Ave., Cambridge, ON N1R 4T7 (519) 620-9015, Cell: (519) 841-3934,
gatorrocks@hotmail.com
Brenda Thompson 284 Whitmore Dr.,Waterloo, ON N2K 2N5 (519) 884-4050, Cell (519) 577-7320
bmctearnen@yahoo.ca
Mike Tucker 1581 Maple St. N., R.R. #4, Fenwick, ON L0S 1C0 (905) 892-5610, Cell (905) 984-1581 Email:
m.tucker1378@gmail.com
Jr. Judges
Dave Black 94 Concession 4 Road, Fisherville, ON N0A 1G0 C: (905) 921-0359 Email:
diamondbquarterhorses@gmail.com
Judy Gaspardy 196 Churchill Rd. S., Action, ON L7J 2J7 (c) 905-875-9534 Email:
sunfireminis@yahoo.ca
Anne Turnbull PO Box 131, Gores Landing, ON K0K 2E0 P: (905) 376-4807 Email:
1anna.turnbull@gmail.com
Celebrating 70 Years!
b. With more training, the feet as squarely under the body mass.
c. With advanced training, most of the body mass is shifted over the hind feet
Imagine you’re riding a coffee table with wheels!
110. Relationship between horse’s hood and body mass.
Horse and rider relaxed, self-carriage
on their feet. Often, we hear a horse with extremely heavy feet especially at a lope, this type of horse is not in self-carriage! The horse that is light on their feet will be much quieter and more apt to be in self- carriage. There is nothing more
intoxicating, thrilling, exhil- arating then to feel a horse working under you in self- carriage!
————— Pro and Non-Pro arti-
cles written by Jen Jonas of Jonas Performance Horses (Pro) and Sharon Jones of Be A Better You (Non-Pro). Together, they are J&J Rein- ing Inc. Both Jen and Sharon
are believers in continual learning – if you’re not learning you’re not grow- ing.
a. With a green horse, the body mass tends to be out in front.
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