24 Horse& Hound22 August 2019
Words and pictures
by
Selene
Scarsi
FIX IT
How do I improve my
horse’s medium canter?
Theshowingproducerturneddressagestarexplains
how she trains this important pace for top marks
MYtophorse,IntoTheBlue,
thought“mediumcanter”
meant“gallop”.Heused
toshootoffwithhishead
intheair,whichmeanthis
canterwashurriedinstead
ofexpressive.Learningto
containhimona circle,as
wellasalwaysensuringthat
hewasroundbeforeI put the
power in, was key.
Q&A
AFTERdominatingthe
workinghuntershowingscene
foryears,theWarwickshire-
basedriderhassuccessfully
switchedtodressage,
representingBritainon
multipleoccasions.Shewas
a memberoftheBritish
teamthatplacedfifthinthe
NationsCupinAachenthis
year,andshehasjustwonthe
grandprixandfreestyle at
Hickstead CDI3*.
LOUISE
BELL
TRAINING
THE STARS
Toensurestraightness,aimfora slightshoulder-forefeeling—
withoutthebend—alltheway,ensuringthereis enoughpower
andengagement.
Becarefulwhereyouputyourlegs.It’seasyforthehorsetoslip
a change.Keepyourlegsstillinthemediumcanter,andgivevery
clearaidsbeforeyoucomebacktothenextmovement.
Don’talwaysputa changeinattheend,oryourhorsewill
anticipateit.It’sa goodideatoridecounter-canteraftercollecting.
Finally, be brave enough to ride past X before you start collecting.
Consider this...
areworriedthey’lllosecontrol.
I findit reallyusefultotrainthe
mediumcanterona circlethatis
justslightlylarger than the usual
20 metres.
TACKLINGTHEISSUE
1
Workingona spiral,ride
a morecollectedcanteron
a 10-to15-metrecircle.As
youmakeit bigger,addmore
powerfrombehindtoallowyour
horsetocomeoutofthecircle.
2
Whileona 20-metre
circle,rideina veryslightly
shoulder-foreposition,
keepingyourhorsestraightsohis
quartersdon’tfallout.Always ride
insidelegtooutsiderein.
3
Onceyoucanrideshoulder-
foreonthecircle,ridelarge
aroundthearena—if your
horse tries to take hold, put him
Showjumper
Jessica Mendoza
NEXT
WEEK
THEmediumcanteroften
getsignored.It’simportantto
maximisethemarksforit because,
atalllevels,it reallysetsyouupfor
whatevermovementcomesafter.
A goodmediumcanterhas
tobeground-coveringand
uphill;it hastofeelbiggerand
biggerbeforeyoucollectat
theend.Manyridersgeta bit
repressed about it because they
backontothecircleandregain
controlfromyourseat.Donot
pullbackonthebittobringyour
horsebacktoyou—thecanterhas
togoforwardfromtheseat and
comebacktotheseat.
4
Whenridinga test,usethe
cornerbeforethemedium
cantertoputyourhorsein
a slightshoulder-foretokeepthe
enginerunning.Then,whenona
straightline,youcanreleasethe
powerimmediatelyfora transition
right at the marker.H&H
‘The canterhastogoforwardfromtheseatand come
back to the seat — not the hands’
LouiseBellaboardhertop
horse,IntoTheBlue—Louise
hasworkedtocontainhispower
andspeedwhenaskingforthe
medium canter transition