Horse & Hound – 22 August 2019

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