Bent Jensen came to Caducues Farms in Broomfield, CO for yet another enlightening dressage clinic. One of the top riders in the world, Bent is gracious enough to share his expertise over the course of a weekend ride. Two 45 minute rides do not seem like a lot but even those watching are left with a “wow” factor. The riders all seemed relieved that they made it through the intense clinic and were already asking for the next time.
Laura Capra on Swedish Warmblood mare, Griffen |
For each rider, the progression was obvious even for an outsider. What may have started as a discombobulated pairing of horse and rider always ended as a team effort. While Dressage is a beautiful sport, dressage training is not. There are a lot of circles, a lot of “more forward” and “rounder” messages from Bent. A lot of sweat and sometimes tears. But when the riders would pull out of the circle and give their horse a little rein, everyone would just watch in awe. The team, the not being able to tell where the rider ends and the horse begins, the “wow” factor was with everyone. |
Bent’s key messages, if you were able to hear him in the wind, were about building a solid foundation with each horse and about choosing your battles wisely. You can’t work on everything everyday but you can work on a little bit each day and before you know it, in the span of 45 minutes, or a week or a month, your horse is more forward and is rounder. If you are tight, your horse is going to be tight. If you are nervous, your horse is going to be nervous. Bent was able to teach what it was like to have a horse want to work with you. You can’t force it, you have to ask for it (sometimes repeatedly) and you have to stand your ground. You need to be fair and strong, determined and subtle, firm and relaxed. And when you can pull out of your circle and give your horse a little rein and feel them stretch across the ground. Well, then you’ve found a partner and it is time to dance.
When is Bent coming again?
- Laura Capra
Peggy Judy on Trakehner stallion, Liebriez |
There were some thrills but no spills, with a couple of large horses deciding to be cantankerous or spooky, but they all worked through it and improved considerably by the end of each lesson. Leroy, Peggy's lovely huge dapple grey stallion, has improved quite a bit, but he is still a massive beast and showed what a difference a hundred pounds can make between riders. Peggy is excellent, but she doesn't have the weight Bent has and he was able to muscle the horse a bit more and correct some of his flaws. Another fairly young Danish warmblood mare built like a tank decided to be spooky and sashayed halfway to the neighbors with Bent untill he was able to convince her to start working for him. |
For me, the first day was much better than at our last clinic- I have been riding Phoebus for about six months now and we are getting to know each other and starting to click. Bent asked me how he was doing, and my reply was, "Well, he hates me less." ^_^.
We started out well and I knew we had made a lot of progress when I didn't once hear "Give on the inside rein." which meant that the horse was carrying himself instead of leaning on me for balance. I had about 20 minutes where Bent had me ride without stirrups, which helped correct a problem I was having with sitting crookedly in the saddle- I was sitting about two inches to the left instead of directly in the center of the horse. Because Phoebus's left side is stronger, he prefers to carry my weight there and actually would shift to unbalance me when I was sitting centered on his back. I am also stronger on my right side and so I didn't feel the need to keep my weight on that side as much as on the left. I didn't notice with the stirrups to keep me from sliding around, but without them it quickly became apparant.
It was warm out and after about 30 minutes Phoebus was getting tired. I muttered at him, "I know you're tired, do it anyway." I got a taste of my own medicine after I thought we were done and instead we were set back to work on counter canter. It was a challenging exercise for Phoebus, and hard for me to keep him going, so I was huffing and gasping and wanting to die in short order. However, this exercise helped the horse quite a lot and he was moving remarkably better by the end of our session.
On the second day we worked on counter canter again, but we also worked more on right lead transitions. Phoebus prefers his left lead and will often take it when going to the right. Bent had me cue him with the outside rein held tighter and the inside rein more slack. Phoebus needs the extra support on the outside rein because of the weakness in his right side. During this session there were a few moments here and there where all of a sudden everything would click into place. "And suddenly, I'm sitting," I commented to Bent at one point. It's such an odd and wonderful feeling when your body quits working against itself and everything else and suddenly everything is right and effortless. You're moving as one with the animal and yet completely in control and in balance with yourself. It's one of the main reasons I think I continue working at this sport- it's euphoric and I imagine it's kind of like a runner's high (though I wouldn't know from experience since I hate to run). Of course a moment later I was back out of synch again. Still, once you get it, it's easier to get it back and keep it longer, so I'm encouraged. After the counter canter work Phoebus was more straight and forward, so the following trot was much bigger and I was not sitting it well. "Much better trot, yeah?" Bent asked. "Yeah, but I can't sit it at all!!!" I thought, as my insides were horribly jarred with every step. "So, it's a LONGER step that you have to learn to sit, right?" Bent added. Ah, the light bulb went on, and with a concious effort to sit LONGER suddenly I was sitting this new big trot.
Valerie Sahleih on a Hannoverian mare. |
They are small battles and small victories, but I am happy for them. The weekend was very enjoyable for me. We had lovely weather for the most part, and just beyond the arena there are pastures and then the mountains forming a beautiful backdrop. Most of the time I sat in a chair and watched horses trot past with the mountains behind them and felt like I was on the perfect vacation. - Sara Porter |