Hubert's Forum Theme:"Developing Power through Relaxation"

The USDF FEI-Level Trainers Conference January 15/16, 2006 was held at Walter and Mary Anne McPhail’s, High Meadow Farm, Loxahatchee, Florida.

Tips from the Forum:

• Always ride the horses freely forward and swinging through the back – this in itself produces relaxation
• Ride forward and straight. Only a straight horse on straight lines can then bend correctly on curved lines
• Ride shoulder fore in all gaits to obtain straightness (as the hindquarters of the horse are wider than the shoulders and chest, to be truly straight the shoulders need to be placed a little in from the track, just a tiny amount as in shoulder fore)
• Insist on correct flexion and counter flexion if requested at all times
• Allow for many walk breaks and moments of praise for the horse
• Always during exercises for collection which are taxing for the horse, break it up with forward work.

Lateral work:

• Correct shoulder in allows freedom of the inside shoulder
• Correct shoulder in is the basis for wonderful half pass work Without freedom of the shoulders the half pass is unable to float and “eat up” the arena. The half pass will become flat and lack expression
• Correct half pass must be ridden 100% forward and parallel
• This work is hard for the horse so break it up with reward walk breaks.
• FEI five year old horses tests require shoulder in and half pass. Do not start this work until the young horse is confident and freely forward.

Flying Changes and Canter pirouettes:

• A horse cannot achieve collection without relaxation. Tension in flying changes and pirouettes destroys the beauty and joy of the movement.
• To reduce tension, always ride freely forward. Restricting the horse in front via the reins always cause tension.
• Prepare the younger horse for pirouettes by shortening the canter on a circle, in this way the horse is encouraged to take the weight behind.
• Hubertus, in contrast to some other trainers, does not believe in traver in canter. He prefers to collect in a shoulder fore position while maintaining a loose neck and creating much weight taking behind.
• Once this is accomplished over several months then the canter pirouette is possible. However, never over train this movement as it places strain on the hindquarters of the horse.
• In the canter pirouette the horse must "think forward" so that the hind leg comes well under every stride. When in doubt make the canter pirouette bigger with more lift and ground covering strides until the hind comes further under the horse’s center of gravity. Hubertus rarely rides tight pirouettes and mostly trains working pirouettes and shortened canter in shoulder fore and is careful to never drill these movements as they are strong muscle burning exercises for the horse.

Piaffe and Passage:

• In the passage Hubertus encourages the horse to keep short stepping and engaged behind so he learns to develop better balance and show more freedom in front
• In the piaffe, use the whip on the croup to encourage better sitting and to quicken the rhythm of the hind leg so the front legs can show more range, freedom and height.
• To establish better activity and regularity in piaffe ask for a mini turn on the haunches to the lazy inside hind leg.
• Hubertus trains piaffe almost on the spot so the horse learns to become quick and engaged. If the horse is allowed to travel too forward Hubertus felt there is a real tendency to passage in place, not lower the haunches and take weight.

In conclusion, Hubertus cautions trainers that, "not every horse can learn a big trot, and not every horse can learn the Grand Prix."

This USDF FEI Trainers Forum was given by one of the world's best trainer, Hubertus Schmidt, and throughout the clinic; Hubertus was caring, enthusiastic, humble, insightful, humorous, honest and generous: a quintessential role model for all trainers!

Written by Jules Anderson 'teamworkdressage', USDF Gold Medalist, "r"dressage judge, FEI rider and trainer.