The USLF online training journal collaborative: USLF members developing beautiful horses through consistent correct training. We build our LOL community by tracking training over time, sharing goals and strategies, and supporting each other.
Congratulations to Jacquelyn Ely and Katherine Arce. Both trainers achieved their Platinum level this summer. Jacquelyn trains her young horses in the Portuguese classical style. The shows in both USDF dressage shows and Working Equitation.
Kat trains in the classical French style, Legereté. She also believes strongly that trail riding develops a solid, dependable horse- both mentally and physically. Kat also enjoys her drill team with a collection of horse/rider partners.
Classical riding has endured through the centuries because it is correct riding. The ancient advice from Xenophon never loses its wisdom, “That which is forced or misunderstood can never be beautiful.” Kat works with a Legereté master to train her horse in the French school with lightness. With all classical training, preparation is key. When the horse is in balance, connected, and forward, anything is possible. The horse can respond correctly to the aids and is quite willing to perform that which has been asked correctly and tactfully…It all came down to preparation… correct preparation… One big point from today’s lesson was that it’s easier to use the BIG energy!
If you’ve been following Kat’s journal, you know that her young gelding can be spooky. With consistent work in a classical manner, Rock is becoming more ridable in uncertain situations. Recently, Kat took Rock for a trail ride after she finished her Legereté lesson. Legereté is the French system of classically training a horse. By focusing on suppleness and straightness, the rider ensures that the horse is prepared to perform the movements. Therefore a partnership is nurtured, and the training proceeds without force.
Legereté means riding in lightness. Lightness can be the willing partnership between horse and rider. It can also be thought of as enlightened riding. The following post gives you insights about how Kat is training Rock, and the results she got when taking him on a trail ride which included crossing water with construction cones!
contact with the mouth is like a draw bridge into a castle. The draw bridge when it’s down invites a guest in to be welcomed. The draw bridge is represented by the mobilization of the mouth. If the draw bridge isn’t fully open or is shut up then the guest is unwelcome and is actually like a thief.
Do you get in a rut when you are training? We can all feel stuck sometimes when we continue the same work. We aren’t progressing, so we feel we need to address the hole that is preventing progress…It was a fun day to play around, but at the same time we really got to ride with precision and accuracy!
Congrats to Kat for leveling up to Bronze. A beautiful bronze-embroidered saddle pad will be arriving just in time for the holidays. This post details Kat’s November work with her young horse, Rock. Kat does a variety of different work with Rock, from patient groundwork, to Legereté classical training, to drill team, and this month…
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