(“. . . while they speak with unconscious irony . . . “)
All posts by wcwdressage
Does your posting diagonal matter in the show ring?
BILL— In dressage seat equitation there is mention of the posting diagonal, nowhere else in our discipline. Consequently there is no such thing as an “incorrect diagonal.” In several books of eastern European origin a theory is even espouse that riders should rise on the inside diagonal.
Words to 2020 by
(Take these to heart!)
Ride real figures—accurate ones
Bubble Wrap and Swaddling Clothes
(“. . . balloon ascensions, flaming hoops of fire, and lions . . .”)
Eavesdrops
(“You’re kidding, right?”)
Would you make a student do something against her will?
As an instructor have you ever (or should you ever) make a student do something against his or her will?
Rural Exposures
(“How many sparkles shall I give each of them?”)
My, they DO worry!
(“. . . mysteriously–almost magically . . .”)
I get a lot of nervous, panicky questions from owners about things their horses are doing. “Why did he kick out when I tried to make a flying change?” “He’s playing with the bit. What do I do?” “His neck gets too low in the trot!” Those are three out of dozens which I hear.
A Smart Choice
(“Be my guest . . .”)
What makes you crazy?
BILL— to a degree, most everything, but my secret pet peeve is when novice riders describe their horses’ random bad behaviors in classical terms. I’m sorry, your nervous, neurotic horse was not piaffing on the trail. He was just anxiously prancing about, most likely in no coherent rhythm.
Nor did he perform a levade, a balanced “crouching,” very collected movement with extreme bending of his hocks. He was just standing on his hind legs. That’s very different!
These are not just semantic disparities. To endow them with classical names doesn’t give credit to the time it takes and the degree of difficulty involved in training those actual movements