My Journey Back to Dressage

When I said to Pat I was thinking about pursuing dressage again now that I had grown so much in my horsemanship, I was ready for the challenge. I knew that studying this was not just for me but that I would pass on what I learned and maybe help our students at a whole new level.

Careful what you wish for, right? My learning curve has taken a steep turn, straight up. I already knew a lot about dressage, but I really didn't understand it until I met Walter Zettl. He confirmed for me what I had always hoped, that it is purely an extension of the basics and that if you pay attention to the simple things and do them well, great things will follow... naturally. Sound familiar?

The way Walter teaches is not normal, but it is truly classical. He does not pick apart your position and micromanage every detail; he focuses on the exercises and patterns. As the patterns start to focus the rider and the horse, collection begins to evolve naturally simply because you are riding with precision and playing with the horse's mind and his body as you shorten and lengthen the stride, develop lateral maneuvers, improve transitions and lighten the forehand. In fact, I was looking at some photos from my lesson during the Lakeland Celebration in October and was thrilled to see how round and up-hill Remmer is.

Little by little the rider improves through trying to do the exercises and then Walter gives a little tweak here and there. The result? Pleasurable dressage lessons! Sure, they are intense, but you never feel wrong. Walter praises me constantly, but he drives me incessantly! His favorite line is "to the limit, but not over the limit". It's a great parallel to how Pat develops horses - you bring the best out of them, but you don't blow them up and the relationship stays in tact.

I'm writing a lot about what I'm learning, but best of all I'm starting to develop simple ways to begin teaching the beginning elements of Finesse when it comes to riding. Fluidity for Finesse is actually a little different from FreeStyle in how you sit and the engagement you need in your core. Savvy Club members will see the start of this in the October DVD where I'm coaching Jamie, and I'm in the middle of writing Mastery Manuals 11 and 12 which are highly photo-driven and examine rider problems and how to fix them in FreeStyle and in Finesse. I would never have been able to do this without being on this journey with this true master, Walter Zettl. And as he keeps reminding me, "This is only the beginning!"