There was a crowd of people present around the arena the morning of November 12 to watch the last day of training with Klaus Balkenhol and the USET long list team. We were scheduled to watch eight different rides: Guenter Seidel with Graf George and Foltaire; Steffen Peters with Grandeur and Akeena; Leslie Morse with Fello; Charlotte Bredahl with Lugano; David Wilson with Rio's Chalston; and Alisa Marnell with Rio's Match Point. Throughout each ride, Klaus brought each horse and rider pair through the session using his method and at the end of each ride he would ask if the rider had any questions and then took questions from the crowd. Klaus conducted the clinics in German and was beautifully translated by Betsy Steiner. Though clouds were present throughout the day, there was no inclement weather and the clinic ran smoothly.
To begin the clinic Klaus discussed that the overall goal of dressage must be to have a horse that is "willing to work and listening to the rider", the horse must give the impression that it goes forward willingly. In all cases the horse must come first and the rider second. Every time you take the reins the horse should come willingly into the reins. He stressed that the rider and the horse must be happy and express themselves in the ride; if the rider becomes too serious tension will develop. Once tension develops the rider and horse will argue or begin to fight. At that point, the overall goal of dressage is not being met.
Klaus stressed that all training must follow the training scale: rhythm, suppleness, swinging, connection, straightness, and collection. Throughout each ride he worked with the riders up and down this scale. In one case Graf George had lost "swinging" when working collection. Klaus had Guenter bring back Graf George to that portion of the training scale, re-establish "swinging" then move back up the scale to work go back to working collection. Each part of the training scale must be present if one level is missing the rider must go back and develop it, then go back up the scale to continue. He stressed that rhythm must remain the same during each movement, even during the half pass work.
During the warm-up phase of each ride, Klaus re-emphasized the importance of properly warming up the horse. He stressed that it takes 15 - 20 minutes to properly loosen up the joints and muscles and provided an incentive: "we all know vets are expensive, so let's avoid the vet bill". As muscles loosen up during the warm-up begin moving up and down the training scale.
Graf George had come back to training from a winter break. Klaus discussed how winter training should make the horse gymnastically supple.
Klaus worked several common areas with each rider: half-pass, canter pirouettes, piaffe and passage. Then depending on the individual horse and rider worked on other specific areas. During work Klaus said to allow some playing. He encouraged everyone to get to know what each horse enjoyed doing first and also recognize when not to keep pushing. If things are not working that day go take a "walk in the woods", allow the horse to relax, then return later that day or the next to go back and try again. Klaus told the crowd that "everyday will not be a perfect day" and "don't overdo it if it's a bad day". On the other hand, when the horse has provided some exceptionally good work, end the session for that day. Klaus said in these cases when he ended on a good note one day he would go back to that accomplishment during training the next day to see that the horse remembered the lesson.
During several rides he would ask the rider to move forward down the long side of the arena and then come back in order to make the horse more sensitive to the aids. Even when working "forward" the horse should respond willingly to the half halts. Steffen Peters and Akeena demonstrated "going forward" down the long side. Akeena responded beautifully to the half halts. During work when the rider relaxes the hands the horse should come 'look' for the bit. He stressed that riding into the bit with power was wrong. He also mentioned that "the higher the collection; the lighter the connection".
Straightness was brought up several times in different rides. Klaus instructed that if the horse was not even behind to push him forward. This was demonstrated with Leslie and Fello.
Throughout each work sessions he said to allow time for stretching. He stressed that after working collection the horse must be allowed to stretch In these cases the horse was encouraged to do a free walk and to relax through the back. Klaus recommended doing walk pirouettes during walk breaks as this was a non-stressful activity that was appropriate for this time.
Klaus emphasized the harmony between the horse and rider. He asked each rider how they felt and if they felt they were in harmony with their horses. He discussed how riding must be a partnership. His insight was wonderful on keeping the harmony between horse and rider.
Several times questions were asked about horses that were hot, too forward, not concentrating, or not listening to the aids. Klaus presented several solutions that will help when working with a 'hot' horse. He suggested allowing horses time in turn-out to run off some energy before working. He also recommended lunge work. During training sessions he recommended using halts to help the horse learn to quiet themselves. He mentioned also that the horse must learn to concentrate on the work at hand. If the horse is too 'forward' during riding it must be taught (sometimes using a more forceful aid) that it must respect the requests of the rider. Once the lesson has been taught then the rider must go back to the lighter aid, "you can do it more forcefully but you must go back to a lighter aid". Klaus stressed using the entire body when giving the half halt.
When discussing aids Klaus stressed that "only from a good seat can you give good aids". Klaus stressed to "never hold the reins". He stressed that the rider must not become stubborn with the hand but instead play with the reins. This point was addressed with several of the riders, as in many cases they were constantly asking for flexion or see-sawing the bit. He worked with the riders to not ask for overflexion when traveling straight, he said that one should only see a slight bit of eye and muzzle when traveling straight.
We had the opportunity to watch Klaus work with Charlotte Bredahl's horse Lugano. It was a wonderful opportunity to watch Klaus work with this horse. My impressions were that the horse was very aware of the difference in riders but as Klaus and Lugano continued to work, going up and down the training scale, Lugano became more relaxed. As a summary, Klaus and Lugano showed much improved piaffe and passage work. The horse seemed more relaxed and went more willingly forward after working with Klaus. Charlotte also said she could feel the improvement when she rode Lugano afterwards.
When discussing movements Klaus had several observations. First, during the canter pirouettes he encouraged riders to get the engagement and collection going into the pirouette then during the movement bring the shoulders around for the pirouette. During the half pass each rider was instructed to keep the forehand more in front. Walk to trot transitions should show a clear diagonal beginning. During piaffe work Klaus emphasized not doing too much work and that the rider must have "light legs". He stated, "I've seen pictures of international riders where the horse has stopped piaffe but the rider is still doing piaffe." Klaus stressed during the piaffe to passage work that the horse must go clearly forward.
Several questions came up on when and how to begin work on the upper level movements. In reply, Klaus suggested that you need to watch your horse; if the horse is becoming excited when going back to the barn, use this to begin asking for the piaffe. He stressed taking advantage of what the horse offers of his own accord regardless of the age or level of the horse. When developing the upper level movements in the arena one must remember to properly prepare the horse beforehand, "the horse must be developed in his muscles to do the movement". If the horse is not prepared and does not have the muscles needed to perform the movement then the horse will begin to distrust the rider and lose the willingness to work with the rider. To show an example of a younger horse just developing the upper level movements Klaus worked with Stephen Peters and Grandeur.
In summary, Klaus was wonderful to watch instruct horses. We had a nice selection of top level horses to audit and observe. Klaus was openly talking and discussing what he was doing and why. He invited questions from the crowds and the riders and was open to meeting those attended. He seemed to enjoy working with our riders and stressed that he saw improvement. Klaus mentioned that he'd like to have the chance to work with a younger horse and demonstrate the training and development of the horse. I would happily volunteer one of my horses for him to demonstrate! I felt lucky to be able to attend such a session with a rider like Klaus and thanked him after the clinic for coming and sharing his expertise.
By Irene Murphy