New Year's resolution

In 2016 I resolve to not buy my horse new protective boots just because they're on sale...or because they're in a color that would look really cute on him...or just because.  I resolve to spend less time on tackoftheday.com and use the money instead to make some serious contributions to my IRA.  Ok. I need to stop myself because I'm a big believer in setting realistic goals, and let's be honest, the previously-mentioned resolutions are NOT realistic. So this year I have one major resolution and that is to embrace that which scares me and not let my own self doubt hold me back.  I know that sounds tough, but I assure you it's much easier than resisting those adorable, fleece-lined brushing boots!

Fun fun fun-damentals! Center line edition

First impressions mean a lot.  When you ride down that first centerline, you frequently set the tone for your entire test for both the judge, and yourself, so today we're going to talk about three fundamental skills that will not only help you rock your centerlines, but help you be a better partner to your horse as well.

via GIPHY
  
Trust

It doesn't matter how straight your centerline is, or how square your halt is if you can't get your horse near the judge's booth.  I've seen many "C- track left"'s turn into  "between X and G- bolt left"'s.  While you can never fully predict how a horse will react its first time experiencing something new and different, a little bit of work on building trust  can help make the process much less stressful for everyone involved.  Helix's favorite trust building exercise centers around the "touch" command where I point at an object that he might be a little unsure about and give him the command "touch." Upon successfully touching the "scary" object with his nose, he gets a cookie.  We do this in hand as well as under saddle.  The treat is not 100% necessary and can be replaced with a generous praising/petting for horses who get overly mouthy.  The main objective is to demonstrate to the horse that you will never expose him/her to anything dangerous.

Here Helix demonstrates the "touch" command and learns that the plastic page protector is nothing to fear.

In addition to the "touch" command, hauling to new places, trail riding, and essentially providing positive experiences where they see new things will go a long way in creating a spook-free centerline.

Forward Energy

The easiest way to ride a straight line is to create and then utilize forward energy.  To demonstrate this I'd like you to do a bit of an experiment.  Go out to the wash stall and place the the hose on the ground.  Now turn the hose on, but just barely, so the water pressure is very low. What does the stream look like? Probably a bit on the squiggly side, huh?  Now turn the water pressure up, and voila! We have a straight stream.  Your horse is very similar to the stream of water, but instead of turning a valve to create water pressure, you use your seat and leg to create forward energy. Crookedness averted!  Your can practice using forward energy to generate straightness by riding straight lines off the rail.  Quarter lines and long diagonals are great for testing straightness.

Preparation

In a training level test, the centerline is where the most abrupt changes is the horse's way of going take place.  You go from trot to halt, halt to trot, and from a straight line to a square turn all over the course of 40 (or 60) meters.  All too often we get to X and then think "Oh crap!  I need to halt!"  Or we get to C and think "Ahh!!! Must turn!"  With how responsive and forgiving horses can be, it's easy to forget that their brains need a moment to process our request before they can actually do the thing we them to do!  So a few strides before X, take a second to let your horse know that something is about to change.  Ask for bend well before you get to C so your horse is ready to make a balanced turn when you get to C.  

So there you have it.  Instead of practicing centerlines until you're blue in the face, work on building trust, utilizing forward energy to generate straightness, and get in the mindset of prepare--->do.  You'll be looking fine on centerline in no time!

Go riding!

Lady Gaga's latest little monster

Call all you want, but there's no one home. You're not gonna reach Lady Gaga's telephone, because she is off playing with her new horse that was given to her by Interscope records.   Not much information has been shared on this adorable grey mare that showed up on Lady Gaga's doorstep, but she did post a few pictures to her instagram showing the  ribbon-adorned horse after she arrived, munching on some hay in her stall, and taking Gaga for a very dreamy looking ride. 

So it looks like at least one girl this year got that horse for Christmas!

Go, Gaga!

Teaching to the test

Back in the day I took this biology class with a bit of an unusual format.  There were 3 exams, each with a pre-prescribed set of questions. I know teachers will often recycle exams to save time, but this class was unique in that we got access to the content of all 3 exams at the very beginning of the term. There were recommended homework assignments, but in the end, your final grade was determined upon your ability to answer those questions you were given at the beginning of the term.  I found that most of the students memorized the exams and regurgitated answers when it was time to take the test.  There were a few students, however, that did all of the recommend homework and really took the time to develop a deep understanding of the material. While they did not necessarily perform better than the other students in this particular class, they were much more prepared to tackle the challenges of the upper level classes that laid ahead of them.  All right. I confess.  I'm not really talking about a biology.  I'm talking about competitive dressage.

My mother, before she retired,  made a living as a teacher, and she was an excellent one at that.  When the No Child Left Behind policy was introduced, I remember her concern that teachers would teach to the test in order to receive high scores instead of focusing on the fundamental skills kids need to be well-rounded learners.  I think with the format of competitive dressage being what it is, it's easy to do the same thing to our horses when our goals are centered around achieving a particular score at a horse show.  We worry about movements X, Y, and Z without necessarily addressing the underlying principles that make our horses well-rounded equine citizens.  The tests should be just that; tests that indicate the quality of our training, not the training itself.

Now some people decide not to show because of this, and that is a completely acceptable decision, but I think horse shows are fun, and I'm pretty sure if I remain a thoughtful, analytical rider, I can avoid the pitfalls of teaching to the test.  Recently the date for the first Oregon league show of 2016 was released (February 27-28), and I plan on bringing Helix. While it's really easy to get caught up in horse show fever (Who doesn't love a beautiful ribbon?!), I'm going to try my best to keep my horse in a training program that makes him a better, stronger, healthier horse, and not necessarily just a better competition.

 Ribbons are nice, but good training is better.  In a perfect world (an sometimes in an imperfect one) you can have both.

So here's the plan.  Helix will be showing training level, and each week between now and the show, we'll be breaking down the movements in training level test 1, discussing the underlying principles, and suggesting exercises (other than riding the movement over and over and over) that will improve your horses ability to perform that movement successfully.  In other words, we will be doing the "recommended homework" in hopes that we will prepare ourselves well for the test in our near future, equip ourselves with the skills we'll need to move up the levels, and most importantly, make well-rounded learners out of our horses, and ourselves.
Next week, centerlines!

Be sure to check out the Back to Basics Facebook page to get updates on Helix's daily antics.
Go riding!

Your daily dose of "SQUEEEE!"

We all know that adorable sells, and Amazon Prime targets the "SQUEEEEE!" reflex within us all with their latest ad.

Reach for the sky

As I have mentioned in previous entries, I have some issues with the lateral alignment of my spine.  I have also mentioned that I am training a 4 year old, and despite a popular misconception that young horse trainers just need to be tough and brave, it is completely necessary for a young horse trainer to have, what I like to call, an articulate butt, meaning the ability to communicate clearly with the seat. It is during these early, formative years that horses decide whether changes in your weight distribution matter or not. The only way to teach a horse that the seat does matter is to ride like it does from the get go.

So back to my crookedness.  It's not just a me thing. Most people are at least a little crooked in one way or another and this has a big impact on our ability to effectively apply the seat aid. So how do we go about fixing this? To explain this, I'm going to need the help of my trusty sidekick, Piper Kleiner.

So as you can see, Piper has a slight curvature in her back.

Let's see what happens when we try and fix that curvature by making a lateral shift.

Crap! Still crooked! That's right, attempting to fix lateral misalignments by making additional lateral shifts will more often than not just make you crooked in the other direction.

OK. Let's see what happens when we try and fix Piper's alignment by stretching up through the top of her head.

 You can see, while Piper is now in much better balance, she is still not perfectly straight.  In order to improve her lateral alignment to a great extent, she will have engage in a regular stretching and strengthening routine to address unevenness in musculature, but for now, stretching up has put her in a position to much more effectively use her seat. So there you go. If you're starting to feel off kilter in the saddle, plant your butt firmly in the saddle and stretch up towards the rafters. "Reach for the sky!" my parents always told me, and I feel like I am continually reaching in terms of lofty life goals, but these days I am also reaching for the sky... with the top of my head.

Go riding!

George Morris Clinic

This past weekend I had the absolute privilege of attending a George Morris clinic in Wilsonville, OR.  I am primarily a dressage rider, but have begun to dabble in the jumpers with my horse, Kalvin, who was dissatisfied with a dressage-centric lifestyle. I was hoping to gain some useful insight on riding him, which I did, but if I'm being honest with myself, I really just wanted to watch George yell at people.  That is what he is famous for, and that is what we expect.  George did not disappoint.  He began the clinic by giving a stern talking to a group of spectators who were fawning over a dog when he was trying to begin.  "This is a riding clinic!" he said. "Not a dog petting clinic!"

Throughout the day George was tough on riders, spectators, and the jump crew just as expected,  but despite a bit of a show and some good jumping advice, I got something quite unexpected out of the clinic, a full on dressage lesson.  It turns out that George is a student of the classical German school.  He stressed the importance of keeping the horse in front of the leg and had riders schooling shoulder-in, renvers, and travers during the flat portions of the lessons.  He was also quite generous  with praise when it was due, and with the quality of horse and rider at the clinic, that was frequent.  The highlight of the clinic was the last group of riders which included Olympian and World Cup Champion, Rich Fellers, along with his wife, Shelly, who is quite the rider in her own right. Watching George teach such a talented group was a real pleasure and truly inspirational.

So just like people expect a bit of a show when they attend a George Morris clinic, they also expect George Morris clinic recaps to be presented in meme form.  I'm not one to disappoint, so here you go!

Fear of being judged (working title)

Ah yes,  insecurity,  my achilles heel as a rider. The prospect of being judged is one that has always filled me with anxiety.  The fear of not being good enough can sometimes be enough to make me sick to my stomach. I remember expressing this sentiment to my instructor, Doug, after a lesson for which I had a bit of an audience. He starred back at me and said "You picked the wrong sport, kiddo," and it's true. Not that I wasn't meant to be a rider, but that my stage fright was something I'd need to face if I planned to continue on in my life as an equestrian. Even if you choose not to ride competitively, the horse world is an extremely judgmental place. Unless you plan on only riding in the absence of all other life forms, someone is bound to have an opinion on your riding, and here's the kicker. It might not always be positive.

When I started this column, in the back of my mind I knew that in order to truly bring you along on Helix's and my journey, I'd have to periodically post videos of our progress. Because I'm currently in the process of training a 4 year old, and I'm not Reiner Klimke incarnate (though I try my very best to channel him), there is a good chance that any video I post will not be perfect. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but if any place is more judgmental than the horse world, it's the internet.  It is just so easy to point out someone's flaws when you don't have look them in the face and see their eyes deaden as you crush their spirit with your words.

  

Yeah, so this girl who hates being judged has put herself in situation where one of the most judgmental communities around can judge her on the platform that has made the sport of armchair quarterbacking one of the world's greatest pastimes. What was I thinking?

I'm still not entirely sure. Maybe I thought it would be a good way to face my fear and learn how to let criticism roll off my back. Maybe I'm totally insane. Yeah.  I'm definitely insane, but I don't think it's relevant in this case. Or maybe I know that as judgmental as the horse community can be, it also has the potential to be the most loving, supportive community around.

I know that videoing myself (or should I say schlepping the husband out to the barn to video me) is a useful training tool.  I have no mirrors in my arena, so it is useful for me to pick apart my riding, Helix's movement, and how those things impact one another.  As I get braver, I will share more, the good, the bad, and the ugly, but first I need this tiny, relatively painless nudge to get the ball rolling. So here we go, my first baby step towards putting myself out there, a (very) short clip of Helix and me during some trot work on 12-1.

Quiet

This holiday season there are bound to be many parties filled with festive music, strong drinks, and good friends.  The next time you attend such a party, take a second to think about the logistics of communicating in such a setting.   Music is blaring, there are many other people talking and laughing, and maybe you're having trouble communicating over all that noise.  You can make basic points by yelling like "I like this song!" Or "want another drink?" But more complex thoughts are lost in the background chatter.

Now, let's imagine your friend is your horse. The blaring music is your seat that hasn't quite figured out how to move with the motion, and the conversation and laughter are your hands and legs that haven't developed the ability to become independent from your seat.  You can make basic points like "stop" and "go" with loud aids, but more complex thoughts are lost in the background chatter. 

 

We use the word "quiet" to describe good riding for a reason.  A quiet rider makes very little "noise" unless he or she has something to say, and when it comes time to communicate, a quiet rider can whisper instead of yell with the aids because there is no background chatter with which to compete.  While parties are good fun, your horse will appreciate you not creating a party-like atmosphere in the saddle with your body. Instead, imagine you and your horse have found a cozy corner in the house after the party has ended where you discuss the meaning of life and the wonders of the world, because at that moment you will be experiencing both of those things.

 

Thankful

I was very overwhelmed while pondering everything for which I'm thankful.  There are so many things!  This is a fantastic problem to have, and after stressing about, and over thinking what should be a very simple to paragraph to write for hours, I think I've narrowed it down.  This past year was a tough one.  I spent a good portion of it injured and incapacitated, and those of you that know me know that sitting still and resting is not my forte.  I lost my mind a little less thanks to these three, amazing guys.

Dave, he husband who took the best care of me, always keeping a good sense over humor about things,

Kalvin, the saint who patiently tolerated my uncoordinated flailing when I decided I NEEDED some horse time despite still being on crutches,

and Helix, the court jester who was always finding new ways to entertain me, whether it be attempting to wash his grain pan in his water tub, or rearranging the barrels and cones in the arena.

Love you boys!

Human conformation

Riders sometimes have these crazy double standards.  We are willing to pick our horses apart piece by piece to determine strengths and weaknesses to devise a plan of attack to make improvements.   Now ask yourself this.  How often do we do this to ourselves? Pretty much never, right?  Well I have this rule where I won't submit my horses to anything to which I won't also submit myself. Just like horses, there is an ideal conformation for a rider, and just like horses, there are strategies to make those with less than ideal conformations highly effective in the saddle.  I think that people frequently use a one size fits all training program for horses and people.  While certain concepts are universally true, treating each horse and each person as an individual is key for success.

Well today I'm going to objectively examine my own conformation to determine strengths, weaknesses, and a strategy for improvement. Let's just start off with a little disclaimer.

Disclaimer: This article has nothing to do with whether or not we should feel good about our bodies and how we look.  It is only about maximizing our own potential by properly strategizing using a training plan based around our particular body. All the citizens of Horse Nation look super hot in their boots and breeches (or in their Justin's and jeans), so don't even worry about it.

So here is one of  my biggest pet peeves.

This is conformation

 This is confirmation

Ok. So now that we've cleared that up, let's look at my conformation.

I'd say the most important aspect of rider conformation is the leg to torso ratio. A high leg to torso ratio is favorable for a rider because it makes for a body shape that is more innately stable in the saddle.

So we want long legs, and while my legs aren't runway model long, they're not bad. I'm 55% leg and 45% torso, so naturally, I am pretty secure in the saddle without having to work too hard at it.  For a long time, being secure in the saddle was my only talent as a rider BECAUSE I didn't have to work too hard it.   I'd like to note that these percentages are based on length and not weight.  Determining these percentages by weight would the most accurate approach, but since I'm not quite ready to donate my body to science, and I couldn't find a magician capable of slicing me down the middle and weighing my two halves before putting me back together, I decided this was best option.

So if you are someone with shorter legs and a longer torso, that's fine.  You'll just have to spend a bit more time working on core strength and balance. Despite a common misconception (because of certain anatomical feature us ladies possess; I believe the technical term is ta ta's), men are more likely to be top-heavy than women.

The next piece of my conformation we are going to look at is the longitudinal (up and down) shape of my spine.  While in horses a rounded spine is preferred, in people we look for what is called a neutral spine.  A neutral spine occurs when the top of the pelvis sit level, and there is extension upwards from the top of the head while remaining relaxed through the shoulders. This is where I struggle.  I am a chronic booty toocher as you can see by the exaggerated arch in my spine. Because my posture is something I struggle with so much, I have sought professional help in the form of private pilates classes.  This is something I highly recommend even for just one or two classes.  It wasn't until someone physically positioned me correctly in a neutral spine that I realized just how out of whack my posture is.

Lastly, we're going to look at the lateral (left to right) alignment of my spine.  As you can see in the picture below, I lean left, and I don't mean politically (Helix and I are both proud members of the Cocktail party).

Correct lateral alignment is achieved when the spine is perpendicular to the ground.   My crookedness is the result of injuries that have caused me to carry myself in a less than balanced way.  Luckily the root cause of my crooked nature seems to be uneven muscling, so I should be able to make some improvements.

So after examining a few key aspects of my conformation, we have learned that my greatest strength (based solely on the shape of my body) is stability, but I need to work on both longitudinal and lateral alignment of my spine.

I encourage anyone who is serious about riding to take an objective look at his or her conformation (while chanting "I am hot. I am hot.").  This is not an exercise to define your limits, but an exercise to identify tools and strategies you can use to shine.

Go riding!

Quick! Someone contact Adam Sandler! It's time to update Chanukah song!

 I remember as a child growing up in a mixed-religion household being surrounded by holiday music of all sorts.  One of my favorite's was Adam Sandler's Chanukah, a song where he tells all of the lonely Jewish kids not to lament because there is a long list of Jewish celebrities  who are Jewish just like them.  Every once in awhile, he'll alter one of the verses to include a new Jewish celebrity.  Well It's time for an update because American Pharoah was just named to the Forward 50, a list of the 50 most influential Jewish individuals, for the year 2015. Holy Moses! A Jewish horse! A Jewish horse named American 'Pharoah', nonetheless.

 I know this  announcment will raise some questions.  How can a horse be Jewish?  Is he circumcized?  How will they lift the chair for the Hora at his Bar mitzvah?  Ok ok.  Pharoah may not officially be Jewish, but his owner, Ahmed Zayat is, and being the first horse to win the the Triple Crown in 37 years it seemed appropriate to include him on the list.

Then I got thinking.  What other equestrians will be celebrating Chanukah this December. So here it is, the equestrian version of the Chanukah song.

Chanukah is a festival of lights.
Instead of one day of presents,
we get 8 crazy nights.
So when you feel like the only kid at the barn
without a Christmas tree,
Here's a list of other equestrians who are Jewish
just like you and meeeeeee!

 American Pharoah lights the menorah.
Ahmed Zayat spins a dradle on the floorah.

Guess who drinks Manischewitz,
dressage great, Robert Dover,
and Margie Engle at H.I.T.S.

Georgina Bloomberg's half Jewish,
and you know I'm half Jewish, too.
Put us both together and that's one horse crazy Jew!

So many Jews are in the horse biz.
George Morris isn't Jewish,
but I hear his accountant is.

So put on your yamaka.
Here comes Chanukah.
So much funakuh
to celebrate Chanukah.
So put your helmet onukah
and ride a lipizzanukah,
but only if you wanukah
have a happy happy happy happy Chanukah!

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fresh off the boat

Relax

Last week we talked about the importance of a round horse.  This week we're going to talk about how to begin initiating roundness in our horses by encouraging relaxation in the muscle groups that run over the top of the back and neck, but first, since I'm a nerd, and I believe it is fundamental to properly training a horse, let's talk about how muscles work.

Nerdy crap to impress your friends (aka the "bio" in biomechanics):

Muscles are composed of several bundles of long, cylindrical, muscle cells. Each cell contains actin and myosin filaments. The myosin filaments look like a string of tiny hands framed by an actin filament skeleton that has been split down the middle with a little bit of space between the two sides.  When your horse's brain wants to signal a muscle contraction, it sends an electrical impulse through a nerve releasing a flood of calcium ions. These calcium ions essentially create tiny handles on which the myosin filaments can pull the two sides of the actin filament skeleton together. This causes the cell to contract.

 

image by San Diego State University College of Sciences

If what you just read came across as "blah blah blah science blah blah," have no fear. Here is the take home message. Muscles function by pulling, not by pushing.

So now, with what we know about how muscles function, let's think about what happens when we ask our horses to bend laterally. The muscle groups on one side of the body contract, and the muscle groups on the other side of the body stretch.  In the video below, I once again have the horse's body represented by a slinky (I may have a slight slinky obsession), and I've added some silly putty to represent the longissimus muscles groups which run down either side of the spine and right under your saddle. As I bend the slinky from side to side simulating what happens when you laterally flex your horse from side to side, you'll notice that the muscle groups alternatingly contract and stretch. Now much like your horse's muscles, the silly putty starts off quite stiff, but through gentle manipulation it becomes quite elastic and pliable (though it takes a little longer with actual muscle ;-), making it easier for the horse to stretch forward and down over his top line.

So now that we know (one of the reasons) why lateral flexion aids in achieving round, let's discuss some simple exercises in which it is utilized.

Since I'm using Helix as a reference and he is quite green, all exercises will be performed at the walk. Also, the sizes of these figures may seem small, but I am riding a relatively small, incredibly short backed horse, so if that seems too small for your horse, feel free to make them larger.

10 meter circle curly q's: Start from the rail and make a 10 m circle between the rail and then center line. When you return to the rail, take 4-5 strides straight down the rail. Then circle again. 

 

10 m bowties:  For this exercise, begin on the rail and make a 10 m half circle towards the center of the arena.  Once your horse's body is parallel to the rail, ride your horse back to the rail, changing the direction of bend as you approach.  As your horse horse becomes more comfortable with this exercise, you can push the lobes of the bowtie closer together.

shallow serpentines:  All of my students know this exercise.  It is one of my all time favorite warm up exercises.  Alternate between a gentle right and gentle left bend down the long side of the arena making a slithering, snake-like shape.

 

 

 



After performing these simple stretching exercises, baby Helix offered some really nice stretch. It's not perfect, and it's not consistent, but it's a good effort which deserves celebrating.

 

 

 

Go riding!

Project top line: Baseline

Welcome to "Project Top Line!," a reality tv show where riders turn unfit, under-muscled horses into beautifully sculpted performance machines overnight!  Wait... nope.  That's not how it works. Whether it be a cooking show where chefs must create gourmet meals in minutes, or a design show where contestants must create couture looks from garbage in a matter of hours, our society seems obsessed with producing results as quickly as possible.  That approach just doesn't work in the horse world, so if you are one that constantly craves instant gratification, please, move along.

A solid top line is built over the course of months and years, not over the course of days. Now, I know it can be difficult to stick to a training program when results aren't immediately evident. Even when your horse's body does begin to change, the differences will be slow and subtle. If you see your horse on a daily basis, you may not notice any change at all!  Now I'm typically not the dogmatic type, but listen to me when I say you must have faith in the system...the training system. You need to believe in the power of slow, thoughtful training system  even if results aren't immediately visible.

So here I am with a 4 year old horse with whom I've spent minimal time developing his top line.  Why not take this opportunity to give a visual representation of the top line development process starting from scratch in real time.  So here is our baseline. I encourage you all to take baseline pictures of your horses as well. It's a great way to track your progress, and it can be very encouraging to look back and see how far you've come on days you're feeling frustrated about how far you have to go. So go ahead. Snap a picture and share it in the comments.

 

So, before we go making changes to baby Helix's top line, let's define what we're trying to do.  When developing the top line of a young  horse,  I have  one major goal:  a round back that comfortably supports the weight of the rider at the walk, trot, and canter, as well as during transitions within and between gaits.

Here Helix and his "brother" Kalvin pursue their favorite definition of "roundness"

The reason why a round back is so important is that it allows the horse to distribute the weight of the rider over the entirety of the back resulting in a relatively small amount of pressure per square inch.  When the horse's back is hollow, the riders weight is concentrated directly under the saddle which leads to a substantial amount of pressure per square inch (just in a small area).

 A round back supporting the rider

A hollow back straining under the rider's weight

DO NOT confuse roundness with collection. While  roundness is a prerequisite for collection, it is not collection.

It's important to note that at 4 years old, Helix still has some growing to do and his back will change shape as that happens, but regardless of his growth there are a couple things we need to do in order to achieve that round top line. We need to encourage relaxation over the muscle groups that run over the top of the back and the neck, and get the abdominal muscles strong enough to remain engaged. As these things happen, the back will lift and we will begin to see a top line that more closely resembles that ideal, round, shape represented by the dotted green in the image below. The change in his top line will be most evident while he is in motion, but as he begins to correctly develop his muscles, he'll look rounder just standing there.



Next week we'll take about some exercises to encourage relaxation over the top line and why they work.

Go Riding!

about Biz

Biz Stamm is a part-time seed scientist and fulltime trainer/riding instructor specializing in starting young horses for sport horse disciplines. She brings the analytical mind she developed while working in a lab to her riding and teaching, emphasizing a thorough understanding of how the horse's body works. She currently owns two horses. The Kalvin Cycle (Kalvin), a 9 year old half-Arabian gelding, and DB's Alpha Helix (Helix) a 4 year old Kiger mustang gelding. While she is currently pursuing competitive goals, her main goal is to enjoy her horses, and for her horses to enjoy her.

What's in a name

I'm not great at story telling.  My general writing style can be described as informative yet clinical, with the occasional sprinkle of snark and humor.  Most of the writing I've done has been for scientific/academic purposes for which I spent hours editing and distilling until all that was left was a a series of concise statements free of flowery descriptors, but I'm going to give this whole story telling thing a try, because this is a story that deserves to be told.  I just hope I can do it justice.

Many horse names begin with a prefix, generally relating to the breeder or farm of Origin.  A few famous prefixes come to mind such as "Fernhill" for eventing horses, "Glock" for dressage horses, and UVM for Morgans.  Well if you look at the USEF registered name of my little craigslist horse, you will also see a prefix, and now let me tell you why.

Several years back, after years of riding young, green horses, with my greatest asset as a rider being that I was good at staying on, I decided it was time to refine myself.  I came across a lovely lady named Sarah with two older, beautifully schooled Arabian geldings, Flame and Bob.

Bob (left) and Flame (right) showing me the ropes

After a few lessons with Sarah, she told me "I'm not the right instructor for you, but I know someone who would be perfect, and I bet I can get him to come teach you here.  His name is Doug." Doug, I later found out, had spent a good portion of his life instructing at and managing the UC Davis equestrian center.  He was incredibly knowledgeable in all things relating to horses.  A real horseman in the truest sense of the word.  Sarah got in touch with Doug who agreed to come meet me and watch me ride, but wouldn't agree to teach me until he "knew if he liked me or not."  He had retired from teaching and only wanted a new student if it would a be fun endeavor for him.

The next week I arrived at the barn to find Sarah setting up a small table with gourmet cheese and champagne in the aisle.  When she noticed my quizzical expression, she smiled and explained "Doug enjoys the finer things." I nodded, accepting the fact I would be dealing with a typical dressage king, and got my horse tacked up.  I went out to the arena to get warmed and as I was coming back down to a walk, I noticed a tall, thin man with a white beard and mustache sporting wire-rimmed glasses and a flat cap.  He acknowledged me with a slight smile and nod and then immediately asked me to run through some figures, at the posting trot, sitting trot, and canter.  When I was finished, I rode over to get his assessment.  He said "you have the right idea, but I notice you just refuse to ride your corners, and your sitting is horrendous."  When I wasn't offended, and instead stared back at him with blind enthusiasm, we were in business.  Doug never officially agreed to "liking me," but after several months worth of lessons I decided he found me at least tolerable, and that was good enough.  I later learned that on top of being a tough, but gifted riding instructor, Doug was also a talented photographer, and fluent in the nerd dialect of biophysics.  With both of us having a strong science background, we shared a similar thought process making the exchange of ideas easy.

A little over a year after beginning lessons with Doug, I began to outgrow the geldings' capabilities (based on their age, not level of training), and decided it was time to get Sarah's 5 year old filly, Daria, started under saddle. After a fair amount of time doing groundwork with her, I decided it was nearly time to hop on.  I asked Doug to come evaluate us on the ground to confirm that we were ready.  After watching us work for 15 min, he approached Daria, whispered in her ear, and told me to head over to the mounting block.  I would later learn that he was thanking her for living the life of service that comes along with being a riding horse.  Daria was not wearing a saddle or bridle that day since I had not planned on getting on her, so I assumed I'd just be lying over her back, but nonetheless I grabbed my helmet in case she spooked and I hit the ground. I laid across her back several times, and then as was about to slide off one last time, Doug grabbed my left ankle, hoisted me up, and before I knew it, I was sitting on top of her.  That was that.  She was officially backed.  It was that day that Doug asked me if I had ever considered working with young horses for a living, which I officially began doing later that year.

Daria and me after about a month under saddle

Just as I was beginning my horse training business, I was nearing the end of my graduate school career, and I decided I needed to reward myself with a horse of my own.  I told Doug of my plans to buy a horse, which him made him very excited.  He warned me to remain objective while horse shopping, and not to make emotional decisions. I assured him not to worry, that "I was a scientist.  Being objective is what I do."  Within a few months I found myself a 5 month old Kiger colt (Helix), and a 5 year old Arab cross (Kalvin), but don't worry.  "He's just a sales project," I lied to myself.  Whoops.  So much for remaining objective and logical.  I had fallen for my inner child screaming "baby hooooorse!!!!"

Years passed and I continued to take lessons with Doug on Kalvin and waiting for Helix to grow up.  Frequently after lessons, Doug would wonder around the pasture using his photography skills to document Helix's youth.  During that time I would tell Doug, often that Helix was going to be and FEI horse.  At first he would smile and nod, but then when it became clear just how trainable Helix was, Doug began to believe it as well.

Photos by Doug Broyles 

Finally the time came to back Helix.  To this day, I have yet to experience something so uneventful and simultaneously exhilarating.  I began with the whispered "thank you" speech Doug had taught me, and the proceeded to mount.

 

Months went by, and Helix spent most of his working hours going on light hacks and working on basic balance and straightness exercises at the walk and trot. I even entered him in a small league show at the introductory level. The day of the show I got an email from Doug saying he had been admitted into the hospital.  He was not feeling well, but news of a good result might make him feel better.  Later that day I was happy to be able to report that Helix and I had won his first class with a score of 64.  I assumed Doug, who could be quite the adventurous cook, had come down with a case of food poisoning.  I was not ready for the news I received the day I picked him up from the hospital.  He had stage III colon cancer.  He saw the panicked look on my face and assured me the prognosis was good, and things did seem good when Doug was declared cancer free after an aggressive round of chemo.

This summer Doug, who seemed thrilled to be alive, and I were giddy planning for the future.  We decided it was time to put Helix in a semi-serious training program.  Doug was going on a cruise to Alaska with his family in July, and then when he returned in August we would formulate a plan to get my little gelding on the path to FEI stardom.

It was the morning of July 16th when I got the call.  Doug had passed away at home, never making it to the cruise.  At first I thought it was some kind of sick joke.  There was no way it could be true.  In my head, Doug and I embodied the age old horse movie trope of the older trainer and young student working to make a diamond in the rough a champion.  This was not the way the movie was supposed to end.  The ending I imagined included me sitting on top of a ribbon-adorned Helix at Devon with Doug standing proudly at my side.  We were supposed to have a happy ending.

The grief hit me hard.  Time with the horses became more bitter than sweet.  It wasn't until I came into contact with one of Doug's friends from California that I was able to process my feelings.  I was reminded that there were little pieces of Doug all around, in my riding, in my horse's training, in my own thought process, and more tangibly in his friends.  Those pieces were there for me to reach out and grab when I needed to feel close to him again.  I decided I needed one more reminder that Doug was always with us.  I had been putting off registering Helix with the USEF for quite some time and I knew exactly what I had to do.  In the "Horse's name" box, I typed "DB's Alpha Helix." It just felt right. I'm sure you've figured out that Doug's initials are DB.  Now every time I hear I hear my horse's name called aloud, see it written on an entry form, or even just think it to myself, I'll be reminded that Doug is still with us.

Go, Doug, and go, riding!

Basic b!tches

The other day I jokingly referred to myself and my horse as "basic b!tches." For those of you unfamiliar with the most recent definition of the word "basic," it has become a slang term meaning ordinary and somewhat unsophisticated. I know I said used the word "basic" jokingly, but the thing about jokes is that they usually contain a kernel of truth. I am an aspiring dressage rider with a 4 year old dressage prospect, Alpha Helix (aka Helix) who I am preparing for his first year of real showing.  My horse is a 15h kiger mustang I bought for $300 off a craigslist ad as a weanling when I was a broke graduate student.  While all of his gaits are very correct, he is somewhat lacking in the pizzazz **jazz hands!** department.

Helix is clearly not lacking in the handsome department

In terms of my raw ability as a rider, I sit firmly in the average camp.  I have been able to develop decent muscle memory over years and years of repetition, but I'd be lying if I said any of it comes easily for me.

As I prepare for next year's show season, I know there is only one way for a "basic" pair such as ourselves to stand out.  Rock solid basics.  That's right.  In order to be more than "basic," we must embrace the basics.  Without flashy gaits to fall back on, Helix must exhibit meticulous, sequential training, as well as obvious joy for his work.  In order for me to get him to that point, I must ride with correct, effective equitation, and develop a training program that not only helps my horse progress physically, but keeps him mentally healthy as well. We're going to have to squeeze every point out accuracy, rider position, and overall harmony to make up for the average scores we are bound to receive for gaits.

I'd like to bring all of you along on our journey and hopefully along the way show the world that "basic" can be brilliant.

Photo by Megan Neth

Go Riding!