Alexandra Diczok Journal

At the age of ten I finally coerced my parents into letting me take riding lessons at a stable ten minutes from my house in Charlotte, North Carolina and from the very moment that I settled into the saddle I was hooked. I started out learning the basics of both dressage and jumping, and even went on to ride in events in Pony Club, but there was always something about dressage that I gravitated to. Then, one spring a few years ago I audited Mr. Schumacher’s clinic at Lendon Gray’s stable, Gleneden Dressage, in Bedford, New York and was amazed at what I saw: young people, not much older than myself all riding upper level dressage and doing it well. Sitting by the side of the ring I suddenly realized how much was possible, and how far I would have to come in my riding to be able to ride so skillfully. As anyone can imagine, riding with Mr. Schumacher would be a dream come true for me. Two years later I found myself boarding at Lendon’s, and three years later I found myself tacking up, nervously albeit, for my first ride with Conrad Schumacher. During that clinic I experienced the three best rides of my life.

It was with the generous support of Lendon Gray’s Dressage4Kids scholarship that I was able to participate again in this clinic one year later. Lendon’s commitment to providing educational opportunities to our country’s Junior and Young Riders has been unflagging, so I am extremely honored to be a recipient of this scholarship. Through this scholarship I was afforded the opportunity to work with one of the world’s most talented trainers. I have gained awareness of the importance and feeling of a correct seat, and gained insight into what it feels like when a horse and rider team is working together correctly. In my journal from the three days that I rode with Mr. Schumacher, I hope to share my experience and learning process with others so that they too may learn.

Schumacher Clinic
Day 1

Each day that I ride with Mr. Schumacher, certain exercises and ideas that serve as the cornerstones for his way of training make themselves evident. The first and foremost of all of these is the concept of forwardness, making sure that the horse is always active behind, and pushing through, up over his back, so that he reaches into the contact. As we did in my very first clinic last spring with Mr. Schumacher, this is very first thing we accomplish. This is one of my major points of weakness when I ride Cassian and Mr. Schumacher picks up on this right away. To encourage forward and powerful energy pushing from Cassian’s hindquarters, Mr. Schumacher has me ride a very forward trot around the entire ring, leaving behind the dressage school for the moment. I am reminded to ride Cassian “to the bit” by riding forward, stretching him deep and through in the beginning, and then gradually riding the neck up and more forward in front of his body.

We then move on to achieve the same forward, engaged quality movement in the canter. Mr. Schumacher acknowledges my concern for Cassian’s heavy breathing from the past few days,(he had been breathing heavily with very little exertion), but reminds me that one simply cannot warm up without going forward. Of course this concept seems so obvious, so elementary, when it is pointed out, so it makes me feel just a little bit silly when I think back on all the time I have wasted in the beginnings of rides trying to focus on my horse’s neck and position right away. How much time and frustration I would have saved if only I had focused on the ‘forward’ aspect of my riding, thus allowing the frame and contact I was seeking, products of forwardness and engagement from behind, to come naturally!

Once in the canter, we continue to use the entire ring in the sense of a racetrack, so that I have the space and freedom to go after that forward and through motion. In the canter, Mr. Schumacher tells me to give Cassian kicks to get his hind end activated and to get him in front of me. At first, I begin with my reins too short, and the kicks I give serve only to cause tension in my horse, making him kick back in reply. “Kick in the right moment!” Mr. Schumacher instructs me. “The inside hand must allow when you kick him forward.” The next time I administer a kick, I wait until Cassian’s head is rising with his movement, just as his hind legs are ready to push off. This time, Cassian surges forward; I have found the feeling I was searching for. Now that I have the hind legs in my control, pushing forward, I can begin to push the energy uphill and allow Cassian to come forward into the contact in my hands. I am reminded again to get the haunches to push, so that Cassian can come into the contact of my outside rein. As if by some miracle, Cassian’s frame is much steadier than ever before, and I am fussing less and less. Ah! Behold the miracle of correct riding. By now it is more than evident that ‘forward’ is the essential building block for my riding correctly, effectively, and gracefully.

After a short break and an assessment of Cassian’s breathing (it seems to be much improved from the day before) I pick up a working trot, mindful as always of maintaining the forward quality, and proceed with the serpentines. Mr. Schumacher instructs me to ride from “the legs to the hands to the bit” reminding me that I should aim for a steady movement on both sides and into both reins. With the smooth shape of this figure to guide us, I can focus on my position as well. One of Mr. Schumacher’s main points of focus for my position is that I have ‘swinging hips,’ which follow, or roll along with my horse’s movement, rather than bracing against it. Again, a principle that seems so evident; But it is one that is often forgotten, despite good intentions, in my mixed-up quest for shoulder-ins, half-passes, and just plain old balance. “Just do nothing. Sit and do nothing,” is word of advice that Mr. Schumacher tells me frequently, once the forward motion is in place. At first my mind is puzzled. “Just do nothing? How can I sit up here and do nothing? It will all fall apart for sure!” But I follow the advice and just sit, waiting for a disaster. And then I begin to feel it; I feel my hips swinging, my legs hanging down, my chest rising up and forward; I feel Cassian moving beneath me, I feel the power coming from his haunches, lifting up his back, and flowing into my hand. It is a moment of pure bliss, and yet I am still wondering how ‘doing nothing’ is working so well! I realize that this is so effective because I have to push my horse in the beginning, and start out right away asking for results, so that I can reach a point where I do not need to constantly nag for the throughness and contact- by this point in my ride it is already there. Now it is my job to remind when called for, and reward by relaxing my body, reward by doing nothing!

Mr. Schumacher has me halt in front of him and immediately Cassian’s head dives down. I kick Cassian in an attempt to raise his head but am quickly corrected. “Kick the horse only in movement!” Mr. Schumacher instructs, “In the halt, use the hand.” Of course, just with everything else I have been told today, this makes sense. How can the horse respond to or be improved when he is given an aid that asks for forwardness in immobility, especially when at the moment what I am demanding of Cassian has only to do with the position of his head and is, in the halt, apart from motion?

Now in the canter, Mr. Schumacher has me perform simple changes on a three-loop serpentine, then proceeding to do the same with flying changes. His popular comments that pepper my ride include ‘sit deep’ and ‘look to the ears’. I now ride the changes from an extended canter on the diagonal and Cassian and I quickly become frustrated, producing only unbalanced and rushed changes that are together behind. I am kicking “too much and too often” Mr. Schumacher points out. I need to allow my new inside leg to reach down so that it does not interfere with the change and ask for the change once with my new outside leg, not with repeated and dulling kicks. Eager to please, but discombobulated all the same, Cassian begins to anticipate the changes as we proceed across the long diagonal, so Mr. Schumacher has me ride short diagonals instead. I need to remember not to ride my changes with the inside leg, sending mixed messages to my horse, but instead keep it down. Easier said than done. In our eagerness to get these pesky changes right, Cassian and I have both become tight and I have become ineffective.

Mr. Schumacher approaches this by taking away my stirrups in an effort to get my leg down once and for all. He concedes that the inside leg can be used but just not to the extent that I use it; If I want to administer a kick in the change, I must do so with the outside leg. I am reminded of a most basic and yet most crucial concept that the aids most come in rhythm; “Count with the horse and then give the aid- not out of the blue!” Again, it is a simple practice that can be so easily forgotten in the endeavor of greater things. “Sit back in the canter, sit deep in the change, one- two- three, ask in time…” and our change is clean! “You must find rhythm with the horse,” Mr. Schumacher stresses; “When you are out of rhythm you are in bad shape! This is everything.”

In the walk break, Mr. Schumacher has me work the walk pirouettes. Just as in the canter, he reminds, I must maintain a steady, straight and forward neck. To begin, he has me half-pass right, proceed straight ahead and then execute a pirouette. We do the same to the left, this time though I am instructed to sit as I would in the half-pass as I begin the pirouette; Instead, I lose my deep seat, causing Cassian’s hind legs to pivot. I take a moment to activate the walk and then continue with the pirouettes, approaching this time directly from half-pass. This proves to be effective for maintaining the engagement of the hind legs. Now, however, I must remember to keep my inside hand soft and ride forward.

Returning to the canter, still without stirrups, I first engage the hind legs by seeking the forwardness from before. “Open your legs,” Mr. Schumacher instructs, and as I do so, I immediately seat much deeper in the saddle as I am no longer able to grip with my thighs. Our very first change on the short diagonal is clean and quite good, and Mr. Schumacher is pleased; without my stirrups I can sit much deeper in my seat. As a reward, I allow Cassian to stretch in the canter on a circle and then walk.

As the changes are much improved and Cassian is now going honestly forward, Mr. Schumacher decides that we will end with this, saying, “Tomorrow is another day.” But we are not finished just yet! He has me ride a few more walk- to- halts to ‘teach steadiness’ and then has me stretch Cassian in the walk. I proceed in walk and as I leg yield Cassian to my outside leg, Mr. Schumacher reminds me that the best way to reward the horse is by being soft. He has me pick up the trot once and execute leg yields from the centerline, instructing me not to move (“Just sit there!”). I stretch Cassian down and come to walk. “Finito!”

Mr. Schumacher’s parting comment for the day is in regards to my toes. I must ride with them up, he says, allowing for a more efficient calf, instead of always riding with my toe down and spur in side.

Over all I am extremely pleased with my lesson today. I was able to get decent changes, which is quite an improvement for me considering that this has been my most recent project and area of difficulty for Cassian and me. I also was able to experience the feeling of forward through-ness, so that I could sit quietly on my horse, using my aids only as reminders instead of as a dull nagging. I am excited for what the next two lessons bring, as tomorrow is in fact another day!

Schumacher Clinic
Day 2

For the second day of the clinic, I decide to see what ideas Mr. Schumacher might have pertaining a recent area of difficulty for Cassian and me: riding in the snaffle. As of late, the more I have been riding in the double bridle, the more difficult it has become to get Cassian coming through and steady to the bit in the snaffle bridle. I approach Mr. Schumacher with my difficulty and he asks me to bring a single draw rein into the ring at the beginning of my ride. I am a bit wary, because the experience I have had with draw reins in the past has only created more problems for me than solutions, as the rein has simply drawn my horse’s nose in and behind the vertical, basically teaching him to avoid the bit by coming behind, rather than encouraging him to reach into and seek the bit.

But right as Mr. Schumacher attaches the rein, I realize that we will be using this rein in a completely different manner. The rein is looped around the girth right in the center as usual, but instead of running the rein through the bit ring, Mr. Schumacher runs it through Cassian’s flash and then hands the loose end of the rein to me, to be held as a normal draw rein would. It seems like an odd place for the rein to be, but I am eager to give it a try. “The function of this rein is stabilizing the neck,” he tells me, as well as the auditors, “not drawing it in.” He goes on to explain that the rein will lie dormant until Cassian’s head goes too high when I push him forward; When this occurs, the rein will act as a stabilizer, keeping Cassian’s neck steady so that I can again ask him to come into the bridle.

We pick up a rising trot, and as on the previous day, I am reminded to “just ride forward!” To warm up, Mr. Schumacher has me ride leg yields from the quarter line, instructing that I “keep my hands soft” so that Cassian is allowed to stretch towards the bit. We also use the same cavaletti, and I make sure to give my hands as we pass over, not enough so that the reins slack, but just enough so that Cassian has space to lengthen his body over his back. I pick up a canter immediately after the poles and suddenly face a threat: “Look through the ears, otherwise I kill you!” My head snaps directly in front of me from its former position looking in on the circle. Point made.

Mr. Schumacher tells me to “come soft with my inside hand for a moment” and Cassian promptly stretches his neck down. “Why do you hang on?!” he asks. It is a good question; some of the time I am not even aware of what I am inadvertently doing. I attempt to kick Cassian through but it is obviously in the wrong moment, as his hind legs shoot straight up in back of him in protest. If I looked to Cassian’s ears, Mr. Schumacher reminds me, this wouldn’t happen, as I would be aware of the correct timing for my aids through my horse’s body’s position.

By riding forward in the canter I develop a round and active gait and we proceed to the flying changes. Right away our first change is clean, even in the snaffle! What a difference riding correctly to the bit makes. As I tend to tense up my body during the flying change aid, awaiting complete and total disaster, Mr. Schumacher again reminds me of the importance of sitting deep in my seat during the change. The results of this are obvious as the changes today are for the most part clean- very exceptional changes for our track record of changes.

Back to the cavaletti in trot once more, this time catering around the circle and trotting just before we approach the poles. I am amazed by the feeling of suspension I now experience as we float, more than trot over the cavaletti. We take a walk break and immediately, Mr. Schumacher exclaims, “A walk break is an active break!” encouraging me to keep Cassian on my aids, even in a longer frame, with an alive tempo. Again, how obvious this seems! No wonder horses often rebel or refuse to be picked back up to work after a long walk break with their noses in the air- they believe that they are finished. By maintaining the integrity of the through-ness and even tempo in the walk break, the horse is allowed to catch his breath and relax for a moment, without the rider presenting the opportunity for him to brace his back and tense his muscles.

As I pick up the trot, Mr. Schumacher reminds me to stretch my “hands in front; let the horse to the hand. In the haunches in down the long side, he tells me to simply point the neck along the line I am following and “go for it!” The same applies to our half-passes, as the first two are not very correct, with the haunches leading and then trailing at the end, altogether rather unbalanced. To correct this, Mr. Schumacher instructs me to ride renvers at the walk and then alongside at the trot. This proves to help me gain control over Cassian’s haunches. The next half-pass I ride, I am told to finish it in renvers, and I feel the difference- more balance, greater control of the hind end. As a reward for a job well done, Cassian is allowed to stretch down before we go on. Mr. Schumacher has me ride serpentines at the trot, then over the cavaletti. “Ride him to the outside,” he instructs. Cassian has never felt so pliable or suspended in all of our rides before- what an amazing feeling!

I am extremely pleased with the day’s results, as is Mr. Schumacher. “Things become repeatable,” he points out. If so, then there is hope for us after all! The ‘balance’ rein (not a draw rein!) has proved to be a great success; I am not always relying on it to keep Cassian’s head and neck steady, but when I do get in trouble, it is there to guide him into a steady frame. Both Cassian and I now have a feeling of what steadiness into the contact is.

In the canter half-pass the same idea from the trot half-pass applies: “point the neck and go”. Now in counter canter, Mr. Schumacher has me take away Cassian’s neck quickly, to his shoulder, to get him to release his neck, as we tend to get tense and four-beated in the counter canter. To encourage forwardness to the bit, I am told to ride extensions on the long sides in counter canter. After a few well-balanced extensions, Mr. Schumacher adds a flying change at the end of the long side. As I collect from the extension though, my hands grab the reins in an attempt to keep Cassian through and our change is late and off balance. “After the extension his neck comes too high. He’s not round enough- he must be deep in the change,” Mr. Schumacher instructs. In the next change as I bring Cassian back to collection, I focus on keeping the bit alive, using a little bit of jaw flexion to keep Cassian through his back and deep. Of course the change is excellent and Cassian is allowed to stretch down and walk. I am beaming because Cassian has never felt so good, and because I feel as if I am on my way to being able to ride better in the snaffle.

Just as I walk, Mr. Schumacher announces: “It was a very good day for you- Tomorrow we do pirouettes!” I look at him for a moment, staring blankly as I must have misunderstood him. “Pirouettes!” He repeats.

“Oh…ok!” It takes me a while to process this. I have never ever before in my life ridden a canter pirouette but I decide to keep my mouth shut and say nothing; after today’s ride, I feel ready to tackle just about anything!

Schumacher Clinic
Day 3

I begin my warm-up with the same principles from the days before, encouraging forwardness, letting the neck a bit longer, and pushing Cassian straight through. These have made themselves evident as Mr. Schumacher’s principles of riding and if I am smart, I will make them my own. Mr. Schumacher reminds me that I should not kick constantly with my leg, nor should I have my spur stuck in my horse’s side at every moment. Yes, I must ride from my legs, he instructs, but I must be very careful in how I use them. Tap with the whip if necessary, but it is clear that an aid should be given and released, a reaction felt immediately, then the horse ridden quietly until the next aid.

We use the cavaletti in our warm-up, and at first, Cassian stumbles through them. To get Cassian through and pushing from behind, I canter around the entire ring, riding mediums on the long sides. I am reminded to kick him forward in the right moment, in the rocking-back part of the canter, so that I can then allow Cassian to surge forward with the new energy I have asked for. Back to trot to attempt the cavaletti once more, but we still bumble through. “He is ripping you off!” Mr. Schumacher explains, and we return to the canter. “First of all,” Mr. Schumacher instructs, “the horse has got to go forward to the bit.” Foregoing the cavaletti for the present, I work on the canter, asking for through-ness in my mediums on the long side. I ride a short diagonal to a flying change that is together behind, but is otherwise far more stable than our average change. I am told that I must keep my outside leg steady, sit with a deep seat, and then change. Our next changes, again from short diagonals, are far better, and Mr. Schumacher is pleased as now we ride the changes straight through to the bit, utilizing the very same concept as in my warm-up. We return to the cavaletti and have greater success- the through-ness of the back is a crucial element of this.

After a short walk break, I pick up a working trot. Cassian shies at the door and Mr. Schumacher instructs, “When that happens, just ride forward.” (Is there a pattern here? Oh yes!) I ride a volte around Mr. Schumacher and halt in front of him, concentrating on halting from Cassian’s hind legs. After working so much on engaging the hind legs in all of our work so far, this is an easy task. Down the long side, I ride shoulder in to a volte to haunches in, focusing on keeping my inside leg down and out of Cassian’s side. In front of Mr. Schumacher, I ride a series of rein backs, walking forward, and then backing again, to further engage Cassian’s hind end. To increase the difficulty and ask for even more push from the haunches, I ride a trot volte and then proceed directly into rein back before trotting out again. If Cassian wasn’t properly using his haunches before, he most certainly is now!

One of the most useful exercises I learned from Mr. Schumacher is a half pass and leg yield combination. Mr. Schumacher has me half pass from the wall to the quarter line, and then immediately leg yield back to the wall. On the first attempt, the change over from half pass to leg yield proves to be difficult as I change my entire position in an attempt to change the movement, thus setting Cassian off balance and interrupting the harmony and through-ness of the movement. “Don’t change the seat,” Mr. Schumacher instructs me, “just move the leg.” With each attempt the exercise becomes more fluid as I focus on simply switching my leg aid and looking where I want to go. This exercise makes Cassian much more responsive to my aids, allowing me to do less while achieving far more. By not leaning my weight this way and that, and not pulling with my hands, Cassian is more apt to understand my simpler aids and not be confused or thrown off balance. Now in the lateral movements I can again focus on developing the through quality of the movements, without blocking with excessive, nagging aids.

Once more Mr. Schumacher has me approach the cavaletti, warning me not to let Cassian “rip me off,” as he says. After going through in posting trot, I sit over the poles, and again we stumble through. Now sitting over the poles has added a new variable to the equation and I am reminded not to hang on and to let Cassian reach forward. This time sitting over the poles, I remember to allow my hips to swing as Cassian’s back lifts my seat with his motion, and allow my hands forward to allow him to reach into the bridle and extend and round his entire body as we float over the poles. Mr. Schumacher comments on the good work we have been achieving during the ride, as he acknowledges that now I am sitting, and Cassian is learning to react to my aids. On the first day, Mr. Schumacher points out, Cassian acted against me, but today he is reacting to me. Today the overall picture of my riding has improved as now even Cassian’s walk is better: forward and in a steady tempo.

Since we have already tackled the flying changes today with good results, Mr. Schumacher wants to leave them alone for now, as not to confuse Cassian. We should be happy that we have them, he points out, and I am indeed very, very happy.

I am told to ride the walk short and touch Cassian with the whip, but that I must “touch him with skill.” As I am finding, riding with Mr. Schumacher these few days, there is a great value in riding always with tact and skill, ensuring not to disrupt the horses natural gait in the attempt to improve upon it.

The volte I ride just before I pick up my canter is so bad however, that Mr. Schumacher calls it a ‘scrambled egg’- the skill completely forgotten during the volte. While turning onto the 8 meter circle, I forgot all about tact and set Cassian off balance, sending his haunches to the inside of the volte which in turn forced his head up above the contact. On the second time around the volte, I focus on riding Cassian straight through to the bit with him reaching equally into both reins, as I should have done in the first place and then pick up the canter. After riding a half-pass from the centerline to counter canter, the canter immediately becomes slow and four-beated as I struggle to maintain the balance. Again, with all of my good intentions, I have managed to create a far more difficult situation by collapsing my body and tugging on the reins in an attempt at balance, all the while completely forgetting to ride forward. Over and over, Mr. Schumacher tells me to just do nothing and canter forward, to just ride the canter and let the horse do the job. Although I am feeling quite the opposite at the moment, he stresses that the counter canter is nothing special. I add voltes to simple changes in to the mix. In one simple change I pick up the wrong lead “You completely forgot to consider the new direction and simply acted!” Mr. Schumacher immediately points out. In the next simple change, I promptly but not hurriedly balance the walk and prepare for the new lead. (That success comes much easier in riding when I think about what I am doing rather than simply reacting makes itself quite evident). Riding the simple changes on the serpentine requires the same planning; walk, new direction, canter.

On a large circle before I pick the reins back up to continue, Cassian is rewarded by being allowed to stretch at the canter. Our canter work is obviously going well as Mr. Schumacher instructs me to ride a short diagonal to a flying change. In the first attempt, Cassian hops and then changes and I am reminded to prepare the changes. At Mr. Schumacher’s correction I ride the neck deep, body forward from behind, sit deep and Voila! Excellent change!

To finish up I pass over the cavaletti in trot once more, glad to feel the wonderful bounce of the suspension I have created. “Finito,” Mr. Schumacher announces, “Let him seek mushrooms!” I believe that this is my absolute favorite Mr. Schumacher phrase! Trotting over the poles with his nose stretched to the ground like a pig searching for truffles, he points out that the poles are now too close together for Cassian, whereas in the beginning of the lesson, he could barely make it over. The suspension I feel is amazing!

* * *

Overall, I have improved Cassian’s balance and steadiness by riding forward and straight through to the bit and improved my seat greatly. This is such a crucial component as I now realize that Mr. Schumacher never had me proceed to the next movement before ensuring that the work we were doing in the present was correctly through. I have felt the incredible suspension and suppleness that my horse is capable of, and the seeming stillness of my body and subtlety of aids of which my own seat is capable. I now know the feeling I need to seek out in my everyday schooling.

Throughout the clinic, there were many comments used and ideas employed by Mr. Schumacher with great frequency. A list of them: