Lateral thinking isn’t only for Dressage riders, writes Carolyn Henderson. We can all learn from different disciplines. Life-swap programmes make for great TV. You know the sort – Mr and Mrs high-maintenance City slicker swap roles with a couple who know that mud belongs in field entrances, not face packs. Maybe we should start a horse world equivalent by swapping disciplines. There would be the
There would be the same shocks and surprises, but at the end of it, we’d all learn something new – even if it was just a new way of looking at things.
It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut and be dedicated to dressage, hooked on showjumping, or whatever. But if you love what you do, widening your approach can sometimes help you do it better. Recently, a friend who wanted to acclimatise her ex-racehorse to indoor competition venues signed up for a showing clinic with a well-known rider. Even though she said there was no way she would enter a showing class – and that she’d rather watch paint dry than be a showing spectator – she realised it was a good way to get the horse working in company, in a safe environment. She’d seen too many crowded collecting rings at dressage shows to throw him in at the deep end. It worked, and she got much more out of it than she’d imagined. The rider who took the clinic told her she needed to project confidence as she came down the centre line – and that he could help. At the end of the day, she’d swapped a frown of concentration for a “Look at us” megawatt smile, sat up elegantly and rode proudly. And guess what? Her horse, who can swap between chilled out and eyes-on-stalks modes faster than you can flip a switch, looked as confident as she did. It was a salutary lesson: not in showing, though I reckon it won’t be long before she’s signing up for a Retraining of Racehorses class, but in looking at what we can learn from outside our comfort zone.
A good rider/trainer who understands horses has skills that translate. Sometimes, putting a spin on things pays dividends. I once moaned to a long-suffering showjumping trainer that my horse and I were managingclear rounds but weren’t fast enough against the clock. At my next lesson, my trainer’s dressage rider partner turned up instead. By the end of the lesson, we’d improved our lengthened and shortened strides and had the beginning of a canter pirouette. Suddenly, we could turn more quickly, and my horse’s stride was much more adjustable – and I realised how slow I’d been to catch on when my jumping trainer kept saying that if I concentrated on the bits between the fences, the rest would sort itself out. Event riders, by definition, can’t be narrow-minded. Maybe that’s why eventing has more than its fair share of superstars. Look at people like Mark Todd, who competed at Olympic level in both eventing and showjumping and trains racehorses. Then there’s Tina Cook; her father, Josh Gifford, was a champion jockey and trainer and her mother, Althea Roger-Smith, was an international showjumper. So, if you want to exceed in your discipline, see what you can learn from those who excel in others. And if you’ve got a great trainer who knows how to make you think outside of your particular arena, do tell us – we’d love to see them recognised!