PrintDuring the second day of the 2012 George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session, held Jan. 3-7 in Wellington, Fla., riders and horses schooled over basic gymnastic exercises with Kent Farrington, a member of the gold medal-winning Pan American Games team.
As both groups warmed up on the flat with suppling exercises practiced in the previous day's sessions, Farrington added a new twist by instructing riders to deliberately keep their horses several paces off the rail. "I always work off the rail," he explained. "The rail is something I sometimes use to train a horse to help make him go straight, but on a more schooled horse I always stay off the rail so that I know exactly where my horse is and how straight he's going on his own. This gives you a chance to see how much control you really have."
Basic flatwork principles such as elasticity, connection and balance were further established during warm-ups. Farrington asked riders to change their horses' frames, alternate sitting and posting at the trot to adjust tempo, and keep their mounts properly connected from leg to hand.
"You want him to come round from behind, not from his mouth backwards," he instructed. "Practice lengthening and shortening just by changing your seat, and work on slowing down by sitting a little bit deeper. I train the horse not only to my hand and legs but also to my seat and body weight. But watch when you lighten your seat that your body doesn't automatically drop forward. You can ride with a light seat and still be centered on the horse. You don't want to tip forward and lean with your shoulder on the flat because it will happen when you jump as well."
While several mounts were exuberant in the chilly morning air, Farrington said he appreciates horses that think forwardly. "That horse looks like he's falling asleep," he scolded one rider. "I want my horses to carry me straight and forward; all of my horses go forward off the leg. I can't stand riding a lazy horse. If he's unwilling to extend or too slow in the trot, send him forward in the gallop for a few strides, then bring him back. It can't be something he thinks about—if you ask for it, he has to respond."
As emphasized during the first day's flatwork sessions with Anne Kursinski, an effective position continued to be a primary theme. "Having a good strong position isn't about being frozen in one spot. It's about moving with the horse. Don't sit there like a rock on his back," Farrington said. "Don't let your hands drop below the withers, and keep the reins short, with your thumb on top and your hands in front of your body. When you roll your hands, you have no strength."
After trot work, participants moved on to the canter, including using counter-canter. "One thing I always do on the flat is that I'm not scared to work with a little pace. It's very easy to work at a really slow canter until you get a horse well schooled because you're not really going anywhere, but I make sure my horses are just as well trained to an open canter as they are to a very short canter," Farrington said. "In counter-canter, continue to stay off the wall and keep a deeper seat so you have a little more control. Just because you're counter-cantering, the horse should still be able to go forward and come back, just like he does on the correct lead.
