Horse Show & Clinic Coverage

Build the Basics First, all exercises lead to Grand Prix movements

by Lorne I. Ordel | July 7, 2008

Eddo Hoekstra’s dressage facility, located five minutes from Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, held the annual summer dressage clinic that features internationally sought-after teacher and clinician Walter Zettl. The two day clinic, July 5th and 6th, scheduled eight riders per day to be trained by Zettl, plus 50 people listening carefully, as they watch these riders and learn from the instruction and comments given.

Walter Zettl is considered to be one of the world’s most accomplished trainers of classical dressage. He coached the Canadian Olympic Three-Day Event team in dressage for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. At 79 years old, he is still sought after to train our more advanced dressage riders, and hone the skills of our trainers.

“How hard it is to be a professional trainer,” remarks Zettl, as he trains Stouffville’s Country Hill Farms instructor/owner Kathy Fremes on her grey horse Josh. “For instructors, mistakes sneak in, and there is no one to correct them.”

When asked what he sees as the primary flaws of his students, Zettl lists the use of FORCE and the search for QUICK RESULTS.

“Build the relationship with your horse slowly,” advises Zettl. “It is a matter of trust. Build the basics first. All exercises lead to the grand prix movements.”

Zettl remarks that all horses are different and all riders are different, and a dramatic depth of experience needed to help our riders learn to use the right aids at the right time. He warns, “Two steps later and the situation changes. We must learn how to correct the mistakes on the fly. The ultimate aim is to catch the mistake before it happens. Sometimes it is not a mistake that we are catching, it is a habit. Horses with bad habits require tons of patience. The horse reads our mind.”

Zettl claims that the horse reads our mind. Hence, if we leave our seat and legs alone and use our brain, we may be further ahead. He is an advocate of using less aids for better performance by the horse. He goes on the suggest using very light aids and to increase their use very slowly. When he says that the use of force is a very common mistake, he is of course referring to the use of too strong aids, and not to the beating of the horse.

He urges his riders not to blame the horse. He explains that riders should give more rein, not less, until they finally learn to give the exact rein needed for the situation at hand. You must allow the horse to learn to trust your hands. And, do not try to correct everything with the hands. Give the horse the aid in slow motion, the horse is to hardly recognize that they are being guided by the aids given. Consistently, these words can be heard as he trains the riders, “not too strong, soft with the hands, give a little bit, reins shorter but not tighter, do not over steer, do not lose the connection, gentle, easy, smooth, let us see the nice gate, yes this is the tempo we want.”

What to do when the horse is too aggressive and wants to go too fast? Zettl’s first comment is that the rider is not to pull on the reins, as this will just cause the horse to go faster. Use 10-metre circles. Do not pull on the horse as this will make your horse afraid. Holding our horses kills their temperaments. Let them move on, even if too fast for the rider’s comfort, and continue riding circles. Zettl works with the riders to train them to make nice and round circles, visualizing a centepoint. Eventually, the horse will calm down and you will soon to be ready for a gentle downward transition. Don’t kill the horse’s temperament by holding them, or blocking their movement, use circles,” instructs Zettl. And always “Look for opportunities to reward your horse.”

Zettl feels that although it is important to build the relationship between horse and rider, and that this is SLOW BUILD process, this training must not come solely from work in the arena. He urges cross training. Even if the horse is being trained for dressage, jumping is good for the back, and hacking is essential for the mind. Some driving might even complete the education. You have become a fine rider if you can train your horse to do difficult stuff, without him or her even recognizing that the movements are difficult.

Although many of the participants were from the Toronto to Peterborough area, horses did come from Sterling, Ottawa, Lake Simcoe, and as far away as Michigan. The setting for the dressage ring at the Hoekstra Complex is a beautiful oasis, bordered by 30” of purposely uncut hay, and not in sight of the barns. This is a peaceful setting, allowing the horses to concentrate and the riders and clinic auditors to benefit from the world class instruction of Walter Zettl.

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