You may think I'm exaggerating when I'm telling you that the four-day Andrew Murphy clinic I rode in last weekend a) blew my mind and b) changed my life. I'm not. I'm not kidding either. I've been to many a clinic. Most were at least somewhat useful. This one left me riding fundamentally differently. And since my life practically equates riding, the claim that this was a life changing experience is valid. Now that's not quite fair to my amazing trainer who has been patiently and in quite ingenious ways chipping away at my plentiful positional imperfections, an absolutely necessary prerequisite in order for me to absorb this much pure dressage essence in those four rides.
So what's different? Hard to explain without sounding like I didn't understand basic principles of dressage before. Like having your horse on your seat and not pulling back on the reins, or the importance of your inside seat bone and leg along with lateral work etc. Needless to say I applied all those things before, my horses go with light contact and move over the back. But by being asked to take the reins in the outside hand and organize the rest of the horse underneath me just with my seat and leg, on a smallish circle, I became much more effective at using my seat and leg (and saw how much I really relied on that bloody inside rein to make things happen). And it's all in the pursuit of straightness. Once the horse's body is aligned properly, the contact will be correct by default. Contact is only to be used when it's good. Don't stabilize anything that's not correct. This is not some fancy schmancy mantra copied from the 'Gymnasium of the Horse" or something. It's real, attainable bliss for any good rider. Oh, and the contact on the outside rein is always lateral. Yep. Makes for a freaking amazing feel in the contact, a horse that's not getting blocked on the outside hind and, alas, shoulder in becomes a much happier exercise too.
It's one thing to get a horse (or in this case pony) who was always said to not have a great trot, to move out in a huge, swingy trot and call everyone a liar with a gifted clinician whispering in your ear the entire time. It's another to try this on every single horse you get on, and see it work, work, and work. Of course it's not magic. It is darn hard work to get them to engage that inside hind by sitting properly and using those legs and not hanging on that inside rein as a crutch. And some horses come with challenging histories that will take a bit of time to undo. But they all respond positively in quite a dramatic way.
Now this was just day one. There were three more days of mind-blowing work. None of it feels extraordinary at the time, there is no drama, no rider bashing, not even an impatient undertone in the voice of the clinician, until BOOM, you sit where you're supposed to and your horse moves like a million bucks, all because it's straight.
But that "fundamental difference" in my riding is not just being more effective. I feel like my riding has been elevated into a whole new playing field that requires much more discipline and refinement of skill. I know that I'm just scratching the surface, but my mind has been blown by what's possible. So I'll just go for it.
One handed riding is not so easy but an extremely helpful tool.
