Saturday morning, I woke up absolutely terrified at the idea of riding for Paul Belasik. I had read his book "Riding Towards the Light" and had the opportunity to meet him at his farm in Kennett Square, PA in October. I don't know why I felt this way, except that it is my normal reaction to riding for any clinician the first time! We were all nervous and took Bach's Rescue Remedy Friday evening which helped me sleep (almost too well!) but the one drop I took Saturday morning wasn't enough to calm my nerves. Pikasso instantly felt my apprehension. He was well behaved, but tense and inattentive at times.
As I began my lesson with Paul that morning, I immediately blurted out how nervous I was and could barely tell him anything about myself and my horse. I did manage to tell him about my bad right hip and my two months off from riding earlier in the year because of my hip and that Pikasso was "high behind" right now, meaning his haunches are higher than his withers due to a growth spurt, affecting his balance at times. As we finished our warm-up and began working, Paul complimented me on Pikasso, stating that he wouldn't mind taking him home with him! Pikasso is a 5 year old Hanoverian/TB cross with a sloping shoulder, long upright neck, good length of back and strong haunches that step well underneath his body. As the weekend progressed, we learned that Paul definitely prefers the "Iberian" or Spanish type horses, meaning light, compact, upright horses that can collect easily for the upper school movements. Paul had me work on getting Pikasso more forward and more expressive in his gaits, while making sure he kept his poll at the highest point while reaching lightly and steadily for the bridle. Pikasso will suck back behind my leg and behind the bridle if I get tense. I was disappointed in my riding that day. Due to my nervousness, I ended up overriding him and not achieving the harmony I strive for with my partner. I was also riding in a borrowed saddle (yet another story!) and did not have my stirrups short enough. I kept losing my right stirrup, which is typical for me when I am tense! However, everyone who was watching was quite impressed and Paul was pleased that my basics were well established in my riding. He commented that often I would make a correction on my own, before he had a chance to say something about it!
I audited all the afternoon lessons and as Paul worked with each rider, he was able to make a difference that was understandable to the rider. He stressed classical seat position - a plumb line from shoulders, hips, to heels, and had many riders work without stirrups. He stressed a light yet firm controlled seat that is connected to the horse's back. He considers the seat to include the thighs, hips and waist. There were some things he said throughout the weekend that I didn't agree with one hundred percent, but overall, my favorable impression remained. One fascinating demonstration he did involved an older schoolmaster type who had a tendency to get above the bit and into the underside of his neck with a hollow back. He got on the horse and at the halt, lowered the horse's neck and sent him to the bridle by placing more weight on the front of his seatbones, close to the pommel and the withers. He explained the withers act as a fulcrum, much like a seesaw and that moving his weight closer to the withers, the neck would come down and the back would come up, which it finally did! Initially, the horse resisted by backing and staying hollow, which Paul patiently waited out and did not punish the horse for doing. He just maintained his weight forward near the withers. It took only perhaps two minutes.
Saturday evening, we had a covered dish supper with lots of terrific food. Paul gave a lecture after dinner on "Riding as an Art Form". The lecture gave insight into Paul in that he is a scholar, historian, and artist, and uses right-brained (the area of creative process) approaches to his teaching and riding. He gave us an informative history lesson about the roots of classical dressage starting with Xenophon and progressing to Versailles, France, and Italy. When he started talking more about riding as an art, there were times I could relate and some times I couldn't - perhaps it was a full tummy, fatigue from the day, the fact that I am sometimes more left brained than right brained. Afterwards, he had copies of his book "Exploring Dressage Techniques" for sale and he also autographed them. He then answered questions and people also made comments. It was during this part of the evening it was apparent that Paul was a true horseperson, passionate and highly opinionated. You knew you were up against him when he would respond to a comment or answer a question by saying " Not to be argumentative, but…." However, the talk among all who were there was lively without any animosity. He spoke of Michael Kirkegaard and Sylvia Loch as peers and threw a teasing barb at "Lady Loch" when he mentioned how she uses her title to access the many archives and libraries in England. He mentioned H.L.M. Van Schaik as a mentor. I wish I had asked him if he subscribed to a particular school of dressage, i.e. French versus German. However, I have been woefully behind in following the AOL discussion and hadn't read those posts yet. I would venture a guess that he would say neither, and that if he had to be pinned down, it might be Portugese or perhaps Spanish.
Sunday morning, my lesson was at 8:10, the second ride of the day. The weather was much warmer that day so I was glad I rode early. We also had another 7 hour drive in front of us, so we were all scheduled to ride early and we were shooting to leave for home by 11 A.M. I was much calmer Sunday. I took some valerian root that morning and by the time of my lesson I was so relaxed, I was almost silly! However, I was composed enough to have a good lesson with Paul. I could actually talk to him this time and give him feedback during the lesson! The lesson plan on Sunday was to work on transitions to help build Pikasso's impulsion. We have been struggling with transitions lately, especially down transitions from canter to trot. Pikasso likes to fall on the forehand and poke his nose out, pulling on the reins. Paul showed me how to use my back as a lever against Pikasso pulling on the reins. He took the reins and with my arms hanging by my sides, had me resist him pulling the reins not by using strength in my arms and shoulders but by using strength in my back and stomach. It was incredible the difference it made and how Pikasso responded. I wish someone had videotaped our canter work because it was the best we had done, in terms of him being light and balanced, and me just sitting and following the canter with my seat and not pumping with my upper body! I have been struggling with my canter seat and this was a real breakthrough for me. The transitions were better too. Paul said that Pikasso and I are ready to move on up and that the next year needs to be spent developing his strength and impulsion, making sure I keep his poll up and don't let him go around with his chin on his chest. Otherwise, it will be a real problem to fix later on. I thought of a friend's suggestion to ride "softly determined" when Paul talked about my riding being too soft and that I need to be more aggressive but not forceful. I mentioned I should ride more determined since I am already soft and he agreed.
I know everyone, including me, who rode with Paul and who audited his lessons enjoyed him very much and look forward to working with him again in the future.
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