Education and inspiration were the hallmarks of the 2007 Succeed/USDF FEI-Level Trainers’ Conference featuring Jan Brink. Held at the beautiful Starr Vaughn Equestrian Center in Elk Grove last October, the conference was titled, “Training the Happy Athlete; Maintaining the Sport Horse Today.”
FEI-level demo riders, on horses that were either FEI-level competitors or young horses of international caliber, worked with Jan Brink for two days in front of hundreds of trainers and riders, most of whom were FEI-level themselves.
Jan Brink is a familiar name in the dressage world. With the 16-year-old stallion Briar 899, Jan has won international Grands Prix throughout Europe. He has been Swedish National Champion nearly every year since 2001, and has represented Sweden at the Olympics, World Championships, European Championships and World Cup Finals.
Since 1981, Jan has developed Tullstorp Dressage Stable, in southern Sweden, into an international dressage facility for the breeding, training and competition of sporthorses. He shared his expertise in the stable management and care of dressage horses, as well as their training, during the conference’s Friday night lecture.
Jan believes that horses need a variety of activities to promote their health and happiness: Turnout in the paddock, lunging, work in the indoor and outdoor arenas, galloping on the racing track, and hand walking on hard surfaces for 20 minutes a day to strengthen their tendons and ligaments.
“Contact with the horses is important,” Jan said. “We talk to them, see how they are in their stable, canter them on the racing track if they need it.” He recognizes the importance of the horse’s natural environment, from light and air inside the stable and indoor arena, to exercise and relaxation out in nature, and he prefers to have people working with his horses instead of exercise machines.
Man With a Plan
When it comes to the trainer/student relationship, Jan compared the trainer to a mentor, an influence beyond the hour of training, and someone who can strengthen both the skills and the self-confidence of the rider. Analytical and organized, Jan has a plan for every horse, every day, based on past history and future expectations.
“This, you should write in your book,” was Jan’s frequent comment throughout the conference. He explained that he has a blue book in which he writes down things that he can go back and review: “How did I warm up, what happened, bad or good.” He prepares for a competition by watching videos of good rides, and studies his videos after competitions to see what went right or wrong. Throughout the conference, Jan frequently referred to his own notes for each demo horse and rider.
My notes from the conference contain a wealth of tools and techniques that I use every day, thanks to Jan, the demo riders, and their wonderful horses.
Control Points
Liz Hendrix, riding Donna Novella, Melissa Mulchahey’s 9 year old Hanoverian mare by DeNiro, demonstrated the three control points for the rider: Track, rhythm and steps.
Track is riding straight on the track of the movement, whether that’s a straight line or a circle. “If you can’t do that, you can’t do straight changes on the diagonal later,” he said. Of rhythm, Jan said, “You must be able to change the rhythm when you want; the rider has to have control.” Steps, Jan advised, are important from the beginning. “We must start to control the steps early.”
It was a master class in control that remains indelibly imprinted on my brain. I think about the three control points – track, rhythm, and steps – when I’m simply working on the quality of my horse’s gaits on a 20-meter circle, as well as when I’m riding a specific movement. They have become a template to gauge the quality of the aids I’m giving my horse. If he’s correct, I’m giving the right aids; if not, I’m not.
Heather Robertson and her 5 year old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Vancouver, demonstrated improving the gaits and self-carriage so the horse can be lighter in front and carry more weight on the hind legs.
To help the young horse learn shoulder-in, Jan had Heather and Vancouver do a leg yield on the long side, then increase the bend until it became shoulder-in.
To help the young horse understand the beginning of half pass, Jan asked Heather to take the long diagonal, start to leg yield, then add more bend, then leg yield, then add more bend.
To help the young horse learn to adjust the bend, Jan had Heather ride on the quarter line, do a leg yield, then haunches in, leg yield, then haunches in. The change of bend helps the young horse understand the aids for bend.
I took home these exercises to help me limber up my older horse, who “knows bend” but is not as flexible as he was when younger, especially early in the ride.
Step By Step
In working with Taryn Briones, reserve champion in the FEI Junior Division at the USEF National Championships, and her 9 year old Hanoverian mare, Ghita, Jan shared his thoughts on teaching young riders.
“It’s better to pick out this or that thing to work on,” he said, rather than overwhelm the rider with too many instructions at once. “You must be able to correct small things in a quiet way so the rider can concentrate.”
Jan also addressed the match-up of horse and rider, saying, “The horse’s correctness and temperament are very important for a young rider. This horse is very good-hearted, I like her a lot; she’s perfect for you.” He added that professionals or more experienced riders can work with more tricky horses, but this kind of match is ideal for young riders.
“Step by step” was Jan’s advice for introducing new work to a horse and rider moving up the levels. “When you are teaching young riders, try to teach with simple language. Teach the most important things properly, then the more complex.”
I couldn’t help but think that his advice applied to adult amateurs as well as young riders. “Step by step” works for all of us.
Working with Tanya Vik and her 11 year old Hanoverian gelding, Divinity 3, Jan said, “Tanya told me they did a little too much piaffe, so she backed off – that’s a really good quality in a rider. Especially with piaffe, the same with flying changes, you play in the beginning, then it’s a game for the horse.”
Jan rode Vinnie during part of the session, and explained as he rode, “Pirouette and piaffe are cousins, both very collected, and horses need strength to sit better for both movements.”
Asking for a walk pirouette, then some small trot steps in pirouette, he said, “I’m staying in a collected position to take the weight on the hind legs. In the walk pirouette, you turn around with the shoulder, the horse follows the inside hand a little bit. My leg asks for quick steps – not for piaffe – just for quick steps. I’m doing this with a straight neck, not a short neck, and I’m a little light with my seat. I’m just playing with him a little bit.”
You could literally see Vinnie’s “aha!” moment, and the change in his perception of what he was being asked to do. Tanya later told me, “Jan really makes it fun for the horses! Then the horse wants to be part of the game.”
With her 14 year old Belgian Draft/TB/QH cross, Against All Odds, affectionately known as Quincey, Courtenay has demonstrated that a PMU foal, not bred or especially built for dressage, can be trained to FEI level. With Jan’s help, they found an improvement in the quality of their work that surprised even Jan.
Jan explained three zones: Comfort, stretch, and panic. “Maybe sometimes you’re too careful, in the comfort zone. Sometimes you have to stretch more; there may be more inside him than you think. Sometimes you try a little bit more, and sometimes you are in the panic zone for a little while,” he laughed.
Working on piaffe/passage transitions, Jan explained, “If you train longer steps, shorter steps, from the beginning, you can use it all the way through the training. This horse has a nice passage with good rhythm; I’ve seen bigger and I think there’s a little bit more in him. Judges like good rhythm! His piaffe is not extremely high but it is equal and in place.”
“The Box”
With Fabienne, Angelika Schuckert’s 10 year old Westfalian mare by Florestan, and her trainer/rider Dirk Glitz, Jan used “the box” exercise to teach the horse to stop and start the pirouette, so the rider is in control and the horse is in front of the leg.
Preparation before riding “the box” consisted of cantering on the circle, taking shorter steps, then longer steps; not shortening the stride to a pirouette canter, but just playing with the length of stride.
Then Dirk rode “the box”: Canter a few strides, then a quarter pirouette; then forward again in canter a few strides, then a quarter pirouette; repeating this as each quarter-turn formed the corner of a box. “This teaches the horse to listen to you,” Jan explained.
“It’s exciting to see a horse like this, very talented, with a good rider. She’s already doing things two, three points higher than many horses. The only thing for her is to wait until she gets stronger. I hope to see her in international competition.”
With Jeremy Steinberg riding Jessica Lyman’s 8 year old Oldenburg mare, Elisieene, Jan worked on a variety of movements, spending as much time or more on the preparation as on the movement’s execution, but never asking too much of this young and sensitive horse.
Demonstrating the training for half pass at the canter, Jan asked Jeremy to ride five steps to the side, then five steps straight; five steps to the side, then five steps straight. “Then we work on the changes,” Jan said, emphasizing the preparation exercise.
An exercise he used to help the horse learn to do straight flying changes: Canter up the centerline, half pass, then travers, straighten the neck, then ask for the change. “If you repeat these things, the zig-zag will be easy later on,” Jan advised.
To prepare for learning the tempi changes, Jan asked Jeremy to do three flying changes on the diagonal: One early in the diagonal, one in the middle of the diagonal, and one near the end of the diagonal. The number of strides in between didn’t matter, just the placement of the changes along the diagonal.
“It’s really important not to do too much,” Jan advised. “Too many riders do too much, but we have nice riders with a lot of horsemanship here.”
Relaxation Therapy
Starr Vaughn trainer Michael Etherly rode Dejima, his 11 year old Oldenburg gelding, through a classic case of what to do when your horse is scared. Dejima’s home arena had been transformed by hundreds of spectators into a very scary place.
Jan explained, “Sometimes it’s more difficult when their home environment changes than when they go away to a different environment. Sometimes in a crazy environment at a new place, they concentrate.”
Jan gave advice that every rider can use at one time or other: “Always when a horse is afraid, bend him away from what he fears, slow down to walk and pet the horse.”
After Dejima relaxed as much as he could at the walk, Jan asked Michael to ride some walk/trot transitions, then a little bit of half pass. Jan recommended using the shoulder in and half pass when a horse is spooky or afraid, as it helps to relax them. “This is therapy work!” Jan said.
To improve the canter, he asked Michael to alternate riding shorter and longer canter strides, in the same rhythm but shorter and longer steps, as they spiraled into a smaller and smaller circle in travers, until they were in a working pirouette. Michael remarked later, “Jan’s exercises were excellent!”
Relaxation, then work as therapy – keeping that recipe in mind helped me get through the cold, windy, spooking rides of winter.
Michele Vaughn, who with her husband, Greg, owns Starr Vaughn Equestrian Center, generously hosted the 2007 Succeed/USDF FEI-Level Trainers’ Conference.
“It’s a great opportunity for our trainers here in California to learn from a trainer like Jan Brink,” Michele said. “I’m happy if I can help promote education in our sport.”
After a full weekend of learning how much can be done to create better movement and performance through better training and riding, and watching how happy horses can be while they’re learning, I brought home a higher set of expectations. Now I expect more from myself, and I can give more to my horse.
Education and inspiration are a successful combination.
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