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Get to Second BaSe
Te Medium Paces
Part 3 of a six-part series on fnding success at Second Level
By Beth Baumert
Photographs by SusanJStickle.com
A
s you develop your Second
Level horse, most of your efforts will focus on retaining
the basic qualities. it’s not always easy,
but it is simple: You add a new level
of difculty and then check to be sure
that the basics that you’ve already established aren’t compromised. i call it
“blending” qualities.
For example, in our last installment, you worked on lateral movements such as shoulder-in, haunchesin, renvers, and half-pass. to ensure
success, i suggested that you control
two factors: the bend and the line of
travel. i assured you that you would
be successful if you could blend those
elements while retaining the basics of
your earlier work. if you did it right,
your lateral work made your horse
more supple and nicer in the hand
and also developed a bit of collection—that is, he shifted a bit of weight
toward the hindquarters.
i also noted that there’s a fip side
to almost anything. if you did noth-
ing but suppling exercises, your horse
might be inclined to lose energy. Te
opposite is also true: if you do too
many powerful lengthenings, he might
lose suppleness and become stif.
Tat’s what i mean when i say that
these qualities need to be blended.
Tis month, we’re going to work
on developing the medium paces,
which difer from the lengthened
stride in that the medium has more
lift and uphill tendency. How does
it get that way? By blending (there’s
that word again) the impulsion of the
lengthened stride with the suppleness
and collection achieved in the lateral
work. Done correctly, the lengthenings stay supple and retain the collection. Tey start to have more lift, and
the rhythm becomes more cadenced.
Te result is a medium.
to maximize your chances of success with the medium paces, start with
a sufcient warm-up that focuses on
rhythm, relaxation, suppleness, and a
nice feeling in the hand. Here’s how.
The Warm-Up
Warm up with straight lines and
20-meter circles in both directions
in all three gaits. Position your horse
in shoulder-fore (see my July/August article if you need a refresher on
What’s
the Purpose?
A
BRIO: Fourth Level USDF-certifed instructor/trainer Mica Mabragaña on Infanta HGF demonstrates a beautiful medium canter. Brilliant, uphill medium paces result from blending the
qualities of supple collection and Schwung.
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September 2012 • USDF ConneCtion
s stated by the US Equestrian Federation, the
purpose of Second Level
is: “To confirm that the horse,
having achieved the thrust required in First Level, now accepts
more weight on the hindquarters (collection), moves with an
uphill tendency, especially in the
medium gaits; and is reliably
on the bit. A greater degree of
straightness, bending, suppleness, throughness, balance and
self-carriage is required than at
First Level.”
shoulder-fore) because it puts him in
balance. Ten do transitions between
walk and trot and between trot and
canter.
to add the element of straightness,
try this exercise in trot:
Make a snowman-shaped fgure
eight: a 20-meter circle combined
with a ten-meter circle. Te smaller
circle will invite a bit of collection; be
sure your horse stays active. Get the
feeling of smaller strides on the smaller circle and then larger strides on
the large circle, all retaining the same
rhythm and tempo. Ride from one inside-hind-leg-to-outside-rein connection to the other; doing so will help to
make your horse straight.
After ffteen or 20 minutes, your
horse’s muscles should be warm, and
he should be in a balance in which he
can relax.
once you have balanced, relaxed
working paces, you can add power
(aka impulsion, the fourth element of
the pyramid of training) in the form
of a lengthening combined with some
leg-yield. Tere are lots of exercises
that combine leg-yield and lengthening, and you can use your imagination
in coming up with ones that help your
horse most, but i’ll give you one possible example:
tracking left in working trot, ride
down the center line at A. Leg-yield
right (from the left leg) to B. From B
to H, lengthen the stride on the short
diagonal. Repeat in the opposite direction.
Tis exercise should improve the
suppleness of your lengthening (which
might otherwise become stif ), and it
should improve the power of your legyield (which might otherwise lack energy). Tat’s a good example of blending qualities. in the process, your
connection should feel more supple
and solid.
Developing Impulsion
(and a German Vocabulary)
After your warm-up, take a walk
break and think about the fourth element of the pyramid of training, impulsion, in a new way.
in the German version of the pyramid, the fourth element is called
Schwung, whose meaning has a bit
more depth than the english word.
Let’s look at the diference.
Schwung and the swinging back.
Te USDF defnition of impulsion is
“thrust; releasing of the energy stored
by engagement.” Te USDF defnition
of Schwung is “the condition in which
the energy created by the hind legs is
transmitted through a ‘swinging back’
More Forward?
What’s That?
F
SUPPLE LENGTHENING: Riding a leg-yield
to a trot lengthening on the short diagonal has
given Infanta both energy and suppleness.
rom Part 1 of this series
(June), you know there are
a number of ways that you
can ask your horse to go “more
forward”:
1. You can ask for a quicker
tempo by making your aids
quicker.
2. You can ask for more energy by closing both legs.
3. You can ask for a longer
stride by increasing the scope of
your seat and leg motion.
Be careful that you aren’t
inadvertently asking for quicker
strides or more energy when you
really want longer strides, such
as in a lengthening or a medium.
USDF ConneCtion • September 2012
21
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and manifested in the horse’s elastic,
whole-body movement.”
As you can see, Schwung is a richer and more meaningful term than
impulsion. Te energy isn’t simply released; it travels in such a way that it
results in swing, elasticity, and wholebody movement.
Te horse’s back swings because
of the impulsion, the rhythm, and the
supple connection. Without this swinging quality, collection can’t develop. in
my opinion, dressage instructors and
judges don’t talk enough about swing
in the back. When the horse is working through a swinging back, tiny driving aids and tiny half-halt aids work in
every stride. Te “go” aids go through
and the “whoa” aids go through at every stride—proof of throughness. Tis
is the quality that needs to be present in
the not-so-distant future when you begin piafe and passage.
Without swing, the movements
are just tricks. i think it would be
helpful to riders if the tests incorporated more combinations of move-
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September 2012 • USDF ConneCtion
ments that develop swing. Judges
look for swing in the back, and riders
should know they are looking for it. it
lays early groundwork for the horse’s
future training by setting the stage for
recycling the energy. Recycling energy and “pushing
of from the bit.” Collection is fuid,
cadenced, and bouncy; and it develops from Schwung or impulsion. But
one of the universal challenges in
dressage is learning to ride with impulsion that doesn’t deteriorate into
speed.
Your horse’s energy turns into
speed instead of impulsion if it doesn’t
“recycle” through his body. to learn
how to recycle his energy, you need to
understand how the horse “pushes of
from the bit.” Here’s how that happens
when the contact is ideal and he is accepting the aids:
each rhythmic thrust of a hind leg
sends a wave of energy through the
horse’s topline. When that wave of energy reaches the bit, instead of leaning on the bit, your horse yields to the
contact by “pushing of from the bit”
at each stride. Te energy rebounds,
or “bounces back,” shifting weight to
the hind legs. As a result, the horse
comes into self-carriage and becomes
light in the hand.
Pushing of from the bit happens
at every stride as a natural result of
good riding, with correct half-halts
and transitions (which we’ll delve into
in parts 4 and 5 of this series). Te
mechanics of pushing of from the
bit recycles the energy, thereby making the work easier for both horse and
rider. Although pushing of from the
bit is nearly imperceptible to the spectator, the rider can feel it. Search for
that feeling and you will fnd it.
Te concept of pushing of from
the bit—sometimes referred to as
“bouncing back”—might be new to
you. Don’t confuse it with being “behind the bit” (evading the contact),
which is a serious fault. When the
horse is pushing of from the bit, he is
always reaching for and committed to
the bit in an ongoing circle of ener-
gy. When your aids ride on this circle
of energy, we call it the “circle of the
aids.” Without pushing of from the
bit, there can be no impulsion, selfcarriage, circle of energy, or circle of
the aids. Tere is only speed.
The Medium Paces
Tis article has been a long-winded
approach to our topic of the month.
Tat’s because it’s not all about the
HALF-CIRCLE IN MEDIUM TROT: Power
and energy combine with suppleness
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USDF ConneCtion • September 2012
23
clinic
medium paces; it’s about the qualities
that will make beautiful medium paces. So, with those qualities in mind,
try this exercise (see diagram below):
Begin in a bouncy, swinging trot.
tracking right, make a ten-meter circle at M. Ten ride shoulder-in right
from M to B.
From B to e, half-circle in medium trot (see photo at right). expect
the rhythm to have improved from
the shoulder-in. Te bend on the large
circle will blend suppleness with the
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power, so the energy will be inclined
to go “through” your horse’s back instead of stifening it. encourage the
hind legs at the thrusting and reaching moments. Drive slowly because
your horse will be inclined to quicken.
As you approach e, prepare to
shoulder-in right. try to make the transition to shorter strides in a forward,
active way. Ask for short, quick strides
because your horse will be inclined to
slow the tempo. Te photos at right
show the transition especially well.
HALF-CIRCLE TO SHOULDER-IN: Mica’s
excellent riding produces a seamless transition from the half-circle in medium trot to
shoulder-in right
C
H
M
S
R
E
B
V
P
K
F
A
Develop suppleness and power by riding a
ten-meter circle to shoulder-in and then a
medium-trot half-circle
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September 2012 • USDF ConneCtion
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C
H
M
S
R
E
B
V
P
K
F
A
Half-pass intervals on the diagonal to develop
collection and the medium paces
Ride shoulder-in right from e to
H; then repeat the gymnastic pattern
in the other direction. You can try this
exercise in canter, too, substituting
shoulder-fore for shoulder-in.
if your horse can do half-pass,
here’s one more exercise you can try:
From the beginning of the long
side, half-pass on the diagonal in trot
A Note on Tempo
H
ere’s a seeming paradox:
You can expect your
horse to become slower
when he truly collects, but he
will never collect by becoming
slower.
This isn’t a chicken-or-egg
situation. The slower tempo
needs to result from collection
rather than from voluntary slowing. Be pleased when your horse
becomes slower because he’s
collecting, but be vigilant that he
doesn’t get slower from a lazy
hind leg.
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September 2012 • USDF ConneCtion
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to the quarter line. Stay on the diagonal and ride medium trot from quarter line to quarter line. At the second
quarter line, return to half-pass for
the rest of the diagonal.
Make up other patterns and sequences that will improve your collection and your medium paces.
Quality Control
in the introduction to this series
(June), i described Second Level as
the black hole where many riders get
lost. Tey get lost because they don’t
achieve these important qualities. it’s
not about what you need to do at Second Level; it’s about how you do it.
Te quality gives you the result.
At the end of this series, i want
many USDF Connection readers
to say, I made it to Second Level.
Alternatively, it’s oK if you say that
you’re not quite there yet, but you
understand the path. i can promise
you that the rest of the road will
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be infnitely simpler—because the
principles of Grand Prix are the same
as those of Second Level.
Does your horse pass the test so far?
• in your medium paces, do the
strides get higher as well as longer?
Te strides don’t need to be huge,
but they do need to be correct. You
can make them bigger later.
• Do the gaits have more cadence?
When rhythm and power are
blended, you get cadence, which is
a more pronounced rhythm.
• Does his back swing?
if he passes the test, congratulations! You’ve laid an excellent foundation for the future.
next month, we’ll look at the topic
of riding half-halts in such a way that
you improve the collection at Second
Level. Happy riding, and let me know
if you have questions. Send them to
[email protected]. ▲
Next month: Half-halts.
Tanks to our photo model, Fourth
Level USDF-certifed instructor/trainer Mica Mabragaña, of Bedford, NY;
and Wellington, FL, for her assistance
with this article. Mica is riding Infanta
HGF, a seven-year-old PRE mare by
Idilio, owned by Mary Magee and bred
by Hampton Green Farm.
Beth Baumert is a Fourth Level USDFcertifed instructor/trainer based at
her family’s Cloverlea Farm in Columbia, CT. She works with horses and
riders from Training Level to Grand
Prix. Beth was the technical editor of
Dressage today magazine for sixteen
years. She is on Te Dressage Foundation’s Board of Directors and currently
serves as secretary.
Coming
next month
• Masterthehalf-halt
• Howto:makeabuttonbraid,
wrapapolowrap,ltasaddle
pad,andmore
• Secretstosuccessfroman“S”
judge
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