• October 14th, 2019

After watching the USEF Medal this past weekend I had some observations I wanted to capture. Below is the short article I wrote to respond to the riding I saw.

Connection
In watching the recent USEF Medal finals at Harrisburg, there was one thing in particular that stood out in many riders;. a lack of connection from leg to hand. While there were good rounds from solid riders, they were in the minority. With 239 riders competing in the class, 30 at the most were strong and solid competent riders. These riders varied in style, some riding in a light seat with a good pace with the horse in front of the leg, while others chose to sit in a full seat. Regardless they all had a beautiful connection from leg to hand. The leg being used to the necessary degree each individual horse required, while the hand softly accepted what the leg had created. This also made the turns very smooth and precise. Without this connection, riders were changing the pace and using one rein or the other to turn, resulting in slab sided turns as well as loss of the hindquarters through the turns. For example, turning with too much inside rein caused the hindquarters to fishtail.

A good connection not only maintains the pace but results in better turns. With the use of both reins and both legs, the result is quite different! The horse follows a track or path like a train on train tracks follows the predetermined track, it doesn’t vary. When the horse is in balance (leg to hand), adjustments are achieved more easily and invisibly because less of an aid is needed. Closing the fingers on the rein or adding an ounce of leg is all that one needs. When there is no connection, the message is less clear to the horse and a stronger more visible aid has to be used. It’s as if the horse doesn’t hear the rider as he is less in tune and shouting is not good. In order to teach this to a rider, the rider has to be able to use enough leg to take up any slack in the rein and work the horse on contact. Many riders find this very difficult. They need to learn the balance between leg and hand. No hand and too much leg results in the horse that is strung out. With too much hand and not enough leg the horse is behind the Leg and lacks impulsion. Connection requires a fine balance of aids which is why it is difficult for most riders yet achievable when the rider is committed and the instructor is competent. The result of a horse that is connected from back to front is the reward.