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So we did the reverse journey on the Saturday with the exception of having a welcome addition in the car of Tracey (pictured)!
The journey was eventful with a wrong turn that took us through a beautiful mountain range where it was snowing, but also used up our spare hour for the journey! We also had to take a detour due to an accident on the major route into Denver.
It was great to bump into Boris and Tjasa at the service station! Small world!
Unfortunately we therefore missed Tracey's internal flight which was her connection to her flight to Oz. This Tracey took incredibly well and thankfully she made the next flight and got home safely.
We too arrived home on time and were welcomed by our wonderful partners and friends!
So who to thank? (I've numbered them, but they are in no particular order!)
- Gareth and Family
- Roget
- All The Faculty
- Pat and Linda Parelli
- Mark Weiler
- All those at Parelli that make the courses possible
- Beth
- Lynn and Christine
- Filiz, Tracey, Tjasa, Boris, Denise and Anne
- Stephanie, Kim, Susanne, Nora and Karme
- Kim, Linda, Alicia, Carin, Ann, Trevor, David and Liz
- Mark, Cici, Cheryl, Victor and Terri
- And anyone I should thank, but have not listed!
Well that's the end of that installment in my Parelli journey. Hope you enjoyed it half as much as me!
We had a great final Remuda with Avery. I was again in Remuda group 1 and thought the warmth of the lodge beckoned, but alas, we were kicked out so they could prepare the Finale! We did the usual review of yesterday and played at some flying lead change simulations - everyone seemed in a really upbeat and positive mood!
The Finale or Journey Through the Course was the classroom session with the freebies, certificates and overview of topics. It is really good to review the clips from earlier in the course - to see them through 'different' eyes.
Then there was en emotional session for the 6 weekers to discuss how the course had changed us and what were the highlights or points of significant. It is amazing how strangers from all over the world can bond in such a short period of time.
Finally, those of us with Parelli lease horses had to say goodbye. Definitely the hardest part of the day. We were allowed to take them to their pasture and to let them loose (the first time in 6 weeks for these guys!). It was very well organised with everyone ensuring their horse was settled by a pile of hay before simultaneously taking off the halters. This went incredibly smoothly with no horse tearing off. Eventually a few did however decide that freedom was exciting enough to show some exuberance. We had been warned that when back in their pasture they might not want anything to do with us, so I was honoured that Roget did come back to me to say a final farewell - this however started off a new wave of emotion and tears!
What was interesting to note was that Anne and Roget (pictured in the photo) seemed to stick together in the field.
So the course was over and we said our goodbyes or should I say 'Au Revoirs' as we will keep in touch with many of the new friends we made. In fact, we have plans to meet in Switzerland for the Parelli Rendezvous next year!
Would you believe it? I was in Remuda 1 and again had the luxury of warmth inside the lodge! Remuda today was taken by Jesse and Jodie and covered a multitude of questions that students had; when to use liberty, how to deal with 'rooting' when picking up a contact and how to be progressive (the toughest if the three qualities that make a horseman - positive, progressive and natural).
Jumping (Squeeze Games) was one of the final course 3 topics and covers all squeeze games like swimming, trailer loading, saddling, even riding (the ultimate squeeze game), so if you're thinking "I don't want to jump, so this is relevant to me" then you're wrong - this information relates to all squeeze games.
The squeeze game has two primary purposes; the first is to encourage confidence in all zones both under and over the horse and to shorten the horse's flight line. Most problems people experiencing jumping are also issues they have with other squeezes, like running out, going too fast, plowing through or over-jumping. All these problems can be solved easily by the phrase "It's not about the jump - it's about the psychology" - so it appears we have come full circle, back to course 1!
Very interesting quote (attributed to Albert Einstein) that I think applies to most of us: "Insanity is doing something that doesn't work repeatedly and expecting the result to change!" How often do we do this with our horses?!?
We saw two clips of top level riders show jumping - one was a happy horse over fences, but very unhappy between them when the rider started to get in the horse's way and over used tools to force things. The other was a happy partnership where the rider stayed out of the way and gently guided, leaving the horse to do it's job - both horse and rider seemed a lot happier this way.
One of Pat Parelli's favourite sayings is "Ride dressage and show jumping like you have never seen a traditional partnership". This is because most 'normal' partnerships are of the first type described above, to varying degrees.
Back to jumping then. Basically the rider needs to let the horse do his responsibilities and stay out of the way. The best way to do this is to assume the pushing position and to ensure you zig and zag when the horse zigs and zags!
Start jumping on the ground, ensuring the horse can jump confidently, with rhythm and relaxation, in all gaits, asking for higher than what you will ask when mounted - warm up strong, to ride soft. Then after all the safety checks, mount and walk the jumps - walking enables you to notice feedback, even the subtle things - ensure confidence in the walk before moving on to the trot, and so on.
The last topic of the course then was Flying Lead Changes. In level two these are achieved by going fast enough and changing direction that the horse picks up the alternative lead. The old level 3 method of canter half pass, change of bend then new lead is no longer taught as this can be achieved with the horse on the forehand, so this lesson was all about the new technique! Oooohhhhh!
Now there are a few prerequisites before attempting Flying Lead Changes and unfortunately there are quite a few of them - confidence, impulsion, movable ribs, good simple changes, respectful partnership, good sideways and backwards games, control and good leadership - basically levels 1 and 2 completed and started level 3!
There are four rungs to the Flying Lead Changes ladder and they are:
- Transitions using Suspension Rein - walk - canter - walk (3-7 strides)
- Swinging Shoulders
- Serpentine Patterns - walk at change of bend on deep loops getting shallower
- Flying Changes - just skip the walk!
It is important not to be too particular too early on in the ladder, the end result is where you should be looking. Also, set up the patterns in walk and trot first, this will enable the horse to understand much more quickly.
We then watched a video of Linda Parelli demonstrating the four ladder rungs on Remmer! This was probably my favourite video of the whole 3 courses! It was fantastic! She added the following comments for the ladder rungs:
- Transitions will help to encourage the correct shape and balance.
- This maneuver is helped by using the outside thigh.
- Take your serpentine more and more shallow until it is virtually a straight line.
- Initially the 'walk' phase may be replaced by a 'slip change' - this will go.
Today's demonstration was with students Asia, Molley and Denise jumping their horses. They demonstrated the ground work required before mounting for jumping and then walked to a few jumping obstacles using the squeeze 'turn and face' pattern at strategically placed cones. When their horses became confident or bored, it was mixed up with some yo-yo. It was a good demo that helped me to see the changes in the horses and how the 'hard' warm up really helped.
I am completing the rest of my blog entries nearly two weeks later, having said goodbye to the Parelli ISC in Pagosa Springs, Colorado and returned home to my hamlet in South West Wales. It may seem unnecessary now as I am with my loved ones, but I have had some requests from those interested in attending future Parelli courses and it will serve as a fantastic memoir for myself in years to come. So here we go.....
Wednesday I recall started cold and again I was lucky to attend Remuda group 1 and we were able to stay warm inside the lodge for our one hour session! We had a general chat about yesterday's topics and I thought one comment was especially worth detailing here:
Effort + Time = Outcome
So for myself: 1 + 9 = 10
But for Pat Parelli, the equation may look more like this: 9 + 1 = 10
Classroom topic for today was Power (Building Engagement). Kathy started by simply giving us the four steps to attaining engagement (sounds easy. eh?), they are
- Confidence (Mental, Emotional, Physical and Go=Whoa)
- Longitudinal Flexion
- Shaping and Balance (Transitions between and within gaits)
- Power - Suspension, Engagement (Lateral Maneuvers)
So there it is - class over! Only joking! It is worth noting at this stage that lateral maneuvers are simply the Sideways Game (Game 6) and that we begin doing them in level 1 (sideways along a fence - great for mounting, gates and trail riding) and that by level 3 these have advanced considerably (sideways without a fence with a longer line or at liberty and for longer distances, the half pass and flying lead changes - great for cow work and dressage or with purpose).
Linda Parelli quote: "Whatever you want your horse to do, you need to do in your own body. The horse holds the time line, if you try to rush him it will take longer. Your horse will tell you what's going on."
We then watched clips from the first lessons that Pat and Linda had with Walter Zettl. Wow! Walter Zettl showed how important transitions are - he was asking for them every one, two or three strides - it helped to engage the horse mentally and then physically. It was very interesting to see how Pat, already a master, was really appreciated by Walter. Whereas Linda was very unprepared for how fast she needed to use her mind and how when under pressure her fluidity left her - she also got some amazing feedback from Remmer (tongue out and foot biting)!
The demonstration was given by Kathy and Tina in the Big Top. They showed us where they are at in the four steps. We also performed a number of simulations to enable us to feel the difference between forwards and sideways motion and what helps or hinders; how simple half pass, shoulders in and haunches out can be; and then we had a conga Walter Zettl lesson!
Always remember when performing lateral maneuvers that "Simplicity is the key to brilliance" so why make things more complicated than they need to be? Also Walter Zettl suggests "The less aids you give, the less there's for the horse to fight against".
This morning we woke to a definite film of ice over everything including the car, for which we had no scraper! So we improvised with a dustpan and then we were off. It was mighty cold though and there was frost everywhere - I hope it doesn't snow for our journey home (starting to worry a little bit!).
I was in Remuda group 1 this morning with Kathy. Group 1 is usually at the fire pit, but we managed to encourage Kathy into the warmth of the lodge and therefore had a comfortable overview of yesterday's work and then some conga horse simulations of the suspension rein during gait and the quack-cha-ching techniques.
Next into the classroom with Tina covering today's topic of Latitudinal Flexion or bend. Once the shaping and balance suspension rein sequence of downward transitions, during gait and upward transitions are well underway in yours and your horse's education, then you can start Snakey Bends - the latitudinal flexion technique.
Snakey Bends is where your horse is 'straight' on a circle, where his body is bent to the same degree as the circle, i.e. inside hooves inside the circle and outside hooves, outside the circle. It is important to note that this is bending or flexing the inside of the horse, not pushing zone 1 from the outside (driving). And the aim of the game is equality. Equal flexion to left and right and the ability to swing between the two. The suspension rein talks to the inside of the horse's bend.
Snakey Bends will develop rhythm, relaxation, bend and fluidity with the goals being to shape the horse, set up lateral maneuvers and to raise the withers (off the forehand). Once Snakey Bends are established you can move onto Serpentines both deep and shallow. Online maneuvers would be falling leaf or zone 3 (ribs), while freestyle could be the bulls eye pattern (level 2 impulsion).
The next thing to cover was that if we went the horse to bend then so do we. How is this achieved? The Drag Queen walk sets this up! Basically move your opposite shoulder/arm over towards your leading hip whilst walking slowly. Very amusing! Other simulation to help the human achieve the necessary muscle memory included being the horse and human on a circle and conga horse simulations.
Today's demonstration was taken by Tina with student volunteer's Karme and US Stephanie. It helped to see these demonstrations to visualise what the Drag Queen walk looked like whilst riding! Both riders did a great job and I think we got to see some positive changes in both the horses and the humans. The most important piece of information I think came out of this demo was that Snakey Bends is a principle and therefore you should start by asking for only one step, then two and slowly building to full circles.
Lastly we all made our way back to the seat builders for a 'putting lots of things together' simulation. So whilst staying on your balance point and maintaining fluidity you had to follow the feel of two independent hands! Sound easy? Try it - this is difficult even whilst the rest of the body is stationary!
Well the weekend seemed to fly by and it was back to up at 6am to feed the horses! Remuda with Kristi was quite amusing this morning, everyone seemed to have a funny weekend story to tell so we spent most of the time laughing!y
Today's topic for the classroom with Kathy was Shaping and Balance aka Collection. First question: what does collection mean? Answers varied from balance, a light front end and not scattered. My favourite was 'like a hovercraft' ready to go forwards, backwards, left or right.
Now for the BIG question: how is collection achieved? The answer is to encourage the horse to change it's shape for you - cryptic eh? No really, if you cause the horse to make the desired changes to it's body shape as a response to your requests, then a psychological rather than a mechanical method of achieving collection is possible! Now you can ask it - how do cause the horse to give collection in this way? 1,000,000 transitions in a short space of time (every few strides) - this is basically the yo-yo game.
Now there are 2 key phases to your transitions:
- Transition: Duck Landings (retarding seat) and
- Shaping: the Suspension Rein (1 rein lift)
It is important that the suspension rein is introduced in the following order of type of transitions:
- downward transitions (get haunches underneath - power)
- during gait (to shorten a horse that has become long)
- upward transitions (to create elevation and power)
After simulations, both with a partner and then on the seat builders, we had a demonstration in the Big Top with Kathy teaching fellow students Susanna and US Kim, who both did a cracking job of showing their horse's at different stages of collecting. It is always helpful to actually see the technique and the results when applied correctly.
This afternoon I decided that my back was feeling good enough to ride Roget, so I spent time on the ground (1.5 hours), firstly getting him to accept being groomed, then to accept the saddle and lastly to accept me - these left brain extroverts take a lot of energy! As you can imagine, I am shattered and I've only just got on! So we went for an amble, played some fluid rein and some downward transition suspension rein - after all the effort I had put in on the ground to have only 'yes' answers and no brace, it was frustrating that all he offered for about half an hour was brace. Eventually, after trying everything I could think of to avoid giving him something to brace against, we made a lovely soft fluid downward transition, so I got off and called it a day on that good note - hard work or what! Still love him to bits though!
Saturday was lazy day again - batteries to recharge and back to heal! I spent most of the morning on the webcam to Gareth catching up with things back home; how family are, what the animals are up to and how he is coping with everything to do on his own! The afternoon was spent with Roget grazing in one of the honeycombs and dreaming of passing my level 3, bareback and bridless riding and liberty with Dillon - apparently visualisation is very helpful! Instead of eating at the ranch, 17 of us went to the local Chinese restaurant and then to the Buffalo Inn bar where we all had a blast. Beth and I booked a taxi so we could both have a drink and left the car at the house - it was great fun - you can see the pictures, which I think show it all!
Sunday was my lie in day - bliss not to wake at 6am and have to rouse myself to the ranch! Another lazy day ensued with very little being achieved bar resting my back and catching up on sleep. Roget and I shared our honeycomb grazing session with Ann and Beth today which was nice I think for both of us. Then a thunder storm rolled in off the mountains and we made a mad dash out of the rain and back to relaxing and chilling out ready for our last week of class!
Goodbye Pat and Linda! On our way down the ranch track Beth and I met Pat and Linda coming the other way in their rock-star style coach and horse trailer. Well we started waving like looneys again and Pat and Linda started waving back, which only encouraged us even more! Then Pat honked his horn, which was exactly what you expect an American truck horn to sound like! So we got our final farewell from them and that was a lovely unexpected extra to our trip!
So we did the reverse journey on the Saturday with the exception of having a welcome addition in the car of Tracey (pictured)!
