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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".
So we did the reverse journey on the Saturday with the exception of having a welcome addition in the car of Tracey (pictured)!
