Los Olivos, California
March 22-25, 2007
by CeeCee Moss-Giovannetti
Arthur Kottas-Heldenberg, the youngest rider in over a span of four centuries to be appointed First Chief Rider at the Spanish Riding school inVienna, several years ago retired from his post and is now sharing his mastery of Dressage on an international level. Four times a year Arthur comes to teach at Alix and Carey Kendall’s Angels Landing Farm. The farm name was not lost on me. The implication fit. The significance was far more than the fact that Arthur was here in California, but that I had landed this opportunity to observe his clinic. I had only just decided to start writing articles and this was going to be my first. In addition, the clinic was sandwiched between two major storms forecasted on the front and back side of this blessed event. The clouds parted for this famous man from Vienna. All were appreciative of the sunny 70 degree weather.
Alix Kendall, the driving force behind Arthur coming to California, has worked with Arthur since 2002. While in Austria she received instruction on Arthur’s stallion, Liberte. He is a 100 day tested licensed Austrian warmblood stallion. Liberte was purchased and trained by Arthur, so it’s no surprise that Alix had to have Liberte after three days of instruction. She purchased him and brought him home to California.
In the March 2007 clinic, Alix used cross training to keep Liberte forward and fresh, alternating between her riding one day and Arthur longing and working him in hand the next. It was a special opportunity to watch Arthur with the ground work. Arthur additionally ground-schooled two young, exquisite Lusitano stallions owned by Alix Kendall. They were definitely handpicked for dressage based on their balance and fluid free movement.
Based on watching the Spanish Riding School perform at the Cow Palace in the 1980’s, old photos, and literature, I came to the clinic with a certain mindset. In error, I assumed that I would see shortened strides without as much thrust as in the competitive ring. Validation of this shift in perception was heard numerous times throughout the clinic when Arthur stated to a pupil “It isn’t how short the strides, but how much weight the horse takes behind.”
With the history and tradition of the Spanish Riding School comes time-tested training methods. Combine this wisdom with Arthur, the man, and you witness the master key in the science of dressage, unlocking the doors in the sequential training of the dressage horse. He brings so much to the table. He is respectful of people as well as the horses. He communicates well. He rides beautifully. And he possesses incredible focus. He stays focused by asking himself questions.The first question the rider needs to ask himself is “Am I ready? Free in the head? Stretched and not stressed?” Whether he is riding or teaching he asks, “What is the next step? What does the horse and rider tell me?”
Arthur shares his knowledge, passionate that we differentiate between the three phases of the riding session.
The first goal is to prepare the horse to work. Get the horse supple, soft and mentally ready to work. The horse has to be ready in his mind as well as his body. Do not make a horse tired in warm up. Ask “What is the best way to warm up?” Arthur likes to walk first, this helping with the mental preparation. He then decides whether to canter or trot next depending on the horse.
Secondly, there’s the work time, always asking “What is the next step?”
What does the horse and rider show me?” “Does the horse understand in the hand what is being asked?” “Is he through the back?” He then challenges why we repeat all the time? Recognize the problem. If the horse comes in hollow then overbend the neck several strides while rising until he is shown the way through his back. If he is over bending then get the horse up. If the direction of the movement is too low, then shorten the reins and keep his poll the highest point.
The third part of the riding session is the cool down period to ensure that the horse won’t be stiff the next day. Loosen the body. Stretch down the neck from the withers. For approximately 5 minutes, the horse at the posting trot, is asked to slow the tempo down to a “jog trot”, and is allowed to stretch. The horse will learn from correct riding how to stretch down from the wither without going down in the shoulders. He shares that with some horses, the session can be closed down by riding the canter this way. Interestingly, when "jog trotting" in the cool down phase, I noted that the horses still tracked up, some more than in the working phase! With some horse and rider combinations that had shown problematic tension in the sitting trot earlier, Arthur would ask the rider to sit the trot at this time. The horse didn’t take the back away while being sat upon and the rider experienced a more comfortable place upon which to sit. Now when instructing the rider to do a down transition into walk .....from the seat, the topline stayed stretched.
In the work phase, Arthur effortlessly made quick assessments. He creatively used the whole arena with the appropriate exercises and connection, and produced incredible results. He knew when to introduce a challenge for the rider. His experience with this assessment and confidence in his choices was to the rider’s advantage when he would challenge the rider. It was a rare occasion that it was not successful. If there was confusion, for example the rider giving the aid incorrectly for the flying change, the line would be changed to make it easier for the horse.
One woman, without F.E.I. experience came into the clinic only having done a handful of single flying changes on her second level horse. By day three she was doing several on one line, multiple times! Four loop serpentines with changes were also ridden!
Some of the sayings heard during the clinic were:
- ~Lower the neck to get through the back~I over bend the neck several strides if too tense to get through the back.
- ~Bend is taking the weight under, with bent ribcage.
- ~Collection isn’t how short the strides but how much weight can be taken behind.
- ~When the rider controls the hind end, he controls the whole horse.
- ~Use all corners to engage the inner hind.
- ~He picks up his legs but he doesn’t carry. (rein back)
- ~Always ask for a better canter.
- ~In the canter if the horse isn’t through his back he bobs like a boat in the water.
- ~If the canter is not round enough, send the horse forward.
- ~If the horse is too hollow in the canter, send him forward with a lightseat.
- ~In the canter work; when collect, if the tempo slows, then make him quicker behind.
- ~In the canter, if the horse is quick behind, go get the rhythm back through the medium to collected using the whole arena.
- ~Shoulder-fore doesn’t mean I bend more, it means that with both reins the forehand is taken towards the inner side to keep the horse straight. (often with crooked left canter) Often Arthur would say “shoulders left” when riders were riding left hand work.
- ~When lengthen the stride always lengthen the position also, by a finger.
- ~For half pass; inside leg to ride for the bending, outside leg and rein for the sideways
- ~On a circle or volte, control the outline with the outer leg (prevent hind end stepping out)
- ~In the walk, slow doesn’t mean collected. We need the same speed of footfall with different stride lengths in the different walks.
Comments said about the seat and position were:
The rider can practice seat and position exercises while the horse rests at free walk.
- Seat, leg, weight and hands last.
- The optimum placement of the hands should be one hand’s distance above the withers.
- The hind legs go under the rider’s heels.
- Don’t lean back when you can’t sit.
- You can’t push a horse when he can’t use his back.
- To entice roundness through the horse’s back as collect the horse, check your outer leg placement; Outer shoulder/hip/heel alignment.
- Inner leg pushes to outer rein to keep the bend.
- Outer rein allowing enough room so that the neck doesn’t shorten.
- The difference between a good rider and bad rider is harmony.
- If there are relational problems between the horse and rider it is 80% the rider and 20% the horse.
Some interesting points about the exercises
In the exercise of shoulder-in, he preferred talking of lines, not tracks. He would ask for it done on three lines and then on four. The amount of bend in the 4 line shoulder-in, mirrors the bend and displacement of the shoulders towards the arc of the bend, like that required for the 6 meter volte.
He often asked for 10,8,6 meter voltes at trot, sometimes all three at the same spot, sometimes at different locations all on the same long side. Haunches-in is three lines. If asking for too much displacement of the haunches, the shoulder axis won’t stay parallel to the short side. When riding shoulder-in, keep your shoulders parallel to the horse’s.
If at the end of a half pass the horse doesn’t feel like he could continue 10 meters more, then do several meters of medium.
In corners use in leg while keeping him going in the same tempo. Ride the same stride and rhythm.
To vary the placement of the exercises so that he isn’t always doing the same things in the same places he would ask for shoulder-in through a corner or short side. Improvement in the quality of the half halts needed for collecting, is always called for. Force was not part of the equation. Instead, Arthur reminds people that they might work on several feels that need to be explored, and assigns homework. Motto's heard were..
“To be a good rider sometimes you have to live twice.”
“If it were easy everyone could do it.”
In a clinic ..."We can’t change much, just give information and homework." Arthur Kottas-Heldenberg has an e-coaching website, http://www.kottas-academy.com/ where with a membership the eQuestrian has privileged access to his vast experience and time-tested methods.
