Horsemanship Demo at Bishop Burton

Doh! Didn’t see this thread until this evening 😂 I went to watch & could have waved at you or something!

Think my pony may decide to fake an injury when he sees the absolutely dayglo orange halter & rope set I’ve bought him for his 4th birthday (which was today!). Although he’ll have to wait to be embarrassed by the halter as didn’t have what we hope is his size so need to wait for it to be made.
 
Clinic Review: Building Foundations

The overarching theme of the clinic was that a solid foundation applies to all horses, regardless of the end discipline. Whether English Dressage or Western, the goal is a horse that is emotionally and physically balanced, responsive to energy, and connected to the rider’s body.

Horse 1: Remy (Advanced Demo)

The session began with a demo to music, showing Remy performing changes and complex patterns with ease. Joe then dismounted to discuss how groundwork sets the stage for ridden work. It isn't done for its own sake, but to:

  • Connect: Maintain attention and communicate through body language and energy.
  • Mirror: The horse should match the handler’s speed and direction, maintaining respect for handlers personal - all without head pressure.
  • Balance& control: The horse learns to stay upright through the shoulder, step across with accuracy and control, and yield the ribs. A common phrase is ‘get to the feet’ but moving the feet starts in the mind, so Joe has revised that to ‘get to the mind’.
  • Match Energy: The horse responds to shifts in the handler’s internal "dial."
Joe demonstrated these yields, turns and energy shifts under saddle, showing how control, of the feet and ribs build up over time to a walk pirouette, and transitions even from a slow jog to a big trot can be achieved through the diaphragm alone. By steering with his shoulders and eventually removing the bridle, Joe proved that Remy was moving off the rider's body rather than the bit, literally "using Remy’s legs as my own."

remy 2 small.jpgRemy 1 small.jpg

The Power of Context: Joe explained that giving a horse a job makes movements clearer. Turns make sense when working cows; side-passes and backups make sense when navigating a gate; and circling backwards is more logical when dragging a log round a cone. Or in this case a kid! This contextual schooling makes movements smoother and sharper next time you school them out of context. Interestingly he said most showjumping horses enjoy jumping because the job is so clear and they like that. They have a task to do, they understand it, and that makes them feel good about it.

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Garrocha Work: The session finished with the garrocha which is a true test of accuracy. It reveals if a horse can maintain a perfect circle (the tip of the pole stays still on the ground) and if the rider can be precise while riding one-handed even when cantering a 3m circle.

remy5small.jpg

Horses 2 & 3: Orion and Nova - The Youngsters.

These 10-month-old babies showed that groundwork starts early. Despite a buzzy atmosphere, they were able to yield and mirror their handlers. This can all be done in the course of day to day handling. 15 minutes in plenty at this age. They were super cute if occasionally a little spicy and coped incredibly well.

Safety Tip: Joe discussed the importance of standing at a 45-degree angle from the shoulder. This keeps the handler out of the kick zone (front and back), and means the handler won’t be caught by a rear. Maintaining a slight bend in the horse’s neck helps to direct movement and keep control.

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Horses 4 & 5: Toffee (Western) and Ziggy (Dressage)

Alisha (Western) and Joe (Advanced Medium Dressage) demonstrated that the same foundations apply to both. While Ziggy had a more upright frame and more contact, Joe emphasized he does not ride "leg into hand." Reins and legs remain signals or corrections and most information comes off the body.

Style Cross-Over: Alisha showed that a Western horse can be ridden in a dressage frame, while Joe showed Ziggy could be ridden in a frame on a loose rein. Joe also explained that the styles complement each other up to Novice level, but they begin to diverge as movements become more specialized. However Joe believes every dressage horse should be able to go in self carriage on a loose rein, and every Western horse should be able to be picked up into a contact.

ziggysmall.jpgtoffeesmall.jpg

Horses 6 & 7: Picnic (aged 5) and Saffi

Joe (Western) and Alisha (Dressage) swapped horses to show adjustability. As the pace increased, they demonstrated how to generate explosive power and immediately "dial back" to calm. The manoeuvrability of both horses was impressive. Even though Picnic is still so young.

saffismall.jpg

Final Thoughts

The clinic was a powerful reminder that it isn't about English vs. Western. It is about building a solid foundation from the ground up, creating a horse that is a pleasure to work with in any discipline.

@Fibones and @Boulty plesase add in your thoughts and correct anything I have misunderstood! Plus anyone else who was there. I'd love to hear from dressagr riders ....
 
I was there. I was on my own, would have loved someone to say Hi to!

Fab write up AE.

I didn't buy any horse related stuff, except shampoo, but I did buy some jewellery, which I wasn't expecting.

I really enjoyed the demo and it helped some of the things I've been doing in my lessons click into place a little bit. Although as usual it left me feeling both inspired and inadequate. Oh and I got a little bit emotional at Remy's opening demo set to 'A Whole New World' which wasn't a good start because I then had to try not to snivel for the rest of the morning 🫠😂
 
Hilarious that I was also sat on my own and it seems that if I’d actually asked if anyone was going could potentially have had some friends 😂

Good write up AE.

I’m not going to go as in depth as you as I’m on my phone and doing so is a PITA with the back scrolling etc

Built quite a good, clear picture of how to take the concept of the horse reacting to changes in energy and body language in a human from initial groundwork then onto ridden work and how much smoother this can make transitions, lead changes, lateral work etc

Definitely some food for thought for the contact discussion on another thread. (My takeaway related to this was pick the contact up when you either have a question to ask or you want to check horse is still soft and “with you” but then let the horse go back to a more relaxed frame with a looser rein in between. My further interpretation of this is that the contact you’d want in competition ie to get around a course of jumps or do a dressage test is slightly different to the one you’d want in training if you’re only picking it up for a few fences or a few movements at a time before giving the horse a break)

Still one of the best examples of gate opening in a calm, controlled way (with or without bridle) I’ve seen in terms of being very deliberate & unrushed.

Now to go away and have a think…

The way that Joe does things is something that definitely intrigues me and I am in need of / actively seeking some in person on the ground help to work through some little niggles before they become big ones & obviously sort of need someone on the floor to support backing related activities eventually.

Buuuut for one thing I’ve literally booked someone more local to come out in a few weeks so kinda feel I ought to follow that through first (although no guarantees that will work out as my track record for finding instructors who aren’t either a bit crazy or fond of vanishing every so often isn’t great!) and for another there’s another livery at my yard that doesn’t like him for some reason that I can’t quite get to the bottom of which could make things a little awkward 😬 (times may not line up anyway as I’m limited by having to go to work so if when he already comes into my area doesn’t line up time of day wise with when I can be free then that would kill that idea anyway)
 
Great write up @Ambers Echo! One other thing that he talked about in the mix was the importance of timing and release. And he modelled that really well I thought, giving the horses time to relax after each chunk of work. That’s something that matches with brain science and I wish instructors considered this into their sessions a bit more. He hinted at the need to pick up more contact to appease dressage judges, but to keep the feel light down the rein. I schedule his sessions in the Peak District (and support some of his clients in between sessions when needed) so drop me a message if we’re close to you.
 
Thanks for the write-up, @Ambers Echo. I'm quite interested in the context part. My Little Madam is a show jumping pony, through and through. Point her at some jumps and ask her to turn tight and take them on an angle and she's in her element. She can do dressage, but appears to find it boring, going "flat" when she enters the rectangle. However, in Summer when the sand school is too deep to use, we sometimes work on the village green that has several rows of trees that make handy space markers. Little Madam then finds it perfectly acceptable (understandable?) to leg-yield in and out of them in a way that she doesn't in the arena.
 
Really interesting - thank you AE! Obviously the contact piece is really relevant to your other thread on that topic, it sounds like there is a divergence at a dressage level but did he talk about jumping? I would definitely agree that even a dressage horse should be able to move in self-carriage on a long rein, personally I would want them to do it on a loose rein (I prefer a horse who can work on 'cruise control', my current loan has never had that functionality installed!) but I suspect a lot of dressage riders wouldn't agree. Did he talk about the crossover for jumping?

I definitely get the point about having a clear job. My spice PRE Chilli was far better with WE obstacles than without, it gave him a focus and he could more easily work out what was being asked of him - I think his brain and body are too busy for the precision of pure flatwork! Similarly for jumping, he could see the question and get on with it rather than getting stuck in his own head about what I was asking him to do.
 
No sadly he did not talk about jumping. I'll talk to him again. Myka seems to love jumping and the having a job bit makes that make more sense. She really likes knowing her job. Drawing to a mounting block was so enthusiastic when she first learned it that she used to knock me off the block!
 
Hazelhead might be doable once a month as I get one Thursday off a month if the dates lined up which they may only do intermittently (it’s linked to when I work a weekend every 4 weeks which means exactly when in the month it is shifts over time) but as I’m only free in a morning when I’m at work afternoon never going to be workable on a day I’m in work.

Peak District too far realistically (ok for a camp or something that’s a one off all day thing but not a distance I’d travel routinely)

He said he does come vaguely near me a few times a month but again depends on if that’s generally morning or afternoon as I can literally only ever do mornings in the week due to my work hours. (& how my holidays work isn’t flexible enough to keep taking random single days off as and when as it can take a month or more to get dates approved and whole weeks together are given preference)
 
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