Henk van Bergen clinic Labor Day weekend

I attended a Henk van Bergen clinic over the weekend that was not too far from my home. I found out about it last-minute from a friend/fellow trainer, and I am so glad that we took the time to attend.

Mr. Van Bergen has a long and impressive resume of riding, training and coaching internationally. I won't go into it here, as it would take up too much of the post, and I want to preserve the space for more current musings. I provided the link over his name and a few more here to make it easy for you to research his history.

http://www.equestrianmag.com/news/henk-van-bergen-usdf-fei-trainers-conference-06-09.html

short bio on USDF website about the 2009 FEI Trainer's Conference:

http://www.usdf.org/education/other-programs/trainers-conference/vanbergen.asp

I am always impressed by the quiet effectiveness of the masters that I have had the opportunity to observe (and train with). Mr. Van Bergen is certainly no exception, as I got to watch him ride a horse that had been ridden by his regular trainer the day before. The regular trainer, Luiz Denizard (who hosted the clinic), had done a very good job with the horse the day before, no doubt, and I certainly don't want to minimize his work...however, when Mr. van Bergen worked the horse through the session, the reason that I include Mr. Van Bergen in the class of "master" was apparent, and I think that Lu would certainly agree with me, since it is to HIS credit that he seeks guidance from Mr. Van Bergen, and is also generous enough to share the clinic with outside riders and auditors (spectators).

The quality of the horses and the riders was very high overall. Lu was incredibly welcoming, the other riders were warm and friendly, and the facility was beautifully maintained and the covered arena was superb. It was also "private" enough that one didn't feel like a "number", or an inconvenience. I can't say enough about it.

I also have to say, in closing, that Mr. Van Bergen is one of the most articulate, accomodating, humorous and generous horsemen I have ever met. He and I had a couple of fairly long conversations during the breaks, and we covered many topics both general and specific, and he is down to earth, straight to the point, honest and generous all at once. His knowledge of the inner workings of the competition world and the FEI is as valuable as his training knowledge.

I am looking forward to the next clinic, and I will make sure that if there is a spot after Lu and his students, that I get a spot to ride. :-)

Also, for those of you that are farther away, he will again be the clinician at the 2010 FEI trainers clinic in Loxahatchee, FL (Wellington area) in January. He did the clinic in 2009, and was invited back by the USDF, because of the great praise for the 2009 clinic. I did not attend the 2009 clinic, but I know exactly why he received such high praise and the return invitation. I have attached a couple links (above) so you can read up about him. I know I don't normally "jump on the bandwagon" in terms of BNT's (Big Name Trainers), but I do recognize a master when I meet one and see him work, and to find a master with not only the skill for the horse, but the skill to IMPART the knowledge to every level of rider is truly special. Henk van Bergen is that master.

I thank Franzi Pfeiffer (my friend/fellow trainer) for letting me know about the clinic, and Luiz Denizard (whom I had not heard of before, but who I hope will become a friend/fellow trainer) for hosting the clinic and making me and my young rider student who accompanied me to the clinic feel so welcome. Auditors are not always treated so well.

I Love Ponies!

It's true. I love ponies. Children are the future of our sport, as well as the rest of the future stuff. They are who will take care of us in our old age. Would you rather be taken care of by a person who was raised in front of the television and computer, or one who was raised in the company of horses (and ponies)?

Let's face it, if a child's first experience has to be on the back of a horse, the most important life lessons have to be put off (grooming, leading, haltering, handling, etc.), just because of the size difference. A good pony levels the playing field. The kid can groom it thoroughly, pick up its feet, tack it by themselves, and be responsible for the bulk of its general care. This teaches them responsibility, independence, leadership, hard work, teamwork, and so forth from a much different perspective...they do it themselves, rather than have an adult do everything for them until the are big enough.

Pony breeding has come a long way in the United States. If ponies were ever as bad as their reputation, that is no longer the case. These days, there are a great many ponies who have wonderful, calm dispositions, good, balanced conformation, and good to very good gaits. To a point, the issue of good training is still a challenge, but there are capable adults who are small enough to start and train ponies for the children.

The pony in the pictures is one of my very favorite ponies! His name was D'Apples, and he was the heart and soul of all the children at Windsor when I was the director there. He was a grey Welsh Cob and was 13.3hh. His disposition was unparalleled, he had really good gaits and was willing to try anything. I showed him at a local show in the off-season for Windsor (the kids were not there to show him themselves) and received scores of 66% and 68% at Training Level (that was his only show that I know about). He died way too young at 13 years old from Melanoma. It was the worst case I have ever seen, and if he had not received the stellar care (due to his owners at Windsor and a great vet), he would not have lasted as long as he did.

But he is not an exception....there are many, many great ponies out there. The Hunter/Jumper world utilizes ponies very well, but I would love to see a much more wide use of ponies in the dressage world. After all, a foundation in dressage should be what we are teaching our ponies AND our kids at the beginning, before they specialize in any discipline....even before Hunters--I see too many kids going over cross-rails long before they have the seat and effectiveness of the aids which is what makes it safer. Most of them survive, a slight majority of them even stay interested in horses, but at some point, all need remedial lessons in their seat and position to keep moving forward in their riding. Wouldn't it be easier to learn the foundation at the beginning than to have to go back and UNlearn the bad habits and replace them with good ones?

I would love to hear from people who have had (or known) great ponies. If you email me their pictures and stories, I will post some of them here.

90.7% What do you think?

I can say that this is an amazing ride. I can also say that I enjoyed watching it, and I put it in my favorites on my account at Youtube. :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_FDK04vXaI

I wonder, now that we have broken through the "glass ceiling" of 90% (it wasn't that long ago that 80% was unimaginable), if we are going the way of other olympic judged events (I am thinking of ice-skating, gymnastics and diving, for instance) that we will soon have to re-think our scoring system....because after 100%, where do we go?

Now, before you start thinking, "well that won't happen, because how often do you see a perfect ride?", remember--a score of ten does not mean it is "perfect"; a score of ten means it is "excellent"...and we don't even have the luxury of tenths of points (yes, I know--halfpoints for freestyle) It is not just semantics. There are real consequences to approaching 100% scores, and there are widespread ramifications. I wonder if anyone at the FEI organizational level is thinking about this--I wonder if our FEI judges are thinking about this?

But then, watch the video, and ask yourself--"where would I have taken away points?" I understand the score, and agree with it when it is judged against our current standard and methodology, but this is what begs my question in the first place.