Charlotte Dujardin and Judy Harvey Masterclass at EQUITANA

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By: Kerry Mack   Photos: Stephen Mowbray

The  dressage Masterclass at Equitana this year was a two up with Charlotte Dujardin and her past trainer Judy Harvey. 

Olympic champion Charlotte Dujardin started with lilac Nieuwland and her lovely 4 yo mare. Charlotte emphasised that at this level most of the work will be about riding lots of transitions, transitions within the pace, transitions between the paces. She says to be mindful of being rounder in the neck before you ask for the transitions, and to not slow down as you make them rounder, go forwards. Be even in both reins. Don't worry about the stretch if they are not relaxed, they will stretch when they are more relaxed. Charlotte notes the good potential this horse has for the future, with great natural rhythm, lovely reach in the canter, and a good potential for the flying changes.

The next horse is a 6yo imported Friesian stallion. The work started with the leg yielding. Turn onto a diagonal line , then go sideways. Left leg yield. Control the amount of sideways. Don't allow him to take over. He has to wait. Look at the marker and ride to it. Rounder, right flexion, right bending. Don't slow down. If you slow done you lose the quality of the trot. Keep one trot in all the work. See how as he gets looser in the front the rider can do less. Right leg yield, left rein up the centre line leg yield A to R, leg yield a few steps then straight, be in control. Judy Harvey points out that all horses will want to go sideways back to the wall, so it's about controlling this tendency by going less sideways.

"Charlotte is very disciplined", Judy said. "She watches her diet, rarely drinks and works out at the gym with a personal trainer. It is having grit and determination that makes her world number one."

Charlotte said, "When I went to Carl's he hated my hands he would call me Edwina Scissorhands. I have worked to fix it."

Charlotte rides the Friesian, saying it is your job as the rider to maintain the suppleness and the contact. The rider must make the contact supple, don't kick and hold. You must let the horse go forward.

If he is lazy, I click and kick, go, then immediately reward. She repeats it three times and gets a quicker response. The leg hangs quiet when I don't want a reaction. I want a reaction from the smallest aid. She tries a  flying change, which he hasn't done before. It might not happen, it doesn't matter, have ago. Always reward, no matter how messy it is , late head up, if he goes from one side to the other, reward. He manages right to left, Charlotte notices that the canter isn't as strong on the left rein, and the change doesn't quite happen correctly but he tries and is rewarded.

"If my hands go down he stretches, he is feeling loose and relaxed. He is feeling more even on both reins."

She finishes him off by stretching him down and lifting him up and stretching him down again.

Heathmont Echo is a 13yo now competing at Medium with his young rider Edwina. Charlotte suggests riding without the whip. You have to compete without the whip, so train without it and know they will go off the leg. Click, kick, let go of the rein. 'Yee haa'. Like a Shetland derby.  He must react to the leg. Edwina has a few goes before Charlotte is satisfied that he is forward enough, and that the reaction off her leg is quick enough.

A good exercise to straighten the flying changes is to do the more crooked one on the wall, Charlotte explains. But when Edwina picks up the reins to do it and asks for walk to canter Echo offers piaffe, so the lesson diverts to correct this before going back to the flying change exercise.  Walk to canter. Along the wall, right rein, so the more crooked change which is right to left, is done towards the wall. Keep the canter forward, don't let him get slow. Relax the leg between the changes. Four time changes along the wall. Straightness is achieved after a few repetitions. Walk to reward.

"Our horses work in the arena four days a week, and hack out two days. The young horses go out with the more advanced horses. They have to learn to keep up. They get to work on a different surface."

"This horse is lazy so don't go sitting trot. Rising trot, forward again. Go. Keep him up through the wither and round in the poll. Thumbs on top. Don't lock the wrist like you are carrying handbags".

Keep doing lots of transitions, circle, stretch, now forward again. Thumbs on top. In the stretch keep him on the contact. It is important to finish the session loose and thinking forwards.

"Why are we not worrying about the open mouth?" Judy poses this question and gives us the answer.

"Because if you work him forward, get him loose, the mouth will close, you don't need to tighten the nose band".

Next up is Nicole Tough from Queensland with the grey Falsetto, who has asked to work on pirouettes. So the work starts with travers in the canter. Don't slow down. Sit into the direction you are going, on the right rein travers and pirouette you must sit into the right seat bone. More bend. Straight on the short side, more bend in the travers. Right shoulder back, almost like you are looking at his right hip. Now more angle in the travers. Judy points out it is a common mistake that riders sit on the outside seat bone on canter. Now go forward and back in the canter. Keep adjusting the traver. Make more of a difference between forward and back in the travers. Go. Shoulders stay on the wall.

Now leg yield in canter. It helps get the horse more sideways and looser in the canter. Now steeper in the leg yield, bend him then keep him straight. The leg yield is from the right rein, M to E. The travers on the left rein. Forwards and back. See how as he comes back in the travers he sits and carries weight.

Now travers on a 10m circle, keep going, don't let him take over and fall in, leg yield out, then travers again. Go. Come back (in the travers on the 10m circle). Now make it smaller, inside leg keeps him out, even as you make it small. Don't make it small everyday, this is hard work. Just train all the adjustments. But you can keep it bigger. Don't train the tricks everyday. With an established horse he might learn to take over. The Grand Prix test stays the same.

In the pirouette the first two steps must be turning the shoulder, not pushing the quarters in at the start.

So to the trot. Around the arena. Shoulderin, go within it, travers, go within it. Medium trot along the long side. Go. Back on the shortside. Extended trot on the long side. Then rising trot, be like road runner, go as fast as you can. Be brave, he must go forwards.

Now he is forwards the half pass is good the first time. The trot is expressive. When you bend him don't slow down in the half pass. When the rein is changed once again Nicole must ride more forwards.

Next to go is 14 yo Taylor Desmet on the lovely Grand Prix horse Rodrigo. The work starts with lots of transitions, be straight. If he is lazy go to canter early in the work to help him be looser.

As Charlotte gets on Rodrigo. Judy talks about the need to ride from the back to the front, don't pull the head in, send him forwards into the bridle. Charlotte starts in canter, a bit of shoulder fore along the long side. Counter canter, walk to canter. Working on getting him quicker off the leg. Then the flying changes. Charlotte does the flying changes along the wall. The wall keeps him straight, so now he can do them more forwards. His quarters don't come in as he changes. Then a leg yield on the diagonal line to control the shoulder before doing the changes on the diagonal. Charlotte points out that they train on the wall a lot to ensure that the horse learns to be straight all the time.

Charlotte talks about the need to take risks in the ring to try to get the most marks. She took risks in the Grand Prix special.

Piaffe. Just jogging on the spot. At home keep him quick, going forwards. Never 15 steps on the spot at home. Piaffe going forwards. Play with it. Ride it forward. Ride it back. A slight touch and ride it out. Charlotte demonstrates putting a little bit of passage into the trot to make a real collected trot. The trot goes from normal to Grand Prix in a few steps. More expression, Rodrigo come up off the ground. Let him do the work. Get it with your seat. If he loses it just ride some more transitions.

As Charlotte gives him back she says "Taylor just has to make him her dance partner".

Charlotte takes the whip from Shannon McKimmie as she comes into the ring with 9 yo Ambassi.

Shannon has trained Ambassi who has been competing inter 2. The canter half pass zig zag in the Grand Prix is really hard. Charlotte starts doing it from the wall in leg yield. Start with six steps of leg yield off the wall. Look up, keep the canter short and bouncy. Left rein to start. one two three four, straight change. Then shoulders go to the right. One two three four straight change. The second change should be back on the wall. Then you know that you have gone the same distance sideways right and left. In the changeover don't use too much leg as that will send the quarters too far sideways. Now do the Grand Prix zig zag but in leg yield! Look up. Don't kick and hold. Go (on the diagonal to refresh the canter).

Now a little work on the changes. Along the wall. Think about making the change bigger than the canter stride. Push. Don't pull. Ones. Let go. Forwards and expressive. If you make a mistake it doesn't matter. This is training. And the ones are beautiful big ground covering changes.

The training is simple and forward. The theme has been allowing the horse to go forward. Keeping him quick and responsive. Quick off the leg. Being diligent about the small things.

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