I had the wonderful privilege to observe Donna Smith teaching this weekend in Bristol, TN. She is one of those very knowledgeable, experienced, and high-profile international eventers that other eventers inevitably say things about, like, "She's so approachable," and, "She's really easy to work with, and very friendly and unassuming," and, "I really learned so much from her. She makes everything very clear-cut and straightforward!" I'd have to say, although I wasn't able to ride for her, that all of these compliments are absolutely true. She is one of those trainers who focuses on the basics, practicing simple exercises, and taking small steps in order to accomplish huge improvements regarding the "bigger picture." I can't tell you how many times I heard her telling various riders this weekend, "Balance, sit up, now wait, wait..." and no matter the horse, the rider, or the type of jump, things inevitably fell right into place if everything was done as she instructed.
It's really amazing how much we let our knowledge and our minds get into the way of our riding. I am a classic case of the "overthinking/too smart" rider. I will be coming down to a jump thinking (my brain churning out every item of riding instruction I've ever read or heard at the rate of about 100 miles per second) "shorten, leg on, shoulders back...shoulders back, eyes up, leg, leg, leg..." and all my poor little horse is thinking is, "stay out of my face, let me do my job, and just don't fall off." Why does it have to always be so complicated? Sometimes, it's great to have a big name rider just remind us that all we are doing is steering, balancing, and hanging on! When all that happens effectively, it doesn't matter if it's a 2'6" vertical or a 3'9" corner, life will fall into place as it should. I fear that in my thinking so much and getting so involved in the details of my every action when I'm riding, I forget that my horse knows a thing or two about what we're doing, and if I just let him do his job, then life is good!
Best of luck to Donna next week at The Fork CIC*** and best of luck to my friends and fellow riders who had the chance to train with her this weekend. I look forward to taking a lot of that information and putting it toward my first day back in the saddle (since February!) later this week.
It's really amazing how much we let our knowledge and our minds get into the way of our riding. I am a classic case of the "overthinking/too smart" rider. I will be coming down to a jump thinking (my brain churning out every item of riding instruction I've ever read or heard at the rate of about 100 miles per second) "shorten, leg on, shoulders back...shoulders back, eyes up, leg, leg, leg..." and all my poor little horse is thinking is, "stay out of my face, let me do my job, and just don't fall off." Why does it have to always be so complicated? Sometimes, it's great to have a big name rider just remind us that all we are doing is steering, balancing, and hanging on! When all that happens effectively, it doesn't matter if it's a 2'6" vertical or a 3'9" corner, life will fall into place as it should. I fear that in my thinking so much and getting so involved in the details of my every action when I'm riding, I forget that my horse knows a thing or two about what we're doing, and if I just let him do his job, then life is good!
Best of luck to Donna next week at The Fork CIC*** and best of luck to my friends and fellow riders who had the chance to train with her this weekend. I look forward to taking a lot of that information and putting it toward my first day back in the saddle (since February!) later this week.
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