Dressage4Kids TEAM Clinics Kick Off the 2019 Season with Guest Instructor Felicitas von Neumann-Cosel
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Bedford, NY
– The Dressage4Kids’ TEAM Program kicked off the 2019 season this past weekend at Heritage Equestrian Center in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Dressage4Kids was pleased to invite guest instructor Felicitas von Neumann-Cosel as the instructor for the weekend.
An international dressage trainer and competitor, Felicitas has trained many horses and riders through Grand Prix. She has her German Reitlehrer FN certification (achieving the highest score ever at that time) and has also served as an examiner for the USDF Instructor’s Certification Program.
Under the instruction of Felicitas, eight youth riders participated in the two-day event. The riders ranged in ages from ten to twenty-two, and the horse-and-rider combinations are currently training at Training Level through Prix St. Georges.
The schedule included private riding lessons for the riders each day along with four lectures. Felicitas opened the clinic by talking a little bit about her philosophy of training. She mentioned the importance of understanding the horse as an animal and understanding the biomechanics of the horse along with the temperament.
The more you understand the horse and the way it moves, the more you can bring out its natural talent and beauty.
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Maggie Mann was the first rider of the day. Felicitas noticed that Maggie was actually a little behind the horse’s motion at the posting trot which caused a disruption in the horse’s ability to balance himself and trot with cadence. Felicitas told Maggie to think like she was on a trampoline or on springs so that she could both lighten her seat and become quicker on the up. In so doing, she was able to not only stay with the horse better, but to also encourage him to take a lighter and springier step.
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Next came Ellie Sloan, whose horse was clearly in awe that so many people were watching him. With the guidance of Felicitas, Ellie worked on helping her horse relax and not worry so much. Felicitas encouraged Ellie to circle as many times as necessary and to remain patient and persistent. Any time her horse stiffened his neck and tried to shut Ellie out, she circled to the inside to encourage him to bend around her inside leg and step back into the outside rein. By the end of the lesson the horse was much more relaxed and able to stretch into the contact.
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After Ellie came Paydan McLaughlin. Together Felicitas and Paydan worked on helping her horse keep its rhythm and tempo and encouraging him to swing. Paydan's horse also got to be the demo horse for the biomechanics discussion during lunch!
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During the lunch break Felicitas used the time to discuss both some of the biomechanics of the horse along with the biomechanics of the rider. She had the riders trot and canter on the ground so they could feel what their hips and cores were doing and how they were moving. To help the riders visualize and feel a turn, she asked the riders to imagine that they were on a spiral staircase – the upper body has to start to rotate around the center pole of the staircase and the hips then come around.
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Paige Hendrick was the first rider to go after the lunch break. Felicitas focused on making Paige more aware of what her body was telling the horse – for example, she might be thinking shoulder-fore, but was her body really telling the horse shoulder-fore or was her position telling the horse something else? Felicitas really helped Paige focus on riding with her seat more and less with her hands so that the horse could reach for the contact and float instead of getting tight and stuck. During the flying changes, Felicitas commented that it’s a
flying
change – if you stop it it can’t fly!
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Next came Quentin Sloan, whose horse was highly reactive. Quentin had a tendency to give too strong an aid, which made the already reactive horse even more reactive. Felicitas worked with him to be able to use his aids in a softer and more effective way – to be able to use his leg without attacking with it.
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After Quentin, Emily Palmisano, Olivia Massotti, and Megan Paulhus all rode. Felicitas helped Emily adjust her rider position so that she could better help her horse and not get in the way of her horse’s movement. She made sure that Emily’s body was symmetrical and in balance to help her horse stay better in balance.
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With Olivia, who has done some jumping before, Felicitas had her visualize an in-and-out – the horse has to be able to jump up off its hind legs, come down, and jump up again. Visualizing the in-and-out helped Olivia maintain the jump in the canter and maintain the uphill tendency rather than getting stuck on the down. Felicitas also had Olivia use the rein-back and turn-on-the-forehand exercises to help rebalance the horse.
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Megan’s horse came into the arena with a very tight neck. After watching the horse and rider go for a few minutes, Felicitas demonstrated some body work with the horse while at the halt. Felicitas talked about how you can help the horse loosen and feel its body even before the ride starts. After some body work, she asked Megan to start her warm-up again and it was clear how much more free the horse was in its movement.
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All of the riders (and horses) finished their lessons with huge smiles on their faces – all finished more relaxed and more free in their movement than when they started. Despite the sometimes hard work, it was clear that there was joy in the feeling of harmony between horse and rider.
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The Dressage4Kids’ TEAM Program (Training, Education & Mentoring) is for dedicated, determined young dressage riders of all levels, ages 25 and under. The goal of the program is to find, to help educate, and to develop talented youth to become the international riders and trainers of the future. Benefits of the D4K TEAM Program include access to educational material; notices about Dressage4Kids’ lease horses; eligibility to ride in TEAM Clinics with top trainers such as Lendon Gray, Lilo Fore, Mica Mabragaña, and Felicitas von Neumann-Cosel; eligibility to ride in Horsemastership clinics with trainers like Ali Brock, Olivia LaGoy Weltz, Scott Hassler and Michael Barisone; special rates at educational events; and special opportunities such as training with the Hannoverian Verband in Germany.
Riders of all levels are encouraged to apply.
If you are interested in hosting a clinic, please email Mary Livernois at
[email protected]
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Dressage4Kids, Inc
. is a non-profit organization incorporated for the express purpose of providing educational and competitive opportunities for youth riders and the adults who support them. To learn about Dressage4Kids and the programs it provides, view the website at
www.dressage4kids.org
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