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Experiencing a Dream Makes Reality That Much Better - A dressage enthusiasts fantasy vacation. |
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Tied for third place at the top of the list of the 50 things I want to do before I die was piaffe and passage. The major problem is that as a 40-something novice dressage rider with more enthusiasm than talent and limited resources, the chances were good that the only way I would ever get to feel Grand Prix-level movements was in my dreams. I had investigated riding trips to Portugal that offered instruction on classically-trained Iberian horses but the trips were more than a little beyond my budget. It seemed I was destined to either make a new list or plan to live for a very long time!
After my recent visit to the Sons of the Wind Lusitano Classical Dressage Riding School in Deerfield, New Hampshire I had to update my list. Under the expert direction of Vitor Silva, a Portuguese schoolmaster, I experienced piaffe, passage, half-pass, Spanish Walk and extended trot on a Grand Prix level --and very patient--Lusitano stallion named Trovador. |
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Silva, a Portuguese native, passionately believes in the need for students to feel the "high-school" movements on horses that are both classically trained and bred to have the natural flexion necessary to do them. This is similar to the approach taken by classical riding schools that have existed for several centuries in Europe. The most well-known of them are the Spanish Riding School in Austria and the Cadre Noir in France. Silva opened his school three years ago to promote the idea of a classical riding academy in the United States. He has six Lusitano stallions, all of which are trained to Grand Prix level. These are the horses his students, who come from all over the United States, ride in their lessons. |
Silva opened his school three years ago to promote the idea of a classical riding academy in the United States. |
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My main instructions were to "sit tall, keep my shoulders over my hips, relax my arms, don't move my hands, go with the horse's movement and most of all, relax and let go". |
While most of Silva's students begin on the longe line to help them develop the independent seat that is the basis for all disciplines, he acknowledges that building the physical strength and mental discipline required to ride a top-level horse takes time. That's why he is willing to provide students with the experience of the high school-level movements so they know what the end-result of all their hard work will be. He does this by long lining them, which allows the rider to focus solely on position and relaxation because the control of the horse is completely in Silva's skilled hands. For my first lesson I was long lined on Trovador. My main instructions were to "sit tall, keep my shoulders over my hips, relax my arms, don't move my hands, go with the horse's movement and most of all, relax and let go". While this was easier said than done thanks to my advanced state of excitement and the realization that I was actually riding a STALLION, I was able to relax enough to "let it happen." And happen it did! If someone would have told me I would have had this experience, here in the U.S., I would have never believed her. Instead I am now among what I consider to be the privileged few who know that passage really does feel like you are "riding on a cloud". |
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| How did I learn about this treasure hidden in the rolling hillside of New Hampshire? Silva, and his long-time friend Frank Grelo, who has a riding school in Canada, were featured in programs at Equitana in Louisville, Kentucky the last two years. The program this past year was very impressive and both Silva and Grelo were guests on the Classical Riding Panel that also included Charles de Knuffy and Jessica Jahiel. Silva and Grelo also presented 45 minute lecture/demonstrations that featured two Sons of the Wind stallions and two from Grelo's Cedar Mills Farm. But instead of only being ridden by Grelo and Silva, the quadrille was performed by their students, who included several young teen-agers. As part of the program Silva talked about his dream to give dressage riders in the U.S. an opportunity to learn the same way dressage riders learn in Europe. Watching his students ride was more than impressive and I especially enjoyed seeing Silva long line a novice student. By a happy coincidence, the Sons of the Wind Farm is just outside of Manchester,New Hampshire near a factory that I was scheduled to visit in August. Despite the last minute arrangements (Silva typically requests a month's notice to schedule lessons) and an entirely full schedule, he managed to fit in two lessons for me during my day and a half long visit. This included both being long-lined and then having an opportunity to try all the movements on my own, but with more than a little help from Silva I might add. |
I learned he spends as much as four hours a day "tuning" his stallions to keep them sharp after having been ridden by novices like me. |
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"... There are no short-cuts in this discipline. That is why it is so important for riders to learn the basics so they will have the correct foundation to build on." |
The riding facility is very nice and all the people there were so friendly I couldn't help but feel welcome. I had an opportunity to audit several lessons and saw the same interest, enthusiasm and level of energy given to every student--even though he taught nonstop on both days I was there. Plus, I learned he spends as much as four hours a day "tuning" his stallions to keep them sharp after having been ridden by novices like me. "One thing people often don't understand is that these horses are not machines," Silva said. "Even though every one of my stallions know all the high school movements, the horse is only as good as the rider. People often want to buy my stallions but the fact is, unless they have the skill set to ride at the Grand Prix level or they have a trainer who does, the horse's training will soon match the rider's level, not vice versa. There are no short-cuts in this discipline. That is why it is so important for riders to learn the basics so they will have the correct foundation to build on." When Silva asked about what I wanted to get our of my lesson, I said, "I just want to feel piaffe before I die and I think this is the only way I am gong to be able to do it". His response? "'Oh no,' he said, "You will feel piaffe and then you will want to feel something else, you will want to feel passage. Now passage, that is like riding on a cloud." Now that I have had an opportunity to experience both these movements, riding a canter pirouette has moved up several spaces on my "50 Things To Do" list. |
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| I enjoyed my
experience at Sons of the Wind so much I am going back for a week's
instruction in the fall. Interestingly, Silva identified many of the
same problem areas that my regular trainer regularly points out.
However, the emotional lift provided by the experience, coupled with the
thought that maybe, just maybe, I will be capable of doing this some
day, has given me a renewed enthusiasm for my weekly lessons. The question many people have asked me is, having ridden a Grand Prix-level horse and a Lusitano stallion at that, how does it feel riding my aged Thoroughbred gelding who, if I am generous, is at second level at best on his good days? Actually, it feels great. I don't have to wonder about what I am missing any more. Instead, I can focus on my horse and my riding and be encouraged that we still have a lot of room to grow together. Silva also explained that just because he asks the horse for a movement doesn't mean it will happen; the rider has to be in the proper position and relaxed enough to allow it to happen. Although I have never felt the need to have an outside party validate my current trainer's expertise, the fact I was able to ask for and receive these high level movements in my very first lesson on a highly-schooled horse is due, I know, to the excellent training I receive every week. |
" ... the
emotional lift provided by the experience, coupled with the thought that
maybe, just maybe, I will be capable of doing this some day, has given
me a renewed enthusiasm for my weekly lessons." |
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| Interested
in learning more about Vitor Silva and his Sons of the Wind Farm
Classical Dressage Riding School?
You can reach Vitor at 603-463-9952 or e-mail vsilva@lusitanofarm.com |
My goal is to learn more
about the basics of classical riding so I will be better able to help my
horse understand what I am asking and interfere less with what he is
giving, so our rides are more pleasant for us both. |
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