Centered Riding Course Monteviot and Muirfield
Two Centered Riding Open courses were held in the Borders in September 2007.
Firstly a huge thank you to both groups for their wonderful hospitality and welcome to riders from out with RDA. Everyone remarked on the warm friendly atmosphere and both courses went a long way to breaking down barriers between RDA and other organisations. Finally people seemed to realise that there is not much difference between our riders and themselves!! We realised that in one way or another we all are handicapped by being trapped in bodies with habitual movement patterns.(even if we think they are normal!)
Lucile Bump the course tutor is just great; she possesses a quiet confidence that seems to go with people who really know their subject. Lucile was one of the first people taught by Sally Swift and to this day she is one of Sally’s greatest friends.
Centered Riding tends to attract people who are still searching for that elusive something to help them communicate better with the horse. The evaluation results prove that they appeared to have found some of the answers.
Centered Riding is about increasing body awareness and a favourite phrase of Sally’s is that when riding or in life one should put 75% attention on oneself and 25% on the horse or the task involved. It seems a crazy concept until you explore more deeply.
Centered riding courses always involve ground work as, without the horse, one can really concentrate on the effect that tensions in shoulders, hands, or indeed any part of the body, have on our bodies. There are many fun ground activities but all have a deeper meaning and help us to understand the messages we are transmitting to the horse. In nearly all situations where we become tense for instance our breathing gets shallower and our ability to follow the horse reduced. The best way to solve this is to first of all realise when it is happening and how often it happens!! Thus Sally Swift has four basic concepts Breathing, Soft Eyes, Centering and Building Blocks all of which contribute to grounding.
Even using these concepts when leading has a dramatic effect on the horse It is really so simple, but like many things in life it is the simple things which are difficult to implement well.
The afternoons are spent riding, translating what we have done on the ground to the riding situation. It was a joy to see the riders improve as they relaxed and allowed the horse to move them ; first you have to follow his movements in order to lead them. It is a communication of equals not a battle of wills!!
Lucile introduced the group to some different techniques for halting and turning which are easy to teach in RDA and result in strong but soft approach. There was so much for everyone to absorb and the interchange of ideas was stimulating.
In fact the courses were so successful that next year we are planning an Instructors Course to encourage more people to become involved in teaching Centered Riding thus spreading the word.
This will be the first Instructors Course in the UK so well done Scotland and RDA.