December 2009 Ask the Expert – Kathy Rowse

Q: What is the purpose of the “stretchy circle” and what are judges looking for? I know that the directives specify: quality of stretch over back, forward and downward into a light contact while maintaining balance and quality of trot. But why is it that some judges don't mind if my horse comes a little behind the vertical, yet others penalize me for it. How low should the poll be? Does it matter if there is slack in the reins, or if my horse gets on its forehand? Sincerely, Uber-Struggling

A: The Ideal Keep in mind that a stretchy circle must start by keeping the rhythm, tempo and balance that you have already established in your working trot. Frequently horses speed up, fall on the forehand and lose the inside bend. As the rider asks, the horse should lower and lengthen his neck, seeking the bit. We should see improved suspension and swinging in the back. The horse should maintain contact -- a loose or flopping rein is a tell-tale sign that the horse is not staying connected back to front. Think of the stretch in two ways – DOWN as well as OUT. Some horses go down with the neck but not out as they curl behind the connection. More often we see horses that lengthen their neck but do not go down, in fact bracing against the bit or with a loose rein but no connection.

As a judge, I don’t use the terminology “behind the vertical” for the stretch circle. If the horse goes so low that his nose is down near his knees, he must bring his nose slightly in or he will go too much on the forehand. This may cause him to look slightly behind the vertical, but if you rotate the picture up around his axis, then his poll would be the highest point. This differs greatly from the horse that ducks his nose to his chest and avoids the contact.

The Aids

How do you get this ideal stretch? Many riders become fussy with their hands, incorrectly trying to see-saw the head down, but this makes the horse stiffen rather than relax. Begin by mentally checking your horse’s balance, bend, suppleness and tempo in the working trot.

Ask for the stretch with a softly suppling inside rein and allow the stretch by following with the outside rein. Add a little inside leg at the start to encourage the horse to take a more active step into your allowing reins. Add a little outside leg if needed to keep your horse turning on the circle. Think of the stretch occurring by increments. Each soft response that you achieve, add a little more leg to encourage additional stretch. At all times the horse is responding to pulsing of the legs and the giving of the reins to stay round and down until the rider chooses to pick up the reins again and establish a working connection. The final part is to incrementally retrieve the reins while maintaining the increased swing in the back.

Exercises

To help riders understand this stretch, I ask them to make trot-walk-trot transitions while stretching on the circle. This helps the rider to understand that they can still make half halts while stretching and encourages the horse to step through during the up and down transitions. If your horse hollows his back and disengages his hind legs, then you still have some work to do to further enhance your horse’s basics.

Kathy Rowse began judging dressage in 1990, and received her USEF “S” license in 1999. She has earned her USDF Bronze, Silver and Gold medals and has coached her students to earn their own USDF medals. Kathy is based in Suffolk, VA where she and husband Mike Rowse run Silverleaf Farm, a dressage training facility. She currently trains and competes with her Swedish gelding, “Basie”. In their spare time, Kathy and Mike enjoy Ballroom Dancing. For more information, go to www.silverleaffarm.org.