NCDCTA/Kathy Connelly Symposium

The NCDCTA/Kathy Connelly Symposium was organized and hosted by Lynn Leath at North Star Training Center in Chapel Hill, October 16-18. Donna Kelly spoke for all of the riders who participated when she said, “Leath needs a boat load of kudos for her effort in organizing this event... She donated her facility which is first rate…(she and her husband) Cliff opened their home up and hosted a dinner for the demo riders and Kathy Connelly Friday evening which was a great way to get to know each other.” Susie Wiedman added that co-chair Beth Ayers also “did a super job of organizing,” and expressed her hope that “NCDCTA continues to offer these events in the future (because it) was a valuable weekend for everyone.” Leath agrees and envisions an on-going series of “first-class learning opportunities for our membership” to fulfill the NCDCTA’s educational mission.

The only drawback of the event, noted Stephanie Crowder, was that “it just seemed the weekend was too short!” Nevertheless, as Jane Montague concluded, “After three days, you could see results.”

Consummate Teacher

Riders and auditors alike appreciated Connelly’s training style. Auditor Jennifer Mitchell observed, “Kathy seems to me to be the consummate teacher. Her goal was to show the rider the way to improve the horse's training (but) she was just as concerned that the auditors were learning…It inspired me to see someone who is just as comfortable coaching riders who are about to go down the centerline at a major international competition (as teaching amateurs) the mechanics of a half-halt or a correct hand-to-hand whip change.” And Connelly did it all with a touch of humor that kept riders and horses relaxed, and spectators smiling.

Auditor Michelle Karwoski was impressed with the way Connelly included the audience in the discussions, encouraging questions that might lead to a better understanding of issues. And Connelly didn’t slack off during the lunch breaks. On Sunday she gave a lecture and demonstration on how to use the piaffe whip. Connelly showed the group “how to become proficient with the whip before using it on the horse. Several auditors and riders took a shot at her exercise and every one of them showed great promise!” said Kelly. Connelly frequently reiterated that “everything is within every person's grasp, if they want it.” She talked about her own education – from watching the warm-up at Aachen to working with trainers throughout the world – so that she ultimately could train her own horses. Connelly stressed that teaching a horse to piaffe is not magic; anyone can do it – if you are willing to put in the time and effort to study and learn.

Equipment Check

At the beginning of the symposium, Connelly assessed each horse’s tack and fittings, and made suggestions to each rider. In some cases, she pulled an item out of her seemingly-bottomless equipment duffle and let the rider try it out. For example, adult amateur Lisa Gorsuch explained that her mare, Ruby “is a very powerful mover (who) runs through the half halts. (They) have had difficulty with achieving throughness with the more collected work at second level.” Connelly recommended a bit change – and offered up her Conrad Universal "Balkenhol" single-jointed snaffle with elevator rings. The bit exerts more pressure on the poll and is soft to the mouth – which allowed the 100-pound rider to more effectively haft halt her 1,400-pound horse, with a “man-sized” half halt. Connelly explained that the bit is not competition legal but would be helpful for schooling at home. (The schooling paid off in short order as Gorsuch and Ruby posted high scores in Lexington the following week.)

Position Check

Connelly often referred to the “Balance Box” (a term she invented), where “the rider’s vertical axis intersects with the horse’s horizontal axis…where your seat comes together with your hands. (We) need to stay in that place (and we) need to keep trying to align ourselves…and keep the horse coming up from behind and active.” She explained that the rider's balance is paramount to the horse's balance. “If you are in front of the Balance Box, then your horse will be on the forehand.”

Kelly said that Connelly “corrected every rider's position – to shorten our reins, sit deeper, lower our hands, elongate our spine and sit straighter and on the vertical, etc.” And as each rider made position adjustments, his or her balance improved and “the aids became more effective. The horse became less encumbered and freer to obey the aids. Transitions became crisper, cadence in the trot and canter became clearer, and piaffe/passage looked effortless.”

Training Principles

Connelly’s training principles resonated with riders:

1. She demonstrated great attention to detail and focus on the basics, noted Laura Pendleton. “At every level, the exercises were similar and all had the purpose of solidifying the training scale… She would not allow a pair to progress until the basics had been achieved.”
2. Patience was a priority. Crowder loved Connelly’s Zen-like koan: “We have all the time in the world… There are no shortcuts. The long way IS the short way, which isn't really that long."
3. Wiedman particularly appreciated Connelly’s emphasis on the importance of clear communication, “of being focused every second that you are riding because you are always communicating something to the horse and you want it to be the right communication!”

Green to Grand Prix

With each ride, from green to Grand Prix, Connelly asked riders three questions that set the tone for the session:

1. Is the horse in front of and quick off the leg?
Connelly explained that, “You never want to act like a princess, but you want to ride like one…you want to have to do as little as possible…use a light leg or a quick leg, not a strong leg.” So each time you ride, you must “test the battery to see if it has enough charge” (if the horse is electric to the leg). If not, then “turn the dial up with a double quick leg,” but not with a stronger leg.

2. Is the horse straight?
Connelly “is soft-spoken but tough and demanding,” said Gorsuch, “She nailed me on straightness. She wanted the horse in shoulder fore, with the inside hind traveling between the front feet.” This was the case for everyone, professionals and amateurs alike, across the levels. Connelly used a variety of exercises with each pair, incorporating counter-bending, renvers and travers on straight and bending lines, in all gaits and through the transitions, to supple and straighten the horses.

3. Is the horse through?
If you work with Kathy Connelly, don’t ever tell her that your horse “isn’t listening” to your half halts! Connelly repeatedly reminded her audience that, "A half halt is one half the halt…There are degrees of the half halt, from one to ten. There are times when a ten half halt is what the horse needs so that eventually you can get the job done with a one.” However, “the application (of the half halt) is a life-long experience…horses need it in different degrees…some are electric to the leg, some to the bridle.” They are all different, so no fixed rules apply. If your horse isn’t listening, you might “sometimes use a size seven or eight half halt a couple of times…so we can use a two or three the rest of the time…how long, how strong depends…what’s important is if the horse gets it.” Connelly explained, “The amount of half halt depends on what you are trying to achieve…If you go to someone’s house and ring the doorbell and it doesn’t work, but you look through the window and see they are sitting there in the living room, do you just give up, turn around and go home?” (The answer to that rhetorical question would be NO.) However, regardless of the degree and timing of your half halt, Connelly stressed that half-halts should be intermittent to give the horse time to react. We want to “warn them, not ambush them.”

Step-by-Step Half Halts

To clarify the half halt, Connelly described a four-step process:
1. Apply seat and leg aids, riding the horse to the bit.
2. Close the hand to stop the forward motion of the horse's energy momentarily and transfer more weight onto the hindquarters.
3. Soften – a critical step.
4. Repeat step one.
Kelly noted that Connelly “had riders at all levels apply the half halts on specific beats of the gaits and at intervals of every third stride…to maximize their use of their aids and half halts so that they worked less but produced better results.”

Train with Love

Throughout all the work, Connelly made it clear that the well-being of the horse was her first priority. She implored riders to “train with love,” and stressed the importance of praising the horse, building his confidence, and recognizing progress wherever it occurs. Tami Batts remarked on Connelly’s evident love for the horses, “We hope to always train…with the horse’s happiness and welfare at the forefront, but I think Kathy has a special knack for that.”

Connelly warned riders not to let their emotions or frustrations get in the way of training, but to “Snap out of it!” (Remember the scene from Moonstruck where Cher slaps Nicholas Cage?) “Don’t get emotional on the horse; don’t pull on his mouth; keep him light,” said Connelly.

She also urged riders to think from the horse’s perspective, on how it must feel to be repeatedly corrected and have your efforts go unappreciated: “Why should I show you my poetry when all you do is correct the spelling?” That is, we shouldn’t pick at every little thing. Instead, we need to praise our horses for the things they do well to give them confidence and encouragement. Only then will they become our partners.