A conversation yesterday coupled with listening to a lot of @highperformance podcasts really nailed in the importance of ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ in our training for our ponies and ourselves.
Itโs soooooo easy to get absorbed in the fancy stuff, but when you speak to and listen to how the top ๐ professionals train youโll here a similar threadโฆ.focus on the basics, ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ!
Weโre given a structure as riders in the the โscales of trainingโ, but can we honestly say we always check in with these before trying the more challenging things?
โข Relaxation
โข Rhythm
โข Suppleness
โข Contact
โข Impulsion
โข Straightness
โข Collection
But if we do keep coming back to the beginning of this structure ๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฑ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ผ๐ง, ๐ซ๐ก๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐บ and ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ, the rest tend to follow with relative ease.
๐๐ฒ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง๐๐
Due to the ground conditions itโs been mainly walk work for us and this has played in beautifully with the need to focus on the basics, I am currently still recovering from back surgery and illness, and my driven brain would quite happily push and try and get going, but to be forced to take things slow Iโve had to put my focus somewhere else, so weโve spent a lot of time on the basics, really getting geeky in the nitty gritty of the my position along with Apples straightness and suppleness.
I know in the past I would have felt this wasnโt doing enough, that surely I needed to be moving faster to achieve the goals, but really what is anything if it doesnโt have a solid foundation??
And the basic fundamentals are just that our solid foundations.
๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐ฌ ๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ?
So what could be the riders scales of training or fundamental basics be?
โข Are we balanced?
โข Are we even?
โข Are we supple?
โข Are we clear with our request?
โข Are we consistent with what we do?
โข Are we quiet in our riding?
If we went into every ride with the idea of ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐บ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ฌ in both our pony & in us, how would that shape what we did?
I know with keeping these in the forefront of my mind it makes me really focus on the ๐ฌ๐ข๐บ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ things!
Let me know your thoughts๐๐ผ