David O'Connor Clinic @ Waredaca

Two summers ago, Austen, Allison and I met up as a group for the first time to audit David O'Connor's Expert Jumping Day Clinic at Waredaca Farm. 

Not only was that day meaningful as the blossoming of a great friendship with those two lovely ladies, but I also learned a hella lot from the clinic. Like, so much good stuff. Seriously. So I didn't hesitate to jump at the opportunity to audit DOC at Waredaca again earlier this week. 

we got there early enough to watch (and jump crew for) a private with DOC and a local 2* rider. this was COOL. the biggest difference between this very experienced and advanced pair and the later groups (all training level or below) was the degree to which she could adjust the canter - particularly in compression. with this fence in particular, she faced it from a halt on a straight line - then cantered forward in an uber-compressed and collected bouncy canter to spring over.

DOC has clearly taught these lessons many, MANY times. His formulaic approach, lectures and exercises are very well practiced. Meaning - this clinic was almost identical to what I watched two years ago. And yet, my insights and takeaways have only increased with repetition. 

Plus, I heard it all anew this time now that I see things from Charlie's perspective vs Isabel's. 

My myriad notes from the day are documented below for posterity and future reference. However, I didn't note the stuff that was covered in the last DOC recap unless there was more detail to add this time around. So if you haven't read that previous post, I strongly recommend you do so now for context. 

introductions!

For me, a major takeaway was DOC's assertion that: The more disciplined you are the more your horse will like you, the calmer your horse will be.

In essence: there are rules to the game. But you have to tell the horse the rules. Otherwise things get really hard really quick. DOC hates when riders don't tell the horse what to do, then horse does something "wrong" and the rider gets mad. You have to tell the horse what to do. Always.

Like, "I'm going to trot over foot prints. I'm not just going to trot. I'm going to trot over those foot prints." That level of specificity, exactness. 

Even hacking on the buckle through fields. The rider must make the decision themselves to tell the horse where to go. The more the rider makes that decision, the calmer the horse will be bc he knows what to expect.

With OTTBs especially, from the beginning of their lives they are taught to give 110%. But we don't really want that. We maybe want 80%. We have to show them that. Give them boundaries. Give them rules. And then they think "Oh that was easy!" and will grow calmer over time.

i made a friend!

Anyway, basically everything boils down to DOC's four main rider responsibilities: Direction; Speed; Rhythm & Balance (quality of canter); and Timing. But predominantly, it was those first two that he drove home the most in this clinic. 

See the above about the exactness he calls for in even telling the horse where to put his feet. He said to be in a place where you feel like you're on a set of railroad tracks - including over the fence. That's direction. As Janet Foy would say, "Line of Travel is Sacred."

For speed, DOC keeps it real simple. Forward, average, slower: three different canters to play with. Not even talking "collection," just different canters. When you have these canters you've got something to work with.

He says that some people will say balance is most important thing. But if you're not pointed at the fence (direction), then what? And if you go 700m/s (speed) to a bounce I don't care how balanced you are, there's going to be a problem.

note our water bottles co-opted to stand in for "cone" duty lol

DOC's preferred exercise for establishing Direction & Speed is the same as last time: trotting and cantering around a circle as a group with two poles spaced about four strides apart, tho they're not exactly measured. 

Riders must RIDE exactly tho, creating a well-defined track around the entire circle, not just in between the two poles. And with the horse's head and neck straight in front. No bending. (As with last time, DOC was adamant that too many riders over-bend their horses to the inside when really they should be using more outside aids, almost to the hint of counter bend).

In describing the point of this exercises, DOC said that the problem riders have with courses is that everything happens so fast. We can do individual exercises and it all works. But then we put it all together and things fall apart. Why? People end up losing the things they know how to do. Bc things are happening too fast in their head.

i basically loved that bay on the left. so floaty. much ground cover.

But at this level we must make it simple, make it basic. If you can get that part correct then you can make it more complicated. What line am I on? How fast do I want to jump that fence? How quickly can you react to changes? If the horse is moving left or right how quickly are you reacting or fixing? If you can't do that you can't move on.

We should want reproduceable efforts, boring efforts. Do a line in 6. In 5. In 7. But boring. Every time. It takes a process of thinking this way - it's not just that "it works or it doesn't work." We must be able to reproduce the same ride again and again.

So DOC says to take discipline from the above poles on a circle exercise and extend it to everything you do. Straight line to the fence. Straight line after the fence. How wide should this line be? The width of a horse. Only one track where ever you go. Land in same canter you jump from.

How can you jump 8 fences on a line and in rhythm if you can't jump one? If you think about it you can fix it. But you've got to fix it. Otherwise courses become tougher. Pay attention to these details until they become instant.

red circle added for illustrative purposes

He moved the riders to a single vertical jumped on a straight line, and drew a circle drawn in the footing on the landing side of the fence (see pic above). Land in the circle.

He asked riders to count out loud in ascending order as they approached the fence. In a nice monotone, not getting high pitched. Voice should be more boring even as you get closer. Even if you're falling off (lol). This was especially true for the horses who were rushing fences.

If you're counting to the fence - notice what number you're on when the horse started rushing. Next time see if the horse starts rushing a little later. If he's not rushing til closer and closer to the fence you're helping to fix it. Keep practicing, telling the horse, "Hey. You don't need to run." But we also don't need to slow down if they're not running.

land in the circle!

If the horse is going 7,000 mph you need to be 1mph. Be in the zone. Gotta make sure that you stay the same stay the same stay the same bc you gotta teach him that it's ok. Every now and then you're going to have a really bad fence but that's ok bc you just come back and do it again. The rider must be responsible for telling the horse what speed to go.

Don't go slow and allow to speed up. Speed up and then slow down on the way to the fence. Then the horse realizes that it doesn't need to run, and then you can stay the same. Riders should not be looking to expand off the fence, you want to compress. Especially as you go up the levels (see the caption on the first photo of the 2* rider).

seriously tho, this dog was super cool haha

Another major tenet DOC wanted riders thinking about was the "WHAT" of their ride. If there was a problem, what was the problem? What are you trying to accomplish? Once you've identified the "what" (maybe it's that the horse is drifting, or was going to fast or slow -- see again, direction & speed), riders could then get into the HOW of correcting it. 

He says that everyone gets so lost in the "Hows" - all the "more leg" and "half halt outside" and "sit up" ideas etc etc, that they forget to fully identify the "Whats" first. But again, while you're at low fences, it really must be this simple.

also DOC was pretty much obsessed with this mare, and after commenting on her a couple times, finally encouraged the rider to breed her to some nice warmblood stallion. 

And it doesn't have to be dressagey mumbo jumbo. Go faster and go slower. Be straight. Help the horse to understand the jump not just run at fences. It's not going to all go away in one day. But it's a thought process for the rider, practicing this exactness so that it becomes ingrained habit. 

Tell the horse what to do, and tell the horse when they are doing well. 

Sounds so simple, right?