Bump
I wanted to bump this thread up in order to maintain the exchange of information. Many of us are stuck between “normal” rider and therapeutic, so we need to keep ideas flowing to help each other out. There aren’t many, if any, places that advertise trainers for the NQR. In my area, trainers for sound riders are abundant and there are several therapeutic centers. It seems as though we are caught in a relatively untouched area. Let’s keep this thread going!
check the “Clinic on a borrowed horse” thread
We migrated over to Ellie and Werther’s thread, to network about loaner horses. Now we are back. Nevertime and Piaffing are passing great info. Stay tuned for the next exciting installment!
For those that are interested in becoming classified there will be a CPEDI in May of 2010 at Windreach Farm in Ontario.
Piaffing
Piaffing,
I need your thoughts. Pease P.M. me
Piaffing
Piaffing, I sent you an email.
Borrowed horses
I’m headed to the borrowed horse thread. I think I have created a monster…ME!!! I never thought there would be so many riders in a position similar to mine. While I wish so many people didn’t have to suffer from a lack of normalcy, I am glad we are able to come together on COTH.
But it goes beyond that. Whatever skills you acquire, and ways you have to adjust to make things work - that can help everyone. When I broke my hand and was in a cast from fingertip to elbow, I used my elbows to drive my car - which I learned from my post doc at the time, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis (and her wrists are fused). But even so - sometimes it is just a way of thinking about something, approaching it form a different angle. So I think this is an incredible opportunity to share, and inspire.
lack of normalcy??
… and all this time, I thought no one was normal because there is no such thing. What a boring place the world would be if there were, no?
I’m just glad a bunch of us have found people to swap stores, tips/tricks, etc with on here; it does make one feel much less alone. I’ll never forget the (rather odd but comforting) feeling of belonging when I did my first Para show (I was probably 12, riding against 30-40+yr old adults, haha) as compared to the feeling of sticking out like a sore thumb in open h/j eq. (which I know I didn’t, I just didn’t have lower leg control).
Mercifully, my horses always seemed to make up in the open performance classes what I lacked in the eq, which kept me showing mostly hunters til I was 14-ish. Then my Morgan decided dressage and obstacle trail were his calling, and we set about the Para dressage scene full-tilt boogie. Good times.
Keep me in the loop, you guys; I would love to get back to that again… and thanks for such a great thread 
KLS. Welcome!
KLS,
Thanks for the vote of confidence! We need your thoughts, please. You have ridden para, so you know more about it. Please share with us. It is so much more fun to ask you than have to re-invent the wheel. although we are a creative bunch, I must say!
So tell us about your experiences. Personally I want to know if you needed a special saddle, and if so, who was the saddler and did you like the saddle?
[QUOTE=Ellie&Werther;4284339]
My Mom won the PVDA Debbie McDonald Clinic for me. We are going to have a two day clinic in Minnesota. We are still working on dates, right now we are thinking November during the week. Holly Bergay has expressed interest in attending, I’m riding of course, and my trainer who is not a para rider has a spot. With the exception of my trainer we want all riders to be classified as para riders, we are not charing any fees for para riders and we are going to donate the auditor proceeds to the US Para Dressage Team.[/QUOTE]
Hey that’s a name I know! Holly is amazing. I knew her when she was showing her Arabian gelding. She is remarkable!
KLS, thank you for joining us. Please share your para experiences. This is a great place for people with physical obstacles to join forces and help each other.
looong, but you asked for it!
It’s kind of odd to be the “expert” on this since I haven’t shown much since the mid- 90’s (college and all that, ya know) but I’ll try to give you all an encapsulated version of my experiences.
First, I do have a few posts in this thread with a bit of my backstory. In short, I have spastic diplegic cerebral palsy that effects my legs much more than my arms (though I’ll never be the world’s fastest typist, or a concert pianist). I grew up with horses, and was heavily involved in almost all aspects of the Maryland 4-H horse program… in fact, it was one of the State program/contest directors that introduced me to the whole idea of para-equestrian competition. (He was also the leader of a therapeutic riding program the 4-Hers in his county helped run).
I, of course, had absolutely no idea the level of competition awaiting me, and my county-association-showing self *may * have been a tad cocky. After having my newbie butt solidly kicked in dressage (a W/T test with 10m trot circles and 4-loop serpentines—ack!–on a saintly QH pony who wanted to know when something might be happening, ho hum), I had some redemption in my Eq class, coming in 3rd of (?)9, but not before I lost 2nd by not realizing the difference between my h/j figure 8 and the dressage-style ones (with bend and round circles, LOL) the judge was looking for. Quite the learning curve that day.
As far as tack etc, I tend to prefer a moderately deep seat with substantial knee rolls (though when I switched from my Collegiate Event to a Wintec Pro Classic, the thigh blocks suited me fine), and am of the peacock safety stirrup persuasion. The only other things gear-wise are that I tend to use a breastplate (a holdover from riding little-to-no-withers types, and very handy as the occasional grab-strap for me), and the wedged stirrup pads that are in my irons “backwards” than most— keeping the high side close to the saddle and the low side at the outside of my foot keeps me in contact with the stirrups, and I hear “ouch, my ankles” from anyone else who uses my saddle for an extended period. I’m also never far from an 18-20 inch jumping bat, which I can use as a “gear shifter” if the horse I’m on expects leg aids I can’t give (which, other than kicking and nudging, is all but impossible with the leg braces I wear).
Which brings me to the fact that I am eternally grateful that QH pony was western in a former life; she taught me how to use my seat, weight shifts, and everything BUT my lower leg to ride her…. and that’s also how I started my Morgan. He needed to be able to tolerate leg being there with others on him, but still do what I needed, my way. He wasn’t trained with “custom cues,” per se, but he did require a feeling, accurate ride. (I’ll never forget putting someone up one day so I could watch him go, and hearing, “Wow, I don’t know how you do it! He’s got such a hard mouth! Whereupon I burst out laughing (you could use literally tickle the reins and he’d listen) and proceeded to teach this person how to look up, turn her body, and shift her weight to turn the horse). It was only then that I realized not everyone learns this…
Skipping large periods of time…… Yes, there are politics in para dressage, just as every other USEF division, and much of it seems to be financial. When I started showing para stuff more seriously (and may have had a serious shot at the long list for Atlanta in ’96), you still rode borrowed horses for international competitions, and sometimes nationally, depending on location. Good coaching/training was readily available, and it wasn’t unusual for it to come from my own competitors. I think we all decided to level the playing field as much as possible to push each other and make for better competition overall.
Having been out of the loop now for quite awhile, I’m amazed and rather intimidated by the amount of money para riders are having to front to do this on the international level. It seems to have gone from having the use of a solid 2nd-3rd level horse and being judged with accounting for riding a strange horse for a short period of time, to needing to purchase an FEI-quality horse, and that makes me wonder if the playing field isn’t wholly out of whack again.
As others have said, the folks at USEF Para are great to deal with. They will try their best to answer any questions you can articulate, or they’ll track down someone who can help you answer it. Someone mentioned Hope Hand a while back— super, super rider, and a great lady, even if she did beat my pants off every time.
OK, I’ve definitely rambled enough—time for me to switch to more Q&A mode—ask away!
Hey KLS!
What grade of para did you show in?
I wasn’t classifed at the time, and the system was being re-tweaked, but I’d venture that I was showing classes that were equivalent to Grade 3.
I’m classifed as Grade III, working hard to get to show that level. Got my butt kicked on Training 3 and 4 this weekend. I met Hope Hand when I was classified at the national championships this spring, she is a very nice lady. Also, another question: what is your disability? I have CP, right now i’m struggling to develop enough of a looseness to get my horse more consistently sharp to the aids.
I have CP too, much more involved in legs than arms (technically spastic diplegia)… never, though, did i have a problem with getting my horse sharp to my aids. In my case with that particular horse, it was more about getting the aids “exactly right” so that i got what I had asked for; horse was very sharp, and would routinely do what he thought you wanted if it wasn’t clear enough for him to understand.
In fact, he nearly got us eliminated from his first test when he mistook the 10m trot circle at B for a hunter courtesy circle, and was all too happy to jump out at K/E. Luckily he only got 3 hooves off the ground before I turned him around my leg… but I think my test sheet had a 4 and “deep in corner!” there
[QUOTE=KLS;4329439]
I have CP too, much more involved in legs than arms (technically spastic diplegia)… never, though, did i have a problem with getting my horse sharp to my aids. In my case with that particular horse, it was more about getting the aids “exactly right” so that i got what I had asked for; horse was very sharp, and would routinely do what he thought you wanted if it wasn’t clear enough for him to understand.
In fact, he nearly got us eliminated from his first test when he mistook the 10m trot circle at B for a hunter courtesy circle, and was all too happy to jump out at K/E. Luckily he only got 3 hooves off the ground before I turned him around my leg… but I think my test sheet had a 4 and “deep in corner!” there :)[/QUOTE]
Our stories seem similar. I’m 23 and just made the switch from hunters to dressage this winter. My new horse is very quiet and I struggle a lot with impulsion, my CP is spastic and affects my left leg and my left hand to a lesser degree. What helped you to learn to get your aids exactly right? I’ve been working on the lunge and doing lots of transitions, but I’ve been struggling a lot lately on how to get enough and then just allow.
Why an FEI horse for a 2-3 level test?
Newbie question: Why an FEI horse for 2-3rd level test? What makes the difference that requires it? If the horse is going in a higher level frame than 2-3, wouldn’t that count against the ride? Are higher level movements used in the freestyle or bonus points for tougher combinations?
I’m 30 (eek! i’m old, LOL)…
As for learning to the aids exactly right, honestly it was mostly trial and error. My horse was not the sort to be happy on the lunge with me on his back, though he may have acquiesced a few times.
This might sound weird, but as far as “concentrating and sttruggling to get it right,” I’ve found over the years that the harder i actually concentrate/fixate on something, the more my spasticity kicks and and ruins things, especially if I’m aiming for relaxation.
I finally discovered that it pays not to concentrate, per se, just “think” about what you want your body (or the horse) to do for a moment or two, almost as if you expect the horse to read your mind. The horse can sense your energy field, and that’s a more unadulterated form of communication than trying to fight with your body to make things work; plus, by just envisioning what you want, you give your own scrambled neurons a chance to catch up and figure things out, rather than be forced.to do something.
If that makes no sense to you, I apologize. A series of injuries in college sent me to the doorsteps of 2 PT’s, one of whom is also a yogi, and the other of whom does researh in energy work… it’s all rather holistic. ou might want to (re?) read Centered Riding, a lot of the images concepts and analogies might help.
[QUOTE=KLS;4329479]
This might sound weird, but as far as “concentrating and sttruggling to get it right,” I’ve found over the years that the harder i actually concentrate/fixate on something, the more my spasticity kicks and and ruins things, especially if I’m aiming for relaxation.[/QUOTE]
Oddly, while I’ve never really dealt much with CP (I was diagnosed very young with a very mild case of it, to the point where it doesn’t typically show up in day-to-day activities) this really resonates with me, because it is EXACTLY when I have troubles - if I’m trying to hold something very steady or otherwise concentrating on holding a specific body position, it almost always triggers shakes/tremors. (For example, it took me forever to learn to balance on one leg, because thinking about it would make my weight-bearing leg start shaking and then I’d over-correct. Likewise now I’m in film, the more I think about holding a camera steady, the more my hand shakes.)
I agree with your comment about Centered Riding - if you can find a visualization trick similar to those used in CR, it often helps a lot. (Like with standing on one foot, I do much better if I think about my weight going down through my leg and foot and spreading out into the ground like tree roots than if I think ‘okay, I am going to stand on one foot now. I am standing on one foot.’) Just keep in mind that the exact thing you need to visualize to make whatever it is work may not be what is suggested in the book - be creative and go with what works for you.
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