Due to the restrictions of the pandemic, that are in place in Ontario, it is not permissible for me to ride Biasini, or go inside the barn. But as you can see the outdoor arena allows for plenty of social distancing and I was able to watch my coach Belinda Trussell ride Biasini.
Belinda was riding Biasini in the snaffle bridle and when she rides him in the snaffle, she told me, she does not do the “tricks” she just works on self carriage( just as it sounds this means the horse carries himself). After the walk she moved on to rising trot where she had him in a slightly stretching frame. If he is allowed to stretch down, to put his head between his knees, it is extremely difficult to get him back up . So Belinda starts Biasini in a moderate stretch.
Then she moves on to the canter. She gradually brings him up in the canter till he is in a good working frame.
In the canter work Belinda does 10 meter circles, some leg yielding and shoulder fore. Throughout all this she is asking Biasini to be in self carriage. I know from my own experience riding Biasini that this is not so easy. He tends to get very strong and can pull like a freight train. However Belinda shows little evidence of this struggle in her riding. But I know that she is monitoring how he is and asking for a bit more of this, or a bit less of that, every second she is riding. Here is a short video of some of the canter.
Belinda also takes regular breaks in the work and brings Biasini back to walk and gives him a loose rein.
In the canter work there were no “tricks” but lots of work involving 10 meter circles, leg yielding and shoulder fore. During all of this she would ask Biasini to maintain his self carriage. This was, for me, a real lesson in executing the basics correctly!
Towards the end of the lesson Belinda did a really lovely trot and asked for a leg yield down the long side. She told me that the trot felt as good as it looked and what she was most pleased about was that he maintained his self carriage and was light in the hand throughout, including when she asked for the leg yield. Take a look at that trot work in this video.
Belinda is a very accomplished rider who has competed in two Olympic Games, four World Equestrian Games, the European Championships and the Pan American Games. So it is a privilege to watch her ride my horse. Belinda agrees with me that he is a very good horse! If you would like to know a bit more about Belinda there is an entertaining interview on Eurodressage. Here is a link. https://www.eurodressage.com/2020/05/01/corona-times-hit-run-belinda-trussell?fbclid=IwAR2fe30vGlReRFN-1shsblMJvSTQaHl_03B5hWK39AlOQQZF4daggjoBnfo
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