Consistency!

“Trust is built with consistency.”

Lincoln Chafee

When I watch Belinda Trussell or her assistant trainer Lynsey Rowan ride my horse Biasini, I am always admiring how great Biasini looks and how they are able to do exercises, that I find so difficult, with apparent ease. I know they are professional riders who ride several horses a day and I am an older amateur rider who rides just one horse. But I also know that I could not get on Biasini and produce the same results or even come close. In the past couple of weeks I have been giving this some thought. What do they have that I don’t have apart from being a few decades younger? After giving this some thought I came to a realization. Consistency!

Their aids are always given consistently and in correct timing.Their legs and ankles and hands are consistently in the right position. The aids are not , in any way , haphazard. Every time they ask for say, a canter depart, the aid is applied quickly and consistently. For every half pass the aids are applied clearly and consistently. They may need to make it stronger on some occasions and lighter in others but the aid is given in a clear and consistent manner.

This means the horse can understand what they are being asked to do. There is no confusion. The horse can trust those clear aids. They know what they are being asked for and can respond with the right answer.

So where does this leave me? I have several more weeks ahead of watching Belinda and Lynsey and I can observe how they are applying the aids. I can ask them questions about this. I’m not sure when I will be back to riding myself. But when I do this consistency is something that will be at the forefront of my mind while I am riding.