Riding up in Heaven

"Riding up in heaven" is a term I heard Walter Zettl say while giving a dressage lesson. He explained it to mean "look up, carry yourself like you are there, and with luck your horse is perfectly round and forward." I didn't know what that felt like, but hoped someday to experience it. I am a novice dressage arena rider. I had about two years of lessons, 6 months of which were on Maddy. When I changed barns last summer, sadly left behind my amazing teacher. I practice things I pick up at various expos, dressage books and dvds, and I try to remember things that Michelle taught me.

Maddy and I have been working on a Walter Zettl suggestion of warming up with walk trot transiitions and alternating with a fast/slow trot. It is really helping her get on the bit, round up, and stay forward. I have been loving the progress, but I had no idea what I was about to get.

I started today with some liberty work in the round pen. Maddy was having fun doing her figure 8 patterns and rolling barrels with her knees. Her favorite thing. I would love to see a barrel racer take this horse into competition. She would make a beeline for the first barrel, promptly knock it over and proceed to roll it across the arena with her ears flopped out to the side. It is so funny to watch.

Anyway, I still had some time to tack up and do some arena work. We started out with Walter's coaching in my head. All of a sudden I had this amazing horse underneath me. She was so forward and round, I felt like I was floating in my posts. I yelled "I have a dressage horse!" "Maddy...this is dressage!" Today I rode up in heaven....and it was amazing. Thank you Walter...thank you Maddy. I am a very proud horse owner today.

Walter Zettl

I feel so honored to have met WAZ, otherwise known as Walter Zettl, one of the world's most revered masters of classical dressage. He has joined with the Parellis to bridge the gap between natural horsemanship and dressage. For me going through the Parelli program, I went from a loose rein hackamore and then to bridle, but there wasn't a lot of teaching about contact and collection. I was studying Parelli and taking dressage and the two seemed a bit at odds sometimes. I was torn between my loose rein riding to getting her on the bit. So I am thrilled that they are addressing the hole and have added Walter to the staff. While working the event, we had to pass behind the main table where Linda, Walter, and the soundguy sat. On my way back in from a water break, I go to pass Walter, and he just put his arm around my shoulder and asked "Well how are you doing today?" I thought that was so sweet. He just smiled the whole weekend, chatting away, and talking to everyone who had questions. When I talked to him, I got a sense of his total understanding and compassion for the horse. So much so, sometimes his eyes teared up in the middle of a good story. Horses do that to me too. I am watching his DVD series, "A Matter of Trust." It is filling in a lot of holes for me about dressage. I am somewhat a "newbie." I have been taking lessons for a little over 2 years and have never competed. Maybe someday, but for now I am absorbing what I can and feel I have found a great resource in Walter. At the Parelli Celebration, he gave Linda a lesson. His timing is so impeccable, and he was so great at conveying what Linda needed to do to reach the limit, but not go over the limit. He grew younger as his voice carried commands to his student. I felt like I was watching a bit of history. After the lesson, everyone in the arena was on their feet, giving a standing ovation. One phrase he says that I like, "Now ride up in heaven," meaning look up and carry yourself like you are there. I can't express enough to everyone out there, if you ever get a chance to see him at a clinic, go do it. There are few like him in the horse world and I am sure he will leave the same impression that he left on me...."I am in the presence of greatness."