United States Eventing Association

Grid Pro Quo with Daniel Clasing

Don't let winter weather get you down. Use the off season as an opportunity to fine tune your riding! In this winter weekly web series, we will revive past Grid Pro Quo articles from our magazine, Eventing USA, to help you brainstorm ways to keep you and your horse in tip-top shape even if you only have access to an indoor arena. Click here to reach all our online Grid Pro Quo exercises.

Why:

At first glance this four jump exercise may seem overly simple. But over the years, it has become one of my favorite exercises for both my students and my own horses. The main reason why I keep using this exercise over and over again is because it is so versatile. You can use this for horses and riders just starting out at Beginner Novice all the way up to Advanced pairs.

From a practical standpoint, it is also an easy exercise for riders to set up at their home rings. Depending on the size of your ring, you can play with the angles between the fences to make your bending lines easier or harder. You can even set this up out in a field so that the terrain adds a little bit of difficulty. You’d be really surprised at how creative you can be with just four jumps!

How:

Before my students even approach their first pole on the ground, I like to accomplish a few things while warming up on the flat. Both of the straight lines in this exercise are meant to be ridden in five strides, which requires you to be adjustable. This means that while warming up I want my students to play with sending their horses forward and then bringing them back within all three gaits. Of course the degree of change within the gaits is dependent on the level of the horse and rider. For my Beginner Novice type students, I’m basically looking for them to be able to make a difference in their horse’s stride without it taking 100 strides to get there. If your horse is fighting you a bit, it is better to work it out in warm-up than wait until you have a jump in front of you! And this goes not just for the coming back aides, it is equally as important that your horse moves off your leg well.

Once my students are ready to start jumping, I will pick one of the oxers and have them stay on a 20-30 meter circle. The lower level students may start with simple poles on the ground or a cross rail, while the more experienced students will start over a low square oxer. While on the circle, I will have them play with their canters, alternating between collecting their canter and then opening it up. The key is to be able to approach a jump and be able to wait, and then be able to go forward on the approach to the same jump the next time through.

Daniel Clasing and Houston at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. USEA/Leslie Threlkeld Photo.

After the horses and riders are warmed up and easily popping over the warm up oxers, I will decide which line they should start with. For the lazier lower-level horse, or the more experienced upper-level horse, I will start with Exercise #1. For the quicker lower-level horse, or a greener horse, I will start with Exercise #2. For the purpose of this article, let’s assume we are working with the quieter horse and start with Exercise #1. Regardless of which exercise I start with, I will always set the jumps to a little below the competition height of the pair that I’m teaching. Once my students have successfully negotiated the exercise a few times, I will raise the jumps up to the height that they are currently competing at.

For Exercise #1, I am looking for my students to have that more open canter that we practiced in warm up. I will want them to have a little lighter seat, while being careful to not lean forward. This lighter seat will simply allow their horses to canter on a bit more of a freer stride. I am looking for them to be able to get five, even strides. This is very important, as it is counterproductive to get the five strides because of a sharp correction in the middle of the line. I want them to be able to get the striding because they have set their horse up for success by establishing a good, steady rhythm on their approach to the vertical and then keeping that rhythm to the oxer. Once they are able to do this, we move on to something else.

Exercise #2 is six feet shorter than a standard five-stride line. So for this exercise, I will want my students to go back to their collected canter that they practiced in warm up. I will want my students to sit a little closer to the saddle so that they are able to influence their horse a bit more. I will often tell them to visualize their dressage position, as I want them to be staying taller than they often think they need to be. Even though this line is shorter than the first, I am still looking for them to accomplish it in five, even strides. Again, if they are able to set their horses up for success by establishing the appropriate canter well before the vertical, they should be able to accomplish this easily.

If my student is on a speedier type horse, I will simply have them start their jump school off by trotting the vertical of Exercise #2, and then concentrate on keeping a soft rein to the oxer. The shorter distance will often naturally influence the horse to stay quiet between the fences. If the horse is pretty insistent on rushing, I will carry this idea over to Exercise #1 by having them trot into the vertical, land in a quiet canter and then come back to the trot for the oxer. Depending on how persistent the horse is about rushing, we may spend an entire jump school just repeating these exercises. Then we can come back the next day and try to move on to some of the bending lines.

For the students that have successfully negotiated both exercises and have shown the proper amount of adjustability, we will move on to some mini courses. There are endless possibilities, but to begin I will often have my students start with Exercise #1, and then collect while cantering left to Exercise #2 with the oxer as the first jump. Then they will continue to the right and jump the vertical of Exercise #1, and bend left to the oxer of Exercise #2. Finally, they will continue to the right, and jump the oxer of Exercise #1, and bend left to the vertical of Exercise #2. In an ideal world the bending lines would also be five strides, but this obviously depends on your arena and how you are able to set it up.

At all times, I am looking for my students to jump the middle of each jump. Especially for the less experienced pairs, I do not want them angling the jumps at all. Once we start with these mini courses, I will often lower the jumps back down for the first time or two through. Bending lines can be quite difficult, so I want the jumps to be at a height where my students are not worried about the height. And one thing I stress to my students when they are starting the mini courses is that it’s not going to be perfect the first time through. Bending lines require a lot of practice to get the right feel for it. So I never want them to get frustrated if it’s not perfect from the get go. A horse’s stride tends to shorten when in a turn. So while I am looking for my students to carry their collected canter throughout the exercise, I want them to feel like they are coming out of the turns and moving their horse forward to the jump. This is an exercise about learning feel, so I encourage my students to keep a positive attitude, as it will undoubtedly get better each time through.

If I’m teaching a more experienced pair – Preliminary or above – I will challenge them with some harder modifications to the courses. I will have them start with going forward through Exercise #1, and then collecting for Exercise #2 with the oxer first. From there I will have them keep this collected canter and turn back to Exercise #1, but expect them to do it in six strides. Remember that this makes the exercise another six feet shorter, relative to the distance. So you really need to have your horse on your aides and listening to you. From here they can play a little with the bending lines, and finally end with doing a direct line from the vertical of Exercise #1 to the oxer of Exercise #2. And then a direct line from the oxer of Exercise #1 to the vertical of Exercise #2.

About Daniel Clasing

Based in the heart of Area II eventing, Daniel operates his training and teaching business in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. His competitive career has taken him to Rolex Kentucky CCI4* twice, and has included wins at the Virginia CCI1* and Team Bronze at the NAJYRC CCI1*. Daniel prides himself in bringing horses along from the very beginning, including his two Advanced horses Yardley and Houston. He specializes in the correct development of young event horses, and instills these basics in all of his students as well. To learn more about Daniel, visit www.danielclasingeventing.com.