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USEA member Alison in Area VII (thanks for the report Alison!) was generous enough to share her take on what she experienced last Saturday evening, a small segment of the weekend-long clinic with Leslie Law.
Left: Even though this picture wasn’t taken at the clinic, if you don’t know what Leslie looks like, here you go: the Charming Bald Brit, looking jolly, fit, and handsome, as usual. Here Leslie poses with his equally dashing gelding All The Buzz, a talented 5-year-old who won the reserve championship last fall at the Spalding Labs USEA Young Event Horse Championships.
To read more about reigning Olympic gold medallist Leslie Law (and his new wife and fellow talented eventer Lesley…yes, two Lesley/ie’s for the price of one. Buy one, get one!) visit his website at http://www.leslielaweventing.com/
I arrived at Aspen Farms in Yelm (near Olympia, WA for those geographically challenged) after I got off work; it was just after 4pm and Leslie was schooling a horse that apparently had some bucking issues with its rider. I recognized the horse and thought the canter work he was performing was the best I’d ever seen him do. When he transitioned down to trot, the trot was fabulous! I’d say that was a good first impression. This was the end of the Novice section.
Soon the last lesson set of the day was under way. He methodically worked out everyone’s problems. Amazing to watch. Then the next fun part was his demonstration rides. First he got on my friend Maggie’s horse, Taps and showed off some dressage. Taps was a star! Leslie demonstrated what would happen when riding shoulder-in if you collapse your shoulder or twist it wrong or weight your seat incorrectly. It was amazing to see the same horse ridden correctly and incorrectly and watch the difference it makes.
Toward the end of his session on Taps I started warming up Dillon (who is living at Aspen Farms, in training to be sold). Dillon was fairly amazed to be being ridden after dark. I had led him over from the barn to the covered arena, which is a fair march in the dark! Of course the arena was fully lit and there was a group of people gathered around watching. He took it all in-stride. I must say I thought they provided a puny-sized mounting block… I am used to a 3 step block so I can easily slip my foot into the stirrup of my 17h steed. This was a one-step block and I just about had to bring my knee up to my face to get my foot in the stirrup and that is no mean feat for a woman my age. :-P . Dillon was his usual easy self to ride, for such a young horse he is immensely rideable; he took it all in quietly, didn’t even mind (too much) when the group gave Leslie a hearty round of clapping when he dismounted Taps. Dillon never missed a beat as Taps was led from the arena and now he was all alone in a bright arena surrounded by darkness. :-)
After learning just a little about his next mount Leslie was given a leg-up onto Dillon and they were off to work. Jumping! It started out with easy cross rails and as Dillon settled into the work, Leslie started showing us how he was affecting Dillon’s way of going by the release he used over the fence. At first Dillon could not handle a crest release, he just fell apart on landing and picked up speed as he galloped away due to his unbalance. But after a numerous times with the automatic release the horse was jumping really well and staying balanced on landing; then he tried the crest release again and Dillon did a better job of keeping himself together. It was completely amazing to watch Leslie work – the control he has over what his body is doing is just, well, amazing.
He rode Dillon through the same five stride line that the Beginner Novice group had just done. They got it in a long five, if they picked up their canter a little they got a nice five. A few of them got a chipped in six.
Except Dawn on her huge, recently off-the-track Thoroughbred went in an overly bouncy seven!
Dillon cruised down in an easy four, and it wasn’t long either! When Leslie got off he said “this is a lovely horse, with a nice soft mouth.” And there is me grinning ear to ear. :-)
I hope the weather was nice enough for them the following day to do some work in the huge outdoor sand arena where there are numerous cross country jumps intermingled among the show jumps.
