Eole - march 26,2009

Small arena. Chilly weather. Coquin' owner, Eole and myself and coach. Today was a special for me because my old Master and his wife did me the honour of attending the lesson. They are about 80 years old. We have kept in contact ever since they ceased their activity about 15 years ago, but it was the first time they saw me on horseback for years. I felt intimidated, I must say, like a junior student!
Eole did very well. Warm and supple, he gave good flexions and low descentes d'encolure at walk. Then, we did the usual two-tracks work at walk, interspersed with halts on the middle line with 3 backward steps and forward again. My Master reminded me of playing more with my back and waist for halting, and to release the hands more quickly to get a really smooth halt. As he used to do in the old days, he took my hands and showed me the correct way by imposing them his own gesture. This is a way of teaching that is above everything else I guess, and that Baucher used to practise himself a lot. No words are necessary, and in line with Baucherism, this gives you the best possible approach to 'speaking' to the horse towards the correct 'position'. Unfortunately, I believe this refined way of teaching, 'tailor-made' so to speak has gone today. At trot, Eole was on the bit and speed variations as well as transitions were fine. The only comment was ' relevez lui la cafetiere', i.e. 'pull the coffee-pot higher' (the horse's head being the coffee pot...of course!), which is an old phrase of Saumur which revived a lot of memories...A half-halt remediated this at once. Collected work at trot was great. Eole probabaly gave me the best shoulder-ins so far (maybe he guessed it was an important day?!), with encolure haute, energetic but ample, slow and regular strides, and inside rein with its own weight only - lovely lipstick. My Master was happy with this. Leg yield with outside bend was also something he liked. He thinks that, whereas LY with straight back is at best useless, LY with outside bend is the mother of many two tracks exercises, first and foremost shoulder-in. He used to have me doing another exercise that is well prepared by this LY, i.e. altenating shoulder-in and travers on the large side, in such a way that the horse moves back and forth relative to a small circle that moves with him.
We then had the keynote of the session, i.e. canter work. They were interested to see how near Eole was from pirouette, so that I tried downward spirals till very small circles with haunches inside. Eole did beautifully on the right lead, with slow, calm collected canter, and fell one or two times into trot on the left lead, my fault of course (lack of inside leg). Then we did a lot of speed variations, from collected to 'galop moyen'. They liked the clear and quick changes in speed, and the downward smoothness of this series. My Master advised me to let my hands follow more freely Eole's mouth especially at higher speed canter. He also asked me to make sure that my eyesight is high and looking ahead and far away. This is a defect that I have to watch, i.e. tendency to look too much down, rather than horizontally. Age does not help here I am afraid.
They both found Eole quite handsome, lovely head, eyes, forehand. The found the hind a tat long. They liked also the size, the silky and fine coat which reminded them of Duchesse, a lovely liver chestnut mare that I enjoyed riding at their place for years.
We spent a couple of hours then discussing in the lounge. They both have ceased riding for several years know because of physical issues, but their interest and passion for Horsemanship is intact.
It has been a great day for me.