Automatic lead changes

I'm missing something. Can somebody tell me why your child has to have a horse/pony that can do automatic lead changes?

Lead changes, yes. Automatic, no.

Now, if you don't know what I'm talking about, stick around anyway because lead changes are not really what this post is about.

If you're new, here's a fast and probably inaccurate description of an automatic lead change. Your child is jumping a horse show course. She starts off on the left lead to take the line of jumps down the right-hand side of the arena. When she comes to the curve at the end of the arena after the line of jumps, she needs to be on the left lead. She could have asked for this lead over the last jump before the curve, she could have asked for a flying lead change if the pony landed on the wrong lead or she could have smiled at the judge while her pony executed a perfect automatic flying lead change and kept on going. The third choice is what Show Moms are willing to pay for. If you want to know more, go to Wikipedia's Canter and scroll down to "Importance of Leads."

There is a really nice Horse Mom I know who just shipped in a new Extremely Fancy Pony she found at the national championships. She was telling the rest of us Horse Moms about him. She knows everything about him except whether or not he does automatic lead changes. If he doesn't do these, out he goes.

"If he's otherwise perfect, why don't you keep him?" I asked.

"Because if he doesn't do automatic lead changes 100 percent of the time,  he might mess up at one of the big shows," she said.

"But isn't the rider supposed to do something? (Like ride.)" I asked. She looked at me as if I had just passed gas and kept going with her story.

This coming year they're going to hire a professional rider to campaign the pony so that he will qualify for national championships. Then next year, they'll let their daughter ride him.

But I'm still stuck on the automatic lead change thing. "What if you want to counter-canter?" I ask. Counter-cantering is intentionally cantering on the wrong lead. It is seldom asked for but I have had to do it in competitions, and not just in dressage.

The Show Mom looked at me. “You almost never have to counter-canter.” True.

This woman is buying not only a fancy pony, but one that has been “programmed.” Like a Seeing Eye dog or other animal assistant, this pony must compensate for what the owner/rider cannot do.   

The justification for this is that well-balanced horses do this when galloping on their own in the field. The real reason is so that the child – and mother – can win. 

So, what this woman is buying is a pony that knows all the things her daughter does not. This makes no sense to me. I thought riding was a sport requiring skill, effort and knowledge. 

What will her daughter learn from all this? Several things, such as all she has to do to win is to show up. That for some reason, she is better than the other children (unless the other children’s parents have even more money). And that very little effort is required for success. 

Unlearning these lessons later in life will require much more than simply learning to ask for a lead change now.

My 95-year-old father said, “Why don’t they forget about the pony and just buy a trophy?” 

Later, when this child encounters a “real” horse, she may be disturbed and confused to find that, in spite of her many winnings, she really doesn’t know how to ride. And she may wonder that so many things in life require so much more effort than she knows how to give.

Or am I missing something? Am I just mean and jealous?

With my daughter, Lily, nothing comes without effort. Buddy jumps because she taught him, starting when she was only 11. He was a western pleasure horse. She’s had to develop a deep seat and legs because otherwise she gets bucked off. She’s learned to anticipate his detours from the plan by his body language, and subtly correct him before he takes action.

In other words, he’s teaching her how to ride as much as her teachers. Assuming she survives falling off regularly, frequent frustration and learning to lose gracefully, she’s going to be a real horsewoman.

Lily will be able to ride gifted but difficult high performance horses because she will have known challenges – and how to overcome them. The ribbons she does win will be entirely hers because she put in the hours and effort, six days a week. (Buddy gets Wednesdays off.) And she’s learning that if you really want something, you have to earn it.

And though Buddy is what they call A Lot of Horse and he can get really, really tall sometimes, she loves him. He is cute and funny, like so many Bad Boys. He’s a great pet and would come in the house if we’d let him. He’s not mean, just contrary and sometimes uncooperative when asked to perform.(He can also be very, very good.)

Lily is as ambitious as anyone. And however far she gets, she’ll have done it on her own. 

You can’t buy what Buddy is teaching her. 

Horse Moms of the World, what do you think?

Comments

[Jen]

"Assuming she survives falling off regularly, frequent frustration and learning to lose gracefully, she’s going to be a real horsewoman."

I think you hit it right on the nail with that statement. There are, sadly, those people who don't care about being horsemen(women) as evidenced by the amount of people who don't want to groom/take care of their own horse.

[Anne]

You're so right. Thanks for the affirmation/confirmation.

I wonder what attracts people to riding if they really aren't all that interested?

[Kathy C]

I couldn't agree with you more.

My oldest daughter is the rider she is today because of all the untrained horses she has had. The ones who bucked her off, or bolted, the ones who made her take that necessary step up to be a better horsewoman.

Even right now, with a horse in training who won't take his right lead all the time, she has to work hard to make him what she wants. Yes, we are having someone train him, but the trainer can only take him so far, the rest is up to her. He does the basics, she makes them a team. Or at least that's the hope!

Your doing the right thing, but I think you know that already!

[Melanippe]

Great post :)
It makes me think about the situation here in Italy. Unfortunately, here in Italy the moms (and daughters) you describe represent 90% of the horsey population; that's why I never had riding lessons when I was young (my parents simply didn't like the environment), and why I hate jumping. You find too much people (teachers, too) who thinks that's the horse the one who has to 'work', not the rider. A pity, isn't it?
Not to mention the decadence of today's teaching... this year we remember Federigo Caprilli's death, 100 years ago, and not a single horse teacher I met even taught his students about Caprilli. Ever wondered why Italy never shows up in top positions on international competitions? Now you know ;)
As for me, I'm going to learn western riding ;)

[Anne]

Melanippe,

Thanks for your comment. If that’s how 90 percent of the moms and daughters are, your parents were smart to keep you out of that atmosphere, although I think you can find people who want to buy their way into success in any sport or anything you do. (Maybe I would if I could afford it!)

So, you’re riding western! I love the idea of western riding in Italy. I definitely need to spend some time at your blog (once I get caught up with mine!)