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Dressage Tips - From the Experts
[back to main Dressage Tips page]
What do we really mean by “Collection,” and how do we get IT?
by Shannon Dueck
[Shannon Dueck is a contributing writer to the Sho Clothes Sho News monthly newsletter]
(Photo of Shannon Dueck by Sue Stickle)
I remember well my first attempts to ride collection when I was a teenager. I was moving up to the Medium level of dressage with one of my event horses (Medium is what Canada used to call 3rd and 4th Level) The level required collected trot and collected canter. So what did I do? I slowed down and made my horse take little steps. It’s easier to sit, that’s for sure! But there was no power, no engine, no swing, and try as I might my flying changes would not happen. Sure, there was something resembling shoulder in and half pass, but I thought the judges just didn’t like Thoroughbreds when they gave me 5’s and 6’s.
Turns out, I was completely wrong about what collection was. I took away all the forward that my horse had, and made his (completely ordinary) gaits even more ordinary and earthbound. You know what changed my life (well, my life as a dressage rider)? Watching videos of the top Grand Prix horses and riders in the world. And marveling at how forward their work was. Could this really be collected trot? It is truly amazing how much power and expression these top horses show in their gaits.
A good collected trot should feel like your horse has enough energy to spring into extended trot at any time. If you are riding a collected movement and don’t feel like you have a good extension at your beck and call, it’s not good collection. A really good example of what I am trying to say are the passage to extended trot transitions in the Grand Prix Special test - when done well it is breathtaking, and it’s obvious that there is enough power in the passage to instantly go into an uphill extension...
Riding forward and back in the trot and canter is the best way to develop really good collection in the gaits. I know you have all heard this in your lessons, but it truly is crucial. When your horse springs forward into a lengthening at your lightest aid, you can start to think about holding your horse more on the hindleg when asking for forward, and the result is the beginning of collection: The frame stays shorter and more uphill while the hindleg comes more underneath, and you start to transform pushing power into carrying power.
I like to teach my riders to think of riding the transition to medium for only two strides, and then sit quietly and balance the power they just added to the stride. If you ride this correctly, your horse will become bigger and more engaged in the collection instead of going all the way to medium. But if your horse ever feels like he would not go all the way to extension, the exercise loses effectiveness, and you must ride a full transition to a medium or lengthening at least once to get him back in front of the leg. This exercise will not work to develop good collection if you have to kick to convince your horse to add impulsion.
One other really important exercise to develop good collection is the shoulder-in, but that’s a whole new article to write!
The horse’s ability to collect and to maintain power has to be developed over years, it really is strength training for the athlete. Of course, some horses have more natural talent for collection than others, and if you want to ride Grand Prix it’s best to start with a horse with some natural talent! But every horse can get more expression and power in their collected work if you train them correctly, even my off the track Thoroughbred event horse eventually improved, as I began to learn what collection truly meant.
International Grand Prix trainer and competitor Shannon Dueck is a Pan Am Games Individual Silver Medalist, and has competed at both WEG and the World Cup Final. She has trained with Bert Rutten of the Netherlands, Kathy Connelly, Lars Peterson, Hubertus Schmidt, Robert Dover, and most recently, Wolfram Wittig while in Germany this past summer.
Interested in helping to promote Dressage in the U.S.? Consider donating to help Shannon return to Germany!
Shannon DueckShannon Dueck is working towards financing another training and competition tour in Europe for the summer of 2011. This is a giant step towards her goal of competing at the Olympics in 2012 with her mare Ayscha. Ms. Dueck recently established grant eligibility with the American Horse Trials Foundation. You can help Shannon and Ayscha realize their potential and goals by making a tax deductible donation to the AHTF. For more information please contact Shannon or the Foundation directly:
American Horse Trials Foundation, Inc.
221 Grove Cove Road
Centreville, MD, 21617
Phone: 443-262-9555
Email AHTF: ahtf@att.net
Donations are 100% tax deductible according to the IRS Code Section 501(c)(3). The American Horse Trials Foundation was established in 1987 to assist 3-Day Event Riders and Organizers in raising tax deductible financial support for national and international competition. In 1996 the Bylaws were revised so that the Foundation could assist riders competing in the related disciplines of dressage and show jumping.
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