By Marietta Juliard
This article received first place in the 2024 GMO Newsletter Awards for first-person experience articles for GMOs with 175-499 members. It appeared in the December 2023 South Carolina Dressage and Combined Training Association newsletter, Tracking Up.
Tricked you! This is not really an article on shoulder ins. I just had to get your attention and hope you give this article, which is still very much related to dressage, a chance.
The real title is: Did Someone Say Obstacle Training? Get Out of the Twenty Meter Circle and Have Some Fun!
My well-bred mare Classy and I work hard – okay, maybe not that hard, but still, we do our best – on our dressage work. With our coach and the occasional show (shout out to the Middleton Schooling Shows, which are a treat for amateur riders like myself) we stay on track, and many of our rides are spent thinking about my inside leg and outside rein. However, the weather is slowly cooling down and the days have gotten shorter. Adult amateurs with full-time jobs like myself detest the time change in the Fall because it usually means less daylight riding time. As the sunlight slips away, so does my motivation to spend too much time in the saddle. For days like that, I turn to obstacle training: walking through noodles, over the wooden seesaw, the water pool and through a curtain of little flags.
“IT’S CLEAR THAT OBSTACLE TRAINING HAS PROVEN INVALUABLE FOR MY RELATIONSHIP WITH MY HORSE.”
All jokes aside, while dressage remains my primary discipline, it’s clear that obstacle training has proven invaluable for my relationship with my horse. Just the other day, when a HELICOPTER flew straight OVER us – and I was freaking out inside – Classy seemed to think nothing of it and just stood there quietly as if helicopters fly over us every day. Her training of trusting humans and the world we create kicked in. Or maybe I should have her ears checked.
My friend Faith Williams and her 15-year-old gelding, Trigger, have a harmonious relationship. Trigger, an American Cream draft (a very rare breed), and Faith can often be found on the obstacle course. Trigger wasn’t always this calm, though. “He was a handful when I got him ten years ago, which is why I got into natural horsemanship and ground work exercises,” says Faith. He certainly is a calm cucumber nowadays, but Faith continues to work on obstacle training. “You want to do everything you can on the ground because that translates into the saddle,” Faith says.
Catherine Plecenik (Cat), who owns her seven-year-old Trakehner mare Bug, agrees. “I’ll admit I always preferred riding to any kind of work on the ground. I felt like being in the saddle was ‘more fun.’ This year though, I’ve grown such an appreciation for in hand work! From long lining to having fun on the obstacle course at Rose Court, I’m having a blast with Bug on the ground. It’s so much fun to watch her personality and confidence grow, and the inhand work is so beneficial to her progress under saddle.”
Faith, Cat and I all board our horses at Rose Court Farms, and we are lucky that there are not just three arenas there, but also a nice little obstacle course as well as extensive trails.
We all know horses get started on the ground, no matter the discipline they end up specializing in. Dressage horses spend time being lunged and learn some of the movements in hand before giving it a try under saddle. Yet a lot of amateur riders spend most of their time in the saddle. It’s logical, because most of us have limited time and prefer to spend it riding. But even if your horse is already well trained, obstacle training can benefit your relationship. If your horse can walk over a tarp or through a line of noodles calmly, then surely, they can ride their dressage test without spooking at the flowers at the show! At the very least, doing obstacle work works to our benefit as riders as we realize what our horses are capable of.
“Games and groundwork can be a good way for horse owners to connect and bond with their horses,” says local trainer Amelia Main. “Not all work needs to be done from the saddle. Watching the horse move and react to your aids can also help measure their well being, such as irregular gait patterns or changes in their topline.”
How To Start
How you approach something new and how much time you take depends on the horse, but overall, it’s all about baby steps. “Whatever the obstacle is, whether it’s a noodle or a tarp or a ball, start in the arena on the ground with the lead rope,” Faith advices. “Bring the new object to the horse and let them put their nose on it. With Trigger, I give the verbal command and say ‘I want you to touch it,’ and he knows that means to put his nose on the object. He’s come to understand he can trust the object when I say that.”
A big hit at our barn is the wooden seesaw. I like to lead Classy over it as we walk from her pasture to the barn. Faith and Trigger are at a whole different level: they ride over it, halt on the middle part, and then Faith has Trigger move the seesaw without moving much herself. She leans forward a bit in the saddle, making him lean forward, and the seesaw goes down. Then she leans backward, Trigger following her movement, and the seesaw goes up. “You can fine tune any obstacle by being precise. This enhances the relationship. Trigger loves doing the seesaw!” Faith says.
One obstacle neither Classy nor Trigger appreciate is a small plastic pool. The main reason is probably that it constantly changes location around the barn and that it is sometimes filled with water and other times with balls. Faith and I, therefore, keep looking for the pool, and after a big snort, our ponies are usually reassured, at least in part.
“My advice to anyone wanting to spend more time on the ground would be to find a quality trainer,” Cat says. “It seems like [obstacle training] should be easy, but so much goes into how you’re handling your horse. Shout out to the amazing Amelia Main for giving Bug and I the confidence to have fun on the ground together and enjoy the journey!”
Places To Go
For those located around the Charleston area, here are a few suggestions of places you might consider visiting (in between shows, of course)! Rose Court Farms in Summerville is a privately owned barn where anyone is welcome to trailer in and use the trails or obstacle course for a $25 fee. Gibbes Farms in Saint Matthews, SC, has a large cross-country course and trails you can explore for $35. It is a favorite among the cross-country riders but is also fun to visit for anyone who would like to trot through their water jumps or work on their twenty-meter circles around the logs. For obstacle training, Almost Heaven Stables, run by Valeria Beard, in Warrenville, SC, has three major obstacle courses and many trails. They charge $30 for a day and you simply need to call ahead if you’d like to visit. Finally, for a trip to the beach, there is Hunting Island, where for $25 you can go any day between December and February.
What about you? Do you have a fun and challenging obstacle you’d like to share with us, or do you know of any fun farms and places to visit in South Carolina that you could share? Please send pictures and information to editor@scdcta.com! This magazine wants to hear more from you, the members!
A special thanks to Faith and Cat for sharing their thoughts, and to Mary Cutts for the pictures! Mary, her draft Mac and pony Half Pint can often be found having fun on the obstacle course and exploring the Nexton neighborhood that is right next to Rose Court Farms.
Great ideas