things you can do in response to the Rollkur/blue tongue

I've written to the FEI voicing my concerns and requesting action on their part. But as we know, that in itself will be a very small part of addressing this issue.

The discussion on how to respond is still ongoing on the classical dressage list. Dr. Thomas Ritter, who I've quoted here before, offered a very well-put perspective on the many things we can do:



That's exactly right. This kind of riding is rampant today. Patrick Kittel is by no means extreme or unusual. The problem is much more pervasive and systemic than one rider or a handful of riders. You can see it to varying degrees at every show, and these riders are routinely rewarded at the highest international levels, which is why it became so widespread in the first place. Somebody just happened to capture this on film and put it on youtube.

The reason why it's so hard to make an impact is because many of the people you complain to are using the exact same techniques. It's like trying to clean up a corrupt government or police force where everyone you turn to for help is corrupt and working for the other side, too.

Persistence is probably the only thing that will work in the long run. It will have to be a multi-pronged approach. It's good to write protest letters and e-mails to the FEI and all the national federations. It's important to support Gerd Heuschmann, the Xenophon society, Allege Ideal, and other individuals and organizations like them. It's important to educate riders, trainers, and judges.

Clients have to boycott trainers and judges who practice, teach, or condone Rollkur. If you are a competitor, don't ride for judges of whom you know that they are rewarding this kind of riding.

Trainers have to educate their clients about physiologically correct riding. Authors have to write books and articles that explain correct riding, and take a stand against Rollkur. Good riders have to demonstrate correct riding in practice.

Everybody can raise the issue at USDF conventions and other events that are put on by the establishment.

Trainers who go through a certification process can raise the issue with the teachers and examiners - at the risk of failing their exam.

Vote people into office in the national organizations who are anti Rollkur.

Ultimately, the only thing that will shut Rollkur down is if it doesn't bring money or fame any more. This is where judges and clients play a very important role. If horses that are short in the neck and on the forehand are consistently placed last, riders will abandon this technique very quickly.

If clients consistently take their money to riders who teach physiologically, biomechanically correct riding, and consistently avoid riders who ride their horses deep, with a short neck, and a high croup, then the Rollkur riders will either have to reeducate themselves, or they will not survive.

When I started to take my first riding lessons in the 70s, we were taught that having the horse behind the vertical was the greater evil than having him above the bit, and that correcting a horse that's behind the bit is more difficult than correcting one that's above the bit. This mindset has to be rediscovered.


(end of quote, posted here with permission)




Someone else on the list suggested that we boycott companies who sponsor upper level riders who consistently employ these abusive techniques. Writing them to let them know WHY you aren't buying their product gives them information. Enclosing a copy of a receipt for the product you did buy from another company who does not sponsor or endorse such riders gives them even more information.

If you go to the website for the WEG games in 2010 in Kentucky, you can find a list of sponsors for those games. Start now and let them know you will not support the games OR the sponsors if this kind of riding is allowed in warm-up, competition, and particularly rewarded with ribbons.

Some people are talking on COTH about wearing white armbands with the "no Rollkur" symbol. Others are talking about utilizing a "stand up and turn your back" to competitors who utilize these techniques.

I feel that going to the stewards and officials is often ineffective. What I personally intend to do if I see such abuse is to call 911 and treat it as an animal abuse issue. Which is actually what it is. The FEI has no jurisdiction over local law enforcement if an animal is being abused.

Someone from the classical dressage list has contacted the Dutch authorities (where the competition in the aforementioned video took place) and reported the abuse. She has received a response that the situation is being investigated.

Any one of us alone can probably not effect widespread change. But if we all report what we personally see, at least the FEI will have to deal with a swell of complaints, and local law enforcement will be activated.

hideous video of World cup warm-up abuse

http://www.youtube.com/user/eponatv#p/u/


This is so horrible I couldn't bear to put it here on my blog. Please if you watch it and are as horrified as I am, write/call the FEI and protest this abuse.

back on retreat

After a nice visit at home, and a great ride on the Big Bay, I'm back on retreat.

I found a wonderful set of curb reins that match my bridle, and although I'm not using them for a double bridle, they're perfect for my small hands/fingers. While home I put them on Keil's bridle and he and I had a nice ride on a gorgeous autumn day.

Interestingly, he went into his power trot mode almost immediately. I seemed to have more contact with these reins, but it was a finer contact, if that makes sense, and his response was to go to the bit and really use his body. It was nice.

The other really sweet thing was Rafer Johnson, who joined us in the barn aisle for grooming and tacking up, went with us into the arena, came back out when we were done, and stood with Keil Bay while I got his handful of oats. Who could resist? Rafer got a few too.

Then the two of them sauntered out to the barnyard for some relaxation with the round bale.

Today was productive. Although I did discover that my very ancient iBook has finally lost its ability to get online, at least wirelessly. My friend and writing colleague Dawn has come to the rescue with her "netbook" - so I'm out on the upstairs veranda, accompanied by some night creatures and their songs, typing away. This little netbook has the best reception of anything I've seen.

I couldn't resist typing a blog post with it.

back to the magic

If you click on the above photo, you'll get a good idea of what it feels like (to me, now) to be writing a middle grade novel. I'm trying to create something just like this bejeweled web.

Because of a scheduling glitch (that we knew about before we went) we writers had to clear out of the mansion for 24 hours yesterday. I had 50 pages in hand of the work in progress, and was happy to close up the laptop shop, drive home for a mid-retreat visit with husband, kids, and menagerie.

I'll head back to the mansion later today, with my 50 pages marked up by my daughter, who I am discovering is the very best critic for a middle grade book. She knows the genre. And she is just enough past the genre to be truly objective. Maybe this is why it's taken me until now to write it! It's perfect timing to get excellent advice from a young reader.

Meanwhile, there are two cats curled up on my bed, a snoring Corgi-girl lying behind me, and out the window a painted pony eats hay in the front field.

Not to mention the trees have changed costumes since I left - we're moving further into fall.

(thanks to husband for his photo - from a recent photo-adventure in the mountains)

more on retreat, with more magic

I've gotten so much done since arriving on Friday afternoon. It feels possible that I'll get an entire first draft done this week. We'll see.

As usual, the magic mansion seems to attract magic.

Yesterday one of my writer companions got me to come out to the barn - as she was walking past she realized a horse was loose. So I went down to help out.

The horse was a huge, glossy black Hungarian driving horse, one of four who are here being trained to compete in next year's WEG competition.

He had unlatched his stall door and taken a break. Fortunately, the owner/trainer happened to drive up right then and was able to get the horse back into his stall. These four are gorgeous. I'm sure I'll see them in harness, driving, more than once this week.

We had our cocktail and critique last night. As usual, it's wonderfully inspiring to hear other writers read what they're working on. I'm a bit superstitious about reading from very new material that's still in progress, so I didn't read. But even thinking about reading it can be helpful, and today I had a wonderful scene that popped out of nowhere, except that of course it WASN'T nowhere - it was out of the collective creative cauldron that gets simmering when you put writers together.

Right now I'm in a local coffee shop, that is also a gallery for local artists/crafters to sell their wares. It's like Etsy in person! And they're setting up to teach a class, which is actually more inspiration. It all churns into the creative mix. I love it.

And, in a moment of synchroncity, Dr. Thomas Ritter, who runs the Classical dressage list I'm on, sent through a post that really made me pause. He has given me permission to quote from it here. In a way, it speaks to what I'm writing about in the book I'm diving into this trip.

What makes riding so interesting and addictive is that it is a lot
of things. It is a craft. It is an art. It is a sport. It is also a
science. In some ways it is simply applied physics. It has
parallels with the practice of medicine. It is a healing art in the
sense of physical therapy. It is applied psychology. It also has an
intuitive, psychic side that must not be underestimated. It has
things in common with yoga, pilates, dance, and music. These
different aspects draw different types of people, and in order to
go to the top and fulfill one's potential, the rider has to try and
become as competent as possible in all these areas. Nobody can
possibly master them all, which is why especially the truly great
riders always emphasize that it takes more than one lifetime to
master dressage.

Focusing on one aspect to the exclusion of the others lets the
rider fall short of his or her potential. Somebody who sees riding
exclusively as a sport and wants nothing to do with the other
aspects will always remain on the surface. Somebody who sees it
only as an art and does not take the technical, craftsmanship side
or the athletic side seriously, will be held back by these
shortcomings. Someone who gets too wrapped up in the physics and
technique and never develops feel and intuition, will not get very
far, either, etc. The best riders I have met all combined a fairly
high competence level in most of these areas. They were all fit and
athletic, highly intuitive, with an excellent understanding of
psychology, biomechanics and conformation, and they had spent their
entire lifetime practicing the craftsmanship side until it had
become second nature, so that they were able to transcend technique
and leave the text book path behind when necessary in order to find
a practical solution to a problem through the application of
intuition and artistic creativity.

Thank you, Dr. Ritter. It makes so much sense to me, as a rider AND a writer.