Ecurie Henriquet

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I have just returned home following another 10 wonderful days of riding instruction from Michel and Catherine Henriquet in Autouillet, France (just outside Paris). This short course is another stop on my journey to improve my relationship and ability to communicate with horses through classical equitation. I first visited the Henriquets last year. A report on that visit can be found by clicking here. The week that I spent at Ecurie Henriquet last year was my first opportunity to see horses of all types working at advanced levels truly collected and in true lightness. The Henriquets represent the best of traditional French equitation following the principles laid out by François Robichon de la Guérinière and Nuno Oliveira in the Portuguese tradition. Michel Henriquet was also a student of René Bacharach who was a student of François Baucher. My visit last year was my first opportunity not only to see but to experience the differences, if any, that exist between the French and German or Austro-Hungarian (Spanish Riding School) schools of classical equitation.

These pages have not been authorized by the Henriquets. They are simply the impressions of someone passionate about classical equitation who has dedicated a considerable amount of time to theoretical pursuit and practice of classical equitation. Although I have had limited instruction with some of the most prominent personalities in classical dressage from around the world (eg. Egon von Neindorff, Walter Zettl, Charles de Kunffy, John Lassetter, etc.) I am not a professional and still consider myself a novice.

The Henriquets are the warmest and most welcoming people I have met, especially within the professional equestrian world. They enthusiastically welcome anyone that comes to their door expressing an interest in horses. It is their sincere desire to spread the word and educate people in classical and artistic equitation. During this visit I encountered students from Corsica, Belgium, Sweden, Israel and, of course, France. I am from Canada. The Henriquets have created an environment very conducive to learning, both the practical skills and theoretical background. Michel Henriquet is like a living classical dressage encyclopedia.

Michel is an extremely demanding, expressive and animated teacher. I suspect he intimidates and perhaps even alienates some of the people who come to ride with (for ?) him. He is completely confident. He doesn't mince words and his opinions are strongly expressed. Michel is the first to admit that he has less patience for remedial adult students than Catherine. He complains that adults often fail to make the changes he requests. However, he is enthusiastic and keen to teach anyone that really wants to learn. After all, it is not his job to tell riders everything they are doing right. He is quick to point out that he is not in the business to make friends. I heard him say at one point that his job is to tell the students everything they are doing wrong and how to fix it. The time he has with students is limited and there is a lot to accomplish!! The student's reward for good work is Michel's silence interrupted by "good" and the request for another exercise. Even after thirty years of daily instruction, Michel still has the occasional sharp comment for Catherine. At 78 years of age, Michel Henriquet is still extremely active and his mind is razor sharp. I watched him regularly carry on several conversations at once and never forget his place or his point in any of them.

When I visited the Henriquets last year, my command of the French language was extremely limited. Catherine Henriquet teaches in English but Michel only speaks French. My working knowledge of French served me fine in lessons but didn't allow me to process much of the theoretical material that Michel includes with all the lessons he teaches. Michel has A LOT to say so I spent a great deal of time between last September and this September at university, studying and practicing French at length so that I might benefit more from what he has to say. My study paid off. Michel works as hard to make sure the audience understands just as much as his student what he is teaching.

Since my visit last year, I have had time to practice and reflect on the differences between French classical dressage as practiced and promoted by the Henriquets and classical dressage in a rather more Germanic or Austro-Hungarian (Spanish Riding School, Vienna) tradition as was my previous experience. The more I understand French classical dressage, the more I realize it differs from Germanic and Austro-Hungarian classical dressage. I still believe the difference is primarily one of emphasis. The elements are all basically the same, however, the difference in emphasis profoundly alters the result. The difference is not insignificant.

During this visit it became apparent to me that the Henriquets priority is first and foremost riding the horse and only secondarily, the seat of the rider. Both are of extreme importance but with the Henriquets, the horse ALWAYS comes first. In the Spanish Riding School tradition the seat of the rider is the priority. Years are spent developing riders and their seats before they are allowed to influence horses. I believe this emphasis on the seat and perpetual elegance often times comes at the expense of the horse. It translates into rider stiffness. The Henriquets, however, insist that the rider use his body to serve the horse. Elegance goes out the window if the horse requires it just as Pluvinel stipulated in his instructions to the French King in 1626. Obviously, the objective is to reach a state where elegance never has to go out the window and that is regularly achieved by the Henriquets in amazingly short time.

A rider started at the Henriquets is mounted on a fully trained horse and the rider's hands are the first target. The rider is immediately taught how to control their hands -- their primary means of communication (NOT control) with the horse. The hands (and by extension, the arms) must shape, receive and limit but not block the action of the horse. The Henriquets don't simply pay lip service to lightness, they practice it and they teach it, piece by piece. The primary focus from day one with both their equine and their human students is lightness. Students are taught how to give and how to receive. (Students also receive lunge lessons concurrently to develop their seats.) It is pointed out frequently by Michel that while the movements of high school dressage may be completely natural for the horse, the movements required of the rider are completely artificial. Riders must immediately learn to do less with their hands and not more.

Michel stated that he encounters two kinds of students; those that take too much with their hands and those that give too much. Lightness is in between. The perfect balance between giving and taking. I asked him if one type of student was easier to improve than the other and he replied, "no."

Most riding schools rarely, if ever, address the hands except with comments like "release" and "give" and "lengthen" or "shorten" the reins. The student is told that hand riding is very bad. God forbid one should even mention doing something with one's hands! A rider that suggests he uses his hands to do something is accused of riding the horse from front to back instead of focusing on the hind parts of the horse and riding from back to front. We are told to improve our seat and the hands will take care of themselves. We are told that with a good seat, hands aren't even really necessary. However, the hands are at the forefront from the first moment that one gets on a horse. They are in constant connection with the mouth of the horse. It simply isn't logical to ignore them when forming and educating riders and suggest that improving the rider's legs will somehow magically make problems with the rider's hands go away. The Henriquets don't underestimate the value of the seat. One cannot have stable hands without a stable seat. The seat of the rider must be developed along with the hands. As I have said before, it comes down to a question of emphasis and priorities. For the Henriquets, lightness and the hands are the number one priority -- always.

Michel stressed the importance of theoretical knowledge. He said his foundation started with the books of Xenophon, Salomon de la Broue, Pluvinel and François Robichon de la Guérinière. He refers to la Guérinière constantly and also spoke frequently and positively about Nuno Oliveira and Alois Podhajsky. Michel complained about the current deterioration of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna (since the departure of Podhajsky) and he complained about the people claiming to be students of Nuno Oliveira that have not earned that right. He also complained about Saumur and the Cadre Noir. His praise for Baucher and Steinbrecht was limited but positive nevertheless. His list of authors and personalities to avoid was much longer and not something I will get into here! Michel remarked that there is a proliferation of books about riding being authored by people that are theoreticians and not accomplished riders, let alone, trainers of horses. Michel classes riders by the number of horses they have brought to Grand Prix level and beyond.

Michel stated that la Guérinière covers it all in his book. (The immense respect that Michel has for la Guérinière is quite evident when he mentions the name. I feel very much the same when I speak of Michel Henriquet!) Michel reports that la Guérinière says we must bend our horses to the left when travelling left (through corners and on circles), bend our horses right when travelling to the right and have them straight on straight lines. The question Michel has is why and no one can ever tell him why. The popular question seems to be, the question he has been getting for the last 25 years, with some asking and some telling, is why the letters are what they are in the dressage arena. He told us that he found some of the stories are amusing but all of them are irrelevant as far as he is concerned. He answers that the letters arrived at the turn of the twentieth century with competition. The letters have nothing to do with the old masters of classical equitation.

Michel was asked for his opinion about many of today's prominent riding personalities from around the world and in North America and the claims that they make, from both the competitive and classical world of dressage. His response mirrored my own sentiments based on what I have seen although he did open my eyes very much wider in some cases. The reality is, there are VERY FEW people in the world truly qualified and capable of correctly training horses and riders.

I was extremely happy to hear that Michel Henriquet has made arrangements with Prof. Hilda Nelson to have two of his books translated into English; "Gymnase et Dressage" (a technical manual of dressage) and "30 ans de notes et de correspondences" (a 30 year dairy of exchanges shared between Michel Henriquet and Nuno Oliveira). They are to be published in the USA next year by Ivan Bezugloff (Xenophon Press). Dr. Nelson is well qualified to do the translation as she has an extensive background in such work and is intimately familiar with the work of Catherine and Michel Henriquet as she has been visiting the Henriquets annually for lessons for several years now.

Ecurie Henriquet consists of two full size outdoor riding arenas and one enclosed indoor arena. The farm, number 37 on Route des Châteaux in Autouillet, is called Le Fief de la Panetière, was originally established in 1556. The Henriquets took up residence there in 1999. The buildings are laid out in a typical European style with a central courtyard and the human dwellings in close proximity to the stables. The buildings form a rectangular block around the courtyard with the housing for humans along one side, equine housing on two sides, and equipment and storage on the fourth. There is also additional stabling on the outside of the fourth side which faces the indoor arena. Since my visit last year, some of the horses have changed and the work on the arena has been completed. The mirrors are all installed and adjusted and the spectator seating area in finished.

The two Iberian yearling stallions from last year are now two year olds. They still live outside but they live in adjacent pastures now because their games have become too aggressive. One of the young stallions is the son of Orphée, Catherine's Olympic partner, and that is obvious from his appearance now. The Henriquets are very pleased with his development. Both young stallions will be started next year, as three year olds.

The Henriquets usually have three stable-hand/grooms employed at any given time as well as a grounds-keeper/maintenance person and a house-keeper. Typically, a groom spends six months or one year with the Henriquets. The grooms all have limited experience with horses prior to working for the Henriquets, usually within the formal French system. The grooms are completely responsible for all the horse's daily needs according to the schedule Catherine sets including mucking out, feeding, grooming, preparing the horses for lessons and riding, and turnout. The grooms also receive daily instruction on and off the lunge from both Henriquets on all manner of horses working at all levels. There were three grooms during my stay; Yannis is 18 years old and a student who has been working summer vacations with the Henriquets since he was 13. Michel is very pleased with Yannis as a rider. Yannis also had his own young horse at the Henriquet's - a warmblood, Dutch, I think. Yannis returned to home to school the day before I left. Florence is in her mid-20's and is from the south of France. Florence has been with the Henriquets for three months. Her contract runs for another three months. Yoann is from the Savoie region of France and has just started a one year contract with the Henriquets. He hopes to join the Republican Guard in France. One of the Henriquets boarders had made arrangements to work as a groom for the Henriquets for one month following the departure of Yannis.

When I arrived on Friday, Catherine had three of her four horses at a horse show in Germany; two trakehners, Isgard (a stallion) competing at Grand Prix level and Orlando competing at Intermediaire I, and a Portuguese Lusitano stallion, Poejo. At five years of age and after 18 months under saddle, this was Poejo's first time showing. He received a brilliant score of 69% competing at the level just below Prix St. George and first place in the class! Michel was beaming with pride as he reported this news to us and spoke confidently of future successes at international levels with this spectacular Iberian stallion whom he stated was the best horse he had ever seen. (Catherine was Champion of France with another Iberian stallion, Orphée, and also competed at the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992.) Poejo was a gift to the Henriquets from a Portuguese breeder to thank them for everything they have done to promote Iberian horses.

Poejo is the Henriquets' shining star at the moment (I think their heart really belongs to the Lusitanos) although both Michel and Catherine are very proud of and pleased with Isgard as well. Isgard's movement is spectacular but his temperament can be more difficult. He advertises his stallion status, often quite loudly, and this can be a distinct disadvantage when showing. They had the same problem with Orlando and he was gelded later in life because of it. The Henriquets didn't regard Orlando as important for reproductive purposes. However, Isgard will not be gelded because they believe Isgard is a superior equine specimen. Isgard also has a tendency to move his head more than necessary when ridden and because Catherine will not ride with anything but light reins, they are often penalized for that in the arena. Michel said there are two reasons horses make excessive or unnecessary movements with their heads; the rider has bad hands or there is not enough impulsion. Isgard is an exception to this rule. He moves his head without any apparent physical cause which makes the behaviour very difficult to deal with. Michel also talked about the fact that the FEI call for extended, medium and collected trots in their tests. He remarked that most competing horses don't show a difference between the medium and extended trots, and further that many FEI judges agree with him. He remarked that Orlando is a horse that does not show a difference but Isgard is capable of producing both medium and extended trots.

Catherine was riding flying changes every stride on Isgard. They were lovely and Michel agreed but he asked her to open them up a bit more which she did. The change was minimal but quite evident. Then Michel complained that there was too much freedom, a bit exaggerated but very expressive. Catherine responded with a smile. Then he asked Catherine for canter pirouettes, left and right. She and Isgard quietly performed one in either direction, beautifully collected and balanced. From one extreme to the other.

Catherine provides the horses with as much turnout as possible and that includes her competition horses. Even her stallion Isgard is allowed liberty time. A high stone wall and riding arena separate him from the other horses and help to minimize distractions. Catherine took Poejo, the young Iberian stallion, straight to the field following his schooling each day. Catherine also rides all of her horses out of the arena on a regular basis and even rode Isgard through the village on Sunday morning when traffic was minimal. I was encouraged to hack out on all of the horses I rode for lessons following each lesson.

I was lucky enough to see the 3 year old Trakehner gelding, Alsgard, a brother of Catherine's Grand Prix stallion, Isgard, mounted for the first time while I was there. Alsgard is smaller than his brother Isgard and is for sale. He has an excellent, calm temperament and will be a fabulous mount for a young rider with international potential. Catherine operates the lunge line with one of the grooms on board. Things move fairly quickly. The horse felt the saddle one day and had the girth loosely fastened. The next day the groom lay over the horse on the saddle. The next day the groom sat upright and was lunged for a moment at walk and trot. The following day the groom was riding around the perimeter arena at walk and trot off the lunge line with reins attached to the cavesson. A bit was introduced the day after that but the reins remained attached to the cavesson. Right from day one Alsgard was expected to move actively forward in response to leg and voice aids and to stay on the track. The Henriquets use the same aids with young and old horses. They never used an exaggerated opened inside rein for turning although both reins were kept wide and low most of the time to encourage Alsgard to lower his head and neck therefore raising and stretching his back. I observed the same style of wide and low rein carriage with Poejo last year. Turning is always done with the inside leg and outside hand. Obviously, the walls of the arena facilitate the early lessons. The young horse received frequent rewards of sugar during his schooling.

The Henriquet's schedule is very demanding. The day starts at 6:30 am. The grooms feed the horses and begin the daily cleanup. Catherine is currently riding 4 horses each morning in addition to her work with Alsgard. The Henriquets teach around half a dozen lessons each day. Catherine is also a doctor and sees patients several afternoons each week. Many of the horses used in the Henriquets' school belong to their boarders who are also their students.

There are several items that are emphasized over and over in all of the Henriquets' lessons:

• contact and lightness
• hands lower
• play with your fingers
• give and take (prends et rendre)
• impulsion
• hands without legs, legs without hands
• the seat and back of the rider
• bending
• inside leg, outside hand
• inside hand down and fixed
• use the corners of the arena
• accuracy of the figures
• elbows in, toes in, chest out

-- The horse punishes himself when the rein is fixed and the rider's back is strong.

-- Because bending and flexibility are a priority, horses are lunged with the inside siderein significantly shorter than the outside rein.

-- The neck curves naturally to the left but the horse is harder to turn that way. The horse is contracted to the right. The rider must decontract the horse. The bend seems easier to the left when starting out but once the horse has mastered half-pass it is easier to the right.

-- Michel went on at length on several occasions about the evils of drawreins (called "German Reins" in French) and said they "break" horses. He indicated that he only recognizes their value with dangerous horses.

-- Michel praises the exercise of shoulder-in just as reverently as la Guérinière himself but he also adds that people seem to forget that la Guérinière was equally as passionate about the value of renvers or "croup au mur" (haunches-out). He also added the failure to practice shoulder-in was the major short-coming of Baucher and the reason he and his students (i.e. Bacharach) are not fully successful today.

-- The first element of half-pass is haunches-in.

-- Michel insists that mirrors are essential - especially in the absence of an instructor. We can monitor our own progress, the state of the horse and the accuracy and success of the exercises using mirrors.

-- Fix the inside rein, the outside rein gives and takes.

-- Canter with the stomach, not the shoulders.

-- Mount every day with an immense respect for the mouth of the horse.

-- Keep the elbows well into the body to stabilize the hands.

-- Patience, never force.

-- Piaffe is started from walk. The collected walk becomes a school walk (more diagonal) and then becomes piaffe (diagonal pairs lift as horse remains in place). The horse MUST remain absolutely light in hand as any resistance is unacceptable.

-- Tac with the legs, never pressure. Aids must be sharp.

My lessons ....

The material from the lessons is cumulative and this is, more or less, the order in which it was presented. Over the course of this visit I rode two of Catherine's warmblood geldings, one established and currently competing at Grand Prix level (Montego), the other currently competing at advanced level and just arriving at Grand Prix level (Orlando). I also rode a recently backed 4 year old Iberian mare (Iness), one of the Henriquets' fully trained Iberian school stallions (Etillo) and another fully trained Iberian stallion that is regularly used in the school with stronger students but not owned by the Henriquets (Entendido).

Because Catherine was away at a show, my first lesson this trip was with Michel, on Montego, one of the very large warmbloods that Catherine competes with. Michel got down to business immediately. I was told to start walking (impulsion first) before shortening the reins and making the horse round, or mise en main, which literally translates as put in hand which I think is a much better expression than the more commonly used on the bit expression. I was instructed to turn with my seat. Inside hand down and fixed. The outside rein controls the bend and is the rein of a rider. After a short warm up at rising trot we return to walk and commence the exercise of shoulder-in. All exercises are done at the walk before they are done at the trot and canter. I am told to have the horse at an angle of 35 degrees to the wall and to use the mirrors to insure that the inside hind foot is on the line of the outside fore foot. I am told that the value of shoulder-in is in the crossing and that the horse must be bent to cross. Again I am reminded to bend the horse using my seat and outside rein, inside rein down and fixed. The inside rein determines the bend and controls the level of the horse's poll so if the horse resists, the inside hand must be lowered to encourage to horse to come to the bit (mise en main). Michel constantly referred to the inside hand as neutral. He also asked me to prends et rendre avec les doigts .... give and take with the fingers and not the arms.

Next, half pass. The exercise is started with a straight horse. To establish the bend, I was told to line up the outside ear of the horse with my inside knee. The inside rein is then opened slightly to lead the horse in the direction we wish to go. Simultaneously, the outside leg is moved slightly back and the outside rein is also taken slightly toward the inside. Inside leg at the girth for impulsion.

If an exercise goes badly, we are immediately asked to stop. The difficulties are explained and if necessary, a more experienced rider mounts the horse and gives a demonstration.

NEVER work in resistance.

Riders should assume the same posture as they expect from their horse; shoulders back, hips forward, chest open.

Haunches-in on an inside track is a very difficult exercise to ride well.

Michel compared learning to ride with becoming a surgeon. Their is an immense volume of material for both to learn and both must spend years developing exceptional sensitivity with their fingers. Riders should play on the reins with their fingers as if on a flute.

My second lesson was with Catherine on another of her warmbloods, Orlando. Catherine wanted me to obtain more bending to the right. She explained that horses are much easier to bend to the left and often over bend their necks to the left but resist bending to the right. She had me ride serpentines - an excellent exercise for bending. She asked for more impulsion. She said, "everything is easier with impulsion." Michel said impulsion and balance make the horse usable. Catherine instructed me to enter well into the corners and use the corners to prepare for and establish bend. "Hands down. To get the horse round, go in the direction of the ground." In canter I was told to fix my inside hand. Catherine insists that rising is done on the inside diagonal (rise when the outside shoulder goes forward). The whip is carried inside except during canter and half-pass. During my second and third lessons Michel and Catherine Henriquet argued about whether or not I should be instructed to soften and give with my hands by advancing my arms forward (Michel) or opening my fingers briefly (Catherine). Michel obviously felt very strongly about this because he came to me after the lesson to further argue his position on the matter. He told me that he feels it is dangerous to counsel riders to open their fingers because it leads to slipping reins. However, in practice, he often opened his fingers when riding. I came to the conclusion that a measure of both is required and that, in the end, it is a question of tact.

My third lesson was also with Catherine but this time on an Lusitano stallion, Etillo. To halt. Grow in the direction of the sky. Close your knees. Inside rein down and fixed. Half halt with the outside rein. To trot from halt, prepare the horse by vibrating the legs then tac to go. Lighten the reins when halting, not the seat. Michel also attended this lesson and suggested the following exercise at canter in order to improve my seat. I was told to take the reins in my outside hand and put my inside arm behind my back with more forearm resting across my waistline. Michel stated that a rider must follow the movement of the canter with their back and stomach and not with the shoulders.

The outside rein is the important one. The inside rein is neutral.

The Henriquets use lateral work extensively. Michel stated that there are two primary tools for training horses; lateral work and transitions. Michel outlined his pattern as follows (to be ridden at walk, trot, and some at canter, right and left):

• 1. Circle, half diagonal in shoulder-in
• 2. Half volte (6 or 8 metres), shoulder-out
• 3. Volte (6 or 8 metres), shoulder-in
• 4. Half volte, haunches-in, the prelude to half-pass

My fourth lesson was again on Etillo with Catherine. This time Catherine worked on tidying up the exercises and improving the accuracy of my figures. I was told to keep the horse's head above the track and not the wall during the shoulder-out exercise. I was also told to start the turn well before the centre line so that I didn't end up over shooting it. A lead dropped during the exercise of counter-canter was corrected using half-pass.

My fifth lesson was on Iness, a four year old Lusitano mare. Even though Iness was young and very inexperienced, the exercises and expectations for her were exactly the same as with the older, fully trained horses although it was obvious that her balance wasn't that of the fully trained horses. The young horse was less consistent in her rhythm. She tended to speed up and slow down and the contact with her mouth was also variable. The natural gaits of Iness tend to be somewhat choppy in the first place. She would not be my first choice for a mount! The owner of Iness is not an experienced rider and she gives too much with her hands. I have the opposite problem. I am a rider that takes with my hands more than I give. My hands remain dead too much and my aids with them are often too late and too long (which is why I went looking for the Henriquets in the first place - in search of lightness). With me, Iness tried to drop behind the contact. Catherine worked to keep me light but without dropping the contact as Iness' owner does. I had to do a lot of half-halts on the outside rein in order to keep Iness with me. In canter, I was instructed to take both reins wide and low to encourage Iness to stretch and lift her back.

My sixth lesson was on Entendido with Catherine. I was told that he was not terribly comfortable and could be quite strong but that he was a fully trained Iberian stallion owned by one of the Henriquets long-term regular students. Etillo was presented to me in a double bridle because I don't often have opportunity to ride horses in a double bridle and, therefore, I don't have much chance to learn how to handle the double reins. I was asked to frequently change direction, and, therefore, the whip and this meant I had to sort out and adjust the reins each time. It didn't take long to get used to the double reins and it really was good experience for me. Entendido tended to anticipate the completion of exercises and rush, pushing through the outside aids. Catherine admonished me for not being more attentive and proactive as a rider. In canter, I was told to complete one circle then trot another and repeat on horses that tend to rush and loose their balance. After about four repetitions of the circles, I was instructed to go large around the arena and to immediately ride a circle if Entendido started to rush again.

I was encouraged because Michel indicated I was making progress!

I was asked which horse I might like to ride for my seventh ride and I requested Entendido again. Although he was not the most comfortable ride, I did find him extremely challenging to ride and felt that he had the most to teach me. I also asked if I might ride him in the snaffle bridle. I was reminded to turn my shoulders and seat for turning and to watch the centre of the circle. Catherine stated that all horses have the same tendency when turning right; to speed up and fall in on the inside (right) shoulder. She said that I should open to outside rein and push to the outside with my inside leg. She also said that sometimes it is helpful to use the whip on the inside (right) shoulder. I should try to put the horse on his outside shoulder. The horse should be flexed from his ears to his tail with the rider's inside leg at the girth and outside leg slightly behind the girth to prevent the haunches from leading. I was told to keep my elbows against my body even when opening the rein. I was reminded to play with my fingers. "Shorten the reins then play with your fingers." I spent more time in rising trot because Entendido was so difficult to sit. To improve my seat, Catherine had me do transitions between rising and sitting trot while riding shoulder-in and transitions from walk to sitting trot, to the left and right. I was instructed to perform half-halts with the outside rein when Entendido dove on my hands in canter. Catherine demanded a balanced trot immediately following canter. No running.

My eighth lesson was with Michel on Entendido as Catherine was called into her clinic to see patients. Michel reminded me to turn with my shoulders and seat and to ride with an energetic back and soft hand. He asked me to lower my inside hand toward my knee to get the horse to lower his head. Never move the inside leg back. Michel explained that the most important part of the exercise of half-pass is the straightening at the end, to show that the aids of half-pass were understood. Straighten with the outside rein and leg, the leg and rein at the same time. I was reminded that the shoulders must always lead in the lateral exercises. M. Henriquet pronounced that I had made great progress in just one week. He said that my back absorbs the movement of this difficult horse very well. Another spectator commented about how exceptionally soft the contact was with the difficult horse. (I did not hear that comment until I was home and reviewing the video tape!) Michel agreed and added that there was an enormous improvement in my riding since last year. We then moved on to canter. Michel asked me to complete one circle at canter, one at trot - three times. He explained that this is an excellent exercise to calm nervous horses.

My ninth and final lesson this trip was with Catherine on Entendido with a double bridle. The first major correction came with half-pass in this lesson. I completely lost Entendido for the last two steps as he rushed to the wall to complete the exercise. Catherine explained that he rushed because he knows the exercise is almost finished. She said that when a horse attempts that with her she immediately pushes the hind legs to the wall and rides renvers. I was asked to do shoulder-in on the circle to improve collection. I was reminded to keep my upper body back. The horse must look at the centre of the circle. I was then asked to straighten on the circle and do medium trot. Then shorten the inside rein, flex the horse and use my inside leg to produce another shoulder-in on the circle. I was asked to do canter to walk transitions in shoulder-in. Catherine reminded me to keep my weight to the left in left canter especially in counter-canter to prevent a flying change. The horse will change if the rider's weight is shifted to the other side. I was told to turn on my outside rein but first, establish the bend. Shorten the inside rein and light. Play with your fingers. Give and take.

Catherine shows us how it should be done ....

In closing, I will present some images of Catherine riding her horses with comments and my feelings about the content.

Isgard - Trakehner stallion just starting to compete at Grand Prix level

Demonstrating bend

Shoulder-in left	Shoulder-in right	Shoulder-in on a circle	Renvers	Half-pass left	Half-pass right

Demonstrating straightness

Flying change	Flying change	Straight on a straight line

Orlando - Trakehner gelding competing at Advanced level

Demonstrating superb collection in a canter pirouette

Catherine and Michel (and their dog, Ardy) school Orlando in piaffe

Orlando expresses his displeasure while Michel demonstrates that he is still very agile!!

Ultimately, Orlando produces a very respectable piaffe calmly.

Montego - German warmblood gelding competing at Grand Prix level

Demonstrating an excellent quiet rider position during flying changes

Michel told us that although Montego is VERY large he has a wonderful character and does whatever he is asked. However, his weakness is that his walk tends to become lateral when collected.

Poejo - 5 year old Portuguese Lusitano stallion now competing at the level just prior to Prix St. George

The rising star .... Michel brags that this horse is the best he has ever seen.

Michel is especially pleased with Poejo's walk, especially for an Iberian horse.

Like last year, the Henriquets have provided me with an immense volume of material to process. Thankfully, I have hours of video tape of my own lessons and of Catherine to review and remind me of the details. My riding at home improved dramatically the day I came home just as it did last year, and, not only has the improvement endured, my riding continues to improve as I process more of the material the Henriquets gave me. Just as it did last year, it continues to amaze me that I am able to make these changes, sometimes radical, in my daily riding and have my own horse instantly accept them, happier in mind and body. Every day I ride with less resistance. The keys are conscientious attention to contact, (mounting each day with an immense respect for the mouth of the horse), light, listening, tactful hands, bending, flexibility and impulsion. Although the ideal would be to spend years riding and working with the Henriquets on a daily basis, I am sincerely grateful to have the opportunity to ride and study with them at all. I look forward to my next visit!!

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Barb's first week in France with the Henriquets

© Barbara Dodington-Huis 2001
(images and text)

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