Alfredo Hernandez Clinic

Recently, I had the opportunity to audit a clinic with Alfredo Hernandez. It was a super learning experience, even from the bench! This clinician is a charismatic Spaniard who specializes in training Piaffe & Passage. I was able to observe him instruct horse/rider teams of several levels from a 4 year old green mare all the way to several horses showing Grand Prix in dressage. How fascinating to see his approach to solving issues that are thought of in terms of the basics by incorporating these upper level but classical movements into the horse's training program. For example, a lovely dressage pony with tons of front end elevation was having a hard time with extensions. Alfredo used Spanish walk to help him learn to lift at the shoulder rather than just the knee. There were several other similar examples. This was a very different type of learning from the usual dressage clinics I've attended in the past. Here are a few "tidbits" I found particularly useful from his instructions. Please note that these are not direct quotes but quick notes I took as watching. So these statements are through my own understanding of the training & should not be taken as exactly from Senor Hernandez. I do my best to take precise notes but this learning is through my own eyes as the observer...."The most important thing is for the horse to be comfortable, To improve a fast tempo, you want to get the hind legs stepping under, The horse should understand that the whip does not always mean forward, The horse should understand contact vs reins mean stop, Jumping once a month can loosen the back for a dressage horse, Don't get into a fight with the horse, Lameness can result from lack of enough transitions in training, Don't get comfortable & neglect to ride every step of the movement, If the horse is slow to react to a request you should work on this first, Don't ride with the whip if the horse relies on it too much, Use a different "cluck" for different movements so you don't confuse the horse." There was so much more I learned that is hard to put into writing. I found Senor Hernandez to be much like an artist & quite organic in his teaching. He used several patterns to teach the horse & rider. He was adept at "the release" & quick to remove all pressure when the horse "got it". I would jump at the opportunity to attend another clinic & love to one day attend with one of my girls.