Learning from the Best — My Trip to Arroyo Del Mar

Catherine Chamberlain
Photo Credit: Flash Corbisier

In September of 2013, I was able to spend three weeks at Steffen and Shannon Peters’ beautiful facility, Arroyo Del Mar, culminating with a weekend spent at the California Dressage Society Junior/Young Rider Championships held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. This amazing opportunity was brought about by a generous grant from the Renee Isler Dressage Support Fund from The Dressage Foundation, to whom I owe many thanks. I learned so much on this trip and I came home more motivated than ever after spending time watching such accomplished riders as Steffen and Shannon working diligently every day. They work so simply with their horses, allowing their honed timing, tactfulness and finesse guide them through their rides. There were three main points that really hit home for me over thethree weeks I spent in California. Read on to discover what I found to be their secrets to success.

1) Allow the horse to guide you in each training session.

Any accomplished rider knows that it is an absolute must to have a plan in mind when training a horse. There are usually short term and long term goals, along with a weekly overview of what one wants to achieve over the course of each seven days. However, Steffen and Shannon seem to have both come to the conclusion that the horse must be allowed to guide you in your training sessions each day. Yes, it is essential to know what you want to work on each time you set a foot in the stirrup, but it cannot take over your whole ride so that it ends in fighting and frustration. For example, if Steffen was working on a zigzag canter half-pass where the changes of directions and flying changes were a struggle, he would take the exercise back to the very beginning and work on simple changes and transitions for a while until the horse gained confidence and balance once more. Then, when the original exercise was approached again, the ridability and obedience allowed both horse and rider to be successful and move on to the next task. So with that in mind, I learned to keep a strong focus on the origins of each exercise and know when it was necessary to take a step back and solve the root of each and every problem encountered.

2) The rider affects the horse with their position and aids, either helpfully or harmfully.

I have had the opportunity to clinic with Shannon before and I always love her emphasis on position and rider biomechanics. If something is going wrong or is a real struggle during a training session, always look to yourself first to see if you are hindering the and horse in some way. It is amazing how small things such as a wrong shift in balance or an incorrect hand placement can prevent a horse from working correctly through its entire body. Shannon has a great eye for such things and I love having lessons with her because she can give you a few corrections on your position that you can work on for months until it becomes ingrained into your muscle memory. When you watch both Steffen and Shannon ride, you can see the smooth changes they make to their balance and the little things they do with their leg and hand aids to allow the horse to work to its full potential. So many people do not realize the importance of this factor in their everyday training. It’s not enough to look pretty; one must learn to ride correctly and tactfully with flowing, soft aids in order to truly maximize the performance of the horse and rider as a team. I loved seeing these two amazing riders still focusing on every little detail in this way and feel that it sets a great example for other riders who may become forgetful when it comes to working on their position or correctness.

3) Relaxation and harmony must remain at the forefront through all levels of training.

One of the main things that Steffen is always praised for as a rider is how relaxed and at ease his horses look in the show ring. As one can imagine, it is the exact same picture at home. Of course everything can’t always be perfect and there are times when mistakes occur or corrections must be made. However, the harmony always remains through all of it, allowing a horse’s confidence in the rider to remain high. It was so refreshing to see rider after rider enter the ring and ride through both the best and worst moments of their training session with tact and thoughtfulness. It’s a true testament to their training philosophy that both Steffen ad Shannon have been able to show multiple horses at the FEI levels with the same trademark contentment and relaxation. I believe that Ravel is the ultimate example of this. Each test he came out so soft in the contact, swinging over his back with a happy expression in his eye. A stark contrast to many of the horses you see in the FEI ring nowadays. Whether I was watching a four year old or a finished Grand Prix horse, they were all ridden with the same patience and understanding that I hope to emulate someday.

All in all, it was a fantastic experience and I am so grateful to have been able to learn from such amazing horse people. The facility was beautiful, the people were kind and the horses were absolutely magnificent. I was able to finish off my trip with a successful showing at the CDS Junior/Young Rider Championships where I took home the Training Level 18 and Over Reserve Championship with my four year old Westphalian mare Sophina. Thank you so very much to everyone who made this trip a possibility for me! It was such an honor and a privilege to learn from two of the best riders in the country, as well as receiving the warm hospitality from their entire team.

Catherine Chamberlain