And so to the horse dancing. Of course, it is easy to be dismissive of these things when you know nothing about them, but the more I engaged with the sport, the more I started to understand the harmony between the horse and the rider, and the way they move together through guides and hints. And I love jargon and vocabulary as much as anyone, so it's always fun for me to learn new descriptions. Here are some moves that are on display.
- Collected Canter - the horse arches his neck and shifts weight to hind quarters to move in a 'showy animated manner'.
- Extended Trot - the horse shows a clear lengthening of frame and stride while maintaining the quality of the trot across the ground.
- Flying Change - the horse switches direction and drives with the opposite leg in this movement.
- Half Pass - the horse moves forward and sideways at the same time.
- Leg Yield - this is where the horse moves forward and sideways slightly bent and flexed away from the direction in which he is travelling.
- Passage - very collected trot, elevated and giving the impression of being in place.
- Piaffe - collected trot on the spot.
- Pirouette - The horse is turned through 360 degrees - in walk, canter or piaffe - by pivoting aound the inside hind leg.
- Tempi - An exercise where a sequence of flying changes and canter leads are put together.
- Travers - the horse is flexed in the direction of travel.
- Zig Zag - More than two half passes in a row.
And yes, this is just for fun, but may I just suggest that future party guests take note.
No comments:
Post a Comment