His Novel began at the European Championships

The International Dream Program group with Carl Hester 

Competition stated today at the 2015 European Championships, and after watching and discussions with our chaperones, Charlotte Bredahl and Annie Moris, we met up with Carl Hester at what he would name the, "fountain of youth". 

Carl was quite funny and more than enthusiastic to speak with us. Here's a little of what he had to say regarding…

His Program

Coming from an eventing background helped Carl decide how to set up a program to work his horses. By now most of us have heard of his two days of work, one day of hacking followed by two more work days, another hack, and then a day of rest. But hearing it from Carl himself was different than reading about it, because there is a method to his program.

The second day the horses work, there is a large improvement on what was worked on the first day and he feels it is a system that works well with the horse's mental process. Then during the "hack" day, the horse has a chance to rest the muscles and think about something else.

But hacks aren't just for fun. The horses go on hacks all over to get them exposed to the world outside the arena. Going down the road and in busy places are a part of training for competition, so when have to deal with the activity and unexpectedness that a horse show they are better prepared.

Affording Horses

Carl is a firm believer that there is no better way to learn to ride then by training your own horses. "Feeling and timing are hard to teach," but it's special when a rider has those qualities and can do more than push buttons on a trained horse. His biggest advise to us as aspiring professionals and riders: Don't wait for someone to buy you a horse. Buy what you can afford and train it. Then you can sell it and get a better one if need be… But, who knows, you could have yourself a great partner! If you wait around for a sponsor, you could miss out on what could be great and on learning from the ultimate teacher, your horse.

Charlotte and Valegro

After much talk about the partnership, it was obvious he was proud to have made the pair happen. He smiled and said, "There is no point in being selfish!" He laughed and told us that once it was decided Charlotte would be his rider and Valegro was at the top level, he had put together a great team for the British. "I was one, Charlotte was two, and it happened that Laura made three! We had ourselves a great team!"

Riding tests

Everyone has their own approach to test riding, but Carl's is pretty simple. He simply will visualize the movement at its best while riding. His advise was to think about one movement at a time and by not hurrying through it, make it the best it can be.

Another tip: Ride the short sides! Show the judge that you can soften and give the reins for a stride and improve the general impression of the ride. Ride the corners well, and show the judge your horse's gaits. These things seem small, but the short sides can show the judge how effective you are in between movements and the harmony between you and your horse.   

Carl paused while we were thoughtfully taking notes, looked at Charlotte, and laughed. "Send me a copy of my new novel when it comes out!" Grinning, we all nodded. These are highlights from our chat, but from all his wonderful knowledge, we really could write a novel!

Side Note…
After falling off this morning, Carl left us to go buy a new helmet for the competition tomorrow. Read about some of the events of the day here:
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/michael-eilberg-performs-and-carl-hester-falls-off-aachen-european-championships-505575?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social