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Saturday, May 01 2021 / Published in Sidelines Feature

Contact and Connection: From His Mouth to Her Hands to Her Heart

By George Williams

For many, the terms contact and connection are interchangeable. It’s often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and similarly, in riding, a correct feeling can help us fully understand a single word. In dressage, contact and connection, like so many concepts and words, are best understood once a rider has experienced the feeling under saddle. For me, it’s more understandable if we separate the two terms. While the actual terms are very related, one is a more basic term and is the foundation for the other. To put it simply, connection is a quality you can develop once the horse understands contact. Likewise, when the connection is well established, the rider can then determine the sensitivity of the contact.

To start with, let’s look at ways contact is referenced in what I suspect to be three of the most under-utilized resources we have available to us: the USDF Glossary of Judging Terms along with the “Pyramid of Training,” and the dressage portions of the US Equestrian and FEI Rulebooks.

The USDF has this to say about contact and connection: “The energy generated in the hindquarters by the driving aids must flow through the whole body of the horse and is received in the rider’s hands. The contact to the bit must be elastic and adjustable, creating fluent interaction between horse and rider with appropriate changes in the horse’s outline.” Ultimately, the line between connection and thoroughness becomes blurred in a good manner, in my opinion making it obvious why impulsion is the next step in the training scale. 

The dressage portion of the USEF Rule Book describes being “on the bit” as “accepting the bridle with a light and consistent soft submissive contact.” A little later, when describing the qualities of the halt, it states, “While remaining ‘on the bit’ and maintaining a light and soft contact with the rider’s hand, the horse may quietly chew the bit and should be ready to move off at the slightest indication of the rider.”

Under the description of submission, the FEI Rulebook says, “The degree of the submission is also demonstrated by the way the Horse accepts the bit, with light and soft contact and a supple poll.”

Light and soft contact is the ideal. Combine this with being ready to move off at the slightest indication of the rider, and we’ve connected the power of the hind legs to a light and soft contact. Bingo — we have connection!

Developing the proper contact can be frustrating, sometimes even maddening. Over the years, one hears numerous descriptions of what the perfect light and soft contact should be: “It’s the weight of the reins in hands,” “Close your fist as if you’re holding a baby bird in it,” or, “It should feel like butter.”

As an instructor, describing how to achieve contact to those who may not have a natural feel can be challenging — or even maddening as well.  Phrases like “take and give,” “close your fingers,” “slight vibration,” and “hands steady but never still” are all a part of it but not completely accurate. Nor do they tell the whole story of how to achieve an animated contact. I have recently settled on “in communication” because in the end, you have to be able to touch the reins in a manner that solicits the response you want. It has to be attractive and appealing to the horse so they seek the contact and willingly go forward to the bit.

Sometimes you hear a clinician say, “I don’t do anything with my hands,” “My hands are just there,” or “I ride my horses forward into my hands.” This can be slightly misleading as well. Certainly, most of the time your hands should be considered supporting aids. No matter how subtle, they must always be in communication with the horse and able to support your seat and legs in regulating the balance, tempo and alignment of the horse.

Not too long ago, it seemed that one of the most common comments on a dressage test was “constant contact.” In my mind, this can also be a slightly misleading term. What does it mean, and is it easily misinterpreted? The horse needs to go consistently forward into a consistent contact. Your horse should seek the contact, but remember the Rulebooks say the horse accepts the bit with a “light and soft contact.” That means not pulling down, with the rider holding him up, nor pulling the rider through the test, or the rider pulling back on the reins to maintain a certain carriage or frame. Under the description of contact, the USDF addresses this by going on to say, “The quality of the connection and balance can be evaluated by releasing the reins to demonstrate self-carriage….”

So, what are the visuals of whether the contact is good and the connection is truly functioning properly? There are many, including the length of neck, swinging back, a relaxed tail and consistent rhythm and tempo. The most obvious visuals of when there are problems include the horse opening his mouth, putting his tongue out and resistance to the hand. It should come as no surprise that cranking the noseband or tightening a curb chain does not fix the core problem — correcting the contact and the resulting connection is the better solution.

Today, a judge said of the winning Grand Prix special ride at the Global CDI5*, it was “from his mouth, to her hand, to her heart.” That, my friends is the contact we should all aspire to for the right kind of connection to our horse’s heart.

Dressage rider Nick Wagman demonstrating contact and connection.

Photo by Melissa Fuller

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Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! W Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! We're proud to offer exceptional modern Sporthorse stallions, with wonderful temperaments and quality gaits to North American breeders.
 
Among our stallions are Cum Laude and Kaiman. Cum Laude (Apache x Weltmeyer) is a winning FEI horse and sire of quality dressage horses, breed show champions, and offspring scoring 9.0s on gaits.
 
Kaiman (Dark Pleasure x Gribaldi) earned high scores at his stallion testing and in the young horse classes. He's also the sire of a Licensed Oldenburg stallion. Kaiman's first North American foal crop is arriving now and they are gorgeous!
 
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Among our stallions are Cum Laude and Kaiman. Cum Laude (Apache x Weltmeyer) is a winning FEI horse and sire of quality dressage horses, breed show champions, and offspring scoring 9.0s on gaits.

Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! We're proud to offer exceptional modern Sporthorse stallions, with wonderful temperaments and quality gaits to North American breeders.

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❗️George Williams column❗️ The FEI World ❗️George Williams column❗️
The FEI World Cup Final in Omaha is coming up quickly. That means that it’s starting to heat 
up as the end of the qualifying period for both the Western European League (WEL) and the 
North American League (NAL) nears. I started to write this column before the Amsterdam CDI- W, and I was using the FEI Ranking List from January 15 as a reference. As I sit down to finish 
my column, I’m now looking at the results from Amsterdam. While the list of the top contenders 
for the WEL hasn’t changed, they’re definitely moving around on the ranking list. The WEL has 
three more legs, as they’re referred to: Neumünster February 16–19, Goteborg February 23–26, 
and ’s-Hertogenbosch March 9–12, and they could change things dramatically.
Looking at the top 12 athletes from the WEL as they were ranked on January 15, there are five 
from Germany, three from the Netherlands and one each from Great Britain, Denmark

➡️Read Georges's full column by clicking the link in our bio, and never miss an article by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine 🦄 

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Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Gre Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Great American $300,000 Grand Prix at HITS Ocala!! 🏆🥇

Crowds filled the stands at the HITS Ocala Grand Prix Ring on Sunday afternoon to watch the world’s top athletes compete in the Great American $300,000 Grand Prix. The day concluded with a thrilling five-horse jump-off featuring athletes 
representing four countries. In the end, it was Lisa Goldman-Smolen (USA) and Ivaro N who produced the only double clear effort of the day, claiming one of the biggest wins of her career. Scott Keach (AUS) and Noble De La Chapelle earned the second-place prize with the fastest 4-fault jump-off, while Aaron Vale (USA) and Obi Wan placed third as the day’s pathfinders.

“I'm still on cloud nine, I still can't believe it – I’ve used up all my luck for the year,” smiled Goldman-Smolen after her win. “I've been knocking on the door a long time in these bigger classes. I am so proud of my horse – he gave every ounce of effort.”

Sunday’s Great American $300,000 Grand Prix marked the conclusion of the 2023 HITS Ocala circuit. HITS CCO Joe Norick concluded, “We are so excited about the new HITS, with 2023 as the launch. New footing, many new arenas here, and a lot of our facilities across America are getting a lot of love and new footing. Our partnerships with Worldly Martin and others across America including our footing leader Bart Poles overseeing our operations – it really makes a big difference for us. Today is about Ocala and these three riders sitting next to me who supported us this entire winter. We want to be a proud destination for our exhibitors and our friends. We know we have to provide them a beautiful showplace to work from that's horseman friendly, and that's our go goal. 

Congratulations to all of the riders, horses, owners, and groom who participated in this prestigious class!!! 🎉
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It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is. It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is...

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