Move it like…
Alex Hua Tian
The UK-based Chinese event rider on having a girlfriend as a secret weapon and why water works for him
HORSES are individuals and my first rule of thumb is to keep an open mind and ride on what I feel underneath me. Some people with rigid philosophies forget to react to what is happening at that moment.
I learnt many things while based with Clayton and Lucinda Fredericks, one of the most important being that whether you are hacking, galloping or cross-country schooling, most of what you do is based on what the horse has learned on the flat. As a consequence, I probably spend more time in the school than many riders, doing gymnastic exercises that boost muscle strength.
The late Jane Gregory taught me my favourite exercise, which I do every time I go in the school with all my horses. It consists of a half
10m circle to the centre line, then leg-yielding off the inside leg to the outside track. It is a simple exercise thatõs really difficult to master, but which demands that the horse is supple through his body in the half circle, maintains balance through the leg yield and is reactive, and listening to his rider, off the inside leg to the outside rein.
As I do this so often at home, it can be calming for a horse that is lit up at a competition Ñ rather like a comfort blanket.