Back to the Basics

The way in which Canada’s young rider program is designed ensures consistency and collaboration, which contributes to the country’s success, but Heidemann said what is most important is what the program emphasizes and that is “basics, basics, basics. Our program puts a lot of effort into the basics. There is no substitute.”

Heidemann oversees the development of Canadian riders as early as the age of 12 and all of their coaches are directed to focus on the basics. Heidemann is quite opposed to the notion that young riders should be thrown into the competitive world as soon as possible to keep them from becoming bored.

“Even at that young age, we emphasize an understanding of throughness and suppleness and focus on developing a good, deep seat. The biggest mistake one can make is to put a youngster on a horse who can barely hold on and then send that rider running around a ring doing a test. People say you have to let them compete so they enjoy riding more and have fun. No, they first need to learn to ride. A deep, balanced seat and riding skills matter most and must come first,” he said.

And he believes this focus helps explain why Canada, with so fewer young dressage riders, still does well in competitions such as the NAJYRC. “I think it’s because of our basic riding skills and the number of years of experience our riders have. They’ve got a good, deep seat. And they’ve got the concentration and attention. They have an ability to use their back and they understand correct use of such things as the half-halt.”