Did you watch Allyance's video? If no, go back to download it and watch it. Do you have an opinion? Here is mine.

At first, the objective seemed simple. A piaffe on A. Where A was the middle of the door. Easily said. Exactly on A. Not that easily done. The video shows the skills of Dr. Catherine Durand-Henriquet, 1992 Olympic competitor in Barcelona. While preparing Allyance for the piaffe, she keeps him calm, forward, straight, and light. Allyance stays on the bit while engaging more his hind legs, whether his forehead is vertical or slightly ahead of the vertical. Catherine negotiates the transitions from passage to piaffe with great care. As soon as Allyance leans a little on the bit or starts to hold back Catherine carefully uses subtle "HANDS WITHOUT LEGS" or "LEGS WITHOUT HANDS" effects giving Allyance enough space to reposition his body without losing the very light contact or his straightness. During the transition Allyance is neither at the passage nor at the piaffe. Watching the video, Allyance gives the impression that over two strides he his at the piaffe while still moving forward. Allyance holds a correct piaffe for only a couple of steps passed the gate, and for more steps along the wall. There, Allyance's piaffe is executed on-the-spot, with regularity, and sufficient elevation. It has an elastic suspension that characterizes the quality of his advanced level of training. Amazingly enough, Allyance performed a nice piaffe in front of the door once we were starting to pack our video recording equipment. Sorry! No proof.

This page was last updated on: December 30, 2001

Copyright 2000, All rights reserved to Michel Kaplan and Beau Geste S.O.A.R.