It\'s a lot like ballet on a horse

Tag : Horse Tail Hair

Lynn Jendrowski's dream of competing in the Beijing Olympics neverquite materialized.
But in the true spirit of competition, she hasn't given up on hergoal of representing her country in the sport she loves, and she isback in the saddle again. Literally.
Jendrowski teaches, trains and competes in the equine sport ofdressage. Derived from the French word for training, the sportshowcases communication between horse and rider to bring out theanimal's natural athletic ability and willingness to work.
"It's a lot like ballet on a horse," Jendrowski said. "There issuch a connection that it feels like you're dancing with a partner.People really appreciate the communication with the horse."
It takes time and patience to build up the relationship with ahorse to get it to respond to dressage training. Piaffes and flyingchanges don't just happen overnight.
"You need about six years to train up to the Grand Prix level, andnot every horse can get there," Jendrowski said. "You have to haveone that can handle the pressure of being in the spotlight. Most ofthe time you can see right away how far they can go."
Her own horse, Shapiro, a 15-year-old Oldenburg, has nearly takenher to the top of the sport, having received his U.S. DressageFederation Grand Prix Performance Certificate and she thinks shecan still get there with him.
She also competes a 12-year-old Friesian gelding named Moud, ownedby Karen Waldron and Bent Tree Farms in Shawsville. The Friesianshows at third level but is capable of performing some Grand Prixlevel movements such as the piaffe, where the horse conducts acontrolled trot in place.
"Moud has such a great mind, and he will offer things up to mewithout much resistance," Jendrowski said. "There are a few thingsthat he struggles with but he will work through them and be verygood in competition."
The Friesian's jet-black coat, long mane and tail, "feathers" (longfetlock hair) and massive musculature make Moud an impressive sightto behold, even if he is a few inches shorter than Shapiro.
The thicker frame Moud sports means he takes longer to conditionthan some of the other horses. Jendrowski likens it to abodybuilder attempting to participate in an endurance sport. Sheworks with him five days a week for about 40 minutes per session.This keeps the horse from getting winded during his routines.
"Between choreography, riding and making adjustments we can put 40hours of work into a five- or six-minute routine," Jendrowski said.Moud's freestyle routine at the Roanoke Valley Horse Show in Salemwas his first exhibition performance.
When not directly training, she runs her farm and is nationallycertified to teach dressage to riders of all skill levels.
Janet DeGroff, one of Jendrowski's students, chose to learndressage to become a better rider overall.
"I heard she was one of the best, so I figured I would start at thetop." DeGroff said. "I thought that even if I only could take a fewlessons I would learn more."
DeGroff was so pleased with the quick breakthroughs she was makingwith her horse that her "few lessons" have continued for the pastyear.
"I understand what she wants to do with the horse. I do what shesays, and I get the results she says I'll get. She's helped mecommunicate with my horse in a way that is effective for him."
Jendrowski is often praised as much for her communication skillswith humans as she is with horses.
"She is extremely knowledgeable," said Edith Cahoon, anotherstudent of Jendrowski's. "She knows how to explain, how todemonstrate. She can give fair criticism without beingcondescending. Most importantly, I have fun when I work with her."
Cahoon, who has nearly 40 years of riding experience, travels anhour and a half to train her horse, Navar, with Jendrowski. Shealso volunteers her time to assist in Jendrowski's efforts toprepare for competition. She acts as a second set of critical eyesduring practice routines, sets up the music and sometimes operatesthe video camera.
"She is obviously on a tight budget compared to some other ridersout there who are less talented, so it's good to have a littlehelp." Cahoon said. "It's hard work. We sweat our fannies off, butwe have fun."
Among entry fees, stabling, feed, bedding, transporting the horseand finding lodging, Jendrowski can end up spending more than$2,000 on a single competition. Though she is searching forsponsorships, she does get a lot of nonmonetary help from studentssuch as Cahoon and from her husband, Paul.
In an effort to raise more funds, Jendrowski is working onproducing a series of educational videos related to the sport. Thefirst will focus on one of the most frequent topics she gets askedabout: braiding the horse.
"I want to be an ambassador for the sport," Jendrowski said. "It'ssuch a great feeling when people come up to you after a show sayinghow beautiful the horse was and that your performance gave themgoose bumps."
Jendrowski has earned the USDF Gold Medal and USDF Gold and BronzeFreestyle Bar. With the combination of her skill, her horse'stalent, her friends' and family's support and a few sponsorships,she may be just a few canter pirouettes away from realizing herdream.