Flossy is well known to many on the British Dressage Forum as a teller of interesting stories and perhaps the odd joke or two. We have selected a few tales for your pleasure.
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Not to interrupt
We all know that the quality of instruction is not only a direct function of the trainers knowledge but also of the trainers ability AND WISH to impart it to his or her students.
You may be the most informed trainer in the world but if your mothers tongue is Mandarin and it is the only language in which you express yourself eloquently your average western European student may be non the wiser at the end of intensive training session.
When selecting a trainer it is vital that you choose a trainer that speak your own language both physically and metaphorically.
Trainers ability to connect with ones student is of much more importance in theses modern times then in the past.
Today a large group of new comers to the sport come from a sector of the community with little or any previous contact to horses, many parents of keen young dressage riders have no equestrian background what's so ever, but in spite of this totally lack of horse knowledge their children expect their parents to support them and have answers when ever the going gets tough THIS IS WHAT PARENTS ARE FOR). this is when a good trainer is of such importance, the fathers and mothers of the said children banks on the trainer to take over from where they cant and support ,promote and guide their little princes and princesses through the intricate of dressage.
Can you imagine how frustrating it is for a man, that designed the navigation system for the space shuttle, when asked by his child “dad! shoulder in is it 30 degrees off the perpendicular or 31.5 degrees off the plumb line of the vertical?” and not have a clue what the child is on about ,This is when common sense prevails and the parent refers the matter to the top trainer who was contracted to handle and deal with all equestrian predicaments which are mind boggling to the average human being “Son ( or daughter) this is why I pay your riding instructor a city of London banking salary , you ask him these questions, with what he charges per minute he should have all the answers and more, I will deal in the meantime with the small issue of how to get Britten out of the recession” the frustrated parent will relay to his little prince or princess.
On the next opportunity the parent asks the child “well did you get the answer to your question?”
“Not really “ was the reply
The irritate father “why not what am I paying him an hourly rate of city of London banking executive for, did you ask the question?”
“Well I could not really dad”
The father this time in a city of London tone of voice “Why not!!! , what am I paying him city of,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, etc.”
“Dad I could not, you always told me never to interrupt some one while they are talking” the child replied