Training Exercise with Vanessa Hancox

This article is from the August 2019 Horse Deals magazine.

Vanessa is a well-known and respected coach/clinician from Perth, who has been involved in the Western Australian Horse community for over thirty years. From early years in the show hack ring, Vanessa gravitated towards western competition in the early eighties and continues to successfully compete and train western horses and riders. She also coaches many dressage and show horse riders, instructing at over 100 clinics per year throughout WA, specialising in polework, groundwork and western dressage.

Polework is one of the most versatile of equestrian activities and provides significant benefits to both horses and their riders or handlers. Polework can be done in-hand or under saddle, by any breed or age of horse and is adaptable to the age and experience level of all riders or handlers. No special gear is required and a simple halter and decent length rope is all that is required if working on the ground. Polework is also beneficial in the rehabilitation process of injured horses and helps to break boredom and provide a different and interesting activity for horses worked mainly in arenas. Poles may be set on the ground or elevated, in straight lines, grids or shapes. You can work over the poles and/or between the poles and may set up your pole work formation anywhere there is safe, level ground with enough room to ride the exercises.

Whether the rider or handler is looking for an exercise to collect or lengthen stride, develop or increase muscle fitness and development, establish rhythm, bend or straightness or sharpen focus and increase responsiveness to aids, there is a polework exercise for every need!

The Clock Exercise

Working over poles on a circle is one of my favourite exercises. It is a great way to encourage bend and suppleness in your horse and can be made more interesting by adding simple transitions and changes of rein.

SET UP
Place a pole at each quarter of a 20m circle; at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock (I start with setting the poles up on a 20m circle but this can be decreased to a smaller circle as you and your horse progress). Then place a cone or marker in the middle of each pole - this will create two circles; a small, inside circle and a larger, outside circle. There are lots of different exercises you can do over this pole formation, but here are three simple exercises which are great for developing bend and improving transitions.

WARM UP
The first exercise is quite simple and perfect for a warm-up. Simply ride into the circle and ride the inside and outside circles at walk. Then add the trot and ride the inside circles at the walk and the outside circles at the trot, staying on the same rein throughout. Then try riding the inside circles at trot and the outside circles at canter.

SPICE IT UP
The second exercise involves a change of rein (think figure eight) over the pole and an extra emphasis on transitions. To ride this exercise, start at the walk and ride the inside circle over all four poles, the whole way round the clock. As you return to the pole (12, 3, 6 or 9) where you started to work, pick up the trot before the pole and ride a circle on the opposite rein, away from the poles. Hold the trot over the pole as you return to the circle, change the bend and return to the walk on the inside circle. Repeat this on each pole. Next, trot the inside circle over all four poles and add canter to the circle on the opposite rein.

DOWN TO BUSINESS
The third exercise builds on the first two - in this exercise you will ride a figure eight over each pole, adding walk, trot and canter transitions. If you are looking for more rhythm, stay in that particular gait, or add lots of transitions to increase responsiveness and help with straightness and balance.

Reward every effort your horse makes and polework will quickly become a really fun experience for both of you!

Sign up to our newsletter