Читать книгу Cowboy Dressage - Jessica Black - Страница 23

Part of capturing the Zeitgeist and interpreting it involves using the right words to communicate the method and philosophy of Cowboy Dressage. Soft Feel, lightness, kindness, partnerships—we know what they mean, and yet struggle to define them. Talking with Eitan can turn into a debate on what these key terms mean. Take lightness: “What do you mean, light?” Eitan retorted when I answered his question as to what I wanted in a saddle horse.

“Light in the bridle! Quick to respond to my cues…Responsive? Self-carriage…wears the bridle well!” I struggled.

Then there are the words that sound rough: bumping, lugging, pulling. “Bump him up!” you may hear your trainer say when your horse falls behind the bit. Yet, you want to be as soft and light as possible to ensure a responsive horse. Too much “bumping” with your legs will deaden his sides; too much picking up with your hands will deaden his mouth. Assuming that riders will understand that “bump” means gently squeeze and release is an error that can have disastrous consequences for the horse-human relationship. It takes careful use of language to get the message across in words that all riders will interpret the same (correct) way.

Much of being a trainer of horses means being a trainer of humans. Nowadays, Eitan spends his time directly teaching people ways to improve their relationship with their horses. Even before, when he was training horses, he had to work through their owners, as all trainers do. The words a trainer uses determine attitudes; he cannot be with the horse and his rider at all times, but his words can follow them home. “You need to think about words,” Eitan insists. You do not need fancy words, though; it is about conveying meaning in ways that are understood with the least effort. It is important to choose simple words that express the right meaning without any extra baggage. Words are part of what is making the tradition of Cowboy Dressage, and every single one counts.

THE LANGUAGE BARRIER

Part of Eitan’s respect for words comes from the huge obstacle that language presented in his road to success. Despite being able to communicate in four other languages (German, French, Arabic, and his native Hebrew), Eitan was terrified when he came to the United States in 1968 to study veterinary medicine at UC Davis. He hated being misunderstood, and dreaded the all-too-familiar “What?” that forced him to repeat himself to cashiers and salespeople. Laughing ruefully, Eitan recalls his Greyhound bus trip from New York to San Francisco: “I hot-dogged across the country,” because that was the one food every rundown bus stop sold, and the one word that he could speak without hearing the dreaded, “What?” repeated over and over.

When he caught the bus that would take him inland to Davis, he thought, “No more hotdogs!” But when he stood at the counter of the Dairy Queen in Davis and asked for a hamburger, the cashier could not understand him…so he ended up with another hot dog. He finally got a hamburger some days later by asking for a “cheeseburger with no cheese.” They could hear the “cheese” and figured out the rest.

Language has been a repeated obstacle in the road to success for Eitan—a huge obstacle, he recalls with a shudder. When Cowboy Dressage was in its infancy, he traveled all over with Holiday Compadre, performing in front of many diverse audiences. They both loved it. Compadre had the charisma and pride of a born performer, and Eitan enjoyed the opportunity to demonstrate his art to others. When it came to teaching, however, it was another story. Even after years in the States, Eitan worried about his accent, and Debbie had to browbeat him to speak.

When he gave his first clinic, Eitan was still struggling with shyness and language issues. He was scheduled to speak for 90 minutes before the renowned horseman, John Lyons. Eitan was worried that no one would come to see him, but people came early to get a seat to see Lyons. When Debbie checked to gauge the audience, the Coliseum was full to its 5000 seat capacity. When Eitan asked, “How many?” Deb answered, “Enough.” Then Eitan went in, saw the audience, and was terrified. His language ability, iffy at the best of times, dried up. He stuttered, mumbled, repeated himself, and, Deb says ruefully, did a horrible job. Eitan knew it and was embarrassed and ashamed, but when he rode Compadre out of the arena, he looked down at Deb and stated, “Tomorrow I’m going to be good.”

And he was. He reflected, considered, faced his inner-language demons, pulled deep inside himself, and somehow, found what it took to overcome the language barrier. The next day, he was fantastic, and it would only get better. It’s not that he never gets stuck. He still has to pause and search for a word, and maybe he cannot find that word every time. Often, he has to use a substitute, another word or expression that conveys the meaning even without the precise vocabulary he may have wanted. But, somewhere along the way, Eitan realized that body language and humor can be used just as well as (if not better than) technical language to teach people.

Over the years, he has created a vocabulary of words that can be used over and over, all about horses. This allows him to use language carefully, in ways that are less confusing than some of the more “correct” wordings that native English speakers use. It may even be that his accent helps Eitan when it comes to teaching. People have to pay more attention to him because of it, and they ask one another—and Eitan—for clarification more often than they would if they easily understood all he said. This extra focus improves their learning and retention, facilitating communication rather than hindering it. In the end, the enormous language barrier has turned into a bridge connecting him with others.

2.8 – Eitan enjoys giving clinics nowadays. You would never guess from his obvious pleasure in teaching today that he once suffered great shyness when forced to speak English in public. The language barrier was one of the many obstacles he had to overcome on the Cowboy Dressage journey.