Interview: Sarah Crowe, Creator of Dyna Does Dressage Documentary

 Sarah Crowe and Amy Enser have been working on the project "Dyna Does Dressage," a documentary about Laura Hermanson and her mule Dyna, the first mule to ever compete in the U.S. Dressage Finals, which is an incredible feat.  Together, Laura and Dyna have defied the odds and realized their seemingly impossible dream.  Sarah and Amy were there to document it, and have since worked with Laura to record Laura and Dyna's backstory as well.  I had the opportunity to discuss the documentary with Sarah Crowe.

The Aspiring Equestrian: How did you get started filmmaking? What made you become interested in filmmaking?  

Sarah Crowe: I had a friend who went to film school and I helped out on all of the student projects. I fell in love with the process and from that friend’s networks started working and volunteering on film sets. Eight years later I am a professional producer and I direct and produce documentaries for the love of it. 

A poster by Isaac Novak.

TAE: When and where did you first meet Laura Hermanson?  

SC: I met Laura in Yosemite National Park.  We worked together in the back country. She was a packer that brought all of our supplies to the High Sierra Camps where I managed a back country retreat. We became fast friends and have supported each other in our careers and personal endeavors. Even after we both left Yosemite we stayed friends.

TAE: How did you become interested in filming the documentary “Dyna Does Dressage” about Laura and her mule, Dyna? 

SC: I have always known that Laura had a unique and interesting story. When she told me that she and Dyna were invited to the Finals, I helped her with some fundraising ideas and got her going with the GoFundMe page. In only 2 weeks she raised $11,000 and was flooded with an outpouring of support. When she called to say thank you, I knew that the timing was finally right and I asked her if I could join in Kentucky to document the adventure. She said, "Yes!" and has graciously allowed me to follow her around all over this year and is supporting me in telling her story in a full on documentary film.

TAE: What is your main purpose in filming it?  

SC: Laura’s story is the ultimate underdog story. Laura and Dyna’s journey have inspired so many people already. I want to share it with the world. 

TAE: Could you write a brief summary of the documentary? 

“Dyna Does Dressage” is a documentary about the first mule ever to compete at the national level in the competitive equestrian sport of Dressage. Defined by the International Equestrian Federation as “the highest expression of horse training,” the idea of mules competing at this level has never been considered.  This underdog story follows Dyna and her owner/rider, Laura, as they defy the odds to find their place among this elite world of horse riding.

A behind the scenes shot of Sarah Crowe(front right) filming Laura(at the left in the stall), her friend Casie(middle), her trainer Renee Johnson(right), and Dyna at the U.S. Dressage Finals. 

TAE: Could you tell me a little bit about what has gone into making the documentary? 

SC: I invested $8,000 of my own money, and flew to Kentucky in November 2014 to film Laura and Dyna competing at the U.S. Dressage Finals in order to film the origins of this story. My filmmaking partner Amy Enser has traveled with me to almost all of the locations and worked with me to capture the footage. She will also be editing the movie. We needed to raise an additional $15,000 to really make this happen. With a successful GoFundMe fundraiser of my own, together as a team we were able to travel to California and visit Laura where she lives and trains at the Oak Star Ranch with Dyna and her other mules. We went to Mule Days, which is one of the largest mule competitions in the world. In August we filmed in Yosemite National Park with Laura, to learn about the traditional roles of mules and see the place where she discovered and fell in love with them and then our last location was the USDF CA area 7 regional finals in CA, where we saw Laura competing at a proper horse show.

TAE: What has been the most exciting part about filming the “Dyna Does Dressage?”  

SC: The most exciting part of filming "Dyna Does Dressage" is being able to spend so much time with Laura this year. She trusted me through this whole process but over the course of these last 10 months she has opened up and truly forgotten that the camera was even there sometimes. She believes in me and is so supportive of this whole process, and so open to allowing me in her world with cameras. 

Laura Hermanson and BB at the Region 7 Dressage Championships

TAE: What has been the most difficult part?  

SC: The most difficult part of the process has been the challenge of recreating a story and showing the path of Laura after it had already happened. Traveling to so many places was necessary to tell the story. 

TAE: What is one thing you want people to know about the documentary before it is released? 

SC: I am so thankful for the support that both Laura and I have received on this journey of filmmaking and Laura’s work with the mules in Dressage and beyond. I appreciate everyone that is believing in us and supporting us. I can’t wait to share the finished product. 

TAE: Is there anything you would like to say about the documentary that I have not asked about?

SC: I  really hope that people enjoy the story and are inspired to take on their own dreams and adventures. 

Support "Dyna Does Dressage" by liking their Facebook page  You can watch the trailer here.  Photos are courtesy of Sarah Crowe, Amy Enser, and "Dyna Does Dressage."  The documentary  will be released in 2016. 

BB Magee and Laura off to the Championships!

It has been an excellent summer for Laura and her palomino mule, BB, who are off to the CDS State Championships/USDF Regional Championships(held at the same place/time) in Rancho Murrietta, California.  Last year, she came with her beloved Dyna, who as you may know qualified for the Championships and later the US Dressage Finals at Training Level.  This week, Laura and BB will compete at First Level in both the Freestyle and First Level Test 3 events, riding the former at both State and Regional level.  Getting there for the second year running(might even be more than that) is an extraordinary feat.

 Being in California means that she will compete not only against some of the best riders in the state/region, but also some of the best riders in the nation and the world.  Hilda Gurney, Steffen Peters, and Jan Ebeling, to name a riders who train in California, will be there.  Some of their horses will be competing against Laura.  It was amazing to look at the entry list with Laura and to see her and BB's names next to those of Olympians and fancy warmblood.  Imagine that: a mule I have handled and ridden, ridden by someone I know, competing against warmbloods ridden by Olympians.  It's amazing!  For those who think mules can only be pack animals that have no place in dressage,  BB is living proof otherwise.

Here is BB and I when she has her golden spring/summer coat.  She is more of a light brownish in the fall with roan hairs.

  Her Freestyle is an upbeat, Italian/South American sounding music(one part is called "Mambo Italiano) and was designed by Karen Robinson, who has designed numerous Grand Prix, Olympic, and Pan American Games freestyle.  It's a great freestyle.

 It will be an exciting weekend for Laura.  Unfortunately I won't be able to watch, but I will be supporting Laura from back home.  If BB goes anything like she did Monday and most of the rest of the summer, she will put in a fantastic test!   It would be even more amazing if she made it to the Finals.  Please send positive thoughts her way!  I hope she has great rides at the championships.  In the mean time, look at het website so you can see what BB looks like.  It introduces the mules towards the bottom.  http://oakstarranch.com/
And here is a short video from February: Click here

First Real Trail Ride!

 I just went on my first ever trail ride! Although I ridden outside of the arena many times, this time was the first time that I left the property and ridden on a road. Because it was my first time, and Lucky's first time in a while, I rode in a western saddle so that I would be more secure. Safety is always most important!

 I lunged Lucky for a few minutes before I rode, like I always do. Then Laura and I rode around her property once before setting out on the road. We had to ride down the asphalt road a little ways before reaching the dirt road, but it is a small road and we didn't encounter any cars on the way to the dirt road.

 Throughout the ride, I mainly focused on getting Lucky to be forward and in front of my leg, something that is difficult for her. Before we even reached the dirt road, I began to fall behind. Laura waited for me this time, but for the rest of the ride I had to either stay beside Laura, or ahead of her. It was difficult. BB, who Laura was riding, has a very big, forward walk, while Lucky is just the opposite. I fell a little bit behind Laura quite a few times. Sometimes, when I asked Lucky to lengthen her stride to keep up with Laura, Lucky would shuffle forward in the jog instead. This is undesirable, because dressage horses shouldn't take short, shuffling strides. Laura told me that when trying to catch up, Lucky should take either large, marching walk strides or trot forward boldly, not jog. It was easier to keep up later on in the trail ride. Lucky enjoys being out on the trails, and began walking more forward. A few times throughout the ride, we trotted.

The beginning of the road

 I also worked on getting Lucky round by softly squeezing one of the reins to flex her, moving my hands toward the bit to give her a release whenever she became round. Periodically, Laura and I would allow our mounts to stretch. When we did this, we wouldn't just release the reins to full length. Instead, Laura told me to make sure Lucky was round first. Then, I would release the reins to the buckle, encouraging Lucky to stretch down. Though I can get a horse round for brief moments, I still can't keep them round for long. After a few strides of being round, Lucky would raise her head or get slightly behind the vertical. If Lucky got behind the bit, I added more leg. Adding more leg is usually the answer if anything goes wrong. Toward the end of the ride, I felt some of the moments when Lucky was about to come up, and flexed before she made that mistake.

 Though I was doing all this schooling throughout the ride, it was still exciting. I love being out of the arena, and so does Lucky. Being out of the arena is relaxing and fun, and there was always something exciting to look. We came across a herd of Haflingers and other horses in a pasture beside the road. There were even some ground squirrels and a rabbit. The trail that we took leads to the back part of Whiffletree Ranch, the ranch that the spring's driving show was at.

At one point, we came across a few barking dogs. Fortunately, Lucky didn't react to this at all. She is a very levelheaded horse, and in all the time I have ridden and worked with her, she hasn't once spooked. This makes her very reliable and safe on the trail, and I am very confident riding her on the trail.

 Not long after passing the dogs, we turned around. We didn't do much trotting on the way back. About halfway back, we stopped at the top of a ridge and beheld an amazing view of a large, golden, tree covered hill in the distance. We even saw a group of trees where Laura's house is and a teeny-looking mule in one of her fields. It was amazing how far away everything was, because it hadn't seemed like we had gone very far. It was a really exciting trail, and I can't wait to ride on the trail again.

Rhythm and Trail Etiquette

  I've been doing some of the usual work with Laura lately(tacking up and grooming mostly). Last week, I had a short but productive walk lesson on BB, her First Level mule. Laura wanted me to learn rhythm, and because BB has a big, rhythmic walk, she thought it would be best to learn on her. Before getting on, I had to count out the rhythm of BB's walk while Laura rode. I found it difficult to count out the beats of her footfalls, so Laura had me break it down. Each time BB's right front hit the ground, I said the word "tic." Once I found that rhythm, I began saying it twice as fast, counting the beat of both front legs.

 At last I mounted, riding without stirrups. BB's walk is quite different than Lucky's. BB has long, reaching strides, while Lucky usually takes slower, smaller strides. I entered the arena and began to say "tic" each time one of BB's shoulders came forward. Though I had to glance down at first, I could feel each stride once I started. As I rode, Laura had me play around with changing the length of BB's strides just by moving my hips. To open up her stride, I let me hips go more forward with each stride. To collect her, I blocked my hips and made smaller movements with them. It's pretty amazing how sensitive horses(and mules) are to slight changes in the rider's body.

 Another day, I rode Lucky around the property with Laura, who was riding BB. I learned about how to safely trail ride so that I could soon ride on the actual trail, a dirt road nearby Laura's ranch. As I rode, I attempted to keep just beside Laura, with my knee at her one, like riding a pas de deux. I had ask Lucky to speed up often, because she slowed down and began falling behind many times. We rode around the entire property, and even through one of the front pastures, which is currently empty. All this prepared me for my first real trail ride, which I will write about soon.

Two-Point Practice and a Hack

 Thursday was another fun day. Laura taught a lesson to a woman with a gorgeous buckskin Quarter horse named Keystone, so I helped her set up some ground poles for that and also tacked up BB for her to ride and demonstrate if needed. While Laura was teaching, I rode Lucky on my own around the property like I had done last time.

 While riding, I worked mostly on my two pint position. Every time I was riding over flat or uphill ground, I rose into my two-point. I was able to hold it for quite a while and didn't have to sit back down until I reached a downhill slope. Laura was teaching in arena next to the dressage one, so when I rode through it and stood up into my two point, she watched. She said my position looked good! I just needed to bend my elbows and lean more forward, but it was otherwise balanced. I fixed that and held my position through the arena, turning right to pass the round pen and up the steep hill by it. 

Sacrum float on Dyna

 I continued riding until after Laura was done with the lesson and was riding with the woman she had taught out of the arena. Since Laura and Keystone's owner are working on getting him more relaxed, I went to the arena to canter while they trail rode.  I cantered Lucky to the left around the arena, then left the arena and rode around the property one more time. I cantered a bit more, then began cooling Lucky out.

What went well:

• My two-point position was really good and correct
• I'm gaining more riding muscles to hold my position longer

 Loni, an friend of Laura's who is and equine bodyworker, was also there, working on the mules to relieve tension in the body. Something that she showed me how to done was the sacrum float. By putting her hand under the tail, right below where it connects to the body, and just barely moving it up and down, she relieved tension in the sacrum. It was really interesting to watch!

A Fun Trail Ride

 Tuesday, rather than riding in the arena, Laura and I hacked/trail rode together on her property. Where I live, there are lots of hills, making it perfect for conditioning Lucky. It also made it perfect for me to practice changing my position depending on whether the ground was level, downhill, or uphill. In a way I was practicing cross country without the jumps. Laura believes that hacking or riding outside of the arenas beneficially for the horse. It makes their work more interesting, helps them to gain muscles, and can help a slower or less forward horse become more energetic from the excitement of being outside of the arena. The hills also help them to leaner to step underneath themselves. Horses only ridden on the flat have trouble climbing up and down hills for the first time because they need to gain the proper muscles and lean how to place their feet.

The field. In the middle of the picture is the path we cantered up, and to the left ,
by the small building is another field.

 We went all over the property, up and down hills, then around and up a hill with a path that led to the aisle between the paddocks. We turned left here, went through the dressage arena, then around and back past the paddocks and around the property again. The whole time I worked on helping Lucky to balance up and down the hills by leaning slightly back and putting my weight into my heels. Going up hills, I closed my hip angle, leaning slightly forward.

 At first Lucky was a slow and I had trouble staying beside Laura, who was riding BB, so I worked on getting her up to speed. After riding around at the walk several laps, we trotted up one of the hills. At this point, it became clear that Lucky was really enjoying herself. She felt balanced, her back swinging underneath me, and it seemed as if I could post so easily. I was slamming down into the saddle; her movement was pushing me up and then I lightly sat down. It felt so amazing.

 We continued riding, trotting up the hills and walking down. At first we had let Lucky and BB stretch and walk at the dressage arena, but after a bit we trotted through it instead, and I rode in a two-point position until we reached the top of a particularly steep hill, when we returned to trot. As we rode, I worked on getting Lucky round. She came round quite a few times throughout the ride.

 After trotting and walking the hills for a while, we cantered up the hill that led to the paddocks and barn.  On the flat section preceding it, we trotted then asked for canter. Lucky cantered off right away; I just made a kissing sound and listened. It was really exciting and fun to canter her out in the open. We cantered up the hill twice. Both times I lost my stirrup because I wasn't stretching my legs down, something I need to work on at the canter. By the time we had reached the top hill and stopped, Lucky was shaking with excitement and adrenaline.

I spent a while cooling her out on a long rein and riding on my own around the property while Laura schooled BB in the dressage ring. Laura had done the harder work outside of the arena so that BB saw the arena as a relaxing place.
What went well:

• What was really amazing was that I had a light bulb moment when everything went smoothly. Lucky was round and balanced, and as a result I was posting more lightly too. It was really an amazing feeling. 

I really enjoyed hacking out in the open. While I have ridden outside the arena before, around the barns at both Silver Rose and Third Day, this is my first real time riding in the open. I love it!

I Rode a Mule!

 Tuesday at Laura's, I helped with getting thins ready for spring and the coming show season. Come spring, things will be a lot more busy, with Laura rising as many as five horses/mules per day, so i will help a lot with warming up by lungeing and cooling off by riding.

 Also, I am able to get Dyna to come to me more quickly without much difficulty. When she was close to me, I rewarded her by petting her, letting her know that it feels good to be by me. Laura doesn't reward everything with treats, but because Dyna doesn't get pushy about it, and since it would help her learn more quickly that being with me feels good, she let me use some. She wanted me to encourage Dyna to come even closer. I asked her to come the way I had before, then showed Dyna a treat. Dyna was a bit cautious(remember it takes her a while to get used to strangers), but I got her to take several steps into me space. She was close enough I could touch her if I reached my arm out. The next day, she came a bit closer. We are certainly making progress on getting to know and trust each other.

The cute BB.

 Wednesday, I rode a mule for the first time! I rode Laura's 1st Level mule, a mare named BB! Since BB has a forward, rhythmic walk, where her body swings, Laura let me ride BB to feel what that felt like. I rode her on a loose rein, at the walk. This was also a great time to work on my equitation because I didn't need to worry about getting a forward, balanced walk. I was also riding without stirrups. I focused on getting my leg long, my body tall, my elbows bent, and hands close together. I also let my hips move with the rhythm, counting one-two as her forelegs went forward.

Cone exerciseI can go left or right after the pole.

 To work on turning with my body, I worked on riding straight over a pole, then between two cones set a distance away, turning my shoulders to get BB to turn and applying outside leg. After heading around the cone, I rode along the side of the arena. When reach the cones where I had started at, I turned around then to head over the pole again. I switched up the direction I went after the pole to change things up.

 It took some practice to get smooth. For example, I needed to think more about preparing before the turn to get it smooth, but at the end of the ride I got a nice turn. It was so fun to ride BB, the first mule I have ever ridden.
What went well:

• I improved at turning using my body, not relying on my hands

I aslo lunged Lucky, again focusing on keeping her bent to the inside. Laura worked with her a bit too, trying to get Lucky to relax and stretch her neck. When Lucky did it well a few times, Laura ended on that good note.

Follow the Leader

 Friday at Laura's, after grooming the mule BB and tacking her for Laura to lunge while she worked with Dyna, I lunged Lucky. This time I was really focusing on being her leader and getting her to respond right away to my cues. Lucky still needs to get more forward when asked. She likes to settle into a western jog pace or perhaps a slow hunter hack pace when I ask for trot. However, we want a big, expressive movement in dressage.

 Previously, and for most of yesterday's lungeing, I had been clucking multiple times in a row before slapping the ground with the whip. However, to get a more immediate response I should cluck once with meaning and then follow with the whip if needed, smacking the ground. Clucking while lungeing is like asking nicely with your calf. Smacking the ground with the whip is like giving the horse a kick under saddle.You don't want to continuously kick, kick, kick. Similarly, you don't want to chase the horse with the whip.

What I learned is that you can't babysit them. By this Laura means that you can't constantly ask them to go forward every stride. You want to give them a chance to make a mistake, let them make it, and then correct them. Otherwise the won't learn how to do things on their own without being asked every stride. Laura demonstrated this with Lucky. She would cluck once to ask Lucky to trot, immediately smacking the ground with the whip if Lucky didn't respond or if Lucky responded with a slow jog. This way, she established herself as the leader.

 Then, I tried. While early, Lucky had been responding a bit half-heartedly because she didn't see me as the boss, once I asked the way Laura did, Lucky's responses were more immediate. If she slowed down her trot even a bit, I again asked. However, it was until Lucky went into my space without me asking, and I actually had to give her a smack with the whip, that she listened. Going into my space, especially when I wanted her to go around me, isa big no-no.

 After that, she intend nicely and it took only the slightest commands to get her moving forward. If she didn't respond to the cluck, I could barely lift the whip and she'd respond. Laura decided that it was best to end with that without me riding because I had gained Lucky's respect and she say me as her leader. It's always good to end when the horses finally get something or do something really well rather than push them too hard. There would be no sense in me riding her and asking more after she had done so well, so Laura decided to save it for another day. Soon, I might be doing a lesson with me riding on the lunge line with no reins to work on my balance and seat.

Practicing Lungeing

 Monday, I only lunged Lucky. I was pouring done rain all weekend, so Laura decided I would ride Wednesday instead. Since Lucky is a very sensitive horse, by lungeing her I can develop my lunging cues and position when lungeing her. Just by being a bit in front of the driveline, towards the middle of the horse where you stand when lungeing, Lucky will slow down. Laura was with me in the round pen to help and instruct me.

 Before starting, I stood beside Lucky, entry tossing the lunge whip over her back to make sure she would stand still and not be worried. When Laura got her, Lucky was afraid of whips. She's fine now, but it's good practice even if a horse is totally fine with them. Lucky didn't move at all, so I moved my left hand to the side to point her forward and gently tapped her shoulder to push her out on the circle. At first I struggled with finding the right position on the ground and staying there. I kept getting far in front of the driveline, which of course slowed her done. As she walked around me, I tried asking for a bigger walk and then for the trot. I did this by gaining more energy in my body, looking where I wanted her to go, and clucking, tapping the whip on the ground when necessary to reinforce this.

  I did lots of transitions because Laura does a lot of them to teach the horse to stay balanced as the gait changes. To return to the walk I relaxed in my body and gave slight squeezes to the lunge line when I needed to. I also changed Lucky's directions multiple times. To do this I pointed to Lucky's hip with the hand my rope was in, shortened the rope, and took a step back to encourage Lucky to draw into me. It took a while for me to get this coordinated, but I had a nice one at the end. Laura lunged her afterward with the side reins, and I stayed in the round pen to watch what Laura does more closely.

 I also lunged BB, the palomino mule, doing the same thing I did with Lucky. I sometimes had to tap BB's shoulder when she leaned in a bit,  and I actually started to notice thee subtle changes without being told. There were also a couple times when BB glanced towards us and offered to come in towards us. Knowing that BB was ready to listen, Laura said to watch for these moments and simple back off without pointing towards BB's hips to turn them. Sure enough, BB walked toward me when I invited her in.Laura said that I have good natural intuition("feel" as it is sometimes called) with horses, even if don't know a lot. I  just need to learn how develop it and use it.

 It was really great to be able to feel some of these moments and to practice lungeing. Lunging is a great and useful technique to learn and can help the under saddle things, too, as I have learned. Also, update n the mule that the vet came to see: the had an inflamed tendon sheath, which covers the tendon, and is now back to work. It was only a minor injury.

Bath Day and Mane Clipping with Laura

 Thursday, when I went to help Laura I learned how to clip a mule's mane. Mules have manes that stick straight up, like donkeys do(just like Fjords too). For shows, it is conventional to trim the mane to abut an inch long, rather than braiding. Laura demonstrated on BB first. To begin with, she clipped along the neckline of the mule, heading the direction the hairs go. For shorter necked horses, like BB, you clip further done the neck to make it appear longer(similar to adding more braids). Then she began shaving off the outer hairs of the mane to make it thinner. BB has chestnut hairs along the outside of her mane and grey hairs in the middle, so Laura clipped the red hairs off. Next she let me try. It's really easy and simple, and I had no problem doing it. When I had finished, Laura decided to leave BB's mane long because it looked really cute.

 Next, we gave BB and Moxie baths because it was a warm day and we wanted to take advantage of it. Laura showed me how to do it first, and then I did it myself. We used a special horse shampoo that attaches to the hose to spray them down(we gave BB a bath first), then I sponged BB down with a shampoo made for palominos, put the same shampoo in her mane and tail, and finally rinsed her off and put conditioner in her mane and tail. I did the same process with Moxie. BB was a much brighter, golden color by the time we were down, and both mules were soft and clean. Laura trimmed both mules tails, demonstrating how to do it. Bathing horses or mules takes a long time, so by the time we were done it was evening.

  Laura explained how important it is that your horse is well groomed, even if you are just trail riding with friends. You want to give a good impression and show how much you care for your horse. You also want to give a good representation of horses in general, or maybe the breed you have if you have a rare breed, a breed maybe most people have misconceptions about, or in Laura's case a mule. She wants her mules to give a good representation of mules since mules have a bad reputation to some people. She wants to always groom her equines like they are going to be photographed for the Olympics she says.

 We organized the tack room for a few minutes too. I enjoyed giving the muse a bath, and the next warm ay I might be able to give Lucky a bath too. I also might be able come when the veterinarian comes Monday, which will be great because I someday want to be an equine vet so it will be interesting to talk to and watch the vet work.