Maintaining the Horse's Length of Neck in Transitions (Current Freebie!)

I will never forget the first time that I attended the USET training sessions down in Ocala, Florida many years ago..... I was so excited to watch all of the top Event riders receive dressage instruction from Grand Prix dressage trainer Sandy Pflueger Phillips, who was the dressage coach for

Tip/Quote of the Day # 4545

Think back to when you first started riding… how hard it was to just post at the trot. Now you do that without even thinking. As long as you are actively working on your riding, you are always improving. Usually improvement is so gradual that you don't see

Monitor Your Horse's Stress Levels, For Best Results in Training

Horses become incapable of learning when they go past a certain level of fear, anxiety, or stress. This means that if you keep hammering away at the horse, trying to teach them something when they are currently overwhelmed with stress, it will not work.

Tip/Quote of the Day # 4544

The key to success with any movement in the Dressage ring lies in how you ride the corner preceding the movement.

Tip/Quote of the Day # 4543

In a good, productive stretch - active energy travels over the horse's topline and into the rider's hands. If you don't feel at least a little power coming from behind up into your connection, your stretch is not correct!

Does Your Horse Like Rein Contact Right Up to the Point of Takeoff at a Jump? Or Does He Prefer a Soft/Loose Rein in the Final Strides? Find Out Here!

To get the very best out of every horse when show jumping, riders need to really think about the specific way that each individual horse needs and wants to be ridden between the fences. Let me help you to figure out what kind of horse you have!

Tip/Quote of the Day # 4542

“You need to produce a walk. So work at the walk as well as the trot and canter. Get a good feeling of the body working in the walk.  The walk is a mirror of the training of the horse.” ~ Christoph Hess

A Spanish Riding School Exercise to Increase the Collection in Your Horse's Canter

This great exercise, direct from the Spanish Riding School, will increase the collection in your horse's canter. It will also improve your counter canter work, and is a great way to build towards canter pirouettes. Get ready for better scores in your horse's canter work!

Tip/Quote of the Day # 4541

When riding Dressage, we want our horses to reach and push forward through the neck into the rein connection. This happens as a result of the horse's back engaging and lifting... similar to a nice round bascule over a jump.

Tip/Quote of the Day # 4540

Never forget that our goal as riders should be to do as little as possible. Allow the horse to perform.

The Order of Aids For Changing Your Horse's Bend From One Side to the Other

Every single Dressage test requires the rider to change the horse's bend from one side to the other. With some tests having as many as 20 different opportunities to show the judge how good you are at changing your horse's bend. Or maybe how not so good you are at it!

Tip/Quote of the Day # 4539

"A major consideration concerning the horse’s posture in all lateral movements is the bend in the rib cage behind the withers. For achieving this bend is the foundation for the suppleness of the entire horse. One will never achieve this bend if one rides the lateral movements on