Recent Articles

"Young horses are like a blank slate. In my experience they naturally give you the right answers often, especially when you first start riding them." ~ Bridget Hay

"I don't mind working with some of the lesser talented horses and a lot of my riders that have those lesser talented horses I see with light bulbs going off and things registering in their minds in terms of the methodology. And when they are lucky enough to have something with more talent I know they are going to be exceptional horsemen and trainers who are going to be able to produce really good results." - Jeremy Steinberg

"The engine has got to be revving, & then you put your pedal to the floor and it will go. Sometimes you have to get the engine screaming." ~ Chris Bartle

"The more I practice, the luckier I get." ~ Jack Nicholas

"Trust and respect are two-way streets. We want the horse to accept us as leaders of the herd, to guide them safely and to provide protection and comfort. In return, they will give us their respect, and willing submission to our ideas about what to do next, and when and where. But this respect can only be based on well deserved trust." ~ Walter Zettl

"I am of the opinion, that you should ride a horse in the discipline for which he has talent." ~ Chris Bartle

"I am so surprised/shocked that almost every time I ask even an advanced rider to ride without stirrups they moan or make a face. A serious rider should prefer riding without stirrups. I even have riders who have never ever ridden without stirrups. Come on teachers, let's think about developing better seats. And riders, if your teacher doesn't tell you to, do it by yourself." ~ Lendon Gray

"Don't ride to other people's ability. Always ride to your ability & your horse's ability." ~ Andrew Hoy

The more narrow the fence that you are approaching, the more accurate and square your turn into the fence needs to be. 

Most of the time you will get more give from your horse when you ask and aid more quietly and carefully.

Whether you are working on Dressage or Jumping, whenever you ride a specific exercise, make sure that you stay as quiet as possible with your aids, to let the exercise teach your horse. 

Whenever you have an awkward fence on course, more often than not you were losing some quality of your canter on the approach. Keep the quality of the canter the same, and all of the jumps on your course will ride in a similar manner.

From Ingrid Klimke: No matter if my father was training a very young horse, an eventer or a high-performance dressage horse, his training was always based on three principles:

• Keep variety in the training

• Take small steps

• Foster the horse’s personality

"One of the goals of dressage is to recreate the natural beauty of the horse’s gaits under the rider, so that the horse moves as beautifully under the weight of the rider as he does at liberty. In order to achieve this, the swinging of the horse’s back has to pass through the seat of the rider undiminished. The back has to be able to rise and fall with the same ease, regardless of the rider’s presence. If the rider merely sits passively, his weight alone can sometimes be enough to diminish the freedom of movement of the horse’s back. In these moments, the rider has to enhance the upswing of the horse’s back with an active contraction of his abdominal muscles, which helps the rider’s pelvis to swing more forward-upward, without tilting forward, however." ~ Thomas Ritter

If you don't ride a corner properly when in the Dressage ring, whatever movement you have next will be negatively affected. 

The more impulsion you have at any given moment, the more submission you need. And submission is not the same thing as subservience. Submission is the willingness of the horse to follow your instructions.

"Through the energy of impulsion mobilized from within himself, the horse is now prepared, in his physique & emotional attentiveness, to respond instantly to the slightest indications to change his tempo, posture, direction or gait." ~ Waldemar Seunig

Horses can easily begin to think that walk time is "break" time if you are not careful. If you want to ensure that you get good scores on your walk work, you have to convince your horse otherwise in your daily work.

Energy ultimately begins in the horse's mind, not his hindquarters. Make sure you have your horse's mind engaged.

When riding any lateral movement, keep your eyes pointed to the spot that you want your horse to go to.

Remember that tension inhibits suppleness. So make sure that you are not trying to force your tense horse to do anything.

"Not all of us are lucky enough in our lifetime to have great horses. When you do get one, it's just the best feeling in the world." ~ Carl Hester

Be sure to introduce new exercises and ideas in a slow and progressive manner, so you are building your horse's confidence, and not inviting problems.

Every time you begin a Dressage test at a show, make sure you think about making a good first impression with a forward, confident center line, and a smile for the judge! 

Keeping your elbows close to your sides will help your horse to feel your seat aids through the reins. It will also help you to use your core properly.

"Often one hears riders in whatever discipline say that their aim is to bring the horse to a certain level or to place highly at certain shows. These goals are absolutely legitimate, but we must not forget that they are only a byproduct of what should be our highest of aims: To make our horses more beautiful and keep them healthy through their training." ~ Ingrid Klimke

If you are not naturally self motivated, yet you really want to succeed, you need to BECOME self motivating!

If your upper body is leaning to the inside as you try to bend your horse on a circle or through a turn, you will likely find that your horse won’t bend very well. This is because your leaning to the inside causes your horse to also lean to the inside, rather than to bend nicely around your inside leg.

Horse and rider BOTH need to be fit for this sport! As "Fatigue makes cowards out of us all."

"I think the rider's attitude in the ring is transposed to the horse's attitude. The difference between the good riders and good trips versus the outstanding trips are in large measure the positive attitude and inspiration that one shows to the judge and the way one tackles the problems of the course in riding the horse." ~ Michael Page

"It is most difficult to finish an exercise when it is best, because you want to practice more. But you must finish when it is good." ~ Ingrid Klimke

"A good hand is the one that can resist & yield when necessary and receive with precision the action created by the legs." ~ Salomon de la Broue

You can't have true impulsion without a connection.

"Rhythm is the result of the horse being able to move under the rider in a way that is supple, loose, and without any tension or constraint." ~ Miguel Tavora

When your horse gets nervous or excited, use your breathing to encourage him to relax. 

"Is the rider able to ride all the movements with a long rein, long with contact, then as long as possible? It is possible to ride piaffe on a long rein when the rider rides 100% with a balanced body, and the horse is on his aids." ~ Christoph Hess

"When training, riders should focus on the line, but sit quietly & allow the horse to use its own initiative to jump the fence." ~ Eric Smiley

If your horse doesn't want to be straight in his body, you can best improve him by exaggerating the opposite of whatever tendency he has. For example, if he likes to over bend his neck to the left and carry his haunches to the left as so many horses do - regularly ask for flexion and bend through the body to the right (no matter which direction you are going.)

(Click on video title above to ask questions or make comments)

"The horse is responsible for carrying itself, for balance, and for handling the jump." ~ Chris Bartle

"Amateurs ride from movement to movement. Professionals ride from half halt to half halt." ~ Robert Dover

"The relaxing of the legs & the hands of the rider is the proof of the real collection. And the collection is the poetry of the impulsion." ~ Nuno Oliveira

For both jumping and Dressage, riding square turns improves the horse's carriage, and aids in building collection. 

"Transitions, transitions, transitions and, when you are done with them, more transitions." ~ Jan Ebeling

"Every pull & resistance in the horse's neck originates in the back." ~ Stefan Wolff

To encourage your horse move fully through his body, as well as giving him the confidence to truly think forward, you must make sure your hips and lower back are 100% moving with his motion. The bigger your horse moves, the more you must move your hips.

Remember that your horse is always learning based on how you react to his actions and responses. Be careful that you are only teaching him things that you actually want him to learn.

A good horse will forgive you when you make a mistake. And they expect you to do the same.