From Facebook fan Joann Messersmith ~ "Contact is a living, breathing, elastic, relationship and communication with the horse. Nothing fixed. It's like holding hands with your lover as you walk, no yank or pull, but a pleasant feel for both."
"School figures should not be regarded as an end in themselves but rather as a stage in a particular aim, that of control of the horse. Initially, they will be practiced in the school but an early opportunity should be taken to perform them outside so that the rider may learn to cope with extraneous influences which can distract his horse and prevent it concentrating (for example, his horse not wanting to leave its stable or move away from other horses." ~ Wilhelm Muessler
"Riding is, therefore, an ongoing, never-ending, challenging process. That aspect makes riding so intelligent and significant an effort. One merely strives, never arrives." ~ Charles de Kunffy
"Try to do the work early then leave her alone. Being clever enough to leave the horse alone is one of the ways we get them to jump. Look at a horse free-schooling, the neck is down, the jump is classical. We want to leave them alone so we get that jump with us on their backs, and again, that is why we need that good lower leg to support us, so we can leave them alone and get that natural jump." ~ Chris Burton
"A good rider has a natural springing down of the ankles. The body is flexible. The rider maintains the same seat now matter how big the gaits. World class riders must do it by feel and mental fitness. Feel comes out of the seat." ~ Conrad Schumacher
Practicing transitions on a circle allows you to utilize the bend and increased engagement from the exercise of the circle to improve the connection in your transitions.
The more contact you hold on your horse's mouth, whether on the flat or between jumps, the more effort you may have to put in to half halt or stop. Try to be as light as possible, so that when you do ask for something softly, your horse will hear you.
The inside rein should be used only as much as is truly necessary. Make it a game to see how little inside rein you can use in any movement that you ride.
Always strive for the feeling that there is more horse in front of you than behind you when riding. This means staying safely back behind your horse's shoulders, and allowing the horse to have as long of a neck as possible.
"Once you are in the working phase, stay sitting in the saddle as the seat is a very important aid for influence; especially for long backed horses. If you sit in the saddle you can better feel and influence the horse. If the horse is weak, perhaps sit for shorter periods followed by stretching, then work sitting again." ~ Ingrid Klimke
"As always, everything is connected, every single exercise or movement influences all the others, which is the reason why we can improve certain movements by not riding them at all, but by practicing exercises that improve the necessary ingredients of the movement in question." ~ Thomas Ritter
If your horse tends to lean heavily on his inside shoulder when making transitions, think about adding a few steps of spiral out before asking for the transition.
When a running martingale is fitted correctly, it does not come into play unless the horse tosses its head. It should not be used to keep the horse's head down.
When in a Dressage position, think of being up over your knee (with your center of gravity) when you rise in the rising trot. This will help you to keep your leg back underneath your seat.
A horse that is well balanced, with the right amount of impulsion for the jump at hand, can comfortably and safely leave the ground from just about any reasonable takeoff spot.
You can't produce a supple horse by trotting round and round the arena - so don't stay in the same pace or movement for too long. Lots of turns, circles, and transitions will be the most beneficial.
On selecting a horse for Dressage: "It’s always with each horse the first view: it’s elasticity, the basic movement, the trot, the canter, the walk, then you have to think how it could look after a while, after the gymnastic – how can I build up the muscles?" ~ Isabell Werth
Make sure that you are truly letting your horse set the pace of the progression for both training and competing. Pushing too hard, too soon will usually result in having to go back and start over.
When your horse is messing about with his leads or tossing his head between jumps on course, don’t let it distract you from what is most important - the rhythm of the striding.
For a good rein connection, the wrist should be part of the straight line that extends down the rider's arm. So the knuckles should point towards the bit as well as the rider's arm. Only if it follows that line exactly will the connection be perfect.
"I have struggled with my right leg/side since I broke my ankle. My trainer had me working on my hip position and my leg got better. It's not always where you think you have the issue that fixes it." ~ Mikki Schattilly
If a horse doesn't want to stretch down at the end of a workout when the rider offers, that almost always means that the horse was not working properly through its body, and the rein connection wasn't true.
"No complicated riding before the horses are going truly forward. In dressage, the difficulties are often created by a lack of good basic work (which is the foundation of the house)." ~ Nuno Oliveira
If you are nervous right before you enter the show ring, take a moment to talk to and pet your horse. And make it genuine, no matter how your warm up went! It will relax both of you, and help you to focus.
Interval training is one of the safest ways to develop the horse's ability to do more work over longer periods of time, as it helps to prevent fatigue and a build up of lactic acid in the muscles.
What does it mean for a rider to be truly balanced independently of their horse?? That the rider does not need to grip the reins with their hands, or the horse with their legs, to stay on when riding at all gaits and speeds, and through changes of gait and speed.
Don't let the fear of an overreaction make you not reinforce an aid. I would much rather have the horse overreact to an aid than ignore it. Just stay calm if your horse overreacts, and if you have been clear and timely on your correction, the horse will likely respond to the lighter aid next time.
If your horse is rushing fences, before you think about correcting the horse, ask yourself this question: "What could I be doing that might be making my horse speed up on the approach?"
"Whether it is on the flat in a dressage ring, in a show-jumping ring, or on a cross-country course, the eyes are the first and most important tool that a rider has." ~ Jack Le Goff
When asking for a canter lengthening, medium canter, or extended canter (especially on a hot horse or one that is prone to tension), it can be helpful to initiate the upward transition with a bigger "scoop" of your seat rather than your leg, so that the horse understands that you want a bigger stride, rather than simply more speed. Too much leg at the beginning of the lengthening can cause a horse to get tense, and can cause the horse to quicken rather than lengthen.
