Unless otherwise noted, all quotes on this page are the work of Lesley Stevenson. Please ensure proper attribution when sharing. Thank you!
Get your FREE daily tip here!
When trying to find your balance, whether for posting at the trot, jumping a fence, or anything in between - you will always be in one of three positions: Either ahead of the motion (too far forward), behind the motion (too far back), or exactly with the motion (perfect). If
Get your FREE daily tip here!
"What goes on in your brain, goes down the rein." ~ Andrew Hoy
Get your FREE daily tip here!
Once your horse is fairly solid at first level Dressage, a good thing to ask yourself regularly while riding is, "Could I easily go into shoulder in at this moment?" If your horse is balanced and straight, and stepping up into your outside rein, you should be able
Get your FREE daily tip here!
"Anyone using their spur every stride, should be yellow carded and kicked out of the sport. Use your whip, get a response, then ask again with your leg, and get a light response." ~ Christopher Burton
Get your FREE daily tip here!
Riders with busy hands create horses with less responsive mouths.
Get your FREE daily tip here!
Think of Dressage training exercises as physical therapy for your horse… similar to the strength training that you might do at the gym. Do a few good reps of a particular exercise, and take a break, or move on to something else. Overtraining any particular group of muscles can be
Get your FREE daily tip here!
You can't assume that a horse with a low head and neck is on the forehand, any more than you can assume that a horse with a high head carriage is truly collected. You have to look at the whole picture.
Get your FREE daily tip here!
When your horse is impressed by a jump, and gathers itself a bit to "look" on the approach, you have a free half halt. Do not get caught taking back in this situation, or you may cause your horse to stop. Think "keep the hind legs moving&
Get your FREE daily tip here!
"I want any rider approaching any jump to concentrate on rhythm. They should concentrate on HOW they get there, not where they get to." ~ Jimmy Wofford
Get your FREE daily tip here!
You have to be able to halt before you can have an effective half halt.
Get your FREE daily tip here!
"What is essential is not to tighten the legs during the dressage training, but rather to use them without effort while allowing them to hang softly near the horse’s sides." ~ Nuno Oliviera
Get your FREE daily tip here!
Remember that even a COW can jump a 3 foot fence from a standstill... if it wants to. So never worry about whether or not your horse has enough scope to do lower level eventing or jumping. The bigger issue is whether or not you can keep him balanced at
