Unless otherwise noted, all quotes on this page are the work of Lesley Stevenson. Please ensure proper attribution when sharing. Thank you!
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"To ride a centerline correctly you need a good degree of balance and straightness. The horse must be even on both reins and obedient to the half halt. The entrance must be straight, the downward transition must be smooth and the halt square. The horse must stand at attention,
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In a Dressage test (and definitely when schooling), it is better to focus on the quality of your transitions, rather than insist that they be right at the letter. The judge would rather see a smooth, well balanced transition a little before or after the letter than a stiff, unbalanced
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"I study my horse, and my horse studies me. If I am a coward, he is one. If I am lazy, he is lazy. If I am impatient he is impetuous. If I am lost in thought, how dreamily he pursues his way!" ~ Unknown
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"If you keep your hands still, you’ll start using your legs." ~ Ulla Salzgeber
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"Look for the contact: The horse needs to trust and look for the reins in order to begin proper work. Try to let him chew. He should look for the reins, so don’t throw away the reins." ~ Isabell Werth
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On teaching the horse to be more careful over fences - "Let him hit it [the fence], don't make him hit it, let him hit it. The best teacher of the horse is the horse - he is his own best trainer." ~ George Morris
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"Your horse will tell you when he’s ready to learn something new when he responds to the aids more readily. He will be able to do that once his physical conditioning improves and the work gets easier for him. Don’t make the mistake of trying to advance
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Every well ridden corner is a suppling exercise, and should be recognized as such.
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Trotting into bigger fences teaches both horse and rider to wait for the base of the jump, as well as teaching the horse to use technique and bascule to jump rather than momentum.
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"If I ride a bad corner, I’m going to ride a bad movement. The short sides and corners are what set you up for every movement." ~ Charlotte Dujardin
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"Don't delude yourself into thinking that you have light, soft hands, if you ride with loose, almost dangling reins on a strung out horse. That can be done with insensitive hands as well. A soft hand requires the rider to feel whether the horse is softly on
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Your weight or seat aid trumps your leg and hand aids at all times. So if you are unconsciously giving conflicting aids with your weight/seat and your legs or hands, your horse will usually not do exactly what you expect him to do.
