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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Unless you are intentionally working on a specific weakness in a horse that has trouble making longer distances, it is best to school most gymnastic and gridwork with distances that are at least slightly snug for your horse. As the shorter distances will make your horse rock back more on
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Turning your toes out beyond your natural conformation will cause you to pinch the horse with the back of your thighs and the muscles of your seat.
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Thinking of steering your horse from the middle of his body rather than his nose will help you to keep all of his body parts under control.
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Horses speak through actions. Try to listen to what they are telling you.
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Make sure there is a slight time lapse between a light aid and a correction. This gives the horse a chance to respond to the light aid... and it gives him a chance to learn from the reinforcement of that aid.
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"Our job is to prepare the line and canter, then ride forward to the jump. Riding forward to the jump is NOT accelerating to the jump. There is a difference. When riders got to a longer or shorter distance than ideal, the emphasis should be on the rider staying
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With horses, just like with people, let your actions speak for you. For example, you may think you are rewarding your horse when you say "Good boy" or "Good girl"… but if you don't also release the aid, your horse will not really feel
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"Every transition you ride at home has to be a good one." ~ Charlotte Dujardin
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Riders often get to sitting crooked when trying to "weigh" a particular seat bone. So when I am teaching, and I want riders to use the influence of their weight or a particular seat bone as an aid, I tell them to "engage" that seat bone
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"The goal of our training is to build the horse's mind and his muscles. Suppleness and relaxation require adequate muscle strength. strengthening requires both contraction and relaxation. Blood flow and oxygenation occur when the muscle relaxes. If the muscle is kept in a constant state of contraction,
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So often, riders are taught to "lean back" when going down hills and over drop fences. While this is better than leaning too far forward in either of those situations, you must remember that as a rider you are where your center of gravity is, not where your
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The key to riding good "cross the diagonal" movements in the Dressage ring is to ride deeply in the preceding corner, while keeping the impulsion through the turns, so that the energy level stays consistent throughout the movement.
