Tip/Quote of the Day!

When you halt and salute the judge at a competition, remember to smile! This will send the judge the message that you are confident about your performance, which can impress the judge and may even influence your scores in a subconscious way. 

"Riding the upper levels becomes less and less about who is the most naturally talented ... It becomes more of who is the best mental competitor. Who can take the competition down mentally, and have the ability to stay focused on the task at hand regardless of what happens, that's what true upper level talent is." ~ Stephanie Shepherd Ezzo 

A running martingale that fits correctly does not come into play unless the horse tosses its head, or tries to stick it straight up in the air. It should NOT be used to keep the horse's head down.

Since the various available lateral movements all work to supple the horse's body in a slightly different way, it is a good idea to use bits of all of them in your training. Don't just do your favorites.

Everyone talks about engaging the horse's inside hind leg - but the key to a good quality canter is sufficient engagement of the outside hind leg… as that is how each canter stride begins.

So many riders seem to ride with tight elbows, and BUSY hands. Instead strive for relaxed and mobile elbows, and quiet and still (yet supple) hands!

Proper hand position will help you to remain loose and supple in your arms. Deviating in any way from the perfect hand position will immediately cause your arm muscles to tighten.

When trying to improve the activity and engagement of your horse’s hind legs in downward transitions, think of a trot in place and dancing your way to the walk or halt.

"One of the good things about our sport is that while getting older might slow your reflexes down, the knowledge you have enables you to continue to improve, and handle the challenges better." ~ Shane Rose

If there is a jump on your cross country course that you don't particularly like, you certainly don't want to have to face it twice! So ride it like you are mad at it, and "get 'er done"!

The majority of amateur riders who think they have no natural talent may not be as quite as well taught as they think they are. In other words, if you are not improving as a rider, you may want to think about trying another instructor. 

When jumping, the horse's bascule is what allows him to more easily get his body up higher in the air.

When you have a problem in your jumping, 9 times out of 10 what you really have is a problem with the quality of your canter. 

Whenever you are nervous about something during your ride, make a very clear plan of what you are about to do in your mind. Then put your focus on the execution of that plan to override your nerves. 

The quality of your walk to halt transitions will tell a lot about the quality of all of your work.

When you are looking down you will have even more of a tendency to ride from your hands. Looking up will help to remind you to ride from your seat.

It can be a clever time to work on the beginning of a piaffe, or "half steps", when you are out hacking and your horse gets a bit excited and "prancy." Take advantage of the moment, to ask them (and allow them) to do what they are offering you in their excitement. And don't forget the reward.

Always strive to keep the feeling that two thirds of the horse is in front of you. This means staying behind your horse's shoulders, and allowing the horse to have as long of a neck as possible. This allows the rider to have a greater amount of security, and gives the horse the best chance to stay in good balance.

Horses that tend to rush or hurry often do best when ridden at a slower than ideal pace until they are rhythmical and relaxed, and are no longer trying to hurry.

If your horse struggles to maintain a consistent rhythm, think of using your breathing to help him stay regular. This is one reason why counting is so useful, as when you count, you will breathe in that rhythm.

Riders who do not stretch their horses are missing out on the full body suppling and gymnasticizing effects that a real stretch over the back will provide.

"With excellent timing of your release of the aid, you can train prompt response to incredibly subtle aids, all while improving understanding and relaxation." ~ Alexis Soutter

Overbending the neck is especially problematic in lateral work, as it causes the horse to displace their weight to the outside.

"A lot of riders think that will make their jumping better by jumping as many jumps as possible. They will go and get a jumping lesson, as opposed to a dressage lesson or doing some physical exercises to teach them body awareness skills, and probably the last would help them most." ~ Andrew Hoy

The basic rule of riding is that energy is created with the legs, directed by the rider's seat, and guided by the reins.

"Dressage is the art of putting one crooked body on top of another crooked body and making them both straight." ~ Richard Weis

"With the bend on the circles and in the travers, it is important to use as little inside rein as possible. If you need the inside rein, there is something wrong with the earlier work." ~ Christoph Hess

"If the horse is straight, not with the haunches in or out, it depends not on the neck, but on the body. The body is from the shoulder and that’s how you get the horses straight, you get both sides in the same length, that’s it." ~ Wolfram Wittig

You will never regret taking your time with training your horse. 

"Many people think, what is piaffe, piaffe is something the top riders do in Grand Prix – no, no, no, that is not right. Piaffe is something you use to train your horse, to make the horse more together and more balanced. You can start the piaffe right from the beginning, even with a five year old horse, you can start to do it in the hand on the ground, or also when you are riding, and that helps make the steps of the horse more controllable, and out of that you have a much more beautiful stride forward, and a much more beautiful stride sideways." ~ Rafael Soto