Tip/Quote of the Day!

"Don't take the tempo down without revving the engine." ~ Chris Bartle

"When working on your horse's balance, keep in mind that horses can't be balanced under unbalanced riders. We always need to begin with the education and balance of the rider." ~ Debbie Mcdonald

"Contact has to be just that, contact. People think 'oh this horse is very light I have nothing in my hand' – this is wrong because then you have no contact to his hind legs." ~ Jean Bemelmans

"Only when the horse is straight, the hind legs can be induced by correct collection to carry more weight and, correspondingly, be gymnasticized by increased flexion. This improves the balance and the suppleness, and it strengthens the haunches for the greater demands to the necessary degree." ~ Podhajsky

"A horse which doesn’t relax the mandibular and the tongue muscles cannot be entirely relaxed. That is why it is so important that the horse accepts the bit, and the sign of that is the actively and relaxed chewing." ~ Christian Thiess

"The purpose of dressage is to enhance our ability to control our horses; hopefully, after a long period of consistent training, our horses will calmly and generously place their forces at our disposal." ~ Jimmy Wofford

"Let the neck fall down, don’t pull it down, create a situation in which the horse wants to let go his body and relax his neck." ~ Johan Hamminga

The horse that wants to fall out on circles should work more often on a square figure than a circle, until the rider has better control of the outside of the horse's body.

Good, correct, and active stretching work helps to lift and engage the horse's back muscles. 

"Since the criteria of a correct seat are the same as the criteria of good posture in general, being constantly attentive to one’s bearing when standing or walking is excellent training. A correct vertical posture of the head and the trunk on horseback is not a special posture applicable only to riding." ~ Kurt Albrecht

Use the corner after the jump to get your horse back to you if necessary. Use the corner on the turn into the next jump to elevate the horse's front end.

When your horse stretches down, try not to follow him with your posture by rounding your shoulders and leaning forward. Because if you do, you will be encouraging him to fall onto the forehand. 

While the distance in between the jumps is a big deciding factor in the speed and length of stride that you should approach with... generally approaching a combination or complex off of a shorter, bouncier stride will give you more options.

"Push yourself away from your hands." ~ Stephen Clarke

The quality of your turn into the jump will greatly affect the quality of that jump.

Don't wait until the horse is doing something perfectly to reward. You must reward the horse when he begins to go in the right direction of the correct response, however slightly that may be.

Many riders place their saddles too far forward! Make sure that the solid parts of the saddle are behind the horse's shoulder, to allow for freedom of the shoulder.

Riders often tend to forget their outside leg in the equation of the bending aids. If you want to achieve true bend in the horse's ribcage, your outside leg must keep the hindquarters on the track.

"The goal of all dressage riding should be to bring the horse and rider together in harmony... a oneness of balance, purpose, and athletic expression." ~ Walter Zettl

"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

Eventers need to make sure that the saddle that they use for cross country is truly suitable. The flap needs to be forward enough to give you room to easily push your feet out in front of you for security whenever necessary (such as galloping downhill, drop into water, deep mud on a downhill landing, etc.) 

The intensity of your half halt is about the strength of your seat and core, and the push into the connection... not the amount of pull on the reins. 

Horses want you to say what you mean, and to mean what you say, with both your aids and your body language. 

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.

A successful jump is more about the approach than the jumping effort itself.

"The inside rein must always be ready with a GOOD OFFER." ~ Reiner Klimke

"I do a lot of cavaletti work also with my dressage horses because then I can really make them active behind, over the back, stretching into your hand, and really supple in the back." ~ Ingrid Klimke

"Allow your horse the opportunity to use his neck more." ~ Reiner Klimke

The half pass helps to develop the brilliance of the medium and extended trot, by increasing hip and stifle flexibility, and freeing up the horse's shoulders.

Ride in counter flexion to correct over bending, on circles AND on straight lines, as needed.