"Dressage is controlled excitement." ~ Erin Sweeney

"I want to make the horse shorter because he is rounder, not because he is shorter, squeezed, jammed." ~ Miguel Tavora

Both horse and rider should learn to love that deep takeoff spot. Otherwise they are an accident waiting to happen. 

"We work a lot on the canter transition: canter walk canter because it is very good exercise to collect and to improve the canter." ~ Miguel Tavora

Some horses like a contact with the reins all the way up until the point of takeoff at a jump, while others prefer to have soft or even loose reins in the last stride or so. Make sure you know which type of horse you have.

Does your horse come above the bit, toss his head or climb with his head and neck into every canter transition?

If your answer is yes, you should ask yourself the following questions. (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full answer)

Any issues you have at the canter are usually there at the walk too, but just don't bother you as much because you're not going very fast. But it is easier to fix things at the walk! So don’t miss that opportunity.

"The outside rein is like any relationship....if you aren't 'there' when you're supposed to be, you allow people who counted on you to fall.” ~ Becky Rickly

You don't really do yourself any favors when you cater to your weaknesses. For example, if you only like to ride with your whip in your right hand, and it feels odd and uncomfortable in your left - you need to make yourself ride with it in your left hand. And if you are uncomfortable riding amongst distractions or with people watching, you only better yourself by seeking out those conditions.

Problems can only truly be fixed by finding their root cause, and addressing that rather than merely addressing the symptoms. Address the symptoms alone, and they will keep coming back. Or new symptoms will develop.

You should always be a nickel behind the horse's motion when jumping at a high rate of speed.

In your Dressage seat, let your legs hang quietly down - close to your horse's sides for easy and intimate communication, but not tight, which would lessen your ability to communicate in a subtle manner.

When you give an aid, whether it is a half halt or an aid to canter - ask very lightly, and then wait a bit to give the horse time to process and respond. This takes the pressure off of the horse, which lets him think more clearly about what you are asking. This will allow him to respond in a more focused way.

Mental limitations are often much more career limiting than physical limitations when it comes to riding. If things are difficult for you physically, don't give up!

With any related distance, make any needed adjustment early on in the line, and then focus on riding the rhythm and quality of the canter, while patiently waiting for the jump to "come to you."

Keep your horse's back up into the halt by riding each step from behind into your receiving hand.

We must sit in the middle and be centered even if our horse’s one sidedness is trying to make us sit differently.

Frequent quality transitions are the best way to confirm that your horse is listening equally to both the driving aids and the restraining aids.

You have to think about how you can get into your horse's head, to win him over to your side, rather than trying to muscle him around. Horses usually seek where they are most comfortable. Always keep that in mind. 

"Through the energy of impulsion mobilized from within himself, the horse is now prepared, in his physique and emotional attentiveness, to respond instantly to the slightest indications to change his tempo, posture, direction or gait." ~ Waldemar Seunig

If you are too much "on guard" and ready for any possible shenanigans from your horse when riding, you might actually cause them. Your horse will feel your state of tension, and feed off of you.

"Counter canter teaches the balance, and confirms the aids, and that balance means collection and self carriage." ~ Waldemar Seunig

"If you want a soft and responsive horse, you must be a soft and responsive human." 

"You are going to meet a fence one of three ways - short, right or long. Therefore you want to meet it on a stride that the horse can work from - a bouncy energetic canter - then he can add if he needs to and pat the ground, or say thanks for getting me here right." ~  Jimmy Wofford

Typically, when a rider seeks out my assistance, they have a problem and are looking to get it fixed. Often their problem involves a strong emotional reaction to a specific situation that interferes with their riding, such as anxiety as they enter the show ring or panic as they approach a triple combination. Many are surprised, after they have described their problem, when I ask them to take a step back and look at the broader picture. Like most of us, my clients are highly focused on the problem and often believe that the solution lies in directly addressing that problem; changing some specific thing about themselves that causes the problem to vanish. (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)

"The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage." ~ Arie de Geus

The horse's lightness (or lack thereof) will be particularly evident in the downward transitions.

A strong back is necessary for the horse to be able to achieve and maintain self carriage and collection for any length of time under a rider. Make sure you are not asking for too much too soon.

"The quality of a good canter: round, energetic, straight, cadenced, light. You have to feel in the strike off that the horse lifts his forehand without throwing himself forward." ~ Nuno Oliveira

Tightly clamped thighs make you lose your nice deep seat, and can drive the horse's back down into a hollow position.

"As a rider you always want to go on the good side. But you have to do a bit more on the bad side to make it as good as the good side. How many riders want to work the bad side? When I’m teaching, I see everyone wants to go on the easy side. But you don’t want to do so much on the bad side that you then upset your horse." ~ Charlotte Dujardin

"Great horses bring an unquenchable love for the game, and a fierce competitive desire to every competition." ~ Jimmy Wofford

Let the turn into the obstacle be your half halt.

Riders who get the best out of the sensitive type of horse are usually especially good at being tactful. 

"Don't set the horse up when cantering over a pole - allow the horse to make mistakes and learn to adjust its own stride to negotiate the pole." ~ Eric Smiley

I recently participated in a training course on techniques and strategies to build core mindfulness skills. While there were many interesting strategies that will be helpful to my clients over time, I was struck by Sheri Van Dijk‘s presentation regarding states of mind. She focused her presentation on two specific states of mind, the Rational Mind and the Emotional Mind and talked about the distinction between them. I think the ideas she presented are directly relevant to what we desire as a performance state of mind. (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)

You need a short bouncy energetic canter in water. Not just to the jump in, but to any jump out or otherwise related to the water. Getting long and flat in the stride can be especially disastrous at a water jump.

What you are used to doing will often feel right to you. That's why you should make sure that what you are doing is really correct, before you practice that way so many times that it becomes an ingrained habit - one that might be difficult to change.