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If becoming a great rider wasn't hard, everyone would be able to do it. It's the hard that makes it great.

If you shorten the reins when your horse is not thinking forward, he is likely to become even more stuck and behind your leg. Always get him thinking forward first!

To achieve correct alignment on circles and turns, think of keeping your shoulders aligned with your horse's shoulders (or where you want them to be), and your hips aligned with your horse's hips (or where you want them to be.)

If you regularly ride using a lot of leg pressure, you will usually find that you need to keep using more and more leg to get things done. This is because many horses are looking for the opportunity to let their riders do as much of the work as possible! If this sounds like you and your horse, you need to make the decision that from TODAY forward, you will not ever try to physically "push" your horse along with your leg. Teach him to respond to light aids! 

"Many riders have expectations that are too high and they ask too much of their young horses too quickly. The remount in the cavalry had two years of primary school to become a riding horse. For today’s young horses this has become a luxury rarely enjoyed. The drive for success and money is not only restricted to our sport, but excessive ambitions can do lasting damage to young horses." ~ Susanne Miesner

"The harder you work, the luckier you will get." ~ Bill Steinkraus

We want our horses to be confident to step into our hand, yet not try to push through it.

Think of riding your horse’s outside hind leg actively through the turns to your jumps, to keep that canter well engaged behind.

The halt must come from the body of the rider, not the reins.

"Collection should make the horse more beautiful than he was beforehand, not less beautiful. If the horse loses the expression, the elevation, the beautiful contact, the energy, the fluidity of the gait or the way his legs are animating, we can’t be satisfied that we’ve achieved collection." ~ Scott Hassler

"Never teach a horse something you don't want him to learn." ~ Anne Rawle

You have to find a length of rein where you can connect without taking back in even the slightest way. 

Every time you get on your horse, try to let go of any old baggage that you might have between you... and ride the horse you are actually on at the moment.

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When seated in the saddle, be the tallest rider you can be from the waist up, and the longest you can possibly be from the waist down.

Try this little experiment: Spend some time doing a turn on the forehand in hand (on the ground), so you can really watch what happens to your horse's body when he steps underneath himself with his inside hind leg. While he may remain hollow at first in tension, as he relaxes into the exercise you will usually see him naturally becoming "rounder" in his body, and therefore lowering his head and neck. You will also likely see him chewing the bit softly. This is an example of how changing how the back and the hind legs are working positively affects the front end.

If you regularly spend lots of time working on the basics, such as straightness and suppleness, you will be likely to find that the more difficult movements will fall into place naturally.

"Riding is the dialogue between two bodies and two souls aimed at establishing perfect harmony between them." ~ Waldemar Seunig

"Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence." ~ Vince Lombardi

The fastest cross-country horses are not necessarily the fastest horses in general, but the ones that are the easiest to set up for the jumps. So make sure you are always working on improving your horse's adjustability.

A rider's hands can only be as good as the arms and seat they belong to.

A good rider is a master at self control.

When you have established a good contact, your horse can feel your thoughts transmitted through the reins.

When working with a horse that does not have a great natural lengthening, make sure that you don't ask for too much too soon. Compare this to a singer who is training their vocal cords… they gradually expand their vocal range until they hit their limit. This helps to prevent them from overextending themselves, and builds up confidence in their abilities.

A good halt is square because it was a good, balanced, well ridden halt. Not because the rider has taught the horse the "trick" of squaring up after an unbalanced halt.

If you would like a calm, attentive horse, you must first be a calm, attentive human.

The Dressage horse is supposed to be (and look like!) a "happy athlete". If the horse does not look happy in his work, that work is probably not correct.

"Never waste a transition." ~ Ralph Hill

Let the turn into the obstacle be your half halt.

"The horse's back is like a bridge that carries him and you, and the neck completes the bridge. All the energy created by going forward from the hindquarters to the bridle makes your horse's back strong and develops those muscles that create the bridge. Without energy through the neck, the bridge is out and you can't do anything." ~ Jennifer Baumert

"If you aren't sure [when jumping], ride forward, because being under paced is not only harder for the horse, it can make the fences dangerous at the higher levels... Fences are made to be taken at a certain speed, not much more and certainly no less." ~ Catherine Norman 

The faster you are going on cross country, the more you must generally think of maintaining a contact with your horse's mouth on the takeoff of a jump. No big crest releases!

Training a horse is sometimes like peeling an onion... As you make some progress in one area, the next area that you need to focus on often becomes clear. 

The quieter you become with your aids, the more detail both you AND your horse can hear and feel.

Take your time when riding transitions. Many riders seem to rush through them just to get them done. Be conscious of preparing for each one, and feeling all of the details while you are making the transition - being ready to abort the transition if things start to go wrong.

When riders stiffen their shoulders it can cause them to also have tense, tight arms and hands. To relax your shoulders, take a deep breath in, and exhale fully... looking for the feeling that your shoulders and elbows drop and become supple.

When you have a good rein connection, your horse can feel your thoughts transmitted through the reins.

The more contact you hold on your horse's mouth between jumps (and of course, on the flat as well), the more work you may have to do to half halt or stop. Try to be as light as possible, so that when you do ask for something, your horse will hear you.

As a rider, you have to push YOURSELF to get better, because no one is going to do it for you.

In all situations when riding, and at all levels, riding in rhythm gives the horse confidence.

The more often you are able to give the reins while riding, the more relaxed your horse will likely be.

Regularly remind yourself to focus more on maintaining an even rhythm when riding figures of any kind.

Horses speak through their actions. Try to listen to what they are telling you.

A rider's rigid elbows will cause the horse's back to become correspondingly rigid.

"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 get to a longer or shorter distance than ideal, the emphasis should be on the rider staying in the moment and conveying confidence to the horse." ~ William Fox Pitt

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 do not also release the aid, your horse will not really feel rewarded for their effort.

When a rider does not have that classic straight line from their elbow to the bit, it is nearly impossible to have a quality contact. This is just one of the many reasons that having eyes on the ground is SO important. As many riders tend to ride with their hands either above or below that line, and have no idea that they are doing it. A good rein connection will elude you until you have found just the right alignment.