Lesley's Corner
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Tip/Quote of the Day # 3379
Think of riding the wave of movement through your horse's back as you sit the trot or canter.
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Guest Blog # 122: Walk... Don't Walk by Bill Woods
A seemingly minor issue where you can gain or lose points in a test (or just make the judge crazy) is how you make your transitions in and out of the halt. Let's begin with Intro and Training Level rides where the directive permits transitions between trot and
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Guest Blog # 121: Lunging, by Bill Woods
Sometimes what I see makes me crazy(er); so here are my own thoughts on the topic that I wish you would take into consideration when you lunge.It is said that whenever you work with your horse you are "training" him— sometimes for worse, sometimes for better
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Guest Blog # 120: Too Focused? by Bill Woods
I observed a very exotic horse on a show grounds the day before he was to compete. He was an Iberian horse of some sort who obviously had a lot of training. But unfortunately he was totally wired. A thumbnail: held together, tense throughout, unable to stand still in a
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Guest Blog # 119: "Eventing vs Autocross!" by Soraya V Juarbe-Diaz
When Lesley put up a post about how driving habits could affect your riding, the first thought that came to my mind was “You don’t want to see how I drive...” Mostly because I like to go fast in a car, the faster the better... kind of like the
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Guest Blog # 118: Why Counter Canter? by Bill Woods
An old friend of mine, Colonel Aage Sommer (DEN) used to say “One counter canter is worth ten true canters.” It was implied, but allow me to state it outright: one good counter canter! The benefit of counter canter is not that you can manage to canter around on the
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Guest Blog # 117: IT’S A HOLD UP! by Bill Woods
(“Where did the support I am used to go?”) I’ve been starting to ride a horse for a woman. She is an adult amateur jumper rider with a big warm blood – easily over 17 hands. She describes him as very strong, almost like a freight train, particularly on his
Educational Discussions
Discussion # 182: Let's talk about refreshing your horse's response to the inside leg before you begin a circle!
Educational Discussions
Discussion # 181: How would you ride your green horse over this narrow fence?
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Guest Blog # 116: "The Cone of Uncertainty" by Bill Woods
The national weather service has issued an advisory complete with a mapped out cone of uncertainty for the “potential development of a tropical disturbance” which would be named Fred. Be clear: at the moment it does not exist, but there are indications that it might in the future. This is
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Guest Blog # 115: "The Words Are Not Magic" by Bill Woods
Ten or fifteen years ago the USDF proclaimed it the Year of Transitions. To emphasize that idea separate transition scores were introduced which bracketed lengthenings and mediums both in trot and canter. Good enough. It’s better than just fading out or dribbling into false collection at the end of