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Imagine (there's no pulling) A lot of bad riding at the Morgan Worlds where I judged this fall. Not all—to be sure there were some good rides and plenty of good horses. But when you are judging and you wish you had a rubber stamp for the
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Reiner Klimke Couldn’t Sit That Trot I really don’t understand why the sitting trot is so elusive. A few days ago I was running through the Intermediate tests and envisioning the Advanced tests as next on my “to be conquered” list. I was in Dressage Queen mode like
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"When should I make a half halt?" she asked me. The obvious answer is when you need one, but if she's asking that question, maybe the answer isn't so obvious after all! How DO you know when you need one? And what exactly are
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It's not unusual for a novice rider to emerge from a dressage test and announce, "Wow, that whole thing went by in such a blur!" Later when that same rider has worked her way up to Fourth Level, if she has an occasion to ride another
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Most teachers have nefarious designs on your mind—ones that they may not admit to. You just may want nuts and bolts explanations of the "which leg goes where" variety. Most times that's not all you're going to get. Some riders already know they
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I used to live by the mantra, "Frustration begins where knowledge ends." If I was having a hard time with a horse, I would stop and think, "What don't I know about this situation?" It could be that I just didn't have
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There's a time (we hope) in everyone's riding where a transformation takes place. It's when you start to find your "voice" and begin to exercise it. Before this can happen, riders struggle through some predictable stages. Typically, even while working on their
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Winter Workouts “Should you find a wise critic to point out your faults, follow him as you would a guide to hidden treasure.” Buddha (really, it is a Buddha quote, no fooling!) Once again I found myself at another, "Give-Peace-a-Chance-Breathe-Deeply-Envision-a-Perfect-Ride" sports psychology seminar focused on Anxiety in the
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Fit Bit-itis I began this morning with a roll of the eyes, one which I shared with the instructor who passed this vignette along to me. Seems her student was watching her school a promising 2nd/3rd level horse and observed that she was giving him a lot of short
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There are lots of stages of learning. In the beginning you have no idea about anything, so you don't know just how much you don't know. As you learn more, at some point you HOPEFULLY, discover just how vast the chasm in your knowledge really is.
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(You can't make this stuff up) Officer, I tried to raise her right! After having seen weekend scores on Foxvillage of the show where my student was on her own competing, I noted that she had put up three good First Level scores earlier. . . Me: What happened in
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Have you ever ridden with a coach who raises the jumps when you're not looking? Over the years I've ridden with a lot of people and for some reason, this is a common tactic. It's so common.... I was joking about this while trying
