Q: I have a 6-year-old American Saddlebred mare that I currently ride saddle seat. I’m thinking about switching to dressage, but I’m unsure about the transition for my horse. How can I make it easier for her?A: "I made...
Our best tool for improving our equine athletes is no secret: a cache of proven exercise routines. During moments when we most need to use them, though, many of us fail to rely on them like we should. Instead,...
If you have ever ridden a Training or First Level dressage test, you have become pretty acquainted with what we call the stretchy circle, the 20-meter test of your horse’s ability to elongate his posture while maintaining rhythm, bend,...
When Jolli Pressler rode down the centerline at the first-ever western dressage world championships in November 2012, her primary goal was to remember to breathe. Everything else would be icing on the cake.
"I’m as nervous as can be,” said...
You don’t have to be a competitor to reap the benefits of dressage training with your horse. Any horse can learn the basic lateral movements of the turn on the forehand and the leg-yield. Unlike the more advanced lateral...
From Nov. 6-9, top horse-and-rider teams from around the country came to the Kentucky Horse Park to compete in the U.S. Dressage Finals. The competition awards championship titles to competitors from Training Level through Grand Prix.
The U.S. Dressage Finals...
How do life’s setbacks bring you to whole new dreams? Just ask Cambry Kaylor, a young and vibrant equestrian who wears many hats: para-dressage rider, vaulting coach, and American Vaulting Association apprentice judge.Equestrian vaulting was the perfect childhood...
If you’re a competitive dressage rider or eventer, your score ultimately comes down to your performance in the ring. All the practice in the world doesn’t guarantee that you’re getting every possible point out of your test.
Here, Gina Miles,...
If your horse has ever received bodywork, chances are good that you have learned how much the region of his lower lumbar spine and sacral joint either impedes or improves his ability to perform well. Similarly to humans, this...
Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro earned gold in the Grand Prix Freestyle on the final day of dressage at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy. Photo: Lesley WardIn the past two years, British rider Charlotte Dujardin and...
