"The four commandments of dressage are: 1) rhythm 2) tempo 3) frame 4) length of the stride. Sounds simple, right? You must own and embody every commandment." ~ Robert Dover
It is important for a rider to know why we do each of the various movements and exercises, not just how to do them. Otherwise they won't actually know exactly how and when to use them to improve the horse.
Long slow distance work is an important part of the conditioning program for every horse. But it is especially important for older and young horses. Older horses need to keep limber, and young horses need to build a base level of tendon, ligament, and bone strength.
Each time your seat touches down in the saddle in the rising trot, think of dropping your shoulders into your elbows, while keeping your chest wide open and your spine stretched tall.
A tense, tight back is a blocked "bridge" for the energy that should be moving from the horse's hindquarters to the rider's hands. You must address the tension in the back before you will be able to achieve a good connection.
Changing directions frequently can help to keep your horse more straight, as each time you change direction you momentarily break the pattern of leaning one way that your horse might have been falling into. And it can help to improve rider symmetry as well!
"Be as elegant as royalty. Embracing your inner princess (or prince) is vital in becoming a dressage superstar. And that means no brash or aggressive movements when your horse isn’t listening." ~ Robert Dover
Being a good rider, and being someone who understands the details of the concepts that make a good rider are two very different things. One can be both... but one does not guarantee the other. This is why it is not really a good idea to pick a riding instructor based on their ability to ride.
Everyone knows that we need our horses to be relaxed to perform well. But that starts with our own relaxation! A rider must be relaxed to give clear and precise aids to their horse, and to set the tone for the horse to be able to relax.
"Horses are interesting creatures. They are extremely obedient (most of the time) and will jump out of their skin if we asked them to. But appreciation is key when it comes to learning a new movement or doing a good job." ~ Robert Dover
If your horse is the type to sometimes get behind your leg when jumping, you must start your courses with more energy in your canter than you think you need. I see so many riders starting off with a nice quiet canter, and then run into trouble because their horse doesn't respond instantly to their leg when they need them to.
If your horse is heavy on one rein, and even somewhat empty in the other - fight your instincts to take back on the heavier rein. It won't help. Instead focus on engaging the hind leg on the heavier side to put the horse more up into the opposite rein.
"You can do this. I promise you, it’s not the end of the world. We’re not curing cancer, or ending world hunger. We’re just riding around on horses here." ~ Robert Dover
The concept of collection is often best introduced to the horse in the canter, as that is very often the gait that the horse finds it easiest to learn how to "sit" more behind.
Quality feedback needs to be very specific. It is not that helpful for an instructor to tell you that something was "good." They should be able to tell you what exactly was good about it, and why that quality is so important. This is the difference between merely stroking someone's ego vs turning them into a truly great and well educated rider.
"The basic techniques, or what they call basics, are more difficult than what comes later, this is the 'Trap of Dressage.' Correct basics are more difficult than the piaffe and passage." ~ Conrad Schumacher
"When you don't have a confident position, it’s saying to people you don’t believe in yourself. So sit up, shoulders back, chin high, and ride your best test." ~ Robert Dover
"Everything comes back to this first thought of creating energy, trapping energy, recirculating energy, and directing energy into the beautiful things that we have in our mind that we create which becomes dressage." ~ Robert Dover
"When my elbows are supple and hinged, I'm less likely to tighten my forearms, and I'm more likely to recycle the energy from the hind end." ~ Becky Rickly
"It hardly needs to be mentioned that, in order to ride good corners in the arena, you have nothing more to do than to apply the same aids as for enlarging the circle. Just as we don’t need to mention that spiraling out on the circle is a preparatory exercise for shoulder in and spiraling in on the circle is a preparatory exercise for the haunches in." ~ Kimmerle
"Collection is indispensable, to bring the horse into the balance that makes him feel really, really educated. An educated horse in the balance, it means that he will live longer, it is healthy for the horse." ~ Rafael Soto
"The difference between an incorrectly compressed horse and a collected horse is that he collected horse can put his nose toward the ground (stretch) while staying round." ~ Nuno Oliveira
"In defining 'collection,' I like to use the word 'compression' because when you compress something such as a spring, it wants to push back. If you take a spring that’s 12 inches long and you compress it 1 inch, it wants to push back that 1 inch. If you think of collection as 'fluid compression that wants to push back,' you’re ahead of the game, so don't lose that concept!" ~ Scott Hassler
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
"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
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.
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.
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.
