Hobby Horse Dressage

Hobby Horse Dressage

Dressage Anywhere is running online hobby horse classes, with 80% of the entry fee going to NHS Charities Together’s Covid-19 fund. The competition runs from April 16-April 30. Dressage Anywhere is running Novice, Grand Prix, Pony Club and RDA tests which may be ridden in any size arena and on any surface.  £8 of the […]

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How to teach your horse a Turn on the Forehand

Turn on the forehand

As part of my coronavirus riding program, I’m focusing on exercises we can practice at the walk, like the turn on the forehand. This relatively simple movement is a good way teach your horse to move away from your leg (sideways as opposed to forward), teaches obedience, improves suppleness, and frees up her shoulder for […]

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Going in Circles

Circle-holics

Gotta laugh at this one. What is it about horses and riding in circles? What a shock when OTTBs and dressage horses hit the trails. Can’t comment on those coming of a carousel. They may be a lost cause.

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FEI Requires Protective Headgear for all Riders beginning in 2021

The days of the traditional top hat are numbered. Dressage riders must wear protective headgear at all times, in the show ring and out, at FEI events as of January 1, 2021. In addition, helmets are required during the marathon phase of combined driving events.  The delay in implementation is to allow time for education […]

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Understanding a Winning Ride

Adiah HP

This dressage test from Adiah HP and Jim Koford at the US Dressage Finals is stunning. The pair are so fluid, so focused and so elegant. But is the commentary that really makes the whole experience so remarkable. Kathy Connelly explains what the judges are looking for and how the pair executes the movements. With […]

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Tired of riding in circles?

Tired of riding in circles

I’m sure that many of you, like me, couldn’t get enough carousel rides. In our imaginations, those horses took us on wonderful adventures, no longer tethered by their poles and always accompanied by cheerful music. Of course, I only rode the “jumpers” (the standing horses were for babies), and we traveled great distances during those […]

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