25 Days, 25 Letters of the Alphabet... By popular demand we republish a Rider's A to Z Glossary of technical terms; a more or less alphabetical Series of rider expressions that, in form of a Rider's Advent Calendar, Rivkah Roth wrote for and posted on her CoachMeToo and Equiopathy Facebook pages in December 2019. 1/A: … Continue reading Rider’s A to Z Glossary #1
(Not) for Debate - and not just for DQs: "Close your hand!" An edited and updated version of an article initially posted on January 16, 2015 on my Equiopathy Facebook page and prompted by an paper linked to in that original post's comments. Equiopathy questioned: exactly, how?... and why? There is a lot more to … Continue reading On the Position of the Rider Hand
The One Place where Thumbs Up are Unwanted! Growing up in a classically correct training environment it never occurred to me that any rider would stick their thumb tips up or hold their entire thumbs flat while grabbing the reins with their whole hand or fist. But that is exactly what I see more and … Continue reading Rider Sin #2: Thumbs Up
Or Why "We Can't Ride on the Horse's Head" Horses are not built to be steered by their heads but by our seat and legs. A rider attempting to control the horse by its head - i.e. "hold" the horse by the bit, with running reins, or other contraptions - will fail because riding front-to-back … Continue reading Rider Sin #1 – Pulling Back an Elbow
Know Your Trot! A Reminder for Riders, Trainers, and Judges Introduction For any rider and trainer, and in particular for dressage judges, to be able to recognize and understand the various forms of trot asked for in dressage is of penultimate importance. Yet, possibly because a rider's feel rarely coincides with a viewer's picture, confusion … Continue reading The Six Trots that Nobody Rides and the One that Gets Everybody Nowhere
Understandings or Misunderstandings? Emotions are flying high when and where it comes to the competitive aspects of dressage. On one side, there are spectators hungry for circuslike displays of bigger-is-better movement excitement. These include horsy and non-horsy admirers of our field that is (always has been) the culmination of art, not of artisanship. Dressage hence … Continue reading Action Needed – Unfortunate Developments in Dressage
Seat Exercises on the Longe Line by Rivkah Roth DO DNM If you haven't done so yet this winter it is time for a few weeks of intensive seat exercises and a major "tool building" refresher Performing seat exercises on the longe for an elastic and balanced, independent seat requires an highly reliable longe person … Continue reading Show Season Preparation
Advanced Level Canter Work Stands and Falls with Your Basic Canter Transitions by Rivkah Roth DO DNM If your walk-canter departures are equally straight and balanced on either lead, chances are you will be able to master faultless flying changes in either direction and, later perhaps also, your series-changes from fours to changes every stride. … Continue reading From Canter Departure to Flying Changes in Series – Part I
The value of riding transitions from gait to gait or within one gait in the schooling of our horses is unquestioned. Only correctly ridden transitions however fulfill our goal of producing a better balanced, sound and uphill horse.
There are no shortcuts to correct training and why training of young horses belongs in experienced hands.
