By Mary Moon
“The focus of this seminar is on helping you develop your abilities to assess and train a horse as it is being ridden. This means using the Pyramid of Training (POT) to analyze the horse’s behavior and movement to identify what is correct and what needs to change. When you can thoughtfully adjust your position and aids and choose exercises such as transitions, leg yields and shoulder-ins, you can influence your horse’s physical and mental performance. By doing this in an ongoing manner, you can train a horse as you ride it or help someone else ride and train their horse,” co-clinicians Vicki Hammers-O’Neil and William (Bill) McMullin told attendees at a United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Instructor/Trainer Development Seminar on Riding and Training held July 14-15, 2024, at Weatogue Farm LLC (Salisbury, CT).
This was the second in a series of three seminars presented by the Connecticut Dressage Association (CDA) this summer. Co-organizers Christine Engel and Fern Feldman from CDA gratefully acknowledged The Dressage Foundation (TDF) for a grant for financial support and USDF for educational course materials. The third USDF Instructor/Trainer Development Seminar (Teaching) will be held August 10-11 with co-clinicians McMullin and Sarah Geikie at Sperry View Farm (Bethany, CT). “The Teaching Seminar will focus on developing teaching skills through a better understanding of the Pyramid of Training,” according to McMullin. The first seminar (Lungeing) was taught by co-clinicians Ann Guptill and Hammers-O’Neil and held April 20-21, 2024, at Fox Ledge Farm (East Haddam, CT).
These three seminars are part of the USDF Instructor/Trainer Development Program. The goal of the Program is to educate juniors, amateurs and professionals who wish to further their education in correct dressage based on classical principles (summarized in the POT). The first day of each seminar is open to auditors and includes presentations, videos, demonstrations and discussions. The second day is limited to eight participants and provides hands-on experience and individualized coaching.
McMullin is a USEF ’S‘ judge, USDF Gold Medalist, and USDF FEI Level Certified Instructor. He and his partner, Bill Warren, own and operate Warren-McMullin Dressage; they accept horses for training and teach riders from Training Level through Grand Prix. Hammers-O’Neil, a USDF Silver Medalist and USDF Certified Instructor through Fourth Level, operates VHO Dressage and provides freelance training, coaching, and clinics. Both are active members of the USDF Instructor/Trainer Development Program Faculty.
The Basics and POT
In the first part of the seminar, McMullin and Hammers-O’Neil gave a presentation about learning objectives, safety, the purpose of the levels, position and alignment of the rider, and the POT. They distributed handouts, showed PowerPoint slides provided by USDF and answered many questions from attendees.
The clinicians told attendees that anyone who wants to ride and train a horse according to the principles of classical dressage must know and understand the basics of performance listed in the POT. “Top riders work on the basics in daily training,” McMullin emphasized, “and their horses know the movements. The primary purpose of every USEF national test, from Training to Fourth Level, is the same: to confirm that the horse demonstrates correct basics. The basics are the vocabulary of dressage tests and the elements of the POT. Riders and trainers must know this vocabulary by heart and how to correctly use these elements of the POT.”
Hammers-O’Neil explained the importance of understanding the basics to train a young horse in the classically correct way. For Training Level tests, the statement of purpose is that the horse shows suppleness, moves freely forward in a clear rhythm with a steady tempo and readily accepts contact with the bit. In doing so, the horse maintains level balance and does not “fall” on his shoulders, lean on the rider or pull on the reins. Rhythm, suppleness and contact are the first three elements at the base of the POT.
At First Level, the purpose of the tests specifies that the horse show better balance and suppleness than at Training Level and be on the bit. Lengthened trot and canter are developed from working gaits by adding thrust or energy.
The expectations for performance increase through Second, Third and Fourth Levels. The purpose of each test calls for straightness, impulsion and collection, the fourth through sixth elements at the top of the POT. Medium trot and canter are developed from collected gaits. At these levels, a horse needs greater degrees of straightness, suppleness and self-carriage to perform collected and medium gaits. The horse is expected to demonstrate that he has been trained to adjust his balance, posture and movement to carry more of his weight on his hind quarters (collection). Expectations are even higher at the international (FEI) levels, from Prix St George to Grand Prix.
The simplicity of the POT can be misleading. Training a horse through the levels does not mean mastering first rhythm, then perfecting relaxation and so forth, like progressing from one grade in school to the next. At every level of training (and competition), progress (and scores) depends upon the quality of a horse’s basics. Each day, the trainer is responsible for analyzing the horse’s basics and addressing what needs to be improved. To do so, the trainer must have an independent seat, correct aids, a toolkit of exercises and a good relationship with the horse.
Balanced Seat
“A balanced seat is essential to using aids that the horse understands,” Hammers-O’Neil told the attendees. “The rider must sit correctly to train the horse and progress. An athletic horse may carry the rider through some of the lower levels, but eventually the horse will need support from the rider to advance to the higher levels.”
There is no ideal seat because a balanced seat depends on the horse, rider and saddle, she explained. To have a balanced seat, the rider needs to sit in the middle of the horse with correct alignment (heel-hip-shoulder-ear), level shoulders, level hips and eyes looking up and ahead. Hammers-O’Neil recommended that every rider have a video made as they ride and study it to observe their tendencies and how they “get in the way” of aiding the horse.
The most common flaw in rider position is a “collapsed hip”, McMullin noted. For example, when a rider’s right shoulder sags down toward their right hip, their left hip slides toward the edge (or even off) the seat of the saddle and their spine curves to the left. The rider’s belt tilts up on her right and down on the left instead of being level (horizontal). The horse may not understand weight aids given by a rider with a collapsed hip. This is particularly important when training young horses because they are most sensitive to weight aids while learning to respond to leg and rein aids.
Rider Aids
The rider uses leg aids by bending one or both knees to close their calf(ves) against the side(s) of the horse, create energy and ask the horse to move. The rein aids receive the energy created by the leg aids. The rein length from the rider’s hand to the bit organizes the position and posture of the horse’s neck.
The elbows flex to maintain steady contact between the rider’s hands and the bit. The rider’s hips follow and influence the swinging movement of the muscles in the horse’s back. The relationship between the rider’s hips and elbows is very important because they make a “box” that “contains” the horse by influencing his frame.
“Eighty percent of the time when teaching, Vicki and I work on position and alignment of the rider and flexing, bending and suppleness of the horse,” McMullin explained. For example, to flex a horse to the right, the rider slightly takes with her right rein and gives or allows with her left rein, like steering a bike or car.”
To bend a horse to the right, the rider first flexes the horse to the right and then asks him to bend. The rider needs to sit in the middle of the horse while slightly moving their inside hip in advance of their outside hip and their outside shoulder ahead of their inside shoulder. This shifts a little of the rider’s weight from their outside to their inside hip without causing their inside hip to collapse. Hammers-O’Neil referred to this as the “bending seat” (also called the spiral seat). A rider can close their inside leg to ask the horse to shift its ribs outward. The rider can also use their outside leg to prevent the horse from swinging its haunches outward.
McMullin and Hammers-O’Neil wrapped up the first part of the seminar by showing videos of horses and riders performing current US dressage tests. The videos were from “2023 On The Levels”, produced by USDF and available on a flash drive. The clinicians and attendees discussed strengths and weaknesses of each performance and dressage exercises and training techniques to help improve horse and rider.
Toolkit of Exercises
The second part of the seminar focused on live demonstrations of how to use exercises to improve and train dressage horses.
Hammers-O’Neil and McMullin told attendees that before mounting, the rider needs to have a plan for working the horse (or going for a hack instead). This includes thinking about goals (more suppleness, steadier contact), conditions (weather, footing), upcoming events and recent work. It is also important to observe whether the horse is feeling frisky, anxious, mellow or a little tired. The rider needs to consider these factors when making a plan for warming up and working the horse that day.
“A trainer needs to have a picture of the POT in their mind and understand the basics,” McMullin recommended, “For me, contact is a barometer for what is happening, how the horse is performing.”
“When the horse loses his rhythm, there’s usually a problem,” the clinicians agreed, “and the rider needs to help the horse find the tempo that’s right for him.”
However, “The trainer can’t isolate the elements of the POT in a training ride. The reality is that the trainer needs to address different elements instead of focusing on one, e.g., suppleness, in a training session. It’s an ongoing process.” McMullin explained.
Even when there is a plan for warming up and working, the horse may not respond to some of the rider’s aids. The horse may resist or struggle to do exercises that he did easily last week. The trainer needs to be ready to quickly respond in a positive way.
“It’s very useful to get to know the horse’s tendencies and practice one or two exercises that help address these tendencies. Practice them until the horse becomes very familiar and comfortable with them. These become go-to or home-base exercises for the horse. For example, if changing leads through the trot is a home-base exercise, then the trainer can use it as a tool to warm up, reassure and improve the basics of the horse.”
“The trainer can also rely on home-base exercises at shows,” McMullin added. He described a competition where a horse was tense and anxious in the warm-up ring. The rider worked on home-base exercises to help the horse feel more confident. Although they did not practice any of the test movements before they entered the competition ring, the horse was relaxed and performed capably, and his rider was delighted.
Training Techniques
Bobbi Carleton, head trainer at Weatogue, rode her gelding, Furst Ferdinand, to demonstrate dressage training techniques. Carleton is a USDF Gold Medalist and USEF ‘R’ dressage judge. She currently competes several FEI-level horses and consistently qualifies horses and riders for the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Regional Dressage Championships. Furst Ferdinand is working at Second and Third Levels.
The clinicians asked attendees to watch Carleton ride her horse and analyze the horse’s basics; observe how the horse’s basics, frame and gaits changed with work; and think about the effects of Carleton’s training exercises.
Carleton first hand-walked her horse quietly around the indoor ring for a few minutes. She let him look at the audience and gradually tightened the girth before she mounted. He looked like a handsome young horse with a rectangular body, straight neck, relaxed topline, and flat, rhythmic strides of average length
“A horse will work depending on the way his rider starts the training session. If the rider asks the horse to make an effort to go forward, flex, yield, bend, or stretch, the horse’s response doesn’t have to be perfect. But the horse does need to make an effort. When the rider uses a combination of exercises and lateral and longitudinal stretching, there are extra benefits – synergy,” Hammers-O’Neil noted.
Carleton warmed up her horse by riding at a walk and posting trot around the ring. She started sitting the trot and asking for transitions. She sat in balance, her elbows flexing and her hips following the movement of her horse. Her aids were quiet.
The first transitions were easy for her horse: trot on the long side, walk before a corner, and trot again after the corner. Carleton gradually increased the difficulty by asking for these transitions on the long side and walking fewer steps between transitions. Next, she asked for leg yields at shallow angles with flexion. Then she asked for flexion and bending in corners and on 20-meter circles.
Carleton’s horse gradually increased the use of his hind quarters to push into and out of the transitions and carry himself in level (horizontal) balance. The muscles in his topline worked harder, his strides were longer with more energy and activity (articulation in the joints in his legs and quarters), his shoulders lifted, and his neck lifted up and forward from its base at the withers and arched into a rounder frame.
Carleton rode a 20-meter circle, posting and asking her horse to stretch his topline. “I like seeing him stretch and open up his back. The quality of his gaits improves. His hind legs could be a touch more under his body, and he could be a little more forward in his transitions,” McMullin commented.
“What do you plan to do next?” McMullin asked Carleton. “I want to practice lateral work,” she replied.
“You need a good trot to do lateral work,” McMullin commented, “Don’t do lateral work to improve the trot. Willingness to go forward is necessary.” Carleton asked her horse to go forward into a brisk working trot and then started lateral work. “The horse should go more forward after than before a shoulder-in. The horse should still be ‘available’ and respond to the rider after he does an exercise,” McMullin continued.
Carleton rode renvers (haunches out). “Renvers is a collecting and straightening exercise,” Hammers-O’Neil explained to attendees, “it encourages the trainer to ride the horse more forward through his body. Watch how her horse is starting to come more uphill through his body.”
During this lateral work, Carleton’s horse’s neck came higher and more forward from his withers and became more arched. He balanced himself more on his hind quarters, he was in more uphill balance and his hind legs came more under his body.
Next, Carleton gave her horse a break at free walk. “This horse’s walk is outstanding. It’s his best gait,” Hammers-O’Neill commented, “it is clearly four-beat with over track. I see a clear “V” as each hind leg comes forward toward the front leg on the same side of his body. He is very relaxed, and there is no lateral tendency.”
After the walk break, “Leg yields and turns on the forehand are the most important tools for teaching young horses to respond to the rider’s aids to connect their inside hind leg to the outside rein,” McMullin commented.
Carleton practiced turns on the forehand. This exercise improves lateral suppleness. For most horses, exercises to improve lateral suppleness also improve longitudinal suppleness, according to McMullin and Hammers-O’Neil. Practicing turns on the forehand was a good exercise to prepare this horse to resume working.
Next Carleton rode canter work with serpentines of three shallow loops along each long side, followed by 20-meter circles.
Carleton’s horse maintained steady rhythm, a relaxed topline, swinging back, and calm, willing attitude throughout this training ride. As Carleton gradually increased the difficulty of the exercises, her horse worked harder and demonstrated better basics and quality of gaits (suppleness, engagement of the hind legs, activity, energy, impulsion), more uphill balance and more freedom of movement. He morphed from First Level balance and gaits in the warm-up into working at Second and Third Levels.
“This rider’s core strength gave her a quiet, safe, secure seat and foundation to correctly apply her aids. Her elbows flexed and her hips followed the movement of her horse,” Hammers-O’Neil commented. “She showed us that she had a plan for how to prepare for each exercise, execute it and then continue working. This included her expectations for balance, acceptance of contact, engagement, etc.”
Next, three of the eight adult participants volunteered to ride their horses in training demonstrations for the seminar. The clinicians asked each demo rider what they wanted to accomplish in the training ride and suggested exercises to improve their horse’s basics and performance. They also led a discussion and answered questions from the attendees.
Viktoria Sleeper and Margoux: Training Demo 1
The first training demo was Viktoria Sleeper riding her Holsteiner mare, Margoux, who felt anxious. “She’s used to being ridden and worked outdoors,” Sleeper explained. “She’s not used to working in an indoor arena in front of many unfamiliar faces.” The clinicians and rider agreed to focus this training ride on encouraging steadier rhythm at walk and trot and more relaxation-physical and mental.
Hammers-O’Neil observed that Sleeper was sitting a little off-center (to her left). “Bend your left knee a little and bring your left leg a little more under your body, and bend your left elbow a little so you can follow your horse more with your left hand for better contact.” Hammers-O’Neil added, “A little more weight in your right heel may help. When your horse becomes tense, try to keep your body over your hips and legs.”
The clinicians suggested that Sleeper post instead of sit the trot to help her mare relax her back muscles. “Make the trot your trot, not hers, by posting more decisively,” Hammers-O’Neil told Sleeper, “Ride with your seat like a metronome. Sit in the saddle a little longer in each stride to slow the tempo. Tempo is important, especially when a horse is tense and hurrying. Slowing the tempo can encourage the horse to work with more throughness in the back and acceptance of rein contact. Asking the horse to lower its neck and release tension at the base of the neck (in front of the withers) will improve throughness.”
“Bending is your friend. Lateral suppleness can help improve longitudinal suppleness and acceptance of rein contact,” McMullin noted. “And when this mare starts to relax, she will stretch her neck into the contact. Her straightness will also improve,” Hammers-O’Neil commented.
Sleeper patiently asked her horse to flex, bend and yield to her aids while working on 20-meter circles. As soon as her mare yielded, Sleeper relaxed her aids without losing the rein contact.
“Your mare is stiffer to the left, and she flexes and bends more easily to the right,” both clinicians coached Sleeper, “So when you ride her to the left, try counter-flexing and counter-bending her to the right. With every horse, one side is “hollow” or stiffer because the horse doesn’t want to accept the opposite (outside) rein.”
Both clinicians encouraged Sleeper, “Practice a correct release by relaxing the inside rein, taking a deep breath, and relaxing your body to reward your mare when she releases tension at the base of her neck. Don’t throw the reins away. Allow your mare to release the muscles in front of her withers so that her neck ‘cascades’ out of her withers like a waterfall. When she relaxes her back, you can slightly lengthen the reins for more elastic contact. And remember, don’t let her ‘fall out’ of the bend with her hind quarters or shoulders.”
“By the way,” Hammers-O’Neil told Sleeper, “after you establish these exercises for training your mare, you can subtly ‘mention’ them to her whenever you need to, even in the show ring. For example, you will be able to do a slight leg yield with her head to the rail to help improve contact and throughness, and it will not be noticeable.”
By the end of this training ride, the mare was more confident, taking longer strides and starting to accept the bit.
Siri Kent and Sabotage: Training Demo 2
The second training demo was Siri Kent riding her Oldenburg mare, Sabotage (aka Sophie). Kent told USDF, “I signed up for this seminar because I wanted to challenge myself and learn how to take critiques from top professionals and grow from their feedback. One of my goals was to improve my confidence in my abilities from all I have learned from the many horses I have ridden in my past.”
Kent told the clinicians that Sophie likes to drop the connection by coming off the hind leg, which enables her to disengage, becoming flat and quick. This opens the door to avoiding throughness, according to Kent.
“Let’s try training exercises to help her loosen up her body and flex to the right and left,” the clinicians told Kent, “And when you give any aid, your mare should still have the desire to go forward, even (especially) when riding half-halts. Let’s try some exercises to encourage her to work more off her hind legs, even when warming up.”
“Let’s mix up different exercises so your mare doesn’t get ‘stuck’ in one exercise,” Hammers-O’Neil suggested, “Let’s try to loosen up her hind quarters.” Kent worked Sophie on trot-walk-trot transitions, leg yields and stretching while trotting on a 20-meter circle. The mare’s trot became livelier with more activity, and her hind legs started working more forward and towards the bit.
“I’d like to see your mare release her muscles at the base of her neck (in front of her withers) by dropping her neck but without going on her forehand,” Hammers-O’Neil recommended. As this work proceeded, the mare swung more in her back behind the saddle and her tail swung more freely with each trot step.
Next, the clinicians coached Kent as she worked at the canter. “With each canter stride, I’d like to see your mare’s shoulders lift a little more. This will allow her neck to lower slightly from her withers. And her inside hind leg will step more forward and under her body,” Hammers-O’Neil explained. “Also try some transitions on a 20-meter circle. They are your friend, but don’t drill them constantly. Shoulder-in will help, too. Both exercises will improve your mare’s balance. Even though this was your warm-up, it was hard work for her. Don’t overdo it. Give your mare a walk break.”
“What would you like to do next?” McMullin asked Kent. “I’d like to try some half-pass work,” she responded. “You need a good trot and good contact before you can do half-pass,” McMullin replied.
“Let’s work on getting a more willing and forward trot. Try posting instead of sitting as you trot on the long side of the ring,” he suggested. “Then try riding renvers while allowing her neck to go just one inch lower from the base of her neck. And add a little more energy, throughness and bend.”
After the mare’s trot improved, McMullin instructed Kent to turn onto the diagonal from F to H and ride haunches-in. “When you ride half-pass, use your inside leg so she bends around it,” he coached Kent, “Remember that the bend in the half-pass is roughly the same as the bend on a 10-meter circle.”
The next trot exercise was to ride travers on the long side to a 10-meter circle in the corner, then ride a diagonal across the ring and repeat the exercise on the other rein (going in the opposite direction around the ring).
“Ride with your shoulder blades together and in a more forward trot with better connection,” McMullin told Kent, “Then use care to ask your mare, ‘come back to me’.” The mare’s gaits became freer.
“But your mare is still blocked by tension in the base of her neck,” McMullin observed. To address this tension, McMullin had Kent ride a half-pass for several strides away from the rail, then leg yield back to the rail. “Your inside leg holds your horse in the same way and encourages her to hold her shoulder under her in both exercises,” McMullin told the rider. The mare relaxed and lowered her neck into better contact and swung her back and tail.
“Let’s do some canter-walk-canter transitions while keeping your mare stretching into the contact and on the bit,” McMullin decided. “Remember, your inside leg stays on. And wait until you’re happy with her walk before you ask her to canter.”
Kent told McMullin that she felt that the mare was still carrying tension and losing the connection, causing a wooden feeling over her back. “These exercises will help her soften that wooden feeling,” McMullin responded. “Even if things aren’t perfect, wait until they are better, then ask for your transition. Try these transitions by cantering around the ring, riding a 10-meter circle, and walking just before you return to the rail. Then do some shoulder-in on the rail and ask her to canter as you start another 10-meter circle.”
To end this training ride on the best possible note, McMullin asked Kent to stretch Sophie in posting trot on a 20-meter circle. The rider asked her mare to flex and bend. When Sophie yielded, Kent relaxed the inside rein and allowed her mare to trot more forward with longer strides and lengthen her body. When the mare was bending and stretching on the outside rein in each direction, McMullin told Kent to challenge her mare by riding half-halts without losing the quality of her trot. “Your good relationship with this mare allowed you to challenge her in this training ride,” he concluded.
Afterward, Kent told USDF, “I met my goals. I was challenged to speak up and discuss the why and how of what I was working on. I was able to kick stage fright down the road! My first takeaway from this seminar was to take a chance to learn from the best people in the industry. My second takeaway was that it’s important to be a part of one common goal – to train horses and riders that are happy and healthy. The USDF is the umbrella organization that helps members work toward this goal.”
Kira Steines-Mason and Rendition: Training Demo 3
The third training demo horse was Kira Steines-Mason riding her Oldenburg gelding, Rendition (aka Rio). They are competing at Intermediate 1. “He can be a little quirky,” his rider explained, “and he can be sensitive to the footing. He can be relaxed and supple when he warms up, but then get distracted and bothered by various things when it’s time to work. He can warm up in a forward trot but shorten his neck when he starts to work. What can I do to improve this?”
“It looks like your horse may be working behind your leg,” Hammers-O’Neil told Steines-Mason, “Let’s try asking him to go forward and come back from your aids and asking him for more suspension.”
“Try quickening your horse’s trot tempo to get him to respond quicker with his hind legs and bring them up and further under his body. I want you to get his hind legs more under your control. For example, it’s important that you practice walk pirouettes and have your horse bring his inside hind leg more forward and to the inside, more under his body, while he brings his outside shoulder around,” she explained to Steines-Mason.
“I want to see your horse thinking more about you and what you are asking him to do. It’s a challenge to find the balance between the horse listening to you while he’s working with enough power to do tempi changes, canter pirouettes, and so forth. But it’s necessary at this level.”
Hammers-O’Neil checked the fit of the horse’s double bridle. “I like the bits you are using. The bridoon (snaffle) is thick and mild. The curb bit has short shanks (mild), and the curb chain has a leather cover. These are all great choices for this horse because he tends to ‘hide’ a little from contact with the bits,” she explained to Steines-Mason.
“Let’s try some steps of piaffe,” the clinicians suggested to Steins-Mason, “Try turning him while he piaffes for several steps. Then ride him forward in medium trot.” This exercise improved the contact and connection. When the rider moved her hands slightly forward, her horse opened his throatlatch and took longer, more relaxed strides. “Great!”
“With this horse,” Hammers-O’Neil and McMullin advised Steines-Mason, “try using fluffier, more subtle, almost playful aids. Have a conversation with him. Remind him, ‘I need you to stay on your haunches’.”
“With a horse of this level,” McMullin told Steines-Mason, “have a plan each day for what you want to do. Practice some exercises each day, but not every exercise in the Intermediate I test, especially when the weather is hot and humid. Working at this level is very demanding for a horse.”
“When Rio does something right, remember to let him know by taking a break or switching to a different exercise,” McMullin added.
Hammers-O’Neil agreed with McMullin and coached Steines-Mason, “As your horse develops more collection, he also develops more power for performing extended gaits. This means that you can ask Rio for more power provided you use your aids to prevent him from falling on his forehand.”
Next, the clinicians asked Steines-Mason to stretch her horse in a posting trot on a 20-meter circle. Rio showed much more swing in his back and a more open throatlatch than in the warm-up. “Now your horse is staying out to your hand,” the clinicians told Steines-Mason, “and you can ride him by using your core muscles in a very nice way.”
“Remember, as a trainer, sometimes you sometimes have to go back to the ABCs and practice something more basic than what you rode in your work yesterday,” Hammers-O’Neil explained to Steines-Mason, “This can be true when you are warming up at a show or schooling. If you have a home-base exercise, then you can practice it until you find the piece that is missing, which of the basics you need to address to bring your horse’s performance back on track and improve.”
“In the case of Rio, the first six to eight inches of his neck in front of his withers are the most important. You need to ride him so that there is a subtle, invisible release of tension at the base of his neck so he stays reaching out to the contact. Don’t confuse yielding to your horse’s release with throwing the reins away!” Hammers-O’Neil concluded.
A Good Relationship with Your Horse
A good relationship between horse and rider is essential for successful training (and competitive results), Hammers-O’Neil and McMullin told attendees. When there is a good relationship, the horse works willingly with the rider. The trainer can make progress by challenging the horse and asking increasingly difficult questions.
“The basis for a good relationship is when the horse has trust in the rider. To build trust, the rider should never put the horse in a situation where he is overfaced, overly tired or sore. If the horse trusts the rider, then they will have a good partnership, there will be positive communication between them, and the horse will try to do what the rider asks. For this reason, many top riders in the world make their own horses,” Hammers-O’Neil explained to attendees.
“Is a good relationship between horse and rider the same as harmony? Is harmony the same as submission?” one of the attendees asked the clinicians.
“Harmony is part of submission. Submission is one of the collective marks in USEF national tests. It is the willing cooperation of horse and rider and the willingness of the horse to do everything the rider asks, provided it is not outside the horse’s comfort zone. Harmony refers to the relationship between horse and rider, including their emotional connection, rapport, mutual trust and confidence in one another. A good relationship and trust between horse and rider are the foundation for harmony,” McMullin concluded.
To Learn More
More information about riding and training horses can be found in books published by USDF, The United States Pony Clubs and the German Equestrian Federation, and other materials and videos on the USDF University website. Everyone is welcome to attend USDF Dressage Development Seminars as auditors or apply to be a participant!
USDF GMOs, owners of farms and others interested in holding USDF Dressage Development Seminars can contact USDF for information and The Dressage Foundation for possible funding.
