Part 1: Catherine gives a dressage lesson to an accomplished eventing rider and his experienced gelding. She notes right away the quality of the horse, and the riders great connection. Catherine coaches the rider to drop his chin a little and allow his upper body to relax and become more elastic in motion with the horses canter. She notes that his saddle seems rigid in the tree and could be stopping the horses motion to some extent. The riders shares that he feels his horse can lack suspension in his trot and in his half passes.
Up Next in Dressage
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Preparation - Part 2
Part 2: Catherine works with the rider to improve his shoulder in. She explains that the idea in riding shoulder in is that the outside shoulder becomes much freer, and by positioning the horse the rider allows that shoulder to come forward with a lot more motion. They work on creating elevation ...
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Preparation - Part 3
Part 3: Catherine works with the rider to finesse the aides. They focus on riding the horse's skin, as at this level the horse should respond the the slightest touch. She explain using a rein aid to ask the horse to relax his poll, and how she does this after every movement to make sure her horse...
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Preparation - Part 4
Part 4: Catherine works with the rider on flying changes. She coaches him to ride more from his body weight to get the change. She coaches the rider to use the rein to communicate to the horse to keep his body straight and the tip of his spur for a more refined aide to ask for the change. They wo...
