Susanne von Dietze takes to the saddle and demonstrates her how the rider seat, balance and position affect the horse.

The German Riding Pony returns for the second clinic day, and Steffen Peters and the rider continue to build on the first day’s work. In the warm-up, Steffen wants the rider to correctly set up the pony, but then the pony needs to carry himself and maintain what is being asked of him. They mainly...

Steffen Peters’ goal is to have the German Riding Pony do a great degree of collection. Before going to the canter pirouettes, he has the rider and the pony try walk pirouettes. It’s important to not allow the horse to get too slow. He needs to keep the same tempo in the collected walk as in the ...

Steffen Peters starts by riding a mare on the second day of a clinic. He says that forward is great, but the horse can’t run through the rider’s aids. The horse must not try to take over in any capacity. Steffen likes how easily forward the mare is, but she needs to come back more promptly. And w...

After Steffen Peters rides the mare on the second day of the clinic, the owner/rider gets back on her horse. Steffen wants the rider to be able to shorten the horse’s entire frame – not just her neck, but from her ears to her tail. They do this by small lengthenings in trot and canter and then br...

Steffen Peters and the clinic rider continue working on the mare's half halts as well as forward and back in all gaits. The horse needs strong seat support coming back with a holding leg aid – not a pushing forward leg aid. The goal is to slowly increase the time lengthening without having her ru...

Kasey works with a horse and rider pair on keeping a steady, forward rhythm. They do quick transitions, including bringing the trot almost back to walk before going forward, to help improve his forward reaction. She suggests the rider make a sharper request, so the horse respects her ask. Adding ...

Steffen starts this session by riding the horse. He focuses first on the horse's reaction to the leg and then takes up the contact. He spends plenty of time working in the walk to allow the horse to relax. Then he works on the same ideas in the trot until the horse is comfortable there, too.

Steffen works the horse in canter. He feels that the horse gets confused with the leg aids in canter, so he does exercises to help the horse understand what he wants. Steffen continues working on getting the horse to relax and use his topline going both directions.

After Steffen rides, the owner gets back on her horse and tries to replicate Steffen's work. He stresses that the rider must make a point, but then can be passive when the horse is good. The rider needs to guide the horse into a frame where he can relax and use himself correctly.This allows the h...

The work continues in canter. The horse first needs to have an active, supple collected walk before asking for canter. When the rider holds with the leg, the horse gets tight, tense and actually loses energy. When that happens, the rider needs to go back to making a point with the leg and then re...

Kasey wants the rider to focus on the horse’s reaction to her leg and her half-halt because she wants the reaction to be quicker. They utilize transitions to help improve the horse’s reaction. They continue to add to the horse’s momentum until he is carrying himself and maintaining the rhythm.

Kasey wants the rider to be able to get a reaction from her horse when she puts her leg on. That way she can be more passive with her leg until she needs to use it. She suggests changes of direction to encourage changes in bend and reaction off the leg. They continue to work on staying straight a...

Jackie talks about how to get the horse to be more responsive without the rider resorting to pulling and kicking. They focus on an active walk to a working trot before moving on to warm-up canter. On the 20-meter circle, Jackie has the rider spiral in at trot and leg yield out to step into canter...

Jackie helps an amateur rider and her young horse. They work on developing solid basics so that later in the ride they can work on the beginnings of collection. The horse doesn’t have any specific issues, but the rider would like him to be more responsive to her leg. In addition, he is young and ...

They work on forward and back in the trot as well as walk-trot transitions. Jackie says that the horse needs to develop the strength of the legs on the ground. Those are his “stabilizers” and what will help develop the carrying and pushing power of the hind legs. This will also improve the horse’...

They move on to canter work from a forward trot. Jackie stresses that the rider should feel enough energy in the trot to ask for canter. That doesn’t mean rushing the horse in trot to then rush into canter. It should feel more like the horse is carrying the rider in trot so that when the rider as...

Steffen’s overall goal for a horse is that he is supple enough to yield forwards and sideways to each leg and each rein. The horse needs to relax and understand why the bit is there, and the rider always has to check in to see how the horse feels on each rein. That suppleness should then be match...

They work on forward and back in the trot as well as walk-trot transitions. Jackie says that the horse needs to develop the strength of the legs on the ground. Those are his “stabilizers” and what will help develop the carrying and pushing power of the hind legs. This will also improve the horse’...

They move on to canter work from a forward trot. Jackie stresses that the rider should feel enough energy in the trot to ask for canter. That doesn’t mean rushing the horse in trot to then rush into canter. It should feel more like the horse is carrying the rider in trot so that when the rider as...

Steffen helps a rider find the frame and tempo where her horse is comfortable in the training. He wants the rider to isolate one rein and one leg at a time so the horse understands and starts to relax. Anytime the horse gets tense and out of balance in the trot, it best to come back to the walk a...

They ride small circles to the left and right working on the horse bending, suppling and relaxing. Steffen stresses that horses need to let go both physically and mentally. And while the horse needs to learn how to carry himself, the rider needs to help the horse learn how to best do that.

Steffen rides the horse to work on getting a better reaction to the leg as well as being even on both reins. He continues to work on getting the horse to bend, soften and use his topline. The horse uses himself better in the canter, and Steffen finishes his session with some nice, stretchy trot.

The rider gets on and feels the difference in the horse after Steffen work. He wants her to really understand the steady connection to the horse mouth. While Steffen appreciates the rider patience, he wants her to be more assertive. They work in trot and canter, which is the horse's best gait, an...