Category Archives: Blog

Last week I talked about freeing the sword hand by using the reins in one hand.  This week we’ll deal with what to do with that free hand as we  12. Safely carry and move a long object (dressage or … Continue reading →

Up till now all discussing of the Riding 1 curriculum has implied the use of two hands on the reins.  This is because we ride with English tack in the Cavaliere program and teach English style riding (for the reasons … Continue reading →

I had to be careful with the title of this week’s post.  Didn’t want it turning up in the wrong sort of searches,* as the next item on the Riding 1 checklist is: 9. Show correct way to hold a … Continue reading →

Originally posted in Academie Duello’s blog in August 2012 Back from holidays and back to business. This week our riding skill is: 8. Walk and trot over single ground poles and a group of 3-4 trot poles Riding over ground … Continue reading →

Last week I talked about the dressage letters in the riding ring, and how to use them to increase your accuracy.  The exercise was a change of rein at the walk across the school from B to E.  In your … Continue reading →

Take a lesson at almost any riding school and you will hear a stream of letters flowing past: “twenty metre circle at C”, “between K and A develop working canter”, “change rein FXH” and so on.  These letters are not … Continue reading →

No, this is not about blogging, or fenceposts, but on rising or ‘posting’ to the trot.  The trot is a 2-beat gait in which the horse’s legs move in diagonal pairs (last week’s post has the Eadward Muybridge photo series … Continue reading →

Transitions Up until now in our Riding level one test we have done everything — adjusting tack, mounting, and mounted exercises — from a standstill.  Now it’s time to move off, but before we do, a few terms need defining. … Continue reading →

We begin all our riding sessions with warm-ups for both horse and rider.  For the horse, this involves progressing walk and trot, circles, changes of direction and suppling exercies to warm up the muscles and joints prior to exercise.  For … Continue reading →

The second item on the Riding 1 checklist is: 2. Mount safely and correctly from block or ground, picking up reins correctly Mounting your horse may seem like the simplest of skills, but it’s one that takes a lot of … Continue reading →