If things are going wrong with your training, you should ask yourself what is happening, why is it happening and what is the solution? The art of seeing a problem is being able to interpret what is happening and to decide what the solution is.



Flatwork is all about good foundations, which I call 'fundamentals', and they are very simple and straightforward:



Straightness

Calmness

Balance

Rhythm

Responsiveness



If you have that…

Q: My horse seems to stop at a different type of fence everytime we go out. Just as I think we have mastered solid fillers then he starts spooking at flower arrangements. What should I do?



A: Make sure your horse is capable of going round the ring before you compete him. If that means you have to do more homework it is still more cost effective than wasting your entry fees. By hiring a school and practicing over a course you are doing a lot more good and putting a lot…

What I am looking for in a rider is balance and empathy with their horse as a living creature. Someone who has feel for the basic paces and hopefully able to tell the right and wrong lead and the right and wrong diagonal. They need to be able to maintain a contact without being stiff and heavy and to be concise in what they are asking. This is quite important; if you ask a horse to walk on, you tell it to walk on.



Temperament in the rider

Any rider that is so…