Recent Posts

  • The Horse We Have in Our Stable is the Horse We Make

    The Horse We Have in Our Stable is the Horse We Make
  • Sparkling Marie Antoinette: Irreverent Rider of Donkeys

    Sparkling Marie Antoinette: Irreverent Rider of Donkeys
  • The Vanishing Point of Lightness: Michel Henriquet on Equestrian Art

    The Vanishing Point of Lightness: Michel Henriquet on Equestrian Art
  • Music and Riding

    Music and Riding
  • Magnum Opus – Coming Q4/2024 & Q1-Q2/2025

    Magnum Opus – Coming Q4/2024 & Q1-Q2/2025
  • Glorious Horsemen: The Legendary School of Versailles and Its Legacy for Equitation …

    Glorious Horsemen: The Legendary School of Versailles and Its Legacy for Equitation Today

John Richard Young: “The One-Sided Horse: Riders Make More One-Sided Horses Than Nature Does”

John Richard Young: “The One-Sided Horse: Riders Make More One-Sided Horses Than Nature Does”

(© John Richard Young, “The One-Sided Horse” first published in Arabian Horse Express, January 1992.)

A reader of this column writes: “How come you have never mentioned horses that have one-sided mouths, horses that just won’t take an even feel of the bit on both reins? They give easily to the rein on one side, but stiffly resist the opposite rein. They move forward with their necks more or less curved to one side, always the same side, and their heads slightly tilted so that their ears are not on the same level. What makes a horse move this way? What can be done to correct such a horse, beyond riding with the reins completely slack?”

View Post

Jim Reilly on “The Elements of Synergistic Riding” (Mechanics of Lightness)

Jim Reilly on “The Elements of Synergistic Riding” (Mechanics of Lightness)

(© Jim Reilly 2007. Reprinted with the permission of the author. Artist Carle Vernet, 19th century lithograph by G. Engelmann, 18 Rue Cassette in Paris)

Our horses will do everything for us when we show them through the correct aids, given at the right moment. The best aids will not be successful if they are not given at the right moment. ~ Walter Zettl

View Post

Manolo Mendez on “The Importance of Riding the Whole Horse: Supple and Tension Free”

Manolo Mendez on “The Importance of Riding the Whole Horse: Supple and Tension Free”

(© 2011 Manolo Mendez Dressage. “The Importance of Riding the Whole Horse: Supple and Tension Free” by Manolo Mendez with Caroline Larrouilh. First published in The Baroque Horse. All photos by Kate Barber, artistic rendering of feature photo by Danielle Skerman).

“Bring the back up, bring the back up!!!”“Drive the hind leg under, more, more, MORE!” and “Make him more round, rounder” appears to be considered by a lot of riders to be the three keys to dressage. To achieve these goals they are taught to put the horse in a frame by pulling on the outside rein while kicking with the inside leg, often while keeping the horse in endless shoulder fore or shoulder-in. Instead of a flexible, supple and tension free horse, this approach creates stiff and crooked horses, with little enjoyment for their work, and eventually leads to soundness issues.

View Post

Marie-Adélaïde de Savoie Takes Us On An Afternoon Ride Around Château Versailles

Marie-Adélaïde de Savoie Takes Us On An Afternoon Ride Around Château Versailles

(© Kip Mistral 2018. All rights reserved.)

Bienvenue, welcome to Château Versailles! I am Marie-Adélaïde de Savoie, Duchesse de Bourgogne, wife of Louis, Duc de France (and the adoring mother of a handsome little boy who will be the future King Louis XV!). It is such a lovely afternoon that we are gathering to ride a promenade around the Château. Our horses will be brought up to the Cour Royale (courtyard) in a moment. As always I will ride my beautiful white Spanish mare, La Colombe. She is sweet and soft like the dove for which she is named. Since you’re here, you must join us!

View Post

Paul Belasik: Why are Fundamental Problems Persisting in Modern Dressage? (Part II of II)

Paul Belasik: Why are Fundamental Problems Persisting in Modern Dressage? (Part II of II)

(© Paul Belasik 2017. First published in www.horsemagazine.com. Reprinted with the permission of the author. Photographs courtesy of Paul Belasik.)

In an effort to understand and explain the persistence of certain fundamental problems in elite dressage, I have written a short series of articles. In the first article, I discussed the consistent misunderstanding of bend and its seismic effect on performances. In this article, I want to address hollowness in the horse’s back, which is increasingly seen, and worse, is becoming acceptable in modern dressage particularly as it relates to collection.

View Post