There is more awareness and openness to a different approach to the horse-human relationship, the organiser of a bridleless display event believes.

Equine chiropractor Jess Harkness organised the Beyond the Bridle event, an afternoon of displays followed by an evening performance, at the Unicorn Equestrian Centre in Gloucestershire on 13 June.

The event was a sellout, and Jess told H&H the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, including an email from a non-horsey dad, dragged by his daughter to major equestrian events but said “this was the best”, paying tribute to the “fascinating and engaging” demos and the horsemanship displayed.

The presenters included Jess, British Bridleless Competition organiser Mia Rodley and natural horsemanship experts Lynn Henry and Jodi Bament, as well as trick rider Eve Bea and horsemanship instructor Sarah Stone. They were joined by Jess’s 15-year-old daughter Thea, who has been competing bridleless in showjumping, and Thea’s 16-year-old friend Bella Forster.

“Thea’s got loads of online followers and a lot of kids say they don’t know how to get started,” Jess said. “A lot of demos are professionals doing it, and it looks amazing but it almost looks out of reach. So the professional world came in and did a bit of what advanced looks like, where you’re aiming for, then we brought a pupil in who was just starting the journey, and showed what the start looks like too.”

The evening show had an Alice in Wonderland theme, with all the costumes, lights and effects.

“I wanted something a bit theatrical,” Jess said. “It’s not a circus, but I wanted to make it a story, make it magical, and make the kids go away thinking ‘This is really magic’, but also ‘It’s something I could do’.”

Jess said the Beyond the Bridle performance also demonstrated to the crowds that bridleless riding is almost a by-product, of the training, the relationship-building and time that has to go into the horse-human partnership to make it possible.

“You don’t have to do that all the time,” Jess added. “Sometimes I ride with a bit, sometimes in a bitless bridle, sometimes in a halter, sometimes bridleless, depending on the situation or what I want to work on. It’s not one or the other, and that was the other thing we wanted to get across.

“You can do this and develop your relationship with your horse, whether it’s liberty work, groundwork, and still go out and compete in eventing or showjumping, or whatever it is, with a bridle on. It’s only going to improve your relationship with the horse which then makes other things easier for you. It’s not either/or.”

Jess added that everything was arranged with the caveat that if any horse or pony was uncomfortable at any point, there would be an immediate cut-off, but there were no issues, again indicating the quality of the training and relationship.

“It’s about setting them up for success, rather than throwing them in the deep end and saying ‘See if you can swim’,” she said.

“And the horse has a say in it; you have to listen to the horse and if he’s not ready to do it, don’t do it.”

Beyond the Bridle: the younger generation

Jess also cited the fact that although among some older equestrians, she feels she may have to justify or explain her choices, the younger generation showing such interest in another way is different.

“They just want other people to understand how important it is to have a kind, empathetic relationship with your horse,” she said. “I think there’s loads more awareness and openness to it now.

“Wiith anything in the horse world, it can take a while, but I think the bridleless competition was brilliant for reaching a wider audience. I can definitely feel there’s a desire for change in terms of horse welfare and a desire to do things better. Certainly the younger generation seem to be really strongly up for it. I’m hopeful.”

Jess is hoping to run another such event in future, and it is hoped another British Bridleless Competition will run this year.

Next month, Wellington Equestrian Centre is hosting a horsemanship masterclass (11-12 July), featuring demos from international showjumpers and brideless riders Brendan Wise and Serena Kullich, liberty specialists Kaleigh Marie and Will Rogers and Mia Rodley.

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You may be keen to know how to start riding bridleless if you’ve been inspired by recent events.

Much of the interest generated recently is a result of the first British Bridleless Competition. Mia Rodley of The Heart of Horsemanship, who organised the show on 31 May 2026, has long said that any horse and any rider can go bridleless – but not straight away.

Her number one top tip on how to get started in bridleless riding is:

Leave the bridle on.

Steps to riding bridleless

“The bridleless riding is the pinnacle, it’s almost showing off!” Mia says. “It’s showing that you’ve got that connection with your horse.”

So if you want to start riding bridleless, as is the case with anything to do with horses, there’s a lot of work involved to get to that point, but it’s something you can start on straight away.

Relaxation

“First and foremost, you have to have relaxation,” Mia says. “Your horse has to be calm, and able to stand still, on the buckle, without having to halt them. You’d be amazed how many people can’t just stop and chill on a long rein – that’s the first step.”

Once you have relaxation at halt, you need it in all paces; you must be able to walk, trot and canter, on the buckle, at all times and in all situations.

“Can you do it on a hack?” Mia says. “Can you do it in a warm-up at a competition? Is your horse really calm enough to not have to pick up your reins? That’s the first game and challenge a rider can give themselves; if I want to ride bridleless everywhere, or in a competition, can I do it in a competition environment with my bridle on?

“The game is ‘Don’t touch my reins’, or count, how many times do you need to pick up the reins in a ride. That’s another really good exercise, because any time you touch your reins, if you were bridleless, that could be a dangerous situation.”

Connection

Once relaxation to this level has been achieved, the next step is connection. The phrase Mia uses is “calm, confident and connected”; the horse must be calm and confident in his environment, and have the connection with his rider.

“My favourite way to read connection with a horse is their ears,” Mia says. “Can you sit on your horse and cause the left ear to flip back on to you without touching the reins? It’s gauging the level of connection you have with your horse’s mind; can he think back to you or is he looking into the distance at the sheep?”

If so, the test is, can you then keep this while successfully asking for the basic yields; a turn on the forehand and haunches, backing up?

“You have to be able to go forwards, backwards, left and right where you want, without touching your reins,” Mia says. “Then again, in walk, then trot, then canter.

“Count how many times you have to touch your reins while doing this as that’ll give you a really good gauge of whether you’re ready to go bridleless.”

Emergency brakes

“Your horse has to be able to stop, from a canter, if things get emotional,” Mia said. “Unfortunately a whistle stop and a treat isn’t going to cut it in that moment; verbal signals will not work in an emergency. If the horse has bolted, you have to be able to push the turn to slow them down.”

Mia carries a stick, used to inform rather than ever to punish; she has explained before that using the stick to “push the air” by the horse gives him the information to turn, or when needed in an emergency, to stop.

“You’ve got to make sure your horse is ok with the stick,” she says. “A lot of horses have trauma around sticks but once they’re trusting and confident with the tools, you can use them for communication. It’s like a one-rein stop, but rather than pulling on the inside rein, you’re pushing the outside. You can pair that with a whistle, and really reinforce the behaviour to interrupt a bolt or spook, but it’s got to be so solid.

“You need to practise and rehearse your emergency stop a lot – and that’s all before you take the bridle off. Because although this is more natural for horses, most haven’t been trained in it; it’s a new form of communication with the rider and they have to learn it too.”

The relationship

But what if the relaxation, the first step to master if you want to start riding bridleless, isn’t there? This is how it becomes clear that bridleless riding is the means rather than the end; without building the relationship, it is not possible.

“Relaxation first, in all gaits, all environments, on the buckle first and foremost, and that’s massive,” Mia says. “It takes a long time just to get to that level with any horse, whether it’s a warmblood or a cob. That’s where most of us do a lot of groundwork already, a lot of personal development. We’re really looking to improve our own awareness of our horses.

“That’s where liberty work comes in so much for me with bridleless riding, because really it’s the same thing, you just take it under saddle.”

How long does it take to go bridleless?

The main thing to remember if you want to start riding bridleless is that this will take time; no one should just “give it a go” without the foundations.

“I was doing a step by step, how to ride bridleless, at a demo and someone said ‘What happens if your horse won’t stand still?’ and I said ‘Then you’ve got a lot of work to do before you take your bridle off’,” Mia said. “If you can’t just stand on a long rein and let go, you’re not going to be able to do anything else; the horse is not relaxed if they can’t just stand.”

Safety

Safety is of paramount importance. At the British Bridleless Competition, all who competed had to apply, by sending in videos of themselves riding bridleless, including evidence of the ability to perform three different emergency stops, and the class they wanted to enter. All warmed up in some sort of bridle, watched by Mia, while horsemanship expert and relationship judge Lyla Cansfield had the final say on whether each combination was allowed to compete.

“And obviously when horses are learning, it’s really important they’re in a secure space as well,” Mia says. “You have to have checked out every scenario and situation and rehearsed it with your bridle on before you take the bridle off.”

Benefits of bridleless riding

Many people, including dressage judge Mary-anne Horn, have commented on how relaxed and tension-free the horses at the British Bridleless Competition looked – but again, this is a result of the process rather than the bridleless riding itself.

“It’s because we’ve put so much emphasis on the connection first,” Mia says. “Serena Kullich is such a good example; her horses all go so beautifully and that’s because of the work she’s done to get them riding bridleless.”

Not having reins to rely on also means the rider has to use their seat and legs more effectively.

“A great quote is, ‘You exaggerate to teach, but you refine as you go’,” Mia says. “When you’re not using your reins, you might have to exaggerate your body language a bit more to get a turn or a stop – and that’s really good for the human to do as well, as it’s the conscious competence to get what you’re asking, and then it becomes second nature.”

Equipment

The neck rope is important but this is not about neck-reining; it sits at the base of the neck, which has plenty of musculature to protect key structures and minimal nerve endings, and it should never go more than halfway up the neck.

Neck ropes will not be needed for those who are looking to start riding bridleless, but for when you get to that stage, they should be made at least partly of leather so if, in an extreme situation, your horse gets its head down or stands on it or it catches anything, it will break.

Bridleless training

There are many ways to get help to start riding bridleless. Mia gives lessons and clinics, and there is plenty of information on how to work towards it in her online academy for subscribers.

Lyla Cansfield and Tracey Duncan are among the other trainers recommended.

Bridleless competition opportunities

A series of British Bridleless Competitions is planned; there will be at least one more this year, although the date and venue are yet to be confirmed, and the plan is also to include bridleless competition at next year’s British Liberty Show at Hartpury. Follow the British Bridleless Competition social media for updates.

• Enjoyed reading this? For more expert training advice from top riders and coaches, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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A showjumper who competed, and went clear, over a 1.20m track at the first British Bridleless Competition told H&H this “feels like the start of something very exciting”.

Serena Kullich and Silas VTS, who have qualified for the Talent Seekers final at Horse of the Year Show 2026, were among the +20 combinations at the event organised by Mia Rodley of The Heart of Horsemanship at Merrist Wood on 31 May.

H&H reported that the event had had a huge and positive response, and Serena said she was delighted to be part of it.

“It was so exciting to see so many people competing bridleless,” she said. “I know quite a few of them and we play about bridleless, but actually to see everyone in a competition was just so inspiring.”

Serena said she had been fascinated with riding bridleless since she had childhood dreams of riding along the beach without one, but there were not the online resources available that there are now.

Then a few years ago, she was riding Benji at home, the horse with whom she has contested the prestigious London International Horse Show under-25s final.

“I was playing around and realised I could steer him quite well with my legs and back off with the neck rope, and that I could ride him bridleless, which was really exciting,” she said.

“Then I started doing it with Silas. At that point I knew Mia a tiny bit, but I now know her really well; a lot of this is down to her, she’s inspired me to do a lot of the things I’ve done.”

Many riders have said that riding bridleless has improved their horses’ way of going; not the riding itself but the fact that to get to a point at which riding without a bridle works, by definition the horse-human relationship is harmonious and working together.

Bridleless showjumping: the benefits

“What’s been interesting with Silas is that he’s a slightly tense, introverted horse,” she said. “He’s one of those who it’s easy to kind of tell them what to do, even if they’re not completely happy about it. His thing is that he doesn’t like the edges of the arena.”

Mia said with a bridle on, these fences were not a problem but without, she realised he was not as happy taking these on.

“I’ve spent more time getting him truly relaxed and confident,” she said. “I think it’s not been kind of one specific thing, it’s the whole connection I’ve now got with him, to be able to do everything I can do, has transferred to the jumping. He has always been a willing horse but now he really tries, he has he so much more trust in me.”

Serena said she rides some of her younger horses with bridles, some without, but she applies all she has learned from working without, to their benefit.

“I use all the principles that I use with Silas bridleless, like my steering from my seat, teaching them to have rhythm and relaxation on a long rein,” she said. “Teaching a four-year-old all that, I find, makes such a difference, because then when you jump them when they’re a bit older, they’ve got that foundation and are confident and relaxed.

“So many older showjumpers I get are hard in the mouth; I now go about teaching them the contact slowly and carefully. The fundamental of jumping round a course is that you need them with you and listening and if they’re just running off on their own, it’s not easy!”

Adjusting the stride

Serena and Silas’s round was foot-perfect; she explained that she has put a lot of work in without the bridle, on adjusting the canter stride on the flat, so she knows the gears are there on a course when she needs them.

“He always feels completely with me,” she said. “But then I wouldn’t jump round a course bridleless if I didn’t feel he was completely with me. So I’ve always set him up perfectly for success, whereas in a bridle you can slightly skip things. So with all my jumpers I try my best to always have that feeling of the bridleless, even when I’m riding with a bridle.”

Serena said her main goal is to show people what can be possible.

“It feels like the start of something very exciting,” she said. “The fact Mia’s looking to hold more shows, the reach it’s got across social media is exciting, and so many people are keen to do more of it.

“It’s that feeling of freedom. As well now for me, I love the preciseness, the collection and the ability to adjust a stride jumping but as a kid, it was that feeling of freedom I loved.”

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The first fully bridleless show in the UK has been described as inspirational, emotional – and a big step towards change.

More than 20 people competed in showjumping and dressage at the British Bridleless Competition at Merrist Wood on 31 May – and some 500 came to watch. Organiser Mia Rodley, of The Heart of Horsemanship, told H&H they had to turn spectators away as they were at capacity.

“It’s huge,” Mia said. “People were in tears of happiness watching, which was lovely – and it’s just blown up.”

Horse & Country live-streamed the British Bridleless Competition, clips have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times and Mia has been overwhelmed with requests for training, displays and shows across the world. She has even been given donations – she paid thousands to put on the event – to back the cause and help fund future shows.

“We’re definitely going to do it again because it was so unbelievably successful,” Mia said. “We’ve had three videos hit a million views and I could do with a full-time person to reply to emails about it – I can’t tell you how big it’s got.

“It was amazing and such a great atmosphere. All the horses were so calm. People said they’d never seen a warm-up so relaxed, no aversive behaviours and the crowd was buzzing. Everyone’s said how inclusive it was, really supportive, great energy and atmosphere. For me, the idea was that if the governing bodies won’t let us compete bridleless, we’ll run competitions parallel to it.”

The British Bridleless Competition had dressage from intro to elementary – and one grand prix freestyle test – and jumping up to 1.20m. Competitors had to apply by sending videos to show they were competent and safe, all warmed up with a bridle and had time for arena familiarisation, and organisers had a final say on whether each was safe to compete.

Mia has always said bridleless riding is complementary to, and can enhance, traditional horsemanship; it is not one or the other and that it is the epitome of a harmonious horse-human relationship because “if you haven’t got the horse’s mind, you won’t have his body”.

“Serena Kullich, who jumped the 1.20m, has just qualified that horse for a 1.40m at Horse of the Year Show and she says his jumping and rideability is a million times better since getting him good at bridleless,” she said. “We had all types of horses there; anyone can do it and that’s what’s really taking off. It’s fantastic.”

List One judge is “totally inspired”

British Dressage List One judge Mary-anne Horn, who judged the dressage with natural horsemanship expert Lyla Cansfield, told H&H she was “totally inspired”.

“I had to think outside the box; obviously I couldn’t talk about the contact because there isn’t one, but I can talk about connection from the hindleg through the body,” she said. “I don’t know what I thought I expected, but there was no spooking, no tension. The horses were very relaxed and it certainly teaches people to ride, because they have to use the seat and back and leg and not rely on the reins.

“I was just amazed by the horses’ attitude. You often comment, ‘Needs to step more through, relax, let go in the back,’ and these horses did, because they were relaxed. So they let go in the backs, then the horse did step through with the hindleg. It was quite moving, to see the relationship between the rider and the horse. This is going to be a thing, I think.”

Ms Horn said she judges many horses and sees a lot of imperfect riding and people relying on rein aids.

“I can see this will appeal,” she said. “Someone said, ‘This is what classical dressage should be,’ and I don’t think you can really compare the two as they’d have to tweak the tests above medium. They can do changes and piaffe-passage, but anything that needs lateral bend might be tricky to judge.

“I’m trying to promote this in a good way, but not set one against the other. British Dressage should embrace and support it, as it has its place and people are so enthusiastic about it.”

Ms Horn said she also saw some of the jumping, which she thought was “incredible; the horses were putting themselves right”.

“Everybody had a lovely time and the horses looked happy as Larry,” she said. “Mia made it really inclusive; I’ll certainly have a debrief with her and see how we can move it forward.”

Lynne Macleod, who rode the grand prix freestyle with her Lusitano Hermes, told H&H she competes in working equitation, which includes dressage and allows bitless, but only started bridleless riding last year.

“It felt amazing,” she said. “He’s the first horse I’ve ridden at grand prix and we’re quite new to it but I thought, ‘I think we could do that.’ I used to do it in a double but changed to a snaffle and the more I’ve gone less bit – the snaffle then taking the bridle off – the better his work.

“I’d have liked a bit more bend in the half-passes, as that’s where you can use a bit to influence the body in a positive way, but he did everything; one-time and two-time changes, they were straight and clean, and his pirouettes were small.”

Lynne added that all the feedback she has seen on the show has been positive.

“I still ride traditionally with bits, but there are certain things that can always be improved in everybody’s test and riding and if you can help that by doing things slightly differently, great,” she said. “And if it gets people talking and opens up other avenues – I’m not saying everyone should just whack their bridle off, but the feeling of being able to do that is incredible.

“And the atmosphere was incredible too, like everyone was willing you to do well. There was such positive energy about the whole thing.”

It is hoped that another British Bridleless Competition will be held this year.

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Anyone can ride bridleless, is the promise of a rider and trainer who has competed in dressage without a bridle – and aims to train and compete at grand prix level in the same manner.

Mia Rodley, of The Heart of Horsemanship, gave a presentation at the London International Horse Show on bridleless riding and how to get started. Her dream, she said, is to “see the equestrian world become more and more horse-centred”, and she stressed that this is something everyone can do, and that it benefits competition riders as much as leisure partnerships.

“It is possible,” she said. “It’s possible for you and your horse at any age, any horse, any rider. You can do it and, most importantly, have fun.”

Mia and her team specialise in groundwork, liberty and in-hand work, as well as starting young horses and rehabilitation for those with behavioural issues. She teaches lessons, clinics and courses and offers online training.

“I love enabling others to live their dreams with their own horses,” she said. “And my dream is to see the equestrian world become more and more horse-centred; really thinking ‘What does the horse want out of this?’ as well as ‘What do we want out of this?’ My personal goal is one day to compete at grand prix without a bridle, and trained without a bridle, not just schooling my horse to that level and then taking it off.”

Mia has done this already started down this path; H&H reported on her dressage victory with her seven-year-old Boogie, who has been trained bridleless from the start.

“Bridleless riding is for recreational riders as well as high-level competition riders,” Mia said. “And the benefits are that it improves the horse’s connection to the rider’s aids, it highlights holes in their training and it teaches riders to have an independent seat and better balance, because we’re not relying on the reins for our balance. It improves the relationship and partnership between horse and rider, and it’s positive and progressive in this day and age of horsemanship.”

Partnerships

But the process is not just about taking the bridle off, Mia explained – it is all about developing the partnership, communication and understanding between horse and rider.

“Ultimately, it comes down to connection, harmony and synchronicity, and that’s what horses seek, naturally anyway,” she said. “Luckily for us, they’re herd animals and we are too. Both of us are social creatures, and we all have the desire to connect, to play. So everything we do with horses, we’re trying to tap into connection, harmony and synchronicity, in particular.”

Mia cited US rider Brendan Wise, who has competed up to 1.30m bridleless, and UK international showjumper Serena Kullich, who competes up to 1.40m and “jumps huge fences without a bridle”.

She said that bridleless riding involves the rider’s body language: “Do in your body what you want the horse to do in theirs, horses follow the weight of your seatbones and the guidance of your shoulders, and you’ve got to teach your horse to move away from the steady pressure of your legs.”

The neck rope is key; bridleless riding is not about “neck-reining the horse around with a rope at its throat”, the neck rope sits at the base of the neck, where the musculature means it will have no negative effects, and used for “shaping and framing”.

A stick is carried, but “should never, ever be used for punishment”.

“Pressure from a stick is information, never punishment,” Mia said. “We can use sticks to help push the turns, to push our horses; our horses will always rather be pushed than pulled. If you have reins, you’re pulling on your horse, and we love to pull because we’re derived from apes. We’re designed to pull and grab and never let go so we have to learn to let go and push.

“I can use my stick to turn my horse, either way, I can teach them to bend down to a stop.

“If the horse thinks the stick means go faster, you need to go right back and reteach them that that is not what sticks are. They could mean turn, stop. They could mean go sideways, or bring your haunches towards me, push your haunches away. Bring your nose this way, turn that way. It is a tool, never a weapon.”

Voice aids

Voice use is key, Mia added; horses can easily learn voice cues, and she always teaches a whistling “emergency stop”. She uses her voice to praise the horse while asking him to keep doing what he’s doing, and audibly exhales for a downward transition, which also helps relax her body, and so also the horse’s.

“The benefit to biomechanics with bridleless riding is that we can teach them to fall in love with being in a good posture,” she said. “Tension in their body makes horses feel tense, anxious and bracing; braced in their neck, or not really wanting to do what we want to do, and it all just feels awful. A lot of the time the horse is bracing against the bit with the reins, and we don’t have that. A lot of the time, horses naturally start to stretch when there is no bridle, and helping them find relaxation, mentally, emotionally and physically, helps them let go of tension in their body. And when you have relaxation, you have rhythm and vice versa.”

Mia said the next steps are always to practise with a bridle on.

“Make sure you can walk, trot, canter and stop and turn before you take your bridle off; that’s where it can get dangerous, when you and your horse are learning but once you both know what to do, everything’s a lot easier.

“Separate, isolate and recombine, break everything down into little steps, and it will all compound later. The process does not look like the product, and always put the relationship and connection first.”

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2026, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

A young rider who completed her first cross-country round without a bridle said she is proud of the journey she and her pony have made – and has dreams of eventing bridleless in future.

H&H reported in June that Thea Harkness had been showjumping her pony Yoda without a bridle, and she has now taken it a step further over natural fences.

Thea’s mother Jessica told H&H the 14-year-old had contacted many local venues to ask if she could compete bridleless but all said no.

“She said she wanted more footage of her doing it, so she could send it to them to show she’s in control and as safe as doing it with a bridle,” Jessica said.

“So we went to a local cross-country venue that had recently had a competition, so the jumps were all still flagged, and she jumped round the course as if it was a competition. It was a beautiful round.”

Jessica rode alongside her daughter, on her young mare, throughout.

“Yoda was super happy and chilled,” she said. “There was one bit where we went through a hedge line and there was a jump quite soon afterwards, and she took it at an angle and he just locked on. She has complete control and steering; he’s maybe not the bravest pony and will put in a stop but without the bridle, it’s like there’s a whole new level of trust.

“He looks so happy and just locks on to all the jumps. She talked to him the whole way and I don’t know how much he understands! But he seems to know exactly what she wants.”

Thea told H&H that she and her pony have so much trust in each other, doing something like this “feels completely natural”.

“I have to pinch myself sometimes and think about how utterly amazed I’d be if someone told me two years ago I’d be doing this,” she said.

“We are both completely at home bridleless and it really does bring out a whole different side to Yoda. I can feel his focus shift entirely on to me as soon as we ditch the bridle; he has to think in a whole different way, relying on the communication that comes from my seat, body and mind rather than a bit physically directing him.

“A big dream of mine is to be able to event him bridleless, and we are on our way to nailing each discipline in the hope that one day it will be allowed. I just love him to the moon and back and am so proud of how far we’ve come together and excited for what lies ahead.”

Jessica said that she understands venues have concerns about safety, but she and Thea hope to show that they need not fear.

“I think, realistically, we’re going to have to organise our own event,” she said. “If we do that first, hopefully it will grow, and more and more people will realise it’s doable and safe.

“The more we talk about the barriers, the more we can find ways round them.”

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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An Olympic eventer who had spent six years trying to get to the bottom of a quirky horse tried riding him without a bridle – and was “blown away” by the outcome.

Sharon Hunt told H&H she had tried a variety of tactics to ride showjumper Igor more happily in a contact, but had always struggled to get him to stretch and open up. Inspired by equestrians such as UK trainer Connie Colfox and the Netherlands’ Yvet Blokesch of Feather Light Horsemanship, she tried first riding bitless, then without a bridle at all.

“I’ve been amazed,” Sharon said. “[Yvet] can ride basically a grand prix dressage test without a bridle, and I think that’s incredible. I think this sort of natural horsemanship can have a bit of a stigma with some people, who think it’s ‘pony patting’, but it’s not. It’s so skilful, it’s incredible. I thought I’d give it a go, and was blown away by the difference it made to this horse.”

Sharon has had 13-year-old Igor for six years and although he has been very successful in the showjumping ring, he had never been easy to ride.

“I think the whole issue was with his pecs and neck; he’d be bracing, he’d run against the rein all the time, and it obviously wasn’t helping his pec problem, his thoracic sling issue,” she said. “So I thought I’d just sweep it all back and see what happens. I can trot him around now on such a nice, loose rein. I’ve worked for six years trying to get him stretched like that; I’ve been working with him for so long and have finally found the key; just take it all off.”

Sharon said she has been trying to change not only Igor’s physical posture and movement, which will allow him to build the right musculature to support a happier way of going, but his mindset – and it is working already.

“He could be sluggish because he struggled to get going, and open his shoulder, then obviously he wasn’t wanting to take me forward,” she said. “And all of that has started to change within a week.

“Since I took the bridle off, the last two or three days, I’ve just ridden him in a hackamore, and I get the same response; he’s stretching. It’s like it’s triggered something, and he’s really happy to stretch.

“I’ve never been able to canter him on a soft rein and him stretch – now he puts his head on the floor and canters around happily, I can do changes like that. I hope all this will give him a better muscle memory and posture and a much softer way of me riding him. I feel like he’s making the decisions, not me, and that’s the biggest thing, and he’s been going so beautifully, this is heaven.”

Sharon said that after all her years riding, “I feel I’ve finally worked it out!”

“I’m obsessed with horses’ longevity, making it easier for them, making them stronger and fitter,” she said. “Anything that can make it fluid, harmonious, with no tension has to mean that you build good muscles and the horse has longevity. It has to.

“I think if we could train people to understand about how to keep them going for the long term, and be able to use their bodies better, that would be great, wouldn’t it? Keep it uncomplicated.”

Natural progression

Sharon said she had never ridden bridleless before, but as she had always tried to ride with less rein and more leg and seat aids, it was a natural progression. And this ties in to the reason she stopped eventing, which was a great deal to do with the heartbreak of getting a horse to a good level and then it going lame.

“I’ve always enjoyed doing a few brilliantly; I just like all the detail,” she said. “I’ve learned how to massage and tape, I do loads of the physio myself. Anything that can create longevity and help keep them going, to be able to use their bodies in a better way, because once they start to compensate, forget it. It’ll come out at some point, whether it’s in your training or soundness. It starts with a bit of tension, or they’re a bit one-sided.

“We used to try to hold them together a bit more, and you just cannot do that. You can tell the riders who do it properly because their horses stay sound year in, year out; you can tell they’re trained correctly, they ride correctly, they’re obviously producing them correctly.

“I was spoiled with Tankers Town; I did run him carefully and looked after him but he was obviously particularly tough, and then trying to find that again has been so hard. I realise now what an exceptional horse he was in that respect and how tough he was. But that’s why I think I’m so determined to start off on the right basis, and at least give them half a chance, because it is so hard.”

Harmony

Sharon added that she, like most riders, had been brought up with the traditional way of training and managing horses.

“I’ve been on this journey because I’ve made all the different mistakes,” she said. “I’ve done it all, because we didn’t know how to do it differently, and the last few years, I’ve really enjoyed learning how to do it in a harmonious way. I haven’t been competing as much, and although that means I’ve had the time to do it, I think people think I’m just not competitive any more.

“That’s not it at all. I’m more competitive than I’ve ever been, it’s just that I want to do it right, and I want it to last, and I want to win. So I’m looking forward to the moment they can come out and get great scores, and show that all this work is worth it.

“I really enjoy riding Igor now, and I trust him so much. It’s funny, because I was riding around, I thought ‘This horse used to bolt with me’, and now he’s so relaxed, Mr. Zen. He’s perfect.”

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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A rider who won a dressage test without a bridle on a horse who has been trained from the start in this way said she is immensely proud of what he has achieved – and that he is demonstrating what is possible.

Mia Rodley and her seven-year-old Boogie won and came second in a “do dressage differently” show run by Equi-Fun Club at Plumpton College on 6 July. As founder of The Heart of Horsemanship, which offers natural horsemanship training, liberty work and displays, she rides frequently without a bridle. But Boogie is the first horse she has trained without one from the start.

“It was amazing; immense,” she told H&H. “I’m so proud of him, he’s an amazing horse. We’ve just moved and haven’t got an arena at the moment so he’s been hacking for six weeks. We went to the show with no expectations, just wanted to see how we went.

“We were about to leave and I thought I’d better get my sheets, and they said ‘You’ve come first and second’. I couldn’t believe it.”

Mia said she was delighted with the judges’ comments, which praised the harmonious partnership.

“I loved that, because it’s totally my goal,” she said. “That lovely feeling of complete synergy with your horse; on the ground and riding because with liberty, you’re just tapping into your horse’s mind, every millisecond, you’re with them on the ground, keeping that amazing mental connection. Bridleless is exactly the same – it’s liberty riding, basically.

“What’s really special with Boogie is, I’ve had him since he was a foal and his first ever ride was bridleless, and bareback, on the beach! It’s been a challenge for me to train collection without a bit or bridle in sight, so he’s not worn a bridle, other than when a friend rode him on a hack the other day, in any of his training.

“I’ve done it where I’ve got a very highly schooled horse, taken off the bridle and ride them bridleless, but the frame and collection have come from the reins and not from the horse’s true self-carriage. Boogie’s frame and self-carriage is entirely taught without a bit or bridle.”

Mia, who has been riding bridleless since she was a teenager, said it took a good 18 months to get Boogie to this stage. She taught him, starting from the ground, that a touch on the neck rope meant he should lift and engage his thoracic sling.

“It was gruelling and incremental, the tiniest little changes,” she said. “I just went with it, I trusted the process. I taught him that when I put a feel on the neck rope, it almost got him to sit back. When you ask your horse to back up, their whole body changes in their flexion before they actually move their feet; they shift their weight back, almost lift their back, then take a step backwards. That was literally what I was looking for in the early days.

“Then I took it to riding, and got it to where he could do it at halt, walk, do a few strides, trot. And now he’s built up to being able to maintain it for seven minutes and a whole dressage test. It’s phenomenal.”

Mia added that she has done many performances at shows bridleless, with other horses at liberty.

“That’s really cool but I was so intrigued by ‘Can you teach collection with no reins; can it be done?’” she said. “And Boogie’s proving it can be done.”

She added that the challenge has been finding show organisers and venues that will allow people to compete bridleless, as there are often concerns about safety and control. But she has full insurance to cover all her displays.

“I was really lucky that this was a ‘do dressage differently’ show so you could do it in tack not allowed by [British Dressage] BD, you could do it bareback or bitless. A couple of people did it bareback, and one lady did the most beautiful test bitless.

“I’d emailed the organiser, Rebecca from Equi-Fun, sent her videos of what we do, and said, I’m fully insured to do this, please, please, please will you let me try this bridleless? And she said yes. I’ve got a friend I was helping with a tricky horse a few years ago who organises dressage at Weston Lawns and she says I’m welcome to do it there, so that’s really amazing too.”

Mia said she and others who compete bridleless, such as young showjumper Thea Harkness, hope to inspire other riders – and venues to allow them to compete.

“I’d really like people to see that you don’t need a bridle, it’s not a necessary piece of equipment to be able to perform,” she said. “Loads of people do this recreationally, for fun, but having it in competition – I think the message is you have to have the horse’s mind before you have their body. I think we’ve all ridden a horse where you don’t have their mind and can’t get their body, even with reins or a bit. You have to have that mental connection with them.”

Mia said both she and Thea warmed up with a bitless bridle for extra safety, and she knows there would have to be stringent health and safety risk assessments to allow more bridleless competing.

“Most of us are thorough in our training, and we won’t put ourselves or our horses in a situation where we don’t think they’re going to do well anyway,” she said. “And it’s showcasing that you can do it bridleless, and it is the ultimate test of that mental connection. Especially in light of everything happening in the equestrian world at the moment, it would be spectacular if more people were allowed to compete bridleless.”

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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A young rider thought to be the first to compete bridleless in UK showjumping hopes to help influence how people consider their relationship with horses.

Thea Harkness, 14, and her 21-year-old pony Yoda jumped in their first competition with just a neck rope on an HC basis at the end of May, then took part competitively this week (11 June).

Thea’s mother Jessica, an equine chiropractor, told H&H her daughter has always had a high empathy with animals, and would be upset if she saw anyone get cross with a pony.

“We went to a Mia Rodley bridleless clinic, and she’d already started experimenting and riding in headcollars, and wanting to do it in a more gentle way,” Jessica said. “And every time she rode, she’d say ‘Mum, is this hurting him?’ Or ‘Am I doing this right?’; she’s always approached it from absolutely wanting it to be about the animals’ welfare, and are they happy, are they enjoying themselves.”

Jessica said Yoda has been with the family for several years and done Pony Club activities and eventing with Thea, but always in full tack.

“She said she wanted to ride him bridleless, so she’s done it stage by stage, teaching herself,” she added. “She learned a lot of groundwork training her mini Shetlands at liberty, and applied that to Yoda. She watches Mia’s videos, and we’ve got a friend who does natural horsemanship – she absorbs information wherever she can find it.”

Jessica had been looking for a venue at which Thea and Yoda could jump without a bridle but most were reluctant to allow it.

“I think some are concerned about whether she’ll be in control or be able to stop; what happens if she can’t stop,” she said. “But by the time you get to a stage where you’re riding bridleless, you have way more control than most people!

“Your trust and communication with the animal is on a whole different level. Thea still competes Yoda in eventing, and obviously you have to wear a bridle for that, and when she takes the bridle off, he’s way more listening and responsive to her seat and voice aid, because there’s no direct communication with his mouth like you’d normally do.”

Eventually, Jessica spoke to a client of hers, at Lower Haddon Farm, which agreed Thea could jump Yoda without a bridle.

“She warmed up with a bridle on, then went into the arena,” Jessica said. “I walked in with her and took her bridle off, and the crowd just went silent, which was amazing.

“Then she just jumped this faultless, beautiful round. He was fantastic, she was so pleased with him, and she got some really lovely comments afterwards; everyone was super positive.”

Thea and Yoda then competed this week, and jumped a double clear and a four-fault round. Thea told H&H she is very proud of the way all the hard work has paid off.

“When we did our first ever bridleless ride, I would never have thought we would be competing less than a year later,” she said. “I love that we can get out there and show the world that it’s possible, that there are alternative ways of training that prioritise connection and partnership, relying on the subtlest of communication between horse and rider. Yoda never fails to amaze me with his trust and attention to my aids. I love him so much and cannot wait for what our future holds!”

Jessica cited the increasing interest in liberty and natural horsemanship training as well as bridleless riders such as US showjumper Brendan Wise, who takes on 1.20m and 1.30m tracks with just a neck rope.

“I think people think it’s harder than it actually is, but if you do the training right and take your time, it’s really not that hard,” she said. “I’ve had a two-year-old who’s now six, and I’ve backed her to be able to ride her bridleless as well. I’m learning myself, alongside Thea. You just have to do it slowly and patiently, and it’s not a three- or four-week turnaround, but it’s magic when it happens.”

And Jessica added that from her professional viewpoint, she thinks it benefits horses, who can move more naturally when they are allowed to place themselves where they want, which can be seen by the shape they make over a fence.

“There’s a lot of talk now about the tongue-hyoid connection with the back end, and if we shut horses’ mouths with a flash noseband so they can’t move their tongue freely, that directly affects the ability of the hocks to work properly,” she said. “It’s kinder, softer, more efficient. And in terms of longevity, if we want our horses to stay sound and use their bodies correctly, it makes complete sense to me that we help them to learn to use their bodies as correctly as we can.”

“Thea just wants people to think a bit about their relationship with their horses and whether it could be kinder or gentler or softer,” she added. “I’ve always said the way to do things is to model what you want, and hopefully people will follow suit. We’re hoping other venues will start to allow it to happen. It’ll be slow but that would be the dream.”

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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When the Roger Varian-trained filly Elmalka swooped from last to first to win the recent 1000 Guineas at Newmarket under jockey Silvestre De Sousa, the loudest cheers on the track were coming from the filly’s devoted groom Kerry Humphries.

“I lost my voice!” she says of that “really special day”.

“I was over the moon and so proud of her and the way she did it – she was out the back most of the way then flew home, it was brilliant. When she started getting closer, we started jumping and cheering. Then when she crossed the line in front, we all ended up hugging each other.”

Kerry says the emotions flowed as she led Elmalka back to the winner’s enclosure.

“I couldn’t stop shaking. These special days are why you work in racing and you don’t win a Classic every day, so it makes it all worthwhile. You’ve got to enjoy every moment and make the most of it.”

Kerry Humphries: family ties

Kerry has looked after Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum’s Kingman filly since Elmalka arrived on the Newmarket yard last year, jumping at the chance having previously looked after her older half-sister Madaara.

“Madaara was a very big horse whereas Elmalka’s really small – they’re complete opposites,” says Kerry of the daughters of Selkirk mare Nahrain, who gave Roger Varian his first Group One winner back in 2011.

“Elmalka is really sweet, she loves a cuddle, her polos, her carrots and her apples, but she has a bit of sass about her at the same time!

“Sometimes when you’re brushing her over she’ll throw a leg out at you, or when you’re washing her off – she keeps you on your toes! But on the whole, she’s really sweet.”

In the run-up to the Classic race, the signs were there that Elmalka might well out-run her odds of 33/1 on just her third racecourse appearance.

“She is ridden at home every day by Beth Dixon, who has ridden her from her early days and adores Elmalka. On the day before the Guineas she actually ran off the end of the canter with her – she’s never done anything like that before so we said she’s definitely in good order!” says Kerry. “We were confident she’d run a good race anyway. She’s a tough filly and we always knew she’d be doing her best late on. It was amazing to watch.”

A twist of fate: “It was right on my doorstep”

Kerry was brought up around horses as her mum had a horse, but she only came into racing by chance.

“My dad is a roofer and had been working on the roof of the Northern Racing College in Doncaster,” recalls Kerry. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I left school and he said how about applying there. Growing up, my mum and dad would take my brother and me racing quite regularly, so I had an interest in it, but I didn’t know the racing college existed, even though it was right on my doorstep.”

Kerry has now been working for leading trainer Roger Varian for the past 10 years and met her “absolute world” One Pekan on her first day there, crediting the horse for helping her deal with the grief of losing her mother unexpectedly in 2021.

After dual Epsom winner One Pekan retired from the track in 2017, Kerry jumped at the chance to take on the racehorse whom she adored. The devoted duo have been enjoying showjumping, cross-country and pleasure rides – and “he’s still a monkey!” she says.

“Last Sunday I noticed everyone posting lovely pictures of their pristine horses in showing classes and so on, when I’d taken mine on a 10-mile pleasure ride and five minutes in, he’d got down and rolled in the mud with me!” she laughs. “He’s 14, yet still does things like that!”

Riding a former racehorse without a bridle

So close is their bond however, that Kerry can ride her former racehorse One Pekan at home without a bridle.

“I don’t know what was going through my head, but one day I thought I’d take my bridle off and canter round without it and he was brilliant,” she says of the Retraining of Racehorses personality of the year finalist. “He listens so well to my voice – I can lunge him without a lunge line and I can get him to walk, trot and canter round in a circle just through my voice.

“But if I take him out cantering in the fields, he doesn’t listen to me at all!”

Talking about the joy of owning a former racehorse, Kerry explains: “I’ve looked after Pekan from my first day working at Roger Varian’s, so we’ve gone through the whole process of working together within the racing industry to me giving him a home after racing. He is such a character and very quirky, I adore him.”

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Serena Kullich, 23, is one of the most eye-catching young showjumpers on the circuit but she is also producing one of this country’s most talented young horses in seven-year-old Benfields Victory.

Serena and Benji (Billy Congo x Pauldary’s Romeo) sealed a marvellous year when contesting the prestigious Yeti Under 25 British Showjumping Championship at the London International Horse Show in December, where they finished with just four faults in round one.

“That was a dream come true to qualify for that class, especially with him only being seven,” says Serena, who rode the youngest horse in the field by three years. “It’s a show I’ve wanted to do for many, many years – it was an amazingly fun atmosphere, and an incredible show to compete at.”

In September, they jumped at the world seven-year-old finals at the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championships for Young Horses at Lanaken.

Serena has about 10 horses at home, but Benji is the stable star.

“I’ve got quite a few four-, five- and six-year-olds coming through that I’m producing through the levels and hopefully they might qualify for Lanaken next year,” she says. “If they’re as good as Benji I’ll be delighted. But I love producing them and watching them grow, and I’ve had Benji since he was five. He’d done a few shows when I got him, but really I’ve done everything with him and produced him, so when he was best British-bred seven-year-old, that meant a lot. He was also the only seven-year-old to jump clear every day at Bolesworth.”

The pair have formed a remarkable partnership in the ring, but away from competition Serena says she’ll happily jump Benji without a bridle at home.

“I’ve worked with [Applied Horsemanship trainer] Sean Coleman for three years now,” she says. “When we got Benji, he was very distracted, just about everything around him, so it was all about working with him to focus and now we have such a great partnership that I can school him and jump him at home without a bridle.”

Serena Kullich: from eventing to showjumping

Serena has ridden all her life and showjumped on ponies before competing up to three-star level eventing.

“But I’ve always had a love for showjumping,” she explains. “Even when I was eventing, I missed the showjumping. Then I slowly ended up moving back into showjumping and now it’s just showjumping again.”

The talented young rider has also been selected for the British Showjumping gold development programme and attended the first coaching camp in early December.

“I didn’t realise they give you such rounded support, from all aspects – not just training – so sport psychology, fitness, and advice on shows and pressure in the sport, that kind of thing,” she says. “That’s so invaluable and not something you do or know that much about without an opportunity like this.

‘There will be three more camps through the spring, then they help you at an international show in the summer. They help you with your goals but it’s also exciting just to progress through the sport.”

Serena’s goal for 2024 is to step up the lovely Benji to ranking classes in his eight-year-old year.

“One day I’d love to be selected for Nations Cup teams,” she says. “Then with the young ones I hope to keep producing them through the age classes and maybe qualify for Lanaken again.

“The Olympics would definitely be the goal one day, but I’m taking it step by step and we’ll see how far we can go. Everything Benji has done this year has just been incredible, so I’d love to keep going with him and see where it takes us.”

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‘I’ve let the horse gain belief in himself’: patience rewarded with spectacular World Cup double

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Shuna Mardon on the mare that led her to compete without a bridle – and breeding a quarter horse dynasty

My first memory of horses was when I was three, escaping my nanny in the nursery to lead a Clydesdale from his cart to the stables. We also had a gorgeous miniature Shetland and my siblings and I would play all over and around her.

Our mother instilled in us our love of horses and always supported us. When I came back from a trip buying horses with my boyfriend, now husband, Philip, I told her, “Mum we got engaged.”

She replied, “Oh good God, is that all? I thought you’d bought another stallion.”

I believed horses could be ridden by telepathy, but it took a chance meeting with cowboy and country and Western singer John O’Neill to convince me that bridleless riding was possible. Philip and I met John on honeymoon in Bermuda and he became a great friend and mentor. A few years later, when we went to stay with him and his wife in New York State, he showed me how he rode one of his horses without a bridle.

I told John about a horse, Strathdon, who was highly sensitive and resisted conventional forms of control. John convinced me I would be able to ride her without a bridle. I tried it with great success.

Other riders were not always impressed. My sister, eventer Lorna Clarke, says, “We have bridles, why not use them.” I can remember one day hunting Strathdon with the Duke of Buccleuch’s. A woman rode up to me at the meet, looked askance at “Don’s” naked head and said, “I think you’ve forgotten something.”

I wrote a book about my experiences, but I haven’t competed without a bridle since the late ’80s because you cannot get insurance now. When I showed without a bridle, I would always take one for the judge as they wouldn’t have known how I communicated with my horse.

In a lifetime of riding and competing, I am most proud of the fact that I was able to compete in open affiliated showjumping, eventing, Western riding and endurance, as well as hunting a horse without using a bridle. Strathdon was such a difficult mare when she arrived but she did give me her complete trust, and went on to become Western and pleasure horse champion of Britain dozens of times.

Waccubuc, whom I also rode and competed without a bridle, was my horse of a lifetime. He was British champion of the American Quarter Horse Association UK and quarter horse performance champion of Britain several times, advanced medium in dressage and jumped at Foxhunter level. He also covered more than 30 mares a year.

As far as I know, there were only six or seven quarter horses in the country when I began importing them in 1970.

I started breeding them because of their temperament and versatility. I bred two of the best at the time in Zero Depth Charge, who was breed champion a few times, and Rocky Mountain Zero, having chosen the sire and dam out in America.

The biggest lesson that horses have taught me is to listen. People don’t listen enough. If a horse doesn’t enjoy working, they will never give you their best.

I have a Fjord pony here that got into bad habits with her young rider – she loves jumping and liked to take off after a fence. The first time we jumped a fence, we went around the school three times before she could stop. It seemed she had been doing everything on the right rein, so I rode her around the school for three months with two hands on the left rein. She was bored with dressage but she enjoys TREC and has had some success in this.

I’m 79 this month and still compete in dressage but my back is playing up and I think it came from the effort of staying on difficult young horses. I used to take horses in and charge £25 a week if they were unbroken, £10 a week for the others. The horses we were well paid to back were usually ones someone else had failed to break in.

Ref: Horse & Hound; 10 December 2020

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Find out more about insurance

While riders may carry out whatever forms of riding they enjoy on private property, the situation is different when road riding.

Rule 52 of the Highway Code states: “Never ride a horse without a saddle and bridle.” Failure to observe this guidance could lead to an offence under the Road Traffic Act.

If the person acted irresponsibly and other road users were affected, it could lead to other legal proceedings.

In terms of insurance, people who ride without a bridle and saddle and do not undertake dangerous behaviour can be insured.

For example, the Good Horsemanship Society offers a “natural horsemanship” insurance policy in association with Fidelius Insurance Solutions that covers policy-holders riding in “natural horsemanship equipment”, for example, rope halters.

David Buckton, associate director of South Essex Insurance Brokers (SEIB), says insurance policies require policy-holders to take reasonable precautions to avoid a claim.

“However, the terms of personal accident insurances arranged by SEIB make no stipulations about the use or otherwise of bridles or saddlery,” he says.

“Riders should always be open with insurers, disclosing activities they are likely to undertake, and ensuring they’re in control of their horses, taking into account their normal riding activity, personal experience and the horse’s level of training.”

Information

SEIB

Tel: 01708 850000

www.seib.co.uk

Natural Horsemanship Insurance

www.naturalhorsemanshipinsurance.com

Looking for horse insurance? Try Horse & Hound’s insurance comparison service at horseandhound.co.uk/insurance

This article was first published in the current issue of H&H (24 November 2011)

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