The intuitive response, when your flying changes aren’t going well in your dressage tests, is often to ride more of them. The instinct makes sense – practise the thing that isn’t working – but it’s rarely where the fix actually lies.

“Very rarely is getting a flying change, or fixing a tricky change, about doing more changes,” says Becky Moody. “It is nearly always about improving the canter.”

This is the bit that catches most riders out. The change feels like the problem – it’s late behind, or your horse runs out the front door, or swaps and then immediately falls into trot – so the change is where they put the work. But the change is a symptom. The canter underneath it is the actual job.

“It’s the quality of canter, every time”

The canter you need for a change is not the same canter you might ride elsewhere. It has to be collected but full of energy, straight, balanced, and – most importantly – adjustable.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean the problem is with the rhythm of the canter,” Becky says. “It’s very often the straightness of the canter, the balance of the canter. And for me, the adjustability of the canter. I think you have to be able to have a horse that is collected, but stay full of energy.”

A useful image: watch a top showjumper coming into a big vertical. The horse collects, but the energy doesn’t disappear – it gathers. The hindquarters come under, the frame shortens, and the canter gets bouncier. That’s the feel you want before a flying change Becky says. Not slow. Not steady. Loaded.

The springboard step

Here is Becky’s most useful idea, and it isn’t in any textbook.

“I like to have a springboard step,” she says. “The horse doesn’t change on the first part of your change aid. You have a springboard step – it’s like a spring then change, not just a change.”

Translated: your aid has two parts. A preparation stride, where you ask the horse to gather and bounce, and then the change itself. The whole sequence has the rhythm of “Are you ready? Change.”

This is the difference between a change that arrives flat and late, and one that lifts cleanly through the body. Riders who get into trouble are usually applying the aid in a single motion – leg on, change, hope. The horse hasn’t had a chance to load the spring first.

It’s also where anticipation comes in. For Becky, a horse learning changes should be thinking about what’s coming next – not nervous, but expectant.

“You almost need to create a degree of anticipation,” she says. “The horse is a little bit like, ‘Oh, what’s coming? This is good fun.’ Instead of you cantering across the diagonal in a lovely, nice, balanced, steady canter and then putting a change aid on, and the horse is like, ‘What?’”

Don’t lose the counter-canter

A common trap, once a horse can do changes, is that they start offering them unprompted. The rider asks for counter-canter, and the horse, helpful and over-keen, swaps.

“I’m quite a big believer that when you start teaching the horse changes, you shouldn’t stop being able to ride counter-canter,” Becky says. “You should be able to be like, ‘Now we’re doing counter-canter. And now we’re going to do a change. And now we’re doing counter-canter again.’ They have to be listening to what you say.”

The discipline matters because, in a test, you’ll be asked for both – sometimes within strides of each other. A horse that assumes every straight line means a change is a horse that will throw one in at exactly the wrong moment.

Build the change before you ask for it

Long before the change itself, the foundations need to be there. Canter-to-walk and walk-to-canter transitions are the bedrock – clean, on the leg, with no drift through the shoulders. The horse should be able to come back to walk with the outside hind genuinely stepping under, and step up into canter on a specific lead from a specific aid, without hesitation.

A good marker: can you ride around the outside of the arena and pick up eight to 10 walk-to-canter transitions, on the correct lead each time, on a straight line and in balance? If not, that’s where the work is. The change will come from this groundwork, not from drilling changes.

The walk half-pirouette is also useful here, because it asks the outside hind to stretch and step under, and it sets the horse straight before coming back into canter – the same body shape, in effect, that you need before a change.

An exercise: the figure-of-eight at the short end

When the foundations are in place, Becky’s go-to exercise is a small figure-of-eight at the short end of the arena.

“Imagine there’s a row of poles across the 10m line at the short end,” she says. “Then you’re doing your little figure-of-eight within that 20x10m box.”

You come out of the corner as if to ride a 10m circle at M, then take a small diagonal line across the centre line back towards the short side, change rein, and pick up the new circle on the other side.

The point of working in a small box is that it stops everything getting away from you.

“One of the most common things when both horse and rider are learning about changes is that everything gets a bit too forward and away,” Becky says.

“Doing it within a smaller area helps keep everything organised in a positive way without the rider having to do so much with their hand.”

The hand is the giveaway. A rider whose changes have unravelled is usually a rider whose changes finished with both reins pulling. Working in a smaller space buys you the discipline of riding the change with the leg and the seat, because there isn’t room to ride it with the hand.

A note on poles

Poles get used a lot for teaching flying changes in dressage, and they are a lot of productive exercises – but Becky uses them sparingly.

“I’m not a fan of the pole,” she says. She’s used one once, with a client’s horse that genuinely couldn’t grasp what was being asked. “We did what we could to help make it easier for them. It definitely got them more understanding of what we were trying to do.

“Then the changes were late behind, but at least it was doing changes, and we were then able to work on it. It then came back to the quality of the canter.”

Which is, of course, where everything in this piece comes back to. Poles or exercises won’t fix a change if the canter underneath isn’t right.

Build the canter. Then the change will be there.

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US dressage rider, trainer and author Jane Savoie, who passed away in December 2020, explains how to ride the flying change and what skills the horse needs to have established before you to introduce the movement

In order to learn how to ride a flying change, it is important to understand what the movement is. In the flying change the horse remains in canter, but changes the canter lead during the moment of suspension, when all four feet are off the ground. When competing in dressage it is important that changes are made cleanly, with both front and hind legs changing during the same moment of suspension.

A commonly seen mistake is when the horse changes in front in one stride and then behind in the following stride. This is less important when jumping, but the sooner the change is completed, the less balance in the canter will be lost. Cantering disunited to a fence is not giving the horse the best possible chance of cleaning that obstacle without incurring faults.

Preparing for flying changes

Before trying to teach a flying change the horse must be able to:

• Produce a good simple change of lead (canter/walk/canter). The downward transition should be a clear transition to the walk, with no dribbly trot steps. Shorten the canter with collecting half halts before you ask for the transition. If the horse is travelling too fast he will lose his balance on to the forehand in the downward transition. The upwards transition should be quick off the leg without being rushed or explosive.
• Be balanced in counter canter. Develop the counter canter until the horse can comfortably maintain it without tension on circles and lines. To test the horse’s balance ensure you can extend and collect in the counter canter without the horse switching leads.
• Be comfortable in collected canter. As the flying change is another canter stride the quality of the canter is vital to its success. The canter should have big, round, expressive, “off the ground” strides. Any tendency towards a canter that is four-time or flat will not give the horse time to change his legs in the air. Develop and maintain the quality of the collected canter by working on exercises that increase collection such as shoulder-in, travers, frequent simple changes of lead (five strides of walk and five strides of canter), and collecting half halts.

Understanding the collecting half halt

During a collecting half halt the rider should close their legs, push with their seat and close their outside hand for a moment. This engages the horse’s hind quarters and encourages them to wait and “sit” on their hocks.

Ride three collecting half halts in the canter, while thinking about reducing the amount of ground your horse covers with each stride by about 50% but maintain the same rhythm and tempo. During the short, engaged strides, pick a spot on the ground and imagine that you’re cantering on top of it for three strides. Then, go forward for several strides, and ask him to collect again for three strides.

How to ride a flying change

The timing of the aids is very important in riding a successful flying change. Give the aids as the horse’s leading front leg is coming forward. You need to give the aid before the period of suspension because it takes your horse a moment to ‘hear’ your request and another moment to carry it out.

You can practice the correct timing of the aids in the walk and then the canter by watching when the horse’s inside front leg comes forward. Each time you see it coming forward, say out loud, “Now, now, now”. In this way, you learn to coordinate your voice with the inside front leg coming forward.

For a flying change from left to right:

• Seat: Push your right seat bone forward toward your horse’s right ear.
• Right leg: Close your right leg on the girth to ask your horse to go forward during the change.
• Left leg: Swing your left leg behind the girth to signal the new outside hind leg to strike off into the new lead. (Don’t hold this leg back. Pretend your leg is spring-loaded so you give a quick aid.)
• Left rein: Close your left hand in a fist to keep the left hind leg on the ground and maintain uphill balance. Imagine that you’re closing and opening your hand so fast that you can snatch a fly out of the air.
• Right rein: Soften your right rein so you don’t block the new inside front leg from coming forward.

I like to introduce flying changes on a 10-meter figure of eight. Ride simple changes of lead in the centre of the figure of eight. Repeat until the horse understands and anticipates that he’s going to change leads. When you feel him anticipating, give the aids for the flying change instead of doing the simple change. If he changes, praise him a lot. If he doesn’t then stay calm and repeat the process.

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Flying changes are unavoidably cool. I can still remember attempting my first – getting a friend to film me on their pixelated flip phone, beaming a stupid grin at the camera as my little pony leapt into her change and promptly bombed off. We’ll ignore, for now, that she was two strides late behind.

But there’s no doubt they can feel like a mystery until you get that “aha” moment where it finally clicks. And because every horse is different, there’s no single foolproof way to teach them.

The good news is there’s nothing magic about them. A flying change is a natural movement – your horse already does them loose in the field – and with the right foundations, most horses can learn to do them to order (making you look suitably cool in the process).

Here’s what a flying change actually is, how to ride one, and how to start teaching your horse – without flinging your entire bodyweight to one side as I did.

What is a flying change?

A flying change is when your horse switches their leading leg in canter, in one smooth motion, without breaking to trot or walk in between.

A quick step back, in case it’s useful: in canter, your horse leads with one front leg – it reaches further forward than the other, and you’ll feel that shoulder come through underneath you. On a left lead, the left foreleg leads; on a right lead, the right. Which lead you’re on matters for balance, especially on turns and circles, where you normally want the inside leg leading – so on the right rein, going clockwise, you’ll be on the right lead most of the time, and on the left rein, the left.

Canter has a three-beat rhythm, and after the third beat there’s a brief moment of suspension – a split second where all four feet are off the ground, and your horse is, fleetingly, airborne. A flying change happens in that instant. Your horse rearranges their legs mid-air and lands on the opposite lead, so instead of leading with the left foreleg, they’re now leading with the right. Done well, there’s no stumble and no change of rhythm – just a clean skip from one lead to the other, as if your horse has hopped across in the air.

You’ll come across flying changes in pretty much every discipline:

• Dressage: they appear from advanced medium level upwards, ridden on straight lines and, higher up, in sequences down to one change every stride (tempi changes).
• Showjumping: essential for jumping a course smoothly. A horse that lands on the correct lead – or changes to it – can balance through turns and meet the next fence in rhythm, without losing time or scrambling.
• Eventing, showing, and general riding: anywhere you’re cantering, turning and needing your horse balanced, a change keeps things tidy and comfortable.

For a lower-level rider, it’s less about the wow factor – although that’s cool, too – and more about control. A horse that changes lead on request is one you can balance and steer through anything, whether that’s a jump-off turn, a dressage centre line, or just staying upright out hunting.

How to ride a flying change

Assuming your horse already knows how to change (see the next section for teaching it), here’s the sequence of aids. The key thing is that a change is prepared, not just thrown in – you set your horse up, then ask.

1. Establish a good canter first. Balanced, active and collected enough that you feel you could ride a few steps smaller at any moment. A flat, strung-out canter has nowhere to change from.

2. Prepare on the approach to the change. Sit tall, half-halt to gather and balance the canter, and make sure your horse is straight – not falling in or out through the shoulder.

3. Change your leg position. Say you’re on the left lead (left foreleg leading) and want to change to the right. Your left leg, which has been at the girth, moves back behind the girth, and your right leg comes to the girth. This new leg position tells your horse which lead you now want.

4. Change your weight and hips. As you swap your legs, allow your seat and hips to follow – so your weight shifts subtly to the new leading side. Keep it quiet; it’s just a rebalancing, not throwing yourself across the saddle.

5. Ask in that moment of suspension. Apply the new outside leg (the left, now behind the girth) with a clear but light aid, ideally timed to the moment your horse is about to spring into the next stride. That’s when your horse can swing their legs through to the new lead.

6. Keep riding forward. Ride positively out of the change on the new lead. The most common mistake is to ask and then freeze or pull back on the reins – we’ve all done it, but both stop your horse jumping through cleanly.

The rhythm to aim for is almost “prepare… now go!” A change asked for in one flat motion tends to come late or flat; a change that’s set up first has time to jump through the body.

How to teach a flying change

Before you teach the change itself, the foundations have to be solid – it’s not as exciting, but this is the most important part. Rushing to the change before these are in place is the single most common reason changes go wrong. Your horse should be able to:

• Pick up either canter lead promptly, from a clear aid, on a straight line.
• Ride balanced walk-to-canter and canter-to-walk transitions without falling onto the forehand. (“On the forehand” just means your horse is carrying too much weight on their front end, rather than pushing from behind. You’ll feel it as heaviness in your hands, your horse tipping downhill or leaning on the reins for balance. What you want instead is your horse staying light in front and stepping their hindlegs underneath themselves – think uphill, not downhill.)
• Hold a counter-canter (cantering on the “outside” or “wrong” lead) in balance. This teaches your horse to stay on the lead you’ve asked for rather than swapping whenever they fancy.

Once those are established, here’s a simple and reliable way to introduce the change:

1. Use a change of direction. Ride a shallow loop, a figure-of-eight, or come across the diagonal – anywhere your horse is naturally changing bend and direction, so a change of lead makes sense to them.

2. Establish a clean canter, then rebalance. As you approach the point where you’ll change direction, half-halt and collect the canter, so your horse is balanced and listening.

3. Ask as you cross the line. At the moment you change direction, change your leg and seat position and apply the new aid. Because your horse is already changing direction, switching lead feels logical.

4. Reward the attempt. Even a scrappy first change – or one that’s “late behind” (the front legs change but the hind legs lag a stride) – is worth rewarding. You’re building understanding first; the cleanliness comes with practice and strength.

5. Keep it occasional at first. Ask for one, make a fuss of your horse, and move on. Drilling changes over and over tends to make horses tense or anticipatory. A few good attempts in a session are plenty.

If your horse finds it genuinely confusing, some riders use a raised pole or cavaletti on the change line to encourage your horse to jump through and swap behind – but I’d say use it sparingly at first, and only if plain riding isn’t getting there.

Above all, don’t panic if the first attempts are messy. Late, flat or over-excited changes are completely normal early on. They clean up as your horse’s balance and confidence improve – which, as any good trainer will tell you, is really where the whole thing lives.

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A square halt is one of the most underrated movements in dressage – yet it features in virtually every test from intro to the highest levels of dressage, so knowing how to ride one is key. It’s usually the very first thing a judge sees as you turn down the centre line, and a tidy halt is one of the easiest ways to put marks on the board.

Get it wrong, and you hand the judge a poor first impression before you have ridden a single proper movement; get it right, and you set the tone for a lovely, flowing test.

Yet the halt is deceptively difficult. Standing four-square, immobile and on the aids takes a surprising amount of training – and, crucially, it is a skill you build over months rather than something you can drill in a single session. Here is how to teach a square halt from the ground up, how to ride it under pressure in the ring, and how to fix the faults that cost riders marks most often.

What makes a halt “square”?

Before you can train a good halt, it helps to know exactly what the judge is rewarding. Most rulebooks ask for the horse to stand attentive, engaged, motionless, straight and square, with their weight distributed evenly over all four legs, the poll as the highest point, and the nose just in front of the vertical. The horse should stay on the bit and be ready to move off at the slightest aid.

In practice, that means all four legs in two neat pairs, no leg trailing or resting, no creeping or fidgeting, and at least three seconds of genuine immobility when you salute. It’s worth remembering that a halt does not have to be flawless to score well – a soft, straight, immobile halt that is fractionally open behind will still earn a respectable mark, whereas a crooked horse jiggling on the centre line will not.

How to ride a square halt from scratch

The single biggest mistake riders make is chasing squareness before their horse is standing still. Make sure to nail the immobility first.

1. Start with stillness, not squareness

When you first introduce halts, the priority should be for the horse to stand calmly. “The most vital part of the movement is for the horse to stand still and be submissive,” says event rider Coral Keen.

“Don’t make too many adjustments early on trying to make it square, or the horse starts fidgeting, and it becomes an issue. Once they’re happy and immobile, then you think about the squareness.” Make too many corrections too early on, and you’ll teach your horse to fidget – which becomes a far harder habit to undo later on.

2. Build it progressively

Begin in walk and, at first, be content with the front legs square. Use the outside track and repeat walk-to-halt downward transitions, asking your horse to move forwards one small step at a time after the halt forwards until they’re level in front. Only when that is established should you move on to trot-to-halt, making the trot slower and smaller beforehand and allowing a few walk strides into the transition so your horse has time to organise themself.

“It’s fine for it to be a bit progressive to begin with – don’t expect it to be too direct,” Coral says. “Allowing your horse time in the movement helps them develop the feeling of positioning themselves into a square halt.”

3. Move on to asking them to square up behind

As your horse becomes more established, ask them to collect before the halt so their weight is back and their shoulders are light, allowing them to sit into it rather than fall onto the forehand.

International grand prix rider Samantha Thurman-Baker says the key to a square halt is your horse’s balance: “If he’s loading one shoulder or is slightly crooked, the chances are your halt won’t be square.”

Her advice from a faster gait is to bring the horse almost back to moving on the spot before you ask: “That ensures their weight is back and their shoulders are light, allowing him to sit into the halt.” A mirror or a pair of eyes on the ground is invaluable as you learn to feel it for yourself.

4. Remember the quality of the pace is everything

Whether you halt from walk, trot or canter, the transition is only as good as the gait before it. Keep your horse active and in front of the leg so the hindquarters stay engaged – if they drop behind the leg in the approach, the hind legs trail and the halt cannot be square. As with every downward transition, ride forwards into the halt, not backwards.

Riding a square halt in the test

Training at home is one thing; producing a square halt down the centre line with one or more judges watching is another. A few things make it more reliable under pressure.

Most horses are straighter on one rein than the other, so enter the arena on your horse’s better rein. Resist the temptation to ride too boldly at the halt transition – come in with enough collection that you can quietly drop down into a square halt rather than slamming the brakes on. But keep the principle of forward riding front of mind.

As Carl Hester puts it: “Dressage is about forward riding, so even a transition to halt means riding the horse forward, allowing with the hands to let him step under.”

If your horse anticipates the halt – stopping before you have asked, or jogging on the spot in expectation – school plenty of centre lines without halting at all, and practise your halts off the three-quarter line instead so the movement stops being predictable.

Carl Hester’s centre-line halt exercise

Carl has a go-to flatwork exercise to build straightness, responsiveness and a square halt all at once.

Ride down the centre line and halt; only when the horse is square, immobile and relaxed, move off in your chosen gait, immediately circle right, and return to the centre line to halt again. Repeat, this time circling left, and continue alternating left and right circles with a halt between each all the way up the centre line.

The turn before each halt does much of the work for you, helping to position the inside hindleg and encouraging your horse to step into a square halt rather than leaving a leg trailing behind. As an added discipline, train yourself to feel whether the halt is square without looking down: sit level in the middle of the saddle and notice whether both sides of the horse’s back push evenly up into your seat. If only one side does, the opposite hindleg is trailing.

Fixing the most common halt faults

1. The quarters swing left or right

If the hindquarters drift as you halt, think of riding a touch of leg-yield or shoulder-fore into the transition to keep them in line. Riding down the centre line in shoulder-fore, with a mirror or helper checking you are truly straight, is one of the best long-term cures, because a crooked approach almost always produces a crooked halt.

2. A hindleg trails behind

Correct the specific leg that is left out: if the left hind is trailing, use your left leg to ask for one small step, keeping a quiet contact on the rein, and ask your horse to bring it underneath. Reward even an imperfect response so they learn that coming into halt means organising their own legs into a square position.

3. Your horse won’t stand still

Keep your legs gently wrapped around your horse’s sides at the halt so they feel held rather than abandoned, and make sure they wait for you to move them on rather than deciding for themselves. Avoid over-correcting – often a halt the rider thinks is unacceptable is, in fact, perfectly respectable.

4. Whatever you do, correct forwards

Every adjustment within the halt should be made by walking the horse a step forward, never back, so they stay in front of the leg and thinking forwards into the next movement. That also sets up a positive, powerful move-off.

Top tips for a square halt

• Practise, practise, practise. Halt squarely before you mount and dismount, and before every break in your schooling session – the more often your horse halts square, the more it becomes a habit
• Sit up tall, step down into your heels and check that your own weight is even on both seat bones – a crooked rider produces a crooked halt
• Always walk forwards to correct, never backwards
• Reward generously and never tell the horse off for halting unevenly – squareness comes from repetition and positive associations, not punishment
• Learn to feel the halt rather than look down for it – it keeps your test polished and your marks intact

Carl’s closing thoughts

Underpinning all of this is straightness, which Carl calls a lifetime’s work with every horse. One of the first lessons he says he learnt, going back some 35 years, was that whatever you are sitting on – pony, cob or warmblood – “there is no excuse not to ride straight lines and square halts.” Build the straightness, ride every transition forwards, and the square halt will follow.

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Extended canter is all about energy. Dressage judges want to see an increase in stride length and ground cover, not just more speed, with the horse staying straight and connected.

The same applies when jumping: you want lift, airtime and adjustability, maintaining your rhythm – not simply a faster canter that’s flat and hollow.

This very simple flatwork exercise works on boosting the quality of the steps in extended canter – not the quantity.

Aims

• Increase stride length and ground cover
• Develop an uphill, open frame
• Maintain the rhythm while increasing the reach
• Stay straight and connected, both into the extended canter and back out again

The setup

No setup required – simply the space to ride a 20m circle on the flat.

How to ride the exercise

Many riders try to practise their extended canter by firing off down the long side of the arena. However, it’s best taught over short, repeatable efforts where the horse can learn to make a distinction in stride length.

• Warm up in walk, trot and canter on both reins, including plenty of transitions to make sure your horse is listening and responding to your aids.
• Establish an active working canter and go large.
• Now go on to a 20m circle in working canter, and make a transition to five or six bigger strides, before collecting back to working canter. Use your inside leg to push the shoulder up without blocking. The circle should encourage your horse to step under with the hindleg, rather than running flat on the forehand.
• This short effort discourages the horses from becoming flat and running, because they’ll anticipate the re-collection. It also teaches riders to feel a few good steps as the quality is developing and not chase for more.
• Each horse will vary on how much you need to push and how much to hold. By practising, you’ll find your own horse’s sweet spot.
• Repeat a few times on each rein.

Tips and troubleshooting

1. Running

Keep the increases short, before collecting back. While the horse is developing the extended canter, he may only be able to manage a few good strides, then unravel, losing balance and energy. It is better to make the transition back before that happens. Prioritise quality over quantity.

2. Flattening

To extend properly, your horse needs to lift. Think shoulder-fore going into the circle, so you encourage you horse to keep his inside shoulder up, without establishing a full shoulder-in. The frame needs to be open to be able to extend, not overly flexed.

3. Too much hand

Some riders hang on to the reins to try to control the canter, so you need to work on your hands being independent. Work on giving and retaking the rein on a circle. And when you come back to a more collected canter from the increased strides, don’t just pull! Use a half-halt and soften.

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Lengthened or extended trot strides are often seen in a dressage test across the diagonal. The consequence is that many of us practise them by speeding across the longest straight in the arena, inadvertently encouraging our horses to become flat, hollow and rushed. The trot strides don’t so much lengthen as simply speed up.

Instead, we want to encourage our horse to push off the hindleg, with the strides getting longer but, crucially, not quicker. To do this successfully, the horse needs to be supple, which will produce longer steps with more airtime thanks to a looser back and more engaged hindleg.

This flatwork exercise works on suppleness alongside lengthening the steps to improve the latter.

Aims

• Longer, but not faster, trot strides
• Increased suppleness

The setup

No setup required. All you need is sufficient space – and an arena is ideal. If you are riding in the field, it’s helpful to lay out arena boards, poles or other markers so that you can be disciplined about where you make transitions.

How to ride the exercise

• Warm up in all paces, incorporating plenty of upward and downward transitions to ensure your horse is responding to your aids or cues.
• Establish an active working trot and go large, riding around the edge of the arena.
• As you come round the short side, turn up the quarter-line in the same trot, and leg-yield to the track.
• When you reach the track, ask for a few lengthened strides, thinking “bigger, but slower” to prevent rushing. The leg-yield should help loosen your horse’s back, while engaging the inside hindleg so that it can push off more for bigger, longer strides. This is particularly helpful if your horse has a choppy trot.
• Before you reach the end of the next short side, collect the trot again, keeping the energy but containing the stride length.
• Do this exercise the same number of times in both directions. Because it loads the inside hindleg more, you need to work both sides equally.

Tips and troubleshooting

1. Tempo control

If you do this exercise in rising trot, you can use your rising to help control the horse’s tempo. This is useful if your horse tends to go faster, not bigger, when you ask for the extension.

2. Rushing

For horses that rush or hollow, you can practise lengthening on a circle. The curve of the circle will encourage you to ride from inside leg to outside rein to engage the hindleg. You can change between rising and sitting trot to help your horse by allowing the back to swing more in the longer strides.

3. Trouble re-collecting

For horses that struggle to come back into a balanced more collected trot after lengthening, ride a 10m circle at the end of the lengthened strides. This will encourage you to keep your horse in balance so that he is ready to do a small circle, rather than allowing him to rush down the side of the arena.

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In this exercise to improve medium trot, we are using lateral work – specifically the half-pass – to improve the push in the more extended paces. Half-pass should only be attempted once your horse is established in both shoulder-in and haunches-in (travers), being able to bend around the inside leg, maintain a forward rhythm and move sideways in good balance.

The half-pass enhances a horse’s longitudinal and lateral suppleness, enabling the hindleg to step under more and therefore boosting the power and push, to encourage ground cover without your horse losing balance. It also frees up the shoulders, which gives your horse more reach in the medium trot.

Aim

• Improve impulsion and engagement

Setup

No setup required: This flatwork exercise is easiest to do in an arena. If you are riding it in a field, we suggest marking out an arena to help your accuracy.

How to ride the exercise

• Once warmed up, establish an active working trot and go large.
• As you come out of the corner, ask for half-pass across the diagonal.
• After six strides or so, straighten the horse and ask for some lengthened or medium trot strides.
• Proceed in medium trot across X. This should improve impulsion and engagement.
• After around six strides of medium trot, half-halt and position your horse in half-pass again.
• Half-pass back to the track.
• Repeat on both reins and from both ends of the arena.

Tips and troubleshooting

1. Failing to prepare

Without preparing your horse properly either for the half-pass or the medium trot, he will lack engagement and balance. Try a couple of steps of shoulder-in before the half-pass to engage the hindleg and establish the bend.

When it comes to the medium trot, make sure he is straight before asking him to lengthen.

2. Too much, too soon

Half-pass is a lateral movement for established horses. If your horse is twisting his head or struggling with his balance and bend, go back to basics. He should be well established in shoulder-in before you start attempting some steps of half-pass.

3. Twisting head

This can occur when the inside rein is forcing the bend, with the outside leg pushing the horse, which blocks the inside leg from coming through.

Or, the rider is asking for more sideways movement than the horse is ready for.

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What is medium trot, and what are the benefits for your horse?

Encourage your horse to lift and lengthen with the help of this zig-zag polework layout

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We know straightness is a crucial element of how our horse goes, and one of the scales of training. Canter, being asymmetrical, is the hardest gait to achieve straightness, with many horses falling out at the shoulder and swinging the quarters in.

This flatwork exercise uses shallow loops to straighten the canter, improving engagement and encouraging your horse to accept the outside aids. Straightness still applies when the horse is bending. The horse is straight if their hindlegs are following their front legs travelling on the same two tracks in self-carriage.

Quarters-in is a common fault at lower levels. As the outside hindleg strikes off (and starts each canter stride sequence), it carries the most weight. Horses may try to compensate for this by swinging the quarters in so this weight-bearing leg doesn’t have to step under so far.

Aims

• Straighten the canter
• Teach your horse to accept the outside aids
• Achieve self-carriage

The setup

No setup required: This exercise is easiest to do in a school to help you be disciplined about the size of loop. If you do it in a field, we suggest you mark out an area to work in.

How to ride this exercise

• Once warmed up in walk, trot and canter on both reins, go large in a balanced working canter.
• At the first quarter marker on each side of the area, ride a 10m shallow loop. The bend of the horse’s head and neck should follow the direction of travel.
• Repeat, progressively decreasing the size of loops to 8m, 5m, 2m and 1m.
• Finally, ride the same exercise with barely noticeable loops of 20cm – with the aim that your horse is completely straight.
• Repeat on both reins.

Tips and troubleshooting

1. Your horse goes disunited or hollows

Just come back to trot, try to relax, and then try again starting with shallower loops.

2. You lose the quality of canter

Some horses rush as they anticipate cantering across the diagonal. Perform a half-halt in the corner before starting the loop to keep him on the aids.

3. An unintentional flying change

Maintain the existing canter lead (the lead you started the loop on) with your true inside leg and the outside leg slightly behind the girth. While the horse’s body should bend around the loop, their nose should be slightly pointing toward the leading leg to prevent the horse from interpreting the turn as a cue for a flying change.

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While a horse’s paces are largely down to natural talent, there’s plenty you can work on to improve their quality, scope and cadence. Paces will typically improve as your horse strengthens and you can use poles on the ground to help them develop.

This polework exercise uses just three poles, but by putting them on a fan, you can vary the line and therefore the adjustability of your horse. This works on the ability to collect, lift and lengthen, while staying in a rhythm to negotiation the poles.

Aims

• Improve your horse’s paces
• Encourage a forward, balanced rhythm
• Stop your horse falling in round the corner

The setup

Setup: place three poles in a fan anywhere in the arena, as long as you can ride a straight line towards the fan and away at a right angle. Ideally you will use matching poles so that you can visually ensure you stay on the same curved line.

To ride the exercise in trot, set the poles at around 1.25–1.50m apart (approx 4.5 to 5 toe-to-heel steps for most adults)at the centre point, making a wedge shape.

To ride the exercise in canter, set the poles at around 3–3.5m apart (approx three adult walk steps) at the centre point.

Ponies will need shorter distances (or to take a tighter inside line).

How to do this exercise

• Once warmed up, pick up an active trot and ride over the fan crossing the centre of the poles making a smooth curve around the corner.
• Keep the rhythm and ride over the inner line, again with a smooth (albeit tighter) curve. This is to shorten the stride and encourage your horse to use his hocks.
• Then try the outer line, encouraging your horse to take a longer step, while keeping the rhythm. He cannot simply go faster, as the poles will guide his stride length.
• The inner and outer lines enable you to practise lengthening and shortening the stride, using the poles as an aid to help the horse to stay engaged as he has to lift his shoulder and use his hocks.
• Once your horse is working well over the fan in trot on both reins, widen the distance between the fanned poles for canter.
• Repeat the exercise in canter, working on inner and outer lines and always maintaining a smooth curve.
• If your horse is confident with this exercise, you can then raise the middle pole into a small fence.

Tips and troubleshooting

1. Falling in or escaping through the shoulder

Make sure you are following the line through the poles, looking forward around the bend and keeping the contact from inside leg to outside hand. Identically marked poles can help you stay on the same curved line throughout the fan.

2. Shorten and lengthen

This is a great exercise to help your horse’s medium or extended trot. Ride the fan on the inner line to encourage a correct collected trot, giving your horse more lift. Then take that energy and put it into a medium trot across the diagonal or down the long side.

3. Simplify the setup

If you have six poles, you can set up two fans – one at trot and the other at canter distance so that you don’t have to get off and reset the poles.

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In this guide for H&H subscribers, FEI judge Stephen Clarke and four-time Olympic medallist Carl Hester explain why the walk is so often where dressage tests are won or lost – and what riders can do to improve their marks

Back when I was training, I can’t remember ever spending much time on how to ride the free walk on a long rein. It was one of those movements where you get to the test, throw the reins forward, mumble a quick prayer that no one slams a car boot or drops a coffee, and hope for the best. Sometimes, on a trickier horse, it was a brief pause to think about how I’d disgraced myself in the previous movements, casting apologetic glances at the judges.

And I don’t think I was alone. Even at the top levels of dressage, you see horses scoring eights and nines for their trot and canter, then plummeting down to sixes for the walk.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. The walk is the pace that reveals more about a horse’s training than almost any other. It’s the first to go if there’s tension in the back, and in most tests it carries a coefficient – meaning a low score hurts more than other movements.

Get it right, and you score handsomely. Get it wrong, and there’s nowhere to hide.

Why the walk matters more than you think

The walk isn’t just one movement in a dressage test – it runs through the whole horse’s training picture. As FEI judge Stephen Clarke puts it: “The extended walk is the tell-tale movement, because you see whether the horse is truly relaxed and supple, obedient and confident.”

He’s particularly emphatic about how revealing the free walk is: “It is a good safeguard – it makes sure that riders and trainers always look after that freedom of movement. As the horse reaches the higher levels, there is such an emphasis on collection that, sometimes, freedom is lost.”

In other words, free walk isn’t a break from the real training – it’s the test of whether the training is honest or not.

How to ride free walk: what the judge wants to see

In the free walk on a long rein, the judge is looking for:

• A horse seeking the contact forward and down, with the rider allowing the rein
• Long, free, purposeful strides – not slow, lazy ones
• A regular, four-beat rhythm with clear overtrack
• A relaxed, supple back, with the horse lengthening the frame naturally
• Light contact maintained throughout – the rein lengthens, but doesn’t disappear
• A smooth, balanced return to a medium walk before the next movement

As Stephen explains, the score reflects “the regularity of the four footfalls, as well as all of the qualities described in brackets within each of the collective marks: rhythm, suppleness, contact and co-operation.”

Where free walk goes wrong

Most riders, when they reach the diagonal for free walk, do one of two things: they drop the contact entirely and lose all influence on the horse, or they hold on and never let the horse genuinely stretch down.

Neither approach produces what the judge wants to see.

Stephen sees the pattern repeatedly: “Often it is the extension and collection which cause the problem. Riders sometimes fall into the trap of restricting the horse with the reins to collect, which constrains the neck and stiffens the back, thereby limiting the steps. This will have a damaging effect on the regularity of the four beats. At worst, this ends up as almost a two-beat movement, where the horse moves his limbs in lateral pairs.”

A lateral walk – where the legs on the same side move together rather than in true four-time beat – is one of the most damaging faults a dressage horse can develop. And once it appears, it’s a sign that something in the training has gone wrong.

Stretch without losing the contact

The technical heart of free walk is allowing the horse to lower and lengthen the neck while maintaining a light, elastic contact through the rein. The reins lengthen – they aren’t dropped.

Carl Hester puts it simply: “The use of the head and neck is so important in walk. It should be like a rowing motion. The horse has to take your hand forward and not fiddle and get behind the vertical.”

That “rowing motion” is a useful image to hold onto. The horse is actively seeking the bit forward and down, and the rider is allowing that movement without losing the connection. If the horse curls behind the vertical, the stretch isn’t honest. If the rider holds the rein too short, the stretch can’t happen at all. If the rider drops the reins, the contact is lost.

Slower is usually better

A common mistake – particularly in tests – is for riders to push the walk forward, driving with the seat in the hope of looking impressive. “When you walk, make it a slow walk,” Carl says. “The quicker it goes, the smaller the overtrack.”

The mathematics of the walk are a little counter-intuitive. A horse that hurries will shorten his stride; a horse that takes his time will lengthen it.

Carl adds: “If we have a one-hoof overtrack, the horse needs time on the floor – he doesn’t need to come off fast. A one-and-a-half overtrack is better. And if the front legs move too quickly for the hindlegs to keep up, the horse has to learn to use his shoulder. Then we will get closer to two hooves overtrack.”

How to practise the free walk at home

We all know this, really, but the free walk shouldn’t only be ridden during dressage tests. Stephen emphasises that the walk needs work every time you’re in that pace: “Whenever you give the horse a period of rest between movements, be aware of what’s going on underneath you. You should feel the rhythm and swing in the back – and should be influencing the walk, always.”

Try incorporating these three practical exercises into your schooling to help improve your walk:

1. Improving overtrack with leg-yield in walk

A shallow angle of leg-yield on a circle or straight line can encourage a longer stride. Feel down the inside rein for a slight bend and ask the horse to move away from your inside leg. The pace becomes more relaxed, and the overtrack will improve.

2. Riding the free walk as it appears in your test

Sit centrally with loose hips and soft hands. Slowly let your arms move forward while maintaining a slight inside bend. Push the walk forward gently with alternate legs until your horse is reaching for the bit. The reins lengthen progressively, not all at once.

3. Practising the transition back

Some horses predict the upward transition and jog. Make a series of halt transitions in walk during training, then remind your horse in the test with a half-halt. Keep a soft leg contact to reassure him, and gather the reins carefully – keeping a slight inside bend through the transition.

4. Get eyes on the ground

The walk is one of the hardest movements to accurately feel what’s going on underneath you. The footfalls are slower, the overtrack can be deceptive, and tension in the back is easy to miss when you’re focused on the contact. A second pair of eyes can confirm whether the rhythm is genuinely four-beat, whether the overtrack matches what you think it is, and whether the horse is honestly swinging through the back.

If you don’t have a coach available, video yourself again and again – ideally from the side – and check that your sense of what’s happening below you matches what’s actually showing up on the ground.

When the walk goes bad

Although we often consider the walk a natural pace, a poor walk often isn’t the horse’s fault.

Stephen is direct: “A bad walk is usually created because a rider has a disturbing influence on the horse – either a backward influence on the reins or a poor riding position. If the rider is stiff, then the horse will be stiff.”

The walk is the gait where rider faults show up first. A tight seat, busy hands, or a fixed contact will all interfere with the natural rhythm. Even small habits – pulling on the reins when the horse curls, pushing too hard with the seat – can disrupt the four-beat pattern.

Stephen’s solution is patience: “It is important not to try to collect the horse too early. Collection develops naturally. Wait for the horse. It is the gymnastic training which makes the horse strong enough to collect within all the paces.”

Common mistakes and fixes

1. Your horse jogs into the free walk

Fix: Use small half-halts before the diagonal to settle the horse, then allow the rein gradually rather than all at once.

2. Your horse drops the contact entirely

Fix: Maintain feel through your fingers. The rein lengthens, but the connection doesn’t disappear.

3. Your horse curls inwards

Fix: Encourage him forward to the bit, not down. Think “out” rather than “down”.

4. The walk becomes lateral

Fix: Slow the walk down. Resist the temptation to push for more overtrack with speed. Allow the horse to find the rhythm naturally.

5. The return to medium walk is abrupt

Fix: Gather the reins progressively as you approach the next marker. Don’t snatch them up at the end of the diagonal.

Marching on

The most important thing, Stephen says, is to remember that the walk reflects everything else in the training: “Honest training is the only way to preserve the walk. The work is done before the walk happens – it is all about whether the horse is truly in front of the leg, in real balance and self-carriage.”

Carl agrees that the answer is more straightforward than riders often make it: practise correct walk at home, ride forward without rushing, and trust the horse to march resolutely.

Or, as Stephen puts it: “Just let it happen”.

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This spiral circle exercise can help you avoid getting stuck in a rut of riding aimless 20m circles. With a bit of focus, you can turn those circles into a really productive flatwork exercise.

Aim

• to improve your horse’s suppleness, engagement and focus.

The setup

Setup: No setup required. All you need is enough space to trot a 20m circle.

How to ride the spiral circles exercise

• Once warmed up, pick up an active trot on a 20m circle. Make sure your horse is bending correctly on the line of the circle, with your inside leg on the girth and outside leg just behind.
• Use the outside leg to spiral in to a 15m circle, then 12m then 10m.
• Your horse should not be falling in or out, but maintaining the bend through his body as the circle gets tighter.
• Leg-yield back out to a 20m circle, using your inside leg to outside rein.

You can repeat a few times, working on your horse’s suppleness and response to your aids, and they should soften. Adjust the size of the smaller circle, and how quickly you return to the larger circle, to be appropriate for the horse’s level of training.

Repeat the exercise in canter if you’re both ready for it. When you spiral in, your horse will need to collect the canter strides a little while maintaining their bend and impulsion.

Tips and troubleshooting

1. Falling in

All horses will be stiffer on one rein and this spiralling exercise will help. Keep the inside leg on the girth, encouraging your horse to bend through his body, and your weight on the inside seat bone. Support the outside shoulder with the outside rein.

Check you are not pulling the horse’s head round and back with your inside hand, instead opening the inside hand to guide him. Turn your shoulders in the direction of the turn, don’t lean inwards.

2. Falling out

Use your outside leg behind the girth to prevent the quarters swinging out. The outside rein should guide and contain the shoulder.

The inside leg should encourage your horse to lift through his ribcage rather than sinking. Keep your weight on the inside seat bone.

3. Slowing down

This is a sign that your horse is finding this exercise is challenging. Stay in trot and repeat little and often in your schooling schedule as it will gradually improve their suppleness. You should find that he is much softer on a 20m circle after doing this exercise.

In canter, your horse will have to take shorter strides to make the tighter circle. Keep the rhythm and impulsion to enable him to maintain the canter quality throughout the spiral.

4. Flying changes

Sometimes in canter, when riders apply the inside leg to leg yield back out to the 20m circle, the horse does a flying change. Make sure your leg is on the girth and not behind.

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One of the easiest ways to impress a dressage judge is by riding accurate corners. But it’s not just about scoring high marks; improving how you ride corners encourages the correct bend, suppleness, straightness and balance from the horse with the rider prioritising using their seat and leg, over their hands. This is the foundation for all lateral movements and more advanced work.

Here’s how to work on your discipline and accuracy round the bends with the help of a simple flatwork exercise.

Aims

• to ride into the corners of the arena
• achieving bend through the horse’s whole body, without drifting in or out
• to encourage straightness and suppleness
• improve your transitions

The setup

Setup: No setup required, but you do need an arena – whether permanent or marked out in a field – so that you have corners to ride into.

How to ride the exercise

• Once you’re warmed up, ride a 20m square in trot, turning across the school from E to B (or B to E, depending on the rein).
• Two strides before each corner, ask your horse to walk. Imagine your horse’s whiskers touching edge of school so that you ride deep into the corner, then turn and trot out. The downward transition should help rebalance your horse.
• As you approach each corner your horse should begin to naturally take their balance back on to the hindleg as they anticipate the downward transition. When you feel this, you can continue around the corner in trot without walking.
• Build up to a consistent trot rhythm on the whole square, without changing tempo or cutting any corners, then repeat on the other rein.
• If you feel the horse fall in or try to cut a corner, do the next one in walk.

Tips

1. Stop the drift

If your horse tries to cut the corner, half halt and check your inside leg is there to encourage them to bend their body around your leg through the corner.

2. Building up

Once your horse is becomes more consistent, instead of walking in the corners, just half-halt to rebalance the trot before the turn.

3. Progress

As the balance of both horse and rider develops, you will be able to ride a consistent trot rhythm through the whole square without cutting any corners. If you lapse at any stage, go back to walk and establish correct corners again so the horse understands what you are asking him to do.

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Improving your horse’s way of going doesn’t require a perfect arena or a strenuous workout – this halting exercise is an excellent example. You can make significant gains using simple transitions without ever moving faster than a walk. You can ride this flatwork exercise out hacking, in the field or in an arena.

Aims

• to improve your horse’s responsiveness
• hone your horse’s walk-halt transitions, so you can perform them on demand with light aids
• for the horse to understand that go means go, and stop means stop

Setup

No setup needed: You can practise this exercise in an arena, field or out hacking.

How to ride this exercise

• Once warmed up, establish an active walk. Choose a marker, whether it’s a letter in the school or a bush on a hack, where you will aim to halt.
• Sit up tall and reduce the amount your core and hips are following your horse’s back, then gently close your fingers around the rein to ask for halt.
• If the horse doesn’t stop within two strides, check your aids. Were they clear? Repeat and be black and white. As soon as your horse halts, release the rein and praise, with the voice or a stroke on the neck. How long it took to achieve the halt will give you feedback on how early you need to prepare next time, but your horse should become more responsive as you practise.
• Take a moment to assess the halt. Is it balanced? Is your horse square? Does your horse stand still when you release the reins?
• Ask your horse to move off in walk by giving a light leg aid. If he doesn’t react positively from first touch, immediately reapply the leg clearly. If he still doesn’t react, don’t nag, but give a stronger leg aid – it doesn’t matter if the horse trots off as long as he goes forwards. More refined seat and back aids can come later, but the horse can only interpret a limited amount of information, so start with the basics.
• Practise this exercise at regular intervals until your horse is responsive while remaining soft and in a good balance through both the upward and downward transitions. You can do it after four strides or after 40 – what matters is that the horse is listening and responding to your aids.

Tips and troubleshooting

1. It’s a conversation

Give your horse a chance to understand what you’re asking him and try to make it enjoyable. When he tries, show him you appreciate his effort.

2. Don’t fidget with your hand and leg

Many riders never stop twittering with their hand and leg, so the horse learns to ignore them as he doesn’t understand what’s being asked. Ride with clear intent. Ask for a reaction and then leave your horse alone as a reward. Be decisive and have clear boundaries.

3. Let your horse find his balance

If your horse needs to put his head up initially to find his balance, let him. To start with, it’s about the legs: do they go, do they whoa?

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Poles are a useful tool to improve the quality and balance of your horse’s paces, strengthening the core and boosting cadence. You don’t need intricate patterns and dozens of poles to work on the canter – this polework exercise to improve canter quality requires just three or four poles.

Aims

• to improve your horse’s canter quality
• work on the quality and balance of your horse’s canter
• help the rider to feel the canter rhythm and see a distance

The setup

You need: three or four poles

Setup:

• Place three or four poles on a straight line with approximately 3m between each (adjust this according to what suits your horse or pony, aiming for an easy, balanced canter).
• If setting up in an arena, place the poles in the middle of the long side, so that you have sufficient space both to approach and after.

How to ride the exercise

• Once warmed up, ride a good corner to give a straight approach to the canter poles, counting your horse’s strides out loud.
• Focus on the centre of the poles and aim to canter smoothly over them in the same rhythm, without your horse having to stretch or chip.
• If your horse is rushing, sit up and half-halt. If your horse is struggling to reach each pole, keep your leg on, and if that still doesn’t work, shorten the distance so he is comfortable.

You can repeat this exercise several times on each rein, aiming for a regular, relaxed canter rhythm without resistance.

Tips and troubleshooting

1. I can’t see a stride

If you keep getting the distance to the first pole wrong, the whole exercise can disintegrate with poles flying everywhere. It may be too much for your horse to handle mentally, so start with just one pole and practise cantering into that. Once you’ve nailed meeting a single pole correctly, build back up to three or four poles – avoid two as that encourages your horse to jump the lot.

2. My horse rushes towards the poles on the approach

Sit up and ask your horse to halt and stand as soon as he grabs the bit. Reassure him, then quietly turn away and approach again. Keep asking him to stop and stand until he approaches on your terms.

3. My horse jumps the poles

Some horses just do! Repeat the exercise a few times until hopefully he relaxes and canters through quietly. Don’t worry too much if he jumps them, so long as he’s maintaining his canter quality.

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Riding accurate corners is one of the simplest ways to improve a dressage test. Just as importantly, riders must be able to show a clear difference between the corners of the arena and a 20m circle at either end.

Too often, horses drift through the corners as though riding part of a circle, losing both balance and accuracy, but this polework exercise will create a visual guide to help you clearly distinguish between riding a corner and riding a circle.

Aims

• Improve rider understanding of the accuracy points of a 20m circle
• Encourage your horse to bend correctly through the body
• Maximise the benefit of riding purposeful corners in a test

The setup

You need: two poles

Setup: Place one pole in each corner either side of C, positioned slightly off the track and pointing diagonally towards the centre of the arena.

How to ride the exercise

1. Begin in walk. Ride around the end of first pole, then continue straight along the short side towards A or C. Focus on maintaining a straight line after the turn without allowing the horse to drift.

2. From A or C, begin a 20m circle. Your horse should leave the track to cross the first pole, touch the long side at the correct point, cross the centre line in the middle of the circle, touch the opposite long side evenly, then cross the second pole before returning to A or C.

3. After completing the circle, continue straight along the short side and ride around the end of the pole through the corner. The key is to clearly show the difference between the circle and the corner. For the corner, think about pushing the horse into the turn from your inside leg while controlling the line and balance from the outside aids. Once the exercise feels established in walk, repeat it in trot and then progress to canter.

Pitfalls to avoid

1. Lack of bend on the circle

Many horses fall through the shoulder or overbend in the neck without truly bending through the body. Prepare the circle before leaving the track by asking for a slight flexion at the poll to the inside. Then focus on riding a genuinely curved line, turning every stride rather than making one large steering movement. Keep the inside leg at the girth to encourage bend and maintain the horse’s balance.

2. Rushing

Some horses anticipate the poles and quicken towards them. Maintain a consistent tempo by paying attention to your seat and rhythm in each pace. Use well-timed half-halts to rebalance the horse and encourage them to sit more on the hindquarters rather than running forwards.

3. Breaking from canter

In canter, horses often lose balance in the corners and drop back to trot. Think of riding a shorter, more collected canter through the corner, keeping the strides active and bouncy. On the circle, allow the canter to travel slightly more forwards before rebalancing again for the next corner. Pole placement should always suit the horse’s training level. A prelim horse will not be expected to ride as deep or as collected a corner as a horse working at elementary or above.

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You can practise this simple flatwork exercise in just five minutes, or use it every now and then in a regular schooling session to encourage engagement. All you need is to establish shoulder-in in trot, and you’re away.

Aims

• to improve your horse’s engagement in canter
• to use shoulder-in to encourage your horse to engage his hindleg in the upward transition from trot

The setup

No setup required: you can do this in the arena or even out hacking, but the arena fence is handy to help you judge the alignment of your shoulder-in.

How to ride the exercise

• Once warmed up, trot down the long side of the arena in shoulder-in, showing the appropriate amount of bend.
• Your horse’s footfalls should be on three tracks: the outside hind, the diagonal pair (inside hind and outside fore) and the inside fore, with your horse bending uniformly around the inside leg from poll to tail.
• Ask for a canter transition as you move on to a circle. As your horse should be nicely engaged from the shoulder-in, this should encourage an engaged uphill canter with the hindquarters working well.
• Maintain the quality of canter as you continue around the circle.

Tips and troubleshooting

1. The correct bend

In the shoulder-in, as a rider you should be able to see your horse’s inside eye if you glance down. If you use too much inside bend, the outside shoulder will fall out, which will compromise your canter transition.

If the hindquarters drift out, your outside leg needs to support your horse more strongly behind the girth.

2. No crossing the hand

A common problem is to cross the inside hand over the neck as you try to flex the horse to the inside. This encourages the shoulder to fall out, so keep each hand on its own side of the neck with the outside rein to support the shoulders.

3. Starting collection

This exercise will be even more beneficial if the horse is able to collect a little in the trot, as this lightens the forehand for an uphill, balanced transition.

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This polework exercise using five poles is designed to improve your horse’s suppleness and manoeuvrability in trot. The poles are used as focus points to structure your training exercise, rather than for stepping over.

Aims

• to improve rider accuracy
• to confirm correct use of inside and outside leg
• to improve the horse’s coordination and suppleness

The setup

You need: five poles

Setup: place five poles on a straight line with five metres between each. Then pull the second and fourth poles to one side but keeping them in the same plane.

Ensure there is sufficient space to the side of each pole so that you can walk around the ends – don’t place them against the fence line.

How to ride the exercise

• Once warmed up, establish an active trot.
• The aim is not to trot over the poles, but around them, ensuring a uniform bend through your horse’s body on both reins.
• Start with the first pole in the line of three poles and ride a pear-drop shaped loop around that, ensuring the horse is bending through his whole body. Then change the bend in an offset figure of eight to perform another pear-drop shaped loop around the first of the line of two poles.
• Repeat with the next two poles in the sequence.
• When it comes to the final pole, make a wider loop and come up the middle of the two lines in a mini slalom. Instead of big wide loops with lots of bend, it’s now about creating a little bit of bend in the ribcage. The horse needs to be listening to the rider and have quick reactions.

The challenge is to do it efficiently with the horse maintaining the ideal tempo and creating the correct shapes, neither falling in or out through the shoulder and quarters.

Tips

1. Start slow

If this exercise is too demanding in trot, try it first in walk (or try this exercise) until the horse understands your aids and what you are asking of him.

2. Perfection by polework

Polework is a great way for riders to monitor whether they are achieving something when riding on their own, because they require accuracy. If you aren’t accurate, you will miss or hit the poles. When you’re just riding around the arena without physical markers, it’s harder to judge your accuracy.

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Perfect your trot-canter transitions in this straightforward flatwork exercise, which you can do in the field or an arena.

Aims

• to improve your accuracy in making canter-trot-canter transitions exactly on the marker
• learn how far in advance you need to prepare your horse for accurate transitions
• build communication and harmony in the horse-rider relationship

The setup

There is no setup required. All you need is space to ride a 20m circle.

How to ride the exercise

• Once warmed up, ride a few 20m circles in trot to establish bend and check your horse is listening.
• Pick up canter and ride a continuous 20m circle, noting four markers where you will make your transitions, at 12 o’clock, 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock and 9 o’clock.
• When you’re ready, canter round three-quarters of the circle from 12 o’clock to 9 o’clock, where you will ride a downwards transition to trot.
• Trot round half the circle from 9 o’clock to 3 o’clock, where you will make a transition to canter.
• Canter three-quarters of the circle from 3 o’clock to 12 o’clock, and so on.
• Eight transitions will bring you back to where you started – however if you are late on your transitions it may take time to perfect the sequence.
• Give your horse a break at walk before repeating on the other rein.

Tips and troubleshooting

1. Work on an incline

If you have access to a sloping field, and have mastered this exercise on the flat, performing these transitions on a hill is a great way to improve your horse’s balance, outline and core.

2. Accuracy

It’s all too easy to get late on a transition, and then miss the next one. To execute each transition bang on the correct point of the circle, you have to refine how far in advance to ask for the aids on a particular horse on particular terrain (the hillier, the more testing).

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This simple polework exercise is designed to help you create the correct bend in walk, using just five poles.

Aims

• to improve rider accuracy
• to confirm correct use of inside and outside leg
• to improve the horse’s coordination and suppleness

The setup

You need: five poles

Setup: place five poles on a straight line with four metres between each. Ensure there is sufficient space to the side of each pole so that you can walk around each end – avoid placing them along the fence line. Down the centre line is the easiest spot!

How to ride the exercise

• Once warmed up, establish an active but unhurried walk.
• Walk your horse between and around the poles – not over – turning left or right at the end of each one to create a wide serpentine (see diagram above). Your horse should follow the line with a uniform bend through their body through each turn without falling in or out off the line.
• When you reach the end of the line of poles, make a three-quarter of a circle turn and ride straight over the centre of the poles before changing direction and repeating the turns the other way.

The challenge is to do it efficiently with the horse going at the correct tempo and creating the correct shapes, neither falling in or out through the shoulder and quarters.

Pitfalls to avoid

1. Keeping discipline

Stiffer or younger horses who lack control are likely to fall out through the shoulder, or get confused with so many turns, so it’s a good acceptance exercise and requires them to mature in their thinking. Be really clear with your inside and outside leg aids.

2. Walk quality

Experienced horses may automatically slow down in this exercise to make this challenge easier, so you must ensure they maintain an active four-beat walk, walking forward through all the bending, but without rushing or jogging. Here are some tips on how to improve your horse’s walk.

3. One-sidedness

Nearly all horses have a stiffer side so this exercise gives the rider a good way to work on improving this, by supporting the horse with their legs. The frequent changes of bend should gradually improve the horse’s suppleness on the more challenging side, interspersed with the easier direction so they don’t become sore or resistant.

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Add this 10m loop exercise to your next schooling session – no equipment required

An oft-forgotten exercise, the 10m loop benefits every horse’s strength, balance and suppleness. They can also work as a gentle introduction to counter-canter. Plus, it’ll sharpen up a rider’s use of aids.

If you’ve never ridden one before, it’ll be handy to look up how to ride a 10m loop before trying this flatwork exercise. This will help you get to grips with the aids.

Aims

• to improve rider accuracy
• enhancing the horse’s balance and suppleness
• to introduce counter-canter

The setup

You need: a 20x40m or 20x60m arena

How to ride the exercise

• Warm up and establish an active, rhythmic trot.
• Execute the loop, ensuring you ride a quality corner and don’t linger on the centre line – you should just brush it at X.
• Return to the track, using the corner to rebalance.

To dial up the difficulty, do the exercise in canter.

The challenge is to maintain the horse’s rhythm, energy and your line without drifting or the horse coming up and against the hand.

Pitfalls to avoid

1. Know your arena

10m loops follow different gradients depending on the length of the arena. In a 20x60m, the curve is fairly gradual, but in a 20x40m, the line is much steeper. Make sure you plan ahead for shape and symmetry, remembering that briefly touching the centre line at X is correct.

2. Prepare and support

This exercise serves to make you very aware of your corner riding. It takes discipline to ride deep into the corner and balance your horse to set him up well to curve away from the track. Look where you are going, be really clear with your inside and outside leg aids and use them to help your horse maintain his shape and rhythm, especially in canter, where outside rein connection is vital. It should feel like you’re using your outside aids to steer him out of the corner and away from the arena wall, and not the inside rein.

3. Not too much bend

Your horse should stay on two tracks throughout the movement; the body should stay straight with no drifting through the shoulder or quarters. If he doesn’t, it’s likely you have asked for too much bend when all you require is slight flexion.

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How to ride accurate circles for higher marks – with advice from self-confessed ‘circles geek’ Becky Moody

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In this exclusive article for H&H subscribers, World Cup champion Becky Moody explains why good circles start with knowing your arena, your horse and yourself

We ride more circles than anything else in dressage. So it’s a bit of a problem that many of us don’t fully understand how to ride a circle for optimum benefit, whether that’s in tests or during our dressage training.

The 20m circle looks innocuous on a test sheet. Easy, even. You pick it up at the marker, swing round, and from the saddle it feels fine. Then the sheet comes back: “Loss of bend.” “Not round.” “Falling in.” “Falling out.” Sometimes the full set – or my most common comment: “Not 20m.”

The 10m circle, meanwhile, is where a lot of riders first learn the hard way that a circle isn’t a steering exercise. It’s a test of balance, suppleness and awareness rolled into one.

How to ride the perfect circle

Becky Moody is, by her own admission, a geek about riding a circle.

“When I was younger and even more of a geek, I used to have my little to-scale arenas that I would draw, and then I’d draw my tests so that I could really understand the distances,” she says. “I’m quite a visual person.”

The work, in other words, starts long before you actually start turning. Here are Becky’s tips to help you ride the perfect circle – and they’re relevant to riders at all levels.

1. Know your arena

“My first thing is, know the dimensions of an arena,” Becky adds. “And I don’t just mean 20×40 or 20×60. I mean the distance between the letters.”

In a 20m by 40m arena, the markers down each long side sit at 6m, 14m, 14m, 6m from the short side, shown below.

In a 20m by 60m arena, it’s 6m, 12m, 12m, 12m, 12m, 6m.

Which means K, F, M and H sit only 6m from the short side – they’re not where a 20m circle from A or C should touch the long side. That point – where the circle brushes the track – is 10m from the short side, which is four meters beyond K, F, M or H in both arenas.

This matters because most circles drift towards markers. They feel like circles, but they’re really ovals with squared-off ends. A correctly ridden 20m circle from C in a short arena (shown below) touches the track at C, momentarily touches the track on the long side halfway to B (or E), crosses over X, then mirrors that on the other long side and returns to C. No straight lines. No corners. You should, in effect, never not be turning.

“If you understand technically where it has to go, then it’s about having your horse between two legs and two reins so you can actually steer properly around where you’re trying to go,” Becky says.

2. Know your horse – and yourself

This is where the most-repeated phrase in dressage – inside leg to outside rein – needs a closer look.

“The whole inside leg to outside rein thing really depends,” Becky says. “A lot of horses tend to over-bend on the left rein and fall out through the right shoulder.

“So if you ride inside leg to outside rein on that rein, and you’re not on it enough with your outside rein, you can actually make it worse. You can push that outside shoulder out further.”

But no single rule fits every horse. “Horses are like us,” Becky adds. “They’ve all got a bendy side and a straighter side. It’s understanding that, and then that will help you know what you need to do.”

Riders have a dominant side, too. “If you’re a bit dominant with your left hand, the likelihood is on the left rein you’re going to bend the horse too much to the inside and let it fall out the outside,” Becky says.

The fix isn’t something that’s easy to put down in words as a simple formula. It’s awareness, feel, of where your horse is genuinely supple and where they’re compensating, and of which of your own habits are making things worse.

3. Bend, not neck-bend

A circle asks the horse to bend uniformly along the curve. The judge wants to see the body follow the shape, with just enough flexion at the poll to glimpse the inside eye, ear and nostril. That’s it.

The classic error is hauling on the inside rein and producing a neck-bend – the horse’s head turns in, while the shoulders, and ribcage carry on in the original direction. The horse falls out through the outside shoulder, drifts wide, and loses the very thing the circle is designed to show: that your horse is actually supple and listening to the rider’s leg, not their hand.

Riding out of a circle is just as revealing. The return to a straight line should be immediate – shoulders in front of the quarters, neck straight, body aligned. If straightness is a problem, riding on the inside track rather than against the wall or edge of the arena stops your horse from using the boards as a crutch to lean on.

How to ride a 10m circle

A 10m circle is quite an effective test of a horse’s balance.

“One of the biggest factors in being able to turn a really good smaller circle is balance,” Becky says. “If a horse is out of balance, then it’s difficult to turn on a smaller circle. So another thing to come back to is think about your scales of training and how it impacts your ability to influence the horse.”

In practice, that means a 10m circle exposes whatever is missing further down the scale. A horse lacking in rhythm loses a regular tempo on the turn. A horse struggling with suppleness resists the bend and pops the outside shoulder. A horse without honest contact down the rein hollows or curls. The circle isn’t the problem, it’s a diagnostic for the problem.

When your circle keeps going wrong

Some riders – like myself – ride consistent 16m circles and call them 20m. Some ride lopsided shapes and never realise. The fix, Becky says, is honest feedback.

“If you rode a 16m circle despite everybody telling you that you were riding a 16m circle and you needed to make it bigger, you have to understand, or your coach has to help you understand, why.

“Is it because the horse is falling in? Is it because you’re being idle and not forward-planning and steering properly? You have to understand what is causing your circle to go wrong consistently, and how you’re going to fix it.”

Good eyes on the ground are the gold standard. Failing that, Becky rates video.

“You can think as a rider that one thing is happening, and then when you actually see it back, you understand that maybe that’s not what’s happening at all,” she says.

“You think you’re riding a horse that’s between leg and hand, and aligned in the suppleness, and then you watch a video, and you’re like, ‘Holy crap, I’m bending their neck way more than I think I am, and I just need to take better control of that outside shoulder’.”

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Most riders have stood at the side of the arena, test sheet in hand, trying to work out what the dressage judge’s comments actually mean. Sometimes it’s the handwriting that’s the challenge. More often, it’s the comment itself.

Turning a five-word remark into something useful to work on at home isn’t always straightforward, especially if you’re new to the sport. A note such as “needs more engagement” or “lacks balance” can feel frustratingly vague when what you really want is clear direction.

It’s worth remembering that judges aren’t there to coach you. Their job is to assess what they see in that moment and mark it against the directives for each movement. With limited space and time, their comments have to be brief and to the point.

I’ve had the questionable honour of reading hundreds of test sheets over the years. While I can’t help you decipher a hurried scrawl from a fading biro, I can translate some of the most common phrases and explain what they usually mean for your dressage training at home.

Before diving in, keep this in mind: most comments relate to one of three things – the horse’s way of going (rhythm, suppleness, contact, impulsion, straightness, collectively known as scales of training), test accuracy (hitting your markers and riding the correct shapes), or cooperation (what would’ve previously been described as submission). If you can identify which category the remark falls into, it becomes much easier to know what to work on.

Way of going

Needs more suppleness

Suppleness comes from being even on both reins and bending through the body without resistance. If the horse feels stiffer one way, falls out through a shoulder or resists a change of bend, that unevenness will show in the mark.

Losing balance

Often, this means the horse is falling onto the inside shoulder, particularly on circles or in lateral work. You may notice the tempo change or the line drift. Often the horse isn’t carrying enough weight behind to stay organised.

Lacking or losing rhythm

Rhythm is the regularity of the footfall. Walk should stay clearly four-beat, trot two-beat, canter three-beat. If the steps become hurried, uneven or tense, the score will drop.

Irregular

A comment no one wants to see. Judges use “irregular” rather than “lame” if a horse appears momentarily unlevel. Even a brief loss of regularity affects the mark.

Needs more energy or impulsion

Impulsion is controlled pushing power from the hindquarters. It does not mean faster. It means more active, engaged steps that create lift and presence within the correct tempo.

Behind the leg

The horse isn’t reacting promptly to the leg aid. They may feel sluggish, or run onto the forehand instead of stepping through correctly.

Inconsistent to the contact

Contact should be soft, elastic and steady. If the connection changes from stride to stride – behind the bit, above it, fussy in the mouth – the judge will see a lack of acceptance.

Against the hand

The horse is resisting the contact. They may lift their head, snatch at the reins or lean heavily. Often this is linked to tension or imbalance.

Behind the vertical

The nose is carried behind the vertical line from the poll. This can stem from tension, loss of balance or too much hand.

Above the bit or hollow

The horse lifts their head and drops their back away from the contact. The outline looks disconnected rather than through and supple.

Straightness

A horse is straight when the hind feet follow the forefeet on all lines, and the body matches the curve on circles. Comments such as “quarters in”, “crooked” or “on three tracks” all point to a loss of alignment.

Could be more uphill

A classic – too much weight is being carried on the shoulders. The horse may rush or struggle to maintain fluency because he isn’t sitting enough behind.

Needs more ground cover

The strides are too short. In medium paces or free walk, the horse isn’t clearly lengthening and stepping through enough to cover more ground.

Needs to show more difference

The judge wants a clearer contrast between working and medium paces. If the horse simply quickens rather than truly lengthens, this comment appears.

Running

Instead of lengthening the stride, the horse has increased the tempo. More speed, not more reach.

Needs to flow more freely forwards

The movement looks restricted. The horse may be tight through the back, behind the leg or lacking confidence to travel forward.

Accuracy

Circle not round/loops not even/not centred

The shape or placement of the movement wasn’t correct. Even with a good way of going, inaccurate geometry will cost marks.

Halt not square or immobility not maintained

In halt, the horse should stand balanced and square, then remain still. A resting hindleg or fidgeting lowers the score.

Cooperation

Submission or acceptance of the aids

Often used interchangeably, the submission comment isn’t about dominance. Spooking, resistance, tension or ignoring the leg can all be reflected in this mark.

Still unsure what the comment means?

If you’re still unsure what a comment means, look back at the directive for that movement in the test. Ask yourself: was the judge marking the way of going, accuracy, or cooperation? Do that, and a cryptic five-word remark becomes a clear schooling goal.

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In this exclusive article for H&H subscribers, Olympic medallist Laura Tomlinson explains how to ride extended canter with real ground cover, uphill balance and control

Who doesn’t love an extended canter? It’s one of the few moments in dressage where it feels acceptable to cut loose. So you pick up canter, turn across the diagonal and think: “Right, here we go”.

You put your leg on, and the horse takes you. It feels powerful. It feels bold. From the saddle, it feels like you’re eating up the ground like Glamourdale.

But from C, it might look more like the horse simply ran faster, ploughing onto the forehand.

That gap – between what feels impressive and what actually scores well – is where most extended canters unravel.

Not because riders aren’t trying hard enough, or putting enough oomph in. But because the extended canter asks for something counter-intuitive: more ground cover without more speed.

As Laura Tomlinson explains: “Ideally, the horse doesn’t particularly speed up. They should stay open and uphill in the frame, with that bit more ground cover.”

Get it right, and it looks effortless. Get it wrong, and problems with balance, straightness and control are exposed in just a few strides.

What the judge wants to see in extended canter

Extended canter is about showing the horse’s maximum stride length and ability to open the frame without losing the jump, the balance or the line.

The best extended canters have:

• A clear, visible increase in stride length and ground cover
• An open, uphill frame – not flat or downhill
• The same canter rhythm, just more reach
• A horse that stays straight and connected
• A seamless return to collection afterwards

Laura’s key distinction is quality over quantity: “I would always break it down to quality, not quantity of steps when you’re teaching them.”

Where extended canter goes wrong

We’ve all been there. In extended canter it often feels as though you have two choices: contain the horse and end up with a tight, limited stride, or let go and hope the canter grows – and that you can stop when you need to.

Neither produces the picture judges reward.

Laura sees the mistake in jumping too: “You can put your leg on and have a bit of speed, but you haven’t actually created more energy.”

And anyone who jumps will recognise the difference. A canter that feels quick but hollow won’t leave the ground; a canter with energy has jump, airtime and adjustability.

It’s the difference between galloping at a fence and arriving with something you can actually use.

Dressage is no different. Speed is just the horse moving its legs faster. Energy is what gives you lift, reach and suspension.

If you don’t create – and then “hold on to that energy a little bit”, as Laura puts it – you won’t get usable energy for an extended canter.

And once the balance is gone, you can’t fake it back by pulling. The neck shortens, the stride flattens, the rhythm rushes – and the movement stops looking powerful and starts looking hurried.

The key idea: increase without speed

Laura describes this skill as “the critical thing to crack”.

Her answer is to think about the front end, not just pushing from behind.

She talks about riding with “inside leg into outside rein”, but crucially keeping “the neck straight up and out, and getting those shoulders to lift”. That detail matters. If the neck shortens or the horse curls, the shoulders drop – and once that happens, there’s nowhere for the stride to go except quicker.

When the shoulders lift, the frame opens. That creates space for the stride to lengthen without the rhythm changing.

In practice, that means riding for an uphill balance and allowing the horse to open its frame, rather than dropping the reins and chasing for more. The feeling is less about sending the horse away and more about letting the canter grow underneath you.

Or, as Laura puts it: “Catch that moment into the lift rather than just letting the energy run out the front door.”

How to teach and ride extended canter at home

Extended canter is rarely built by riding long diagonals again and again. It’s built by short, repeatable efforts where the horse learns the difference between “go bigger” and “go faster”.

Laura’s go-to structure is simple: “Transitions of, say, five, six strides of increase on a circle, and then a little bit back again. Five, six strides of increase… and collect again.”

This does two things:

• It stops the horse from locking onto the hand and running
• It teaches the rider to feel the first good steps, not chase more

A useful positioning tweak: shoulder-fore

Laura suggests a small change many riders find immediately helpful: “Maybe even a little bit of shoulder-fore in the canter down the long side.”

She’s careful with the wording because people can overdo it: “Shoulder-fore, I say, because I know some people as soon as you say the word shoulder-in, the horses are on the forehand.”

The point is not the bend. The point is lift.

“The onus is on your inside leg, pushing that inside shoulder up,” she says – but without blocking it. “If you have too much inside flexion, they’re going to block that inside shoulder.”

So think: body slightly in front of the quarters, but “head and neck straight so that you’re giving room for that inside shoulder to come up.”

How much should you push?

This is where riders get frustrated, because there isn’t one universal answer.

“Each horse has a sweet spot as to how much you push and how much you hold,” Laura says.

Some horses need the rider to “hold a bit more, and they increase nice and big”. Others need you to “open up the front door a little bit” so the stride can come out at all.

And some horses will give you “that slight explosiveness” and stay balanced. Others will “immediately run”, which means you have to “squeeze it slowly out.”

The skill is not picking one method and sticking to it. The skill is developing feel and being able to adjust without changing the rhythm.

While you’re still developing that feel, record yourself as often as you can riding forward and back. Did the stride actually get longer, or did the tempo just increase?

One useful exercise borrowed from showjumping is stride adjustment. Jump riders learn to ride, say, three or five strides between fences without changing the rhythm. You can apply the same idea on the flat.

Pick two markers in your school and practise riding different numbers of canter strides between them, increasing and decreasing the length of the stride without letting the canter run.

The rider problem: hanging on down the rein

For many riders, the real barrier isn’t the horse. It’s the habit of using the hand to manage power.

Laura’s solution is to teach an “independence from the hands” so the rider can sit, create energy, and then allow.

She again recommends lots of forward-back work on a circle, teaching the rider to push forwards with the seat and then bring the horse back “with your thighs – feeling like you’re sucking those back towards you”.

Then comes the important test: can you bring the horse back, “give a pat and see if the horse stays collected in that moment”?

Or, more simply: can you “put your hands forward to the mouth and back” without the canter changing?

Those small exercises teach you that you don’t have to hold the horse together. And that matters because if you ride the extended canter by holding on, you pay for it at the end too.

As Laura says, if you want the horse to come back, “you squeeze, you set up a little half-halt, and you’re already soft again.” If you’ve been strangling the canter, the return is abrupt, and it ruins what comes next – especially if there’s a flying change afterwards.

Why the return matters as much as the extension

The judges don’t score extended canter in isolation.

If the horse lengthens and then can’t rebalance, the movement loses quality. It looks like a horse being sent away rather than a horse being ridden.

Laura links it directly to self-carriage: it’s easier when the horse is “in his own balance, self-carriage, rather than me holding him.”

Common mistakes in extended canter (and fixes)

1: It turns into a run

Fix: ride short increases (5–6 strides), then back. Catch the first good steps.

2: The horse flattens

Fix: think lift in front. Use a touch of shoulder-fore to keep the inside shoulder from dropping.

3: Too much bend and inside flexion

Fix: keep the neck straight “up and out” so the shoulder can lift and the stride can open.

4: The rider hangs on the rein to control it

Fix: build independence from the hand with forward-back on a circle, then test it by giving and retaking the rein without changing the canter.

5: The return to collection is abrupt

Fix: organise before the end of the diagonal. Half-halt, then soften. Don’t pull and hope.

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Whatever downward transitions you’re working on, turn the 6.5s into 8s or higher with the advice and exercises from Laura Tomlinson in this exclusive article for H&H subscribers

You see the marker coming. You’ve practised riding downward transitions at home. You’re waiting, waiting… then bam. You hit the transition as you pass the letter, right in front of the judge. Surely that’s worth a decent mark?

But later, hopefully with a burger in hand, you grab your test sheet, and there it is: a 6.5.

A 6.5! How? You were bang on the marker.

Here’s why accuracy isn’t the whole story – and how to turn those 6.5s into higher marks.

The moment you ask for a downward transition – canter-trot, canter-walk or trot-walk – every weakness shows up: loss of balance, dropping the contact, switching off behind or tipping onto the forehand.

As Olympic medallist Laura Tomlinson puts it: “If you keep them too round in the downward transition, they fall on the floor. They load the front end, and the hindleg disappears.”

Ride downward transitions well, and everything in the test becomes easier. Ride them badly, and the picture unravels fast.

So if you’re wondering how to ride downward transitions with balance, control and clarity, here’s what really matters.

What the judge wants to see in downward transitions

Good downward transitions show:

• A clear, prompt reaction
• Uphill balance, not a collapse forward
• Active hindlegs both before and after the transition
• A steady, elastic contact
• A horse that waits for the rider

The judge is looking for carrying power, not a shut-down. As Laura says, “You have to keep the energy behind and up in front.”

Why downward transitions fall apart

Most issues with downward transitions come back to the same bad habits.

1. Too much hand

Holding the horse round into the transition blocks the front and drags the wither down. This is the quickest way to lose the hindleg.

2. Not enough energy

If the hindlegs switch off even one stride too early, the horse sinks, slips into walk or loses rhythm.

Laura sees this often with horses that misunderstand the question:

“He might think downward transitions are just one step away from the walk break.”

3. Asking before the balance is ready

You cannot fix the transition in the transition. If the canter is flat or running, the downward step won’t improve it.

Laura’s rule is simple: “Head up in the transition and energy behind.”

Not hollow. Not tight. Just enough lift in front that the wither stays up and the hind leghas room to come through.

Laura’s coach, Carl Cuypers, explains the biomechanics behind this. “When the horse can lift through the breastbone, the wither comes up,” he says. “When the front lifts, you get more airtime, and that gives the hindleg more time to come through. And that keeps it uphill.”

Exercises to improve downward transitions

Laura uses these exercises at home to teach riders how to ride downward transitions with more balance and self-carriage.

1. Collect before you ask

Just a stride or two. Think “wait, sit, stay with me”, then soften and give the aid.

Why it works: You create balance first, then change gear.

2. Canter-trot-canter

Laura says riders abandon this too early:

“So many horses get to a certain level, and people don’t practise that anymore.”

Ride a prompt canter-trot, then straight back to canter with purpose.

Why it works: It stops the horse from treating downward transitions as a chance to switch off.

3. Canter-walk-canter (or canter-halt for stronger horses)

Laura and Carl often use canter-halt.

“Carl will get me to go canter-halt so they’re immediately engaged from behind. They don’t go into that collapse condition.”

Why it works: The horse must sit and stay organised – there’s no room to fall onto the forehand.

4. Forward-back on a circle

Collect a few strides, then ride out positively again. Use the seat to bring the horse back, not the hand.

Why it works: It teaches the horse to wait for the rider’s body rather than hanging on the rein.

5. Regather after mistakes

If the horse trips into the walk or loses rhythm, Laura doesn’t fire straight back up.

“I’ll bring the walk into a sensible pace, pick up canter, and repeat. It’s not a punishment – it’s clarity. I’m always thinking, ‘How can I make this as easy to understand for the horse as possible?’”

Why it works: It keeps the horse calm while reinforcing what the rider actually wanted.

Why timing matters

If Laura needs a stronger half-halt, she never puts it in the transition itself:

“If I need to be stronger with my half-halt, I do it before the transition, not in it. In the transition, I want to be soft.”

That timing stops the horse bracing against the hand and teaches self-carriage.

Even with her greener horses, Laura sets the foundation early: “Even if it’s only a couple of strides of collection, it teaches them to wait.”

The aim isn’t a perfect transition or grand prix-ready collection at that stage. It’s the idea of balance, patience and staying with the rider.

Common mistakes riders make in downward transitions

1. Letting the horse dive

Cause: too round, too much hand

Fix: lift the front slightly before the aid, keep the hindleg active

2. Horse drops into walk too early

Cause: no energy behind

Fix: more transitions within the pace, keep the canter or trot alive right until the aid

3. Grabbing with the hand

Cause: rider tension

Fix: seat first, leg supporting, soft hand

4. Rider corrects during the transition

Cause: late reaction

Fix: organise before, allow during

5. Rider collapses in their body

Cause: rider drops their chest or looks down – judges see this all the time, and it influences balance directly

Fix: stay tall through the front of your torso and look past the next marker

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

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How to ride the perfect centre line, with tips from Olympic medallist Laura Tomlinson

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It’s a movement you’re probably underrating, but the tips and exercises that Laura shares in this exclusive article for H&H subscribers will help boost your marks

Riding a centre line might sound simple, but learning how to do it really well – especially when there’s a square halt in there, too – takes more skill than most people think. And it’s worth making the extra effort to get it right.

“You’re marked on it twice, and it sets the tone of the test,” says Olympic medallist Laura Tomlinson. “But so many people don’t treat riding a centre line like a movement in its own right – they just ride down it, cross their fingers, and hope.

“They spend all their time on circles and lateral work, and then expect the centre line to just happen.”

How to ride a winning centre line

Judges are assessing more than just whether you hit X – they’re watching rhythm, connection and whether the horse is listening to the rider. If there’s a halt, it needs to be square, immobile for at least three seconds, and with a smooth – but direct – transition out.

A strong, straight centre line also tells the judge you mean business – and that counts, no matter the level. As Carl Hester puts it: “One of the first lessons I learnt going back some 35 years was that no matter the horse – pony, cob or warmblood – there’s no excuse not to ride straight lines and square halts.”

Don’t leave it to show day

Laura recommends including more centre lines in your everyday schooling – ride straight lines on the centre line and three-quarter line regularly so your horse doesn’t rely on the boards or the outside wall of a school. And make halts part of your routine, too, with a focus on squareness and stillness.

Laura also suggests riding to your horse, not just the line.

“Most horses swing their quarters one way,” she says. “If your horse tends to push their bum left, ride very slightly shoulder-fore left – it helps keep that inside hind underneath you without throwing the whole thing off.”

And don’t underestimate the power of energy.

“Too slow and you wobble – it’s like trying to ride a bike without enough momentum,” Laura adds.

“Keep the trot forward and purposeful to help your line stay true. Stay square in your own body and even in your contact. If you’re not sure you’re straight, you probably aren’t.”

A second pair of eyes is also invaluable. Ask a helper to watch, or set your phone up to film yourself riding down the centre line. Do the quarters drift? In the halt, does a hindleg step out? That kind of feedback sharpens your feel – and helps you spot habits you might not notice from the saddle.

Laura’s tips for riding a good centre line

1. If you’re doing your test in a big, spacious outdoor arena, avoid cutting the initial turn into the arena too tight – give yourself plenty of space to line it up.

2. If you’re indoors or can’t go around the outside of the arena before entering, set yourself up with a neat half 10-metre circle on your horse’s preferred rein on to the centre line.

3. Either way, pick a point above and beyond C, and lock onto it all the way down the centre line.

4. Don’t forget – in most tests, the turn at the end of the centre line is included in that first mark. Plenty of riders ride a decent centre line – then lose marks on the turn.

“When you turn off the line, you need your outside leg on to keep the quarters in check,” says Laura. “Otherwise, they just swing out and undo the straightness you’ve worked for. Whenever we ride corners or shoulder fore, yes, our inside leg is on, but our outside leg has a role as well. Otherwise, we’re just pushing them out through the outside shoulder.”

5. Avoid holding on too long in the halt – this is another mistake Laura often sees.

“As soon as you’ve asked for the halt, soften your hands and legs,” she says. “Holding even a fraction too long makes horses step back – sometimes just the weight of the reins is enough.”

She waits until the horse takes a breath before moving on. “It’s a nice way to teach them to stand quietly.”

6. Make corrections and be particular. If the halt isn’t square, Laura will either correct it quickly by taking a step forward – if the horse is prone to taking a backward step, for example – or ride forward and try again, especially with younger horses.

Three quick exercises to improve your centre lines

1. Cones for accuracy

To train your eye and develop a feel for straightness, set out pairs of cones (or other markers) at regular intervals along the centre line, no more than a metre apart – any further and you might drift in between your markers.

Ride between them as if you’re on tracks – if you drift or wobble, you’ll know straight away.

As you and your horse gain confidence, gradually take some of the cones away. This exercise sharpens accuracy and helps with spatial awareness, which is especially useful for riders who tend to veer slightly off-centre without realising.

2. Rein release halts

Ride a centre line halt facing the wall, then release the contact slightly. The horse should stay soft and balanced – not lean or fall forward. When you go forward again, make the transition sharp and positive.

3. The “almost-halt”

This simple tweak builds balance and responsiveness. Ride toward X as if you’re going to halt, then instead ride two or three collected trot steps and move forward again.

Once your horse can do this smoothly, add a proper halt – the transition will feel more engaged, and your horse will stay lighter in your hand.

Common mistakes with centre lines

• Centre lines can quickly unravel if the horse is unbalanced or behind the leg, and those problems are usually obvious to the judge
• Wobbly lines often come from not enough forward intention, and poor halts are usually down to overuse of the hand
• Over or undershooting the turn onto the centre line – have someone watch you, or try the cone exercise with the cones set up quite close to C to give you something to aim for

It might not be the flashiest movement – but a straight, confident centre line can say a lot.

“It shows how in tune you are with your horse, and how well the training is working,” says Laura. “It’s where judges see what kind of rider you are, before they’ve even seen your medium trot or half-pass.”

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

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For many riders in Britain, training dressage “in-hand” still feels niche – something associated with the Spanish Riding School of Vienna or the Cadre Noir in Saumur. Yet, across Europe, it’s a staple at every level, and it’s now gaining ground here too.

At its core, in-hand training is straightforward: with a bridle or cavesson and a schooling whip, the handler works the horse from the ground to build suppleness, strength and understanding, either before or alongside ridden work.

Unlike lungeing or long-reining, it’s closer to “riding from the ground,” using the reins, whip and body language to communicate. The result? Better balance, clearer communication, and a horse more prepared – physically and mentally – to learn.

Why in-hand training works

“It’s almost like Pilates for the horse,” says Swedish trainer Charlotte Wittbom on classical in-hand work. “If I’ve done all the lateral movements and helped the horse fire up the correct muscles, then when I put a rider on, the horse is so much more prepared.”

Charlotte learned her craft in Portugal with the Valença family and at Morgado Lusitano before moving to the UK, where she now collaborates with five-star international judge Stephen Clarke.

However, at first, Stephen admits, he wasn’t sure. “Charlotte came to me wanting to adapt her classical background to competition,” he recalls. “Once I saw how she used groundwork, I was impressed.

“There are riders I’ve been teaching for years that I’ve struggled to get into real self-carriage – and one session with Charlotte, and it clicks. It’s a brilliant tool.”

Charlotte emphasises that the basics are always the foundation. “We can’t just tell a horse to fire up their core. We need to put them in a position where those muscles are engaged, breaking the movement apart so they can understand it without the added complication of a rider.

“I wouldn’t start piaffe before doing this, but even when a horse is advanced, the basics don’t stop.”

The results can be striking. “We used infrared cameras once to compare warm-ups,” she says. “It took 20 minutes ridden for the horse to get the topline engaged – with groundwork, it took 30 seconds.”

Trainer Kathrin Roida, who has written extensively on in-hand work, agrees that the benefits scale right up to the top of the sport: “Every horse can also passage gracefully in-hand when it’s taught with lightness. It develops body and mind together.”

Four groundwork exercises you can try right now

These groundwork exercises can be done at home with horses of any level.

1. Introducing the whip as a communication tool

Before you can do any meaningful in-hand work, your horse needs to trust the whip as a guiding aid – not fear it as punishment.

“From the ground, we can teach the horse that a whip resting lightly on the top line means halt,” says Charlotte. “Then, touching the girth area means go forward. Just as the calf at the girth is a ridden aid, the whip becomes a ground aid. With those two – start and stop – you have the basics.”

Why it helps: Establishing clear “start” and “stop” buttons from the ground creates a shared language. That clarity carries through every other in-hand exercise – and later, under saddle.

2. Hindquarters around shoulders

How to do it: Stand by the horse’s shoulder, facing slightly towards the hind end. Hold the reins – or line – in your inside hand, whip in the outside hand, angled towards the hind legs. Then, ask for a step of the quarters around the front end by gently tapping the hindquarters while keeping a light feel on the reins. You want the inside leg to reach in and over the outside hind leg. Reward even one correct step.

Why it helps: Teaches the horse to bring the hindlegs under and respond to sideways aids. Begins to mobilise the hips.

3. Shoulders around hindquarters

How to do it: Position yourself just behind the horse’s head, body angled slightly towards the shoulders. Keep the neck softly flexed inwards and use the whip near the shoulder to ask the front end to step around the hindquarters. Take it one stride at a time.

Why it helps: Separates front end from hind end, develops shoulder control, and lays the foundation for shoulder-in.

4. Lateral basics

How to do it: Position yourself near the horse’s shoulder, holding the reins in your inside hand and whip in the outside. Next, walk purposefully but steadily with the horse on a diagonal line. Face the horse as you move, matching your steps to their rhythm.

Keep the aids clear and simple – tap lightly with the whip at the girth to ask the hindquarters to step away, while maintaining a soft inward flexion with the reins. Reward every correct crossing step, even if it’s just one or two at first.

Why it helps: “As well as activating the core, the horse is developing an understanding that will become the foundation of your ridden work, that’s why it makes sense to use the same lines as you will use when riding,” Charlotte explains.

Building it into your routine

With all of this work, it’s worth remembering that in-hand training is physically demanding, even without a rider on board. You wouldn’t thank a Pilates instructor for making you repeat the same exercise endlessly! Start with three to five correct steps and build progressively.

But whatever your horse’s age, size or breed, all can benefit from short, regular sessions. Even five to ten minutes in-hand before schooling or hacking can switch on the right muscles and improve focus.

Are you a fan of using in-hand work as part of your horse’s regular exercise routine? Let us know what benefits you’ve seen at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance for your letter to appear in a forthcoming issue of Horse & Hound magazine. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.

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Forget the stereotype that only tall, flashy warmbloods belong between the white boards. From Connemaras to Welsh Section Bs, native breeds are proving they can do more than hold their own – they stand out. And if you’ve already done a bit of showing with them, that ringcraft can help when training native ponies for dressage.

“Often, it’s the not‑so‑flashy horse that ends up stealing the show,” says international rider and list 1 British Dressage judge Sara-Jane Lanning.

Sara-Jane has helped train several natives, including Hannah Bown on her 14.2hh New Forest, Buckland Bonnie Lad (Rodney).

“Sure, we might not get nines for your mediums – Rodney’s only got short little legs – but if you train them correctly, the judges can’t ignore it,” Hannah says.

Why native ponies can excel

Native ponies are smart, quick-thinking, and willing. Once they’re on side, they give you everything.

BDCC Level 3 coach and list 2 judge Alice Oppenheimer describes them as: “clever and full of character – once they want to work, you’re already 90% of the way there. They might not find everything easy, but they’re incredibly trainable.”

Sam Roberts, whom Alice trains on her 13.2 hh Welsh Section B stallion – and former showing star – Moelview Prince Consort, proves the point.

“I’d never even done dressage before,” Sam says. “We just sort of fell into it.”

At their first affiliated prelim, judged by Jennie Loriston-Clarke, they scored a staggering 86.74%. Since then, they’ve competed up to prix st georges (PSG) at championship-level.

“On a smaller one like him, I feel like I get more time in the tighter movements than on a warmblood,” Sam adds. “Although in the walk, it feels like it takes forever to cross the arena.”

Some natives can show a natural aptitude for collection. But short strides and compact frames mean riders must create the illusion of ground cover without rushing.

“Don’t try to make your pony Valegro,” warns international judge Isobel Wessels. “It’s so often against the horse’s welfare. Instead, ride the solution: identify what’s missing, and build it step by step. That’s what training really means.”

Training native ponies for dressage: work with the build

Like cobs, native ponies often need help with uphill balance and consistency of frame, especially when tension or speed creeps in.

Sara-Jane explains: “They’re not built uphill, and they can get heavy on the shoulder. We’ve got to help them find balance – and that starts with slowing down.”

Alice adds: “They’re active behind and short in front, so we work on adjustability – not speed. You don’t push them faster; you help them find the right tempo.”

The mission is to create a picture of ease and lift – even if the frame isn’t warmblood-like.

“It’s about training what we want them to become,” says Sara-Jane.

Four progressive exercises to try

1. Zig-zag suppleness

Ride a shallow leg-yield off the track for half the long side, straighten for a few strides, then leg-yield back again. Swap the direction on the next long side. For natives with busy brains, this frequent change of bend keeps them thinking while teaching true suppleness without rushing.

2. Quick-fire transitions on the long side

On the long side, ask for quick-fire gear changes within the pace: three strides bigger, three strides smaller, then back to working. Sara-Jane says this teaches ponies to wait without losing energy. “Everything should feel light and easy – not like a fight.”

3. Tempo changes on a circle

Alice recommends riding medium trot on a 20 m circle, but alternating between a few strides of bigger steps and then immediately back to a soft, shorter trot. The contrast sharpens balance and encourages reach without the pony running through the hand.

4. Corner collect-and-go

Use corners as mini half-halts. Ride in with a touch of collection, then allow the pony forward on the short side. This pattern develop more push from the hindlegs and helps compact ponies learn to sit rather than rushing off.

Polework that pays off when training native ponies for dressage

For ponies that need more lift, swing, or reach – especially in the extensions – polework is a game-changer. Isobel suggests fan-shaped poles through a corner.

“If you ride closer to the middle, the steps have to be shorter and higher. That’s brilliant for lift. If you ride further out, the pony stretches more, covering ground. Start easy, then play with the line. The poles do the work for you,” she says.

This is especially useful for developing extensions in natives, who often have quick hindlegs but take shorter strides. By gradually riding the line further from the centre, the poles encourage them to open the frame and take longer steps – without the rider chasing them forward. Over time, this builds the strength and coordination needed for clear, expressive lengthenings in trot and canter.

UKCC Level 3 Dressage Coach Alison Short echoes this: “Ride over a fan of poles to improve footfall and length of pace in walk. Combine that with half-halts to keep the shoulder up in an outline, and you’ll see the difference quickly.”

Hills, raised poles, and hacking all build strength and stamina in ways that feel like play – key for natives, who thrive on variety.

Sam schools Moelview Prince Consort just once or twice a week but keeps him fit and happy with varied work.

“We do a bit of everything,” she says. “Happy athletes perform better.”

Adding precision and accuracy

Isobel stresses why accuracy wins points – especially with compact types.

Ride diagonal lines with purpose: “Aim the shoulders straight at the marker. It maximises space and makes every future movement cleaner,” she says.

Respect corners: “Riding properly into the corner gives you time to prepare. Cutting corners leads to slipped hindquarters, not shoulder-in.”

Nail the little things: “Square halts, rein-backs, simple changes – these add easy marks. A correct rein-back can outscore a flashy but unbalanced medium trot.”

She also emphasises transitions: “There can be 30 transitions in a novice test. If each one starts from the hindleg, in rhythm, and with acceptance of the bridle, that’s a fast track to higher scores.”

Training native ponies for dressage takes time, especially with compact types.

Sam reflects: “I still feel green – but I love the technical challenge.”

Isobel sums it up: “Take time to save time. Don’t chase shortcuts. Quiet repetition, reward, and gymnastic work always pay off.”

And Sara-Jane adds: “Don’t think you can’t do it because your pony looks different. Good riding, good training, smart test-riding – that’s what gets results.”

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Cobs are smart and willing – but sometimes underestimated in the dressage arena. Top trainers and judges share their best dressage training advice for helping cobs and cob-types succeed between the white boards.

“Cobs are massively underestimated,” says Sam Turner, who trained and competed her 14hh traditional gypsy cob, Cuffstown Rumble (Billy Whiz), up to grand prix.

“They’re clever, hard-working, and so game. You just have to be consistent, patient – and not worry about what anyone else thinks.”

International rider and list 1 British Dressage judge Sara-Jane Lanning agrees: “One of the most fun horses I ever competed was a big, chunky part-bred Irish Draught cob who came third in the medium gold at the winter championships. People don’t expect it – but they absolutely can do it.”

BDCC Level 3 coach and list 2 judge Alice Oppenheimer adds: “Dressage is about ‘gymnasticising’ the horse to make them more supple, athletic and elastic. You can improve any type – that’s the whole point.”

Dressage training for cobs: common strengths – and how to build on them

Cobs bring a lot to the table.

“They tend to have excellent minds,” says Alice. “If they enjoy their work, you’re already halfway there. They’re willing, smart and want to please – that gives you so much to work with.”

Sam agrees: “Billy wasn’t the fanciest mover, but he tried his heart out – and that’s worth more to me than fancy movement.”

They’re also often well-balanced and powerful.

“Cobs can have active hindlegs and a good walk – two things that really help,” adds Sara-Jane. “They often find straight lines easy – so if you focus on test riding and accuracy, that’s a quick way to earn marks.”

But trainers agree: don’t mistake enthusiasm for correct movement.

“They can be very willing – but that can mean rushing,” says Alice. “Balance and tempo are key. You want a consistent rhythm that shows swing and softness.”

Sam has learned that firsthand.

“I used to override Billy because I felt like we had to prove we belonged,” she admits. “Now I’d focus more on keeping him relaxed and letting the work speak for itself.

“Transitions, poles, and patience. That’s our bread and butter. We don’t need to be flashy – just consistent.”

She’s also learned the value of variety in keeping him switched on: “Cobs are smart – which is great but means you’ve got to keep things interesting. If I drill the same thing, Billy just tunes out. We mix it up and do a lot of hacking, and it keeps him sharp.”

Understand the build

Cobs come in all different shapes and sizes, but are often compact and downhill in their conformation. That can lead to leaning, heaviness in the contact and tension through the back.

“They’re not built to be uphill – so we have to create that posture through training,” explains Sara-Jane. “It’s about helping them find self-carriage. The rider can’t do the holding – the horse has to learn to carry itself.”

Getting the hindlegs stepping under, the back swinging, and the shoulders free will help develop a light, uphill balance and contact.

“A lot of the leaning or pulling comes from being out of balance,” Sara-Jane adds. “So you’ve got to slow the tempo without losing energy, and give the horse time to find its feet.”

Five exercises to develop balance and suppleness

1. Spiral-in and leg-yield out (on a circle)

This classic suppling exercise works across all types – but is especially useful in dressage training for cobs that tend to get tight or lean.

“Start on a 20m circle, spiral in to 10m, then leg-yield back out again,” says Alice. “It gets the inside hind under, frees up the shoulders, and encourages suppleness without rushing.”

Sam uses this one regularly, too: “It helped Billy loosen up and focus. We do it in all three paces depending on what we’re working on.”

2. Shoulder-in and travers into renvers

Once the horse understands lateral work, this series develops both sides of the body evenly.

“It encourages them to stretch both sides of the body,” explains Alice. “You want to develop the bend by lengthening one side, not just shortening the other.”

Sam adds: “The trick is not rushing the change between the two – you’ve got to give them time to find the new shape.”

3. On-the-spot halts to improve self-carriage

“Everyone does things like trot-walk-trot and canter-trot-canter, but if you’ve got a horse that’s running a little bit and leaning on the hand, I like to do stopping and starting,” Sara-Jane says.

“Ride to the corner, halt facing the wall [a few strides away], and give and retake the rein. They have to be able to let go of the rein without the horse falling forward or leaning. Then apply the leg – the horse should wait, not shoot off.”

This builds patience and balance – particularly useful for horses that rush or lean.

4. Shoulder-in on a circle

For cobs that lift their knees but struggle to cover ground in extended paces, try this.

“Working on medium trot or canter on a circle helps them find push and reach without rushing,” Alice explains. “It encourages more ground cover – not just height.”

5. Halt, halt, and halt again

Cobs can beat warmbloods on the basics – if you train them.

“A square halt is easy marks – and most people throw them away,” says Alice. “But you’ve got to train it. Repetition is key.”

Correct, balanced halts teach the horse to listen and engage. And with double-marked movements like halt and rein back, it’s worth the effort.

Accuracy, mindset and making a plan

“You’ve got to ride smart,” says Sara-Jane. “Focus on being straight, square and obedient. That’s where you can pick up marks.

“And don’t think you don’t stand a chance. The test sheet doesn’t ask what breed your horse is – it asks what it can do.”

All three trainers agree: accuracy is a key competitive edge. Straight centre lines, correct-sized circles, precise transitions – all add up.

And while ribbons are nice, that shouldn’t be the main motivation when dressage training for cobs.

“We’re not out here chasing red rosettes,” Sam explains, “we’re chasing the feeling of progress – that’s just as satisfying.”

Having the right support matters, too.

“If you have a coach that believes in you, you can go a long way,” Alice says. “Not every trainer suits every rider – but having someone in your corner makes all the difference.”

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Top trainers and judges share with H&H subscribers their practical strategies to harness a thoroughbred’s athleticism, manage tension, and build a competitive partnership to excel in the dressage arena

Thoroughbreds – especially former racehorses – arrive in the dressage arena carrying baggage. Too hot. Too tense. Too flat. But Louise Robson specialises in dressage training for thoroughbreds and sees it differently.

Louise is founder of Thoroughbred Dressage and trainer of advanced-level ex-racers – including The late Queen’s homebred Quadrille who went from intro to inter II.

“Thoroughbreds have got the heart of a lion,” she says. “Their sensitivity is their superpower – if you ride it right.”

That sensitivity, approached with patience, becomes a fast-track to learning.

“They never want to make mistakes,” she says. “They learn fast – sometimes too fast – so you’ve got to keep their brain interested while their body catches up.”

Why thoroughbreds can excel in dressage

There’s plenty to like about training thoroughbreds for the dressage ring – especially their walk and canter.

“In racing, you don’t see trot or canter in the sales ring. You buy them off a walk,” Louise explains. “That’s why so many have natural swing and huge overtrack – and in tests, the walk is often double-marked.”

BDCC Level 3 coach and list 2 judge Alice Oppenheimer agrees: “If you can show relaxation as well, you’ll pick up serious marks.”

For FEI judge and trainer Isobel Wessels, it’s straightforward: “It’s not about what the horse is – it’s about what it learns to do. That’s what we should be marking.”

Work with the build

Thoroughbreds are often long through their body, croup-high and built to pull – that’s not a flaw, just a different starting point.

“They’re not wrong,” Louise says. “They’re built for something else. Our job is to show them a new way to use their bodies.”

Isobel agrees: “When you ask for go, they want to take the nose down and pull forward – because that’s how they win a race.

“So the horse learns to pull against the bit. They’re not so easy to collect because of that, but don’t try to squash the horse into what you think it should be. Start with what you’ve got and develop from there.

“You’re not just riding what the horse already does – you ride the solution to the problem.”

Dressage training for thoroughbreds

4 progressive exercises to try

1. Turn the shoulders (leg-yield and squares)

Thoroughbreds often move as one piece. The first job? Separate front end from back end.

“Leg-yield, squares, shoulder turns – all brilliant,” says Louise. “They teach the horse to move its shoulders independently.”

Try visualising, or marking out a square, and then on each corner the horse should bring the outside shoulder around for the turn.

“These movements help expand their chest and take their front legs out in front of them,” Louise adds. “Long-term that’ll lead to the lift and reach we’re looking for.”

2. Spiral-in to leg-yield out (on a circle)

The goal with this one is to engage the inside hind and, again, free the shoulders.

“Track straight on the circle, and you’ll feel the hindlegs come under – the circle does it for you,” Isobel explains.

From a 20m circle, spiral in to around 10-12m, then leg-yield back out to the track. Keep a slight, consistent inside bend and the tempo steady – don’t let the horse fall in or rush out.

3. Transitions and gear changes

You’ve heard it before, but every trainer we spoke to emphasised it again: transitions, transitions, transitions.

Use simple transition ladders like walk–trot–walk, walk–halt–walk or trot–halt–trot on a 20m circle to build balance. Mix in transitions within the pace, too – on a circle, ask for slightly bigger, then smaller steps, focusing on stride length while maintaining the same tempo.

“Play with the size of trot – not the speed,” says Isobel.

4. Medium canter without galloping

Practising this in canter, especially on a circle, will prep your horse to show a proper medium or extended canter in the test – without risking an accidental exit at A.

“Lengthen the stride, don’t change the rhythm,” says Alice. “We want a three-beat canter – not a four-time gallop.”

Top tips for improving your thoroughbred’s way of going

Build strength

Long-reining, raised poles, and hill work help build the right kind of muscle.

“I’m a big advocate for long-reining, and spending as much time working off horse as on horse,” Louise says.

“Thoroughbred’s backs aren’t built to carry us – not that they can’t, but their backs drop down naturally away from us so they’ve got to be stronger to keep engaged and lift up to us – and that takes a long time.”

Polework exercises also encourage swing and a true connection.

“If the back is supple, the energy can pass through the neck to the bridle and back to the rider – it’s like a big rubber band,” says Isobel.

Try fan-shaped poles in a corner – the tighter the arc, the more lift and roundness you create.

Ringcraft and managing warm-ups

Competition day can be a sensory overload for former racers in particular, so knowing how to manage your ex-racehorse is key if you’re heading to a competition for retrained racehorses.

“You can’t sit them down and explain they’ve finished racing,” says Louise. “You often won’t know their triggers until you hit them – and when things go sideways, it’s not their fault. It’s just part of the learning process.”

To help them cope, Louise recommends mimicking the structure they’re familiar with. For example:

• Walking the horse in hand on arrival
• Bringing a familiar voice to call the test
• Having someone lead them from warm-up to the arena

As Louise puts it, they’re used to going everywhere in a string, not leaving the group and working alone. Above all, go at the horse’s pace: “It’s a process, not an overnight fix.”

Both Louise and Alice add that using freestyle tests can be incredibly helpful – especially for horses that get tense in set tests. You remove the rigid “do it now” structure and instead get to ride patterns that suit your horse and how you train at home.

If your horse settles better by cantering before trotting, you can do that. If you know they need a 10m circle to set up for a better medium trot, you can build it in.

Freestyle allows you to ride the horse in their best balance – using familiar routines that create comfort and reduce tension.

Mindset: no shortcuts

There’s no fast track in dressage training for thoroughbreds – but the results are worth it.

“It’s like getting a six-pack,” says Louise. “You don’t do 30 days of sit-ups and call it done. It’s slow, it’s layered, and it pays off.

“If you school twice a week, that’s 100 sessions a year. You’ve got to love the process – and be proud of it.”

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Horse and rider training

Welcome to Horse & Hound’s training hub. Whether you are looking for techniques to improve your riding skills, insight from top trainers and riders on how to prepare your horse for a specific sport, or tips to help solve specific problems, you will find useful advice from experts to help.

Horse & Hound’s training exercise of the week

Choose a topic:

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Daily training inspiration

Execute smarter square halts with just four poles

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Jumping a great round is about much more than just clearing the fences. How you get from fence to fence is a key part of the round, and flying changes can enhance that. In this article from the H&H archives, H&H asked eventer-turned-trainer Tracey Dillon for her tips on teaching flying changes

Watch any top showjumper and you can’t fail to notice how smooth their rounds are; their horses landing effortlessly on the correct lead or doing a flying change as needed with ease.

Having your horse on the correct lead helps maintain a fluid, powerful yet balanced canter, which is essential when tackling bigger tracks. This is something which can be taught to most horses, says trainer and former international eventer Tracey Dillon.

“There are elements to jumping a good round which can be divided into ‘nice to have’ and ‘must have’ — and as the tracks get bigger, flying changes move from the first category to the second. Either that, or you need to be able to counter canter your horse effectively to maintain a good canter,” says Tracey, who used the latter when jumping a former racehorse right up to Foxhunter level, as the horse struggled to canter in balance on the left leg in the early stages of his new career.

“The quality of the horse’s canter is absolutely crucial; without power and forward movement, you’re not going to get the jump in the stride you need and it will be difficult to do a flying change.

“So any plan to teach your horse flying changes has to start with ensuring you have the power to take the horse through the energy and effort required to shift the balance of half a tonne of bodyweight from one leading leg to the other,” says Tracey.

In preparation for teaching flying changes, Tracey advises focussing on canter to walk, and walk to canter transitions, using a half pirouette to aid the transition back into canter.

“This gets the outside hind leg stretching, as well as getting the horse straight through himself to allow the balance to be level when changing leg,” she says.

Teaching changes for dressage

When training horses to do flying changes for dressage or other flatwork, Tracey advises using the same method, but focussing on teaching specific leg aids for left or right canter.

This ensures the horse is very clear, when the flying change aid is applied, which canter lead is required.

“Flying changes for jumping are about being fluid with the horse forward and in an uphill canter afterwards. It isn’t essential that the front and hind legs change at precisely the same time — after all, you’re not being marked on it — but for dressage the lead change itself needs to be precise.”

In this scenario, Tracey advises using the method above (canter/walk, walk/canter and half pirouette training) and getting the horse to the point where it can be ridden round the outside of the arena and complete eight to 10 walk to canter transitions onto the correct lead as requested by the rider.

“You have to be at the point where you can achieve this perfectly, on a straight line and in a balanced and fluid fashion, before moving on to ask for a flying change,” warns Tracey, who adds that if the horse still struggles to grasp what is being asked having got the stage above, a pole raised at one end can be used to aid the change.

“Poles are a common way of teaching lead changes for jumping, but can be useful here too.”

Teaching flying changes over a pole

When training jumping horses to do flying changes, raised poles are a good way of encouraging the horse to land on the correct leg or to change as required by the rider.

“Start with a couple of poles in the arena; one raised left to right, the other right to left. As you canter over the poles, open your hand and turn the horse in the desired direction to encourage him to change leg, first one way then the other.”

Skilled riders are able to influence the leg the horse lands on by subtle shifts in position while jumping the fence, but for less experienced riders or horses which repeatedly land on the same leg over a fence, a landing pole is a great way of getting lead changes, says Tracey.

“Using a small cross pole or upright of about 80cm, place a slightly-raised landing pole nine feet behind the fence. This encourages an elevated landing stride.

“A placing pole used at 90 degrees to the landing pole is another way to reinforcing the horse to land on the correct lead. Again, aim for that elevated landing stride and make sure you open your hand and turn the horse’s head to the side required to help him find the right way.”

Whatever the method used, Tracey emphasises the need to avoid disturbing the quality of the canter when asking for flying changes.

“A powerful, forward canter is what you’re looking for — don’t let achieving a flying change interrupt that. You can always use counter canter in the ring until you’ve perfected lead changes at home.”

• Looking for more training tips and advice from top riders and trainers? Subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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If you’re struggling to get the dressage marks you think you deserve, take a look at this expert advice from five-star dressage judge Isobel Wessels — from the benefits of planning well to setting yourself realistic targets.

1. Get out competing on a regular basis

One of the main problems I see is riders becoming very tight and nervous the minute the bell rings. Riders who have this problem need to compete on a regular basis and become more at ease in the test situation.

2. Set yourself realistic targets

Try riding at venues where the horse tends to be relaxed and go well and do not attempt a dressage level or test that is too difficult. It is better to get mileage at a local friendly venue and enter for tests that are easier and familiar so that it is not necessary to have a caller. I think many riders feel they have to go to the higher profile shows and sometimes, if the combination is not secure at the level, this can lead to bitter disappointment and a big gash in confidence.

3. Work at a higher level at home

Try to make sure your horse is working at a higher level at home than you’re competing at. This gives the rider the opportunity to show off. If you’re going out at a level barely within your grasp, the overall picture won’t be one of lightness and harmony.

4. Plan ahead

Just planning well, arriving in good time not being rushed and stressed can make a huge difference.

5. Know the test inside out

The rider should know the test inside out and feel confident about riding it in a competition. Confidence is at the root of success. Lack of confidence will translate to your horse.

6. Concentrate on what you’re doing

Don’t look at other people too much and don’t feel inhibited by working in alongside “big names”. Concentrate on what you are doing with your own horse. If your horse becomes distracted during a test, put it behind you and concentrate on riding the next movement well.

7. Take your time

I often see the rider presenting the horse at breakneck speed, cutting corners with no preparation for the movements in the test. The way of going — which is under scrutiny throughout the entire test — is totally lost and naturally the horse has little chance to be shown at his best. The rider must be confident enough to take time, use the corners, make good use of the half-halt and ensure that the horse is in the right balance to show off his training — not his lack of it.

8. Get the basics right

Getting things right at the beginning is vital to progress. If the horse shows a really good way of going in confidence with his rider and the tasks in the test, the chances are that climbing the higher levels will be easy. Excessive spooking and tension is often a sign that the horse is not secure in the basics and needs more time.

9. Ask for feedbackMost judges are happy to discuss a test if they have time afterwards. Bring your sheet with you and, as long as you are polite rather than confrontational, the judge will be happy to explain why you got the marks you did.

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Dressage trainer and author of Master Dressage Peter Dove shares some pearls of wisdom on common mistakes made by riders in dressage tests as well as how to prevent them and earn more marks

1. 20m circles

Peter says: “Riders need to be accurate at all times, both while competing and schooling at home. When riding 20m circles, I see a lot of what I call ‘squircles’ where the shape is completely wrong. Competitors will either go into the corners and then make a flat shape at the apex of the circle where the horse tends to end up on its outside shoulder or they will follow the track too far around the arena and then turn to make the top of the circle which means it ends up square.

“In order to ride a correct 20m circle, imagine the shape you need to ride is a balance beam which has just enough room for your horse to go along the top of it. Then think to yourself about which side of the balance beam your horse would fall off, and make the correction. If it is a left-handed circle, your horse should always be making steps to the left. Imagine a circle inside a square — the circle will only touch four points of the square — as soon as your horse touches each point, it must immediately leave it. For example, if your circle starts at A, your horse should step off the track as soon as it reaches the marker.

“You shouldn’t be anywhere near the corners of the arena — after starting your circle from A, you should be aiming for the next point on the track 10m from the corner (or 4m beyond the corner marker letter). Don’t let your horse continue wandering through its outside shoulder once you reach the apex of the circle. Finally, once you return to the starting point of the circle, straighten your horse up onto the track.”

2. Change the rein across the diagonal

Peter says: “The most common mistake riders make when performing this movement is that they come out of the starting corner too quickly. You need to bear in mind that you have 6m out of the corner to ride before you reach the marker from which the movement actually starts. Therefore, ride into the corner, with your horse’s legs stepping away from the track smoothly at the marker.

“Don’t aim your horse’s nose at the marker at the end of the diagonal — your horse is long, so by the time its body has all got onto the track, you will find yourself already in the corner. So instead, as you ride across the diagonal, aim your horse’s nose half a horse’s length before the marker, so that you help prevent falling through the corner.”

3. Corners

Peter says: “I advise riders not to think about riding into the corners as they think they should. Instead think of corners as ¼ circles. Start the turn 5m from the corner and ride a smooth curve so that you maintain balance and rhythm.”

4. Centre lines

Peter says: “Never turn onto the centre line when you get to the marker — your horse can’t do 90 degree turns! Instead, like corners, think of the turn as being a ¼ circle. Start your turn before the marker — how far this is is dependent on your horse, like his size and experience. Look for the end marker you are heading for so that you are focused and can make any necessary small adjustments to keep your horse on the centre line. Don’t turn your shoulders as you will lose the balance and outside shoulder of your horse — it’s much better if you keep your shoulders square over your hips and just turn your head.”

5. Give and retake the reins

Peter says: “Riders need to stay upright in their bodies when they give the reins away — don’t collapse forward. Horses need to maintain their own self-carriage without the support of the rider, so it is therefore the rider’s job to show a clear loop in the rein, with their hands pushed forwards towards the bit in order to get the best marks. The judge won’t mind if the horse takes its head and neck forwards slightly, as long as they don’t fall onto the forehand.”

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A well-ridden give and retake of the reins shows that your horse is capable of maintaining self-carriage and balance without relying on your hands to hold them up. It also tests the rider’s reliance on their hands for control, emphasising the importance of an independent seat and legs.

Think of the movement as a diagnostic tool for judges. A horse on the forehand will stumble or lose its balance when the reins are given. This shows a reliance on the rider’s hands.

Whereas, a horse that struggles to accept the contact might react by becoming tense or shortening its stride. Furthermore, if a horse is not round over its back, the give and retake can cause it to hollow and raise its head.

The give and retake of the reins is introduced from the earliest levels and continues to be seen in dressage tests up to advanced medium. However, it’s a movement riders often struggle to perform well, with comments like “no give and retake shown” blotting test sheets up and down the country.

What are the judges looking for?

The British Dressage (BD) members’ handbook states that judges are looking for riders to push their hands forward towards the bit, clearly releasing the contact “through showing a loop in the rein from the hand to the bit” before retaking the contact.

It adds that the movement of the hands must be “continuous and achieved over two or three strides” and that the horse must “stay in balance, keeping the same rhythm, level of engagement, suppleness of the back.”

Give and retake is often misinterpreted as allowing the horse to stretch down, but that’s not the case. Rather, the judge wants to see everything remain the same for two to three strides while you release the contact.

A good give-and-retake should be smooth and not rushed.

To ride a good give and retake, the horse should be in balance. This means ensuring the horse is taking their weight on the hindlegs as much as possible, before riding the movement.

“It’s the balance which you can ride them into it that dictates the quality of the movement,” explains Gareth Hughes. “Imagine the beginning of every movement as the approach to a showjumping fence – you have to set the horse up to perform it correctly.”

After showing the give, your horse should look comfortable when you retake the reins, with nothing changing in their way of going.

What not to do

Avoid letting your body tip forward too much. Doing so will push your horse onto their forehand and result in them dropping their head or rushing forward. When releasing the contact, don’t let your reins get too much longer and don’t thrust them forwards.

Instead, give your hand forwards in line with the bit. For most people, straightening your arms is enough to achieve a noticeable loop. However, riders with shorter arms might struggle to show a clear loop without leaning forward slightly.

Also, try not to lift your hands up during the release. This isn’t a release; all it does is change the angle of the contact.

Take care not to ride the give part for too long. Riding it for too many strides increases the chances the horse will become disconnected and lose balance. The best give and retakes are short and sweet – but not rushed.

A helpful tip is to break the movement down into parts, over four or five strides. For example, in stride one you’ll be giving the rein, moving the hand forward. Count out strides two and three – or four for the ambitious – in the give. Then on the last stride of your sequence, smoothly retake.

Practice, practice, practice…

The give-and-retake is not just a test movement, it is also an invaluable training exercise.

“If your horse is in self-carriage you should be able to give and retake the reins without him losing balance, but how many people ever actually do this at home?” asks Carl Hester.

“Incorporating it at home even for three strides at a time will help you see where you are with your training. It also allows your horse to relax in his mouth, helping encourage him to chew the bit and become softer.”

German dressage legend, Christoph Hess agrees. “We want to always open through the throatlash, so the horse is always seeking the bit and takes a steady contact,” he explains. “Especially in tense horses – don’t be afraid to give that rein. When the horse gets more and more open in the neck and the frame, they can start to swing more over the back.”

For particularly tense horses, Micheal Eilberg recommends riding a square and giving and retaking the reins in the corners.

“Don’t give and retake unless you feel you have the horse collected,” he says. “This gives him the opportunity to run away with you and shows him he can. If when you give the reins the horse puts his head up or runs off, try just giving the inside rein quietly, keeping the outside rein to half-halt.”

You may also be interested in…

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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

With a little imagination, hacking can be fun and a useful tool for preparing your horse to succeed on competition day.

Whether you’re seeking extra marks in the dressage arena or want to become more confident across country, here are nine tips that will help.

1. Practise being accurate

It’s so easy to lose marks for not being accurate in a dressage test, and you must be able to ride an exacting line to a narrow cross-country fence. So while you’re hacking, pick a marker in the hedge — it could be a certain tree or a telegraph pole — and make a transition there.

2. Learn to leg-yield

Leg-yield past spooky objects by turning the horse’s head away from it while still maintaining forward momentum. He’s learning to move away from your leg pressure without over-thinking it.

3. Open and close gates

Don’t shy away from opening and closing gates out hacking. By doing it while mounted, your horse will be learning to turn on the forehand and rein back without realising it.

4. Perfect the free walk

A happy horse is more likely to be marching along out hacking and going forward. This makes it easier to encourage them to stretch down on a long rein compared to in an arena, where they may not be as relaxed.

You can also practise riding medium walk, too, and really feeling the difference.

5. Make banks easy

If you live near woodland, walking up and down natural banks is an ideal way to build a horse’s confidence. It’s surprising how difficult some young or inexperienced horses find going up and down banks, so hacking is the ideal place to learn that skill. Begin with small banks and build up gradually.

6. Become brave about ditches

Popping small ditches out hacking is good fun too, providing you don’t teach the horse bad habits. Find a small, inviting natural ditch to begin with and work up from there. However, we don’t suggest you use drainage ditches on verges, and make sure that the ground on either side is suitable and free from debris.

7. Build the bond you have

Most horses will try to step around a puddle, because sense tells them that the ground is lower there. If you can convince them to step in and walk through happily, not only are they learning that getting their feet wet is fun, but you are building a trusting relationship too.

8. Make water fun

Walking through ford crossings, streams and natural water is a brilliant way to teach your horse to enjoy getting wet. Begin where it is shallow, and always make sure the bottom is safe.

Many leading riders regularly take their horses, including their top rides, into water prior to an event in order to keep them confident.

9. Cope with the unexpected

You never quite know what you’re going to come across while hacking, and the same is true when you’re away competing. So if your horse is used to dealing with variable terrain, damp patches, shadows and anything unusual on a daily basis, it shouldn’t be a problem on competition day.

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

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Ever wondered how to take your test-riding up a notch, to gain those valuable extra marks? Carl Hester shares some golden nuggets of training advice that can help every rider pull in some extra points in the ring…

1. Focus on your own position

“Sitting in the middle of the horse is important for balance, in the same way standing upright is essential for balance when you’re on the ground,” says the Olympic gold medallist. “Your heel, hip and shoulder should all be in line. Remember, it should be the combination that looks elegant in dressage, not one or the other.”

2. Don’t neglect lateral work at home

Whether it is required in your tests or not, incorporating some lateral work into your schooling will help develop suppleness.

“You can spot a horse that is supple because when they move sideways the rhythm doesn’t change,” points out Carl, who recommends training leg yielding at home in trot and canter. “Canter leg yield does not appear in tests but it can be very useful for teaching a horse to develop freedom through the shoulder.”

3. Teach your horse to halt square every time

“The basics are for everyone — all types of horse and all types of rider,” says Carl, emphasising that any horse can be taught how to halt square to pick up valuable marks at every level. He advises enlisting the help of someone on the ground to help you adjust your halts, and to ride every one properly so your horse learns to halt squarely every time.

“All corrections should be made by moving forward,” he adds. “Moving the horse backwards to correct the halt is incorrect.”

4. Learn to ride better corners

“Everything in a test starts from a corner, and people who ride good corners are very telling,” says Carl, who recommends the following exercise at home to help you and your horse learn to ride into corners properly. Canter up the long side on the left rein and halt up against the edge of the arena in the corner. Establish the halt, the turn the horse right, into the corner, before riding forward back down the long side.

5. Use your head to become as accurate as possible

“The difference between a good rider and an average rider is not just how they sit but how they think,” says Carl. “Count the number of canter strides your horse puts in on the short side of the arena, so that when riding a serpentine with changes on the centre line, you can count your strides and know exactly when you are crossing the centre line without looking,” he suggests.

6. Give-and-retake the reins often

“If your horse is in self-carriage you should be able to give and retake the reins without him losing balance, but how many people ever actually do this at home?” says Carl. “Incorporating it at home even for three strides at a time will help you see where you are with your training. It also allows your horse to relax in his mouth, helping encourage him to chew the bit and become softer.”

7. Every transition matters

“You can’t expect good transitions in a test if you don’t concentrate on getting them right every time at home,” Carl points out. “Every single transition should be ridden properly, even if it’s right at the end of your session or coming down to walk to give your horse a break.”

8. Always finish any ride on a good note

“Even if you have a terrible ride in the ring — and everyone has them — take your horse back into the warm-up and just do five minutes on a long rein, so you always finish on a positive,” advises Carl.

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

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

The scales of training are the stepping stones we use to train our horses. They help us evaluate where our horses are in their education, and form the basis of how judges assess dressage tests. Also known as the German training scale, the scales of training are used across the world.

What are the scales of training?

The scales of training are rhythm, suppleness, contact, impulsion, straightness and collection. Each builds on the others and works together to achieve progression through the levels of dressage.

1. Rhythm

Rhythm is the regularity of the beats in all paces. The regularity is the correct sequence of the footfalls and the tempo is the speed of the rhythm.

2. Suppleness

Suppleness describes how a horse is moving in terms of resistance and considers pliability, ability to smoothly adjust the carriage (longitudinally) and the position (laterally) without impairing the flow of movement and balance.

3. Contact

Contact is the soft, steady connection between the rider’s hand and the horse’s mouth. Horses should go rhythmically forward from the rider’s driving aids and seek contact with the rider’s hand, going into the contact. The horse seeks the contact, while the rider provides the contact.

4. Impulsion

Impulsion is balanced energy and should not be confused with speed. It is the transmission of controlled, propulsive energy generated from the hindquarters into the athletic movement of the eager horse. Its ultimate expression can be shown only through the horse’s soft and swinging back, and is guided by the gentle contact with the rider’s hand.

5. Straightness

A horse shows straightness when its forehand is in line with its hindquarters, that is, when the longitudinal axis is in line with the straight or curved track it is following. A horse can still be described as straight when bending – the horse’s forefeet should always be aligned with the horse’s hind feet on straight and curved lines.

6. Collection

Collection is the increased engagement and activity of the hindlegs, with joints bent and supple, stepping forward under the horse’s belly. It is the re-balancing of the horse carrying the foreign weight of the rider and teaching him to carry more of the combined weight on his hindquarters rather than on his shoulders.

How to progress through the scales of training

The progression though these scales is rarely linear, and it can be frustrating trying to work out how all these attributes apply to your particular horse. At the 2019 British Dressage National Convention, held at Addington Equestrian Centre, British team medallist Michael Eilberg captivated the audience with his explanation of how the scales of training work — and sometimes don’t work — in tandem with each other.

“There are four basic things relating to the first phase of the scales of training: rhythm, balance, suppleness and relaxation,” explained Michael. “These are four core qualities that you never want to lose throughout any work that you do with your horse.”

Michael laid out four poles in a square shape with open corners, each pole representing one of these things.

“When I get on my horse I control speed, direction and outline, and if I can start to take an influence over those three things I start getting close to linking these four qualities together,” he continues, moving the poles one by one so they end up touching, in a closed square (pictured below), demonstrating how rhythm, balance, suppleness and relaxation all feed into each other.

When this is established in the early stages of training, Michael explains that a rider can start to work the horse forward into a stronger contact, as well as introducing impulsion. He sets up two boxes outside the square to represent each of these things, but explains that most of the time, when you start to bring contact or impulsion into the mix, it is initially at the expense of one of the four original “pillars”.

“For example, I can bring in impulsion, but initially only at the expense of good rhythm,” he says, placing one of the boxes in the middle of square and rolling away one pole to demonstrate this.

“So when that is the case, I have to take a step back and reintroduce contact or impulsion to a lesser extent, only up to the point at which one of the four pillars breaks away.

“Eventually, a horse should be able to accept contact and impulsion while also maintaining rhythm, balance, suppleness and relaxation, and then it is the same process with straightness and collection.”

Adding that this is a process that takes years, Michael also reminds the audience that once you have all these qualities securely in place and working together within your horse’s training, it doesn’t always stay that way.

“As years go by however, and your horse gains strength, these things do become more and more set in stone,” he concludes.

You might also be interested in:

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8 training gems from Carl Hester that could transform your dressage scores

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

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

At the 2023 Dressage at Devon (September 28) in the USA, Danish Olympian Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour hosted a masterclass in which she shared her top dressage training tips.

Cathrine worked with a range of horses and riders, across different levels, and we’ve rounded up five exercises you can try below.

Top dressage training tips: improving the weaker canter lead

Cathrine started the evening working with Hope Beerling on the then-six-year-old gelding Marokko, focussing on improving his weaker side in canter.

“On the right, his inside front leg really comes off the ground,” explains Cathrine, “which is nice because for the horse to tuck under, and get the back to lower itself, then you need to open up in front, so that the horse feels that he can put the hindlegs somewhere.”

Marokko was a little lower on the inside front leg on the left leg so Cathrine asked Hope to touch with her schooling whip a little bit in front of the saddle: “when his front leg is in the ground and he’s about to lift it gently tap him on the shoulder.”

“It’s not that you want a huge reaction for several steps, you just want a reaction and for the inside shoulder to come up.

“Every time they do something which is maybe not perfect, but a little bit better than before, then reward them – the more we reward the horses, the more we’re going to get back.

“All horses have one rein that is worse than the other, and this is a good way to develop the canter on the weaker rein.”

Marokko picks Hope’s use of the whip quickly, but Cathrine demonstrates how she would introduce the exercise to a less experienced horse.

She starts by asking Hope to stand on the track along the long side while she takes the whip and very gently touches the inside foreleg, asking Marokko to lift it. When he lifts, Hope rewards him and then allows him to walk on.

“I’m not using the whip in a hard way, I’m just touching him to make him aware of that part of his body. Often people use the whip as an aid to push the horse forward but for me it’s a tool to touch a specific body piece, like the shoulder or the hocks.

“I don’t like to use the whip too much on the bum, because how are you ever going to replicate that with the leg?

“I prefer to keep the whip close to my boot because then I can recreate that aid from my leg and not the whip with time.”

Introducing working canter pirouettes

Cathrine starts by asking Hope to ride large in counter canter. “I want her to keep his neck straight and connect with the outside rein and use the inside leg to adjust the tempo and the rib cage,” Cathrine explains

Every now and then she calls for Hope to give Marokko a pat – “just to make sure she’s not holding him, and to let him know there’s space for him.”

When Cathrine feels Marokko has a good balance, she asks Hope to turn a little bit in from the track towards the middle of the school – but while still imagining she has the fence on the outside.

Towards the centre of the school, Cathrine then asks Hope to collect using her outside leg and turn in a small circle and head back towards the track on the other rein.

“I know the classical way to ride the pirouette is with the inside leg and outside rein, but I find it super hard sometimes when you can’t really use your outside leg because then the horse just flies around to one side,” says Cathrine.

“The reason why I use the track is to be able to use my outside leg, without the horse wobbling to one side.”

Top dressage training tips: changing how you hold the double bridle

With Lauren Sammis and the then eight-year-old mare Heiline’s Oh Land, Cathrine started by asking her to hold the double bridle differently.

“I’m a simple copycat because this is something I’ve learnt from my trainer Kyra Kyrklund,” explains Cathrine.

Lauren holds the bridoon on top of the hand, with the rein entering her fist between the index finger and thumb, and the curb rein beneath the pinkie finger, leaving four fingers between the two reins.

“It’s a nightmare when you go from having your reins in one specific way and then you swap it,” Cathrine sympathetically adds. “But the reason why I do it is because many of us can’t have lessons every day, and because of that we do a lot of the things with the reins on autopilot. Then when you do change something, for example, the way you hold the reins, it makes you aware of which rein you’re pulling and why you’re doing that.

“This way it’s almost like holding a handle. If a horse tends to fall a little bit on the forehand, then I prefer to be clear on the bridoon, and just leave the curb there, until I feel that they come up when I ask with the bridoon. If the horse comes too high then you will feel it because the curb gets tight, which is your sign to touch the curb a little bit. It allows you to be really clear with your hands.”

Introducing the piaffe and passage

Cathrine explains that in the early stages of piaffe training, she likes to go onto a small circle, turning around the forehand and thinking about getting the horse in front of her leg.

“It’s not even about the piaffe yet, or making it fancy, it’s just about getting a reaction from the inside leg,” she adds. “I prefer the horse to be a little bit bent to the outside so I can get the front legs closer to the centre of the circle.”

Taking Lauren through the exercise, Cathrine asks her for a little impulsion from the inside leg: “This is not a piaffe, but we’re looking for her to get a little bit more light-footed, which is all we want in the beginning.”

Fast-forwarding to the next step, Cathrine details how to keep the impulsion in the piaffe past the initial five or six steps.

“Instead of punishing the horse or doing something really sharp in the piaffe when they lose energy, go back to that reaction of just moving the horse away from the inside leg, and then into some smaller steps again.

“In that way, it’s a positive correction, rather than just wanting more. You don’t want to interfere or give the horse a bad experience in the piaffe – you want it to be fun for them.”

On introducing the passage, Cathrine asks Lauren to start in a rising trot, to avoid being too heavy in the seat, and to keep the whip close to her spur.

She asks for a little at a time, compressing the energy into some passage steps before riding out in a more forward trot – “to make her a little bit electric for the transition to the passage.”

“Again instead of doing too many corrections in the piaffe and passage – which should be fun – I just go back into the trot, give them a break, refresh and get some energy back.”

“I don’t want the rider to do too much with the whip either, it’s more like playing with the way you approach it with the leg.”

Relaxing a tense horse

With eventing star Boyd Martin and Commando 3, Cathrine works through how to relax a tense, fit horse in a new environment.

“These eventing horses come in on a different level of energy, so sometimes it can be quite hard to relax the horse in a ring like this,” says Cathrine. “What I prefer to do with a tense horse is to think about the neck, if the neck goes up, you feel like the adrenaline is pumping.”

Cathrine asks Boyd to allow the neck to drop and ride some short walk to halt transitions around the outside of the arena.

“This outline is of course not perfect for a show, and I know it’s always a bit risky showing a not-so-perfect outline, but it’s the real deal, we have to put the horses round to build up back musculature and to make them stronger – it’s way too hard for them to stand in the perfect position all the time.”

Cathrine then asks Boyd to ride some simple, walk-trot transitions, almost “lazily”.

“It’s harder than it looks, transitions,” Cathrine adds, “you want to start in a new ring with transitions, something simple to build up the confidence of the horse.”

“It’s a simple thing, but sometimes I feel with the hot horses that you end up going up, down, up, down really quickly. Go slower up and down, so he listens to you and you’re not just following his quick rhythm.

“If I have a horse that continues to go quicker and quicker and doesn’t really listen to transitions or me slowing my rise then I go on a circle and stand up for two steps and then sit for one.

“It’s really awkward but it makes the horse aware of what you’re doing and gets their focus back on the rider.”

You may also be interested in…

8 training gems from Carl Hester that could transform your dressage scores

Laura Tomlinson’s top 5 novice dressage training tips that suit all types of horse

Master advanced movements with top tips from Gareth Hughes and Richard Davison

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

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

When watching others ride, the 10-metre loop can look relatively straightforward. But when you’re in the saddle, you may find it feels more challenging than you expected.

Grand prix dressage rider Hannah Esberger-Hancock says: “There’s actually a lot going on with a 10m loop and practising before riding it in a dressage test is vital. The judges are looking to see a smooth change of bend and that your horse maintains balance, suppleness and rhythm throughout. The best evidence for this is that your horse remains on two tracks throughout the movement – no swinging quarters or falling through shoulders.”

So why should you include 10m loops in your schooling sessions? While they feature in plenty of dressage tests and lack of accuracy will lose you marks, 10m loops are also an excellent exercise for improving balance and suppleness, as well as introducing the horse to counter-canter.

How to ride a 10m loop

As with any new movement, visualising pulling the whole thing off can feel daunting — so let’s break it down into some practical steps you can follow in the saddle.

“Bear in mind the size of the arena you’re riding in,” adds Hannah, who holds seven national and 23 regional titles. “Everything happens much more quickly in a 20x40m arena and the line you ride to and from X is steep. In a 20x60m test, the curve you is much more gradual and it takes a bit longer than expected to reach X.”

1. Starting in a 20x40m arena in trot, begin by riding deep into the corner. Apply a half-halt on the short side to balance the trot, then push your horse into the corner with your inside leg, keeping your outside leg and contact secure.

2. While in the corner, look up and ahead to X, so you leave the track at the corner marker while maintaining activity and slight inside flexion.

“One of the biggest faults is too much inside bend, which causes a loss of straightness,” says Hannah. “It should be very slight flexion in the jowl. Instead of focusing on bend, think about keeping your horse’s neck in the middle of your body. This will help prevent curling and keep his body straight.”

3. Ride towards X — this is a steep angle in a 20x40m arena. Shortly after leaving the track, change your horse’s bend as the line you’re riding curves towards the centre line. Apply your new inside leg to push your horse into the new outside rein, keeping your new outside leg secure so he doesn’t drift.

4. The uppermost part of your loop should bisect the centreline at X. “It’s acceptable to hit the centreline just before X, but only marginally,” warns Hannah.

Immediately look for the next corner marker, and begin your return to the track by the mirroring the gradient of the first half of your curve. Be mindful of your rhythm and the pull of the outside track — your horse may drift through his shoulder to hurry back.

5. Just before you return to the corner marker, softly switch back to the original bend in preparation for the corner. Use the corner to rebalance and reestablish connection.

Once you are confident in trot, you may want to step up the exercise by performing the 10m loop in canter, bearing in mind things will be happening more quickly.

“When you’re riding a 10m loop in canter, where you would show a change of bend in trot you show counter-canter,” concludes Hannah. “The key is to keep your horse’s inside leg underneath his body and the weight off his outside shoulder. A good way to set this up is to maintain connection in the outside rein and ensure you use the outside aids to turn away from the wall, maintaining that security in the outside rein throughout.”

As with any dynamic schooling exercise, 10m loops can run your horse’s battery down. Aim for quality over quantity and give him plenty of breaks.

You might also be interested in…

How to ride accurate circles for higher marks – with advice from self-confessed ‘circles geek’ Becky Moody

H&H’s expert guide to counter canter: all you need to know

Master advanced movements with top tips from Gareth Hughes and Richard Davison

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

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

If you’re a dressage rider, whether just starting out or aiming for international competition, you’re probably looking at ways in which you can improve your dressage scores. It can often seem as though higher marks are out of reach, especially if your horse is not the biggest mover, or is less established at the level, but in fact it’s possible for any combination to earn extra half-marks here and there throughout their test. And those extra half-marks can have a big impact on your overall dressage score.

We’ve spoken to five-star international dressage judge Isobel Wessels to share some tactics riders can use at any level to ensure they’re getting the highest dressage scores possible.

1. Pay attention to your diagonal lines

“One big thing I see is that riders have no control when they ride a horse on a diagonal line,” Isobel says. “They come off the corner and don’t aim the horse’s shoulders towards the marker, but haphazardly turn onto the diagonal and drift across, ending up a few metres ahead of the marker on a shortened line with the horse not tracking straight. It’s no wonder riders make a mistake at the end of a line of changes because the horse was always drifting one way instead of staying upright.

“If you can learn to ride a really good line right from prelim level, then when you have to do an extended trot or tempi changes, you will find you are automatically on the right line. You’ve maximised your space and the horse is going in exactly the right direction according to the test. The quality of the line you ride makes the movement itself guaranteed to come off better.”

2. Remember corners are your best friend – and don’t underestimate shoulder-in

“Corners set you up for whatever happens next,” says Isobel, explaining that riding a good corner gives you more space and time to prepare for the movement that follows. She uses shoulder-in on the long side as an example of a movement that can be greatly improved simply by riding properly into the corner that precedes it.

“Riding into the corner means you are more likely to come out of it actually riding a shoulder-in. A lot of people cut the corner and then push the quarters out – but quarters out and shoulder-in are not the same thing,” she says, adding that this results in “disengaging the hind legs from the connection of the bridle”.

“Shoulder-in is a difficult movement – I don’t give out many 10s for it – but it is a really good exercise if done properly.”

3. Think like a judge – and then ride accordingly

“Riders need to look at the test and think about when the judge is actually going to be giving the mark – and then make sure you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing at that moment,” says Isobel, adding that riders should concentrate on maintaining the quality of the movement right to the end, as it is at the end of the movement that the judge will be deciding what mark to give.

For example, she says, it’s no good starting with a perfect leg yield that fizzles out by end, in other words by the time the judge actually gives the mark for that movement.

4. Focus on the easy parts to improve your dressage scores

“Sometimes the answers to getting a few more marks are more simple than people think,” points out Isobel. “If you have a horse that is not the biggest mover, make sure you really nail all those square halts, rein-backs, walk pirouettes – the nitty-gritty things that most people dislike. If you have a well-trained horse you could get lots of 7.5s and eights compared to other horses that make mistakes.”

Isobel advises riders at all levels to study the test and identity areas where they could improve their dressage scores – often with less effort.

“In a lot of tests there is a whole mark just for a transition from canter to trot for example,” says Isobel. “If you can get that right and do it well, you might be able to get an eight or a nine for it. There are lots of places where if you really take care you can elevate your score.”

You may also be interested in…

List One dressage judge Richard Baldwin reveals how riders throw away marks

8 training gems from Carl Hester that could transform your dressage scores

‘Make the most of what you have’: How to improve your dressage scores with any horse

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

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

At the British Dressage National Convention (25 November), Horse & Hound columnist Laura Tomlinson hosted a masterclass on how to prepare less experienced horses for competition and shared her top novice dressage training tips.

She was joined in the arena by her demo riders, Abbie Newbury on the then five-year-old Seagry Viceroy and Sophie Wallace on the then seven-year-old First Light. We’ve rounded up her top five tips below.

1. The basics matter

“Growing up, riding with my Dad and all through my career so far, I was never allowed to ride a flying change before my simple changes were good enough, or collect a horse until they were truly stepping forward into the hand – even on my grand prix horses I had to always keep the scales of training in mind,” says Laura.

“It’s so important with a horse of any level to keep the basics in mind, and if you spend a bit more time working on this stage of a horse’s training they’re going to give you a much nicer feel, if and when they go up through the levels.

“I like to catch the horse’s attention and make them think a little bit, so they’re having to focus on the rider and they’re less likely to get distracted,” says Laura.

In her session with Abbie, this involved riding a lot of transitions as well as giving and retaking the reins to allow the horse to find his own balance.

“We’re not asking for proper collection at this stage in their career, but balance is separate to collection,” Laura explains. “We can still have a horse nicely in balance with an uphill tendency without being in full collection.”

She was looking for Abbie to be pushing forward with her seat and leg, keeping a positive forward momentum through transitions, while encouraging the horse not to drop with his poll and fall onto the forehand.

“The better their balance at this stage and the more they build the strength to carry themselves, the easier the communication is going to be later on as they learn more movements.”

2. Use your seat, not your hands

Laura asked her demo riders to control the rhythm of their rising trot with their seat rather than their hand. She had both ride an exercise where they did a downwards transition from trot to walk using only their seat, no hands.

The nicer and more subtle the communication can be at this stage, Laura explains, the easier it will be to introduce new movements.

“If we can teach them to listen to our seat to slow down the rhythm rather than our hands, we can later teach the half-halt without pulling back and the frame shortening,” she says. “It’s something that’s worth spending a lot of time on at this stage in training.”

Likewise, she asked her riders to ride serpentines where they steered with their shoulders, not their hands. As they turned right they would bring their right shoulder back, turning their upper body towards the direction of travel, and the same on the left.

“The more our body and seat can do the less our hands have to do and the less we interfere with the horse’s mouth and movement in a negative way.”

3. Make it easy for the horses

With inexperienced horses there are always liable to be hiccups, says Laura.

“It’s important that they learn that they’re never going to be pushed above their limits and that you’re never going to ask something they can’t do.”

At the same time, she wants her riders to challenge their horses enough so that they build strength, coordination, suppleness and ability. But she wants them to do it using clear language.

“If a horse is struggling with something we have to find a new way to ask that question and make it simple for them,” she says. “Always positively reinforce the good work, but don’t reprimand the stuff we don’t want to feel – show them another way instead.”

With Abbie and Sophie, she interspersed a lot of walk breaks on the buckle, which she used as a tool to see whether the horse was relaxed over its back or holding a of tension.

4. Nailing the canter work

Before asking for any of the canter movements that come up in novice tests, Laura first wants to establish a good rhythm and connection: “So it feels like he’s taking your leg into the hand positively and politely.”

“It’s okay to carry a bit of momentum,” she says, “especially if they haven’t got enough strength to carry themselves in a collected canter yet.”

On canter-to-walk transitions, she asks both riders to give with their hands as they go into walk so that they don’t “trap” the hindlegs.

“Every time we have too much pressure in the hand we impact the hind legs,” she explains. “It’s the same as when we ask for canter, give with the inside hand to show that the inside hind leg can come through, this will help keep the transitions uphill.”

Often horses will have one rein where they find simple changes very easy, she adds, but it’s important to make sure everything is symmetrical so she recommends spending longer on the less-good side.

She introduces counter canter slowly, riding loops from the track to the centre line and then back.

“In counter canter, it’s important to sit in balance. On the right lead, keep your weight down the right stirrup, try not to shift too much to the left.”

5. Going from rising to sitting trot

“Something that we often don’t think about as riders is the difference for a horse that goes from being ridden in a long, young-horse frame in rising trot, to going up a level and having us sitting on their backs all the time – that takes time for a horse to get used to,” says Laura.

“We’ve all sat on horses that are super comfortable to sit to, but I’m sure we’ve also had horses that are hard to sit to. I think that is because when we first go sitting the horse gets tense in the back.”

When introducing sitting trot Laura does it incrementally. Here she asks Sophie to ride in a rising trot in a big circle around her, slowly adding in a few strides of sitting trot before returning to rising.

“You don’t want to just plonk yourself into sitting, but lower yourself steadily into it,” she explains. “Over the space of the circle build into the sitting trot, when you feel them start to struggle go rising again. Over time gradually build up the time spent in sitting. Remember, it doesn’t have to happen all at once.”

You may also be interested in…

‘Keep it fun and easy’: Charlotte Dujardin’s top 5 tips for developing young horses

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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

Gareth Hughes and Richard Davison hosted the “Dressage Unwrapped” masterclass at the London International Horse Show 2023, sharing exercises and tips on how to introduce the more advanced dressage movements into your horse’s training.

They were joined in the New Horizon Plastics London Arena by their demo riders: Gareth’s daughter and grand prix rider, 16-year-old Ruby Hughes and Classic Flamboyant, as well as Yasmin Ingham aboard her eventing World Championships-winning ride Banzai Du Loir.

1. Advanced dressage training tips: how to introduce flying changes

Before working on the flying changes both Gareth and Richard spent time working on the quality of the canter with their riders. The changes are all about the canter and your ability to adjust and balance it, Gareth explained.

Richard had Yasmin work on counting her canter strides between markers and then changing the canter, adding or removing a stride.

“You don’t need an arena to do this, when you’re out hacking just pick two markers, like a fencepost, and do the same thing,” Richard said.

When introducing single flying changes he had Yasmin ride a serpentine down the arena, changing over the centre line. To start with, Banzai was quite reactive to the leg, so the two were working on making her aids as subtle as possible.

“If a horse reacts and makes a mistake in change, don’t punish him,” said Gareth. “They’ve offered a reaction and that’s what we want.”

With a reactive horse like Banzai, Richard described how he wouldn’t ride a change on every loop of the serpentine. Instead, on some loops, he would keep counter canter.

“This prevents horses from anticipating the change and helps to keep them on your aids,” he said.

2. How to work on the zig-zag and count your tempis

Once the canter was established, Gareth took Ruby through an exercise that lays the foundation for the canter zig-zag in the grand prix.

On the long sides of the arena, he had Ruby ride a half-pass for four strides, ride straight for four strides, change, then straight into four half-pass strides back to the track, change, and finishing on another four straight strides before the corner.

That can seem like a lot of counting, but Gareth explained how important it is to be disciplined with counting your strides at this point – and getting it right – because the grand prix zig-zag is such a demanding movement that requires precision.

If it helps, you can have someone on the ground count your strides for you, as Gareth was doing for Ruby.

That same applies for tempi changes, for which Gareth had another tip.

“If we’re riding three-time changes, I won’t count ‘one, two, three; one, two, three,’ – instead I’d count ‘one, two, three; two, two, three; three, two, three,’ and so on,” he said.

The first number always indicates how many changes the rider has made. With precision again in mind, Gareth wants his riders to get into the habit early of riding a set number of changes, even in training.

3. Ride the shoulder-in forwards

Richard explained how the trot and canter should be adjustable during lateral work. He had Yasmin ride transitions within the pace in both shoulder-in and travers – at times extending the stride and at other times bringing it back.

“From the side, you shouldn’t be able to tell the horse is in shoulder-in or travers, the quality of the trot should look the same,” he said.

When people start to introduce lateral work they tend to bring the horses back too much. In contrast, Richard had Yasmin riding some medium trot strides in shoulder-in, which you wouldn’t find in an eventing dressage test, but riding these movements in training teaches the horse to maintain the impulsion when lateral work is introduced.

4. “Change one thing at a time”

When working on the canter pirouette, Gareth started by asking Ruby to ride travers along the long side, making sure to keep the impulsion in the canter, before bringing the same exercise onto a circle around him. Ruby started by bringing the circle smaller, until it was around eight metres, still in travers. Gareth then asked her to gradually collect until the canter resembled a pirouette-canter.

“Training the pirouettes is like us going into the gym and squatting, it’s very demanding of the horse and you can’t ride it every day,” Gareth said.

To exit the travers on the eight-metre circle, Gareth first asked Ruby to ride straight, and then forward. This sequential pattern – riding straight and then forward – changing one thing at a time, is important because horses remember patterns explained Gareth.

“If Ruby had asked for both straightness and forwardness at the same time, the next time she asked the horse to go straight, she would also go forward,” he said.

The same rule applies to training sessions more broadly, with Gareth describing how he won’t just take his advanced horses through all the higher-level movements in a single session.

Rather, he might work on changes one day and then piaffe-passage the next before giving the horse a rest or taking them hacking.

He will also return to the advanced dressage training tips and exercises he shared here to focus on perfecting the foundations.

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

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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

Looking for some some new exercises to add to your dressage training at home? Having some new ideas to shake up your schooling is often beneficial for both horse and rider, as it’s easy to get stuck doing the same things day after day.

Luckily the German dressage legend that is Christoph Hess shared plenty of ideas for useful dressage exercises at the 2021 British Dressage National Convention, to revitalise your training regime and help achieve a better way of going from your horse.

1. The one-handed circle

Ride a 15 or 20m circle in either trot or canter, then pop your reins into your outside hand. Let your inside hand drop down by your thigh as you give with your outside hand.

“Many riders use too much inside rein,” explains Christoph, who advises using this exercise at shows before you ride into the arena to help your horse relax. “This helps the horse be in front [of your aids] and opens the frame. Let it happen, and don’t be afraid of the outline changing.

“This is a good dressage exercise to help a horse relax and be supple and it’s good to help the rider be supple and balanced in the saddle.

“The horse may go over the bit, but the suppleness and relaxation will develop. For me, from a scales of training point of view, suppleness is the most important. Without suppleness nothing else works! And happy, relaxed horses are more supple horses.”

2. Transitions on a circle

Canter a 20m circle, then make a transition to trot and ride another circle, before repeating.

Christoph advises shifting your mindset around transitions, so that a canter to trot transition, for example, should not be framed as the end of the canter, but rather, the start of the trot.

“You are not finishing the canter, but starting the trot. Continue to use your driving aids, rather than making the transition with your reins,” he says, explaining that maintaining this forward thinking in your schooling “helps keep horses mentally happy” during their dressage exercises.

3. The light seat

In canter, come into a light seat on the long side, and give and take the reins on a long rein, before riding into a circle and giving and retaking the reins again. Christoph explains that riding in a light seat helps the horse work more over the back, and also develop more natural balance, which will lead to better self-carriage.

“It is important for the horse to be able to produce natural gaits. It is good for riders of all levels to give the back a little more freedom. Giving a longer rein helps a horse use his body and open the body. You should be able to ride a whole test in a light position,” he says.

“Many riders think dressage is just sitting trot, but I think the light seat can also be an important part of a dressage session. The light seat is a position that makes horses happy; it is a welfare position.”

4. The give and retake

Not just that annoying movement in the test; Christoph explains that the simple give and retake of the reins is one of the most useful dressage exercises to use in training.

“We want to always open through the throat-latch, so the horse is always seeking the bit and takes a steady contact,” he says. “Especially in tense horses – don’t be afraid to give that rein. When the horse gets more and more open in the neck and the frame, they can start to swing more over the back.”

5. Holding the saddle

Think the days of holding onto the saddle for balance are behind you? Think again. For Christoph this is a valuable exercise to help improve your sitting trot.

“First of all, never use sitting trot if you don’t already have a good feeling. Use rising trot instead,” advises Christoph. “The best way to learn to sit with the horse’s movement is to use rising trot, then ride a transition from trot to walk. For the last 5-10m go sitting, and put one hand on the saddle so you find balance, while swinging with your pelvis for the last few metres before you come down to walk.”

6. 6-8m circles

To work towards collection while maintaining energy from behind, as well as straightness, Christoph advises riding a 6-8m circle in the corner of the arena, before coming out of it and riding shoulder-in down the long side.

“Collection without impulsion is worthless, and I’ve yet to see a horse at any level who has no issues with straightness,” Christoph points out.

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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

Riders are required to show four types of canter – working canter, medium canter, collected canter and extended canter – as they progress through the levels of dressage. You might think that a medium canter simply means a faster canter, but this is not the case. Medium canter is a more energetic version of working canter that covers more ground because your horse’s stride and frame lengthens, but less so than with extended canter.

Medium canter first appears in British Dressage novice level dressage tests where you’re required to simply show a few strides. Clear transitions in and out of medium canter are not required until elementary, but you will get better marks if you can show them.

How to introduce medium canter

Before you can teach your horse medium canter, you need to ensure that you have an independent seat and be able to ride a good half-halt. Your horse also needs to accept an elastic rein contact and be able to engage his hindquarters. Before you start you want to make sure your horse is in front of your leg.

1. Ride down the long side in a working canter. As you approach the corner, ride a half-halt to transfer your horse’ weight back onto his hindquarters.

2. To create more engagement and keep your horse straight, ride him in a slight shoulder-fore position as you exit the corner from the short side.

3. On the long side, ease your hands forward fractionally while keeping your leg on. Avoid throwing your reins away because you’ll lose the connection. Your horse should stretch forward to seek the contact while lengthening his stride to cover more ground.

Gradually increase the number of medium canter strides over time and concentrate on maintaining balance and rhythm.

What the judge is looking for in the medium canter

The judge is looking for the following qualities:

• Good transitions into and out of the pace
• Consistent tempo and the rhythm 
• Lengthened frame and stride 
• Uphill balance
• Rider remains in balance without leaning backward
• The horse is supple and seeks an elastic contact without hollowing
• The horse remains straight and does not bring his hindquarters to the inside

How to improve medium canter

Louise Bell suggests training the medium canter on a circle as it helps to contain your horse and keep him round while you put the power in.

Begin by working on a spiral, riding a a 10-15m circle in working canter. As you spiral out and the circle gets larger, add more power from behind.

Then, while on a 20m circle, ride in a very slightly shoulder-fore position, keeping your horse straight so that his quarters don’t fall in or out. Be sure to ride inside leg to outside rein.

Once you can ride shoulder-fore on a circle, ride large around the arena – if your horse tries to take hold, put him back on a circle and regain control from your seat. Avoid pulling on the bit to bring your horse back as the canter has to go forward from the seat and come back from the seat.

When riding a test, Louise suggests using the corner before the medium canter to put your horse in a slight shoulder-fore position to engage the inside hind and keep the engine running. Then, when you’re on a straight line, you can release the power immediately for a transition right at the marker.

Louise also suggests to aim for a slight shoulder-fore feeling (but without the bend) when you’re in medium canter, ensuring there is enough power and engagement – this will help with straightness.

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Throughout the levels of dressage, riders are asked to show four types of walk – medium walk, collected walk, extended walk and free walk on a long rein. The extended walk first appears in British Dressage elementary level tests.

Walk is an important pace in the sport of dressage as there’s often a coefficient mark for walk movements, meaning they get a double score. When training can be tempting to neglect the walk in favour of the more interesting trot and canter movements, but nailing the walk sections can really boost your marks.

What is extended walk?

In extended walk, a horse should step forward with energy from his hindlegs, swinging through his back and using his shoulders to cover as much ground as possible. The hind feet should clearly overtrack the prints left by his front feet, and the horse should reach forward for the contact, extending his neck horizontally as he does so. The four-beat rhythm should remain regular and consistent with no changes in tempo or signs of tension – and your horse should stay soft and relaxed. The extended walk can a deceptively difficult movement to ride well and it takes practice to get it right.

Extended walk vs free walk

These variations of the pace have similarities, but the main difference is that in free walk your horse is stretching out and down into the rein, whereas in extended walk he should be marching and stretching forwards with the poll remaining as the highest point. Although you’re aiming for your horse’s steps and frame to be as long as possible – as in the free walk – the extended walk should demonstrate uphill balance.

How to introduce and improve extended walk

Teaching your horse how to perform an extended walk begins with encouraging him to lengthen his stride and there are several ways to do this.

1. Poles

Placing poles on the ground can encourage your horse to lengthen his stride without the step becoming too flat, as well as having the added benefits of keeping your schooling sessions varied, encouraging concentration and making him think.

Start by placing three poles out with a walk stride between them and then gradually increase the distance between the poles, thereby pressing your horse to stretch a little further with each step.

2. “Pedalling”

“Pedalling” is a riding technique that helps to increase your horse’s suppleness and loosen his back, which in turn will enable him to lengthen his stride.

As your horse walks, notice that his ribcage swings from side to side each time he takes a step. When the horse’s left shoulder is the furthest back, his left hind leg pushes off, and his ribcage swings to the right at the same moment. As it swings to the right, allow a bit of energy to bounce down from your right hip into your heel, and do the same as the left side swings away with your left hip – this should increase the stride length.

It’s called pedalling because as you move the energy into each heel, they drop down in a similar action to pedalling a bike. Be sure to avoid grinding your seat against the saddle as you “pedal” – it should remain still and you should not rock from side to side.

3. “Panther walking”

This exercise helps to develop your horse’s extended walk. It’s called panther walking because your horse should be stretching forward into the contact and using his back, similar to the way a panther would stalk prey through the jungle.

To ride the exercise, ask your horse for long strides – think marching but not hurried, and avoid nagging with your leg. He should be walking forwards himself and using every part of his body. Allow your hands to follow his head movement without restricting him. When you’ve got this powerful rhythm, imagine your reins are pushing your horse’s nose forwards with every stride.

Pitfalls and common problems with the extended walk

There are several common problems that are seen with the extended walk…

Problem: lack of activity

Solution: if you feel your horse is ignoring your leg, give a quick, slightly sharper leg aid to regain his attention rather than continuing to nudge him – if he loses activity he won’t work through his back properly and any throughness will be lost. Be sure not to give the contact away – keep your leg on and relax your arms, particularly through the shoulders and elbows, to allow the neck to move without lengthening the rein so that the horse can extend while maintaining the connection from behind.

Problem: tension and jogging

Solution: if your horse puts jogs when you put your leg on to ask for long strides, try riding a 10m circle to encourage the horse to accept the leg and step forward with activity, then return to the extended walk without losing the connection between your leg and the horse’s side. Remember that you need to ride a “hot” horse with your legs on, and a less-forward horse with the legs off between applying new aids.

Problem: poll coming too low

Solution: this is caused by lack of activity – encourage your horse step forward with more purpose and activity so that he takes the bit forward and out, rather than out and down like he would in free walk.

Problem: hollowing through the back

Solution: open and relax your hips to lighten your seat, which will allow your horse to move forward and swing through his back, rather than pushing down or scrubbing with the seat.

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An unorthodox training regime has helped propel Dutch dressage rider Dinja van Liere into the big time. A newcomer to five-star competition in 2021, Dinja won individual bronze at the world championships last year on Hermes NOP, and impressed at the Commercial Bank CDI Al Shaqab last weekend (24 February) with second string Hartsuijker to win the grand prix. They scored 75.15% to take the victory, 2.28% ahead of Patrik Kittel and Touchdown. José Antonio Garcia Mena was third on 72.26.

For the past four years, Dinja has been training with reining champion Rieky Young, which is an unusual path for an elite dressage rider. However, the two disciplines have an alliance, especially in the Netherlands – Anky van Grunsven switched to reining after retiring from international dressage.

“My trainer Rieky Young rides in reining, but it’s really that she’s a horsewoman,” Dinja explained. “With Hermes she’s done such a good job, but also with this horse. She really understands him and his needs. It’s a perfect fit, and makes him a very happy athlete – which is what is most important for me in a horse.”

The aesthetics of reining and dressage may be superficially worlds apart, but Dinja outlined why her system works.

“It’s about taking it back to basics,” she said. “With reining or dressage it’s the same principle, you want them really light in your hand and in front of your leg, to be straight and carrying his own body. It’s the same whether you’re doing reining, or dressage or jumping. I can ride a good overall test, but Rieky is great working on the basics and makes sure that when I do exercises I get those basics right. She’s really sharp on that, which helps me a lot.”

But Dinja is not tempted to follow her compatriot Anky into reining competitions.

“I’ve only tried reining once, on one of Rieky’s horses, who was really easy,” she said.

Dinja van Liere: ‘He really wants to please me’

Dinja was delighted with her “very sweet” liver chestnut gelding by Johnson, who produced a neat and mistake-free test. His marks were consistently around 7.5, with the canter pirouettes the highlights and commanding eights from all five judges, as well as a couple of 8.5s for his passages at the end of the test.

“It’s a difficult arena to ride in,” Dinja added. “There’s a lot of echo, it’s big, the atmosphere is very different to outside, where it’s really hot, but he was really always trying his heart out. He was a bit afraid, but he pulled out such a nice test. He’s a very honest horse, always wants to work, wants to go. He really wants to please me. It’s like at the end of the test he’s asking, ‘Was it OK? Was it good enough?’”

“He has such a big heart – his name means Heart Sugar! He’s really growing in every competition to be a very stable grand prix horse and understands the game now.”

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

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

When competing at or training for dressage, whether you have a young or established horse, the overall aim is to use the scales of training to work your way up through the dressage levels.

Each of the levels of dressage features a number of different dressage tests. Each test is unique, but tests within the same level share the same movements. As you progress through the levels, tests will include movements and paces learnt at previous levels as well as the new ones that are introduced at each stage.

Many riders compete at one level, but train at a higher level at home. This ensures that the horse and rider are confident with the movements being ridden in competition, giving the partnership the opportunity to demonstrate their skills to the best of their ability.

Levels of dressage competition in Britain

The sport in Britain is governed by British Dressage, who are responsible for the provision and regulation of competition, while international competitions are run by the FEI. British Dressage host two major championships annually at each level, which are known as the Nationals (prelim to grand prix) and the Winters (prelim to inter I), as well as many regional championships, festivals and other team competitions. 

The British dressage levels are as follows…

Introductory

“Intro” is the first level and includes halt, plus simple walk and trot movements, including free walk on a long rein, trot-walk-trot transitions, 10m circles at walk, half 10m circles at trot, 20m circles and three-loop serpentines at trot and allowing the horse to stretch in trot. The tests are ridden in a 20×40 arena and designed to show that horse and rider are beginning their training on correct lines, with an emphasis on rhythm, suppleness and contact.

Preliminary

Canter is introduced at “prelim” level. You should expect to ride 20m circles in canter, 15m circles in trot as well as stretching in trot, plus 10m half circles at walk. All of the work requires the partnership to show they are establishing rhythm, suppleness and a good contact. Tests at this level can be set in 20×40 and 20×60 arenas.

Novice

Novice tests introduce some medium trot and medium canter steps, but the quality of the steps is prioritised over the number of steps shown. Novice also sees the introduction of counter canter and progressive transitions from walk to canter when a few strides of trot may be shown. In trot, circles of 10m or larger as well as serpentines, are required. Canter circles can be 15m or larger. Giving and retaking of the reins, 10m loops in trot, and changes of canter lead through trot can be expected. The scales of training should be becoming more established, including rhythm, suppleness, contact, impulsion, straightness and the start of collection shown through the downward transitions.

Elementary

This level is the first that requires the early stages of collection to be shown in the form of sufficient engagement of the hindquarters to carry out the movements with ease and balance. Elementary is the first level to introduce lateral work with the leg yield and shoulder-in in trot. You’ll also be required to ride collected trot, collected canter, stretching in canter and simple changes. Canter circles can be down to 10m. In the simple change of leg, the downward transition may be progressive, but walk to canter should be direct with the walk steps clearly shown. Rein back is first seen at elementary level. Double bridles are first allowed at this level, although they are not compulsory.

Medium

Once at medium level all of the scales of training should be established, with the horse showing suppleness, elasticity and impulsion to be able to collect and extend its paces on request. The horse should show a marked degree of self-carriage, lightness and cadence. Extended trot and walk pirouettes are first seen at medium. More lateral work is required including shoulder-in, travers, and half pass at trot and canter are also introduced. Medium is the first level at which sitting trot is mandatory, although you can rise for medium and extended trot movements.

Advanced medium

Expect to see single flying changes at advanced medium, and the introduction of 8m circles (or voltes) that are ridden at trot and canter. Sitting trot is required for all trotwork at this level.

Advanced

This level requires you to ride canter half circles with the quarters in as a stepping stone towards canter pirouettes, plus four- and five-time tempi changes. At advanced level you have the option to begin wearing a tail coat instead of a short competition jacket. All test are in the 20×60 arena.

Prix st georges

Often shortened to PSG, this level marks the start of international competition. It introduces the half canter pirouette, three-time tempi changes and simple changes of leg after a canter half pass (from counter canter to true canter).

Intermediate I

At “inter I”, expect to ride two-time tempi changes and a full canter pirouette.

Intermediate II

“Inter II” introduces one-time tempi changes, flying changes after a half pass, piaffe and passage.

Grand prix

This is the highest level of dressage and is regarded as the ultimate test. This is the level you’ll see at the Olympics, World Championships and FEI World Cup competitions.

US dressage levels

National level dressage competition is governed by the United States Equestrian Federation. There are five levels of national tests, which are followed by international levels.

Training

Comparable to prelim in Britain, at this level competitors should show the horse has true natural paces, is obedient, calm and relaxed. The USEF states that the level should “introduce the sport of dressage, confirming that the horse and rider are beginning to develop an understanding of correct dressage basics. The horse should be ridden freely forward in a steady tempo and clear rhythm, accepting contact with the bit. An understanding of test accuracy and geometry should be demonstrated.”

First

Comparable to British novice level, at first level the horse should now be able to show some lengthened strides in the trot and canter and perform some 10 or 15 metre circles in trot and canter. The USEF states that level aims to ensure “the horse demonstrates correct basics, by showing suppleness both laterally and longitudinally, moving freely forward in a clear rhythm with a steady tempo, and readily accepting contact with the bit. Correct geometry and lines of travel should be shown.”

Second

This level, which is similar to the British elementary level, introduces collected trot and canter, counter canter and rein-back. According to the USEF, this level “confirms that the horse demonstrates correct basics, and now begins to accept more weight on the hindquarters as the collected and medium gaits develop. A greater degree of straightness, suppleness, throughness, and balance are required to perform the movements with ease and self-carriage.”

Third

Comparable to medium and advanced medium, the movements at this level should be executed without tension. It introduces the walk half pirouettes and flying changes. The level, according to the USEF, “confirms that the horse demonstrates correct basics while maintaining consistent uphill balance and self-carriage. Increased engagement facilitates clear differences in collected, medium, and extended gaits with well-defined, balanced transitions. Movements should be accomplished with harmony and ease due to the increased balance and collection. The horse must demonstrate a greater degree of throughness, suppleness, straightness, and bending.”

Fourth

At this level, which is similar to advanced level in Britain, half and full pirouettes are required in canter, and counter-canter and four-time changes are also expected. The USEF says that this level shows that the horse “has developed sufficient throughness, suppleness, balance, and impulsion to perform with ease the exercises at this medium level of difficulty. The horse has established consistent self-carriage and lightness through improved connection, engagement, and collection. The movements and transitions are performed with greater straightness, impulsion, and cadence.”

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What is medium trot?

Medium trot is a type of trot where the horse is lengthening his stride so he is covering more ground with each step than in working or collected trot, but not as much as is required in extended trot. It is described as ‘moderate lengthening’.

A good medium trot should be uphill and the horse’s hindlegs should come under his body to create impulsion. He should not hurry in this pace but should remain in balance, while his outline will lengthen slightly as his head comes slightly in front of the vertical.

What are the benefits?

Medium trot can be a useful tool to help develop your horse. It can be used to refresh the working trot if it becomes a little flat. It will also develop the carrying power of his hindlegs, while riding transitions to medium trot – for example, from shoulder-in – will help develop suppleness and engagement.

At what level do you ride medium trot?

You’ll first encounter this trot at novice level if you’re competing in British Dressage. At novice, you need to show a few strides, but at elementary you will be required to show it from marker to marker.

How to ride medium trot

Preparation for medium trot is key – if your horse is not balanced and engaged, he will fall onto his forehand, break into canter, or lose the rhythm as he attempts to lengthen his stride.

Ride a half-halt to gain your horse’s attention and engage his hindleg – contain the energy your leg has created.

Make sure your horse is straight and working into an even contact. Ease your hand forward and apply your legs to allow your horse to move smoothly forward and up into the medium trot. Allow with your hand so that the horse can lengthen his whole frame, not just his stride.

Use a half-halt to transition out of medium trot, keeping your leg on so that he doesn’t fall onto his forehand, and be sure to maintain the rhythm.

How to introduce medium trot

Before introducing medium trot strides, make sure you’ve established a good working trot in which your horse is working through his back to seek the contact.

To teach your horse medium trot, first ride down the long side of the arena. Then before you reach the corner, use a half-halt to ensure your horse is balanced. Ask your horse for a slight shoulder-fore position as you ride through the next corner, which will bring his inside hindleg further underneath him.

Straighten up on the next long side and ease your hands a little more forward. Apply your legs on the girth to encourage your horse to stretch forward with his head and neck as he seeks the contact.

As you ease your contact, the energy you’ve created should push forward as your horse follows the bit. Keeping your leg on asks the horse to lengthen his frame and stride so that he covers more ground.

Gradually increase the number of medium trot strides until your horse is strong and balanced enough to manage more. Focus on maintaining the rhythm, tempo and balance.

Polework can also be a useful tool when introducing medium trot, but take care to avoid placing the poles too far apart to begin with. Start with a distance that is comfortable for him and gradually make the distance longer.

How to improve your medium trot

A good medium trot should be uphill and the hindlegs should come under the body to give impulsion. For a horse’s balance and development, it’s essential for them to learn to take the weight back on to the hindlegs.

Grand prix dressage rider Anna Ross uses this exercise to improve a horse’s medium trot.

The exercise uses the half walk pirouette to balance the horse and encourage him to “sit” and flex his hock joints in preparation for medium trot. This is a 180° turn in which the horse’s hindlegs lift up and down in a small circle.

While your horse is learning, you can make the circle larger and half-pass back to the track if necessary, keeping the bend and the engagement.

• Start on the track along the long side, approaching the corner at either the A or C end. As you go past the marker nearest the corner, collect the walk and keep it active. Start the walk pirouette before you reach the corner.
• Start the walk pirouette in shoulder-fore position, with your weight slightly to the inside. Keep your outside leg on just behind the girth and encourage the horse to step forwards and sideways. At the start, think of riding a half-pass, and as the horse turns back towards the track, ride travers.
  In the pirouette, maintain the impulsion so the horse turns with even steps.
• When you get back to the track, move up into rising trot and then ask the horse to lengthen into medium trot, for no more than the length of two markers.
• Quietly bring the horse back to walk before the corner marker and then repeat the walk pirouette the other way.
• Repeat several times. If the horse is executing a balanced medium trot, then trot around the short side and try without the pirouette. Don’t allow the quarters to drift to the outside — keep the outside leg on and your shoulders following the movement. Also avoid pushing the horse out of his rhythm and balance. If he starts to run, bring him back into the walk pirouette.

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In collected trot, the horse offers a shorter length of stride when compared to working, medium trot or extended trot.

What is collected trot?

The collected trot requires the horse to carry himself in a more condensed and uphill frame, while offering a shorter stride length.

It should not be slower in tempo than the working trot and the horse should maintain active impulsion and a regular two-beat rhythm throughout, as in all the variations of trot.

To perform a good quality collected trot, the horse needs to transfer the weight off the forehand back on to the hindquarters, creating more energy from behind so he can push himself uphill into the bridle.

The horse’s head and neck should not fall behind the vertical and you should aim for the horse’s face to be on the vertical, or slightly in front of the vertical depending on the horse’s conformation.

When is collected trot seen in dressage tests?

Under British Dressage rulings, collected trot is introduced in tests at elementary level. At this level, basic movements such as 10m circles and some lateral work is required to be ridden in collected trot, while some working trot movements are also retained. From medium level upwards, working trot no longer features in British Dressage tests.

What are the benefits of collected trot?

Teaching your horse how to work correctly in collected trot can be useful because it:

• Helps the horse develop more lift and cadence in the stride
• Helps the horse work from behind while lifting the forehand
• Moving from working to collected trot and back again helps the horse become more responsive to the aids
• Develops the horse’s strength and muscular development; as he needs more energy and impulsion to shorten his stride, he must make his hind legs work harder to push them underneath the body
• Adds variety to the training programme

How to ride collected trot

To ride a collected pace, you must be able to ride an effective half-halt, which will shift your horse’s weight back onto his haunches, bringing his hindlegs further underneath him and lifting his back.

Wrap your legs around your horse’s sides and keep your leg softly on to encourage your horse to continue moving forward with energy. Close your fingers around the reins to contain the extra energy, but without pulling back as this will block the horse and cause resistance.

The combination of these aids will adjust your horse’s forward momentum back onto his haunches. At first, ride with this level of collection for just a few strides only, and then revert to working or medium trot. Once the horse is strong enough, he will be able to maintain the collection for longer.

How to introduce collected trot

Aim to teach him to shorten his steps, but stay quick in the rhythm – he should not slow down. Begin by riding from trot to walk and then from trot to a ‘nearly walk’, then ride forwards again, and build from there.

Avoid staying in collected trot for too long – collect your horse for a few strides, then ride forwards again. It’s better to do a few good steps instead of staying in collected until he gets tired. As the collected trot develops, you’ll feel your horse becoming lighter in front and easier to manoeuvre.

A common exercise is to practise riding a few collecting strides on the short sides of an arena and returning to a working or medium trot on the long sides.

What you don’t want to see in collected trot

Avoid these pitfalls when training collected trot:

• Using the reins as the primary aid to collect the trot — this can cause the horse to shorten his neck and place his head behind the vertical.
• The rider slows the horse down rather than collecting the trot — don’t confuse speed and collection. The horse should maintain the same rhythm and tempo of pace he would offer in working trot. The aim is to shorten the stride, not slow the horse down.
• Asking for collection before the working trot is well established — before you ask your horse to train towards collected trot, you must ensure that he is comfortable in a balanced and swinging working trot. A good working trot should be active and rhythmical, while the horse remains relaxed with a free-moving shoulder. Once your horse has found his balance in the working trot, you can move onto asking for short periods of collected trot
• The horse isn’t responsive to the aids in the upwards and downwards transitions — if your horse doesn’t respond quickly off your leg and doesn’t understand how to move through the paces — for example, he can’t move from trot to walk, and walk to trot with a simple leg and seat aid — then you should work on this before you ask for different variations of trot. Ensuring your horse understands the half-halt is essential, too.

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Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

At its most basic, understanding how to use leg pressure when riding a horse is simple. You are asking the horse to yield away from your leg, so using one leg moves the horse sideways away from the pressure on that side, while using both legs means you are asking the horse to go forwards. Sounds easy. But achieving the desired reaction while consistently using the lightest of aids requires a rider with the ability to use the right amount of pressure at the right time and in the right place.

How to get a response

The first step in how to use leg pressure when riding a horse, is to teach the horse to react to a gentle or light leg aid. This is critical to training a horse, whatever the discipline or level the horse is working at.

Dressage legend Kyra Kyrklund explains: “A horse feels a fly land on his skin, so ideally, he should be listening to a whisper. Think of aids – whether hand, leg or weight – in terms of small, medium, large and extra-large. If you don’t get a response from a small aid, use medium, then large. You might need to use extra-large, but it is important you always go back to small next time, otherwise the horse will shut off. If you start to use a bit more leg, and a bit more leg, then it doesn’t mean anything anymore.”

Kyra also warns of another common misconception: “I have seen riders across all disciplines squeezing with their legs all the time. Do not squeeze! If you do this, you literally squeeze yourself out of the saddle. Also, squeezing tenses muscles and having tense muscles means you don’t ‘feel’ as much as much as you do with a relaxed muscle. Basically, if a horse doesn’t respond to the leg aid, the answer does not involve squeezing more with the leg.

“The leg aid is like an ‘impulsion’. Think of how the horse reacts to a tap of the whip. If there is no reaction, you don’t squeeze with the whip. You tap again, maybe a bit sharper. The same goes for the leg aid.

“A sensitive horse may need a bit more of a calf contact not to overreact, otherwise it will be like an electric shock for the horse when you put your leg on. Imagine you have a spring between your calf and the horse. You don’t want to squeeze the spring together, but neither do you want to let it go.

“If the horse is working as you want, you should be able to sit still and not use your leg aid. As with all aids, not influencing the horse is his reward. The horse then learns it is the easiest way of going.”

Dressage rider and trainer Damian Hallam, who is a former event rider and showjumper, expands to explain why consistency is key: “You praise the horse by switching off the leg aid and I also use my voice to reward him. Reward is something that should be easy for the horse to pick up on, which is why you need to be consistent.”

Riding transitions between the paces as well as within paces gives Damian valuable feedback to check responsiveness: “The horse will only improve if the rider is consistent in what he expects. Transitions are the framework of training the horse to react to the rider’s aids. They provide valuable information as to whether the horse is listening to the commands.

“So often, riders will recognise a transition wasn’t good enough, but not go back and explain to the horse how he needs to do it better. The horse’s reactions will only improve if the rider is consistent in what he expects.”

How to use leg pressure when riding a horse

When using the leg aid to maintain impulsion, Kyra uses an interesting analogy: “It is a bit like riding a pushbike. You pedal to gain a certain speed. To maintain a constant speed, you don’t pedal all the time. You only pedal when you are going too slowly.

“We’ve all heard a trainer say ‘more leg’, but what does ‘more leg’ actually mean? You have to understand what they are asking. Are they asking for a longer stride in the same rhythm or a shorter step in the same rhythm or a quicker rhythm?”

Check how well your horse is responding to your leg aid by riding transitions. Start with the easiest, halt to walk, repeating the transition until the horse moves off immediately with a light aid. Reward your horse straight away for his response by “switching off” the aid and not influencing him. Make sure your hands are soft and giving when you apply the leg aid; it is easy to become tense and inadvertently “block” the horse.

The aim

Once you have achieved “whisper” leg-aid responsiveness, then you can start to influence the horse to a whole new level.

Kyra says: “I try to use my leg in the rhythm I want the horse to go, like a dance partner, but I want him to follow me, I don’t follow him. I have to be the one who is leading the dance. If you use your leg quicker, then you can make the rhythm quicker.”

Why intent matters

So, your horse is beautifully trained to the leg aid at home, but come competition day, it all goes to pot. That begs the question, why?

Damian believes it is down to some riders behaving differently under stress: “They either tend to bombard their horse with commands or go as quiet as a mouse. The result is that some horses become agitated. With dressage horses, if the rider becomes overbearing, it is common for them to go into their shell as soon as they go between the white boards.”

Recognising which category you fall into will help, but Damian feels there is another important factor that makes all the difference as to how your horse responds at a competition: “Horses, like dogs, read our minds; that’s the level they communicate on. It is to do with intent. Horses gain confidence from the rider and if the rider only half means the leg aid approaching a fence, the horse receives a message of half-intent – ‘go, but I’m scared’. You’ve got to be committed.

“You sometimes see someone flapping their legs all the way down to a fence, but the horse knows when the rider’s heart isn’t in it. Intent is a million times more powerful than strong leg aids, which is why good riders are steely in their intent and soft in their bodies. It comes down to whether a rider really means it.”

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

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits. 

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