While some horses find galloping easy, for many it is something that needs to be taught. Five-star winner Austin O’Connor, cross-country specialist Tom Crisp and Olympian turned coach Nicola Wilson share their tips in this exclusive article for H&H subscribers
We spend hours training our event horses to be soft and supple on the flat, and careful and accurate over a fence, but most of us spend far less time teaching them to stay balanced and controlled at the gallop. Is it a case of teaching a fish to swim or can we actually improve a horse’s gallop?
Cross-country maestros Austin O’Connor and Tom Crisp point out that despite this gait being such an integral and important part of an event horse’s armoury, it is the one that riders typically spend least time training.
“I generally don’t take my horses to the gallops until they’re competing at three-star level, but I do spend a lot of time before that laying good foundations,” reveals the 2023 Maryland five-star winner and reigning Burghley runner-up, Austin O’Connor, who explains that adjustability at a faster pace is something that needs to be worked on.
How to improve your horse’s gallop
“Younger horses and those competing at the lower levels of eventing don’t need to be going to the gallops, but they need to learn how to open up and come back in the canter, and I will work on this at home, mostly when out hacking,” adds Austin.
Tom Crisp starts sowing the seeds from an early age.
“All my five-year-olds do a bit of fast work,” he says. “I think it’s important that it becomes part of their work routine sooner rather than later so they learn how to gallop in balance before they start getting to the higher levels.
“Horses with a lot of thoroughbred blood in them will naturally find it easier to open out and cover the ground, but they might not find it as easy to compress the canter and keep the power.”
Train on varied terrain
How, where and when you do your fast work will depend on factors such as the horse’s type and temperament, and the facilities that are available to you.
Tom explains that his current stable-full of rides vary enormously in their stamp, which makes him “think outside of the box” when it comes to training them at speed.
“I ride everything, from nippy thoroughbreds to slow and deliberate warmbloods and they all need treating a bit differently,” he says. “When they move up the levels, the warmblood types might need fast work every three or four days, while more thoroughbred types might only need it once a week.
“I used to do almost all my gallop work up hills, but I’ve started varying it a lot more since a racehorse trainer pointed out that if you are always on a hill the horse is never learning to move his legs quickly [because the incline changes the mechanics of how the horse gallops]. I’ve taken this forward in the way I train some of mine.
“Hillwork is great for fitness and for making a horse work hard without putting extra mileage on his legs, but if you want to teach him to sprint and cover the ground more quickly you might also need to gallop on flatter ground.”
Working on different gradients, surfaces and at different speeds will all help improve your horse’s gallop.
(Image credit: William Carey)
Strength, balance and control in the gallop
“To build strength you need to come and go in the gallop and not just keep going at one pace,” Tom continues. “I might do a couple of short, sharp gallops one week and one long one the next. It just depends on the horse’s natural core fitness and their temperament – which bits they find easy and which bits you need to work on.”
Austin adds: “You have to find a balance because if you do too much fast work too soon, when the horse isn’t strong enough, then you are at higher risk of them injuring themselves.”
Just as you teach a horse to be on your aids in walk, trot and canter, a horse must stay between your hand and leg at a gallop.
“The way a horse gallops is just as important as how much or how often he does it,” says Tom. “You should always be thinking about balance and control – don’t just let the horse steam off. He must allow himself to be balanced by accepting the rider’s leg aids.”
Adapt training for your horse
Top coach Nicola Wilson agrees that there is no one-system-fits-all.
“Every horse has its own strengths and weaknesses and you have to spend time improving the things they find most difficult,” she says.
“Modern warmblood types typically have more expression in their paces and tend to go up and down when you ask them to go forward, and have more explosive power, while thoroughbreds find it easier to lengthen out, flatten and cover the ground.
The 2025 European champion London 52 is a big-moving warmblood who has learnt to gallop at the required speed for top-level success.
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)
“Confidence plays a big role,” adds Nicola. “The more the horse is accustomed to working up and down the gears, the more they will naturally start to open up and flatten out in the gallop.”
Teaming up for training
Working upsides can be beneficial to improve a horse’s gallop, especially when a natural galloper is paired up with one who’s a little less confident.
“Working horses in company is a good way of making them more competitive without putting a gun to their head,” says Austin, who explains that his superstar grey, the 2025 Burghley runner-up Colorado Blue, benefits from this approach.
“‘Salty’ falls into the laid-back category and needs a bit of encouragement to work at home, so I always gallop him alongside another horse to keep him keen and interested,” he reveals. “On the other hand, a horse that gets too lit up may be better galloping on his own. It’s about knowing each individual.”
Nicola adds: “If you do gallop your horse alongside another, just be mindful that the lead horse doesn’t get too far ahead or it can have the opposite effect on the slower horse and leave him feeling a bit demoralised.”
Working horses in company can encourage their competitive instinct.
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)
Rules for fast work
1. Warm-up properly
Always start a fast work session with at least 10-15min of walk, trot and slow canter to warm up and switch on muscles, and help prevent injury.
2. Make use of the facilities you have
Not everybody is blessed with a gallop on their doorstep or fields suitable for galloping across within hacking distance of the yard.
“There is lots you can do in your day-to-day riding that will help your horse’s adjustability and balance in a faster pace,” says Nicola Wilson.
“In your normal canter work, whether that’s in the arena or out hacking, practise going from a more open canter to compressing the canter but keeping the horse connected and powerful – this is the foundation of cross-country riding.”
3. Be patient
It is important not to push too hard too soon. Some horses take longer to develop their strength and learn how to maintain their balance and stamina than others.
“Learning how to sustain a gallop is part of a horse’s natural development, so be patient and give it time,” says Nicola. “Quiet repetition is the key.”
You can’t expect your horse to gallop efficiently if you’re not balanced in your position. If your horse is strong, bridging the reins – looping your left rein into your right hand and your right rein into your left hand so each hand holds the rein twice – can help by giving you more security.
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