Dressage Is Not Brain Surgery
That’s right. As FEI/USEF dressage judge Janet Foy says in her book Dressage for the Not-So-Perfect Horse, “No one will die if you make a mistake. No one has had...
That’s right. As FEI/USEF dressage judge Janet Foy says in her book Dressage for the Not-So-Perfect Horse, “No one will die if you make a mistake. No one has had...
Like the day Zayn announced he was leaving One Direction, today is one that history will remember with bittersweet tears. Today, Valegro officially enters retirement. His send-off ceremony at Olympia, the London...
It was almost two years since I started riding again after the surgeries. My left leg had not fully recovered but I had my life back. There would be no...
When aren’t we seeking a breakthrough? That “aha!” moment when the lesson clicks and we and/or our horses not only get it but can do it (whatever “it” might be—square halt,...
Olympic team bronze medalist Ashley Holzer tells the story of how she fell in love with dressage at first sight, as told to Carley Sparks. I was about 10 years old....
Everyone has one. That one friend who loves Las Vegas just a little more than the rest of us. The one who plans annual trips to The Strip for an...
Charlotte Dujardin can't talk about it without getting weepy. Neither can longtime groom, Alan Davies. But with Valegro's final performance at London's Olympia Horse Show fast upon us (December 13-19,...
Have you ever dealt with a horse with an unsafe hind end? You know, the type that could wheel around, kick you in the forehead and land you in the...
Acclaimed dressage rider Robert Dover is famed for many things. The four Olympic team bronze medals he accumulated during his international career. His impressive track record as chef d'equipe of the U.S....
Ah, the corners of the riding arena…so often haunted by bogeymen and other mysterious “somethings” certain to cause a scoot or a spook. By a year or so into your...
Have you ever had the unpleasant experience of trying to explain to a non-equestrian that much of modern day riding technique, and dressage in particular, comes from a military background?...
It's fall in New York City which can only mean two things: Pumpkin Spice lattes are back at Starbucks, and Charlotte Dujardin is back at the Rolex Central Park Horse...
When I first laid eyes on my gelding Laeser (that’s pronounced lay-ser, not la-seer or lee-ay-czar—I’m looking at you show announcers...) I was stunned by his handsomeness and privileged to...
Of the three Olympic equestrian disciplines, dressage is generally the least-loved outside the horse world. “Horse Dancing,” as it’s regularly called by non-equestrians, lacks the suspense of a potential refusal...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM1fF0LiH9o Turning down that final center line Charlotte Dujardin (GBR) knew she'd left it all in the ring at the Deodoro Olympic Park in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. The defending...
A cohesive sports team is typically characterized by a high level of mutual respect, admiration, shared goals, and a driven work ethic. And, if you're on the American Olympic dressage...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQFsqUWWsPM You might say Fiona Bigwood is married to her job. Her spot on Great Britain's formidable Dressage team in Rio is evidence of that, but it's her commitment to...
“The elusive 80 percent! We captured it…it exists,” laughed Laura Graves. The US rider and her veteran partner Verdades broke the 80 barrier in the Grand Prix Special in Rio,...
Lots of athletes have pre-competition rituals to settle jittery nerves. For Russia's Inessa Merkulova's 12-year-old Trakehner Mister X, that ritual involves his owner reading novels to him before their Grand...
At just 21, Sönke Rothenberger (GER) is the greenest rider on the German Olympic team. His horse Cosmo, just nine, is the youngest competing in dressage. Together, they beat a...