23/10/2026
Riding doesn’t begin when we sit on the horse.
What if riding is simply another position?
Meet Angelica Hesselius, presenter and co-organiser of the R+ Horse Summit 2026.
Angelica is the founder of the Reward Based Riding School, a Certified Riding Instructor and a member of the Knighthood of Academic Art of Riding. She has taught dressage since 2010 and has spent the past decade developing a structured, reward-based approach that can carry horse and rider from their very first steps together towards balance, collection and advanced gymnastic movements.
In her presentation, Riding Is Just Another Position, Angelica and her horses will give us a glimpse into their daily gymnastic work—exploring different gaits, lateral movements and balance from a variety of positions.
We often separate groundwork, lunging, long reining and riding into different activities. But Angelica approaches them as connected ways of exploring the same gymnastic ideas.
By changing our position, we can offer support where the horse needs it most, make a particular part of a movement clearer and help the horse carry their understanding from one context into another. The horse doesn’t need to learn a completely new language every time the human changes position.
We’ll see Angelica work from the front position, through short reining, lunging and long reining—with and without tack—and, of course, from the saddle.
The position may change, but the gymnastic principles and reward-based communication remain connected.
Because riding doesn’t have to be the beginning—or the final destination. It can be one expression of a shared gymnastic language that travels with horse and trainer, from the ground to the saddle and back again.
Early Bird tickets are available until 25 October 🐴
