11/15/2025
When trainer Geoff Case watches riders flatting their horses, he sees a lot of the same thing: people lapping the ring, zoning out, and missing a huge opportunity. âItâs one of my biggest pet peeves,â Case said. âPeople just go around the outside, staring off into space. Thatâs not riding. Thatâs exercise.â
In Caseâs eyes, flatwork isnât just something to do when youâre not jumpingâitâs where you actually become a better rider.
To Case, a good flat session should feel like a jumping round. âYou should be riding lines, bending, adjusting your rhythm,â he said. âEvery step is a chance to make something better.â
He encourages riders to ride patterns and turns with purpose. âDonât just stay on the rail,â he said. âUse the whole ring. Make a circle, ride across the diagonal, do transitions in different places. Ride like youâre setting up for a jump.â
That kind of thinking builds skills that directly transfer to the show ring. âWhen you ride with that much attention, the horse gets sharper, you get straighter, and suddenly your distances show up easier,â he said.
The flat, he added, is where you learn timing, balance, and control without the distraction of fences. âIf you canât organize yourself between the jumps, you wonât do it over them either.â
For Case, good riding starts with details: straightness, rhythm, transitions, and connection. The riders who stand out to him in the warm-up ring are the ones who treat flatwork like an art form, not an afterthought.
âYou can tell the difference between someone whoâs just getting around and someone whoâs actually training,â he said. âItâs in the way they ride their corners, how they prepare for a transition, how the horse looks in the bridle.â
That difference shows up in competition. âWhen youâre in the ring, itâs too late to be figuring those things out,â he said. âIf youâve already practiced being precise on the flat, itâs automatic when youâre showing.â
Case also pointed out that judges can spot the riders who do their homework. âEven in a jumping round, you can tell who spends time on the flat,â he said. âTheir horses are balanced and adjustable. Itâs obvious.â
Many riders, especially less experienced ones, rely on the rail for security or spacing. Case urges them to break that habit. âThe rail becomes a crutch,â he said. âYou stop steering, you stop thinking. You let the wall do the work for you.â
Instead, he suggests riding off the track, staying a few feet inside the rail to keep both you and your horse accountable. âWhen you come off the wall, suddenly you have to ride,â he said. âYouâve got to keep your line straight, keep the horse between your leg and hand, and make the turns yourself.â
At first, this can feel uncomfortable, but thatâs exactly the point. âItâs supposed to feel different,â Case explained. âThatâs how you know youâre actually doing something.â
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