10/15/2025
💬 “Why do you school all those movements if you’re not showing this week?”
It’s a fair question — and one I hear more than you’d think.
Because here’s the truth: Dressage isn’t just about the test.
Every movement has a purpose. Every exercise is a tool. And when used right, each one gives something back to the horse.
Let me show you what I mean:
✅ Shoulder-in: Improves straightness, suppleness, and helps a tight or anxious horse soften into the bend without losing forward intention.
✅ Travers & Renvers: Build power in the hind leg and teach the horse how to carry weight instead of pushing. For horses that rush or fall apart in transitions — these are gold.
✅ Half-pass: Refines coordination, balance, and connection through the outside rein. Great for horses who "leak" through the shoulder or struggle to stay through.
✅ Walk pirouettes: Excellent for teaching collection, control, and understanding of the inside leg to outside rein — without overloading the joints.
✅ Canter-walk transitions: One of the best tests of balance and obedience. When this gets good, so does everything else.
✅ Flying changes: Not just a trick. They help a horse become more honest in the canter, more connected from back to front, and more responsive to the aids.
✅ Extended and collected gaits: These teach adjustability. A horse that can truly extend and collect is a horse who understands their body, their balance, and their rider.
This is how we build athletes. Not by drilling the test — …but by schooling the art.
And when it’s done right? The test becomes the easy part.
