Pyramid Equestrian

04/03/2025

I love this! Let the reins breathe. This is the essence of harmony.

I was maybe 21 or 22 when I had a lesson that’s stayed with me ever since.

It was one of those early spring days when the arena was still cold, but the sun was shinning.

My horse, a spirited youngster, was tense, and so was I. We were both fighting each other, me trying to hold everything together, him trying to escape everything I was holding.

My trainer at the time was soft-spoken, but her feel in the saddle was sharper than any words. She called me into the middle with just a glance.

She didn’t say much. Just walked up, took the reins from my hands, and held them for a moment.

Then she looked at me and said,
"You’re holding your breath. And you’re holding the reins the same way."

I laughed awkwardly, because she wasn’t wrong.

“Okay,” I said. “Soften my hands. Try not to die. Breathe. Got it.”

But she shook her head.

“No, it’s more than that,” she said. “The reins are the breath of the ride. They should move like breath. Expand. Release. Flow.”

I don’t remember the rest of the ride. But I remember sitting in silence at the end of the day, thinking about what she said.

Back then, I didn’t fully get it. I was too focused on outline, on contact, on “getting it right.” But over time, the lesson kept echoing back to me. Especially in the harder rides, the ones where nothing seemed to click.

And I started to notice:

When I held my breath, I held the reins.
When I was soft and present, so were they.
And when the reins breathed, so did my horse.

The reins aren't tools of control.
They’re a shared inhale, a shared exhale.
A rhythm not made of sound, but of feel.

Now, years later, it’s one of the first things I feel for in every ride:

Are we breathing?
Are we listening?

Because that space, the space between pressure and release, between ask and allow,
that’s where the magic lives.

That’s the breath of dressage.

03/12/2025

A delayed post, but we had a blast at the chilly Pinehurst Dressage schooling show by Sporting Services! 4 brave students strutted their stuff and all achieved their goals. Kathy and Jimi got out there at 2nd level again, and won their class and came home with some great homework (leg means go, Jimi!). Nancy and Crosby went out after a 4 year show hiatus, and successfully completed Training 3 and First 1, placing first with a 69%! Rochelle and Kobe and Ann and Mickey came with my help with coaching in the warm up and reading their tests, but did everything else themselves for the first time, even the trailering and warm up! Rochelle delt with Kobe's nerves like a pro and kept it all together, making it look quiet and easy. Ann and Mickey had some discussions the first test and came back with a much more harmonious ride the 2nd test. They rode 4 lovely Western Dressage Intro tests between the 2 of them, mastering the main goals of a first show: stay on and stay in!
EVERYONE did a great job of riding the geometry of the tests that they practiced so diligently at home. I'm so happy seeing these ladies getting out there and having fun!

03/04/2025

Don't be afraid to suck for as long as it takes to get good. Fear of failure isn’t really about failure—it’s about what failure means to us. We’re not scared of messing up; we’re scared of being judged, embarrassed, or proven our worst insecurities right. . Mark Manson

12/22/2024

Some fun pictures of Captain Nemo! From the Fall Pinehurst Schooling Show. 6 yr old Dutch HH gelding. photo credit

11/07/2024

H. SZOVALJO and Allison dance their way into FEI and achieve the final scores needed for Allison's USDF Silver Medal during their debut at Prix St George! NCDCTA put on a lovely show and we got blessed with amazing November weather!
PC: Hightime Photography

10/17/2024

Pinehurst Harness Track Sporting Services fall schooling show was a huge success! The first outing for most of these horses in a long while!

Huge congrats to Kathy and her beautiful Jimi, rocking their Second 1 rides with a high score of 69% and blue ribbons! Jimi has had a string of bad luck, and Kathy's determination and dedication to keeping him healthy and happy has been inspiring. This was their first outing in nearly 3 years!

RU Ready to Rock, lovingly owned and bred by Tami Noftz was literally a rock star this weekend! He scored an impressive 76.6% in Western Dressage Intro level, and 69% in Basic Level, winning all 5 of his classes! This was his second outing this year, the first not so successful as he was extremely buddy sour. After 2 weeks of "sleep away camp" with Allison, he was a happy camper and a perfect gentleman all weekend.

Wilderness Farm's Captain Nemo, owned and loved by Cathi Jensen, was also a wonderful boy! This was the first outing with Allison since his arrival to NC late spring. He had a light summer due to her judging travels, but has been back to solid work, winning all 4 of his Training level classes, with scores in the upper 60s to 70%!

And last but certainly not least, was Allison’s own H. Szovaljo, aka Sam. He tried his hand at PSG this weekend, scoring 62 and 65.6% from a S judge, even with a few piloting mistakes! We are looking forward to the next recognized show to try for my USDF Silver medal!

09/07/2024

One of the places that I have the luxury of teaching and training is at McLendon Hills Equestrian Center. It is an Equestrian community centered around the enjoyment of horses, not a competition barn (though some riders do compete regularly). They hosted 2 in-house shows over the past 2 years, primarily to allow riders to showcase to their friends the accomplishments they've developed with their equine partners as well as to give some Century Club Riders the chance to earn this lifetime achievement award through the Dressage Foundation. Enjoy the photos below! The only Pyramid rider I didn't capture a photo of was Darlene and her standardbred ex-racer Bug. A HUGE congrats to Rochelle and Kobe, winning the Western Dressage High Point award (75%!) and all of her classes! And another HUGE congrats to Jody and her old man William for winning the Traditional Dressage High Point, with a 74%!! Everyone did a fantastic job and had an amazing time.

07/29/2024

I have seen this at several shows I have judged recently, and had some clinic students ask about it as well, so I thought I would make a whole post about it.

The Shoulder-In. We all know a shoulder-in is a 3-track movement, where the horse is bent around the inside leg, opposite the direction of travel. The angle should be 30 degrees, so that the inside hind leg travels on the same path as the outside fore leg. The neck should not be over bent, as the bend should occur from the horse displacing the rib cage to the outside, and the neck follows the curve of the body with inside flexion of the jaw. The inside hip of the horse will lower, creating more engagement of the hind end with an increased lifting of the withers via the thoracic sling muscles.

The question has arisen- when you are riding the shoulder-in and it is immediately followed by either a circle or a turn across the arena (a turn at E or B, or a short diagonal line), SHOULD YOU STRAIGHTEN THE HORSE FIRST? The answer is NO, do not straighten, but ride directly into the next movement. This will allow the movements to flow together and the horse can maintain bend and balance. If your shoulder-in ends at E and your circle begins at E, there is no room or time to straighten.

YES, You DO need to straighten before the CORNER, because the movement ends at the corner letter, and you should ride PAST the corner letter for your corners at 2nd level and above. If you have questions about that, throw them in the comments, and I can give you a geometry tutorial.
(This photo is not a shoulder-in, but does show the reach of the hind leg and lowering of the croup, and bend through the rib cage.)

07/27/2024

What an amazing year it has been in my judging career! I have had the privilege of apprenticing with 6 incredible USEF S judges as I prepare for my USEF "r" Dressage Judge license exam. From a FEI 5*, 2 4* and L faculty members, these judges offered their invaluable expertise to help prepare us to become stewards for the horse, to help educate riders through constructive, thoughtful comments on their competition rides, and learn the ins and outs of officiating at recognized shows. These apprenticeships have brought me literally across the country and back. Beginning at HITS in New York, to my hometown of Pinehurst, NC, to the beautiful west coast of Southern California at Del Mar and Oregon at Devonwood EC, and the incredible World Equestrian Center in Ocala, FL. Our exam is back in NY in August. I feel so blessed to have gained wonderful new friends and colleagues during this journey. My clients at home have been so supportive of all of my travels, as has my incredible husband and son. We'll see you soon, NY!

03/17/2024

Reminiscing about my eventing days with Genuine Risk as the Carolina International 4* was held over the weekend here. I scribed for the 4* dressage with Peter Gray again, though I missed the cross country day as I was judging at the Sport of Horses Park dressage show. Always a good time there!