Forward Thinking Dressage

Forward Thinking Dressage Classically based competitive dressage instruction, training, clinics and coaching.

Gwyneth McPherson has been competing, training and teaching classically based competitive dressage for over 30 years. Her mentors, all US Olympians, Lendon Gray, Carol Lavell and Michael Poulin, trained within the same system. Gwyneth teaches and trains horses and riders of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of training, with the belief that dressage is for all horses, and all riders can learn the

Grand Prix movements. Gwyneth recently relocated from New England to a small farm outside of Williston, FL and is available for lessons, clinics and coaching at competitions.

I was remiss in posting my first article for July, which discusses spurs-- a topic inspired by a recent conversation wit...
07/16/2025

I was remiss in posting my first article for July, which discusses spurs-- a topic inspired by a recent conversation with a student of mine in Maine.

I know I have touched on the various aids, both natural and artificial, but I don’t think we’ve had much discussion about the purpose and correct use of the spur.

Given some of the things I’ve seen recently, I think it’s a topic well worth highlighting.

And their purpose and how to use them correctly (rather than like a jerk). Dressage training is supposed to be the process of training ANY horse to be a better riding horse. The more the horse learns, in theory, the easier it is to communicate with and therefore complete more complex tasks with. Alt...

I'm often asked why pulling isn't the answer-- specifically for things like stopping. While there are situations when pu...
06/18/2025

I'm often asked why pulling isn't the answer-- specifically for things like stopping. While there are situations when pulling may be necessary, it is not productive training.

This week's article for Horse Nation explores that.

This week I'm tackling another reader submitted question, this one focusing on why we pulling on the reins is such an egregious sin in dressage. Spoiler Alert: It kind of is. Dressage training is supposed to be the process of training ANY horse to be a better riding horse. The more the horse learns,...

This week's article discusses the rider's aids-- specifically why it's important to understand that the aids tell the ho...
06/04/2025

This week's article discusses the rider's aids-- specifically why it's important to understand that the aids tell the horse what to do, they don't *make* the horse do it.

Aids are meant to tell the horse what to do. They are not meant to MAKE the horse do it. Let's discuss why this seemingly subtle difference is key to effective training. Dressage training is supposed to be the process of training ANY horse to be a better riding horse. The more the horse learns,...

Instead of taking or giving all the blame, riders should understand that the results of their aids, good or bad, are alw...
05/21/2025

Instead of taking or giving all the blame, riders should understand that the results of their aids, good or bad, are always the rider’s responsibility (but not necessarily their "fault"). This focus on responsibility is key.

This week's article discusses why:

Instead of taking or giving all the blame, riders should understand that the results of their aids, good or bad, are always the rider’s responsibility (but not necessarily their "fault"). This focus on responsibility is key. Let's discuss why. Dressage training is supposed to be the process of tra...

Language is a funny thing, being simultaneously necessary and unavoidably imperfect…And yet it is a crucial component of...
04/23/2025

Language is a funny thing, being simultaneously necessary and unavoidably imperfect…

And yet it is a crucial component of our training and learning. This article discusses a few of the ways in which language fails us in training, why we need to recognize this, how to work within it, and what it means for the training process overall.

✨"This is exactly why there is so much discussion and disagreement about what is acceptable in riding and training techniques: because language is not the entirety of the knowledge, there’s a physical, experiential aspect as well that has to be learned and combined with the theory."✨

Language is a funny thing, being simultaneously necessary and unavoidably imperfect... In this week’s article I want to discuss a few of the ways in which language fails us in training, why we need to recognize this, how to work within it, and what it means for the training process. Dressage train...

Let's talk about suppleness, which may be one of the most important things a dressage rider needs to understand in order...
04/17/2025

Let's talk about suppleness, which may be one of the most important things a dressage rider needs to understand in order to train effectively. ⭐

Most riders are familiar with the concept of suppleness, or at least think they are. 🤔

Usually, they recognize it as the horse’s ability to bend its neck equally well in both directions. Sometimes people notice suppleness as an inherent trait in a quality dressage horse.

But the reality is that suppleness has more than these two definitions. In this article we will look at the different types of suppleness and how to recognize them:

Yes, there is more than one type -- and knowing what they are and how to recognize them is critical to training in the right way. Dressage training is supposed to be the process of training ANY horse to be a better riding horse. The more the horse learns, in theory, the easier it is...

When it comes to training exercises, lateral work is perhaps one of the most useful groups of exercises in the developme...
04/09/2025

When it comes to training exercises, lateral work is perhaps one of the most useful groups of exercises in the development of the horse as they are fundamental to developing both suppleness and eventually collection.

And, contrary to what some would say, lateral work is used to IMPROVE things like being forward and the overall quality of the trot; you do not need a perfect trot before you use lateral work.🧐

Let's look the different types of lateral work, specifically how they are supposed to be performed and what their benefits are:

Lateral work is perhaps one of the most useful groups of exercises in the development of the horse as these exercises are fundamental to developing both suppleness and eventually collection. Dressage training is supposed to be the process of training ANY horse to be a better riding horse. The more t...

This week's article focuses on demystifying the half halt. I've heard it described in many ways by multiple individuals,...
04/07/2025

This week's article focuses on demystifying the half halt.
I've heard it described in many ways by multiple individuals, and the main takeaway has been that not many people actually understand what a half halt is. 🤔😅

"The half halt is a beautiful, effortless way to ask your horse..." The half halt is many things, and entirely critical to good, effective riding. But it is generally invisible when done well and rarely is it "effortless." Let's discuss. Dressage training is supposed to be the process of training AN...

Have you ever considered why the standard dressage arena is the very specific size and shape that it is? Spoiler alert: ...
04/03/2025

Have you ever considered why the standard dressage arena is the very specific size and shape that it is? Spoiler alert: It does serve a purpose. 🤔😅

In my experience of teaching dressage, I find that very few riders know why the standard dressage arena is the size and shape that it is. And, because of that, they often do not know that the arena is actually a size and shape that promotes the training of certain qualities.

So let's look at the specifics:

Have you ever considered why the standard dressage arena is the very specific size and shape that it is? Spoiler alert: It does serve a purpose. Dressage training is supposed to be the process of training ANY horse to be a better riding horse. The more the horse learns, in theory, the easier it is.....

At a show early this year, I watched a rider try to pilot a young warmblood through a training level test while a litera...
04/02/2025

At a show early this year, I watched a rider try to pilot a young warmblood through a training level test while a literal storm blew in on top of them. 😳

Although said horse tried VERY hard to be civilized, he was absolutely terrified and the rider ultimately withdrew right before their final centerline (after doing a few airs above the ground, scampering away from a run away letter blowing by, and nearly landing in the judge's lap 😬).

Clearly, it would have been prudent for the rider to consider the atmosphere, what was likely to be gained (or lost!) by attempting the test, and then --upon realizing there was no way that the score wouldn't be rubbish and plenty of ways to give their horse a bad training experience-- to opt out of that particular "learning opportunity."

Something that is often forgotten (probably because we get ahead of ourselves) is that setting your horse up for future success over the course of the season often includes not actually competing....

In that vein, although this article was originally written around Championships last fall, it's still relevant, and offers some excellent things to consider when competing as well as for developing your plan for the season.

With Regional Championships well underway and the show season in Florida starting to ramp up, this week's article discusses some of the things to consider when developing your plan for the upcoming competition season. Dressage training is supposed to be the process of training ANY horse to be a bett...

This week's article discusses what positive and negative riding actually are, and why the mindset with which you approac...
03/24/2025

This week's article discusses what positive and negative riding actually are, and why the mindset with which you approach your training is so crucial to the outcome being successful.

Those words ALSO do not mean what you think they mean... at least not in the context of effective training. Dressage training is supposed to be the process of training ANY horse to be a better riding horse. The more the horse learns, in theory, the easier it is to communicate with and therefore comp...

Because it is critical to the training process, let’s take a moment to talk about what effective aids are and what they ...
03/20/2025

Because it is critical to the training process, let’s take a moment to talk about what effective aids are and what they absolutely are NOT.😬

Training horses means educating them to be better at responding to our aids and the exercises we use in dressage help horses become better at being ridden. But this is IF we give aids that actually help the horse understand what we expect of them; if the horse does not understand the correct response to the aid, you’ve got nothing (productive, anyhow 😱). We must also remember that training is simply repetition over time. A horse is only capable of what he repeats every day.

So let's look at what works and what absolutely does NOT:

Because it is critical to the training process, let's take a moment to talk about what effective aids are and what they absolutely are NOT. Dressage training is supposed to be the process of training ANY horse to be a better riding horse. The more the horse learns, in theory, the easier it is to...

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Gwyneth has been competing, training and teaching classically based competitive dressage for over 30 years. Her teachers and mentors, all US Olympians, are Lendon Gray, Carol Lavell and Michael Poulin; all of whom also trained within the same system.

Gwyneth teaches and trains horses and riders of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of training, with the belief that dressage is for all horses, and all riders can learn the Grand Prix movements.

Gwyneth is accepting horses for training and sale and is available for clinics and coaching both at Broad Park Equestrian Center and your location.