Working With a Strong but Willing Mare

“The walk feels quite good so that is when I will go to the trot. If I feel that she gets a bit resistant, I will go back to the walk.

“It’s all about learning.”

“Can you see when I take the left rein? I’m not just holding it. I play a little bit with it. So taking, giving, taking, playing a little bit with it and giving.”

Listening to the Rider’s Aids

“We are looking for a shortened frame, not just a shortened neck. We want her frame a little shorter from her tail to her ears. A great way to do that is a little lengthening in the canter then bringing her back.”

“You want to hold the half-halt a little bit longer to finish the half-halt. I don’t want to do a little lengthening in canter, give one half-halt, then let go because she wouldn’t get it. You want to really finish the half-halt where you can say, ‘Right here I feel quite comfortable releasing and she stays with me and collected a few strides on her own.’”

“Within the trot, do a few transitions. Start with posting trot. Do a gentle lengthening and allow her to go. For her, you don’t need to push much. Then, sitting trot to bring her back. Even if you get a walk step that is still much better than her running through the bridle.”

“Expect lightness.”

Improving Responsiveness

“When you lengthen the canter, do just about 10-15 meters of lengthening along the rail—no longer. Then, bring her back to a collected canter. Build it up daily to go longer in the lengthening but not faster.”

“For collecting, it is a holding leg—not a pushing forward, driving leg—with support from the seat.”

“When going from trot to halt, see if you can eliminate the walk steps before she halts.”

Watch & Learn on E+

• You can watch Steffen Peters’ entire series on managing a strong mare here on EQUESTRIAN+.
• For additional videos featuring Peters’ top tips and training strategies, click here.
• From short training tips to how-to videos and insider-access to private clinics and lessons, learn more from top dressage experts on EQUESTRIAN+.

About Steffen Peters

Born in Wesel, Germany, Steffen Peters gained a solid dressage foundation in his birth country before moving to San Diego in 1985. He struck out on his own as a trainer in 1991 and become a U.S. citizen in 1992. Peters worked his way to the top level with the support of special horses and sponsors, achieving impressive results. He is a six-time Olympian who earned team silver (2021) and team bronze (1996, 2016) medals. Peters collected team silver (2018), team bronze (2006) and individual bronze (2010) at the FEI World Equestrian Games, team and individual gold at the 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games and the 2009 FEI Dressage World Cup Final title. He and his wife, Shannon, run SPeters Dressage in San Diego, California.

Here, Ashker explains how her experience as a five-star eventer helps with her upper-level Grand Prix dressage movements and vice versa. You can also watch a video of her demonstrating this concept below.

From Drop Jumps to Pirouettes and Piaffe

“In eventing, especially when coming down to the head of a lake or dropping into water, you have to create balance in your horse. You can see in the video as I prepare for my left half pirouette turn, I stay behind my horse so he can more easily lift his shoulders for the turn. And then I ride him out. We repeat it one more time. I take my time and am very patient as I continue to stay behind him to keep his shoulders lifted.

“In piaffe, it’s the same idea. You want your horse’s shoulders to lift, not his head. There’s a big difference. And in order for the horse’s shoulders to lift, his back and rear need to drop. You horse can’t do this if you’re ahead of him all the time.

“Here, I’m going to demonstrate my position. You should always be able to draw a straight line from your shoulder to your hip and down to your heel. It’s very similar to our takeoffs over some cross-country jumps because it requires us to naturally balance our horses. The jumps actually help us do this. In dressage, we obviously don’t have jumps, so we have to use our position and posture to achieve that balance.

“In the piaffe, it’s a very light aid with the hand. Then, my legs alternate to ask my horse to lift his front legs. There’s a very fine line here between throwing him out of balance with my position. I continue to stay behind his motion to allow his shoulders to lift, and I might allow him to travel just a bit to keep the steps the same.

“In summary, if you do both eventing and upper-level dressage, be proud of being an eventer. Improving your position on cross country will only make your position that much better in your dressage work, no matter your level, and it will be more supportive for your horse.”

About Laine Ashker

Five-star eventer and dressage professional Lainey Ashker has competed in numerous FEI competitions at the five-star level, including the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials CC14* and the Defender Burghley Horse Trials CC15*. The horsewoman, who trains out of her Keystone Acres farm in Chesterfield, Virginia, also won the National Eventing Championship (Advanced Level) in 2013 aboard her long-time mount, Anthony Patch. More recently, she won her first CDI in May 2023 aboard her upper-level dressage horse, Zeppelin.

For more with Laine Ashker, click here.

This video is brought to you by Absorbine.

Here, Kampsen shares her flat-class do’s and don’ts at the walk, trot and canter and how to optimally position your horse on the rail to get the most out of his gaits in any under-saddle flat class. Plus, she talks about how you can impress the judge from the moment you enter the show ring and her pet peeves as a judge.

At the Walk: Mind Your Number & Get Your Horse in Front of Your Leg

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a hunter or equitation flat class, you want to showcase yourself and your horse in the best light.

“As your class is called to order, position your number slightly toward your outside hip in whichever direction you’re tracking first so the judge, who’s usually on the outside of the ring, can clearly read your number. If the judge can’t tell who you are, you can’t be evaluated. But be careful not to pull it over so far that your arm ends up blocking it.

“When you’re being judged at the walk, establish a nice, forward gait. You don’t want to be dinking along or slouching. If you don’t care, why should I as a judge care? You want to have a light feel of the reins and your horse should be in front of your leg, because you know the rising trot is coming next.

“I have my assistant Vanessa acting as our judge on the far side of the ring, so I’m going to try and do my best work in front of her while she can see me and my horse clearly.”

At the Trot: Position Yourself Wisely

“As we progress to being judged at the rising trot, I didn’t love my horse’s headset and he was being a little fussy. So, I used the corner and went to the outside of the ring to make the necessary adjustments where I could hide a little bit.

“As you’re trotting, look around and try to identify the best mover in the class, and position yourself away from that horse. You can also look for a horse who’s not the best mover and place yourself closer to that horse to make yours really shine.

“Here, I have a nice medium trot, but my horse is a little unfocused so I’m going to use this corner to guide his nose on the track. We’re traveling on the quarterline and there are jumps in the way, so I have to go through and then steer back around. That won’t show my horse in his best light.

“What I want to do is establish a nice trot in a place where there’s not another horse between me and the judge. Then, I get him in front of my leg while keeping his head down and just leg him go. If he gets a little low, I’ll pick his nose back up in the corner and then give again.”

At the Canter: Straight Track to Help Your Horse Lengthen and Shine

“When you’re asked to go back to walk following the rising trot, find a medium walk to prepare for canter. To avoid picking up the wrong lead, which is a major fault, think about where you are in the ring and try to position yourself where you have the best chance of picking up the correct lead.

“I like where I am now, so I strike a canter right away. I like to canter in two-point, but other very famous riders like to stay seated. It’s really whatever works for you and what shows off your horse in the best light.

“This was a poor turn on my part because I have to weave in and out of the quarterline jumps again, which is more challenging at the canter. It also puts me at risk of falling off my lead. If that happens, I’ve already lost my class and will use the rest of it as training for my horse.

“Keep your horse in front of your leg, and you want him to be interested in his job. The smart track here is to go to the outside of the quarterline, so we’re moving on a straight track where my horse can lengthen and really shine without me touching his face. This horse holds a very nice shape; his nose is out just a notch and he has a good rhythm and look to him.

“When I go back to the walk before changing directions, I trot a few steps. It’s always a good idea to reverse to the inside, maintaining that medium walk and not dinking along. Keep your horse focused and interested. And when you reverse at any gait, always remember to slide your number over to your outside hip to ensure the judge sees you from the different side.”

Tips and Pet Peeves

• “We all come into the show ring because we’re working toward something. That might be as simple as becoming a better rider at home. So take pride in what you’re doing.
• “If you come in the ring and your boots are dirty, or your horse is, that doesn’t impress me as a judge. If you didn’t care enough to take the five minutes needed to polish your boots, then why should I care about your performance in a flat class?
• “You don’t need to have the flashiest, most expensive horse or the most expensive clothes. Just present yourself in a very nice, traditional way in the hunter ring. I don’t like to see a lot of bling because the rider should aim to disappear and allow her horse to shine.
• “I want to judge the horse and not be distracted by a rider’s outfit or messy hair. These are all things that are within your control before you enter the ring.
• “If your horse misbehaves or isn’t paying attention, correct him in a polite way. Don’t kick or rip on the reins or get angry. That does not teach him anything. Riding is always a work in progress, and you should strive to learn something new every day.
• “This is a presentation-based sport and I want you to show me that you care enough to put that effort in, first and foremost. Then, your performance comes into play.”

For More:

• For more hands-on training tips and video demonstrations with Keri Kampsen on EQUESTRIAN+, click here.
• You can find more of Kampsen’s advice on how to improve your performance in the show ring on Practical Horseman here.

About Keri Kampsen:

U.S. Equestrian “R” judge in hunters and equitation, Keri Kampsen is the owner and founder of Two Goals Farm, LLC, in Wellington, Florida. She has judged prestigious competitions such as the Devon Horse Show, The Capital Challenge Horse Show and the 2021 ASPCA Maclay National Championship, which she won in 1997 in Madison Square Garden in New York City. As a junior, she also rode Monticello to the 1996 Large Junior Hunter and Overall Junior Hunter Horse of the Year titles. Since then, she has won multiple championships and horse of the year titles in the hunter divisions as well as ribbons in the grand prix ring. Kampsen and her business partner, Lexy Reed, specialize in the training and sales of hunters, jumpers and equitation horses and also teach riders of all levels.

On the other hand, the disadvantage in having a division dedicated to equitation is that success in the division sometimes becomes an end in itself. That attitude is not healthy, in my opinion. If you learn equitation only in hopes of winning the finals and then never ride again, that does a disservice to the whole concept of equitation. To the riders whom I hope the division rewards (and for whom I look when I’m judging), equitation is a means to becoming better—whether their ultimate sport is hunter/jumper, riding cross-country, pleasure riding or something else.

To give you some insight on what a judge is looking for when you ride in an equitation class, I’m first going to explain what I believe are the components for success in the division. Then I’m going to let you look over my shoulder and share my thoughts as I am judging. As I explain how I arrive at placings, I’ll point out how some of the things that affect my scoring will also affect how you might perform in another discipline, such as hunters or jumpers.

The Basic Pieces: Stylish and Effective

The basic elements I look for when I judge an equitation class are exactly the same whether I’m watching riders on the flat or over fences: style and effectiveness in the same rider, in the same round. This combination is elusive: What the judge often sees is a rider who is effective in getting the job done but is not correct in position, style or presentation; or a rider whose style, position and presentation are correct but who isn’t effective.

It’s difficult to attain both of these qualities in the same class on any given day—and even more so because the riders who are trying to do it are so young. As I get older I realize that one of the best things about this sport is that you truly do get better as you get older, and that process continues for a very long time.

So what is the secret to putting both pieces together in the ring? I have a favorite saying for my students: “The best rider isn’t the one who can do the most complicated things; it’s the rider who can do the most simple things the best.” To me, this means that if you want to be the best rider in the ring, you need to really concentrate on these simple things:

• Positioning you feet correctly in the irons
• Having your reins exactly the right length
• Maintaining a consistently straight line from bit to hand to elbow
• Having the exactly correct line from hip to to heel in your leg
• Riding with exactly the right angulation in your leg and the other parts of your body at the different gaits

These details add up to style, by they also contribute to effectiveness, because they’re essential to having proper contact with your horse’s mouth and having just enough pressure to keep your horse in front of your leg.

Adding Fences to the Mix

A rider who is able to put all this together on the flat has made a great beginning; the really good riders are able to do the same thing in the over-fences classes. I see a lot of riders in equitation who are very stylish and effective on the flat but have no feel or pace or jump. Then there are those who have great feeling at the jumps but no feel or pace between the fences.

And some riders who look great on the flat simply don’t have the strength of position, they need for jumps and just fall apart when faced with fences in front of them. Some are very effective seat-of-the-pants riders over the jumps but look terrible on a horse. When I judge an over fences class, I am looking for the rider who can show me she understands the course so well that she jumps it in beautiful form while keeping her leg aids invisible and without the appearance of effort. The horse looks comfortable doing it and flows and looks beautiful.

The skills that enable a rider to produce this kind of round are simple and basic, which is not to say that they’re easy:

• Coordination of aids
• Independent hands and seat
• Invisible aids

The rider who has developed these abilities can say, “OK, here’s the course and I understand it. My position is so strong that my hands, seat and legs will be independent of each other from start to finish. I’m such a good rider that I can completely coordinate my aids, and I’m going to do that so subtly that no one watching will be able to tell what I’m doing.” The other point that contributes to a winning round is pace. As I always tell my hunter riders, the idea is to pick a pace and do the entire course at exactly that pace. Taken all together, these skills are the whole point of the equitation division, and they are what need to be rewarded.

Looking the Part of a Winner

What you wear in an equitation class is both unimportant—and critical. When I say it’s unimportant, I mean you don’t need an expensive or custom-made jacket, breeches or boots to make a good impression. On the other hand, attire is critical because the way you present yourself is one of the ways in which you can demonstrate your respect for the horse, the sport, the show, the judge and yourself. Clean, well-fitted clothing (including a fresh shirt and a clean choker or a nice tie) and shiny, shiny boots and spurs show respect. Conversely, dirty boots, a battered hunt cap, distracting jewelry and—my pet peeve—messy hair do not show respect.

Your job in equitation is to get your horse to do his job, while becoming effortless and invisible on him. The sport is about the horses, and you demonstrate your understanding of that by choosing conservative styles and colors and avoiding bright colors and bling. As a judge my principle is, “If you notice it, it’s probably wrong.” And in particular, if I notice it about you—whose job is to disappear—then it’s really wrong.

The ideal equitation horse is an athletic mover with scope and good looks; most important, though, is his brain. An equitation horse needs to want to keep doing it, no matter what. As I tell my students, “If you don’t have the best horse, you need to work on having the best-trained horse.” So your horse needs to be able to accept and absorb enough training to compensate for what he might lack in scope or beauty. One good thing about the equitation division is that with hard work and good horsemanship (meaning good care, feeding and conditioning), good training and a reasonably good horse, you can be competitive. If I have to choose, I’ll always pick the horse with the best brain and less scope over a gorgeous, scopey horse with the wrong brain.

How It All Fits Together

Now let’s see where all the pieces of equitation come into play when I’m judging a round. First impressions count and the evaluation that starts the moment you step into the ring, and it doesn’t end until you leave.

Details matter! Is your position correct in all the particulars I described earlier? Are you dressed appropriately, with clean clothing and tack? Is your horse—whether fancy or ordinary—beautifully turned out? If this is an over-fences class, is the opening circle just right, too big or too small? I’m processing everything, but what pops out are the things I don’t like. (This goes back to my adage that if you notice it, it’s probably wrong.)

A twisted stirrup leather, too-long reins, an odd bit, a too-short martingale … they’re all details that tend to lower my expectation of the performance I’m about to see. I don’t think in terms of number scores as I’m watching, but I tentatively assign you to one of four categories based on first impression. Those categories have numerical equivalents: poor (60s), inexperienced (70s), pretty good (80s) or fantastic (90s). It’s important to be turned out well, have a good position and present yourself well, because that helps you start out the class with an edge.

Whether you stay at the level I initially assign to you or move up or down, depends on what you do next.

How I Score

Only two things in equitation are scored objectively at present. One is time faults—a point off the score for each second over the time allowed. The other is a rail, which usually lowers the score four points. There’s a reason for this scoring: Both rails and time allowed are tangible aspects of performance that exhibitors, trainers and spectators can see and understand just as the judge can. It’s also worth noting that a time element isn’t normally introduced in equitation classes until the upper levels. As the classes become more advanced, the time tends to get tighter and becomes more of a factor. This is a great example of how equitation prepares you for other divisions. As you progress up through the equitation division, the classes and scoring begin to resemble what you’ll encounter when you’re out of equitation and in the jumper divisions.

The rest of scoring is more subjective and each judge has a personal system, but certain problems that I notice at the in gate alert me to watch for particular errors on course. A major indicator to me for what kind of round to expect is whether your foot is positioned correctly in the stirrup iron, because I think that detail is the basis for having a good leg and therefore a good position. If I notice that your reins are long when you come in, it won’t surprise me that your horse goes around looking very quick or leaves a stride out of the last line. If your reins look short, you’re likely to have a nervous, choky kind of round.

Rubs aren’t a deduction in and of themselves; the rider problems that cause rubs are what lowers a score. If I’m saying to myself, Gee, I think that rider falls back a little in the air, and the horse has a hard rub behind at the next jump, that confirms my impression of her mistake, which gets factored into her overall score. The same factors apply when your hands appear stiff and you have a rub or a rail in front: I penalize the reason for the rub, not the rub itself.

The bottom line is that a flaw in position or technique will have consequences somewhere during the course—and that is true whether the class is equitation, hunters or jumpers.

That’s why good equitation is such a strong foundation for other disciplines. For example, jumping ahead of the horse may cause a rail down in front; an inadequate release can cause a rail to come down either in front or behind. If you get too wrapped up in just one aspect of the course—how you’re landing, getting your lead or nailing the turn—you may get ahead of your horse in the air instead of staying in balance with him, and end up cross-cantering the turn.

I don’t take off X number of points for any of these errors; my scoring is more intuitive. But if you come in looking like you belong in the 80s or 90s, you can end up right down in the 60s if, after riding most of the course beautifully, you whip through the turn and chip at the second-to-last jump (indicating that you didn’t understand the course after all). On the other hand, if you make a less polished first impression and start out in the 70s but proceed to show me that you really understand the course and your horse and know how to put him where he needs to be, you can work your way up into the high 80s.

When the class is over, I’ve done my job as a judge if I reward the rider who—in this particular class—understood the course the best, demonstrated the best riding skills and rode it with the most style and the least apparent effort, and whose horse looked the most comfortable doing it.

The ‘Halo Effect’ When Judging Equitation Classes

At the top levels, a few successful riders perform so well and so consistently over time, it seems as if they come into the ring with a halo effect. They develop “momentum” that gives them an automatic edge when they ride in the ring. As a result, judges who are not confident in their own evaluations may try to build confidence by demonstrating that they know Rider X is really good by placing Rider X high, perhaps overlooking the fact that X found a really deep spot at one jump, while lesser-known Rider Y had a better round.

Creating more confident judges is obviously a goal of the Judge’s Mentor Program. I have my own system for creating a “clean slate” among riders, especially if one is better known than the other. I mentally switch them and imagine that Rider X had Rider Y’s round and vice versa. This way I make sure that I’m picking the rider who had the best ride in that particular class.

About Geoff Teall

As a trainer and coach, Geoff Teall has produced winning horses and riders and numerous major shows and championships, including the Devon Horse Show, the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, the Washington International Horse Show, the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals and the USEF Hunter Seat Medal Final. He is an “R” judge for both hunters and equitation and a sought-after clinician who travels extensively in North America and Europe. His Montoga, Inc. hunter barn is located in West Palm Beach, Florida. He is co-founder of the American Hunter Jumper Foundation, which recently merged with the US Hunter Jumper Association, and is the author of Geoff Teall on Riding Hunters, Jumpers and Equitation: Develop a Winning Style.

In this article, I’ll explain how I warm up on the flat and share two ground-rail exercises to improve your eye to help you see a distance, work on adjustability and get comfortable with adding or leaving out strides.

The Warm-Up

Jumping courses are getting more and more technical, so your horse needs to be as rideable and adjustable as possible, and that starts on the flat. Olympian Lisa Wilcox comes to my farm a few times a week to ride my horses and help my students. Riding is one sport that no matter how long you’ve been doing it, there’s always more to learn. Watching Lisa ride my horses and then discussing how they feel to her helps me improve as a rider. Dressage is an important part of my program as it really strengthens the horses’ muscles and helps prepare them for the jumper ring. For these reasons, my warm-up is focused on dressage basics.

I start with a lot of walking, which is good for the horses—physically and mentally. Walking gets their circulation going and helps loosen up their muscles. Compare it to when you first get out of bed. Most people don’t go straight to exercise; they wake up a bit and stretch before increasing their physical activity. I stretch and supple the horses by bending to the inside, counter bending and doing leg-yields, shoulder-ins and serpentines before moving on to the same exercises at the trot and canter. 

I also do a lot of transitions throughout my warm-up—both between and within the gaits—all while working on the connection by using leg and as little hand as possible to keep the horse’s hind end active and light in the bridle. Your horse needs to be like an accordion, able to open and close his stride very easily without losing his balance or power in the hind end.

This is essential for jumping, too, because a balanced horse with impulsion can jump much more easily, even if he’s not at a perfect distance. Riders tend to struggle with keeping power and impulsion in the hind end when collecting their horses and compressing the stride. They forget to back up their hand with leg and only pull on the reins so their horses run through the bridle and end up on their forehands. Your hand aids should always be as light as possible. 

The hind end is so important—it’s where the power comes from to jump and where the collection comes from for dressage. When your horse is using his hind end correctly, he’ll have more impulsion and his gaits will be more animated. It will feel like he’s in front of your leg and carrying you uphill, not like he’s pulling you along with his front end. 

Preparing for the Ground-Rail Exercises

These two ground-rail exercises are very simple and useful for:

• Learning to see a distance
• Improving rider confidence
• Developing adjustability and rideability
• Getting comfortable with adding and leaving out strides
• Staying connected and keeping a rhythm with even strides
• Practicing straightness and balance
• Determining how to ride a line depending on the distance over the first jump.

For these exercises, you’ll approach in an active canter with the main goal of getting comfortable closing and opening your horse’s stride as quietly as possible. I prefer my students to ride the exercises in almost a full seat, or a three-point position with their legs molded around their horses and their seats in contact with the saddle. You should feel like you’re part of your horse so you can be more sensitive to his back and hind end. A lot of riders tend to focus on the front end because it’s right in front of them, and they make the mistake of thinking the horse is on the bit because his neck is flexed. However, you actually need to feel the animation coming from behind, and you can do that by keeping your legs molded around your horse. 

As you ride over the rails, think of your hands as extensions of the reins. Since it’s only a pole, there’s no need to give a big release. Your hands should simply follow the horse so he can use his topline over the rail while keeping the connection. 

For many riders, ground rails prove to be more challenging than jumps. Horses tend to focus on and study jumps more in order to clear them. But with rails, they don’t pay as close attention, so riders need to use more leg and seat to create impulsion to help their horses correctly navigate the exercise. So, these ground-rail exercises will also help pinpoint any weaknesses you might have to fine-tune your riding.

Exercise 1: Two Ground Rails 

You can set this exercise at any distance, but since they’re rails or cavalletti and not jumps, you don’t need as much room for takeoff and landing. Allow about 12 feet for every stride between the rails or cavalletti, but instead of allowing 6 feet for takeoff and landing (as you would with jumps), allow 1 or 2 feet. For example, if I’m setting a six-stride line with two rails or cavalletti, I’ll make it between 72 to 74 feet. Set the exercise so you can approach it from both directions and alternate directions each time, so your horse works equally on both leads.

In this exercise, you’ll practice riding the normal six strides, next adding a stride for seven strides and then leaving out a stride for five strides. This will help you gauge your horse’s adjustability and get comfortable with adding and leaving out strides while maintaining a connection and hind-end impulsion. Whether you’re doing the normal striding, adding or leaving out a stride, the idea is to stay in the same balance and keep each stride as even as possible, with your horse using his hind end while staying in front of your leg—just like you practiced in the warm-up. 

Start by seeing if you can comfortably canter the two ground rails in six strides by sitting still and keeping an even rhythm and a steady connection. Then, try adding a stride for seven strides by using a little more seat and leg to keep the impulsion while collecting your horse’s stride. Your horse should still be in front of your leg, but his stride should be compressed. If you ask him to add a stride without enough leg, he’ll likely break to the trot.

Next, try leaving out a stride for five strides. For the five, your horse needs a more open stride, but it shouldn’t look or feel significantly different than his stride for the six or seven. Opening the stride doesn’t mean faster. Maintain the same balance and simply lengthen the stride from your horse’s hind end by keeping a light feel of his mouth to keep the connection from leg to hand and an uphill feeling. When you go over the first rail, your horse should feel round and like he is coming up through his back. If he’s flat and running on his front end, he’ll be unbalanced, discombobulated and may get to the rail on a half-stride and either chip or have to reach for the rail.

Keep in mind that how you canter into the line over the first rail will affect how you approach the second rail. For example, if you’re planning to do the normal six strides but you see a very forward distance coming in, your horse is going to land and take you forward with a more open stride. To get the desired six strides, you’ll need to balance and compress him by backing up your hand with your leg and seat inside the line, so he doesn’t break to a trot or lean on your hand. But this shouldn’t be a drastic adjustment. If the opposite happens and you jump into the line a little backwards without enough impulsion, land and gradually ask your horse to open up his stride by keeping a light connection with your hand as you add leg so your horse doesn’t run flat on his front end. 

Exercise 2: Two Ground Rails on a Bending Line

For this exercise, set two ground rails or cavalletti on a bending line. You can set the striding based on the size of your ring or whatever striding you want to work on, but like the first exercise, you only need 1 to 2 feet for takeoff and landing.

In addition to the other benefits mentioned previously, this bending-line exercise will help you learn how to use your track to your advantage in order to add or leave out a stride. You’ll find that you don’t have to worry about getting a perfect distance to make this exercise work. 

As you did in your warm-up and the first exercise, make sure you have a powerful canter and keep an even rhythm and a steady connection. To add a stride in the line, curve the line to give yourself a little more room. To leave out a stride in the line, ride a straighter, more direct track. Look at the rails coming out of your turn, being careful to stay on your track without cutting in or fading out through the turn. Look where you want to go and draw an imaginary line in your mind—whether you want to line up the two rails on a straight, direct line or use more bend on a curved line. If you get there on an imperfect distance, you can move your track toward the inside or outside of the rails to get a better distance and smoother jump. 

Get Creative

Use your imagination to come up with other ground-rail exercises. Think about what’s most difficult for you and your horse, including problems you’re having on course, and apply it to the ground rails. For example, if you’re having trouble coming off a short, left turn, practice that. If your horse is cutting or diving to the inside after a line, exaggerate going straight and then bend him around your leg correctly so he learns to land, balance and go around the turn properly. You can even set up a whole course of ground rails to work on riding smooth courses.  

With these exercises, I try not to make things too complicated. I want riders to get comfortable with keeping an even rhythm and proper balance, collecting their horses and adding a stride, opening up the canter and leaving out a stride and—one of the hardest things—simply sitting still and doing nothing to maintain the desired canter. Remember, when it comes to horses, less is more, and the fewer jumps you can do with your horse, the better for his long-term health and happiness.

For More:

• To watch hands-on training videos with Margie Engle on EQUESTRIAN+, click here. Use code MARGIE15 for 15% off your first month’s subscription.
• For more of her top training tips, click here.
• To listen to our podcast with Engle, click here.

About Margie Engle

Margie Engle has been one of the winningest jumper riders in the U.S. for more than three decades. To date, Margie has won more than 250 grands prix classes, six World Cup qualifiers, more than 75 Nations Cups, a record 10 American Grand Prix Association Rider of the Year titles and was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 2021. She competed in the 2000 Olympics, won team silver at the 1999 Pan American Games, team gold and individual bronze at the 2003 Pan American Games and team silver at the 2006 World Equestrian Games. Margie and her husband of 30 years, veterinarian Steve Engle, are based at Gladewinds Farm in Wellington, Florida. 

“Training a wild horse had always been on my bucket list and the event presented an ideal opportunity to test my skills as a trainer,” she said. “So, I decided to go for it.”

As it turned out, Wallace had natural talent for establishing a partnership with her first unbroken mustang, Fledge. With only 120 days of training, the pair took top honors at the makeover that year, and her close bond with the then 3-year-old chestnut gelding ignited her fervent passion and advocacy for American mustangs. “When you work with a wild horse who learns to let go of his fears and trust you, it’s a truly special experience,” she said.

From a trainer’s perspective, Wallace says mustangs have a unique ability to ground you because the relationship demands trust and a true partnership, which she notes directly correlates to the relationships she develops with her upper-level eventing horses. “We learn from all horses, but mustangs always seem to teach me something new,” she said. “They have huge hearts and are very versatile athletes, and I find it very important to showcase them for the incredible horses they are.”

Since 2012, Wallace went on to make her mark in mustang spheres after competing in numerous Mustang Makeovers and winning the 2018 Georgia Mustang TIP Challenge with Dorado. Last year, she and Zephyr claimed victory at the inaugural Mustang Classic, and her mustang mare Hwin was even honored as a Breyer model horse.

Despite managing a full-time training program for her constant string of up-and-coming eventing horses, Wallace carves time out of her busy schedule to give back to the animals who have gifted her with a lifetime of fulfillment and knowledge. Here, she talks about her journey with mustangs, her mount for this year’s Mustang Classic and why she’s so passionate about these horses.

The Little Mustang Who Opened Doors

When Wallace and Fledge won the Mustang Makeover in 2012, the horses were auctioned off following the event to help them find new homes, but the trainers also had an opportunity to get in on the bidding.

“I had developed such a close bond with Fledge in our short amount of time working together, I couldn’t bear the thought of losing him,” she said. “When I got up to tell people about him for the auction, I just lost it. Someone in the crowed even shouted for people not to bid.”

In the end, Wallace took her mustang home for $140. “It was amazing to win him back because we’d built this incredible relationship,” she said. “I can’t even express how important this horse has been to me and my journey with mustangs.”

Connections she developed through her journey with Fledge led to Wallace partnering with one of her top and longtime eventing mounts, Australian Thoroughbred Simply Priceless. Fledge even achieved star status after being featured in an episode of the hit streaming series “Ozark.” At 15, he’s still going strong and thriving on Wallace’s farm in Ocala, Florida, where he continues to help develop her young horses and teach new riders.

Paying It Forward

One of the most rewarding aspects of training mustangs, Wallace notes, is seeing the ones she’s trained happy and excelling with their new owners. Following her and Zephyr’s success at last year’s Mustang Classic, the gelding found a new home and eventing partner in 15-year-old Brooke Testa, who trains with Anthem Day at Anthem Day Eventing in Cartersville, Georgia.

Wallace had the opportunity to get to know Testa while conducting a clinic at Anthem’s farm and thought highly of the budding young eventer’s talent after watching her aboard a BLM mustang that she and Anthem had trained. As it turned out, when Anthem was searching for a new horse for Testa, Wallace happened to be bringing along Zephyr in preparation for the Mustang Classic.

“Brooke watched all the videos of Zephyr being gentled and trained, and unbeknownst to me, had fallen in love with him,” Anthem said. “I had a more seasoned horse in mind for her. But we continued to observe his progress and watched the livestream of the Mustang Classic that he won.”

When Wallace got word they were interested in the gelding, she thought it would be a good match, and in October following the Mustang Classic, Testa at last got to give him a test ride. “I was blown away by how talented and willing he was,” Anthem recalled. “It really was a great match.”

Since Zephyr and Testa partnered, they’ve enjoyed competing in eventing at the Beginner Novice level, and Anthem says she’s enjoyed seeing their partnership blossom over the last few months. “Brooke’s patience and dedication are what continue to strengthen their partnership, as this is the first young horse she’s developed,” she said. “It’s been a very rewarding journey for all of us, and Zephyr continues to impress us with his aptitude for the sport.” 

After being partners for almost a year, Testa appreciates the trust she and the gelding share. “He’s the most trustworthy horse I’ve ever known. As soon as I’m around him, I feel so calm and relaxed. This has helped our partnership grow, because I can put all my trust in him,” she said. “I also love that he’s so silly and makes me laugh every time I’m with him. He gives me his all in every ride. I’m so excited to see what the future holds for us. Zephyr is truly a unicorn, and I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”

Wallace says she was thrilled to bridge the gap to give Testa her dream horse. “There’s nothing better than seeing her having so much fun and being able to ride him bareback and in a neck rope and do all the things with horses that make our hearts content,” she said. “That’s what I love most about this.”

2025 Mustang Classic: Finding Nodin

Created to showcase mustangs’ talent and versatility in equestrian sport, the Mustang Classic, held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, offers competition in English disciplines including dressage, show jumping and working equitation. The twist, however, is that all mustangs must have been purchased or adopted through a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) holding facility or satellite event and are required to be in training between 100 days and one year.

The process of selecting a mustang for the event is challenging, Wallace explains, because there’s not much to base your decision on other than observing horses in the holding pens. “I look for basic conformation qualities and tend to prefer horses who are built uphill with longer necks,” she said. “But overall, it’s based on my gut feeling about certain horses and being able to read their conformation to envision what they’re capable of.”

In her search for this year’s partner, a tall, dark and handsome gelding with a white star and right-hind sock checked all the right boxes. The genetics panel is still out, but Wallace has a strong hunch that Nodin is at least a half-brother to Zephyr. They’re from the same herd and Wallace has noticed many similarities between the two. But at almost 15.2 hands, Nodin stands tall compared to most of his mustang peers.

It can be a big adjustment for a wild horse to go from being feral to being in a BLM holding pen and then into a new barn, so Wallace says helping them get used to a consistent routine is especially important when trying to help them settle in. In this effort, she strives to make everything a positive experience for the newcomers.

“When you’re first working with a wild horse who speaks a foreign language, it’s extremely important to first focus on gaining their trust. You have to show them that you’re not going to do them harm and want to be their friend,” she said. “I want them to enjoy being around me, so they don’t always associate me with work. So, I hand walk and graze them and take them to their breakfast and dinner. This way, they start to find comfort and safety with me.”

She then works on getting them halter broke and comfortable being touched from head to tail, picking up all four feet and leading them. Wallace says this is a crucial step in order to address any underlying health issues.

“After living in the wild, mustangs’ feet are sometimes in pretty poor condition. So, we need to get their feet trimmed, as well as deworm and treat them for ulcers, as soon as possible,” she said. “If they’re dealing with parasites or ulcers, we need to address it because when they feel better, the training becomes a lot easier.”

Baby Steps: Working on Nodin’s Timeline

Wallace confesses that working with mustangs is always a humbling experience. “They make you very self-aware and teach you that can’t work off of your timeline,” she said. “It’s always about the horse’s timeline.” Once Nodin was settled and relaxed in his new environment, she introduced him to groundwork and taught him to how to yield to pressure and longe in both directions.

“Every mustang I’ve worked with has been fairly different in how fast they pick the training up. Nodin came around pretty quickly and seemed interested in building a relationship, but he was insecure about certain things, so I made sure to break it down into small steps,” Wallace explained. “I introduced him to different saddles and pads and allowed him to get comfortable with me sitting up on a panel where I could lie over his back. Eventually, I swung a leg over and he just sat there and grazed. After that everything progressed a little faster.”

To introduce unbroken mustangs to the basics of dressage, Wallace focuses on foundation work and teaching the horses to move correctly and softly, which in turn helps them develop muscle strength where they might be a little weak.

“Dressage is actually a great way to start mustangs because it’s the basis of all the work we do, especially with me being an eventer,” she noted. “One of the key components for dressage is relaxation, so I work on making sure Nodin is very soft in the contact, traveling straight and correctly and on my aids.”

Wallace notes that Nodin is a little more forward thinking than many of her previous mustangs and loves to jump. While teaching cross-country lessons, she brought him with her on a lead line and slowly started to introduce him to obstacles and the water. “He was pretty much a natural at jumping from the beginning,” she said. “Later when I rode him out in the field he was completely confident over the fences.”

All Eyes on the 2025 Mustang Classic

Before the Mustang Classic, all horse-and-rider combinations must compete in at least one show. Wallace and Nodin had a successful experience at their first dressage show earlier this summer and competed at the POP show in Ocala, Florida, in July where the gelding jumped around like a champ. Wallace says it’s crucial for the mustangs to gain this experience before facing the massive atmosphere at Kentucky Horse Park’s Rolex Stadium.

“Kentucky can be a lot for any horse, but giving my mustangs knowledge beforehand helps create relaxation in those tenser environments,” she said. Wallace, however, laughs that while Kentucky’s atmosphere often gets to her seasoned upper-level horses, her mustangs always tend to take it in stride without getting overwhelmed.

“My ultimate goal this year is for both me and Nodin to go in confident and stay focused on our foundation work that we have so much confidence in,” she said. “The big picture is to demonstrate that through methodical training based on trust, you produce a horse who’s relaxed and happy in his work. That way, whatever type of obstacle we’re faced with we can meet it successfully.”

The Magic of Mustangs

While Wallace appreciates that the Mustang Classic offers English events, she finds working with mustangs continues to expand her skills as a rider and trainer no matter the discipline or competition.

“I enjoyed learning about Western disciplines for the Mustang Makeovers because it pushed me as rider. Learning how to teach a horse to do a sliding stop or a spin directly correlates to your dressage work,” she said. “When you take the saddle off and ride bareback, a trained horse is a trained horse. It doesn’t matter if it’s Western, dressage or jumping.”

Above all, she highlights the versatility of mustang equine athletes and says once you establish a genuine connection with a wild horse, that trust enables you to go any direction. “Mustangs are becoming more and more popular. They come in every shape, size and color, and we’re seeing them competing and excelling in dressage, eventing and jumping,” Wallace said. “The Mustang Classic allows us to be ambassadors for these horses to show people what they’re capable of.”

Wallace also notes the inclusivity of the mustang community. “No matter your skill level, everyone is willing to help and provide advice,” she said. “We always want to help those who adopt mustangs, and there are a lot of people willing to train these horses to get them out of the pens and into good homes.”

For More:

• For more information on the 2025 Mustang Classic, click here.
• To purchase tickets to the Championship Finals on September 6, click here.
• You can livestream the entire event for free on EQUESTRIAN+ or catch the action after the competition with a subscription.
• For more information on lodging and dining in the Lexington area, click here.
• You can read more about Elisa Wallace here or at Elisa Wallace Eventing.

Mustang Classic 2025: Tentative Schedule

Watch the Horse’s Ears

“I want you to do your warm-up, thinking about exercises that you would already incorporate into your routine. But I want you to time them at the moment that her ears fixate onto something. Like a walk-trot transition or a small circle or a little extra bending or a leg-yield. I want you to do that when both of her ears lock onto something, and I want you to do it with enough intensity that both of her ears switch back to you.”

“Most of the horses who have a tendency to be a little bit looky at something will tell you way before you even realize it. You might be coming around the corner just a little on the far end and that might be the moment her ears focus on this end of the ring.”

“A mistake that I see people make is that they go right toward the scary thing. I’m all for going head on, but I really want you to think if you have her attention enough to put her in that situation and not set her up for failure.”

“The more distracted she is, the more mentally stimulating you have to be.”

Make a Change to Regain the Horse’s Attention

“For her, if the energy feels like we have to trap this anxiousness, then we might go burn off some of it. Not like we are trying to make her tired—we aren’t going to get her tired. But if we can use a little bit to where she is like “okay, I don’t feel like you are trapping this energy that I need to get out.

“Once it starts to feel soft, take that same 20-meter circle two feet toward the new object. And ask yourself if you start to lose the cadence and rhythm that you had at the far end of the ring. Don’t go any further than that point where you lose her attention.”

“Make sure that you breathe and that you encourage that too.”

Get Creative With Directing a Horse’s Movement

“This exercise tests too that if there are any sticky spots where she didn’t respond or didn’t listen.”

“She gets to have a little bit of a break over here right now, and she is willing to stand by the tarp and not be bothered by it.”

“Before when you were trying to go directly towards it and she was stuck, I simply changed it to an exercise to gain control of this shoulder and that shoulder.”

Watch & Learn on E+

• You can watch Monique Potts’ entire series on riding a distracted horse here on EQUESTRIAN+.
• For additional videos featuring Potts’ top tips and training strategies, click here.
• From short training tips to how-to videos and insider-access to private clinics and lessons, learn more from top dressage experts on EQUESTRIAN+.

About Monique Potts

Monique Potts grew up on a small farm in Erie, Colorado, and developed a deep love of horses. She learned from numerous trainers, including Buck Brannaman, who helped her recognize the importance of communication, patience and trust. Potts turned her passion into a career as a trainer, focusing on dressage, horsemanship and cow horse events. She has earned her USDF silver and bronze medals and found much success in the dressage ring.

Lateral work will make your horse more connected, engaged, supple and on your aids. Your horse will feel more pliable, agile and responsive, softening through your legs, hips and hands. Lateral work also helps you discover your horse’s weaknesses by how he compensates in his work, and you can help him improve those weaknesses with the lateral movements.

In this article, I’ll explain how to correctly ride the following lateral movements: leg-yield, shoulder-fore, shoulder-in, haunches-in, and half-pass—in that order. Then I’ll describe how you can build them into one another and transition between movements depending on how your horse feels in the moment.

Before starting lateral work, make sure your horse is on the bit, in front of your leg and in balance. I do lateral movements in my warm-up, starting with walk, then rising trot (once my horse is warmed up, I do the movements in sitting trot) and canter. Keep in mind, when practicing lateral work in the canter, don’t make the angles as sharp as you would in trot. As a rule of thumb, I aim to do each movement two times in both directions, but that depends on the individual horse and how he’s feeling that day, so it’s always up to the rider’s discretion.

Leg-Yield

Leg-yield is always the first lateral exercise I do with all my horses. It’s a great way to get your horse on your aids and to supple his whole body. You can also use it to diagnose if he is stiffer in one direction. In a leg-yield, the horse moves sideways and forward with his inside legs crossing over the front of his outside legs. He should be in alignment from nose to tail with the outside shoulder leading slightly.

If your horse is green, start by asking for the leg-yield from just to the inside of the rail and only for a few steps. If your horse is experienced, start from the quarter line or centerline and leg-yield to the rail. To ask for a leg-yield, use your inside leg at the girth to move his rib cage, shoulder and inside hind leg to the rail, while bending him a little to the inside. If your inside leg is too far back, you’ll move the haunches over but there won’t be a bend through the rib cage and his body will be out of alignment.

The biggest mistake I see in lateral work is riders often lose the shape of the horse. The horse has a harder crossing side and an easier crossing side, so the haunches either swing over or the shoulders fall to the outside, and the control of the sideways motion is lost. Think about staying in a rhythm and holding the shape by using your inside and outside aids together to help move and balance your horse. You want to keep a steady bend and connection with even steps throughout the whole movement. 

Shoulder-Fore and Shoulder-In

Once you are successful with the leg-yield, you can work on shoulder-fore, then shoulder-in. These are two of the most important movements because they are used so frequently in dressage training and can help prepare the horse for whatever movement is coming next. On almost every horse I ride, I ask for a little shoulder-fore in trot and canter to help align their body because most horses prefer to go down the long side in a slight haunches-in so they can avoid stepping under themselves with their hind legs.

In shoulder-fore, you’ll bend slightly to the inside like in the leg-yield. Your horse’s inside shoulder should be positioned just to the inside of the rail or his inside hip while traveling on three tracks—but only slightly. To ride a shoulder-fore, travel in a straight line on the rail, then squeeze his rib cage with your inside leg at the girth to move his hind leg to the rail. Encourage your horse to move his shoulders off the rail while asking for a little flexion by bringing your inside elbow back an inch and using the outside rein to keep him balanced. Your outside leg keeps the haunches from swinging out while maintaining impulsion.

From shoulder-fore, move into your shoulder-in, which is still a three-track movement but has more angle and requires more bend and strength from the hind legs. In shoulder-in, the shoulders come in even more with correct flexion to the inside, while the haunches stay on the rail. The inside front leg and outside hind leg are on their own tracks and the outside front leg and inside hind leg share the same track. Keep your inside leg on and push your horse’s inside hind leg toward the rail and up to your hand, while engaging his rib cage. At the same time, your outside leg and rein contain the outside of your horse and help with forward impulsion. I only ask for shoulder-in in the walk and trot. In the canter, it’s much harder for the horse to balance with that much angle and can train the horse’s muscles incorrectly.

The most common mistake I see in shoulder-fore and shoulder-in is the horse comes off the rail too much, so focus on preventing that with your inside leg and outside rein.

Haunches-In 

Once you have control in shoulder-in, move on to haunches-in. Haunches-in, or travers, is an amazing tool because it really helps you supple your horse’s body and gain more control. It’s also the foundation for half-pass. Haunches-in is a four-track movement, with each leg on a different track. The horse’s front end travels straight on the rail while his haunches come to the inside. His neck and jaw should also be flexed to the inside and feel supple—not forced.

Just like the other lateral movements, your inside leg stays at the girth and establishes the bend in your horse’s rib cage. Think of your inside leg as a solid post for your horse to bend around. Your outside leg comes back more than your inside leg to bring the haunches to the inside and around your inside leg. If your horse isn’t bending through his rib cage, don’t try to push your inside leg back further, keep trying to get your horse more sensitive to the leg aid with taps from your calf and heel until he responds correctly. Use your inside rein to flex him slightly to the inside while the outside rein stays steady and connected.

For a horse who’s just learning to do haunches-in, he may get confused and think that you’re asking him to canter. Keep asking him to trot and bring his haunches in while keeping his head and neck straight or a little flexed to the inside. Or, he may be struggling to do everything at once. Sometimes it can be hard for a horse to bend, or it just takes him a while to figure out how to coordinate his legs. 

If your horse is struggling, start with shoulder-out to help him better understand what you’re asking. Ask for a shoulder-out by keeping your outside leg on and the haunches in while keeping his head and neck facing the outside. Think shoulder-out, haunches-in, and that will help you establish your outside leg, which will bring the haunches in. You’ll know it’s OK to try true haunches-in when he moves off your outside leg easily. At that point, you can add the inside bend by slowly flexing the jaw to the inside by squeezing your ring finger repeatedly until he supples. Ask him to stay in that position while encouraging him forward. You may need to go back and forth between the lateral movements and being completely straight until your horse figures it out and builds strength and coordination. 

Half-Pass

Now your horse is really stretched, and you’ve built up suppleness, strength and forward momentum. He should be ready to move laterally the instant you ask, listening to both legs and hands, which means he’s ready for a shallow half-pass.

A lot of times riders overcomplicate the half-pass. For the most part, a half-pass is haunches-in on a diagonal line with varying angles. Start in shoulder-fore, then establish haunches-in and find a shallow diagonal line, keeping your horse’s shoulders on the line, while bringing the haunches to the inside of the line.

Compared to haunches-in, horses usually get wobblier in the half-pass and tend to lead too much with their front or back ends or may push their rib cages to the inside and lose the bend. Focus on your position, and sit on your inner seat bone, even though your body will want to fall to the outside of the horse to move him over. This will only lead to losing the shape and control of the movement.

For a horse learning half-pass, keep it very shallow and easy. I like to start on the quarter line with all horses because it gives you a little space to play. Think about the diagonal line going from the quarter line to the center line, so about five meters or even less, and do two to three steps of half-pass. It’s better to have a few great steps than a lot of bad ones. Once you get a few good steps, go straight for a couple of steps, then go back to moving sideways. As your horse becomes more advanced, you can increase the difficulty by making the half-pass steeper, longer and with more collection and impulsion. 

Putting It All Together 

Once you’ve practiced all the lateral movements one at a time in both the trot and canter, you can work on going from one lateral movement to another while keeping the rhythm and making the transitions between movements seamless. 

You might ask for a leg-yield, and then move into a shoulder-fore, and then a shoulder-in. If your horse isn’t really off your leg in the shoulder-in, that means he’s still pushing or falling too much against your leg, so ask for another leg-yield. Then ask for another shoulder-in. If you get an honest shoulder-in, then you can try haunches-in. If he struggles, go to shoulder-out and balance him and try haunches-in again to see if he’s improved. It’s all about building, not about getting the first step perfect. Stay patient and quiet. 

Pay attention to what side is harder for your horse and when he is unbalanced or falling in one direction so you can use another lateral movement to counteract it. For example, if your horse is in a right half-pass and is falling too much to the right, go to a shoulder-fore or shoulder-in to help correct it because it makes you put your inside leg on and use your outside rein. If he’s still falling to the right, leg-yield away from the right leg. Then repeat a right half-pass and see if he’s improved. If it’s getting harder for him, go back to something easier. You’re doing little lateral adjustments all the time to help your horse regain balance and suppleness.

I use all the lateral movements to build into upper-level movements. In the Grand Prix, I’m always moving my horse, whether forward or sideways, and my horse needs to be on my aids. If I don’t have bend in the rib cage from haunches-in, my half-passes, zigzags and pirouettes aren’t going to be correct. Or, if I don’t have the ability to create a good shoulder-fore or shoulder-in, I have no control over setting up each movement and making small adjustments in them.

By regularly working on lateral movements, you’ll learn you can access them at any time to influence your horse in the moment—even if it’s simply moving the rib cage slightly or getting the hind leg to cross over an inch.

For More:

• To watch the training video of this lesson with AnnA Buffini, click here and subscribe to EQUESTRIAN+. Use code ANNAB15 for 15% off your first month’s subscription. 
• For more top training tips with Buffini, click here.  

About AnnA Buffini

AnnA Buffini comes from a family of world-class athletes. Her mother was on the 1988 U.S. Olympic volleyball team, and her father, a native of Ireland, was a national collegiate soccer champion. AnnA initially pursued her own Olympic dreams as a gymnast but switched to dressage around age 9. In 2016, she became the first rider to win both the championship and reserve championship titles in U.S. Equestrian Federation Young Adult Brentina Cup Dressage National Championship. AnnA has competed for the U.S. in five major international Nations Cup competitions and is a two-time World Cup finalist with FRH Davinia La Douce. She runs a teaching, training and sales business based in San Diego, California. 

This article originally appeared in the summer 2025 issue of Practical Horseman.

While indoor and outdoor jumping competitions share similarities, indoor events typically have shorter courses in a smaller space. And after riding outside for most of the year, it can be challenging to adjust navigating a course in a smaller area where you have no time for hesitation while still making your round look smooth and easy.

To prepare for the different challenges indoors can present, it’s important to consistently practice your flatwork, ensuring your horse is on your aids so you can easily make adjustments in the tighter space. It’s also important to prepare for the types of courses you can expect to see.

In her video series on EQUESTRIAN+, Stacia Klein Madden stresses the importance of practicing courses at home that are similar to those seen at past indoors to prepare for the common questions course designers might include at shows. Here, she helps three students practice indoor courses and offers tips that you can apply to you own preparation.

The Practice Course

“Good preparation will give you confidence as we prepare for the indoors. The course we’re practicing today is an adaptation from regionals in Florida, and is a nice, friendly and useful course to practice before we go to Capital Challenge.

“The first time around, I want you to just muddle through it and go from start to finish unless I pull you up because I think there’s a real problem that needs to be addressed. This course is going to be challenging to start off with, but the horses need to go ahead and get their feet wet and then we’ll do it a second time to polish anything we need to work on.

“For every fence on course, you not only have to be thinking about your approach, you also have to think about where you are on the landing side to stay organized and prepared for what’s coming next.

“A lot of championship courses start off with a line, so for this course, we’ll start with the ASPCA wall on the left lead and do a nice, flowing six strides to the green roll-top. Then, you need to get a good riding horse right off the bat and go to the narrow white gate.

“Be prepared that the white gate is going to present a steering issue because it doesn’t have any standards. If you meet the gate a little soft, you can turn inside to the Beacon Hill wall. But if you meet it a little loose and your horse lands right and you need a lead change, take the longer option by going around the Beacon Hill wall.

“Then you really have to use your turn as well as your eyes to ride a nice turn back to the blue plank, which will be a five to a one. It needs to be a little following, so you don’t get to it short. Next, check your reins and make sure your horse is front of your leg and go to the scoop jump; then, put a little shape into the five to the Animal Planet jump and then a four to the green roll-top.

Round Two: Correct Mistakes and Polish Details

“I have the riders repeat the exact same course again. After kind of muddling through it the first time, this gives both the riders and horses something to work on the second time around. You can see here that while doing the course for the second time, this horse really took a breath and started to understand the course and listen to his rider.

“Every rider naturally either over-rides or under-rides. When preparing for the indoors, you have to identify which type of rider you are and always strive to strengthen your weakest link. All three riders here are naturally under-riders, so I have them work on making sure their horses are with them and this first line is a real test of that.

“The most challenging aspect of competing indoors after riding outside for most of the year is the lightning-fast tempo in which you have to make your decisions, while remaining calm and not allowing the course to pile up on you. This is why we spend so much working on using the ends of the ring and your recovery after jumps. The quicker you can recover, the sooner you can start to think about the takeoff for your next fence.

“I like to practice difficult things at home, because we don’t want our horses to be faced with those things for the very first time at a horse show.

“Also, keep in mind that riding is a constant contradiction. We’re always telling our horses to go forward, but to also wait—to come in but stay out. Successfully riding the lines in this course really requires your horse to be pushing off his hind end so he can leave the ground and execute a clean, crisp jump over the fence.”

Reverse the Course

“After mastering the course in one direction, I like to have riders practice reversing it or at least changing the lines in some way so they ride differently. Sometimes when reversing a course, you’ll need to modify an offset oxer, but I tend to set my jumps so everything can be jumped both ways and nothing needs to be changed. When you set your course this way, you easily create two courses in one. If you’re on a green horse, though, you might consider ramp oxers or jumps with ground lines.

“To reverse this course, you’ll start on your right lead with the blue plank and do five strides to the vertical. It’s going to be a little challenging to get through that gap without your horse getting his eye on the wrong fence.

“Riding the course in reverse, the new first line is going to ride more ambitious than it did in the first course, and the last line has the potential to ride a little nicer.

“You can see this rider really using the corner over by the wall to soothe her horse and put him back together. If you really focus on using those corners, you’ll give your horse a chance to take a breath, digest the course and regroup. You can use both corners and the ends of the ring to let your horse drop his head down and realize he’s not in a speed competition.

“So this is typical of how we school and prepare for the indoor competitions. If we don’t end up reversing the course, I might end the day with some sort of test. We might practice the counter-canter, trot jumps, halting or hand galloping.”

For More:

• To watch Stacia Klein Madden’s full video series on schooling indoor equitation courses on EQUESTRIAN+, click here.
• For more top training tips and hands-on video demonstrations with Madden, click here.
• Check out her favorite four exercises for winning equitation rounds here.
• You can listen to our podcast with Madden here.

About Stacia Klein Madden

Known as one of the most successful trainers of young riders in the country, Stacia Klein Madden began her career as a successful Junior, winning the 1987 ASPCA Maclay National Championship and placing in the USEF National Hunter Seat Medal Final and USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals—East. She turned professional in 1988 and started working out of Beacon Hill Show Stables, now located in Colts Neck, New Jersey. Madden also worked for Johnny Barker in North Carolina, before returning to Beacon Hill where she began teaching and developed a passion for working with young riders and matching them with horses. 

In an effort to help those who are insecure about finding their distances, a lot of trainers instruct riders to count their strides. But Hugo-Vidal says this can sometimes backfire, because riders then get fixated on trying to guess when the exact takeoff moment will be—like counting down to blastoff.

Another common problem develops when riders are convinced they’re helping their horses by telling them when to take off, when in fact they really don’t know. Unless you’re a highly skilled and experienced rider, she notes, this can create a lot of confusion for your horse.

If, however, you practice focusing less on the fences and more on your rhythm and track, you’ll find the distances come naturally. In her video series on EQUESTRIAN+, Hugo-Vidal breaks down her circle-over-fences exercise to help change your perception about distances and discover that if you achieve a quality canter, stay on the right track and ensure your horse is balanced between your legs and reins, you don’t have to do anything else. This in itself will allow your horse to find the appropriate distance.

Fences On a Circle: Finding Your Rhythm and Track

“This is a tried-and-true exercise that I’ve used over the years to help riders at all levels. We’re going work over fences on a circle to help you improve your rhythm and track. We’ll start with a ground pole on the inside track and then progress to a vertical on the middle track, and ultimately we’ll finish with the oxer on the outside.

“If you have the right pace and you’re on the right track and your horse is in balance, then the distance to the pole or jump should vary only by inches. If you turn too wide or cut in on the track, that’s going to affect your distance. For example, when Britt, our rider here, turns too early she got a deep distance.

“We start tracking right and go over the ground pole on the inside track. If you’re able to keep your horse balanced on the right pace and track and continue to meet the pole comfortably, then you can advance to doing the same exercise, but going over the vertical on the middle track.

“Britt makes it look easy because she’s relying on her horse’s rhythm and is looking for the track so she can meet the jump right in the center. Now, she opens up the circle even wider to catch the little oxer on the outside track. Because she’s doing it so perfectly, I have her change tracks to get a feel for how that creates a bad distance. Then, I have her go back to her perfect track to ensure she knows what that feels like and because we always want the horse to end on a good note.

“Now, we’ll change directions and do the exercise off the left. Tracking left, Britt’s horse tends to drift off the track more than he does to the right. So, she’s going to need to compensate more going to the left by maintaining that left bend through the turn to keep the track circular to the pole and jumps, opposed to bending him and then going straight. Don’t let him fall in after the pole; you want to maintain that 90-degree angle as much as possible.

“This exercise is a means to an end—the goal is not to replicate a course. You want to follow the round shape and think about matching what you have on the front side of the jump to what you have on the back side.

“Constantly be aware of your canter. Is it active enough? Is your horse in front of your leg? As you approach the oxer, I don’t want to see a change in pace at all. Stay on the rhythm and seek the center of the jump.”

Common Mistakes: Falling Behind and Jumping Ahead

“Here, I have Britt demonstrate some common mistakes riders make on this exercise. She’s been doing an excellent job of waiting for her horse and working out of the rhythm. Here, she’s going to demonstrate a rhythm that’s not ideal, so she misjudges the distance and gets left behind. This demonstrates why it’s so important to maintain the rhythm with a quality canter while also staying on your track to get the ideal distance.

“The next mistake I have her make is jumping ahead of her horse. Instead of sitting up and waiting for him to leave the ground, she’s going to demonstrate getting ahead of him, which is actually worse than being a little behind. You can see that she was unsure of where her horse was and kind of froze and got ahead of him. Ideally, you don’t want to be ahead or behind; you want to be right with your horse.

“Through this example, Britt is mimicking a rider who gets nervous and is anticipating the jump—and you can clearly see the effect it has on her horse and how he gets quick on the back side. For her horse’s sake, we end by doing it correctly on the ideal rhythm and track, and she waits to allow her horse to jump up to her.”

Focal Points to Adjust Or Maintain the Canter

“As you can see in the video, I’ve put two shamrocks in strategic places on the ground. This is to remind Britt that after she lands from the pole or jump and is heading toward that first shamrock, she needs to determine whether she needs to adjust anything. You want to use this space to determine if your pace is below or above what you need and adjust it as necessary.

“The shamrocks serve as visual reminders to check your canter as you work this exercise. For example, if your horse lands on the wrong lead or the distance you got to the jump caused him to land a little quick on the back side or he’s a little slow and trots—or if anything else goes wrong on the back side—once you see that shamrock, you need to repair your canter.

“In this exercise you’re basically working on straight lines off the circle, but the concept will easily carry over to your course work. For instance, when you’re coming off a line and are approaching the end of the ring, you need to be asking yourself what you need to do to adjust or maintain your canter in order to get a good distance to your next fence. You have to train yourself to use that space to make corrections. If you can do it before you get to the end of ring, all the better, but if not, absolutely use the short end to regain your ideal rhythm at the canter. If it helps, try to find a focal point or marker in the show ring to serve as a reminder, so you don’t get lost.”

For More:

• To watch Holly Hugo-Vidal’s full series on riding fences on a circle, click here.
• For more top tips and hands-on training tips from her on EQUESTRIAN+, click here.
• Read more with Hugo-Vidal on Practical Horseman here.

About Holly Hugo-Vidal

Based out of Scott and Nancy Boggio’s Arbor Hill Farm in Canton, Georgia, Holly Hugo-Vidal maintains a busy schedule with her junior and adult riders as well as giving clinics and judging. With her former husband, Victor Hugo-Vidal, she ran the successful show barn, Cedar Lodge Farm, in Stamford, Connecticut, learning from his ability to help anyone with a desire to accomplish his or her goals. Her next mentor was show jumper Rodney Jenkins, who provided her with lessons in reading horses and creating in them a desire to please. She is the author of the book Build Confidence Over Fences!