Author name: Julita Siemieniuk

A horse moving correctly will be balanced, straight, supple and have regular rhythm in its gaits. Once this is achieved, its entire body will work freely without constraint and it will feel like the horse is floating.

Lateral work consists of the shoulder-in, travers, renvers and half pass. We begin by introducing the simple shoulder-in and, when the horse understands it and can do it easily, we progress to travers (quarters-in) and renvers (quarters-out).

The canter pirouette is a high level movement, a very difficult exercise that requires of our horse: balance, suspension, suppleness, listening and collection. To have a good canter pirouette, cue must have a good…canter.

A correctly executed pirouette is a thing of beauty, a perfect storm of collection, impulsion, suppleness, strength and balance.

While I do not believe in training with a focus on developing any one part of the horse’s body, the body does have a lot to say about how it is ridden and treated if we take the time to look at it, touch it, and feel it.

The first lesson I learned was about rider balance.

Once we have taught the horse all the different lateral movements, we should not think we are finished and our lateral training is over.

The key to success in executing the higher school dressage movements with graceful precision is preparation.

In-hand work is an integral part of my training, one that I use it with every horse, from green to Grand Prix, as it prepares and eases them into the demands of ridden work.

Transitions are a big part of the horse’s learning curve, one of the most important steps on the road to the Grand Prix. We must develop soft transitions so that when changing from one gait to another the tempo or rhythm becomes one fluid movement.