Perhaps fitting, yesterday was my birthday, and I was born in the year 1984… the same year that Reiner Klimke scored the Olympic Gold Medal aboard his Westfalian gelding, Ahlerich. Here is a tempting video, highlighting their victory lap at the Olympic Games.

And, in case you weren’t privy to the show live or watched it [...]

[Read more →]

It isn’t because I love picking on competitive Dressage, it is because it is prevalent in competitive Dressage since it is right in front of us, that I can point to the examples so easily seen. False forms of collection abound in every arena however, and it isn’t because it is more fun to fake [...]

[Read more →]

What can be said about one of the most prized elements of a well trained horse, that of a well-executed, light, balanced and beautifully collected piaffe? The stepping stone from basic gaits to airs above the ground, and while it is so sought after it also continues to be one movement that is considered difficult [...]

[Read more →]

I talk considerably about movement, dance, rhythm and harmony in my book, “Centered Self, Centered Horse,” and cannot emphasize it quite enough so thought I would once again write about it. Why is the presence of ‘dance’ so vital to our interaction with the horse? To sum it up, we cannot expect from the horse [...]

[Read more →]

The movement of the piaffe, or trotting in place, is one long considered to be a movement achieved only through the mastery and ultimate refinement of aids coupled with the correct training structure to develop the horse. Piaffe is often seen performed in a myriad of venues; dressage competitions, horse fairs and demonstrations, circus, trick [...]

[Read more →]