Most riders are striving to improve their skills, and a breathing exercise could help. Library image. What if I told you there’s a breathing exercise for riders that’ll help you unlock your potential in the saddle and beyond? Like for most equestrians, improving my riding technique is a major priority. However, we in the equestrian community are typically pushed for time with tasks in all areas mounting up – most days there’s barely time for a cuppa, let alone a workout. I found myself thinking: “Can I work on my riding while going about my normal day?” What is diaphragmatic breathing? Accordi ..read more

Cooling down your horse after riding is one of those horsemanship practices that should be ingrained in the mind of every rider. It’s the kind of thing we must have been taught at some early stage, but feels like a piece of wisdom that’s been planted in the brain since time immemorial. As a cornerstone of the equestrian community’s collective mental handbook, it stands to reason that cooling down your horse properly is something never to be skipped. But have you ever really drilled down into the mechanics of a cool down, and considered what makes those 5–10 minutes of walk at the end of your ..read more

Sport psychologist Inga Wolframm — who specialises in equestrian sports and offers advice across the disciplines — gives her 10 top pieces of advice for success on competition day. 1. Know your level Ideally, at home you should be training a couple of levels above the one you’re planning to compete at. Why? Because it gives you confidence. A competition is stressful enough without the additional worry of whether you and your horse are able to pull off all the movements in a test or cope with the height/technical requirements of a course. If you can be sure though that the demands of the compe ..read more

However much we have prepared, things don’t always go exactly to plan on competition day. Top riders tell us how they stay focused when their competition plans go adrift Library image. How do you cope when things go wrong on competition day? Oliver Townend “I think you just do. You learn to. You just have to! It’s going to happen all the time in eventing where things don’t go to plan and you just have to be quick thinking and change the plan. Often I’ll set off on novices trying to be competitive and they’ll go a little green and I’ll change the plan from being competitive to trying to get a d ..read more

Schooling sessions can include a range of moments, including the 10m loop. When watching others ride, the 10-metre loop can look relatively straightforward. But when you’re in the saddle, it can feel like there’s a lot going on. If you feel this way, you might find yourself avoiding them altogether in your schooling sessions. Sound familiar? If so, you could be missing out on a whole host of benefits you could be enjoying by learning how to ride a 10m loop. For starters, 10m loops feature in plenty of dressage tests and lack of accuracy will lose you marks. More broadly, 10m loops are an excel ..read more

One of the beauties of horse riding is that it is never too late to start, or return if you’ve taken a break. It can be done by anyone at any age – The late Queen was riding into her 90s – so if want to get in the saddle, don’t let age be a barrier when learning to ride as an adult. “Even if you have never ridden before, you are never too old to enjoy the company of horses. Many riding schools can cater for tiny tots to riders in their 70s and beyond,” says a BHS spokesperson. “Learning to ride as an adult also means you are fully in control of your progress. The important thing to remember i ..read more

Laura Tomlinson shares her top novice training tips. At the British Dressage National Convention (25 November), Horse & Hound columnist Laura Tomlinson hosted a masterclass on how to prepare less experienced horses for competition and shared her top novice dressage training tips. She was joined in the arena by her demo riders, Abbie Newbury on the then five-year-old Seagry Viceroy and Sophie Wallace on the then seven-year-old First Light. We’ve rounded up her top five tips below. 1. The basics matter “Growing up, riding with my Dad and all through my career so far, I was never allowed to ..read more

Gareth HUGHES (GBR) riding Classic Briolinca during the Grand Prix for the Blue Hors FEI World Dressage Team Championship at the ECCO FEI World Championships in Herning in Denmark between 6th – 14th August 2022 Gareth Hughes and Richard Davison hosted the “Dressage Unwrapped” masterclass at the London International Horse Show 2023, sharing exercises and tips on how to introduce the more advanced dressage movements into your horse’s training. They were joined in the New Horizon Plastics London Arena by their demo riders: Gareth’s daughter and grand prix rider, 16-year-old Ruby Hughes and Class ..read more

Jennifer Postollec is a French equine osteopath specialising in biomechanics with more than 15 years experience. She has been living in the UK since 2015 and is the UK’s only certified algotherapy practitioner. She aims to educate owners and riders on why understanding the horse – both physiological and mentally – is key to enhancing the performance and the relationship of the horse and rider partnership. Rolkur/ Hyperflexion of the neck Rollkur or hyperflexion – whatever you choose to call it, this training method is not in the best interest of our horses. But do you understand why it is so ..read more

Alternating positions with another horse is one useful exercise if your horse doesn’t like to go behind when hacking. Do you struggle to ride your horse behind when hacking with friends? Perhaps your mount is great when he’s leading the way, but becomes hot and buzzy if he’s asked to take a turn in the rear. Jason Webb, a trainer who specialises in starting young horses and retraining those with problems, says to start training the horse to go behind when hacking in a low energy environment – with just one other horse, in a familiar place. He suggests three exercises to help with this problem ..read more