If you look back, are you riding better than you were last year or 6 months ago?

I see lots of riders that have stalled in progress and deem it because their horse isn’t capable of progression. Yet if you as a rider haven’t progressed your skills how on earth can you expect your horse to.

You may have been having regular lessons but much as your trainer can give you the tools if you aren’t able to utilise them you aren’t going to get better. If you are still working on the same things as you were 6 months ago ask yourself why? Are you existing in that space where you keep carrying out the steps like having the lessons and riding in between but you aren’t really pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to achieve those next steps.

Guess what?

If you have stalled in your progress it’s time to step things up and get out of your comfort zone.

Try something different, dial down and really assess what’s stopping you from stepping up.

Often I see riders that are struggling to progress when in fact their problem lies in the execution of the basics.

The seat is not as stable as it could be, the aids are not as precise as they could be, the rein contact is well…….not actually a proper relaxed contact and there’s probably asymmetry in there too!

If you want to progress your riders yours and your horses foundation needs to be solid.

Get in control of your own body, be aware of and in charge of which muscles are switched on and off and how this is affecting the aids you're giving. 

Analyse how your body moves day to day and how moving one part affects another. 

How well can you breathe and move parts of your body in opposing directions?

Become a master of your own movement patterns and see how that makes your riding look in 3, 6, 12 months time.