10/09/2026
WHAT I’VE LEARNT
The program provides the framework. The horse provides the information. 🖤
I believe strongly in having a training program.
For me, the foundation is the Dressage Training Scale — rhythm, suppleness, contact, impulsion, straightness and collection.
These are the qualities we are continually developing throughout a horse’s training. They give us direction and a framework for where we are going.
But here's the important part…
Not every horse or rider is ready for the same thing at the same time.
And they certainly don't all develop these qualities in exactly the same way.
One horse may need more time developing rhythm and relaxation.
Another may be quite forward and energetic but need to develop better balance and connection.
A rider may understand the theory but still be developing the coordination and feel needed to influence the horse effectively.
So while the framework remains the same, the pathway is individual.
This is why I don't believe good training is simply following a lesson plan and ticking exercises off a list.
I may have a plan when I enter the arena, but then I watch.
I listen.
I feel.
And I let the horse and rider give me the information I need to decide what comes next.
Sometimes we progress.
Sometimes we consolidate.
Sometimes we go back and address something that has been missed.
And sometimes the thing I had planned for that day isn't actually the most important thing anymore.
That doesn't mean we have abandoned the training program.
It means we are training within it.
The Training Scale gives us the framework and the direction.
The horse and rider tell us how we need to develop it.
Because although the principles of good training don't change, the way we get there with each individual horse and rider can be very different.
That, to me, is where the skill — and the art — of coaching comes in.
The program provides the framework.
The horse provides the information. 🖤💛
