08/26/2026
Check out trainer Julie Pickering's insight in this weeks Plaid Horse Trainer Tuesday
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Welcome to Trainer Tuesday! This week’s question is: What’s one training mistake you see riders make most often and how can they fix it?
Here are their answers:
“In the words of one of my mentors, ‘so many people in the United States ride around with stiff little arms’, and I would agree that this is a common problem. When a horse ‘can’t get past your hand,’ no amount of leg is going to have the desired outcome. Here are some great fixes: ride with ‘driving reins’. Have them do a little ‘elbow flap’ now and then. Talk about relaxing the forearm. Teach them how to use an opening rein to turn.” – Julie Pickering
“I think the most common mistake I see riders make, especially in the show ring or when jumping a course, is trying to jump the entire course at once rather than in pieces. Then, when a mistake happens, it is very easy to go from one mistake to 2, then 3, etc. Instead, riders need to break the course down into 3 or 4 pieces and jump each piece individually. This will give both the horse and rider time to reset and take a breath, and if a mistake happens in one piece, that’s OK, you can reset and make the next piece successful rather than the snowball ‘catch up’ effect.” – Will Baker
“Shorten your reins!” – Jennifer Armbrecht
“The most common mistake we see riders make is over complicating and overthinking. Fix: keep it simple, count your rhythm, make square turns and keep your eyes moving along your track.”
– Angela Moore and Maria Blankemeyer from Stealaway Inc
📎 Read more trainer tips at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2026/08/25/trainer-tuesday-whats-one-training-mistake-you-see-riders-make-most-often-and-how-can-they-fix-it/
