Katie Erpel Dressage

04/03/2026

Thank you to The Dressage Foundation and The Maryal and Charlie Barnett Fund for your unwavering dedication to education - I’m so grateful to have been selected for this grant to support my pursuit of USDF Instructor/Trainer Certification.

Programs like the USDF Certification - similar to the Bereiter system in Germany - ensure trainers are educated through a consistent, structured standard, which protects the integrity of the sport, training, and ultimately the welfare of the horse.

I’m looking forward to refining my teaching skills and sharing that growth with my students and horses 🙏

Please take a look at The Dressage Foundation and all they offer, or consider giving back - grants like this make a meaningful difference for trainers like us who pour their hearts into this sport.

03/25/2026

Another example that if your horse is in Absolute Elevation, they will not follow the bit as in the example below 🦄

Bert Rutten tells us: “I have to be able to bring my hand forward and he stays where he is, that’s self-carriage. Then when I push him, he must have the desire to follow the bit, forward, downwards, then I have contact. Contact is that the horse has the desire to follow the bit at all times.” �Read more
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2024/09/bert-rutten-beautiful-riding-is-simple/

03/22/2026

I have found that many students as well as myself at one point in my own journey, that in an attempt to have a beautiful seat and outline, one can become stiff, rigid and ineffective - the trick is to find the positive tension with a connected, effective deep seat - focusing on breath work is a great way to find that feel🙌

Is your "quiet seat" actually a "stiff seat"?

Many riders try so hard to be stable on the horse and end up bracing their core, stopping the moving altogether. This month in our Equi Chair series, we explore the concept: Breath Creates Movement.
By mobilizing the ribs and spine through specific breathing patterns, we can achieve a seat that is both stable and dynamic. Whether you’re looking to refine your lateral work or simply want a more connected hack, your breath is the bridge.

How to Join the April 4th Live Class: https://www.susannevondietze.com/equi-chair-2026-breath-creates-movement

Learn on your own time! Grab the April access (includes 1-month recording access) OR join the Full Year access to unlock our entire library of past and future sessions + live chat support!

03/22/2026

Lena - coming 6 year old Friesian Sport Horse - love the variety of horses I get to play with everyday and enjoying developing this special girl with her mom Adrian, the past month we took her to Tuesdays in the Park at Bruce’s Field as well as the JJ Tate Clinic - JJ loved her and we received some great insights to further refine our training program 🙏
Lena is showing real talent for collection as well as just added in some baby halfsteps and she’s showing a natural talent for that as well 💃
Thank you Adrian for entrusting me with your special girl 🦄

03/15/2026

Love this visual! I always teach my students to understand the difference between Relative Elevation and Absolute Elevation.

Relative Elevation happens when a horse is ridden correctly: the back lifts from back to front, thus the wither, neck and poll naturally rise as a result of the haunches lowering.

Absolute Elevation, on the other hand, may look correct to the untrained eye because the poll is highest point but it’s actually uncomfortable for the horse. Here, the focus is on raising the neck rather than on the back and hind end, which produces “head high back hollow.”

I teach my students to observe the balance, is the horse balanced upon the haunches or are they pulling onto their shoulders? Is the back lifting and swinging or is it dropped and hollow? Is the neck and poll correct in relation to the rest of the body?

Focusing on the haunches lowering, the back lifting and then the neck bascules out to the contact is what creates that beautiful, elastic back-to-front connection🐴✨

03/07/2026

🦄Sale horse, Renee, 11 year old Imported ISH Mare - continues to show what a special all-around partner she is.
At her first Dressage clinic this past weekend with JJ Tate - JJ was impressed by her athleticism and presence. We began incorporating more “school trot” with transition exercises, helping her take the next step in her training by encouraging greater joint articulation and the ability to carry more weight behind. 🌟

Looking forward to working on our homework as we work towards a show in a few weeks 🌺

03/06/2026

I always tell my students that they should be going for a “10” free walk for at least 10 to 20 minutes before your ride 🙌

11/17/2025

Fun and insightful lesson with on sale horse, Bravo, 7 year old PRE - schooling Third Level - working on refining alignment, collection, and transitions within the gait - I’m having fun continuing to train and develop this special, talented horse until he finds his perfect home❤️

11/13/2025

Proud of the Queen 👑 (as we affectionately call her - coming 6 year old Friesian Sport Horse), Lena, for her 2nd show/ride off property ever at First 3 - some little young horse looky tension and running out of steam through the test, though for a baby horse I was super proud of her rideability at a new venue and how calm she was in the warm-up - with lots of room for improvement, I’m looking forward to developing this special mare for her mom, Adrian! Thank you for entrusting me with your special, talented girl 🙏❤️
Onward and upward 🌟

11/08/2025

After starting to get some of the best work we’ve ever had, Levander injured himself out in the paddock somehow - we are on a long road of eight months of rehab, twice a day hand-walking, and turn-out in a med pad.
Thus far, he has been incredibly calm, walking like this with no drugs. To my surprise, I start to look to look forward to our morning and evening walks together, learning to enjoy the meditative walks of just looking at the sky, listening to a podcast, or just simply being present with him.
I’ve learned in this life that if you take every misfortune as an opportunity for growth and to learn something new, then you will actually enjoy the process no matter what life throws at you.
So far, I’m learning to accept that my dreams are on hold, how to slow down and enjoy my horse in a different way, with patience, just caring for him, as well as listening to as many podcasts as possible, about rehab, rehab modalities, tendon/ligament injuries, and enjoying this new realm that I haven’t deeply studied before 🙏
My joke is that I’m on “Farm Arrest” until further notice…. 🤣

11/08/2025

Sharing one of my favorite Dressage Nerd Podcasts 🤓🦄

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1pAd7xDWMDM5RXF4sBdnEn?si=VmOrZDESRIKpjGdwuvFwsQ

The Parbery Podcast · Episode

11/05/2025

💕

This whole journey, riding, training, life, is really about getting just a little bit better every single day. That’s it. That’s the magic.

We have to stop chasing “perfect.” Perfect doesn’t exist, not in dressage, not in life. And that’s a good thing! Because the joy is in the becoming.

What does matter is believing in the process: Putting our energy into showing up, learning, growing, and doing just a little better today than we did yesterday. For ourselves. For our horses. For the people we love.

We get to choose how we show up, how we respond, how we grow. That’s real power, the quiet, steady kind that changes everything over time.

So, the question isn’t “Am I perfect yet?” It’s simply, “Am I a little better than I was yesterday?”

That’s the work. That’s the joy.