www.dressageinstructor.com

01/03/2026

02/24/2025

This.

After her victory at Stockholm in 1990, Nicole Uphoff said to the surprised press: “My basic aids are to make my horse loose. If ever you sat on my horse – and you never will – you would find that he is loose in the body, and on the bit.” Read more https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2018/03/rembrandt-and-nicole-uphoff-at-stockholm/

01/25/2025

The most influential Dressage Master of them all, Steinbrecht. Celebrate the founder of modern, classical, dressage.
“The rider who has been schooled in such an artificial prescribed seat will present, after a long struggle, not a thoroughly schooled horse… but a wooden machine which, although working mechanically is devoid of all elasticity and freshness in its way of going.”
Dr Reiner Klimke and Pascal illustrate Steinbrecht's principles. https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2022/11/the-most-influential-dressage-master-of-them-all-steinbrecht/

10/30/2024

The great Ulla Salzgeber and her star, Rusty, share a training session – and a lot of great training ideas and pics of a great combination…
"We ride them very deep and low, but you always have to control the neck and the head. If you can’t control the neck - that it is long, that it is short, that it is up and it is down - you have problems. Riders ask down with the neck, down with the neck, and they pull the neck, pulling the head between the front legs of the poor horse, and the hindlegs are out behind, far behind."
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2017/09/at-home-with-ulla-salzgeber/

10/09/2024

Christopher Bartle – genius trainer – dressage, eventing:
”Christopher has a very simple system to communicate with the horse. First, you make a POSITION STATEMENT, putting the body into position to tell the horse what it’s going to do. It’s the preparation. Next we use BODY LANGUAGE to tell the horse when it’s going to do it. It’s the action. This is then supported by the SEAT for length of stride and the LEG which is for energy and FINALLY THE HAND.”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2023/12/christopher-bartle-this-is-a-truly-amazing-article/

09/01/2024

In traditional riding lessons, the way to obtain more activity always seems to be “more leg”. But that’s not really correct. If you drive more, if you use stronger leg aids, you stiffen your leg muscles, which blocks your hip joints, which blocks the horse’s back and hind legs. Gripping or kicking legs cause the horse to hold his breath and to brace his rib cage, which also kills the impulsion and the back activity.

The secret to better engagement and activity is really not to do anything with your seat that can block or slow down the hind leg movement. “Take the foot off the brake, before you step on the gas” is something I used to tell students who took longe lessons on our horses in the US and weren’t able to keep the horses in the trot. Most of them would immediately kick the horse to keep him going, although they themselves were the reason why the horse fell back into the walk. The less you interfere with the horse’s back movement, the less you need to drive.

04/30/2024

04/18/2024

Christopher Bartle and Ingrid Klimke tell us:
Dressage training in a classical sense was all about training a horse to carry itself, to be able to respond to the rider’s direction, but not to lose its initiative and not to lose its ability to be a true partner to the rider.”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2021/03/top-tip-with-christopher-bartle/

02/23/2024

💯

The late Dr Klimke told us:
“The horse should be happy and going softly with invisible aids. To achieve this the trainer must be very patient and disciplined. The aim is to keep your horse proud so that he accepts you as master. Don’t sit on him but influence him. The horse must carry us easily and only then will you achieve self-balance.”Share more of his wisdom, and enjoy a photo gallery illustrating his philosophy:
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2021/07/wisdom-from-reiner-klimke/

02/06/2024

Reiner Klimke told us:
“The rider who is sitting a little bit forward, who doesn’t make himself heavy, is what I like. When I ride, I always try to not make myself heavy and bring the horse down, but to go with the movement and keep light, but as you can see from in photos from 1936, this is not one of our inventions.”
Read more and enjoy a picture gallery of Ingrid Klimke illustrating her father’s words:
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2021/07/wisdom-from-reiner-klimke/

01/28/2024

Steffen Peters:
"To be true dressage, we go back to self carriage… Show the lightness, expression and beautiful self-carriage that is the essence of the sport. The way she carries herself… Don’t lean back, give her back a place to go, don’t contain her with your seat.”
Read more: https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2023/11/steffen-peters-at-mary-hannas/

01/24/2024