Justine Wilson Dressage

Most amateur riders are employed full time and riding is (hopefully) an enjoyable pastime.  Does that mean you can’t have goals and reach them? Absolutely not!!

Set your goals:

Be honest about what you want to accomplish.

This is often the most difficult thing to do.   I suggest that you realistically evaluate what your capabilities are in terms of time, energy, physical capability and financial capability.

I unfortunately am somewhat limited physically.  I am missing two entire discs in my lumbar vertebrae and every day I have to assess what I am physically capable of accomplishing on any given horse in any given ride.

Although my limitations are not the same as yours, limitations still can become restrictive; whether it is time, money, energy or fitness. If you allow, it can impede on your goals to become a better dressage rider and partner to your horse.  You will need to decide for yourself if your limitations will keep you from achieving your goals. Once you make that assessment, you may want to modify your goals. I believe based on my experience, that if you set realistic goals, the limitations that you have become less an issue.

Redefine what ‘training’ means:

If I can’t ride for 45 minutes today (because I don’t have that much time) should I just forget it?-No, if you can ride for 15 minutes and it is a productive session (set a goal attainable for a 15 minute session….I stretched my horse and was able to have him relax over his back) that is far, far better than not getting on at all.

Justine riding Fleetwood, (Furioso II) owned by Kimberly Payne, in a training session with Gerrit-Claes Biernbroodspot. Photo courtesy of Lori Mote.

By virtue of the fact that you took the time just to get on, you are training your horse.  Every time you ride your horse you are training him.  All you need to keep in mind is what is possible in the amount of time you have allotted yourself for riding.  Ride that time correctly and be realistic regarding your expectations.

Keep in mind, in order to progress in your training you must have some time to spend beyond stretching and relaxing. Make it a date….on these days have the extra time and work on what was presented in your last lesson.    Don’t however, make it a marathon session.  45 minutes is good (including warm up); an hour and a half is really, really bad.  Think of your horse as a 4 year old child, even if he is 15 years old.  Stretching him to include work just beyond what he is capable of is going to help build strength and concentration; working much beyond his mental and physical capabilities is damaging.

Have a plan:

 How much time do I have?

 What do I want to accomplish?

 How do I go about getting there?

Every time you get on your horse, you need to have a plan in mind.

Today, I need to work on suppleness.  What exercises will help me accomplish that? Or, today, I need to work on moving more forward.  What exercises will help me accomplish that? Or, today we just need to chill out on the trail. You can go through the list, all the way from relaxation to ultimate collection for the FEI levels.  If you don’t know what your horse needs, check in with your trainer. A good trainer will tell you what you need to work on until your next lesson, and be able to give you exercises to help you move forward.

With this, I wish you a happy, healthy fall training season.

JW