Meg Schulman is one of the USEF’s most popular and respected judges in the hunter and equitation divisions. She also finds time to conduct clinics throughout the United States, sharing her expertise with competitors eager to improve their horsemanship...
On April 16-19, 2009, the world's best show jumping and dressage riders gathered in Las Vegas, Nev., for the Rolex FEI World Cup Finals.
DRESSAGESteffen Peters was the only American remaining in the World Cup competition going into the...
The Green Horse
The green horse is inexperienced, suspicious, lacks confidence, is gawky and spooks at everything. He needs some fairly conventional grid work to help him realize that jumping can be fun. He also needs a rider with the...
When you’re focusing on your horse, it’s easy to forget about your position in the saddle. Adjust your stirrups to a length that hits your ankle bone or slightly above when your foot is...
Do you desperately wish for an elaborate jump course to practice on at home or at your boarding barn? After all, how can your horse be ready for the tricky turns and combinations at a show if he hasn’t...
Denice Klinger and Lido competing in a hunter breeding class. Photo courtesy picsofyou.com.It seems like western breeds get all the breaks when it comes to logging show miles at an early age. Endless halter, showmanship and longe line classes...
Young equine athletes seem full of such promise, offering you a chance to finally own your dream horse. Yet somewhere between Intro to Saddle 101 and Advanced Show-Ring Skills the learning curve of a young performance horse can take...
Three basic types of cross-country obstacles—ditches, banks and water—must be carefully and systematically introduced to even the boldest cross-country horse. If you give your horse a good start over these jumps, there’s no reason to ever have a problem....
The trained eye of a horse show judge sees nearly everything. Riders who believe they’ve ridden a perfect round over jumps are often surprised to learn they’ve been marked down for errors. One of the worst problems riders have...
Q. My seasoned jumper is a “been there, done that” kind of horse. But lately he’s been dropping rails, almost always on verticals. At horse shows, the first round or two he jumps clean. After that, I can’t seem...
