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1- 10 minute walk on long rein.
2- Trot and canter warm up with light contact.
3- Flat exercise: - Shorten your reins for full contact. Lengthen and shorten the canter. This exercise is excellent for building a topline. Ride on a 20m circle and canter forward for two and then collect for two. Use your seat to collect and then soften your back to go forward. Start to ask the horse to do 3 strides and then collect and then 4 and so on until you are able to do half a circle and then you can go forward off the circle, doing about 6 and 6 around the entire arena. During lengthening you want to feel the power come from behind very straight from your legs and a following seat (soft) at that time you can allow the neck to stretch his back. Do not throw him away or he will come above the bit.
4- Practice your Pattern.
5- I have two poles in the outdoor. Canter them working on achieving a nice even temp at a medium canter. Do not worry about the strides, it will be 6 or 7. After you can do that smoothly then ride in with the same medium canter, ad a stride or two and then back to the medium canter to the second pole. You want to ride each pole with the same canter, with a couple shortened steps in the middle of the line. You do not want to be pulling at the second pole, you should be going forward again.
6- 3 minute long trot.
7- Finish with walk around yard.

1- 10 minute walk on long rein.
2- Trot and canter warm up with light contact.
3- Flat exercise: - Shorten your reins for full contact. Lengthen and shorten the trot. This is a vintage video (Betsy is just a baby). I like Wolfgang's simple explanation for lengthening. He does not want the slapping of the legs for it, he wants you to squeeze and lower your hands, I would like to add to be sure those hands are on the sides of the neck evenly. I also like Betsy's use of the small circle for the shortening phase. Practice their techniques by lengthening on the diaganol and shortening in the corner. Lengthen and shorten twice on the longs sides and then try Betsy's use of the small circle to shorten.

4- Pattern:
RL canter across diagonal, X circle right at forward canter.
At X simple change to left lead to finish diagonal line.
Trot before corner, after corner lengthen trot.
Trot halfway down the long side and then halt.
Quarter turn to the left and left lead canter to quarterline.
LL canter loop back to quarterline.
Canter across the middle of the arena. Halt.
Quarter turn to the right and extended trot to finish.
5- 3 minute long trot.
6- Finish with walk around yard.

1- 10 minute walk on long rein.
2- Trot and canter warm up with light contact.
3- Flat exercise: - Practicing a change of rein. Another exercise for the rider. It is wise to know how to do things properly or as expected from a professional. There are reasons why we change rein in a specific way. Watch the video then practice them with your horse.
Change of rein out of the circle by doing a half turn out of the circle and then back on the circle, the opposite direction.
Change of rein through the circle by doing an "s" through the middle of the circle, as she says "like a yin yang" symbol."
Change of rein across the diagonals, short and long.
Change of rein down the centerline.
Change or rein through a 4 loop serpentine.
Change of rein half turn (1) and reverse half turn (2) (not on video).
4- 3 minute long trot.
5- Finish with walk around yard.

1- 10 minute walk on long rein.

2- Trot and canter warm up with light contact.

3- Flat exercise: - Today is going to be about the rider not the horse. I am sure that if you truly execute this exercise that you will be calling me all sorts of nasty names at the end of it and maybe when you wake up in the morning the day after too! It is called Thigh Master Circles. Ride a rising trot circle without stirrups but pull your toe in while posting to engage your inner thigh muscles. I have a video for you to watch, the first half is at the trot and the end is at the canter. For this challenge we are only doing the rising trot. As in the video I challenge you to do 5 continual circles each direction.

4- Repeat your pattern again and fix anything that needs it.

5-Jump exercise: The exercise will be a gymnastic with three elements, with v poles for straightness. It will be a one to a one. Jump through until your horse figures it out. This is also a directional exercise. Follow the v poles for direction.

6- 3 minute long trot.
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7- Finish with walk around yard.

1- 10 minute walk on long rein.

2- Trot and canter warm up with light contact.

3- Flat exercise: - Quarter line straightness. Use the quarter line to achieve straightness. Start in walk and then trot and canter. Use a visual target to guide the horse straight. You want to keep your hands on either side of the neck. Do not allow the hand/rein to pass over the wither or to move to far away from the neck. Fill the space between the rein with straightness from the hind end. If you get the hind end stepping up straight you can easily guide the shoulder with both reins as a unit. Straightness needs to come from coming forward from the hind, not by steering with the hands. If it is not coming from the hind you will look like a drunken sailor trying to walk the quarter line. I have attached a video, this is probably my most favorite video of all time. It helped me with a new level of feeling. No matter what level you are, it has the potential to reach an "ah ha" moment for you. Enjoy.

4- Repeat your pattern again and fix anything that needs it.

5-Jump exercise: I will set up two exercises. The first one will be a simple single jump with pole in front and behind. Be sure to go the correct direction as the entry pole will be tighter than the exit pole. Check ground line for direction. Before starting, canter over a small jump off each lead as a warm up. Then canter through this a few times and let it educate your horse for a nicer jump.

The second exercise will be a gymnastic with three elements, with v poles for straightness. It will be a one to a one. Jump through until your horse figures it out. This is also a directional exercise. Follow the v poles for direction.

6- 3 minute long trot.

7- Finish with walk around yard.

click here for video
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1- 10 minute walk on long rein

2- Trot and canter warm up with light contact.

3- Flat exercise for Thursday - Canter Halt Canter Transitions. This seems similar to the exercise in Challenge #11. However, canter to walk without trot steps is much more difficult. I have attached a video of teaching this and she uses a series of large circle to small circle for the transitions. I really like this approach as it sets them up appropriately. It is okay if they give a trot step or two at the level everyone is riding at, but work in the future to obtain the transition without the trot steps.

4- Work on this week's pattern.

5-Cavaletti: I will set a series of walk poles. At first walk over them on a loose rein and let the horse figure things out on his own. Then again a few times with light contact and end with short reins and a following hand.

6- 3 minute long trot.
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7- Finish with walk around yard.

1- Walk your horse for a full 10 minutes on a loose rein.

2- With light contact warm up your horse in a trot and canter.
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3- Shorten your reins for full contact and today's exercise will be riding a bold canter. I observe everyone riding on a daily basis and most riders here are complacent with a mediocre canter at best. Learning to be comfortable with a big bold canter and it's power will help you in the show ring, recognize and feel a good canter. Everything is about the canter, a good canter will find you a rideable distance. Watch the attached video. She explains how to maintain a good canter. Teach your horse to stay there without your constant nagging. Pay attention to what she says about if your horse breaks to trot on you and how to manage/eliminate that. I see lots of horses breaking to trot without the rider asking. Ride more efficiently and the result will be less work and interference from the rider and a happier horse.

4- Finish your horse with a three minute long trot.
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5- Enjoy a nice walk around the yard, get him out of the ring.

1- 10 minute walk on long rein.
2- Trot and canter warm up with light contact.
3- Diamond exercise: - Another exercise that many of you have worked on with me. Again, I do not have video to back it up. This exercise was taught to me years ago from Kevin Babington. At the trot and canter work on a diamond shape instead of a circle. Use arena letters or any visual marker for the points to ride to. At first establish the diamond track. Then ride the track with a little inside bend. Develop into looking to your next marker before you get to the marker in front of you to smooth the points. Finally on the straights of the diamond I like to send the horse forward. If done correctly, you will be riding a beautifully shaped dressage show circle not a diamond. One of those great exercises that trick you into riding correctly!
4- Repeat your pattern again and fix anything that needs it.
5-Jump exercise: Work on the same bending line again, if confident ride the 5, the 6 and the 4.
6- 3 minute long trot.
7- Finish with walk around yard.