In the first three parts of this video, Ashley Johnson, 5-star event rider and coach of the University of Florida Eventing Team, rides while taking two of her students cross country schooling. This gives you the opportunity to see schooling from beginner novice to preliminary while watching a pro...

Ashley and her students start by warming up on the flat; then all three demonstrate their galloping position while making changes within the gallop. She gives great advice on figuring out what length to have your stirrups for jumping and galloping.

The riders begin the cross country session with a few easy fences strung together with gallops between them. At the water, each does a different exercise, letting the beginner novice horse first get his feet wet by walking in and walking around. The preliminary horse does a series of fences requi...

This section begins with riders doing mounds with small fences on top. The preliminary rider is then challenged with several fences in a row, including a corner off a bending line.

In the last two parts of this video, Ashley rides while taking two of her students cross country schooling. In these segments they school banks and ditch and rails (coffins) to build both the horse and rider’s confidence.

Ashley continues this cross country school with two of her students, one at Preliminary and the other at Novice. In this segment, they concentrate on ditch and rail questions as well as combining several fences in a row. Watch for great advice on how to deal with horses that let down during a sch...

On the Prelim bank down, Ashley coaches on how to prepare the horse for the drop. With the Novice rider, she demonstrates with her own Beginner Novice horse how much length of rein they need to not jump as hard down the bank. She finishes with her own horse whose just moving up to Novice by doing...

Mary D'Arcy helps a rider with a horse that can be reactive and lacks some confidence. He needs a structured warm-up and schooling routine with consistent direction from the rider.

Robin helps the rider improve her horse’s rideability and accepting of the aids on the flat so that the horse is more adjustable on the cross-country course. He wants the horse’s canter to be more uphill especially when preparing for a jump. The quality and balance of the canter must remain as sp...

Robin Walker starts by talking about the role trainers, instructors and riders must take especially during the cross country phase. The perception of eventing that people outside the industry isn't always a positive one, and those in the sport must be aware of how they conduct themselves. Then Wa...

Emily Beshear and Robin Walker discuss how to positively introduce a horse to jumping a ditch. Rider position and staying committed to going forward are important components for the horse not being fearful of the ditch.

Robin Walker and Emily Beshear lead a conversation about rider fitness necessary to be able to competently complete a cross country round. It is important to keep everyone safe. Then they go forward with helping riders introduce the water and mounds, emphasizing changes in grade and terrain. It i...

Emily Beshear and Robin Walker talk about introducing drops and banks to riders and horses. Emily discusses how the horse moves over a drop and what the rider's position needs to do to stay balanced and with the horse. Then Robin talks about how the rider should approach the bank and the importan...

Karen O'Connor works with a modified level rider on jumping drops and banks. First she shows the rider about standing straight up to bring the horse back without pulling on the horse's mouth. They progress to working on rider position at a drop fence. 

The first group of riders, consisting of starter, beginner novice and novice levels, warm up their horses for cross country. They start on the flat, including showing their galloping positions, and then jump a few low, warm-up fences.

Buck Davidson explains his basic philosophy about the cross-country phase. He has the riders start by galloping and practicing adjusting their horses’ strides. He then talks about rider position and where they should have their hands to best communicate with the horse. Miscommunication can lead t...

Ditches can make riders nervous, so Buck Davidson stresses that riders should focus on where they want to go and not where the problem might be.

Buck Davidson helps the riders school banks. He wants them to focus on trotting straight up the bank, turn around on the same line and trot down the bank. The key is knowing where you want the horse to go and making sure he gets there. The horse doesn’t have to do it fast, but he does need to be ...

David holds another rider accountable for noticing that her horse is changing his pace and having a reaction to fix it. Bringing her focus onto this, he's able to demonstrate how important that reaction time is, and she goes on to have a much better jump in and out of the water. He works with all...

David begins to work through each of the rider's responsibilities, focusing first on speed and the different paces for each kind of cross country fence. He also touches on direction, timing, rhythm, and balance, emphasizing that once the rider is taking care of these responsibilities and has enou...

Riders each tackle the course individually while Ian offers feedback. Two of the riders work on sitting down in the saddle through their combinations and riding with their legs and seat so the horse doesn't drop behind their leg. Ian uses the analogy of squeezing out a tube of toothpaste to encou...

Kyle removes the rails to reveal the ditch and the riders attempt it from the canter. Kyle talks more about his philosophy on teaching ditches, and the importance of the horse drawing confidence and courage from the rider on the approach. By staying soft and following the established routine, the...

Olympian David O'Connor works with riders on the cross country course, focusing on their responsibilities in the saddle. From the rider managing their own body and position, to having control of direction and timing, David works through everything expected on course. He helps a rider teach her ho...

Trailer for Olympian Boyd Martin's 'Which Canter Do I need?' session. Boyd works with a group of talented riders on the cross country course. The focus is on selecting the right canter, or gallop, to answer the question presented by each elements. From coffins to skinnies, Boyd works with the gro...