They start working in passage. Laura suggests moving him slightly laterally in the passage so the horse loosens up throughout his entire body. When transitioning from passage to piaffe, the horse tends to get tight and lose the tempo behind. She feels the tempo is most important and, with this pa...

In the canter zig zag, Laura reminds the rider that in order not to feel rushed, the horse must start moving sideways immediately. She has the rider work on getting the horse sharp off the sideways leg. The horse has to get hot and sharp without charging forward.

They start with some walk canter transitions, and Laura explains that the horse needs to be hot on the hind legs, not hot running off and getting long. The horse struggles a bit in the very collected canter, which is the canter needed for the pirouette. Laura has the rider do leg yield and haunch...

At the end of the ride, they return to the piaffe and passage. Laura continues to stress suppling the horse while in passage but trying to make him sharper with the whip. When the horse loses his right hind leg, Laura suggests moving him slightly off the rider right leg to move that right hind un...

Laura wants the horse softer before doing tempi changes. They try to recreate a show atmosphere when the horse gets too strong in the changes. She says it important for the rider to understand when things don't feel exactly right and know how to make the movement work for you and get the horse ba...

Laura helps a Grand Prix horse and rider combination. The goal is to touch on many of the test movements, but while the horse is warming up, Laura talks about some of the high value test movements like piaffe, passage and pirouettes.

Laura suggests they start with canter half pass to test the bending and sideways movement. Then they move on to the zig zag. She wants the rider to make sure she understands the difference between moving sideways and going straight to help make sure they cover the same amount of ground and keep t...

They start working in collected canter. The more collected the horse becomes, the more important the contact is. It important to find an easy canter on contact on a small circle. If the horse breaks to trot, the rider needs to make a quick correction. When the rider gets a good moment, then the h...

Laura talks about building power for lengthening the gaits. She wants the rider to build the power to the hand from the hindquarters. The horse should wait forœpermission to go forward, and then the rider allows the forward movement. If the horse doesnt go forward, the horse needs an immediate co...

In this ride, Laura points out that the horse is a little long in his body. Horses with this type of conformation, she says, often would rather go left and right instead of closing up their bodies. If that the case, transitions between and within the gaits can be very beneficial. The ability to m...

In the warm-up, Laura suggests doing long diagonal lines with bending, making sure the horse is off the inside leg. The horse should feel equally soft and supple going straight as on a curved line. It is important to establish that suppleness on both sides at the beginning of the ride.

They take the same concepts from the trot lengthening to the canter lengthening. The length of the horse is controlled by the outside hind, and the rider closes her leg into a steady contact to come back. Using the same basic ideas, they also work on the beginnings of collected canter.

With this particular horse, the canter work is more advanced than the trot work. They start with canter leg yield making sure the horse doesnt surge forward, even if it means going less sideways. This exercise will help move the horse more into the outside rein and engage the hindlegs. This is th...

Laura explains the difference betweenœcontact andœconnection. Contact is between the bit and the rider hand. Connection includes the contact but also includes the hind leg of the horse, leg of the rider and the back of the horse. She also discusses the importance of the horse promptly responding ...

As they start to work in the trot, Laura focuses on the tempo and holds the horse to a high standard. They move into canter, and the same standards apply where there is one aid for the canter, and the horse should respond appropriately. If he doesnt, the rider repeats the transition and makes a p...

The pair works on bending in the trot to the left. Laura says it okay to insist on the bend, and when the horse softens then he can go straight ahead. In the canter, the horse must maintain the tempo, and the rider shouldn™t prevent the horse from breaking to the trot. That way she can focus on b...

They finish the ride still working on the bend and contact with a forward tempo to improve the connection. Laura helps the horse understand giving to rein pressure so that the rider is able to soften for a few moments. By the end of the ride, they are successfully working with a training level co...

After a walk break, they go back to establishing a forward tempo while shortening the reins. Once the horse is responsive to the leg, they start to work on the contact, asking the horse to give to a certain amount of pressure on the bridle. However, even if the rider is focusing on the contact, t...

Laura reminds us that the horse needs to wait for the rider, and if she gets tense to do a circle or some form of positioning so that the horse doesnt feel trapped. But at the same time, the horse needs to stay on the aids. They practice walk/canter transitions, and Laura points out a horse is la...

Laura helps a rider with a mare that is fussy in the contact. In order for the horse to start to build the topline, she has to get her to a place where she will hold the bit steady. The rider has to work the horse in many different patterns and a little bit sideways to help the horse release tens...

The next exercise Laura has the rider do is leg yield from the quarter-line to the rail followed by haunches-in. The horse is fussy in the bridle because she doesnt want to close into the connection. Keeping a steady elbow connects better to the seat which is a strong base of support compared to ...

After the warmup, Laura first focuses on transitions within the trot, shoulder-in and haunches-in to help supple and align the horse. It is important to maintain the forward energy in the lateral movements, and when the horse gives an honest effort, it important to reward and let the horse out.

In the turn on the haunches, Laura wants the rider to feel like there is enough energy to go to trot. The hind legs have to be going up and down under the horse belly not sideways. The front legs are going around. As the circle gets smaller, the tempo and quality should stay the same.

They finish their ride with more trot work. Laura states that the true feeling of forward is felt in the down transitions.œIn the canter, youll feel her take you in the trot. In the trot, youll feel her take you in the walk. If the balance in the trot feels good, Laura suggests pushing her one wa...