Ashley Donadt breaks down how to ride and trouble-shoot the half-pass, introduced at Third Level. She shows how to ride a haunches-in along the rail and then take that haunches-in on a diagonal to create the half-pass. She also shows a correction to common training problems using her “staircase” ...

Olympian Kasey Perry-Glass helps a rider on a Third Level horse who likes to curl around the left side. They increase the engagement of the right hind leg and counter-flex to improve straightness. They also school lateral work in the canter to improve straightness. They practice a single flying c...

In the canter Stephen has her think of riding a pirouette canter in the corners and riding forward out. The canter becomes more uphill, and he then has her ride the test again. When asking for shorter quicker steps in the corner at the trot she gets passage, and he helps her work through that. Wi...

The 2023 Third Level Test 1 is demonstrated. Mike Osinski scores and comments on the test.

The 2023 Third Level Test 2 is demonstrated. Mike Osinski scores and comments on the test.

The 2023 Third Level Test 3 is demonstrated. Kari McClain scores and comments on the test.

Laura works with a talented third level horse and rider pair. She feels that they can improve overall by increasing his suppleness in all directions. The horse has to be able to move forward through the suppleness without getting tight. Laura also talks about the horse head and neck carriage in t...

When working on a single flying chance, Laura first wants the canter quality to be there before even thinking about the change. In the change, she talks about starting the new lead, but also having to stop the old lead, which many people dont think about. Unlike other movements, the flying change...

They begin to work on a very collected canter. Laura says that the horse is responsible for maintaining the collected canter. The rider shouldnt drive the horse forward. If the horse breaks to trot then the rider needs to make a correction. The rider shouldnt fuss or pick at the horse to keep him...

They continue the collected canter work. Laura says that the rider legs need to be loose even while riding the collected canter. Keeping the outside leg in canter position should be enough. If the horse breaks, that on him. Then the moment the horse rhythm goes from canter to trot is the time to ...

To prepare for half pass, Laura suggests starting with some shoulder-in and haunches-in. On the stiffer side, to have an easy half-pass, you have to be able to ride the body of the horse on the line while being able to bend the horse without changing the line. The neck is separate from the should...

They work on the horse's stiffer side in canter. It is important that the rider not carry the horse. The horse must maintain the energy herself, and if not then the rider needs to let her know. Laura suggests being stricter with the horse but do less. Instead of doing 15 mediocre flying changes, ...

In the first part of this video, Shannon helps the rider establish clarity in going forward. It is important to establish forward in the warmup to set the tone for the rest of the ride. The horse must react to the leg by going forward, but also needs to carry himself and not depend on the rider l...

In the second part of the ride, they start to work on multiple changes. Shannon stresses that they should not beœtempi changes but rather changes on the line. She does not want the rider to think about a specific number. Instead when the canter is right, ask for a change. That maintains the quali...

FEI 5* Judge Janet Foy works with a rider on making the horse honest to both legs. If the horse isn't responsive to the leg in the walk half pass zig-zag, he definitely won't be in the canter. By exaggerating the change in bend at the walk, the rider has opened up room for the flying change.

With a horse that has a tendency to get too low and curl, Kasey wants to make sure the rider focuses on the half-halt bringing the horse’s shoulders up and the hindquarters under. However, she wants the half-halt mostly through the seat so that the hand doesn’t take too much and make the horse cu...

On Day 1, this rider and the 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Leopold of Shakespeare, currently showing at Third Level, start their work with Anne Gribbons and then receive input from the other experts. They first work on warming up the horse over his topline and discuss the importance of not going...

Once the horse is moving well in canter, they try some flying changes. Steffen wants to make sure the horse’s energy, balance and suppleness is correct before asking for a change. The changes are clean and straight, but the horse is a little long and low, so Steffen works on having the rider shor...

In this video, Gary Rockwell starts the session by explaining that we need to think of collection as weight lifting...be smart about it and warm-up properly. The horse wants to be a little hollow to the left. Gary works to help the rider get the horse more equal in both reins. In the second half ...

German Olympian Dorothee Schneider works with two riders on the half pass and the start of flying changes. When a horse was tense, too high in the neck or behind the rhythm, Dorothee would tell the riders to stretch the horse forward and downward with light contact and used the phraseœtake a seat...

Dorothee works with the same riders from Day 1.

Next, Felicitas looks at Straightness from the rider's point of view. She discusses how the rider must feel the imaginary cogwheels that she discussed in the previous video. She attempts to unravel the complexity of this feeling in the turns and helps us understand how to ride this difficult elem...

In this video, they incorporate the previous exercises for a much more connected trot half pass. Scott gives them even more lateral exercises to improve the contact.