After the canter work, Steffen has them do trot work, including passage, piaffe and half pass. He wants the focus on cadence, and since the horse has a good passage, he suggests using that to help collect the trot. In the half pass, if the rider feels the trot getting flat, Steffen suggests going forward and then go back to the half pass. In the piaffe, the rider shouldn’t use the leg all the time. The horse sits too much and then gets stuck. That is when to use the leg to move the horse forward.
Up Next in Prix St. Georges
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Schooling an Upper-Level Pony – Warm-Up
This German Riding Pony tends to rush and get too low in front so they start the warm-up with a slower tempo and higher neck carriage. Steffen comments that usually diving in front and being too quick go together. They do the same thing in the warm-up canter. Then they go back to the walk and try...
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Schooling an Upper-Level Pony – Cante...
They work on schooling pirouettes. Steffen says to try to keep the movement and the aids simple. When schooling the movement, keep it large and only do as many strides as the horse can do with quality and then go forward out of the movement. He stresses to set the horse up correctly and then allo...
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Schooling an Upper-Level Pony – Flyin...
They start with flying changes on the long side slightly off the rail so that there is some room for straightening the horse or moving him a little off the leg. Steffen emphasizes the need for straightness before asking for the change. He also wants the rider to use the legs as the primary aids a...