BY EMILY RIDEN / JUMP MEDIA
Earlier in August, U.S. Olympic team bronze medalist Laura Graves gave a “Dressage for Jumping” clinic hosted by the Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) and presented by BarnManager. Well schooled hunter/jumper riders will know that the most important part of a round is “what’s between the fences.” In her clinic, Laura placed heavy emphasis on not overworking yourself and creating a level of responsiveness in your horse. With this concept in mind, she has some excellent quotes we can all benefit from.
“Whether you’re jumpers, or eventers, or dressage people – everyone struggles with all of the same things.”
“How hard are you working on a scale of 1-10 and how hard do you wish you were working? I want to be at a 1-2.”
“You have to get more by doing less.”
“If your leg is away, the pressure of the air of your leg coming toward his side should be enough to speed him up again.”
“I don’t want it to look easy. I want it to actually be easy.”
“The main thing that I find holds people back is that we’re afraid of mistakes. Nobody’s more afraid of mistakes than dressage people. Horses making mistakes does not mean we’re bad riders.”
