Although there is no shortage of year round American show circuits to choose from, here in Canada, during the winter months the show season comes to a halt for most people. The benefit is that it gives us an opportunity to assess our goals and make whatever changes are necessary.

A secure seat, a deep heel, and following hands are essential for a rider to jump well. Log some miles in a deep heeled, two-point position at the canter and over ground poles. This is a great leg and back strengthener.

I smiled, walking past the airport hat kiosk, en route to a judging adventure at an exhibition in Eastern Canada. I’d be wearing several hats and judging a kaleidoscope of classes at the show — equitation, road hack, reining, Western riding, working hunter, pleasure driving, driven dressage, conformation, showmanship, miniature horses… and more!

How to check your noseband for tightness. Technology now allows researchers to peek inside the equine mouth, comparing the effect of restrictive nosebands on bit action and swallowing. Overly tight nosebands, with the leverage they afford, can create measurable damage.

If done correctly, lunging teaches a green horse to discipline, balance, and organize himself in a frame at all gaits and during transitions, without the added stress of a rider. By going back to these building blocks in his foundation at the start of a session, or in a new environment when he is experiencing sensory overload, will tell the horse to remember those skills he’s familiar with.

It is a real asset for a young person to have a parent who is so supportive of their riding. Conflicts can be kept to a minimum if you’re careful to keep your role separate from the coach. (Failing to do so is sure to result in: “Well I’d like to see you do it, if you think it’s so easy!”).

Seated at the head of the quiet classroom, I watched the students in the classes I teach write their Equine Behaviour and Equine Business final exams, noting the happy faces of smug recognition (“Yes, I studied that!”) and the winces (“Rats, I’d hoped that material wouldn’t be on the test”). I empathize with them. I know what it’s like to sit in the “test seat” – as a student in university and, more recently, writing judging exams. And as a competitive rider, every horse show is a test.

A rider can communicate confidence with her eyes and, of course, can pilot her horse much more effectively when she uses her eyes correctly. The eyes plan the destination and often the next stride of the horse.

Q: My daughter has been taking riding lessons for some time now and at each lesson I hear the trainer remind her about her position – heels down, thumbs up, shoulders back, etc. When I asked my daughter the reasons for such attention to a rider’s position, she really couldn’t tell me more than “that’s just the way you do it.” Can you help this horsey mom understand?