Through the screens of our smartphones and computers, many of us watched Steffen Peters ride Legolas to a team bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Others admired photos of Hilda Gurney and her Thoroughbred Keen at the 1976 Olympics or spotted her as an “S” judge at C. You’ve probably seen images of Charlotte Bredahl-Baker and her Olympic mount Monsieur at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games and of Christine Traurig riding Etienne at the 2004 Olympics in Sydney.

Here, these four Olympic athletes and professional dressage riders talk about the theories and techniques that launched them to the top of their sport.

STEFFEN PETERS’ DRESSAGE TRAINING TIPS

Olympic Dressage Team member Steffen Peters will be representing the U.S. this summer at the 2024 Paris Games aboard Suppenkasper, a 2008 KWPN (Spielberg x Upanoeska). Born in Germany, Peters became a U.S. citizen in 1992 and is currently based in San Diego, California. At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, he competed on Udon in his first of four Olympic Games, earning a team bronze medal.

He represented the U.S. again in Beijing in 2008, placing fourth with Ravel, and at the 2012 London Games, he scored sixth in team competition. Peters won the 2009 FEI World Cup Dressage Final in Las Vegas, Nevada, aboard Ravel. He also won both individual and team gold medals at the past two Pan American Games. Peters logged his best individual finish of bronze at the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky. Competing in his fourth Olympics in Rio, Steffen earned a team bronze with Legolas.

The High Performance Level

1. To get the most out of a horse who has excellent gaits but lacks suppleness or is overly sensitive, Peters said it’s important to work his body in a position that makes him feel most comfortable. “For every horse, you must find the most productive frame and the most productive tempo,” he noted. For example, Legolas was more productive in a rounder frame and a slower-tempo trot.

2. To address suppleness in the warm-up, Peters uses this exercise: Trot down the long side in counter flexion. As you approach the short side, turn early and transition to true flexion. As your horse is in true flexion, leg yield away from your inside leg. Ride this exercise equally in both directions.

3. Don’t be afraid to let hot horses go forward. “It’s tempting to ride hot horses too collected,” Peters said. “The half pass is a good movement for hot horses because it allows you to actually put your leg on while the horse moves sideways.”

4. “Even with hotter horses, it’s important to give them a break. It’s not a good idea to wear them out. Even if the break is just for 30 seconds.”

5. Building strength is gradual. “Strength comes from brief moments of asking for more effort.”

6. Get comfortable with centerlines. “We ride centerlines all the time in dressage, so make them your friend. Remember, nothing changes on centerline.”

7. Focus on creating a positive training experience. Legolas gets too excited in the changes after schooling piaffe/passage, so Peters rides the changes first.

8. Choose your battles wisely. Peters was comfortable with Legolas earning a 6 or a 6.5 on the changes because some of his other movements are so much stronger. “We had a ‘savings account.’ The changes were not his savings account.”

Clear, Correct Aids

9. Have a high standard for giving aids in a very clear, correct way. “If the aids are that obvious, it’s not dressage. Educate your horse so he responds to gentle leg pressure.”

10. Your horse should have respect for the bit and should respond to the smallest of aids. “When we touch a horse on the inside rein, he should bend to the inside,” Peters said. “When I touch the bit ever so slightly, the horse must answer to this.”

11. Don’t rely on spurs. “Only use the spur to correct. Spurs are not intended to ride a movement,” Peters said. “Make a clear correction with the spur. If you are constantly giving your horse an aid, he will get numb to it. “

12. Keep things simple. “You don’t want to have to micromanage every little thing.”

13. The horse must be happy in his mouth. “What good are big, expressive movements if the horse isn’t good in the contact?”

14. Listen to your gut. “It’s important to listen to instruction, but it’s also important to listen to your gut feeling about the right time to make a correction.”

15. Be decisive. “The wrong reaction is 10 times better than no reaction at all.”

16. Stick with what works in your training. Don’t change the routine too much.

17. Test your show preparedness by riding the challenging movements in a test. For example, if riding from an expressive trot to a calm walk is difficult for your horse, Peters advises practicing the transition exactly as it appears in the tests.

18. Incorporate plenty of praise. “Stop and let your horse think about it when he’s done something right.”

CHRISTINE TRAURIG’S DRESSAGE TRAINING TIPS

Chef d’equipe of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Dressage Team Christine Traurig is widely regarded as the USEF young horse coach. Born and raised in Germany on the farm where her father bred horses, Traurig developed her passion and skill for riding young horses early in life.

Traurig, who currently resides in Carlsbad, California, has a fervent passion for helping both young riders and horses learn and commit to basic horsemanship principles. At the age of 12, she started riding at the National Riding School at Hoya with legendary trainer Otto Meyer. She rode sale horses for German National Trainer Holger Schmezer before moving to the U.S. in 1982.

In 1998, Traurig began training with Johann Hinnemann and later competed at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, where the team took a bronze medal.

Developing Young Horses

19. For all horses, but especially young ones, Traurig said you can promote relaxation and rhythm by riding lots of trot–canter–trot transitions.

20. The concept of relaxation has two components. “Relaxation means the horse is physically and mentally free of tension.”

21. Apply the same warm-up structure to each horse. Traurig uses her warm-ups to confirm the fundamental aids to loosen, supple and straighten her horse. This includes driving, containing and bending aids.

22. Young horses must learn to go and stay forward while remaining calm. “Your horse’s desire to go forward must be greater than your need to remind him,” Traurig said. “But he must stay calm in his mind and loose in his body.”

23. You must teach a young horse to clearly understand the difference between yielding versus bending on a circle, Traurig noted.

24. Do not teach collection to a young horse too early. “Use exercises that naturally encourage collection without mentally forcing it.”

25. In a dressage saddle, she reminds riders to maintain three points of contact with their horses: your legs, seat and the bit.

26. “You want your horse to move off, around and ahead of your inside leg,” Traurig said regarding a horse’s ideal response to inside leg pressure.

27. Make straightness a priority. “You always want to get your horse straight. This is a prerequisite to correct flexion.”

28. To straighten your horse, Traurig suggested aligning him from poll to tail while keeping his neck centered between his shoulders.

29. Remember the specific role of each rein. “The inside rein indicates direction,” she said. “The outside rein executes direction.”

30. As your horse’s rider, it’s your responsibility to address her strengths and weaknesses. “Every horse has a soft side and a stiff side. It’s our job to deal with that.”

Collection and Sholder-Fore

31. As you work toward collection, don’t forget about the necessity of forwardness. “You need the forwardness because you must have something to collect.”

32. You can use exercises like shoulder-fore and 10-meter circles to naturally encourage collection. Traurig noted that leg yielding is also useful because it teaches a horse to go forward with a degree of sideways.

33. Encourage your horse to cover ground. “You should feel in your seat that your horse is working from his hind end toward the bit.”

34. When teaching a young horse shoulder-fore, try this exercise: Ride down centerline. Leg yield to the rail. Ride a 10-meter circle. Create a “baby” shoulder-in. If your horse loses forwardness and impulsion, straighten him and go forward. The leg yield makes him move away from the inside leg, the circle ensures he understands the direction of the front end and the shoulder-in combines those two ideas.

35. Stretching is important in every schooling session, but don’t let your horse think it’s a break from work. “Stretching is not supposed to be associated with quitting.”

36. Do not underestimate the value of a 20-meter circle. “The work toward half pass actually begins on the 20-meter circle. This is because you are dictating the placement of the forehand in front of the hind end.”

Establishing Trust

37. The horse must find trust in the rider’s aids. “When we talk about trust, it’s important to be clear about how that is developed,” Traurig said. “Handling must be done in a very experienced way so the horse can trust the outcome of the influence. This should be coupled with the rider working toward obedience and respect. The horse needs to know that when he responds in a correct way, there is a reward.”

38. Always consider your horse’s age and stage of training and adjust your expectations accordingly. “Submission is willingness to cooperate, but what creates the willingness to cooperate? Obedience. All of this must be done in relation to the horse’s age and stage of training.”

39. “Energy from the hind engine must be coupled with mental and physical suppleness.”

40. Always encourage the hind leg to become more weight-bearing. To activate your horse’s inside leg, she suggests this exercise: Ride a figure-eight. Bring your horse’s haunches around the bending inside leg to activate the inside hind leg. Notice how this makes the horse more supple and flexible behind the saddle.

HILDA GURNEY’S DRESSAGE TRAINING TIPS

Hilda Gurney has made significant contributions to the sport of dressage. In 1976, she earned an Olympic team bronze medal and won individual gold and silver and three team gold medals at the Pan Am Games. She also took six USET National Grand Prix Championship titles on the legendary Hall of Fame member Keen.

Gurney is an S judge, a former USDF “L” Education Program Instructor and has served on the USEF’s test writing committee. She has a highly successful breeding program and still rides 15 to 20 horses a day.

Lessons From a Judge’s Pespective

41. At Training Level, judges want to see a horse who covers ground and moves forward to contact. Halting through a walk is acceptable as long as it’s straight.

42. Judges expect to see horses in a more uphill frame at First Level. Transitions should be at the markers, Gurney said. The walk should cover ground and the canter should have a nice jump.

43. Do not let your horse drift before the turn a C. “This is a problem I often sees at First Level,” she noted. “You must ride straight through G and then begin your angle for the turn only after G.”

44. Don’t ride a transition to halt abruptly, which is when a horse makes quicker, hurried steps into the transition or just plants his feet.

45. “Tempo enables dressage to become dancing,” Gurney said. “Rhythm is the regularity of the pace. Tempo is the speed of the pace.”

46. In canter–trot–canter transitions at First Level, three to five steps of trot are acceptable.

47. If you’re concerned about your horse’s ability to perform at First Level, take heart. “Every horse can learn Training Level through First Level movements,” Gurney said.

48. She described the challenge of dressage in a unique yet simple way: “We are trying to teach gymnastics through a tactile language.”

49. “Cadence is thrust and power within rhythm.”

Second and Third Level

50. At Second Level, collection is introduced. Judges look for increased engagement, thrust and elevation. The medium trot appears at Second Level because of the new expectation of some degree of collection. Remember, you cannot ride a medium trot until you have an element of collection. Gurney also explained the difference between a medium trot and a lengthened trot: “In a lengthened trot, you don’t see as much lightness off the ground and reach in the shoulder.”

51. At Second Level, the medium walk should be performed on the bit and should have more overstep. “There is not as much variation in the walk at the lower levels because the goal is to keep the gait pure,” Gurney noted.

52. It’s not really possible to perform a medium walk to canter transition. “This is because you need steps of collection in the walk to rock the horse back for the canter depart.”

53. At Third Level, flying changes are introduced. You need a canter with good ground cover and suspension in the collected canter. “The change must be performed in the same canter you were in before the change,” she said. “Even if the change is clean, the quality of the canter has to be good.”

54. Gurney explained that you need two ingredients for a good quality, clean change: A canter with good suspension and a horse who reacts well to the outside aids.

55. Half pass is travers on a diagonal line. “The legs must cross in the half pass. This training starts at First Level because the leg yield introduces the horse to the skill of crossing his outside pair of legs over and in front of his inside pair of legs,” she said. “And this is a skill also needed in the half pass.”

CHARLOTTE BREDAHL-BAKER’S DRESSAGE TRAINING TIPS

Charlotte Bredahl-Baker and Monsieur were on the 1992 Olympic bronze-medal-winning U.S. Dressage Team in Barcelona, Spain. She was also on the silver-medal-winning U.S. team in 1997 at the North American Championships riding Lugano. She trained both horses from start to Grand Prix.

Bredahl-Baker is an international dressage judge (4*) and has judged all over the world. In 2014, she was named Honorary Instructor by the USDF and received the gold medal of distinction from the USEF. She was also appointed as U.S. Assistant Youth Coach in 2014.

Focus on Young Riders

56. When you’re teaching your horse something new, begin on his good side so that it’s a positive experience.

57. When you’re teaching piaffe, passage and pirouettes, it’s best to do everything in short sets. “It is better to do many short spurts than a few over an extended period,” Bredahl-Baker said. “It is important not to get the horse muscle-sore when you are first asking for more collection.”

58. Think about riding your horse up and in front of you. “Every chance you get, put your hands forward so you can meet the contact out further. Keep thinking about the frame and keeping your horse growing in front of you.”

59. “As you transition between medium, working and collected gaits, focus on riding tactful transitions while keeping your horse’s neck long.”

60. If you struggle to maintain power in the trot, think about riding a medium trot without actually performing a medium trot. Having a medium-trot mentality should create a better trot, she noted.

61. “To ensure correct bend in the haunches-in, imagine wrapping your horse’s body around your inside leg.”

62. As you begin to ride the tempi changes, don’t focus on counting until later in your session. “I start off the changes without counting so I can focus on the quality,” she noted. “I always want to set my horse up for success by not changing unless the horse is straight and in balance.”

63. Utilize leg yield in the changes. “Using a slight leg yield between the changes reminds the rider to keep her leg on in the changes and it keeps the horse moving forward and straight,” Bredahl-Baker said.

Half Pass, Pirouette and Piaffe Work

64. As you prepare to ride a half pass, make sure you get a good quality shoulder-in first. This is ensures you start the half pass with a good bend and an uphill balance.

65. If you find the half pass challenging, try this exercise: Ride shoulder-in. Ride a 10-meter circle. Return to shoulder-in for a few strides. Turn the shoulder-in into a half pass. This exercise is effective because it breaks down the pieces of the half pass and then puts them back together in a logical sequence.

66. When you school the half pass, don’t stay in the movement for too long. “Go back to shoulder-in to regain the bend if you lose it.”

67. Start by schooling walk pirouettes on a big square. As you progress, ride on a smaller and smaller square.

68. “A lot of people are too strong in the outside rein in walk pirouettes. If you restrain the horse too much with the outside rein, he can’t bend or turn. The same thing happens in canter pirouettes. Relax the outside rein a little to allow your horse to turn.”

69. When schooling pirouettes, Bredahl-Baker stands in the middle to encourage horse and rider to use their inside legs to prevent the horse from falling in.

70. To prevent your horse from losing activity in canter pirouette work, ride medium gaits in between. “Mix it up between mediums and pirouettes to ensure the horse keeps thinking forward.”

71. “I never walk out of the piaffe because I want the horse to come out thinking forward,” she said. “To prevent the horse from losing forward in the passage work, I mix it up with trot and/or medium trot spurts.”

This article first appeared in the April 2017 issue of Dressage Today magazine.

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