Part 1:  This young rider and schoolmaster gelding are given a great reminder of making sure the horse is sensitive and responsive.  They work on suppleness and straightness, and Debbie gives an excellent explanation of correcting the outside shoulder and lack of flexion.   

Part 2:  To correct the horse drifting right, Debbie asks for a renvers position.  They work on the timing of when to apply the correction and when to go straight.  When asked to go to the walk the transition is abrupt, so Debbie asks the rider to ride through the transition.

Part 3:   They return to the trot, and the horse shows more looseness in his back. The again focus on the transitions, asking them to be fluid and forward.

Part 4: Debbie asks for a quick and short trot and then a quick and short walk to keep the engagement through the transition.  She asks the rider to think of piaffe steps before the down transition. They then apply this same idea to the trot canter transitions.

Part 5: Oh, the dreaded sitting trot with no stirrups.... They continue to work on keeping the right shoulder in line while sitting with long legs. Debbie discusses the importance of making sure the body position of the rider remains correct.  She also clarifies that the rider must give with her hand at the moment she asks him to go forward with her leg.         

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Part 1:   We join this lesson after a warm up.  They show a great example of precise canter departs, asking them to be straight without leaping into the canter. Mr. Hess explains how the changes are affected by not having control in the canter.  They use the shoulder in to help the straightness.  

Part 2:  This great lesson on canter preparation continues with asking fro more quickness from behind.  They then use transitions within the gait again keeping him straight.    

Part 3:   They move back and forth between medium and collected canter, making the collected canter smaller to collect the gelding without fighting the rider. There is a great explanation of why the hind end has to be quicker for flying changes.  

Part 4:  Repeated transitions on the circle leading to the walk pirouette help him become quicker behind.  They do the canter half pass to the flying change, but do not get a clean change.   

Part 5:  They work to get him to understand he has to jump through with his hind legs in the change. The flying change is successful!

Part 6:  They ride a test while Mr. Hess coaches them through it. They school the shoulder in on the center line, the extended trot and the medium trot.