Poof has been a horse that historically I have struggled to communicate effectively with, as a rider. He is very sensitive to the aids but can also get strong through his shoulders and, when tense, looses activity behind and looses “thoroughness.”

Since I have been here at KingsWay working under HBE, and also thanks to the the help of NW Dressage before that, I have been working on becoming more loose in my own body and encouraging Poof’s elasticity and rhythm with softness in my seat and hands.

Gradually, Poof has become more active behind in our collected work and is learning not to loose impulsion as he transitions between “forward and back.” Having been inspired by the recent training sessions with DOC and our auspicious beginning of the show season with nice marks in dressage, today I decided to push the envelope.

To start today, I began working in working trot, then asking for collected steps, then medium steps, then back. Each time I made a transition, I asked for more of a difference between the different trot steps. Eventually, with DOC’s voice in my head telling me to “go there,” Poof lifted into several steps of passage!

I would say that today is a major milestone for us and is a real benchmark of our progress as a team.

Go eventing! Go Poof!