Advanced English Riding. Sharon Biggs

will be more uphill because her front end will rise as she takes more weight back onto her haunches. Some of the hallmarks of collection are the ability to ride movements with ease and smooth and steady transitions.

      This upper-level dressage horse performs the piaffe, one of the highest demonstrations of collection.

      At the early levels of collection, there is only a slight difference between working and collected gaits. The collected trot you see at the lower levels is a different collected trot from that seen at Grand Prix because the horse is stronger at the higher levels. At the higher levels, collection is highlighted in advanced movements such as piaffe and passage. At the lower levels, it is demonstrated in movements such as shoulder-in and the extended gaits.

      Strengthening exercises are helpful for collection. Ten-meter circles engage the inside hind leg and develop the muscles. Transitions work to develop the all-important impulsion or thrust from the hindquarters required for collection. Too much work in collection can be tiring, so keep your workout appropriate to your horse’s level of training. And always end your sessions with a stretching circle.

      Ride a ten-meter circle to engage the inside hind leg and develop the muscles of the hindquarters, as shown.

Extensions

      Many riders are confused about what constitutes an extension. An overstride in the medium and extended walk is a requirement in the dressage tests, but how much overstride is inconsequential; judges take into account the horse’s breed, confirmation, and ability. Clarity of the rhythm, elasticity to the walk, and whether a horse moves over his topline are more important. In the trot, the horse ideally should step over the prints of his front hooves. In the canter, the horse must cover more ground.

      The Extended Walk

      Pay special attention to the walk because it is the easiest gait to ruin and the most difficult to correct. The extended walk paces include the free walk, the medium walk, and the extended walk. In the free walk, the horse is allowed to lower and stretch the head and neck on a loose or free rein. The medium walk should have an overstride, and the horse should stretch to and remain on the bit. In the extended walk, the horse covers more ground and stretches the head and neck out while still maintaining contact. All the walk paces should march forward with good energy and have a purity of rhythm.

      In dressage competition, the walk is valuable. For instance, there are fifty points related to the walk in many of the Training and First Level tests, which incorporate the medium walk, the free walk, and the gaits scores. The free walk score is doubled. The points for the walk are high because the gait is an indicator of the quality and progress of training. A walk that becomes impure in any way or is a little uneven because of crookedness or resistance can hurt the submission score as well.