the
ten
habits
of highly effective dressage riders
by Nancy Kotting
Over the years working a never-ending multitude of horses, great dressage riders develop habits,
ways of achieving consistently high performance and excellence in the daily work. These are not
training how-tos but rather personal habits adopted by riders to set themselves up for success
every day. While there are endless training pearls-of-wisdom the masters kindly pass on, it is
inevitably up to the student, through endless hours of practice, to confirm the path to success.
There is no sport, nor art form more difficult than what we attempt every day as practitioners of
classical horsemanship. None. It is up to us to support one another in this endeavor, giving and
sharing what works and what doesn’t. Below is my list of ten habits of highly effective dressage
riders. It is my hope that you find them helpful in your daily practice.