Severo Jurado Lopez
The Spanish rider said: “What makes the extended trot also very interesting in my opinion is, that it’s the only exercise which is part of all levels of dressage.
"I start to teach to my horses to go forward and to go back (tempi-difference) from the very beginning.
Of course I can’t think that a 3-year-old horse makes the same extended trot as a Grand Prix horse, but for me it’s a very basic thing for a young horse to learn.”
For the young horses, Severo says he keeps things very simple and straightforward. When he gives a leg aid, they have to go more forward. When he gives a hand aid, they have to slow down.
“It’s very important to not use both aids (leg and hand) at the same time with young horses.
I see that very often with riders and it’s very confusing for the young horses.”
As the horse matures and becomes more educated, he slowly teaches them to take bigger, more lengthened steps and not just go more forward.
“It’s a very good movement to keep the horse in front of your leg. For example, when you start with shoulder-in and some steps sideways, often the horse comes a bit lazy and behind your leg. Every now and then I do an extended trot in the training, to make sure that the horse is still in front of my leg and good in my hands and on the bit.”
“When the horse gets older and more balanced, also the extended trot usually gets better and more spectacular. It’s a very expressive part of the dressage test.
"Usually when I ride an extended trot with older horses I collect them a bit in the short side or in the corner before the diagonal.
"It will help to engage the hind legs under the body of the horse. When I come out of the corner I start to ask the horse for the extended trot and open his frame and stretch through his back.
"I push with both lower legs and sit deep in the saddle. My hands have to go slightly forward, but still with a good contact. Like this I can control the balance and rhythm.
"If everything goes well and you’re lucky that you ride a horse that has the ability, you can show a very expressive extended trot and that is always a great feeling."
Sonke Rothenberger
“There’s one exercise that I always come back to and always use, and it isn’t difficult or anything. It’s basically just riding a lot of transitions. Lots of walk-gallop, gallop-walk; trot to canter and so on," the German athlete explained.
"It’s all about checking if the horse is sharp off the leg and on my aids. It’s also important to ride transitions within the gait – so in trot for instance, lots of on and back.
"A lengthened trot then a collected trot. A bit faster, a bit slower. The horse needs to respond quickly and easily.
It works at all levels, the difference is just more for the experienced horses than the novice horses."
"I think lots of transitions between and within the gaits is the key for all the other exercises you might do, because having a horse sharp on the aids makes all the other movements and exercises look easy.
"The horse performs the more advanced movements much more easily when it’s sharp off the aids than when you have a horse that’s sticky on the leg and not really sharp."
