What Every Horse & Rider Need…

A master of organizing complicated information in ways that students can really learn it, Karen realized that there were 6 Essential Gymnastic Abilities that every horse and rider needs to have in order to do all dressage movements with quality. You will not see dressage explained quite like this anywhere else!

These Abilities are the difference between meeting the criteria of a movement, or really being able to get to the essence of the movement. These Abilities will help you get the most out of every exercise you do and will be the difference between just moving around, and really gaining gymnastic benefit!

Course Outline & Modules

Orientation

1. Big Picture and Sweet Spot check up. Review ‘where are we now?’, boost your confidence in finding the sweet spot, and set yourself up to ride in precision.
2. Theory & Basics of Gymnastics. A BIG module! There is a ton of information here that will give you many different windows to look through to give BIG insight into theories for gymnastics!! You’ll also get your horse, and yourself primed for riding patterns.
3. The 6 Essential Gymnastic Abilities. Skills that will help you get the most gymnastic benefit out of every exercise you do. I have not seen this information organized like this anywhere else before! It’s the key to maximizing the gymnastic benefit of a pattern.
4. Movements & Exercises – Layer 1. Learn some of my favorite exercises, understand how to make them more basic or more advanced, and gain confidence in making those decisions.
5. Supplemental Activities. There are many ways to increase your horse’s skills in dressage without always doing dressage! You will learn some ways to add variety while still moving towards your goals.
6. Movements & Exercises – Layer 2. Yup, even more movements, exercises, and patterns!

Graduation

How Do You Know You’re Ready for the Upward Spiral Course?

I think it is important to put theory into practice. You won’t know how good your Sweet Spot is until you test it… You might spend your whole life trying to ‘perfect’ your sweet spot but the paradox is, it will not improve until you start playing with the next step. You just need to be ‘ready enough’.

So if you are able to find a sweet spot of ‘poll high in self carriage’ for more than a couple circles, and you and your horse understand the concept of how to create a stretch, then you are ready. If you still have major emotional or brace or foundational issues such that you have big confusions about the sweet spot concept, then maybe you need more time there. Keep in mind that in dressage training, it is tempting to try and perfect the lower levels, but every trainer will tell you that First Level always gets better if you start playing with Second Level, and Second Level gets better after you start playing with Third Level.

My intention is that no matter where you are in your process, you will really ‘get’ what gymnastic training is all about. You will take your abilities to the next level, and you will have the tools and confidence to know where to go after that!

Doing the Upward Spiral course will help you know WHY you need the Sweet Spot! If you think you are ready for USS, but really want to refer to the SS course, then doing the two together is the perfect option.