TFD Coaching

A few years ago I met this lovely lady and her beautiful older horse Simba.
Simba had been pretty much left in a field after an injury so Petra falling instantly for his beautiful looks and nature took him home.
The rehab and commitment that she has put into this horses recovery is incredible. Constant physio from Lizzie Peacock, very regular saddle adjustments from Lizzie Bunting - Priory saddlery and patience from Petra who herself has many health issues.
But this morning after probably nearly three years of us walking , lots of in hand work with me running with him to convince him after such a long time he could trot and it wouldn’t hurt they did their first intro test for E riders.
We’ve worked through the walk tests over many months progressing to their First Dressage series and today filmed an intro test.
I feel like a proud Mum!
Don’t give up hope folks this is what a lot of time and patience can achieve.
Well done Petra and Simba you are doing brilliantly 🏆🏵️🎉🐴😊

Got a disappointing dressage score? (Like me? 🙋‍♀️)

Here's what to do... and what NOT to do.

✅ DO:

Read the judge's comments before looking at the score.
Find one or two themes to work on—not twenty.
Remember that test riding is a skill in itself. Improve your geometry, accuracy, planning, and presentation every time you enter the arena.
Have a 30-second pity party. (Credit to Coach Daniel Stewart.) Be sad, then. Then let it go and get back to work.
Thank your horse. They showed up for you.
Ask yourself, "What is this test trying to teach me?"
Make a plan for your very next ride.

❌ DON'T:

Decide you're a terrible rider.
Compare your score to everyone else's.
Blame your horse, the judge, or your trainer. Own it. That's where improvement begins.
Spend the rest of the day telling everyone how disappointed you are. Chin up! Learn from it and move forward.
Be embarrassed. Trust me—everyone else is too busy obsessing over their test to worry about yours. 😉
Quit.

Remember this:

One dressage test is data—not your identity.

The riders who improve the fastest aren't the ones who never score a 58%.

They're the ones who use that score as fuel for the next ride.

Every ribbon fades.
Every score is forgotten.
But every lesson you learn stays with you.

Your score is one moment in time—not the measure of your potential.

So if your test didn't go the way you hoped...

Feel it. Learn from it. Then ride forward. ❤️ Oh and love yourself. You are amazing!

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Such a good explanation

Sometimes the most radical act of self-care is simply… letting it go.

The comment.
The awkward moment.
The thing you replayed in the shower six hours later.
The situation that is absolutely not worth the energy it’s currently renting in your head.

Take a note from the horse.

They don’t spiral about what happened yesterday.
They don’t overanalyse the look someone gave them.
They don’t lie awake at 3am reliving a spook from 2014.

They shake.
They breathe.
They carry on eating grass like nothing happened.

So if today feels heavy, annoying, or mildly unhinged
pause, breathe, unclench your jaw,
and channel some calm, cross-legged horse energy.

You don’t need to fix everything.
You don’t need the last word.
You don’t need to carry it all.

Just… let that sh*t go 🐴🧘‍♀️✨

This is a really well written post and worth a read.

An open letter to riding school riders and parents.

We know that the vast majority of riders and parents of riders have a deep respect for horses and care for their wellbeing.

We also understand that paying for riding lessons is a considerable expense, especially when compared to some other activities which don’t involve partnering with a 1/2 tonne of sensitive prey animal.

We also understand that riders and parents want to feel that their time and money is resulting in tangible ’progress’. We desperately want that too. One of the biggest welfare ‘wins’ for our horses is to get riders as quickly as possible to the point where they can move with the horse in balance whilst giving clear, light cues (signals to the horse sometimes referred to as aids). The reality is that, whilst riders are still in the ‘messy middle’ of developing balance, body awareness and understanding, the experience for the horse can be mentally and physically challenging. Add in the additional challenge of carrying multiple riders per week who are all at different stages and applying cues differently and it becomes very easy for horses to have a negative experience of being ridden. We know that you don’t want this and neither do we!

The reality is that getting to the stage where riders can ride independently, with understanding and softness takes a significant amount of time for the vast majority. Riding is:
A sport (the physicality of balance and suppleness)
A science (understanding how horses learn and the biomechanics of horse and rider)
An art (uniting in harmony with the horse to create beautiful movement)
A responsibility (ensuring that the horse’s experience of being ridden comes ahead of the rider’s experience of riding)
A commitment (riding is a lifelong learning journey which has no end point)

Our coaches are balancing the sometimes conflicting needs of ensuring lessons are safe for riders, avoiding as much discomfort for horses as possible AND making lessons fun, challenging and tailored to individual needs. Safety and horse comfort HAVE to be the number 1 priority (an uncomfortable horse is an unsafe horse).

You can accelerate progress between lessons by:
Learning anything and everything you can about horses. The more you understand them the better partner you will be.
Spend time preparing your body for riding. Yoga is brilliant for developing balance, suppleness and body awareness.
Utilise mechanical horse lessons. They are the ideal way to develop correct movement patterns in a welfare positive way.

In those lessons where you may feel not much progress is being made, consider this: the rider is learning to respect the needs of their partner and put their needs first. They are learning patience. They are learning kindness. They are learning to be a trusted partner and friend. Surely that’s worth investing in?