Don’t try to be the best or quickest in your dressage. That is a distraction from what you really need to focus on. How fast you can train or trying to outshine others is to totally missing the point or at the least, you will become distracted from what is most real; the relationship with the horse.
The horse, even one who likes being in the public eye, has no concern for other’s opinions. From a horse’s view, it is more about being who he is rather than a comparison to others. This is authenticity.
Find the heart of genuineness in your own work. Authenticity is not something which takes an effort. It arises naturally from what is already there. There is nothing which can be given to the horse without it already being present.
Good dressage does not need to invent itself. It is just dealing correctly with what is present already and it takes confidence, trust and practice. Your practice should not be a mindless droning on and on but more like a gentle stroking which shows affection through a gentle kindness. Trust is given freely when confidence is present.
In everything, cultivate confidence through gentle affection. Make the horse want to obey. Be your horse’s friend, for who does not want to help a friend. To receive generosity from the horse you must first learn to give it.
It is good to think these things but even better is to bring these ideas into your practice. Good dressage is the cultivation of a greater view which expresses itself in the smallest things in actual practice.
The horse teaches us to join heaven and earth together in our heart. This is what makes good dressage so amazing. Be amazing today for the horse. This is something we can all learn to do.
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