#ProkoniBestExercises: top dressage exercises from Inessa Merkulova

Prokoni.ru continues the rubric #ProkoniBestExercises: top dressage exercises from dressage riders. We hope you will be able to find answers to your questions and find out what exercises are present in the daily work of the leading riders in Russia and beyond.

It’s no secret that in all countries work with dressage horses is based on a single training scale approved by International Equestrian Federation – FEI, however, a lot also depends on the rider: on the feel of the horse, on the approach to it, on the skills and willingness to learn. That is why in equestrian sports there are Olympic champions and riders whose names are known all over the world, who are respected, who they want to be equal to. They didn’t invent something new, but they have exceptional talent and knowledgewhich they are happy to share with other athletes.

Prokoni.ru managed to talk to some riders and learn more about their favorite dressage exercises and life hacks that they use when working with horses. Let’s start with Inessa Merkulova – Masters of Sports of International Class in dressage.

Photo: Flickr

Inessa Merkulova, Master of Sports of International Class in dressage, multiple winner of many Russian and foreign competitions, participant in the Olympic Games and simply the most experienced rider in Russia, spoke about how what exercises she considers her favorite and most effective, and why she uses them in her work with horses: «My favorite exercise is transitions, for me, that means 70% of the horse’s dressage. I believe that one of the most essential exercises in dressage is changing the length of the horse’s steps: if necessary, we speed up the rhythm or increase the width of the steps. Each of my workouts begins with the fact that I work on changing the pace of the gaits – I move more often, then more slowly. I always try to get the length of the horse’s steps to be as I want. Every element of dressage depends on it, and if you start working on it with a horse of any age, be it 4 years old or 5 years old, consider that you have begun learning the passage and piaffe, although you just trot: more frequent and rarer, the same with canter and walk. Transitions are what I do on a daily basis with any horse, and also what gives me the ability to perform any element, because before the half-halt, the horse must speed up the rhythm, and if you teach this to your horse correctly, then you will perfectly execute the element. ” .

Photo: fksr.ru

Inessa Viktorovna also shared valuable advice: “To calm nervous in competition the horse is primarily you need to remain calm and motionless in the saddleand the horse will definitely calm down. Never get nervous because a horse is nervous.”