Picture this: Training tips from Jacquie Brooks

Sue Thompson works on creating uphill balance in her horse Captain by visualizing riding down a steep hill. The rider keeps her weight slightly back, encouraging the horse to lift through his shoulder, wither and poll, and to open his throatlatch.

In any clinic with two-time Olympian Jacqueline Brooks, two things are guaranteed: there will be lots of laughter, and there will be lots of analogies and images used. From asking riders to picture themselves as the pole in the centre of a carousel horse to imagining they’re riding a roller coaster heading up a steep incline, Jacqueline uses a creative approach to help riders create the feel she is looking for.

Jacquie recently taught a clinic at our barn at was fascinating to watch how she used the same visualization technique with every horse and rider and how it applied to each of them, whether working at First level or PSG.  The simple idea of imagining themselves riding  down a hill, or up a hill helped every rider improve their horse's balance and self-carriage. 

It was so interesting, I wrote an article for Horse Sport about it - you can read it here.