The Power of Purposeless Play

The Power of Purposeless Play

Solo Equine Inc.
I couldn’t remember the last time I rode for no reason. No goal. No training scale running in my head. No movement to fix. No score to chase. It to...
The Power of Purposeless Play

The Power of Purposeless Play

Solo Equine Inc.
I couldn’t remember the last time I rode for no reason. No goal. No training scale running in my head. No movement to fix. No score to chase. It to...
We have to fall.

We have to fall.

Solo Equine Inc.
Alan Watts noticed something hiding in plain sight: we don't step into love. We don't enter it carefully, or arrive at it. We fall. That word didn'...
Does dressage punish dedication?

Does dressage punish dedication?

Solo Equine Inc.
I've been thinking about luck lately. Not in a self-pity way. More in a... "why does this sport work like this" way. Here's what I mean. Six months...
The Opposite Of Dressage

The Opposite Of Dressage

Solo Equine Inc.
I was 4 Coke Zero's in when I asked Angela.Not because we were hopped on caffeine and aspartame, we weren't, but because that's when conversations ...
How Not to Impress Your Father: A Dressage Story

How Not to Impress Your Father: A Dressage Story

Solo Equine Inc.
Last summer I did my first Prix St. Georges test on Stanley. I earned a daring 57%. In dressage terms, that’s not a score, its more a cry for help....
You Need To Know This

You Need To Know This

Solo Equine Inc.
I want to say this straight up: I am proud that you ride dressage. I am proud because you have chosen a path that asks for everything and promises ...
Dressage Is A Middle Finger

Dressage Is A Middle Finger

Solo Equine Inc.
The world, as it stands, is running on a lot of cheap energy. Anger is the street food of the modern soul. It’s fast, it’s greasy, it’s everywhere,...
My Thoughts On Suppleness

My Thoughts On Suppleness

Solo Equine Inc.
If there is one thing I’ve done throughout my career, it’s ride a lot of young horses.   When you spend that much time starting horses from the gro...
Anyone Can Pull

Anyone Can Pull

Solo Equine Inc.
I've been thinking.......   Most of us are really good at the “asking” part. We pull, we push, we squeeze, we worry, we hover… We’re all b...
Closing In

Closing In

Solo Equine Inc.
Lately it feels like things are closing in.Our farm used to be miles away from the city. Now residential homes and a new school are 700 meters from...
You Just Can't Be Perfect

You Just Can't Be Perfect

Solo Equine Inc.
The test isn’t going to be perfect. I want you to know that. You might enter at A and get a little crooked. You might have a bobble in th...
Riding Doesn't Suck

Riding Doesn't Suck

Stephen Forbes
Riding doesn't suck. Riding in the wrong way does though. Saying a certain kind of horse can't do dressage sucks. Telling someone they n...
Can Dressage Save Us?

Can Dressage Save Us?

Stephen Forbes
Is dressage doomed?   No. And society doesn't need less dressage. We need more of it.    A noble pursuit would be to venture head first into the wo...