I’ve had my worst experiences when the horse hasn’t taken notice of the four things which we have to teach them – go forward, stop, turn left, turn right. If I don’t have the control of one of these, cross country becomes a frightening experience. You have to have your horse listening to your aids. It’s the culmination of putting those four things together that allows us to run and jump with our horses.

I really believe that horses are very generous and they are on our side. They can also become frightened, so it is important that we don’t ask them anything beyond their capabilities. You can keep them on your side by being quiet with them. They have to be believers in you, and understand what you are asking. I think that we as riders get too aggressive when something doesn’t happen the way we want. You have to remember that the experiences the horses have, especially if they are bad, aren’t forgotten easily.”

Read more on riding cross country safely here…

https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2017/11/eventing-safely-with-andrew-hoy/