Jane Savoie's Dressage 101: The Ultimate Source of Dressage Basics in a Language You Can Understand Paperback – April 1, 2011

This is a great book either to refresh your memory or train a young horse or a horse who hasn't be properly trained in the past and especially good for riders who aren't regularly working with a trainer. This book takes you back to the basics and makes you understand how to become a better rider regardless of your riding aspirations. It emphasizes the need for balance, form and clarity. If you don't work with a trainer I would recommend having a friend, your mom, anyone take a video of you going through the basics and then play it back while reading through the first few chapters and using it as your 'eyes on the ground.' So many times you see unskilled riders throwing themselves on their horses' necks over fences and really just hanging on for their lives. After you read through a few chapters of this book you will really be able to identify common faults that most riders make and how NOT to join their ranks.It highlighted what I've been doing wrong so that I can more clearly communicate the aids. It also helped me troubleshoot what my horse's problem areas were, why they were happening, and how to correct them (95% of the time I was at least partially responsible). I would recommend this for all aspects of english riding as it is the foundation to all disciplines.

I am brand new to dressage, this is our Starla, shes a 5 yr 9ld Friesian/Cross.. i raised her since she was 6 months old, and taught her A-Z ground work. My trainer and I started her together and shes been a dream..I needed a really good book to explain the theory and how too, i needed to know what is dressage, what are the aides, what correct and incorrect looks like, and how to fix my errors...i have a wonderful trainer and niw a wonderful book to compliment..i can see this being one of my most primary go to resources...and yall shes got free videos on you tube check her out..and expand yourself...By the way in our above pictures, Starka and i only have 32 rides under saddle since Starting her...were at the raw beginning.and she s def behind the vertical in a shot or too ...buy the book

This book is exactly what I needed! Jane Savoie really breaks things down so that a beginning dressage student or even a seasoned veteran can fully utilize her training expertise and guidance. Everything in this book is presented in a logical manner with clear instructions and illustrations/pictures. I have yet to come across anyone who has been able to break things down for me the way Ms. Savoie has! I've even gone on to purchase her training videos, "Riding in Your Mind's Eye" and "The Half Halt - Demystified", paired with her Dressage 101 book they are the greatest tools to help break down what I need to do, and how I need to do it. They have even helped me better understand my instructor and what she wants of me and horse!I've read other dressage books, and while they are good too, Ms. Savoie's Dressage 101 is the best and needs to be a part of your dressage and/or eventing library! I highly recommend this training book!Other books that go well with this one are:- The USDF Guide to Dressage by Jennifer Bryant- 50 5-Minute Fixes to Improve Your Riding by Wendy MurdochOther dressage reads to consider:- Dressage Unscrambled by Bill Woods (not a "training" book or "how to" book but a fun dressage read!)- Dressage Formula by Erik Herbermann (a bit on the advanced/theory side, and a heavier read, but great book to understand dressage concepts)

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This book is extremely clear in explaining so many things that I do on a intuitive level. I learned to do dressage as a teen when there were no books around to explain things. We learned from instructors. My instructor only came once a month as he came for a weekend clinic from 5 hours away. So my time with him was very limited. After reading this book, I have increased my vocabulary and have much deeper understanding of the whys and hows than I ever did. This is an excellent companion to anyone learning dressage. It gives a very rich explanations, concrete info for left brain learners, and excellent analogies to really help with understanding. This is book would be great homework to pair with lessons. It give an excellent intellectual understanding to help a rider to ask the right questions in lessons so she can develop a feel for the movement.Highly recommended to novices and anyone who wants to increase the depth of their understanding and increase their ability to describe their riding experience. I am a middle aged rider returning to dressage after many years. I had ridden through second level as a teen living in LA....lower Alabama. :-) This is a reference that I will return to over and over as I train.

Wow! The textbook style bolded words, the real explanations finally of what “on the bit” is, the plentiful color photos, including real life people ... making mistakes during riding, with the author explaining what is going wrong in the picture (along w pics of the student doing the right thing) was all very helpful for people trying to figure out how to be a better rider and perfect their cues. This was so fun to curl up with. Extremely well organized content, funny comics, and the real life people in the book who ride just like you and me, all made this a very, very fun read. A MUST buy if you’re like me, contemplating many books. I am brand new to dressage, but jumped little jumps as a kid. Who knew all the intricacies and subtleties in dressage, and how come I didn’t learn this growing up, how did I think dressage was boring? I’m hooked!

A great intermediate how to dressage book. My go to dressage book. Correct, easy to understand explanations. Gives step by step how to perform various maneuvers up through 2nd level. Great visuals that pop into my head while riding.