Dressage Today Podcast

We Interview Mehrdad Baghai of JRD Saddlery about saddle making and saddle fitting.

Connect with the Hosts: Email Aviva Nebesky (horsepenhillfarm@aol.com) | Email Stephany Fish Crossman (stephanyfish@gmail.com)

Connect with the Show: Website (DressageToday.com) | Socials (@DressageToday) Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest

Guest: Mehrdad Baghai of JRD Saddlery | Connect with JRD Saddlery on Facebook

Link: Video Subscription Site

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Aviva and Stephany catch up on what’s been going on lately – Stephany talks about her 6 days with Mary Wanless, the selling of her Brooksville farm and the purchase of her new young horse, So Special!  

In the Ask the L segment, Aviva answers a great question from Jamie:  If I am in a test and things start going badly and I feel unsafe – is it ok to dismount?  Thanks Jamie for a great question, and Aviva for havi...

Stephany and Aviva catch up on their own pony journeys, with Aviva dealing with yet more snow and Stephany recounting how her latest lessons went with Kathy Connelly.  We get a really great question for “Ask the L” about corners, and as usual, Aviva makes it so much more digestible!  

We have a word from Purina, who is the sponsor of this month’s podcast.  

In this episode, Stephany and Aviva chat with Suzann...

In this episode of the Dressage Today Podcast, sponsored by EQUESTRIAN+, our interview is with Aviva herself! We talked about how she started riding, what prompted her to fall in love with dressage, the decisions she’s made and the horses she’s loved—all the pieces that have shaped her career. Aviva also shared her experience representing the U.S. at the Maccabee Games in Israel, and what it meant to her. W...

Aviva and Stephany catch up on what is going on with them, and Stephany has some exciting news about a grant she received from The Dressage Foundation!

Next, Aviva gives us input on how to improve your leg yield from the point of view at C, in our Ask the L segment

We have a word from our sponsor, Purina and then we step into interviews from USDF Convention.

Stephany interviews Lindsay Burns from GDCTA in Region 3. Lindsay is a fi...

Aviva and Stephany discuss the latest L question from Sasha regarding how to ride the shallow loop in Training Level Test 3.  

We go to commercial from our sponsor, Equithrive, on its supplements to make your horse’s life better and your life easier! 

Aviva and Stephany interview Mary Wanless, the creator of the Ride With Your Mind Rider Biomechanics system.  We talk about how Mary got started, how her program dif...

Welcome to the Training Buzz sponsored by Purina. Hear a bit from retired FEI 5* judge Axel Steiner as he challenges a rider to ride without stirrups as she schools First and Second Level movements on a schoolmaster. He suggests practicing this skill to work on the rider’s position and help activate the rider’s core muscles during the training session.

Members of Equestrian+ can watch the full video with Steiner here. Not a member? ...

Welcome to the Training Buzz sponsored by Cosequin. Hear a bit from FEI dressage rider and trainer Ashley Donadt as she shares strategies for dealing with competition nerves. She discusses acknowledging the source of your nerves to help take away their power, looking at the physical effects nerves have on your body and thinking about how your nerves are affecting your horse.

Members of Equestrian+ can watch the full video with Donad...

REVISIT (Originally released as Season 3, Episode 31 on December 27, 2022) Welcome to the Dressage Today podcast sponsored by Purina. In the last episode of 2022, Stephanie and Aviva reflect on the year, and Aviva answers a tough question about keeping older horses supple. Then together they interview Stephany Fish Crossman, an accredited biomechanics trainer based in Brooksville, Florida who also has a popular series of videos tha...

Welcome to the Training Buzz sponsored by Purina. Hear a bit from dressage and horsemanship trainer Monique Potts as she works with a rider on a horse that gets easily distracted by new objects. She has the rider pay attention to the horse’s ears. When they fixate on something, then the rider needs to do an exercise like a small circle or transition to get the ears to switch back to the rider.

Members of Equestrian+ can watch the fu...

Welcome to the Training Buzz sponsored by Horse Week. hear a bit from dressage and event rider Chelsea Canedy as she leads a short, guided meditation to realign yourself before interacting with your horse. She helps get you to a place where you can find stillness and internal quiet and locate that gratitude for your horse and your time with him.

Members of Equestrian+ can watch the full video with Canedy here. Not a member? Sig...

Aviva and Stephany discuss the latest L question from Nancy regarding the judge's comments about her pony’s poll being too low. 

We go to commercial from our sponsor, Purina, on Empowering Excellence in Every Horse. 

Aviva and Stephany interview Amy Bradley Swerdlin, the 2024 Grand Prix Champion at U.S. Equestrian’s Dressage Festival of Champions in August at Lamplight Equestrian Facility in Illinois. We talk about her jour...

Welcome to the Training Buzz sponsored by Cosequin. Hear a bit from Olympic dressage rider Adrienne Lyle as she works with an adult amateur rider to get the horse forward off the leg. Tempo is the top priority for this pair before they work on things like straightness and bend. Lyle also stresses to keep the hands as quiet as possible when adding energy to avoid giving the horse mixed signals.

Members of Equestrian+ can watch the fu...

Welcome to the Dressage Today podcast sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim. Coming back after missing a new show in July, Aviva and Stephanie jump right into the Ask the L question of how to know when it is appropriate to move up to the next level. 

Then together they talk to Stephany Fish Crossman, who they first interviewed in December 2022. They find out what she has been up to since they first talked and share a special announ...

Welcome to the Training Buzz sponsored by Purina. Hear a bit from Grand Prix rider Laura Ashley Killian on riding the centerline. She explains and has her student demonstrate how to ride straight down the centerline as well as halt at X. They also go over common rider mistakes and how to fix them.

Members of Equestrian+ can watch the full video with Killian here. Not a member? Sign up for a free trial with subscription. En...

REVISIT: Welcome to the Dressage Today Podcast. In this episode, we talk to none other than dressage legend Steffen Peters who just finished fourth, and was the highest placing American, at the FEI Dressage World Cup Final. Then Aviva addresses the question of whether it is better to do a “poorer” transition at the letter or a “better” transition a stride (or two) later.

Born in Wesel, Germany, Steffen Peters is one of the most...

Welcome to the Dressage Today podcast sponsored by Sentinel. Aviva and Stephanie talk about how lucky they are to have had the opportunity to talk to so many of the riders on the dressage Olympic short list, and then Aviva answers the question about how the counter canter in First Level Test 3 should be ridden and how it is scored.

Together they interview up-and-coming international rider Endel Ots. A native of Wisconsin, ...

Welcome to the Training Buzz sponsored by Purina. Hear just a little bit of Olympic Team silver medalist Sabine Schut-Kery’s training philosophy in this clip from a ride at the 2024 Adequan/USDF Trainers Conference. She talks about how to ride a horse that is a little stiff, and, as a result, not as forward and engaged as he should be.

Members of Equestrian+ can watch all the rides from the 2024 USDF Trainers Conference he...

Welcome to the Dressage Today podcast sponsored by Purina. Aviva and Stephanie talk about the not-so-easy journey horses can travel with their owners, and then Aviva answers the question “When you are halting/making any change in gait on any letter- do you want your leg and/or the center of the horse to cross the letter when the change is being made?”

Together they interview up-and-coming international rider Anna Marek. Ma...