Spencer Wilton

The Olympic dressage rider on understanding his horses, pre-test resets and the grand prix ride he’d like to have back on his yard

- Polly Bryan

I'VE always been of the opinion that if a horse doesn’t do something the way you’d like him to, there can only be two reasons why: either they don’t understand, or they physically can’t. That could be because they are not strong enough, not coordinated enough, or are uncomfortable in some way.

Thinking this way helps me to approach problems, whether in my teaching or my own riding, with a more positive mindset.

We often assume horses think like we do, and we humanize them, but actually they can’t think and plan with the same levels of logic that we do.