Transitions, serpentines and counter-canter were the tools of the trade for the first day of this week’s two-day Adequan/USDF FEI-Level Trainers Conference. German dressage team coach Monica Theodorescu and U.S. dressage team Chef d’Equipe Christine Traurig put eight horses and riders through their paces at Mary Ann McPhail’s High Meadow Farm in Loxahatchee, Florida.
Ironing Out The Transitions
Hannah Irons, the first to go aboard Ein Traum, a 5-year-old Westphalian gelding (Escamillo—Supersusi, Sandro Hit) owned by Irons Sporthorses LLC, told Traurig on Monday that her youngster needed confidence. The trainer had the pair work on suppleness and lots—and lots—of transitions. “Today is Transition Monday, and tomorrow might be Transition Tuesday,” Traurig quipped.
After warming up, Irons used serpentines to get the gelding to bend and accept the aids as they rode from trot to walk and then back to trot on the centerline to encourage bending in the upward and downward transitions. Irons piloted her horse on a 20-meter circle and then decreased the size of the circle to help him understand the driving aids, and that the inside aids are used to flex and direct while the outside aids position the shoulders. Traurig told her that getting the horse to go on the bit must not feel like he is hanging on her rein; instead, it should be a very supple feeling in her hand as she took care to ride him softly bent and in the same tempo.

The lesson was quietly positive, and Traurig was full of praise. She cautioned Irons to stay disciplined in her equitation and relax her shoulders, because she and her horse were encouraging each other’s bad habits. The trainer often repeated that the rider should use the reins to flex, then soften, then flex, then soften and to gently use her fingers. Traurig instructed Irons to take heed to something Olympic German rider Frederic “Freddie” Wandres (who was in the audience) says about talking a walk break during training: “It’s a working walk, not a talking walk. “
Mining The Counter-Canter
Neve Myburgh and Firiet were next up, riding under Theodorescu, and the German trainer’s watchful eye quickly noticed the horse had a slightly shorter stride in the canter to the right than to the left. Thus began the work in counter-canter with Myburgh’s own 8-year-old German Sport Horse (Franklin—Evita, Ehrentanz I) mare. The trainer talked about the benefits of using counter-canter to obtain better collection and self-carriage, using the pair to demonstrate.
Theodorescu cautioned the rider to be careful with her position, noting that many riders tend to lean too much to the inside, causing the horse to struggle with the rhythm as they try to stay “in the middle of the rider.”
The pair also was instructed to ride serpentines (more serpentines!) at the canter with lead changes at X in a successful effort to get Firiet more equal in her canter strides. Then, they did serpentines without changing leads, staying in counter-canter to build strength and better balance.
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Theodorescu did some serious name dropping when she mentioned that all the cool kids (think Ingrid Klimke, Isabell Werth and Frederic Wandres) ride the counter-canter. Every. Single. Day.
Saskatoon Impressed With Transitions
Chris Hickey and Saskatoon OMF were next into the arena with Traurig, who has known the 7-year-old Hanoverian gelding (San Amour I—Dolce Nera, Don Frederico) owned by Cecilia Stewart since he was 3. The gelding was an easy-going youngster until he was taken off property to a show and, according to Traurig, he was “quite impressed.”
She asked Hickey and “Saskatoon” to ride down the quarterline and then leg-yield to the rail to get the horse moving forward in rhythm and to get him more supple and confident. Once again, transitions and riding from back to front helped increase connection and help the horse work on self-carriage. She told Hickey to feel the inside snaffle rein so the poll didn’t get too stiff, and to use the corners and the short sides of the arena to supple the gelding and prepare for the long side.

They did lots of transitions in the trot (it was “Transition Monday,” after all!) and worked from shoulder-in to haunches-in. They did half-pass, taking care not to make it too steep while training the horse, and then continued in shoulder-in down the next long side. They continued in haunches-on after the corner, then another half-pass to finish—or shoulder-in or shoulder-fore, Hickey could choose.
The corners were used to reframe and reorganize the horse and to remind him that a downward transition is “forward thinking” made the lesson come full circle. Lots of praise and “attaboys” (mostly for Saskatoon) were forth-coming.
I Spy With My Little Eye
Theodorescu employed counter-canter again with her next pair, Amy Bradley and her own colorful 8-year-old Oldenburg gelding I Spy (Asgard’s Ibiza—Bella Rose). Their warm-up included transitions and lots of half-halts. The pair did four-loop serpentines with walk-trot transitions at the centerlines. They also worked on an exercise at the trot in which they did a shoulder-in on the long side and, when “Spy” would lose the balance and the rhythm, Bradley would do a 10-meter circle and then return to shoulder-in. They continued with good energy in the hind legs and then transitioned to the walk at the corner. Then, they did a half-circle to another half-circle in the opposite direction to change rein while keeping the rhythm.
When it was time for the canter, Spy tried a series of evasions to get out of the counter-canter but to no avail. Finally, they were directed to canter then take the short diagonal with a flying change to the centerline. They finished up with walk/trot/halt/trot transitions, making sure the horse stayed balanced on all four legs in the halt.

Gold Medal Perfection
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The most decorated rider participating in the clinic rode with Theodorescu. Paris Paralympic Games individual bronze medalist Kate Shoemaker aboard her Paris partner Vianne could be, Theodorescu told spectators, borderline boring for her to critique because “everything is very good.” Shoemaker and her 9-year-old Hanoverian mare (Kastel’s Vitalis—Raureif, Ramiro’s Bube) were praised for the rider being focused on the horse and the horse being focused on the rider.
The comments were minor, and Shoemaker handily made the suggested improvements. When they were turning onto the long side to half-pass, the trainer reminded Shoemaker to think of shoulder-in first. And when they did canter half-passes, Theodorescu coached them into more collection. She asked Shoemaker to establish a bigger passage—check. She suggested Shoemaker create a more forward-thinking piaffe—check. The only negative she had to say about Vianne is that she is steady but could take a bit more contact.
“It’s all there,” Theodorescu said. And it was.
It’s Not an Easy Job
Olivia LaGoy-Weltz and Fade To Black, Mary Ann McPhail’s 10-year-old Hanoverian (Fantastic—Saphira, St. Moritz I) mare were the final riders with Theodorescu. As LaGoy-Weltz began her warm-up, the trainer remarked that there are different ways to get to Rome, and riders must get to know their horses in order to do an effective warm-up tailored to each horse’s needs.
“You have to focus on different solutions to make it easy for each horse,” she said. “Start the warm-up with patience and feeling to get the horse in harmony, lightness and suppleness.”
She remarked during LaGoy-Weltz’s warm-up that Fade To Black’s acceptance of the contact improved with every lap of the arena, improving her self-carriage with it.
After the warm-up, it was all about balance day and, as the pair did a series of three-tempis and two-tempis and one-tempis, Theodorescu suggested LaGoy-Weltz keep the shoulder more to the right to improve her balance. “Make it easy for the horse and there’s no discussion,” she said.

In the lateral work, she asked the pair to do a 10-meter circle with more collection to the shoulder-in. As they did, the mare began to get more tense, so Theodorescu coached LaGoy-Weltz to keep her supple on both sides to strengthen the mare’s back.
“She doesn’t want to do anything wrong,” Theodorescu said of the horse and then praised LaGoy-Weltz. “It’s not an easy job, but it’s a good job.”
Click here for a report on Day 2 of the Adequan/USDF FEI-Level Trainers Conference.