Martin Arnold-FEI Dressage Trainer

07/16/2025

Never a dull moment when teaching virtual lessons in the presence of an overactive cat 🙄😂

07/16/2025

Scottie Scheffler is not a dressage rider by any means, but this is a message that anyone can learn from.

Here we have arguably the most accomplished golfer since Tiger Woods and he's talking about how unfulfilling winning golf tournaments is because of the fleeting nature of the enjoyment and sense of accomplishment it brings.

This is a fantastic reminder that the joy of anything we do must be found in the PROCESS and not in the end result.

He mentions how hard they all work to just enjoy a few moments of glory at the end of the tournament. Again, if we enjoy the work and the process, we will be fulfilled. The beautiful thing about our art is that it truly is fulfilling on a daily basis if the objective of our riding is first and foremost therapeutic for the horse. Feeling our horse's body change on a daily basis for the better is the ultimate prize and much more long lasting than any competition victory we could earn.

I think when we turn our focus OUTWARD in terms of impacting others, we find true fulfillment. My fulfillment comes from helping horses and helping riders on their journeys. Blue ribbons are nice, and a validation of pur work, but thats a fleeting ego boost. Helping others on a daily basis is long lasting and sustaining.

I also appreciate that he talks about his family and work/life balance. This is something many of us trainers can struggle with and something I feel like I've placed much more of an emphasis on as I've grown older which has allowed me to show up as my best self in all aspects of my life.

I just thought it was really interesting to hear the thoughts of someone at the top of their sport who has more money than one can imagine, and he's still looking for a life of fulfillment.

07/15/2025

This reminds me of the Winston Churchill quote that goes "Success is the the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm."

In training our horses, we either succeed in what we are doing or we learn something. Failure is really a state of mind and challenges don't need to be labeled with the F word. Instead of dwelling on "failure" we can look at challenges as an opportunity to better ourselves for the next day/ride. Nothing is static in our day to day training, so we need to be humble enough and introspective enough to make changes on a daily basis. Sometimes it could be changing our strategy inside of ride. Sometimes it can be making adjustments to our aiding system or any number of variables that we can change to better our outcome. As Charles de Kunffy says, "a horse is a horse. A rider must learn how to ride." Part of learning to ride better is to constantly be self analyzing, so we make the necessary adjustments to help our horse do their work in an easier, more comfortable way.

07/14/2025

As a professional trainer, I guarantee you I have struggled with whatever your challenge is whether it's lack of confidence, fear, show nerves and the list goes on!!

My mission is to provide support to as many dressage riders as possible, so I can help you get through the things I struggled with much more painlessly!

I'm also dedicated to passing along the beautiful art of dressage that has been taught to ne by my mentors.

****The good news is, no matter where you are in the world, we can connect!

During Covid, I taught my first virtual lessons and quickly found out what a valuable tool it could be to help others!

Regardless of whether you are a competitive rider or just want to learn dressage for the fun of it, I can help! I have extensive competitive experience (USDF Gold Medalist), I'm an award winning teacher (winner of the 2017 Region 9 Teaching Excellence Award) and have worked with more breeds of horses than I can count. I have also worked with beginners to Grand Prix riders. Whatever your situation is and whatever your level of experience is, I can help!!

I've had good success helping multiple riders through virtual lessons and I'd love to help you too! Reach out to me if you'd like to get a virtual lesson scheduled and let's make it happen!

07/13/2025

I'll be in the Georgetown area teaching next Saturday morning, and I have room to add a couple of more lessons. If you want to get on the schedule, let me know!!

07/11/2025

Sometimes I need a little in between lesson entertainment

07/09/2025

This is such a great reminder from Charles that when the horse is on the aids and supple, it is as much a mental manifestation as it is a physical one. For me, one of my favorite transformations is when I ride horses that may be tight and stiff and uncomfortable in their bodies and have therefore built up a mental defensiveness to the aids and I begin to feel them let go both mentally and physically and enjoy the work. I've been riding a thoroughbred for a few weeks now that finally began to give itself over to me in the work today, and it was such a gratifying feeling!

I like to say at that moment that they've "joined my program" and instead of our relationship being adversarial, we've now become partners in the training sessions. That for me is as good if not better than winning ribbons and trophies because that is the therapy that classical dressage is supposed to provide at its core.

07/09/2025

Whether in the saddle or in life in general, a key to success in any endeavor is to embrace discomfort. Easy to say, but hard to do! It doesn't have to always be huge actions, but just something as small as holding our whip in our weaker hand starts us on our path to growth!

07/07/2025

If you enjoy the content you see on this page (both silly animal videos and dressage content 😂) you can bring that to your barn!

I have some room on my calendar to add some clinics in Texas or anywhere else in the country (hurray for planes!), and I'd love to bring the teachings of the masters to your barn.

I have been so fortunate to have learned from trainers such as Charles de Kunffy, Jeremy Steinberg, and Jessica Jo Tate, and it is my mission to pass on their teachings to as many riders as possible to help as many horses as possible!

As a professional trainer, I guarantee you I have struggled with whatever your challenge is whether it's lack of confidence, fear, show nerves and the list goes on!!

My mission is to provide support to as many dressage riders as possible, so I can help you get through the things I struggled with much more painlessly!

I'm happy to work with any level of horse and rider and any breed of horse. After all, dressage is for all horses!

Regardless of whether you are a competitive rider or just want to learn dressage for the fun of it, I can help! I have extensive competitive experience (USDF Gold Medalist), I'm an award winning teacher (winner of the 2017 Region 9 Teaching Excellence Award) and have worked with more breeds of horses than I can count. I have also worked with beginners to Grand Prix riders. Whatever your situation is and whatever your level of experience is, I can help!!

If you have a group of riders at your barn that would like guidance on their classical dressage journey, reach out!! I'm here to help!

07/07/2025

Jenna Stern-Arnold - Dressage Trainer/Instructor and I are extremely grateful for the covered arena at Idylwood Stables. It has been a very rainy last week here, but the riding can go on!

07/06/2025

This is a great reminder about what the foundation of our training should be! Even when prepping for competitions or for that matter, warming up for a test, the focus should be on correct basics. If we can continue to focus on proper therapeutic riding, the movements will come!

The old saying is go slow now to go fast later on. This is definitely true in dressage where missteps in the basics always require taking a step (or ten) back! I know from experience! 😂

: Movements are easy. Basic gaits are hard. I spend way, way more time working on my horses’ self carriage, posture and expression than I do on half passes and pirouettes. I also spend time on transitions, corners and straightness. And surprise surprise, if my transitions are excellent and my corners are balanced and my horse’s self carriage is beyond reproach, golly gee, my half passes and pirouettes improve 😇

07/04/2025

Since I have been accused recently of not giving my little buddies at Idylwood adequate social media attention, here they are in all of their glory. No days off even on holidays for these guys. Happy 4th everyone!