Qualia Dressage LLC

07/21/2025

Hard to believe there was a time Hansi struggled to get past 6 or 7 one tempis. They all learn things in their own time. 🖤

07/16/2025

Very proud of my sweet boy who tried so hard for me in our first attempts riding the Grand Prix Special this past weekend, with a high score of 68%. 🖤
📸: .malmgren

05/08/2025

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Staying power, or tolerance for tedious -

I’ve taught the initial introduction lessons to about a million people: teaching people to straighten out their horse, to understand rythm, to feel the difference from their tight, wiggly nervous horse to a calmer, happier horse that breathes deeply.

This part is exciting: the changes happen quickly usually, and people want more.

But then it becomes tedious. It turns away from magic and changes into work. This is where the focus is on how the rider uses their leg, handles their rein. This is where you repeat over and over a new habit until it gets ingrained- the focus is not on progressing the horse but creating better habits- this is where it gets down to the nitty gritty of their expectation of the horse, their patience for re developing a poorly laid foundation in the horse and their own riding. This is where people drop off.

I’ve had very few get past this point - when things get tedious, people turn to self doubt, get emotional, think they can’t ride or don’t know what they’re doing and so on. This is when people are likely to look elsewhere for quicker or easier solutions, though I’m sure they’re not consciously doing this.

Many will be called, few will answer, as the saying goes. I don’t believe it’s because these people are incapable or not gifted. I think mainly it’s because we no longer have tolerance for tedium.

I think about the way I grew up riding and understand - in no time I was cantering, and jumping, long before I had the seat or hands for it. Many are taught this way too- a result oriented way of learning, instead of a layering in of a foundation: you can’t jump until you can control your leg and hand, and if it gets messier, you go back to the basics. But people see this as a punishment, not a support, and take it personally.

We don’t have the tolerance for tedium anymore , and so I wonder if not now, when will we ? And if we don’t, what will we be capable of developing with our horses?

Photo by Laurie Lampe

02/06/2025

I could not be prouder of these boys! They were rock stars at our first outing of the year at White Fences.

Sierra Stewart’s Furst of All made his FEI debut, and brought his A game for a 67.5% and second place in his first Prix St. Georges. Sierra bought Furstie as a 6 year old almost three years ago, and has stayed the course through the highs and lows of developing a youngster. I can’t wait to see her ride him down the centerline at FEI herself.

Hans and I knocked the dust off with our first go at Grand Prix in three months. Some bobbles kept the score just under 65%, but he is feeling so much stronger and confident in the work. Now we keep working on refining the details! 💪🏻

Huge thank you to my friend .idol for making time to come be my eyes on the ground with Hans. 🩵

10/11/2024

So cool to get to see the northern lights tonight while in Lexington VA for Region 1’s championship show. The trailer parking area on the hill gifted me with some great shots.

07/29/2024

It’s hard to find words to express how proud I am of this wonderful mare. Flanell acted like a seasoned pro in only her second show of her life, and her first time showing off the trailer. I didn’t even take her to the show grounds to school the day before, just hand walked her around the arena for a few minutes during the lunch break on Saturday.

Saturday she had a great ride, scoring 73.6%, earning her second place and Reserve Champion High Score in the Professional division. Today she was able to show more suppleness and power and earned an amazing 77.8% (with a “10” on her stretch circle), earning her first place, Training Level High Score and Professional High Score.

Flanell has had some challenges in her life to get to this point, and I am so proud of the partnership we have developed. She’s the epitome of a mare that will walk through fire for you if she trusts you.

Huge thank you to her owner, Anita Brassart, not only for letting me work with Flanell, but for trusting the process and allowing me to take my time to help her shine the way I know she can. 🩵

07/21/2024

Here’s a chance to get a lesson from me and help out the Region 1 NAYC teams! 🤘🏻

Auction item 'Siobhan Byrne Lesson (MD)' hosted online at 32auctions.

07/18/2024

Dressage at Lexington is always peak summer to me! We had a great time, despite the intense heat.

My wonderful Hans and I keep chipping away at improving the Grand Prix and keeping his emotions in check—apologies to everyone who had to listen to him scream for his girlfriend for our entire schooling session on Thursday. 😂 He won his open GP class on Friday, and was 5th in a close Maestro Cup class on Sunday.

My super girl Hesselhøj Vamilja won the FEI 6 Year Old Prelim and Final tests, with nice comments on her talent for the future, including an “8” on her walk. We still have some work to do on rideability in the ring. 🤪 I also put her in the breed show for fun, and she won her Maiden/Yeld mare class, and was Mare Champion and Mature Horse Champion.

Last but not least, Jessie Ginsburg and Imperador were second in their Third Level class on Friday with a 65%+, and finished 5th overall in the SHAC.

Thanks to VADA and all volunteers for a fabulous show!

06/19/2024

We had a great time at the VADA/NOVA Summer show! I rode Anita Brassart’s lovely mare Flanell 18 to two wins at Training Level, with scores to 71%. This was Flanell’s first show ever, and I am so proud of how far this big girl has come in such a short time. Huge thank you to Anita for allowing me to work with the wonderful “Big Mama”. 🩵

Jessie Ginsburg and her new partner Imperador had their first show together, and it was also “Perry”’s Third Level debut! They put in a solid test for 65% and second place, a great start with plenty of room for higher scores.

06/04/2024

Amen. Water carves a path through stone by quiet repetition.

I read a theory about why so many riders lack a deep command of basics, and it was explained like this---

Correct basics are hard to master because there is an enormous amount of repetition involved, and if someone has tried something hundreds, possibly thousands of times, and still can’t do it, it is easy for the person to conclude that he/she is taking on an impossible challenge.

In his book “Mastery,” George Leonard wrote that on the quest to become good, there will be long stretches of “seeming non-improvement.”

Like watching grass grow, change is happening, but so slowly that it can’t be measured daily, weekly, or even monthly. But at some point, for those who stick with it, “suddenly” they can do things that before they couldn’t do.

The issue is giving up in frustration before putting in those many many many many months of practice.

That is ONE theory. I am sure there are many others, but this one does ring true.

04/22/2024

Extremely proud to say that Hans is officially a Grand Prix horse! He did his first two tests this weekend, with extremely consistent scores of 66.8% and 66.7%, winning his class on Saturday and placing second on Sunday. He did his absolute best for me, and I just love him so much. He definitely earned a few days off, and the giant bag of fancy horse cookies I bought him. 🖤

04/21/2024

When you and your friend are 1st and 2nd in the Grand Prix! 🖤💛🖤💛