CSDressage

CSDressage Chantae Erickson is a USDF Gold, Silver and Bronze Medalist based out of M&M Farm in Sullivan, IL

Have you been wanting to see the   live and in person? This weekend he’ll be at the IL fairgrounds in Springfield. Ride ...
20/06/2025

Have you been wanting to see the live and in person? This weekend he’ll be at the IL fairgrounds in Springfield. Ride times are as follows, though I recommended arriving earlier just in case things run ahead.

Saturday:
11:44 PSG in the coliseum
1:11 Musical Freestyle in the coliseum

Sunday:
11:07 PSG in the coliseum
1:02 Musical Freestyle in the coliseum

Hope to see you there!

27/05/2025

There’s a difference between a horse that responds because it has to… and one that responds because it wants to.

When a horse begins to offer a transition, a stretch, a moment of softness without being pushed or corrected into it, that’s true progress. It means they’re understanding, they’re engaged, and most importantly, they feel safe enough to participate.

This is where training transforms into communication. It’s not about perfection, it’s about willingness. That little offer, freely given, says: “I trust you. I’m with you.”

That’s the moment every rider should aim for, not control, but connection. 💫

20/05/2025

Be part of the action at CenterLine Dressage Classic I & II!
We’re looking for volunteers to help make our June 21–22 show a success. Whether you're an experienced show helper or just want to learn more about dressage, we’d love to have you join us!

📍 Roles include:
– Scribe
– Runner
– Ring Steward
– Set Up / Tear Down
– And other duties as needed!

💻 Sign up for a time and role that works for you at:
👉 centerlinedressage.com/cld-classic

Your help makes this show possible — thank you!

15/04/2025

We’ve only played with 2’s at home a couple of times, but when JJ asks, we answer! I couldn’t be more proud of the this weekend. He handled the electric atmosphere at the Midwest Horse Fair like a champ, and stepped up to do some pretty fantastic work! I’m blown away at the heart this horse has, and so grateful to Marsha Harshman for supporting his development. What an amazing experience, Team Tate Academy live and in person!

12/03/2025

Is dressage doomed?

No. And society doesn't need less dressage. We need more of it.

A noble pursuit would be to venture head first into the world of dressage. In doing so dressage will reward you with the tools you need to become a better version of yourself.

Dressage isn't an evil or a failure. Its the world's best teacher.

Dressage will teach you perseverance and stamina. It will teach you what it means to commit; dressage is a long, hard road.

It will teach you integrity, you can't trick your horse with your lies.

It will teach you how to carry on through failures, let downs, set backs, financial strain, physical injuries, fear, and utter heartbreak.

You'll learn about focus, body control, and how to regulate your emotions. You learn to communicate more effectively and you'll learn what it means to be fair and why reward is powerful. You'll learn the power of friendship.

Dressage will teach you that anger and hate are worthless fuels and that you're much better off filling your tank with play and joy.

You'll learn how to study and how to solve problems. Most importantly, you'll learn how to listen. You'll learn why being quiet is important, and why less is always more.

You'll learn to act with grace, poise and elegance under pressure, and how to smile when all you want to do is cry.

That transitions are everything, including the transitions within our own lives. The transition of friends, family, houses, jobs, cities, and priorities.

It will teach you that all worthy pursuits never have a shortcut.

It will teach you that taking care of your own body is as important as tending to your horse's.

Dressage will teach you to stand up straight, pay attention to the details, be more empathetic, develop your moral fiber and to love more deeply.

And that's something we should all have more of.

LOVE this!!!
06/03/2025

LOVE this!!!

SUPER excited to welcome Suzanne Galdun back March 15-16 at M&M Farm!!!Auditors are welcome, $20/day and includes lunch....
28/02/2025

SUPER excited to welcome Suzanne Galdun back March 15-16 at M&M Farm!!!

Auditors are welcome, $20/day and includes lunch.

We also have room for a couple more rides. Come experience her genius for yourself! From walk rides to FEI, she’s got something for every rider. You can even bring your western saddle!

To ride or audit please RSVP to [email protected]

11/02/2025

🚨 SAVE THE DATE!

IceBreaker, CLD 's annual spring schooling show held in conjunction with Springfield AVS, is April 26-27, 2025 at the IL State Fairgrounds and features BOTH Classic and Western Dressage.

It's a great way to...break the ice 😉... on the 2025 show season.

Entries are opening soon. Keep watching for details!

27/11/2024

In recent months dressage has faced increased scrutiny, both from within and from outside of the horse world, and the Fédération Equestre Internationale recently held a special meeting to kick off in-depth discussions about the challenges currently impacting the discipline. We asked three particip...

25/10/2024

“INSIDE LEG TO OUTSIDE REIN.” 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️

I’m sure every equestrian in the world (who has had lessons / watched lessons) has heard these words howled from across the arena at some point in their lives…

Although it is well intentioned advice, in many cases it can create further problems which serve to be quite a road block for progression amongst horses and riders…

Whilst being able to execute these aids effectively DOES have a beautiful influence on a horses way of going… In order to execute these aids effectively and have a positive effect on the horses way of moving, the horse has to firstly understand quite a number of steps and the rider has to have the skill to deliver aids independantly…

A lack of the above, is the reason this advice so often fails and instead ends up leaving a bunch of frustrated, perplexed riders and equally frustrated horses who are uncomfortable in their bodies 😣😤.

So in terms of the horses understanding, let’s take a deeper dive into some ingredients that are necessary to have in place BEFORE truly riding from inside leg to outside rein is a possibility…

1️⃣ A horse should have an understanding of basic foundational yields. They should be able to both move the hind end and the shoulders a few steps laterally in response to your leg going on. They should not feel ‘stuck’ on anyone of their legs. Developing these yields will enable you to talk to each hind leg and each foreleg in isolation. The forequarter yields enable you to develop the feel and understanding to move the horses outside shoulder off of your outside aids and the hindquarter yields develop the understanding to influence the inside hind from your inside aids. Eventually you should aim to be able to do these yields with the smallest of changes in your body and with a clear slack in the reins.

If you can currently put your leg on in a number of ways and the ONLY response you get from your horse is to move forwards, then you really need to spend time teaching / revisiting these forequarter and hindquarter yields in order for him to start understanding a more lateral response to the leg.

2️⃣ Being able to yield to rein pressure. So whether you ride bitless, in a snaffle, a rope halter or something else, you should be able to pick up each rein individually and have your horse bending and softening through their entire neck, poll and jaw to the left and the right. Make sure you can do this from a standstill first and that you are not having to use force to hold them in the bend… Release when they release… Progress onto asking for a few strides in walk until eventually you can have your horse bending softly to the inside rein down a whole long side. Make sure you can do this with outside bend to. Finally progress to the trot.

3️⃣ Now the horse has an understanding of the above, you can now use your inner rein, leg and seat aids to achieve a correct inside bend and to move the horse off of your inside aids in order to create lateral flexion throughout the horses body.. At this point if the steps have been done correctly there should be no brace, resistance or blockages in the horses body.. The horse should begin to feel looser and more relaxed, seeking the rein down and out… All those good things. It should feel very nice for both you and the horse. You should not feel as though you need to ‘hold’ the horse into this position or micromanage him/her to stay there. He/she seeks this position because they learn it feels good, therefore it is self reinforcing!

At this point you can begin to take more slack out of the outside rein, until you can begin to feel a soft, elastic connection to the outside of his body… It should not feel restrictive.. You should not come back with your outside hand as the outside of his body needs to lengthen in order for energy to flow smoothly… If you loose energy through the outside shoulder, the skills you developed with the shoulder yields, will allow you to communicate to and shift the balance of the outside shoulder.

Once everything comes together, It should just feel as though you are simply moving the energy off of your inside aids, feeling it being met into your outside rein and then allowing that feeling to flow through into the forwards movement. You can test your ‘inside leg to outside rein connection’ by regularly giving the inside rein. If you have done all the steps correctly, the horse should remain bent laterally around your inside leg when you give on this rein.

👆🏼THIS is the true definition of riding ‘inside leg to outside rein.’

At this point you can use exercises and school figures such as spiralling in and out to further improve inside hind leg engagement and inside leg to outside rein connection.

I can’t stress enough, the outcome of the above coming together is a horse that feels soft, loose, swinging through his entire body, his steps will feel rhythmical, his back will feel lifted, he will be seeking the rein down and OUT and it will feel enjoyable and effortless for BOTH of you. If you have not achieved this feeling you need to retrace your steps and figure out what ingredient(s) are missing!

It might sound complicated, but when you break each component down individually and work on truly achieving one thing at a time, everything begins to slot together and make sense.

Attempting to ride “inside leg to outside rein” before the above has been established is like trying to bake a cake, but you don’t have any flour, you don’t have any butter nor any sugar 🤷🏻‍♀️… How can you be surprised the cake has turned out rubbish!?

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23/10/2024

Y’all know I love a deal…

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