Becky Holden Riding from the ground. UP.

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Becky Holden Riding from the ground. UP.

Welcome to Riding From The Ground UP. Combining work in-hand and under saddle to produce a classic education for both horse and rider. Now, where do i start!

I am a licenced instuctor for Philippe Karls school of Légèreté (lightness) and also a level 4 Enlightened Equitation instructor. Combining the system of Légèreté and Enlightened Equitation has given me the skills to analyse the values of anatomy and physiology, locomotion and the psychology of both horse and rider, With simple effective solutions to common placed problems. I love to teach and str

ive to bring ordinary horses and their riders up to a level far less ordinary. All it takes is dedication to learn and to give 100% respect to the horse. In 1997 i was sent an editors choice from a book club. I usually just sent them back but with this book i failed to do so in the allocated time. It sat there for a while until one evening i opened it and started to read it. It was called Enlightened Equitation. It began to fill in the gaps of earlier reading with its simple explanations of how to use the seat and weight aids. In 2005 i moved down to Devon and under Heather Moffetts guidance developed my understanding for classical riding. Heather helped me bring together my 20 years experience of hard work and dedication and channelled it into what she thought i did best, train horses. With her support i held specific courses for clicker training and high school movements and also courses for working the horse in-hand and in the long reins. This developed to the point where i was holding clinics throughout the UK. In 2009 i moved back to manchester so i was more central for my work. Not owning any horses of my own (i was always in a position not to need one) i took on my mums horse Jen. In a nutshell Jen was the horse who found me out and told me i wasn't good enough and i needed to learn more. She questioned all my experience and put me in my place. For two years i endeavoured to do my best, i spent a fortune on different bits which she would like for so long then the tension and irregular contact would creep back. Coming against and above my hands by opening the poll but when flexed at the poll and ‘round’ felt to light and resembled a ticking time bomb! I thought my hands were good, i was told i had ‘good’ hands but here was my problem. Jen would feel relief with the new bit and would tell me she liked it then a couple of months down the line the bit would become the same as all the others i tried………the common denominator……… My HANDS!! I was clearly missing something! I was first introduced to the work of Philippe Karl back in 2006 when i watched his DVD’s on training the horse. Philippe Karl is a classical trainer and former écuyer of the Cadre Noir. In 2004, he founded ’The School of Légèreté’ (The School of Lightness) in order to pass on his philosophy. So to hear he was planning to come to the UK i was keen to find out more! I became one of 9 riders chosen and began my training with Jen in 2011. This is clearly what i was missing and in that first year Jen changed because my hands changed. She began to understand my language! In 2015 i became a licensed instructor for the School Of Légèreté. Im now in a position to bring ALL horses up to a high level of education and not just the talented ones. Throughout my life I've been privileged to work with some wonderful horses i now feel that the less talented or problem horses i deal with can be brought up to their full potential using the system of Légèreté.

26/08/2025

A regular student said to me a couple of weeks ago, “I can’t believe I’m actually schooling my own horse.”

I could tell how much delight this brought her, the beaming smile, the happiness in her voice, and an underlying tone of disbelief.

This is what’s so special about the School of Légèreté.
It’s not just about becoming a better rider, it’s about learning how to teach the horse to carry us better.

We build a thorough understanding of how the horse carries us and how to address balance. Our hands no longer just hold the reins, they become tools to help the horse relax and improve flexibility. We learn to use our leg aids in a way that helps the horse develop a clearer understanding of them.

As the horse begins to work in improved balance, they can carry us more comfortably and in turn, we become more aware of our own crookedness, our seat, and all the things we strive to improve as riders.

When the horse bears weight evenly through both shoulders, we can finally sit on something level.
When the horse is relaxed in its schooling, we lose the urge to control it with our hands, and this brings a better awareness of our arms and upper body posture.
When the horse moves forward with true impulsion, because they understand the aids, we no longer need to “nag” with our legs or “shout” instructions that the horse eventually learns to ignore.

When impulsion is combined with calm, active movement, the horse’s abdominals lift, the back comes up, and we feel an even deeper connection to our seat and weight aids.

It’s a difficult task to become a skilled, sensitive rider on a horse that is unbalanced, tense, or lacks impulsion.

And yes, when we are learning to school our horses, mistakes will happen. Of course! We are human, not robots. Even with the best of teaching, we can go away and make errors.

Me included.
I was fortunate to have trained for many years with Philippe Karl himself, yet I still made a big mistake between my first clinic and my second.
Did it matter? Not at all.
When our mistakes come from genuinely trying to do the right thing, horses are incredibly forgiving.

What is truly special to see in my students is this:
Their dedication to improving their horses, and in turn, the horse begins to improve the rider.
Both helping each other, together, on their journey through Légèreté.

25/08/2025

As part of my online course I'm looking for a horse to work with who finds it difficult to lunge.
Ideally local to me in Wales or within my freelance area, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Lancashire.
The lesson will be free of charge in return for me filming the lesson but I may need to charge a small free for diesel.

25/07/2025

More filming this week, Fechero is double checking my notes make sense 😂

18/07/2025

I'd like to share this edited video from our recent 3 day clinic with Sylvia Stossel. It's amazing to think that Fechero has been back in training for one year after having 4 years off.
When we first stated schooling, he was very basic; he would get heavy in my hands, struggled with his balance and his walk was lateral, resulting in pacing.
Im incredibly proud of the progress we've made. During this clinic, he grew in confidence and we had an amazing time! Thank you Sylvia!

16/07/2025

All types of horses ❤️

14/07/2025

Well, what a fantastic clinic!
I’ll be posting some video very soon, but in the meantime, here are a few screenshots of some of the things we worked on.

The first day was hot - very hot! Luckily, we were inside and out of the direct sun, but riding in 33°C heat was still hard work. Fechero coped far better than I did, he wasn’t even sweaty at the end! That really says a lot about this way of schooling. When relaxation is the main focus, there’s no reason for a horse to end up dripping in sweat, even in such extreme heat (and 33°C definitely counts as extreme here in the UK!). I, on the other hand, ended up matching the colour of Sylvia’s top… 🥵😂

In our first lesson, Sylvia observed the things we’ve mainly been focusing on, improving the walk and the canter. Fechero used to pace and walk laterally, which is a very tricky thing to correct. But with the clever exercises we have in EDL, he can now walk correctly and even in collection. Hearing Sylvia praise the walk more than once was a real highlight for me.

Watching the videos back, I was also really pleased with the halts. I do love a good halt! Considering Fechero used to stop with his legs in all sorts of directions, but are now square and balanced. 😁

For the neck rein turns, Sylvia suggested riding with the feeling of a light counter shoulder-in. This helps to place the outside hind leg better and encourages the shoulders to lift more. It made such a noticeable difference to the walk, and I can see how this could develop into the school walk one day.
I was a bit surprised and actually quite shocked to see the stride becoming more diagonal. Sylvia explained how difficult this is to achieve with a horse that used to pace, which has made me very happy 😊

We also worked on the canter transitions becoming straighter. Sylvia had us use shoulder-in along the wall on the long side, then straighten with the outside rein before riding onto a circle and asking for canter. This really helped, especially since Fechero can become a bit heavy and flat in his canter transitions. This helped the shoulders to lift and he stayed lighter in my hands.

Fechero was introduced to the half-pass zig-zag in both walk and trot, which is completely new to him. But because he understands the aids well, combining them wasn’t a problem. Sylvia explained how important it is not to change direction too quickly, and to make sure the new bend is established before changing. That way, he stays thinking forwards rather than just going sideways, which is important as he can sometimes be too flexible in lateral work. Again, this was incredibly useful.

We also worked on collection through shoulder-in transitions, using different variations. We did shoulder-in to walk, then back to trot; shoulder-in to halt and back to trot; and transitions within the trot itself, starting with a very active shoulder-in and then gradually shortening the strides while maintaining the same level of energy to create more bounce. It felt like the piaffe isn’t too far away 😁
Fechero was definitely beginning to get the idea during these few lessons.

A huge thank you to Sylvia Stössel for her insight, clarity, and support. And thank you to Andy and the team at Naturally Light Equitation for making us all feel so welcome, and to Josh Daly for all your hard work behind the scenes.

Brilliant clinic! 😁

13/07/2025

Well, what an amazing clinic!!
Full write up and videos when I get home but Fechero is a super star! I can not believe how much he has improve.
Thank you Sylvia Stössel 🥰

09/07/2025

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you who have followed my page. I’ve just reached over 4,500 followers! I know I don’t post as often as some others, and gaining a large following was never my goal. My page has grown organically, just like I have. Thank you once again for your support!

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