Working With a Strong but Willing Mare

“The walk feels quite good so that is when I will go to the trot. If I feel that she gets a bit resistant, I will go back to the walk.

“It’s all about learning.”

“Can you see when I take the left rein? I’m not just holding it. I play a little bit with it. So taking, giving, taking, playing a little bit with it and giving.”

Listening to the Rider’s Aids

“We are looking for a shortened frame, not just a shortened neck. We want her frame a little shorter from her tail to her ears. A great way to do that is a little lengthening in the canter then bringing her back.”

“You want to hold the half-halt a little bit longer to finish the half-halt. I don’t want to do a little lengthening in canter, give one half-halt, then let go because she wouldn’t get it. You want to really finish the half-halt where you can say, ‘Right here I feel quite comfortable releasing and she stays with me and collected a few strides on her own.’”

“Within the trot, do a few transitions. Start with posting trot. Do a gentle lengthening and allow her to go. For her, you don’t need to push much. Then, sitting trot to bring her back. Even if you get a walk step that is still much better than her running through the bridle.”

“Expect lightness.”

Improving Responsiveness

“When you lengthen the canter, do just about 10-15 meters of lengthening along the rail—no longer. Then, bring her back to a collected canter. Build it up daily to go longer in the lengthening but not faster.”

“For collecting, it is a holding leg—not a pushing forward, driving leg—with support from the seat.”

“When going from trot to halt, see if you can eliminate the walk steps before she halts.”

Watch & Learn on E+

• You can watch Steffen Peters’ entire series on managing a strong mare here on EQUESTRIAN+.
• For additional videos featuring Peters’ top tips and training strategies, click here.
• From short training tips to how-to videos and insider-access to private clinics and lessons, learn more from top dressage experts on EQUESTRIAN+.

About Steffen Peters

Born in Wesel, Germany, Steffen Peters gained a solid dressage foundation in his birth country before moving to San Diego in 1985. He struck out on his own as a trainer in 1991 and become a U.S. citizen in 1992. Peters worked his way to the top level with the support of special horses and sponsors, achieving impressive results. He is a six-time Olympian who earned team silver (2021) and team bronze (1996, 2016) medals. Peters collected team silver (2018), team bronze (2006) and individual bronze (2010) at the FEI World Equestrian Games, team and individual gold at the 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games and the 2009 FEI Dressage World Cup Final title. He and his wife, Shannon, run SPeters Dressage in San Diego, California.

What were some of the most memorable insights from riders at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games? Riders spoke with the media after each day of equestrian competition and shared their thoughts on the competition, the experience and their partnerships with their horses. Here are some of their thoughts.

EVENTING

Boyd Martin (USA)

After his cross-country round with Fedarman B (Bruno): “I heard more cheers ‘Go Bruno’ than ‘Go Boyd!’ There’s plenty of our stars and stripes out there and a lot of French people going ‘Allez, allez, allez. (Go, go, go.),'” Martin said. “It was a wonderful feeling though I tried not to look around too much, but it was one of the most memorable cross-country rounds of my life, just because of the setting, the venue, and the crowds and the moment, so I’ll remember this one forever.”

Mike Winter (CAN)

On being the Canadian team’s pathfinder with El Mundo: “I tried to be a good caretaker of my position of going first and put a score on the board,” Winter noted. “And I tried to be a good caretaker of my horse’s well-being and give him the best possible ride I could around there and bring him home safely with a score that can contribute to the team.”

Laura Collett (GBR) 

The eventing team gold and individual bronze medalist on Michael Jung (GER) and Chipmunk FRH winning individual gold: “The best man won. Michael Jung is the big master,” Collett said. “He’s raised the sport to 10 different levels and missed out on so many championships on that horse. I wanted him to win just as much as I wanted myself to win.”

Michael Jung (GER)

On winning the eventing individual gold medal with Chipmunk FRH: “I tried to stay really focused and concentrate through the whole week. I tell myself, ‘it’s just a normal show.’ It’s not always easy with so many spectators and on such an important show,” Jung said. “But I think it’s quite important that the horses feel it’s nothing special. I needed a few times to look on the board to see if was really true. It was a very special moment for me. I think I need a moment to realize all of it.”

DRESSAGE

Steffen Peters (USA)

On the lead-up to the Olympic Games with Suppenkasper alongside teammates Marcus Orlob and Endel Ots: “We came with such a great atmosphere from the training camp here. We had such great camaraderie, so much humor. I’m not used to being on the team with three guys. So this was incredible,” Peters noted. “We really had a good time.”

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl (GER)

The dressage team and individual gold medalist on TSF Dalera BB, who competed at the final championship of her career in Paris: “This is very emotional because it’s not so many more competitions I’m going to ride with her. She’s always leaving her heart in the arena for me,” von Bredow-Werndl said. “And especially in such a big atmosphere, her antennae are always with me. When I’m totally focused, she is, as well. I’ve never had this feeling with another horse in my whole life.”

Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour (DEN)

The dressage team silver medalist on building a partnership with her horse, Freestyle: “It’s been a matter of creating a good friendship and really getting to know her inside out, not as an athlete but as a horse,” Laudrup-Dufour noted. “So I’m really proud that she let me in there and that she wanted it.”

Charlotte Fry (GBR)

The dressage team and individual bronze medalist after her freestyle with Glamourdale: “The support from the public today was incredible” Fry recalled. “I never experienced anything quite like that.”

JUMPING

Karl Cook (USA)

After winning the jumping team silver medal alongside Laura Kraut and McLain Ward: “I’m still digesting. It’s what you hope for when you’re a kid wanting to go to the Games one day. It’s really special. It was amazing to compete with people I’ve watched and respected and learned from for so many years,” Cook said. “And to be on the inside, watching how it all works and to be able to go in and jump and do it all together was incredible.”

Olivier Perreau (FRA)

The jumping team bronze medalist after having the first clear round of the day in the Jumping Team Final with Dorai d’Aiguilly: “I was really concentrating to make sure I didn’t get any faults,” Perreau remembered. “When I realized I had done such a good round, I just let go, and the emotion came out.”

Christian Kukuk (GER)

After winning the jumping individual gold medal with Checker 47: “It’s the most emotional day in my life, honestly, in my career. This is the highest you can achieve in our sport,” Kukuk said. “I’m one of only a few who can call themselves an Olympic champion and gold medalist. That is something that will stay.”

Maikel van der Vleuten (NED)

The jumping individual bronze medalist on his horse, Beauville Z: “We took a lot of time in the beginning to get confidence in each other. I needed to understand my horse in and out, and the other way as well,” van der Vleuten noted. “Once I had the feeling he was believing in me, I think we got to a very great partnership. And that has already brought us fantastic memories.”

For More on the Paris Olympics:

For of full coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics Games, click here.

This article was originally published in the Fall 2024 Issue of Practical Horseman.

Host country Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Vamos Amigos, a 10-year-old Westphalian gelding owned by herself and Sarah Pidgley, claimed the silver medal, and the Netherlands’ Dinja van Liere aboard Hermes, a 10-year-old KWPN stallion owned by Joop van Uytert, took home the bronze medal.

Experts of the Extended Canter

Fry and Van Olst Horses’ 11-year-old KWPN stallion put on a show that had the crowd gasping with awes of amazement. The judges seemed to be on the same page, and awarded the duo a 82.509% for their efforts. Fry used Glamourdale’s breathtaking extended canter to garner a whopping 9.9 from the judges.

During her test yesterday in the Team Grand Prix, Glamourdale’s extended canter got the same jaw-dropping reaction from the audience, but Fry didn’t notice while she was in the ring. Today, she made a point to pay attention. “I did actually hear it once today,” said Fry. “Yesterday, I guess I didn’t hear it, but I almost waited for it today in the extended canter.”

She continued, “Glamourdale just rose up to [the challenge] and he could feel the atmosphere. It was incredible in there today. He was trying so, so hard with everything.” Fry noted that she wasn’t happy with her pirouette’s during the Team Grand Prix, but felt they were improved in the Grand Prix Special. “I was very happy with them today,” she commented.

Laudrup-Dufour Dons Another Medal

Still whirling from Denmark’s victory in the 2022 FEI Team Dressage World Championships, Laudrup-Dufour and Vamos Amigos, a 10-year-old Westphalian gelding owned by herself and Sarah Pidgley, extended the excited energy into their Grand Prix Special test. With the home crowd cheering them on, Laudrup-Dufour and Vamos Amigos racked up an 81.322%.

Similarly to Fry, Laudrup-Dufour said that Vamos Amigos’ performance in the Grand Prix Special was better than it was in the Team Grand Prix, regardless of the team gold medal they helped earn Denmark. “My feeling was way better than yesterday, actually. … I really felt that the connection was improving a lot.”

Dinja van Liere

The Netherlands’ van Liere and Hermes, a 10-year-old KWPN stallion owned by Joop van Uytert, also continued their their success following a Team Grand Prix performance that had the nation at the top of the leaderboard after the first day. The combo’s Grand Prix Special test earned a 79.407% to put them into podium position. “We had a job to do, and we really wanted to do a nice test without big mistakes. So, I was really happy that I could do that.”

van Liere added that Hermes was impressed by the atmosphere in the arena, which caused a couple of missteps. “He spooked twice a little bit, but he was really fast focusing again. I had to control that really fast, then he was doing a really good job.”

Even with the bronze medal, van Liere has her sights set on a personal accomplishment. “I want to have an 80,” van Liere joked when asked what she thought of her Grand Prix Special score. “That’s just sort of the bar I’m raising. I really, really, really want to have an 80.”

One U.S. Rider to Advance

Only the top 15 horse and rider combinations in the Grand Prix Special advance to the Grand Prix Freestyle. One of those combinations is Adrienne Lyle and Salvino, a 15-year-old Hanoverian stallion owned by Betsy Juliano LLC. The pair earned a 75.699% to secure 9th place and a ticket to the final round of dressage competition at the 2022 FEI Dressage World Championships.

“It is our first Special since we did our last five-star show in February,” Lyle shared. “[Salvino] was a bit more loose and on the bit, really going by himself, I barely had to keep my leg on him. He is such a wonderful horse when he is in this mood he was today.”

Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper, a 14-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Akiko Yamazaki, racked up 73.708 percentage points, ending up just out of the top 15 in 17th place. “I thought the test was a little better, we had some balance problem from the passage to medium trot but the rest felt good. The judges saw it very differently tonight but that’s OK. That’s the part of the game and I will certainly accept it.”

The Competition Continues

The 2022 FEI Dressage World Championship resumes Wednesday, August 10 at 2:00 p.m. EST with the Individual Grand Prix Freestyle.

You can tune into the livestream of the 2022 FEI World Championship on FEI TV. Watch highlights, including winning rounds, on the FEI’s YouTube channel.

For the time schedule and results, click here.

Close behind to claim the silver medal was Team Great Britain with an overall score of 234.223, followed by Team Germany for the bronze, finishing on 230.791.

The Danish Get It Done

With the help of Daniel Bachmann Andersen and Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour, Team Denmark moved up the ranks from their third place over night position to the top of the podium, capturing the 2022 FEI World Championships title.

Andersen and Marshall-Bell, a 10-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding owned by Josef, Nicola Louise and Tamara Ahorner, put in a solid test, resulting in a 76.584%. Despite the impressive marks, Andersen’s score ended up being the Dane’s lowest, therefore it was the dropped score. “I’m so proud to be on the team with these three girls. They are absolute fantastic riders, and they pulled out all stops,” Andersen said of the leading ladies.

“I went in today with a good feeling from [Nanna Merrald Rasmussen and Carina Cassøe Krüth] that had made a fantastic round yesterday,” he continued. “I had still a few hiccups here and there, but I [had a] safe round for the team, and I actually made a personal best. So that’s really cool.”

The score for Laudrup-Dufour and Vamos Amigos, a 10-year-old Westphalian gelding owned by herself and Sarah Pidgley, was just the opposite—their 81.864% was the highest overall score over two days of team competition. She will also be at the top of the leaderboard going into the Grand Prix Special, to which the top 30 individual scores from the Grand Prix advance.

“[Vamos Amigos] did really good in the test today,” remarked Laudrup-Dufour. “I’m really proud mostly because he really coped with the atmosphere. To be fair, he’s only done a few indoor shows, which for sure, matured him a lot. … Overall I’m just so proud that he could cope with the pressure, both from the audience, from the team and from me.”

Danish Chef d’Equipe Anne-Mette Binder said of her team, “The riders succeeded in following the plan that they had made from the beginning—doing the best they can with their horses, with their grooms, and all other parts of the team. [The riders] prepared for years for this. [They] prepared in a way that they always looked after each other, making sure that we can do this together. I’m really, really proud.”

As for putting on such a performance on home turf, Binder added, “We had hoped to make a good impression and make a good result here in Herning for the Danish audience, of course, also for everyone who has traveled here to enjoy the wonderful Championships in Herning.”

Great Britain Bounces Back

Team Great Britain battled it out until the end, just 1.228 percentage points behind Team Denmark. Charlotte Dujardin and Charlotte Fry’s scores propelled Great Britain into podium position from their overnight standing at 5th place.

Dujardin and Imhotep, a 9-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Carl Hester and Coral Ingham, racked up 77.407 points towards the team score. “I was absolutely over the moon with [Imhotep] today. He’s done three Grands Prix coming here. … So, for him to go into that atmosphere, into that arena, and perform the way he did … He gives me a smile from one ear to the other, and I just love every moment of riding him.”

Fry and Glamourdale, an 11-year-old KWPN stallion owned by Van Olst Horses, had the second-highest overall score of the weekend. Their canter movements received high marks from the judges as well as gasps of awe from the crowd. “When I came out, some people said to me, ‘Did that not distract you? The crowd getting really excited about it?’ I was like, ‘I had no idea,'” admitted Fry, “but the feeling he gave me was really exciting.”

Team Germany

With a final score of 230.791, 12-time FEI Dressage World Champions Team Germany earned the bronze medal. Isabell Werth and DSP Quantaz, a 12-year-old DSP stallion owned by Madeleine Winter-Schulze and Victoria Max-Theurer, were awarded a 77.127% for their efforts. “I’m really pleased with Quantaz because he’s already 12, but still green, especially in the big arenas,” Werth said of her mount. Used to taking home the gold medal for Germany, when asked how she felt about bronze, Werth replied, “We are really satisfied. I think all of us, we did a good job.”

Frederic Wandres and Duke of Britain FRH, a 15-year-old British Hanoverian gelding owned by Hof Kasselmann GmbH & Co. KG, were the final German duo to tackle the test, earning a 76.661%. “It was a very interesting experience today to start as the last rider for the German team. It was really an honor for me. I’m very proud that our German trainers and the Chefs d’Equipe allowed me to take this position,” said Wandres.

Team USA

Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper, a 14-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Akiko Yamazaki, reined in a 74.767% to keep the U.S. team in the top ten. After an unlucky day yesterday for teammate Ashley Holzer, Peters knew he and “Mopsie” had to give it their all. “I went in there putting the team placing aside,” commented Peters, so he could focus on doing his best.

His partner of four years and 2020 Tokyo Olympic mount, Peters said that Mopsie has come a long way. “Years ago, we didn’t really have a halt, we didn’t have a rein back, we didn’t have an extended walk or a collected walk,” he admitted. “Looking back four years, he’s made huge, huge steps forward.” Peters continued, “He’s a true team horse now, a true Grand Prix horse. Four years ago, that was very questionable.”

The last to go in team competition, Adrienne Lyle and Salvino, a 15-year-old Hanoverian stallion owned by Betsy Juliano LLC., earned a 74.394%. Though across the pond from home, Lyle garnered cheers of recognition as she entered Stutteri Ask Stadium. She and Salvino’s score held enough weight to boost Team USA up to 6th place from their overnight position at 8th. The team finished on a score of 220.0 percentage points, and qualified Team USA for a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Riders Go Head to Head in Individual Competition

The 2022 FEI Dressage World Championship resumes tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. EST with the Individual Grand Prix Special. U.S. ride times are:

14. Adrienne Lyle & Salvino – 10:00 a.m. EST
20. Steffen Peters & Suppenkasper – 11:40 a.m. EST 

You can tune into the livestream of the 2022 FEI World Championship on FEI TV. Watch highlights, including winning rounds, on the FEI’s YouTube channel.

For the time schedule and results, click here.

The Jog and Order of Go

Following the inspection, Danish Ground Jury President Susanne Baarup and technical delegate Janet Foy (USA) led the draw to decides the starting order in team competition. Sweden’s Gilles Ngovan will pave the way on Saturday, August 6, for the remaining 92 horse and rider combinations. Katie Duerrhammer and Kylie Lourie’s 14-year-old DSP gelding, Quartett, will be the first to represent the United States at 19th in the order. Next for the U.S. will be Ashley Holzer and her own Valentine, a 12-year-old Hanoverian mare, in 46th.

Team competition will resume on Sunday, August 7th, with Steffen Peters at 73rd in the order. He will be aboard Suppenkasper, a 14-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Akiko Yamazaki. Adrienne Lyle and Salvino, a 15-year-old Hanoverian stallion owned by Betsy Juliano LLC, will be the very last to go. After two days of team competition, the total of the best three scores from each nation will decide the medals. Additionally, the top six countries will secure an entry to the team event at the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Who Will Advance to the Championship Final?

As for the FEI Individual Dressage Grand Prix World Championship, the top 30 from the Grand Prix will advance to the Grand Prix Special Monday, August 8th. From there, the top 15 in the Grand Prix Special will continue to the Grand Prix Freestyle on Wednesday, August 10th. Dressage competition will conclude on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. EST with the Medal Ceremony.

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How to Follow the 2022 FEI Dressage World Championships

For the time schedule and results, click here.

You can tune into the livestream of the 2022 FEI World Championships on FEI TV. Watch highlights, including winning rounds, on the FEI’s YouTube channel.