“Be committed to the canter.”
“Embrace the bounce.”
“You’re not going to ruin him. Any mistakes you make, we can fix.”
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Being told the difference between me and a better rider was FEELING what is ABOUT to go wrong and address that it BEFORE it happens.
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H/J rider…
Eyes UP
Get tall
When in doubt, leg on and trust your horse.
And perhaps … grab mane.
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It’s like don’t let best be the enemy of good. Always end on a small triumph. When you chase perfection you risk pushing past the really good try! Build on that.
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Ooooh… I might have to retract my previous answer, although it has stayed with me since I heard it.
I think the most important thing I’ve ever heard is that every moment you spend with a horse, you are training it for better or for worse. I guess that applies to all animals.
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Ride the horse you have today.
Of course you can do it when it’s easy, so instead you need to practice it when it’s hard.
Context: if something starts going wrong when I’m tired, I revert to a limp noodle… h/j trainer made me start doing my no stirrups, two-point, etc at the END of my ride instead of the beginning.
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I had one look squarely at my horse and say “could you please not?” And I just laughed, which broke up the tension and we were able to move forward. I still remember that often.
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“Let Go” [of his face, on which I tended to take a death grip].
I didn’t (couldn’t…) take that advice at the time, but at long last I’ve learned that the brakes are not in the reins. My eventing coach is probably exasperated that it took a reiner to convince me of this. 
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Transitions are everything!!
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“Keep your hands in front of the saddle pad”
Was terrible for riding with too long reins and hands in my crotch - haha. Such a simple instruction but has actually fixed my problem better than just saying “hands forward!”
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The two pieces of advice that have stuck with me are these:
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(Not necessarily advice, but it changed my thought process dramatically when I was a teenager) “I can get you to 3rd level, but in 6 months, you won’t have a horse.” I was an ambitious teenager with an older, but capable horse who really wanted to go to young riders that summer. That moment made me realize I didn’t want to sacrifice my horse for my own goals.
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(Not dressage, but important nonetheless) “A horse only has so many jumps in them.” I’ve also heard the same saying applied to the extended trot. This one also came when I was a junior who wanted to jump all the things all the time. By the time I was an older junior, the younger kids at the barn didn’t even know I jumped because I only did in lessons, which weren’t when they were at the barn, or I’d only do enough to do what we needed, which wasn’t usually much as we only ever went novice eventing.
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I audited a clinic of his years ago, like almost ten years I think. He did this cool demonstration on the ground where he had a helper come in (human), put a rope around their ankle, and had them walk in a circle around him. He showed how when the foot with the rope was on the ground, it was impossible to tug on the leg to influence it, but when it was lifting up into the air you could put a little pressure on the rope and make the leg move to the inside. It really drive home for me that when you want to get a certain leg more active, it has to be when it’s lifting into the air to really work. This was waaaay before I ever got into dressage, but the concept stuck with me and has been really helpful.
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The only emotions that belong on the back of a horse are patience and humor.
Begin every day anew.
I cannot remember where I heard either of them, but they transformed my riding (and my non-horse professional attitude). I approach pretty much all of life that way now, which is good since my horse is retired very early and I can’t afford to pay for more than one, so now I ride a road bike and scratch his itches.
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Not sure exactly where these each originated, but they stick with me:
“You’re always training” (someone already said this, but boy does it really apply to every interaction in life!)
“Rhythm and balance are the training pyramid foundation for a reason. You can’t have one without the other, and everything else suffers without them”
And for any learner, human or horse: “A student will only learn something when they’re ready to.” … Because teaching/training takes persistence, creativity, and patience!
I like these because they all help me keep the right mindset … most of the time, anyway 
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We joke about sayings a lot at my barn!
My favorites:
“Go slow to go fast”
“Training isn’t a democracy” - meaning, your vote and the horse’s vote are not equal
“It’s a training opportunity” - mindset of how to face challenging situations.
“Ride the horse that shows up that day”
“You want acceptance, not tolerance” - your horse shouldn’t tolerate the work, the horse should accept it.
“Don’t be greedy”
“end on a good note, even if that’s ending early”
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“Pressure motivates, release teaches.”
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Tik Maynard?
“Every day will not be a good riding day.”
Which is true and hard for me, as a perfectionist, ro accept sometimes. If my mind isn’t in the right place, just go for a hand walk in the forest, free lunge, or do something else low pressure. Even if I ride and it all goes to shite, backtrack a bit if I have to (simplify the exercise, only do a part of it, or something like that), find a positive point of relaxation, and try again another day. My horse is an insanely sensitive mind/mood reader.
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“If you can’t do it in the walk, how can you do it in a faster gait?”
Especially important when learning lateral work!
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I always have two things in my head when I ride:
- Less is more: stop trying so hard (eg, no pumping at the canter, don’t move your whole hand when the ring finger will do, etc).
- Ride the damn horse! This is the same as ride the horse you have at that moment. Don’t imagine what he may do if…
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