I rode my trainer’s GP horse a few months ago. He’s “easy”. Despite only having done pi-pa twice before, on any horse, I didn’t struggle with those on this guy. You know what I struggled with - just cantering on the bit. The core strength it took to ride that horse was incredible, and I’m not exactly out of shape. My mare is A LOT and she’s knocking on the door of PSG.
So yeah, I also laugh when people say someone “bought” their medals. You still have to ride.
and did you notice he was obviously tense, and think just PERHAPS the trainer was trying to supple him so that the tension would diminish? Of course not. Same as the tongue was was wagging around a bit. Another tension/resistance issue. And as i recall he said the horse usually came out like this…
A while ago I bought a well trained boy and I am struggling to ride him (I have my Silver. I can ride… I thought). He sometimes comes out tense and with a “get to the collected work NOW!!” attitude. SOmetimes we are BTV in those tense beginning moments.
WHen I got him he was consistently held tightly together and pushed through, with a tight throatlatch. We have made great strides towards a more open neck. But it takes suppling and time.
Over 40 years ago, when I was just getting started with serious dressage lessons, my instructor gave me a lesson on her GP horse. I did manage to get the canter, but we went around the whole arena doing 1-time changes.
She hollered, “Sit still!”
I hollered, “I am!”
She hollered, “Apparently not!”
It was hilarious and enlightening and so humbling!
This has happened to me in a different way. My coach has a GP stallion with a sense of humor and some prankster energy. We were doing loops across the arena into counter canter and he would just go for a line of twos across the diagonal. He was not happy when I told him to quit. He also took me for a ride in extended trot across the diagonal on a few occasions and loved to spring into extended trot out of a piaffe or passage. All in good fun.
He is great with lower level riders and my trainer puts first and second level riders on him and he happily trots and canters without offering any of his tricks. Although I once watched a lower level rider be unable to steer him because they weren’t truly riding inside leg to outside rein. Poor girl was just stuck to the wall.
When I was training/first level I had a the privilege of leasing my trainer’s former 4th/PSG horse. First few lessons mostly involved going sideways and a lot of unintended flying changes 
I loved when the trainer was like “well he’s a bit sharp today” then told the gal she’d be fine lol lol
Slightly off topic, but if you get the chance watch her videos of Mr. Iceland and the ponies.
Not really weird, just a statement of fact.
Horses can be suppled w/o use of the reins. It’s their body you supple, not their neck. 
I had a lesson on him, too! I could not pick up the left lead canter to save my life, but I did get half pass, renvers, travers, and a host of movements with no names. Charlotte was laughing so hard, and I realized that I DIDN’T actually know everything even though I’d just made it to gasp first level!
He knows her well enough as he is also one of her teachers. I liked her honest opinion when first seeing the size of the horse.
That was so much fun to watch! Thanks!
Doesn’t that depend on where they are holding tension?
I’m glad you (G) enjoyed the video. I thought it was great.
I really enjoyed the video with Otis, it was so funny to see Rich put the bridle on, and Otis trying to eat all of the leather pieces.
I liked the later one where the same woman rides another of her trainer’s upper level horses. The second one was a much better experience for her. Second horse was a former event horse, so the trainer told her this horse would be used to an event rider shifting around, that was a funny quip. I really like her trainer. The second horse was a bit smaller too.
I was assuming that this was not their typical warmup. Probably more tension than usual due to camera crew, etc., plus he was trying to prepare the horse to work well for a somewhat less experienced rider and demonstrate some of the horse’s “buttons” to her before she got on. I always try not to let the horse get BTV, so I don’t disagree with you about USUALLY making this a high priority. However, I know a few horses that I doubt you (or anyone) could get on when they are quite tense and try to supple them w/o the use of the reins right at the beginning of the ride! Especially if you were teaching and filming a video at the same time.
Over 20 years ago, I decided to get back into riding as an adult. I had shown A and B circuit hunters and jumpers as a child and young adult. I attending some dressage freestyle competitions at a local CDI/charity show and called the organizer for a recommendation. I was a great rider as a young person and I had a fantasy image of myself in my head. AND I was a very fit runner/back country skier/roller blader at the time. He sent me to a trainer who had won Rolex and was making the switch to dressage. This trainer watched me go a few times and made me sign up for the riding school for lunge lessons 3x per week (we no longer have a british certified riding school here, sad) and I had one lesson per week with him on Saturdays. After 6 months, I decided to import a grand prix schoolmaster. The horse I bought was coming 15 and had won the young horse tests in Denmark and shown through I2 in Germany. He had been trained to GP by Uwe Schulten-Baumer, Jr. (I have the video) and was very correct. His piaffe was weak or he would have been super tops. I would get on him and ask him to canter and get a line of 1 tempies. For days. I was so concerned that I wasn’t learning how to get this horse through and on my aids that I started clinicing and found a wonderful clinician (who has helped me through several horses) who was a BNT and rode my horse and then taught me how to get him through. It was not the same as getting my next horse through, or the horses I have now. LOL. I rode that gp schoolmaster up through PSG before I had to retire him. It was fantastic. Because of him, I was able to train my next horse from 90 days under to GP. NOT because it’s all the same but because I got the feel of what is correct and what is not, what is through and what is tricks. I learned a lot on the next horse also. The GP horse was easy to get the tricks on but NOT easy to ride through. He knew what I was on his back at the time. From him, I learned that throughness, not the tricks, was the whole foundation of everything. I learned from the next one how strong my core needs to be in order not to interfere with the horse.
Someone said push button GP dressage horse. Has Nicky P appeared?
Amusing how the video was to demonstrate that it’s not as easy as it looks and someone wanders in to complain that it should be and the trainer is doing it all wrong.
Once put a student on one of my PSG horses as her horse had an abscess and she had a show. Anyway, so she could get the canter depart, one stride and then a lovely walk transition, just could not get her body to sit so she’d lean forward and he’d walk.
we just laughed and laughed!
Two rides and off to the show she went… he went up CL like the big boy he was… she won her training 1 test with 72%. Second ride he realized it wasn’t PSG and let some of his power relax but still she rode a lovely training 2 with less power and a less through/round horse.
Rider of course was happier with the feel of the second test… but when she watched it she realized the first test the horse looked so much better. It’s a humbling sport for sure and what perception people have when watching is usually nothing to do with reality.
I do have to laugh at all the people so quick to point out little (and ridiculously obvious) flaws… talk about looking like you have never ridden or trained many a horse to the level… let me show you how to shout it from the rooftops! they are everywhere on Facebook these days.
This was my experience with my trainer’s (PSG) horse. I could get the loveliest walk to canter transitions…and wow, were our canter to halt transitions immaculate. Just not desired 
They really do rat you out and say exactly what you are (or aren’t!) doing with your body. She always says she loves the horses that tell her exactly what the rider is doing because they keep everyone honest and humble!
The memory of riding her horse was years ago… unlocked with your anecdote here. Made me chuckle all over again. Thank you for the reminder.
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