Training

The FUNdamentals with Brittany Fraser

Brittany Fraser shares tips for making dressage appealing to young riders.

Barb Wansbutter Photo

By: Alison King | February 27, 2016

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you're listening to an article from horse sport.com. the fundamentals with brittany fraser by: alison king. brittany fraser has loved dressage since she first started riding at the age of five. having a close family member who was a dressage coach and stable owner in her hometown of new glasgow, ns, it’s no surprise that brittany was introduced to the sport at a young age. what is unusual is that unlike many other young riders, the thrill of jumping never lured her away from the dressage ring. while it may be easy to dismiss dressage as “boring,” fraser wants canada’s kids to give the sport a chance. “most kids think dressage is about 20-meter circles and going around the ring endlessly,” the 2015 pan am games silver medallist says. “we as trainers have to make it more interesting for them and get kids excited about dressage. “i loved dressage from day one. my number-one priority was to get my pony on the bit and i would not give up until i accomplished that task. my first fei horse had previously been a jumper, so i tried the whole hunter/jumper thing with him one summer to give it a shot. it was fun, but i knew right away jumping wasn’t the discipline for me. that experience made me 100 per cent sure that dressage was what i wanted to do.”. advertisement scroll to continue with content tips for teaching. when i teach kids in clinics, i try to break down everything into the simplest form. i always work on their positions and their seat. learning how to properly sit at a young age is very beneficial and makes riding in any discipline easier. getting kids to correctly get a horse on the bit is another skill that i always teach, whether physically walking with the student to show them how to do it properly, or getting on myself. once kids have a feeling of what’s right, it is much easier for them to strive to reach those goals every day. competing was another thing i loved to do as a kid and to this day i still love it. coaches can make dressage fun by getting kids really involved in showing. make them ride a test each week, work on freestyles, and get kids excited about upcoming competitions. one of the biggest factors for keeping juniors interested is having other junior riders around who share their passion. at my stable at home we had about 20 kids learning how to ride and focusing on dressage. we always played games, spent hours in the barn together, and just had a lot of fun. as a teenager i was fortunate enough to go to ottawa to be part of a dressage program aimed specifically at developing junior riders. our ages ranged from 12 to 21 and while we were all very competitive, we became best friends. we as coaches have to get kids more involved in our sport if we want it to grow in canada. i would like to put together another program like the one i was in to help our sport grow and get kids competitively into dressage. &&>

Brittany Fraser has loved dressage since she first started riding at the age of five. Having a close family member who was a dressage coach and stable owner in her hometown of New Glasgow, NS, it’s no surprise that Brittany was introduced to the sport at a young age. What is unusual is that unlike many other young riders, the thrill of jumping never lured her away from the dressage ring.

While it may be easy to dismiss dressage as “boring,” Fraser wants Canada’s kids to give the sport a chance. “Most kids think dressage is about 20-meter circles and going around the ring endlessly,” the 2015 Pan Am Games silver medallist says. “We as trainers have to make it more interesting for them and get kids excited about dressage.

“I loved dressage from day one. My number-one priority was to get my pony on the bit and I would not give up until I accomplished that task. My first FEI horse had previously been a jumper, so I tried the whole hunter/jumper thing with him one summer to give it a shot. It was fun, but I knew right away jumping wasn’t the discipline for me. That experience made me 100 per cent sure that dressage was what I wanted to do.”

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Tips for Teaching

When I teach kids in clinics, I try to break down everything into the simplest form. I always work on their positions and their seat. Learning how to properly sit at a young age is very beneficial and makes riding in any discipline easier.
Getting kids to correctly get a horse on the bit is another skill that I always teach, whether physically walking with the student to show them how to do it properly, or getting on myself. Once kids have a feeling of what’s right, it is much easier for them to strive to reach those goals every day.
Competing was another thing I loved to do as a kid and to this day I still love it. Coaches can make dressage fun by getting kids really involved in showing. Make them ride a test each week, work on freestyles, and get kids excited about upcoming competitions.
One of the biggest factors for keeping juniors interested is having other junior riders around who share their passion. At my stable at home we had about 20 kids learning how to ride and focusing on dressage. We always played games, spent hours in the barn together, and just had a lot of fun. As a teenager I was fortunate enough to go to Ottawa to be part of a dressage program aimed specifically at developing junior riders. Our ages ranged from 12 to 21 and while we were all very competitive, we became best friends.

We as coaches have to get kids more involved in our sport if we want it to grow in Canada. I would like to put together another program like the one I was in to help our sport grow and get kids competitively into dressage.