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Amelia Newcomb
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Amelia Newcomb

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About Amelia Newcomb

Amelia Newcomb is a USDF Gold medalist, a member of the prestigious USEF Dressage Development Program, and recipient of the Carol Lavell Prize from the Dressage Foundation. Based in Somis, California, she incorporates complete dressage training from starting the young horse through the FEI levels. Amelia works to develop a trusting and confident relationship between horse and rider. Her approach incorporates all aspects of horsemanship from basic groundwork to advanced dressage movements. The emphasis is always on the foundation with the basic trust, understanding, and relaxation for both horse and rider to create a harmonious partnership. Amelia's mantra has always been "Dressage for All," which is evident in both her in person and online coaching. With a successful YouTube video library of hundreds of free educational videos, over 135,000 subscribers (and counting!), and thousands of students enrolled in her online USDF accredited courses, it is clear that Amelia has a passion for teaching and dressage! "I have been blessed with many great teachers in my career and I hope to help each and every one of my students develop a connection and solid relationship with their horses." Learn more about Amelia on her website (www.amelianewcombdressage.com) or discover her free educational videos on her YouTube channel "Amelia Newcomb Dressage."

Latest Articles Written

Ask Amelia Newcomb Anything: Toes Forward Tips

By on Sep 19, 2024 12:30 pm -

We recently polled our readers to find out their burning questions about dressage, and now we’ve enlisted Amelia Newcomb‘s help to answer them! Do you have a question for Amelia? Email us at [email protected] and you could see your question addressed right here on EN! 

Photo courtesy of Amelia Newcomb Dressage.

Q: How do I fix my feet sticking out like a penguin when I ride? Related to that, I really struggle with keeping my heels down.

Great questions! Don’t worry, you aren’t alone! These are common things I see in many riders! There could be a few reasons why your toes are pointing out, either you’re built that way, you tend to walk that way, or you are nagging your horse!

To get your toes pointing forward, think about rotating your thigh inward from your hip. I commonly see riders trying to fix their leg position by rotating their toes in from the ankle, but this doesn’t work, because their leg is still turned out and their toes just go right back to pointing out no matter how hard they try to fix it! Rotating inward from your hip will help you fix your whole leg position. Check in with your leg position each time you walk, and rotate your thighs in again if you need to! Pretty soon, you’ll train your body to ride in the correct position with your toes forward.

Next, to help you get your heels down, there are several things that will help you:

  • Find the correct stirrup length. When you drop your stirrups, your ankle bone should be right at the length of your stirrups. Stirrups that are too long or too short will impede your ability to maintain the correct leg position.
  • Make sure your calves and ankles are loose. I recommend stretching your calves and ankles before riding.
  • Be sure that your stirrup is perpendicular to your foot! Heels should be a few inches lower than the toe and the stirrup should be perpendicular to your foot for maximum stability and control.
  • Activate your leg properly. If you find that you can’t put your leg on without your heels coming up, then you might not be activating the correct muscles. It’s super important that when you give a leg aid, you do so from your hip (glute med muscle). This allows you to put your leg on and keep your heels down.

Your leg position still isn’t right? Getting the correct position statically might be easy, but dynamically is a whole different story? If this is the case, check in with your horse and make sure that they are in front of your leg. If you are constantly working to get your horse to go, it will be impossible to fix your leg position. And remember, fixing old habits takes time. Be mindful and consistent about taking walk breaks and fixing your position and I know you will be able to correct this.

I hope that this helps you! Check out my free Rider Position Webinar for more tips to help you with your rider position.

About Amelia Newcomb:

Amelia Newcomb is a USDF Gold medalist and recipient of the Carol Lavell Prize from the Dressage Foundation. Based in Somis, CA, she incorporates complete dressage training from starting the young horse through the FEI levels.

Amelia works to develop a trusting and confident relationship between horse and rider. Her approach incorporates all aspects of horsemanship from basic groundwork to advanced dressage movements. The emphasis is always on the foundation with the basic trust, understanding, and relaxation for both horse and rider to create a harmonious partnership.

Amelia’s mantra has always been “Dressage for All,” which is evident in both her in person and online coaching. With a successful YouTube video library of hundreds of free educational videos, over 290,000 subscribers (and counting!), and thousands of students enrolled in her online USDF-accredited courses, it is clear that Amelia has a passion for teaching and dressage.

“I have been blessed with many great teachers in my career and I hope to help each and every one of my students develop a connection and solid relationship with their horses.”

Learn more about Amelia on her website (www.amelianewcombdressage.com) or discover her free educational videos on her YouTube channel, Amelia Newcomb Dressage.

Read our feature on Amelia here.

Ask Amelia Newcomb Anything: Bending and Suppleness at the Canter

By on Aug 21, 2024 2:30 pm -

We recently polled our readers to find out their burning questions about dressage, and now we’ve enlisted Amelia Newcomb‘s help to answer them! Do you have a question for Amelia? Email us at [email protected] and you could see your question addressed right here on EN! 

Photo courtesy of Amelia Newcomb Dressage.

Q: What is a good exercise to get my horse supple and bending to the right in the canter?

Great question! If I have a student who is having trouble getting their horse to bend in the canter, I usually recommend going back to the trot and reconfirming your bending aids at the lower gait. Doing this is super helpful, because often much easier to fix the bend at a slower gait.

Some great exercises to work on the bend at the trot are serpentines, spiral circles, and figures eights. Start with wider turns, then go tighter as your horse gets more supple. You want to be feeling that you can bend to a higher degree in the trot than you need in the canter (ie 12-15m circle bending in trot for a 20m circle in canter). Once you feel like your horse is soft and bending evenly left and right, then you can go back up to the canter.

Remember the bending aids are:

  1. Inside leg on pushing your horse into the outside aids
  2. Outside leg supporting behind the girth
  3. Outside rein steady, catching your horse
  4. Inside rein suppling to keep your horse soft

It’s the inside leg that is your primary bending aid.

Once you’ve done some bending exercises in the trot, you can bring in your canter work. Here are two great exercises:

Leg-yield to canter:

This is a great exercise to help you set up your horse to bend around your inside leg and puts your horse in a better position to pick up the correct lead.

For this exercise, turn up the quarterline, and once you have your horse straight, leg-yield them over to the rail. Make sure your leg yield isn’t too steep that you loose the shoulder. Right as you reach the rail, sit the trot, ask your horse for the canter, and immediately turn on a circle. The transition for the canter should happen at the point when you’ve just as you’ve reached the wall, the stride before you turn on your circle.

Repeat this exercise a few times in both directions, and I know you will see a difference in your canter!

Snowman:

Another great exercise to help you work on bend in your canter is the Snowman.

For this exercise, you will first ride a 10m circle at the trot at X, then when you reach the centerline again, change direction and bend to ride a 20m circle, and ask for canter. Then, when you get back to the centerline, transition to trot, change direction and bend, and trot your 10m circle again. The change in directions and bend in varied circle sizes in this pattern really help you get your horse supple.

When you ride frequent changes of direction like this, it really helps to work both sides evenly and helps your horse develop the balance and coordination without just drilling it. Eventually the easy side will transfer make it easier for you to get the bend on the harder side.

Check out this video where I demonstrate these exercises as well as a couple others to help you improve your canter!

About Amelia Newcomb:

Amelia Newcomb is a USDF Gold medalist and recipient of the Carol Lavell Prize from the Dressage Foundation. Based in Somis, California, she incorporates complete dressage training from starting the young horse through the FEI levels. Amelia works to develop a trusting and confident relationship between horse and rider. Her approach incorporates all aspects of horsemanship from basic groundwork to advanced dressage movements. The emphasis is always on the foundation with the basic trust, understanding, and relaxation for both horse and rider to create a harmonious partnership. Amelia’s mantra has always been “Dressage for All,” which is evident in both her in person and online coaching. With a successful YouTube video library of hundreds of free educational videos, over 290,000 subscribers (and counting!), and thousands of students enrolled in her online USDF-accredited courses, it is clear that Amelia has a passion for teaching and dressage! “I have been blessed with many great teachers in my career and I hope to help each and every one of my students develop a connection and solid relationship with their horses.” Learn more about Amelia on her website (www.amelianewcombdressage.com) or discover her free educational videos on her YouTube channel “Amelia Newcomb Dressage.”

Read our feature on Amelia here.

Amelia Newcomb’s 5 Tips for Nailing Your Dressage Test

By on Mar 19, 2024 2:30 pm -

Getting ready to head to a show soon? In this video, I have five tips to help you get a new personal best dressage score at your next event! I know, I know, jumping is way more fun…but the dressage portion of the event is just as important as your show jumping and cross-country phases. Oftentimes, the judges will determine the winner of the whole event by the rider’s dressage score. Plus, practicing your flatwork and dressage principles will help you do better in your other jumping events as well.

Though I am mainly a dressage rider, I do have students who are eventers, and so I have compiled these top five tips specifically based on the common themes that I observe. Here are my top five tips to help you improve your eventing dressage scores:

Steady Tempo

One common thing that I see eventers doing is rushing through their tests and riding over tempo or with an inconsistent tempo. However, rushing your horse can cause them to be tense, inconsistent in the contact, and run on the forehand. In your test, remember that you can relax and take your time. Practice counting your horse’s stride. Breathe, relax, and go for a steady and consistent tempo as you ride through your test.

Ride Accurately

Riding letter to letter is super important. Judges like to see that you have correct geometry and are riding accurately throughout your test, as this indicates that your horse is on your aids. Remember to use your corners, and ride each figure letter to letter.

Practice Your Walk

Most of the time, the walk is a coefficient in your dressage test, which means that your score in the walk will count for double points. Practicing your walk and getting a nice, relaxed, and active walk can really help improve your test scores. Plus, practicing your walk is a great way to give your horse a break, and help them relax. Focus on getting a consistent rhythm, with your horse over-striding and stretching down into the contact.

Centerlines and Halts

Your centerline and halt in your test is your first and last impression to the judge. Therefore, it is a great thing to practice! It is super common for horses to get tense and nervous during this movement because they feel restrained, so I recommend first getting your trot-walk transitions down, and then practicing a few walk-halt transitions. Try practicing your walk-halt transitions along the rail first, and really focus on getting your horse to halt through your seat; this will help them halt square and round.

Breathe, Smile, and Have Fun!

Something that I think we all can forget when we are at a show is to just breathe, smile, and have fun with our horses. At the end of the day, we love our horses and we went to the show to have fun and enjoy them! Don’t forget to pet them, reward them, and say “Good job!”!

I hope that these five tips help you at your next show. You can also use the video above, where I go into more detail and demonstrate each tip. Let me know in the comments below what your favorite tip was! A big thank you to Eventing Nation for collaborating with me to help make this video possible.

Happy Riding!
Amelia

P.S. Want more help with your canter? Check out my FREE Canter PDF mini-course to help! Download the course here.

Amelia Newcomb is a USDF Gold medalist, a member of the prestigious USEF Dressage Development Program, and recipient of the Carol Lavell Prize from the Dressage Foundation. Based in Somis, California, she incorporates complete dressage training from starting the young horse through the FEI levels.

Amelia works to develop a trusting and confident relationship between horse and rider. Her approach incorporates all aspects of horsemanship from basic groundwork to advanced dressage movements. The emphasis is always on the foundation with the basic trust, understanding, and relaxation for both horse and rider to create a harmonious partnership.

Amelia’s mantra has always been “Dressage for All,” which is evident in both her in person and online coaching. With a successful YouTube video library of hundreds of free educational videos, over 135,000 subscribers (and counting!), and thousands of students enrolled in her online USDF accredited courses, it is clear that Amelia has a passion for teaching and dressage! “I have been blessed with many great teachers in my career and I hope to help each and every one of my students develop a connection and solid relationship with their horses.”

Learn more about Amelia on her website or discover her free educational videos on her YouTube channel “Amelia Newcomb Dressage.”

Read more tips from Amelia on EN here.

Amelia Newcomb: How to Up Your Score in USEF Training Test B

By on Feb 20, 2024 3:00 pm -

If you’re an eventer, you may enjoy the jumping phases more than dressage phase, but practicing your dressage test and riding it well can make all the difference in your overall placing. It’s super common that the Dressage test scores decide the end placing.

In this video, I will be riding through the USEF Training Test B (you can also see my demo and tips for Training Test B here). As I’m riding this test, I have a drone camera on me as well as a camera head-on, and I’ll be talking about what the judges are looking for, and commenting on what you should be focusing on as the rider.

Hopefully, this video gives you an idea of what to expect in an USEF Training Level Dressage test and how you can ride this test a little better!

Thank you to Eventing Nation for collaborating with me for this video. If you would like more help with riding your test figures accurately, check out this video:

Happy Riding!
Amelia

P.S. Want more help with your canter? Check out my FREE Canter PDF mini-course to help! Download the course here.

Amelia Newcomb is a USDF Gold medalist, a member of the prestigious USEF Dressage Development Program, and recipient of the Carol Lavell Prize from the Dressage Foundation. Based in Somis, California, she incorporates complete dressage training from starting the young horse through the FEI levels.

Amelia works to develop a trusting and confident relationship between horse and rider. Her approach incorporates all aspects of horsemanship from basic groundwork to advanced dressage movements. The emphasis is always on the foundation with the basic trust, understanding, and relaxation for both horse and rider to create a harmonious partnership.

Amelia’s mantra has always been “Dressage for All,” which is evident in both her in person and online coaching. With a successful YouTube video library of hundreds of free educational videos, over 135,000 subscribers (and counting!), and thousands of students enrolled in her online USDF accredited courses, it is clear that Amelia has a passion for teaching and dressage! “I have been blessed with many great teachers in my career and I hope to help each and every one of my students develop a connection and solid relationship with their horses.”

Learn more about Amelia on her website or discover her free educational videos on her YouTube channel “Amelia Newcomb Dressage.”

Read more tips from Amelia on EN here.

Amelia Newcomb: Fine Tuning USEF Training Test A

By on Jan 9, 2024 12:30 pm -

Getting excited about the season ahead? I bet you’re looking forward to the cross-country and show jumping phases, but did you know you can get a better score by riding your dressage test well?

The dressage phase may not be as fun as the jumping events, but practicing your dressage test and riding it well can make all the difference. The judges impression and results from dressage can be the score you finish on, so riding a good dressage test could be what makes the difference in your end result!

Though I am mainly a dressage rider, in this video, I will be riding the USEF Training Test A. Complete with drone footage as well as a camera front-on, you will be able to watch me ride each figure as I talk about what the judges are looking for and comment on what you should be focusing on as the rider.

Hopefully, this video helps give you a picture of what to expect in a USEF Training level test, and the best way to ride it! A big thank you to Eventing Nation for collaborating on this video with me.

Happy Riding!
Amelia

P.S. Want more help with your canter? Check out my FREE Canter PDF mini-course to help! Download the course here.

Amelia Newcomb is a USDF Gold medalist, a member of the prestigious USEF Dressage Development Program, and recipient of the Carol Lavell Prize from the Dressage Foundation. Based in Somis, California, she incorporates complete dressage training from starting the young horse through the FEI levels.

Amelia works to develop a trusting and confident relationship between horse and rider. Her approach incorporates all aspects of horsemanship from basic groundwork to advanced dressage movements. The emphasis is always on the foundation with the basic trust, understanding, and relaxation for both horse and rider to create a harmonious partnership.
Amelia’s mantra has always been “Dressage for All,” which is evident in both her in person and online coaching. With a successful YouTube video library of hundreds of free educational videos, over 135,000 subscribers (and counting!), and thousands of students enrolled in her online USDF accredited courses, it is clear that Amelia has a passion for teaching and dressage! “I have been blessed with many great teachers in my career and I hope to help each and every one of my students develop a connection and solid relationship with their horses.”

Learn more about Amelia on her website or discover her free educational videos on her YouTube channel “Amelia Newcomb Dressage.”

Read more tips from Amelia on EN here.

Amelia Newcomb: Making the Most of Your Short Court Dressage Test

By on Dec 12, 2023 3:00 pm -

In this latest video, we will be talking about geometry in the short dressage court. Sometimes with the elementary tests and especially three-day events, you may ride your test in a 20m x 40m arena (short court) instead of the standard 20m x 60m (large court or full side court). When you ride a test, it’s super important that you ride each movement and figure accurately (you will make the judge very happy!).

In this video, I’m riding inside a short court and talking about how to ride your tests accurately in a smaller court:

The dressage judges are super picky about the geometry in a test, as riding accurate geometry is what shows that your horse is on the aids. But riding accurate geometry can be tricky, especially in a short court. As the coach of several eventing students, I commonly see eventers struggle with:

Circles

Depending on whether you are riding your circle at one of the ends (A or C) or if you’re riding a circle in the middle of the arena (B or E) your geometry will change slightly in the different courts. I commonly see riders make big oval shapes for their circles, especially if they are in a short court, so it’s super helpful if you can look at your test before the show, study the geometry, know what touch points you’ll need for your circles, and practice riding them accurately.

Using the Corners

Corners are a big part of the geometry in your test because they set you up for the next movement. One common mistake that I see riders make in their tests is that they cut their corners and allow their horse to counter bend and fall inward. Make sure you ride into the corner with bend and look up and ahead to plan for your next movement. Imagine that there is a jump on the line ahead of you and you have to ride a good turn to line up with it!

The biggest things that will help you to ride an accurate test are firstly, studying the geometry in your test and knowing your touch points for each figure, and secondly, looking up to where you are riding

Watch the video above where I explain more about the correct touch points for your circles and corners. I also have a drone filming from above (as well as my regular camera) so you can get a better idea of the correct geometry.

I hope that these tips help give you an idea of how you can ride your tests a bit more accurately so that you can boost your eventing scores! A big thank you to Eventing Nation for collaborating on this video.

Happy Riding!

Amelia

P.S. Want more help with your canter? Check out my FREE Canter PDF mini-course to help! Download the course here.

Amelia Newcomb is a USDF Gold medalist, a member of the prestigious USEF Dressage Development Program, and recipient of the Carol Lavell Prize from the Dressage Foundation. Based in Somis, California, she incorporates complete dressage training from starting the young horse through the FEI levels.

Amelia works to develop a trusting and confident relationship between horse and rider. Her approach incorporates all aspects of horsemanship from basic groundwork to advanced dressage movements. The emphasis is always on the foundation with the basic trust, understanding, and relaxation for both horse and rider to create a harmonious partnership.
Amelia’s mantra has always been “Dressage for All,” which is evident in both her in person and online coaching. With a successful YouTube video library of hundreds of free educational videos, over 135,000 subscribers (and counting!), and thousands of students enrolled in her online USDF accredited courses, it is clear that Amelia has a passion for teaching and dressage! “I have been blessed with many great teachers in my career and I hope to help each and every one of my students develop a connection and solid relationship with their horses.”

Learn more about Amelia on her website or discover her free educational videos on her YouTube channel “Amelia Newcomb Dressage.”

Read more tips from Amelia on EN here.

Amelia Newcomb’s Top 3 Canter Exercises for Eventers

By on Nov 10, 2023 4:00 pm -

EN is pleased to partner with Amelia Newcomb Dressage for an exclusive training series, just in time for the off-season! Over the next few months, we’ll bring you regular training content from Amelia, whose “dressage for all” through online education makes learning accessible for more riders.

Amelia Newcomb is a USDF Gold medalist, a member of the prestigious USEF Dressage Development Program, and recipient of the Carol Lavell Prize from the Dressage Foundation. Based in Somis, CA, she incorporates complete dressage training from starting the young horse through the FEI levels.

Amelia works to develop a trusting and confident relationship between horse and rider. Her approach incorporates all aspects of horsemanship from basic groundwork to advanced dressage movements. The emphasis is always on the foundation with the basic trust, understanding, and relaxation for both horse and rider to create a harmonious partnership.

Amelia’s mantra has always been “Dressage for All,” which is evident in both her in person and online coaching. With a successful YouTube video library of hundreds of free educational videos, over 135,000 subscribers (and counting!), and thousands of students enrolled in her online USDF accredited courses, it is clear that Amelia has a passion for teaching and dressage. “I have been blessed with many great teachers in my career and I hope to help each and every one of my students develop a connection and solid relationship with their horses,” she says.

Learn more about Amelia on her website (www.amelianewcombdressage.com) or discover her free educational videos on her YouTube channel, Amelia Newcomb Dressage. And now, we’ll hand it over to the woman herself:

Pippa Funnell and Billy Walk On. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Love to jump? If you are an eventer, then the answer is most likely: yes! If you love jumping then you know how important it is to work on the quality of the canter so that you can make your distance to each fence and get a nice, clean jump over the fence. And in this video, I will be going over three flatwork exercises to help you with just that!

Before we get into the video, I just wanted to give a big thank you to Eventing Nation for helping to make this video possible. Though I am mainly a Dressage rider, my mantra is Dressage for All, and I believe that Dressage can help riders and horses across all disciplines.

Flatwork is a great way to improve your canter quality so that you can get a better distance, and jump higher and cleaner. Riding on the flat may not be as fun as jumping, but it is worth it to spend time doing some flatwork each week. Here are three flatwork exercises to help you improve your canter quality. First, a video I produced exclusively for Eventing Nation to visualize what I’ll explain below:

The Snowman

This is a great exercise to get your horse supple and easier to turn, bend, and maneuver around the course. It also will help to get your horse rounder and using their hind end.

To ride the Snowman, start riding a 20-meter circle in one direction, then change direction at the centerline and ride a 10-meter circle. As soon as you get back to the centerline, change direction and bend and ask for canter, going back onto your 20-meter circle.

Repeat the pattern by changing direction and trotting on your 10-meter circle, then cantering on your 20-meter circle.

If you haven’t done the Snowman exercise before, check out this video where I go into more detail:

The 5 x 5 Exercise

This exercise helps you work on the adjustability of the canter stride so it is easier to make the distance to your fences.

First, pick up the canter and begin counting your strides. Start the exercise by closing your calf and riding forward for five strides, then, shorten your horse’s stride for five strides using half-halts. Repeat this pattern of riding forward for five strides, and then bringing your horse back for five strides.

When you ride forward, remember to follow your horse’s motion with your seat after you close your leg.

As you bring your horse back in the canter with your half-halts, remember to first sit up and back, tighten your abdominals, and then give a little squeeze, release, squeeze, release with your wrist.

Walk-Canter Transitions

Once you feel like your trot-canter transitions are fairly solid, you can start introducing walk-canter transitions. As a Dressage rider, I work on lots of walk-canter to help develop collection in my horses. Walk-canter transitions are a great exercise to engage your horse’s hind end and get them rounder so that you can get a clean jump over your fences.

When you are working on these transitions, really focus on getting a nice active, collected walk, then ask for canter. Your goal is to have your horse canter right out of the walk without any trot steps!

As you are working on these exercises, keep in mind that it is important to ride each of the exercises in both directions. I like to ride each pattern about three times before switching directions. This will help your horse become straighter and to correctly develop their body so that they can stay sound, healthy, and have long, successful careers.

Watch the video at the top of this article and give these three exercises a try, and I know that you will see a difference in your jumping! Even if you aren’t an eventer, these exercises are great for improving the canter and getting your horse more supple and round. Again, thank you to Eventing Nation for collaborating with me and making this video possible!

Happy Riding!
Amelia

P.S. Want more help with your canter? Check out my FREE Canter PDF mini-course to help! Download the course here.