To enable the horse to perform, we must of course provide gymnastic, strengthening work, enabling the hindquarters to carry more weight and lift and lighten the forehand.

Yet the work and exercise required must also remain in harmony, and new movements and exercises have to be introduced in a way that enables the horse to understand and eagerly accept the work.

Enlightened training is the result when we energize, strengthen and engage the horse through gymnastic exercises that fully express the horse’s nature, while keeping him supple, balanced and happy. As Herr von Neindorff has said, “One’s goal should be to achieve great things playfully.”

The canter pirouette is one of the most difficult exercises, but when correctly ridden, one of the most beautiful. Many riders say that canter pirouettes are difficult for their horses. Again, the quality of the canter is the first priority. The canter pirouette is a jumping, cantering movement. The collection must be good. The horse must be well ele-vated but relaxed.

The canter pirouette will only work when the horse is easily in command of the collected canter, volte, shoulder-in, and half-pass. One often sees horses trying to do pirouettes who do not know how to do correct voltes and half-passes at the collected canter. It is no wonder they can’t do pirouettes!

This is an example of a mistake created long before it shows. It will not help at all to try to improve the pirouette. One must correct the original mistake.

A good preparatory exercise is to make transitions from canter to walk to canter, etc., on a circle. By each transition, both to the canter as well as to the walk, decrease the circle slightly, bring the shoulders in slightly. Otherwise, it will create a leg-yielding effect, and the pirouette will be too large.

The rider should be thinking of keeping the horse in shoulder-in position–the horse’s forehand is ridden slightly to the inside. The half-halts are given with the outside rein and leg. Should the horse begin to come in too fast and too much, then the half-halts are carefully given with the inside rein, which should be well against the neck and inside leg to control this. Thus the circle gets smaller and smaller.

Then, on the very small volte, when the horse feels calm and obedient, take the canter, making the very first stride the beginning of the pirouette. The first stride of the departure is the most engaged, with the horse stepping farthest under, and the rider can give the aids for the pirouette.

The horse should be positioned well to the inside. The rider gives the half-halt on the outside and pushes with his outside knee and leg to bring the horse into the turn. The rider’s inside leg and seat bone drive to maintain the jump of the canter.

Start With The Half-Pass

I try to explain the canter pirouette to my horses by approaching it in half-pass.

The horse should be started in this exercise on his easier side, on his better canter. First, make a canter volte in the corner at the beginning of the long side, then ride canter half-pass until a distance of approximately 8 meters from the opposite long side. At this point, ride straight ahead briefly, to avoid throwing the horse around. Ride a half-volte and immediately half-pass again to a distance of 8 meters from the track, and again half-pass, etc.

The half-voltes should be made smaller and smaller until the horse realizes that he is practically executing half-pirouettes, and that he can do it.

It is important for the rider to sit into the movement and that the horse does not fall out with his hindquarters or in with the shoulders. The half-pass must be correct, with the shoulders leading into the movement. The rider should keep the horse well positioned to the inside, still think about half-pass, but actually discontinue the half-pass. Carry the feeling for half-pass into the small volte.

Repeat this until the rider has the impression that the horse has confidence in the small volte done in this way. This technique is continued until the half-volte is a real half-pirouette by making the half-volte even smaller.

The rider should realize that the few strides of half-pass, and likewise the few strides of the half-pirouette, can be ridden going in any direction out of the volte.

Another good preparatory exercise for the canter pirouette is to ride canter eight to 10 strides left lead, walk, and immediately turn on the haunches left without hurrying. Take your time! Then make a right lead canter depart promptly, but not hurriedly. Canter again several strides (perhaps eight to 10), walk, half-turn right, and again left lead, etc.

The horse must wait for our aids. This way the horse learns that after the walk transition there will be a turn on the haunches and a canter depart.

I must emphasize the importance of calmness and not hurrying through this exercise. Otherwise, you will be creating an ugly picture so often sadly seen at shows.

Praise Him

When riding pirouettes, the canter and half-pass (at the canter) should be quiet and very much on the rider’s seat.

In entering the pirouette, the rider should pay attention to keeping the inside leg well at the girth, outside leg behind the girth–but not too far back in the soft area behind ribs–the outside knee actively helping the turn, the inside rein well against the horse’s neck, as well as the outside rein, so that as the horse makes a few good strides in the pirouette, the rider should ride him out of the pirouette and praise him so he knows he has done well.

This should be repeated and practiced on both reins. It is important to start this exercise on the horse’s easier side. Every horse has a good side and a bad side.

One of the frequent mistakes in riding canter pirouettes is to give the aids too strongly. When this happens, the horse throws himself around. Probably the most important thought for the rider is to keep the rhythm of the canter steady. The three-beat quality must be maintained.

If the horse enters the pirouette going too fast, the rider will be forced to give a half-halt with the inside rein so that the horsewill not run against that rein.

The outside leg is “standing guard,” and the inside leg is driving. If the horse stops or almost stops, the rider must give up on the first attempt and try to establish the canter again and to put the horse on the aids. When the horse ceases to canter properly, it is a clear sign that the tempo was not correct for the exercise.

Another mistake is to ride too large a curve or arc in the canter pirouette. Half-halts should be given on the outside to keep the pirouette small while retaining a clear canter rhythm.

Once a horse has learned pirouettes, it is often found that he will have difficulty with a volte, falling in on the second segment of the figure–because he thinks this is a pirouette. To correct this, the rider should plan to ride the horse a little more forward at this point. This will prevent the horse’s confusion.

Common Pitfalls

In preparation and execution of the canter pirouette, it is very important that the rider keep his hands together and low and quiet. When riders saw left and right, swinging the horse’s head from left to right, it becomes obvious that the frame of that horse has been done with the rider’s hands, and not well or correctly at that!

Another common pitfall for execution of the canter pirouette is for the rider to collect the canter more and more as he approaches the spot where he wants the horse to perform the pirouette. This shows that the collected canter is not correct. The collected canter should be established well ahead of the approach to the pirouette, not in the approach. The description in test guidelines is, after all, “collected canter and pirouette.”

If the horse becomes disunited (changes lead behind) during the pirouette, it means that the rider does not have the horse sufficiently on his inside seat bone and inside leg. The outside leg of the rider should be slightly behind the girth, ready and on guard. But the inside leg should be driving, while the half-halt is given on the outside.

The rider sits well on the inside seat bone and should keep his outside leg well against the horse, so that the horse cannot swing out with his haunches, thus escaping the rider’s aids.

If the horse continues to change leads behind, the rider should ride the pirouette larger (on the volte) until the horse develops his confidence. Only then should the rider decrease the diameter of the pirouette, gradually attempting the smallest volte around the supporting inside hind leg–the canter pirouette!

It would be a serious mistake for the rider to force the horse to do a canter pirouette. The horse would become frightened by the aids for the pirouette, and this would lead to resistance and confrontation, which no rider wants.

When problems arise in the canter pirouette, this means that there were problems in the preparation. In other words, the problems existed long before the pirouette was even begun!

For instance, the quality of the canter was not correct; the position in the horse (degree of bending) was not correct; the outside leg and knee of the rider were not sufficiently against the horse. The rider’s weight was too heavy to the outside so the rider couldn’t sit properly to the inside and could not use the inside seat bone correctly. The inside leg of the rider wasn’t driving enough; the half-halts to the outside weren’t quite right, etc., etc.

Excerpt from Dressage In Harmony: From Basic To Gszrand Prix, by Walter Zettl, published by Half Halt Press Inc. Used by permission of the publisher.

George Williams: Don’t Panic In The Pirouette

George Williams has ridden plenty of canter pirouettes. He’s a respected international rider, and on Chuck and JoAnn Smith’s mare Rocher, he was on track for a place on the 2004 Athens U.S. Olympic team before the mare was sidelined by an injury.

Williams was also the head trainer at Tempel Farms in Illinois for years before that, training the farm’s Lipizzan stallions in all the movements of high-level dressage.

He believes that riding a canter pirouette in a test presents its own problems, the primary one being nerves.

“Don’t panic. The key to any successful competitor is to know you have the time in the short amount of time you have between the movements to achieve this preparation. I try to think to myself, ‘Ride each step,'” he said.

“Ideally the pirouette has eight strides. So I think, ‘Great, I have eight strides in which to keep improving this movement.’ If you get into the pirouette wrong, or are unable to sustain it, do not give up. You can make it better. Re-give the canter aids and you may eke out an extra point. With a double coefficient, it’s not worth not trying to make it better.

“As in every movement of dressage, the key to riding a pirouette correctly is to have solid basics and to know how to properly prepare your horse for what’s coming next,” said Williams. “A good pirouette has a very distinct rhythm to the canter. It should be very easy to count the measured strides. If the first step is 12 inches, then the second step should be 12 inches. It should have no climbing feel to it at all. The horse should be comfortably confident in the pirouette.”

But under the pressurized situation of riding a canter pirouette in front of three to five judges, your peers and everyone else, things can go awry pretty fast. Not to worry, said Williams. Controlling every step is essential, and the only way to exact that kind of control is to prepare for it.

“The biggest error I see is the lack of throughness as a horse and rider approach the pirouette. Not only doesn’t lack of throughness prevent collection and straightness, but also it gives you no control over bending and turning. Often the horse is not honest about yielding to the rein, and the rider is afraid to touch the rein. If you can’t truly bend the horse, you can’t do a pirouette. The rib cages and the hips have to be soft and yielding–think of it as correct posture.

“Before the pirouette, I give the horse some test half-halts to make sure he’s responding to my aids. Then, three strides prior to the actual movement, I further collect the horse so I can control the height and length of his step. You want the last three strides before the pirouette to be in the tempo of the actual pirouette. If you have this control, you’ll then be able to effectively have control over the horse’s weight and balance.

“I initiate the actual turn with my inside rein. By using your inside rein, you create the bend through the head and neck. This brings the inside front leg in the direction of the turn. Then a half-halt initiates the weight in the haunches.

“My inside leg ‘jumps’ the horse’s stride forward, my outside leg keeps the hind legs moving in the direction of the turn.

“I often tell my students to visualize this: Think of moving the horse forward to the outside ear. By thinking this way, it helps keep the horse balanced and his posture correct in his rib cage, and it keeps him soft in the shoulders.

“It’s helpful for me to think ‘quick’ leg-aids. Many riders make the mistake of thinking that if they hold and squeeze with their legs, that they can physically hold the horse in place. I think more of a ‘breathing action’ with my legs. This keeps more forwardness in the stride and keeps my horse more sensitive to the aids too.

“The seat helps produce energy for the pirouette. I want to hold the pirouette with my seat, but not so much that I get tense or heavy in the saddle. I try to create energy with my seat, not block it.

“Another mistake is that people are not truly aligned with their horse. They look down and/or too much to the inside, and this throws the horse off balance. Remember that a horse wants to be underneath you, so if you lean to the inside of the turn because you are looking too much to the inside, the horse will speed up in order to try and stay under you. This affects your ability to control and produce measured steps.

“As I come to the end of the 360-degree turn, I’m already thinking ahead, how to get out of the pirouette and what’s next. Just as I prepare for the beginning of the movement, I have to prepare for the end too.

“I keep my horse collected and in the tempo of the pirouette for the first three strides out of the pirouette. Too many people charge out of the pirouette, and their horse gets too long and is unable to properly carry himself. I like to have the feeling that three or four strides later I could go straight into another pirouette.”

“It’s always going to come down to the basics. The 20-meter circle prepares you for the volte, and the volte prepares you for the pirouette. The same principles that govern the correct riding of a 20-meter circle govern the riding of a pirouette. Do not cheat on the basics. You can’t cheat at the 20-meter circle and expect to be able to do the pirouette later on the down the road.”

Nicole Lever