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WINTER in  FLORIDA  For the past several years I have had the wonderful opportunity of taking a few horses to south Florida for a month in the middle of winter. Knowing that I will be going to a major dressage Mecca is a motivating factor in itself. In January, when it is hard to stay motivated because it is cold and wet and there are no shows on the horizon, I know that the horses need to be kept in good shape so that they are ready for the serious work they will get in Florida.  Since I take 2-3 horses and stay for just one month, as opposed to ‘the season’, it is hard to make advance reservations for stalls and trainers. In the beginning this was difficult to live with. However, I am now confident that horses will get sore or sold and riders situations will change and by the time I am ready for the trip stalls will become available. This makes each year a surprise as far as stabling and training goes.  In 2005 and 2006, Five Star Farm was home for February. It is a beautiful stable with a nice covered arena. Mette Kjellerup is the owner/trainer. The stable is also open to outside trainers.  This year there were several Grand Prix horses in the barn and at neighboring facilities. It makes you sit up straighter just knowing the quality of riders in the ring with you.  Several mornings each week I had a lesson with Mette on Avrawn, the 14-year-old Connemera/ Thoroughbred cross,  I have been trying to get more competitive at I-2 this past year. While I was having my lesson there was an experienced GP rider on a very nice GP horse also having a lesson or the horse getting a training ride. It was interesting listening to the instruction going on in the arena, for a starting I-2 horse and for an experienced GP horse. One might think there would be a big difference but in fact the advice was remarkably similar. It was also quite similar to the advice I give the training/ first level riders I teach at home.  The instruction was about getting the horse in front of the leg, more engagement, controlling the neck (more throughness), controlling the shoulders (more straightness and balance) and the rider staying in control. Of course the degree of each of those can be incredible, but the basics are what you need to refresh and improve at every level. Even when working on specific movements most comments are on the horse staying in front of the leg/seat and staying active. The quality of every movement gets better as the rider is better able to keep the horse in front of the leg and active even in the strong collecting half-halts and movements.  Seeing how much the basics continue to be the focus of training even at the upper levels renewed my commitment to being much more attentive to the basics and keeping the expectations high when working with all my horses.             Basics- Rhythm-relaxation-contact-straightness-impulsion-collection