Frankie's First 10 Weeks Under Saddle | From Pace to Balanced Trot

*Frankie's Classical Dressage Journey | The First 10 Weeks Under Saddle* This video follows **Frankie**, my 16-year-old former polo pony, during his first ten weeks of ridden training. Before I ever sat on him, Frankie had already spent four weeks working from the ground. During this time, he rediscovered a regular rhythm in trot while being lunged in a cavesson and learned the first basics of *shoulder-in* and *leg-yield* in hand. The first ride at the end of April 2026 was not intended to be perfect—it was simply an assessment to find out how much of his groundwork Frankie could transfer to ridden work. The answer was clear: *he did not enjoy carrying a rider while learning completely new movement patterns.* As soon as I asked for shoulder-in or leg-yield under saddle, Frankie expressed his discomfort by swishing his tail, tossing his head, drifting sideways, and avoiding any real bending of his hind legs underneath his body. Instead of moving forward in a relaxed, open frame and finding a balanced trot, he repeatedly fell back into **pace and tölt**. Transitions into trot from leg-yield or from canter simply did not work. Eventually, frustration got the better of him. After offering a few powerful but completely tense piaffe-like steps, Frankie made it clear that he had reached his limit for the day. Rather than continuing the struggle, I focused on rebuilding his confidence. We finished the session with a relaxed walk on a long rein, allowing him to leave the arena calm and positive. Ten weeks later, the picture has already changed dramatically. Frankie's owner, **Kate**, is now riding him around the arena in a relaxed, open frame with a steady, rhythmic trot. Because Kate is a lightweight rider with a quiet, balanced seat, Frankie is able to organize his body much more easily and maintain his rhythm, even through changes of rein on curved lines. At this stage, he still needs two trot poles to help him find the correct trot transition. Without the poles, he often slips back into pace, showing that rebuilding correct movement patterns takes time and patience. The final part of the video shows another training session with me. I begin introducing a slightly more collected frame through lateral work. Frankie is now able to perform *shoulder-in* and *travers* in walk with noticeably better bend, balance, and contact. We also achieve our first large **turn on the haunches**, an exercise that would have been impossible just a few weeks earlier. Although the trot transitions are still tense at times, Frankie can now strike off into trot without relying on ground poles. His new head and neck position still feels unfamiliar, and he occasionally falls onto the inside shoulder, but he is beginning to understand how to bend correctly without completely losing his rhythm. We finish the session on a loose rein with a relaxed, happy horse stretching willingly forward and downward—a small but very meaningful reward after weeks of patient, systematic work. This series documents Frankie's complete transformation from a stiff former polo pony with laterally displaced gaits into a horse that is gradually developing balance, suppleness, and correct biomechanics through classical dressage. Progress is not always linear, but every small improvement brings us one step closer to a healthier, happier horse. If you enjoy honest training videos that show both the challenges and the successes of horse rehabilitation, don't forget to **like**, **subscribe**, and follow Frankie's continuing journey. *#ClassicalDressage #HorseTraining #PoloPony #HorseRehabilitation #Dressage #LateralWork #ShoulderIn #Travers #Biomechanics #Equestrian #HorseTransformation #Groundwork #ClassicalRiding #Malta*