Riding Masterclass offers a rare opportunity to experience tuition from the elite trainers of the equestrian world, including Carl Hester, Richard Davison and Christopher Bartle. Each lesson takes a 'real' horse and rider through an area of training with which they are struggling. Topics covered range from improving the way the horse moves to developing confidence in horse and rider. Lessons are enhanced with tips and fresh guidance from the experts themselves, offering riders new ideas and fresh insight.
The purpose of training the 'rational way' is to produce a versatile riding horse - a rounded individual well able to take part creditably in competitive events at a good middle-of-the-road level, whose preparation allows him to enjoy his working life, while contributing materially to his rider's enjoyment of the relationship. Topics covered include: grooming and handling, diet and routine, long-reining and transitions in-hand, work on the lunge, backing, communication, riding out, schooling, jumping, turning out, saddlery and equipment. The author acknowledges that there are other methods of training that achieve their results in a shorter space of time, but holds that the proven, 'rational way' described here, while taking longer, also lasts longer. It is more relevant to the modern requirement and more conducive to the production of the happy horse, balanced in mind and body.