Walk-Trot Transitions Tutorial With Sarah Williams

Horsemart brand ambassador and International Dressage rider, Sarah Williams, gives us an insight into how she handles her walk-trot transitions, with a focus on the horse and rider working together in the movement of the connection.
Here's what she had to say about the tutorial;
"This is a very quick tutorial on the walk, improving the quality of the walk, the walk to trot transition, and a couple of tips on how to develop responsiveness.
"So this is Reggie, a show jumper I have re-trained. He belongs to one of my owners. He's not your conventional dressage horse; quite short and round, not built particularly uphill. I liken his shape to one of those balance gym balls that you work on to develop your core strength; they make it very difficult to find the centre of balance. This is the same with the horse sometimes, if there is a little bit more length in their back it is easier to actually find the centre of balance on the horizontal frame, and then start to develop a more uphill frame and way of going.
"So basically, with the walk-trot transition and then back down to trot-walk, you need to develop the feeling of the walk through your hips into your hands, as I have described in my other tutorials. All my tutorials link, working upwards and forwards through the levels.
"So as you can see, I have raised my hands a little again, so you can see what my arms are doing; moving forward and back with the contact. In the walk, I very gently press with my calves - almost like squeezing water out of a sponge - to ask for the trot. As soon as the horse trots I immediately go into swinging my hips forward and down, and my elbows bend and straighten like a small press up. This enables me to flow with the horse.
"Then, when I want to walk, in this very basic transition I relax my legs, drop my heels down, and slow and lower my rise so that my body becomes stiller but not blocked. At the same time - with my hands in the contact - I start to very gently reduce the bending and straightening of my elbows, letting the movement get smaller and smaller with my rise, so that my hands are almost still once I'm back in a sitting position. Then, once in walk again, I immediately resume pushing my hands forwards and backwards to accommodate the movement of the walk. As I've said before, the contact should be like Chihuahuas or small Jack Russells on a lead going for a walk. I would only start to use sitting trot further into the training session as the horse warms up through the back and the muscles.
"I hope this has been helpful. Feel free to ask me any questions. You can message me on Facebook or Instagram @sarahwilliamsdressage."