The Dressage Rider's Survival Guide: Memoirs of a Struggling Dressage Rider

By Margaret A. Odgers and Eva Sandor

From the foreword entitled 'A Guide to Apportioning Blame' and with insightful topics such as the use of aids, costs of the sport and physical fitness required, the reader is in for a laugh-out-loud teat. Given the desperate need for humour in the dressage world, this book comes in the nick of time.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0939481707
• ISBN13: 9780939481705
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Half Halt Press
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A warm-hearted reality check - Enjoy dressage!

I bought this book on a whim and thoroughly enjoyed it. The entertaining commentary kept the book fast-paced and I found I read through it very quickly. The book has given me a renewed perspective on dressage and taught me to enjoy where I'm at right now in my dressage journey. This is a very unique book that is universally relevant to dressage riders (I'm from Australia!) Well worth a read.

Am I On the Bit?

This is a book every struggling novice dressage rider should read. What a great perspective on the nearly-impossible we're all striving for! Just when I'd begun to feel as if First Level was out of reach of my "Not Really" Level talents, Odgers jumped (with great agility and fellowship) on my dream with her detailed research and great understanding of what really constitutes success in dressage. I needed to be jumped on. I was beginning to dream about my horses working "on the bit", when in truth, I'm not sure I'd recognize it if the horse announced it in perfect English! Now I feel free to blow off first (and second!) levels with impunity since only third is worth the effort. No more tests, just endless lessons. Joy! Clinics are a superb way of life, particularly when they include lovely food and the occasional glass of sherry, and I can talk the talk without ever having to have my white breeches cleaned again. Odgers is a joy to read, and someone I would definitely enjoy on a horsey play-date.

comic relief for the overstressed dressage rider

I came across this book just months after starting my own fledgling efforts at dressage. It is probably one of the biggest reasons I have kept at it since and not been intimidated or overwhelmed. This book gives you new eyes thru which to see the stuffed shirt parts of dressage as something demanding and worthy, but silly and laughable! I am eternally grateful to Odgers for blessing us with this gift of humor and comic relief. If i could i would buy one for everyone in my barn!

Laugh-out-loud funny!

Anyone who has ridden dressage will find this book hilarious. After I read it, I purchased three more for my trainer and two of my fellow "DQ's". We all talk about certain passages and the silly and sometimes sad truths of the typical dressage journey. A must read!

Great read for riders of all disciplines!

What a funny book! Ms. Odgers experiences trancend the world of dressage as her experiences contained universal truths that I am sure are felt across equine disciplines. Highly recommend it for riders of all ilks. AND it makes a greate gift!