The Mark Todd Training Method

Set of 3 Videos.

Part 1= Mark starts by riding his British Open winner, Bahlua on the flat. He works on leg-yielding, shoulder-in, quarters-in, and half pass, showing how he keeps the horse in balance the whole time. Says Mark, "We want the horse to move more freely forward into the hands from the leg". Mark clearly demonstrates to camera what he is doing and his explanation of the movements and aids combined with detailed graphics produces excellent viewing.

Part 2= Riding Jued Lad Mark demonstrates how he would warm up for a dressage test giving useful tips on what to do during the test itself. His calm influence on his horse is most noticable and is sure to give confidence to the viewer. For the showjuming phase Mark rides a 5 year old. He deals with the jumping position, gridwork, helping with common problems such as rushing fences, straightness, establishing approach, establishing rythm, jumping out of canter and finally gives a fascinating example of tackling related distances.

Part 3= When buying a horse Mark's main advice is "don't buy trouble". If the horse has a history of any physical defects - don't be tempted. It's sheer delight to watch Mark riding the young horse - calm, clear, soft and sympathetic. Mark takes the viewer through the basic problems riders commonly encounter when trying to apply the aids to the untrained horse. Most riders are not lucky enough to have cross country facilities at home so Mark explains some training exercises which he uses in the school to give the horse basic experience at jumping a variety of standard fence designs - corner fences, bounces, angles, coffins.