When Two Spines Align: Dressage Dynamics: Attain Remarkable Riding Rapport with Your Horse

Within riding there exists a fundamental conflict of interest: The rider needs to have control – their confidence depends on their ability to control the balance of their own body as well as that of their very powerful horse. The horse, by nature, needs to feel free—free in both mind and body to express himself through physical movement. In this book, author Beth Baumert, writer and editor at the internationally recognised equestrian magazine Dressage Today, resolves this conflict by taking a close look at the individual components that make up riding and dressage. Beth provides insight gleaned from years of working with the best riders, trainers, and judges in the dressage world, and details practical ways riders can learn to harness the balance, energies, and forces at play when they’re in the saddle.  Readers will discover how to use 'positive tension' and what the author calls the four physical 'Powerlines' — Vertical, Connecting, Spiralling, and Visual — to become balanced and effective in the saddle.  Readers will then find ways to understand and manage the horse’s balance and coordination challenges, including the fact that he is inherently crooked and naturally inclined to do too much with his front end and not enough with his hind.  Ultimately, the rider learns to regulate and monitor the horse’s rhythm, energy, flexion, alignment, bend, the height and length of his neck, and, finally, his line of travel by properly aligning their spine with his. When the centre of gravity of a balanced rider is directly over the centre of gravity of a balanced horse, that place where two spines align becomes the hub for rider and horse harmony — a dynamic and remarkable riding rapport that yields beautiful performance.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Axel Steiner Preface Introduction: The Possibility of Magic Part 1: How Riders Work Chapter 1: The Seat — The Place Where Two Spines Meet Chapter 2: An Introduction to Powerlines Chapter 3: The Vertical Powerline — Power to GO Chapter 4: The Connecting Powerline — Suppleness to STOP Chapter 5: The Spiraling Powerline — Flexibility to TURN Chapter 6: The Visual Powerline — Connecting the the Outside World Chapter 7: Clear Aids for Communication Part 2: How Horses Work Chapter 8: Balance Issues Chapter 9: How the Horse's Weight Distribution Changes Chapter 10: Impulsion and Engagement Chapter 11: Leverage for Collection Chapter 12: Transitions Chapter 13: Half-Halts Part 3: How Two Spines Meet in Balance Chapter 14; Rhythm Chapter 15: Energy Chapter 16: Flexion of the Poll Chapter 17: Spinal Alignment Chapter 18: the Bend Chapter 19: The Height of the Neck Chapter 20: The Length of the Stride Chapter 21: The Line of Travel Chapter 22: Figures and Movements Conclusion: the Probability of Magic Photograph and illustration credits Index

About the Author :
Beth Baumert trains horses and riders at Cloverlea Dressage LLC in Columbia, Connecticut, the farm she and her husband Alan have owned since 1973. They have two sons in New York City and Colorado, and a daughter, Grand Prix rider Jennifer Baumert, who operates Cloverlea Dressage LLC in Waxhaw, North Carolina, and Loxahatchee, Florida. Beth's primary interest and field of study has always been rider education. For many years, she produced videos of the Aachen Dressage Show, as well as other instructional videos/DVDs, so American dressage riders could aspire to the European standard. She is a USDF-Certified Instructor and was the initial editor for Dressage Today magazine and has served as its technical editor for most of the years since the magazine's beginning in 1994. In that capacity, Beth is in constant contact with the best dressage riders in the world as they discuss and write about the technical aspects of dressage. Beth is on the Board of Directors of The Dressage Foundation (TDF) and serves as President. TDF is on a mission to cultivate and provide financial support for the advancement of dressage in the United States. To learn more about dressage, visit Beth's website: Dressage-Dynamics.com.

Review :
The best reason to read When Two Spines Align is that your horse will thank you for it – no matter what your discipline. ... When you move in true harmony with your horse so that it looks as if the movements are his idea – it's the moment we all strive for. This book can help you get there. This book is truly timeless. I can humbly admit that it clarified some subject even for me, after a lifetime of being involved with dressage. It is the equivalent of countless clinics given by some of the best in the world. Beth Baumert and I are on the same wavelength when it comes to horses and dressage training. Now she has created the best guide I've seen for those who really want to grasp the ins and outs of dressage – I've never read a book covering all facets of dressage in this detail. With all that is going on in our sport today, I hope that riders – now and in the future – will pursue dressage as it is described here by Beth. I absolutely LOVE this book! It grabbed me from the moment I read the words 'perfect balance' and 'that place where two spines meet' – you get such a great visual from this! When teaching, it can be a struggle to help riders who can't seem to balance themselves. This is where author Beth Baumert provides a valuable tool: She explains why the rider's balance is the key to the horse's balance and how a controlled interaction of balance ultimately leads to success and harmony. This book is where the magic begins. Sometimes when I'm teaching I find myself thinking my student really needs to read Beth Baumert's book. The perspective and the words she's chosen give a welcomed fresh approach to describing the theories behind training. This is easily the most influential book I have read for a long, long time. So many great concepts it is almost overwhelming. HUGE thumbs up you will love this book.  Beth Baumert's book is desperately needed. I see many riders going down the wrong road, often because of a dubious understanding of the term 'dressage' and a limited view of its importance. Whatever you are riding – whether hunters, ponies, jumpers – I recommend that you learn about and use dressage in your schooling, if only for reasons of maintaining soundness. I'm lucky that, in my life of riding and teaching, there has never been jumping without flatwork. But that's in my own little world. Today's riders are too consumed with cosmetics and competition. Even riders at the top have somehow lost what the Masters knew centuries ago! Every rider needs to know the basic tenets of dressage, and so I recommend When Two Spines Align: Dressage Dynamics. I can't say enough good about it. This is a great book! It mirrors what I see in Beth Baumert's students--they all demonstrate a very classical way of riding and training horses. When Two Spines Align: Dressage Dynamics clearly explains the classical foundation of how the rider should balance and sit so that he or she can then educate the horse. Beth has provided a valuable tool for all kinds and levels of riders."--Bo Jena, Chef d'Equipe, Swedish Dressage Team and FEI 4* Judge