15/09/2026
Contact is an illusion
I often say to my students: contact is an illusion.
You can’t grab onto it and hold it like a Jack Russell with a toy. 😂
True contact isn’t something you take or hold. You allow it to come to you—and then you allow it to go again.
As the horse swings through the body and moves towards balance, the contact will naturally come and go.
When the contact comes, that is where it can help you rebalance the horse. This is where the half-halt becomes a transition—a moment where you influence the balance without taking the horse’s balance away from them.
When the contact goes, that’s where the magic happens.
You don’t chase it. You don’t grab for it. You allow the horse to seek the contact, stretch into it and find their own balance.
The goal isn’t to constantly feel the horse in your hands.
The goal is to create a horse that chooses to stay connected to your hand because they have found balance through your seat, leg and the way you influence their body.
The contact comes.
The contact goes.
And somewhere in between those two moments, the horse finds balance.
Of course, in riding, we never stop assessing, analysing and thinking about how we can improve our influence, our timing and our technique.
There is so much more to this philosophy, and so much more we could talk about when it comes to contact, balance and influence.
But that’s for another day 😏
© Marvin Smink | Smink Dressage Group
www.marvinsmink.com
Photo credit: James Abernethy
r.breeches
