Dressage Q&A with Janet Foy

USEF S and FEI 4* Dressage Judge Janet Foy issued an invitation to the dressage population: “Ask me your toughest dressage questions; ask me about the things about riding, training, and competing that you just don’t understand; or, just ask me the questions you’re always afraid to ask because you don’t want to look like you don’t know what you’re doing!” The result was an outpouring of queries, from riders at every level, and from both those who just ride for fun as well as those who show. Foy has earned a dedicated following over many years teaching popular clinics alongside US Olympians Steffen Peters and Debbie McDonald, and her vast knowledge of the sport of dressage and trademark sense of humor propelled her first book Dressage for the Not-So-Perfect Horse to bestseller status. Now, for her eagerly awaited follow-up, she’s responded to the hundreds of dressage questions she’s received in an easy-to-engage-with Q-and-A format. Readers find no-nonsense answers to everything from understanding how horses learn the movements to really “getting” the importance of the outside rein to gaining coordination and achieving “throughness.” As always, Foy’s enthusiasm emanates from her words, and her drive to provide solid understanding is underscored by her insistence that riding dressage is, above all, fun.