Let's Judge Horse Trainers: Amelia Newcomb Dressage

**ALL RALEIGH LINK VIDEOS ARE LEGALLY USING ORIGINAL CONTENT UNDER FAIR USE PRINCIPLES & ARE PROTECTED UNDER SECTION 107 OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT. ALL VIDEOS ARE JUST MY OPINION**

[valcurley]

I don’t agree with your evaluation of AN at all. I stopped watching her after just a few videos because she just is not a great trainer/rider. Take what she says around 6:40 about having ridden horses with no back muscles that sore up from being ridden with a saddle; I always start such horses with proper ground work that builds up proper muscling BEFORE I ride them. Once they know how to use those muscles correctly the saddling and careful early riding should never hurt the horse. NEVER! If you follow her you have not had enough correct dressage training to evaluate her correctly. Sorry, but I just can’t watch anymore of this video after a remark like that.

[sunnybunny]

I disagree. She is very helpful in her instruction, but her horses are nearly always slightly behind the vertical and not pushing to the contact, including in the video you reacted to. While I agree she has helpful tips, I disagree with her execution of it on the horse.

[superlativesultan]

Sorry but I do feel that you are biased this time around Raleigh. She said she sees/feels that riding young horses (doing so herself) with no topline hurts them. She then says that building muscle in the topline is to carry the rider's weight.
THEN THIS SHOULD BE DONE ON THE GROUND FIRST AND FOREMOST. Under muscled horses should NOT be ridden as it causes damage to their muscular and skeletal system. There are plenty of exercises to be done AND mastered on the ground before moving to mounted work.

[truthseeker]

Shame about the seesawing though at 15.50, personally I would of thought/expected someone at this level could be capable of collecting their horse without this method

[arielkeys]

I used to be a big fan of her until I started finding multiple videos of her with her horse btv constantly(more than just a mistake or moment), nagging with constant use with spurs, I still like her and agree she has some good advice, but I just wish she wouldn’t do that

[shyem]

I don´t like how she kicks him with spurs all the time.

[acka.]

I'm sorry but I disagree. She says all the right words, but what she shows is not correct biomechanics.

Her horse is constantly behind the vertical all throughout the video, which has been proved to be detrimental to the horse. It's making his neck muscles brace and pop up higher than the poll, closing the throat angle which makes breathing hard. She calls it round in the neck, but that's not what round in the neck should look like. He's not on the bit either, he's either avoiding it or his face is being pulled backwards by it.
The horse should have a soft, arched neck, without muscles bulging, where no matter the height, the head remains in front of the vertical or AT MOST at the vertical. If the nostrils are behind the line of the eyes, it's not correct movement.
She is also constantly nagging him with her spurs and has got his mouth closed shut (not surprising as horses ridden BTV often display stress behaviors in the mouth region, which you can still see in some parts of this video). This is all extremely common practice in the dressage world, and it is not in favor of the horse's well being.

I would recommend any beginner coming across this, if they wanted to take a look at her content, to only listen to what she says and not to use her visuals as a model, as it's simply not correct.

[commonsense]

I don't understand why so many people find it necessary to use spurs. A well trained horse should not need spurs.

[vivientakacs]

I usually agree with you but ....not with this.
Her horse, that isn't a newly beginner trained horse, but a competition horse, is way behind the vertical. That horse was not once on the bit like she claimed. The highest point was also not once the poll, but the 2nd/3rd vertebrae. I've also found out quite recently, that the middle of the neck part should not be protruding like that. These are already signs that the horse has a very bad headset, and is "clenching" (not exactly but I don't have another word for it) the head and neck in. The gland right behind the back of the jaw is also raised, which means inflammation/pain of the glands. It's not healthy whatsoever. And you know these. I mean you have talked about Rollkur before. While this is not exactly that, but it does get in the "harmful for the horse" area. I also don't know why you think it's good for these horses to have a round neck when it isn't actually round, it's broken at the 2nd/3rd vertebrae and does cause harm to the horse overtime. Maybe you should look into classical dressage masters. Two I can recommend are Anja Beran and Sonja Weber. Anja Beran has a short video even where she explains some huge wrongs in the competitive dressage (that Amelia is also training btw), but there are many, many more.
Also as someone who is against bits, I cannot understand how you agree with the training of someone who obviously has an extra noseband so the horse doesn't have the chance to avoid pain of the bit and the horse is also showing pain face...like her horse in this looked shut down mentally.
You should recommend trainers that are actually training for the horse and how you become a better horse person and not trainers who are focused on training the horse for competition. Yes, topline is important, but that's something you can train without having to take the hoerse's head IN, instead of letting the head move freely while you train the back.
I hope you will see my comment so you better educate yourself about dressage, though I was hoping you'd already know better. I'm disappointed in you.

[amygrund]

I have to agree with the comments on her constantly jabbing with her spurs and the horse behind the vertical. I normally agree with your reviews but this time i just dont see it. Her words mean one thing her actions another. Also it cant be good for a horse to be forced to hold that position long term. Idk how long these rides are typically but I challenge people to flex their abs and jog for an hour (most people cant even hold an ab flex while standing). Its just not natural to be flexing constantly while moving.

[indigo]

I definitely think that she explains things well and is clearly very experienced but in this video she consistently puts her horse behind the vertical and flaps her lower legs to the point her spurs are providing a confusing signal to the horse.

[nicholewinters]

Was a longtime fan of hers until recently. This is one of her nicer videos for sure. She's been riding horses that are way too young with their mouths strapped shut and always BTV as she's heavy on the reins. She can't seem to stop spurring so much it's become distracting too. Her videos have great tips still, but her horses are more frequently displaying signs of discomfort and pain. It made me sad to realize I can't follow her anymore, but I can't watch babies being ridden like that.

[agatach]

She does have a lot of good educational video but she keeps riding her horses behind the vertical and I cannot unsere it 😢

[annalatrocka]

I’m actually a little bit surprised with calling Amelia a A+ trainer. While I love her as a person and believe she wants all the best for her horses, she is herself rather harsh with her horses, rides them against basic biomechanics. Even the thumbnail you chose shows many wrongs. The horse is visibly displeased, with visible salivary gland (even in front of the vertical can be bad!!). She seesaws, uses spurs harshly and even from the ground uses methods that long ago have been proven wrong. She is a good teacher but can teach a lot of bad things. She claims she rides from the back to the front, but you can observe on many (even her students’) videos that that’s just a catch phrase. Horses are usually ridden with hollow backs and the hind legs way in the back, while the horse is broken in the neck. As I do not want to hate on her or you, I also still ask to not promote that riding. I would recommend Kata Szwaja or Manolo Mendez as better examples.

[loesvanderveen]

I disagree.. she seesaws with the bit multiple times in this video alone. She has a video on asking the horse on the bit while standing still and talks about how the aids should be invisible, but while saying that she pushes her spurs in his belly creating big wrinkles in his belly. At the same time pulling on the bit to make his head come down.
Im really suprised you support this kind of riding.. look in to academic art of riding for lovely dressage art with respect and love towards the horse❤

[yourhomie]

I don’t even know that much about this but I have to disagree with you on this the horse looks visibly uncomfortable.

[Pferdeclique]

I really agree with most of the more critical and objective comments on her riding in this particular video. She talks about good riding, skills and exercises etc. but here I see a horse thats more than one or two times unhappy about her aids (and reacts accordingly). I didnt know her before this video, so I guess, I have kind of a fresh view. And unfortunatly, at the end I dont see an A+ Rider in this video. Many comments before refered to her very visible and oftentimes rough leading, her wobbly legs, her kicking, her wrong use of spurs, the horse being behind the vertical etc. An additional point: for the rein back she would have gotten a very bad score. The horse is clearly stepping with one leg at a time and thats how it not should be.
At the bottom line, I have to say that I would not but her in an A tier based on this video. I have seen better work and better riders.
Others already recommended alternatives and I also have one: Riding academy by Wolfgang Rust. Thats what I call an A tier rider.

If you are one of those blindly loyal followers: please try to be more objective and compare other riders! For a layman this might look like a very experienced rider with great skills but thats fatal because in this case the details matter more than ever! Just because something just looks right, it might not be so right.

[KathyS]

I wholeheartedly disagree. Amelia says correct things but her riding does not show correct principles. The horse is very clearly behind the vertical through the majority of the ride, while she leans back against the big saddle knee blocks and pulls more. A horse on or behind the vertical cannot see and it negatively affects breathing. The horse's nose should be slightly in front of the vertical with self carriage. When Amelia says the horse is 'above the bit' the horse actually looked decent, then she pulls it back behind the vertical. I hope as a vet you do not encourage this type of riding that negatively affects the horse.

[alisonjem]

Amelia rides in a bit and has the head of the horse in very yanked vertical positions that look completely unnatural and irritating to the horse. So I ask how is that a great example of good framing for the horse muscle development if she is forcing gross positions just for her dressage work? Don’t you talk about in your previous videos and vet studies how these forced positions are bad for the horse in general and their muscle development? Or maybe that was Milestone Equestrian, but it’s concerning you don’t mention that. Not to mention the stress you can clearly see on the horses faces in many of Amelias videos. Also, all the exercises Amelia does can all be done in a neck rope or halter, (yes you can teach all the things Amelia is doing in a neck rope or halter with the horse learning proper frames, no bits required to force the horse). I do agree with your example of link and how you let his head stretch low and natural doing a similar exercise in transitions to help build top line, but you can also just do backing exercises on the ground in a collected frame everyday or the halt/rein back under saddle. Amelia does mention the backing and rein back, but her execution is disgusting as she is constantly pulling the horse behind the vertical in this video in the under saddle work for engaging the hind end. But if her overall horses frame is forced with a (flash and tight rein work with a bit), is she really a great example for other people to watch for horsemanship and riding exercises? Yes, even I have watched some of her videos, and she is not terrible and can explain things well on certain subjects, but overall the form of riding she uses is what the world needs less of (tight bits and tight rein work). Why not highlight trainers instead who do neck reining on a completely loose rein, one reining hackamore horses, or those who do liberty, and those who only ride in neck ropes completely bridle-less or just in a halter…who also perpetuate proper frames and top line work without cheating with bits? Should of given Amelia a B+ not an A+ lol. Maybe even a B- for the constant overuse of spurs and giving the horse no mental responsibility to do what she asks… aka horsemanship and liberty training proper frames and collection. Raleigh you should address these things a little more so more people ride their horses on a loose rein with mental collection as well as physical collection.

[tarryncollins]

It doesn't bother you that the horse is consistently behind the vertical which the science says is bad for a horse and the constant see sawing of her hands to keep his head there?