‘I’m so proud of him’: horse trained bridleless from the start wins first dressage competition

A rider who won a dressage test without a bridle on a horse who has been trained from the start in this way said she is immensely proud of what he has achieved – and that he is demonstrating what is possible.

Mia Rodley and her seven-year-old Boogie won and came second in a “do dressage differently” show run by Equi-Fun Club at Plumpton College on 6 July. As founder of The Heart of Horsemanship, which offers natural horsemanship training, liberty work and displays, she rides frequently without a bridle. But Boogie is the first horse she has trained without one from the start.

“It was amazing; immense,” she told H&H. “I’m so proud of him, he’s an amazing horse. We’ve just moved and haven’t got an arena at the moment so he’s been hacking for six weeks. We went to the show with no expectations, just wanted to see how we went.

“We were about to leave and I thought I’d better get my sheets, and they said ‘You’ve come first and second’. I couldn’t believe it.”

Mia said she was delighted with the judges’ comments, which praised the harmonious partnership.

“I loved that, because it’s totally my goal,” she said. “That lovely feeling of complete synergy with your horse; on the ground and riding because with liberty, you’re just tapping into your horse’s mind, every millisecond, you’re with them on the ground, keeping that amazing mental connection. Bridleless is exactly the same – it’s liberty riding, basically.

“What’s really special with Boogie is, I’ve had him since he was a foal and his first ever ride was bridleless, and bareback, on the beach! It’s been a challenge for me to train collection without a bit or bridle in sight, so he’s not worn a bridle, other than when a friend rode him on a hack the other day, in any of his training.

“I’ve done it where I’ve got a very highly schooled horse, taken off the bridle and ride them bridleless, but the frame and collection have come from the reins and not from the horse’s true self-carriage. Boogie’s frame and self-carriage is entirely taught without a bit or bridle.”

Mia, who has been riding bridleless since she was a teenager, said it took a good 18 months to get Boogie to this stage. She taught him, starting from the ground, that a touch on the neck rope meant he should lift and engage his thoracic sling.

“It was gruelling and incremental, the tiniest little changes,” she said. “I just went with it, I trusted the process. I taught him that when I put a feel on the neck rope, it almost got him to sit back. When you ask your horse to back up, their whole body changes in their flexion before they actually move their feet; they shift their weight back, almost lift their back, then take a step backwards. That was literally what I was looking for in the early days.

“Then I took it to riding, and got it to where he could do it at halt, walk, do a few strides, trot. And now he’s built up to being able to maintain it for seven minutes and a whole dressage test. It’s phenomenal.”

Mia added that she has done many performances at shows bridleless, with other horses at liberty.

“That’s really cool but I was so intrigued by ‘Can you teach collection with no reins; can it be done?’” she said. “And Boogie’s proving it can be done.”

She added that the challenge has been finding show organisers and venues that will allow people to compete bridleless, as there are often concerns about safety and control. But she has full insurance to cover all her displays.

“I was really lucky that this was a ‘do dressage differently’ show so you could do it in tack not allowed by [British Dressage] BD, you could do it bareback or bitless. A couple of people did it bareback, and one lady did the most beautiful test bitless.

“I’d emailed the organiser, Rebecca from Equi-Fun, sent her videos of what we do, and said, I’m fully insured to do this, please, please, please will you let me try this bridleless? And she said yes. I’ve got a friend I was helping with a tricky horse a few years ago who organises dressage at Weston Lawns and she says I’m welcome to do it there, so that’s really amazing too.”

Mia said she and others who compete bridleless, such as young showjumper Thea Harkness, hope to inspire other riders – and venues to allow them to compete.

“I’d really like people to see that you don’t need a bridle, it’s not a necessary piece of equipment to be able to perform,” she said. “Loads of people do this recreationally, for fun, but having it in competition – I think the message is you have to have the horse’s mind before you have their body. I think we’ve all ridden a horse where you don’t have their mind and can’t get their body, even with reins or a bit. You have to have that mental connection with them.”

Mia said both she and Thea warmed up with a bitless bridle for extra safety, and she knows there would have to be stringent health and safety risk assessments to allow more bridleless competing.

“Most of us are thorough in our training, and we won’t put ourselves or our horses in a situation where we don’t think they’re going to do well anyway,” she said. “And it’s showcasing that you can do it bridleless, and it is the ultimate test of that mental connection. Especially in light of everything happening in the equestrian world at the moment, it would be spectacular if more people were allowed to compete bridleless.”

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