Watch Olympic dressage rider Laura Graves explain the importance of the shoulder-in and give her expert tips on schooling the shoulder-in properly.
About This Video
The shoulder-in isn’t just an important element of some dressage tests; it’s also a valuable tool for schooling. Olympic dressage rider Laura Graves, a member of the bronze medal-winning U.S. Dressage Team at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, gives you her tips for achieving a successful shoulder-in, and she demonstrates the exercises aboard Fizau and on her 2016 Olympic mount Verdades.
For more information about the sport of dressage, please visit the United States Dressage Federation and US Equestrian’s dressage page.
Key Principles:
- Yielding from Legs and Reins
- 10-Meter Circles
- Using Mirrors
- Common Mistakes
Additional Information
About The Expert
Laura Graves was a hairstylist in Boston in 2008 when she decided to turn to dressage full time with Verdades, whom her family bought from the Netherlands when he was six months old. Together, Graves and the headstrong, sensitive “Diddy” rose through the levels of competition and then captured the reserve championship, behind three-time Olympian Steffen Peters, at The Dutta Corp./USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship in 2014. Graves and Verdades competed on The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France, where they finished fifth in the Grand Prix Freestyle. In 2015, they earned an individual silver medal and team gold medal at the Pan American Games and returned, this time to win, at The Dutta Corp./USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship. In 2016, Graves and Verdades were team and individual gold medalists at the Stillpoint Farm FEI Nations Cup at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival of Champions 12. They also were members of the bronze medal-winning U.S. Dressage Team at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
To learn more about Laura Graves, please visit her website or follow her on Twitter or Instagram.
