Welcome to Kind, Intelligent, Soft and Simple Dressage
NEW! - KISS Dressage is happy to announce the formation of an Ecole de Legerete (Philippe Karl's Instructors course) in Pennsylvania. For detailed info please visit: pkinpa.com
We are Brenda Lantz and Callie Fulmer, two like-minded horse enthusiasts. We would like to thank you for checking out our home on the web. This site is divided into two main categories.
Information (left side)- where you will find information about us and the services we offer.
Educational Tools (right side)- All of the links on the right hand side of our site are intended as an educational tool. We have pulled together various web sites, books, articles, videos and other resources that we believe can help the reader understand and see what we believe are examples of Kind, Intelligent, Soft, and Simple Dressage.
Disclaimer: Please note that our direct experience with the individuals, organizations, and publications listed below varies. For example, some trainers we have worked with extensively, others we have with only at clinics, some we only know by their written work or videos, and still others we have only read some of their work. In all cases, we feel we know enough to say they are working in a way that is kind, intelligent, soft, and simple. We feel they have something to offer the rider who is looking for an alternative to “modern dressage”.Our KISS Philosophy.......
KIND - We recognize that all riders share a love of horses. We strive to not only be kind to our horses by not using devices as part of our training, we also seek the release of the aids and self-carriage as the kindest way to ride.
Besides kindness to the horse, we also seek to be kind in our training of the rider. We appreciate your individual strengths and weaknesses and don’t expect you and your horse to fit some “cookie cutter” picture of perfection. Each horse, no matter what breed, type, or conformation is special, and we will gladly work with the horse you have chosen and love.
INTELLIGENT - We take a rational, academic approach to riding. We have studied the history of dressage, read the masters and other noteworthy trainers, and even looked at other disciplines. This education gives us a broader sense of experiences than we could ever hope to gain by our practice alone.
We encourage our students to become students of the art. Examining the literature gives the student an overview in theory that is often missed due to the specific nature of lessons which can only focus on one horse and rider in a specific moment in time.
SOFT - Softness encompasses relaxation, gentleness and lightness. The horse needs to be relaxed to properly supple his body and focus his mind. The rider needs to be relaxed so the aids will be light and gentle.
By keeping softness in the rider’s body, the horse more easily uses his own body.
SIMPLE - By keeping the aids simple, the rider can focus on what is or isn’t working and correct it, rather than just “doing more”. When training problems occur, we break the problem down into the simplest parts. Since we are teaching communication between two different species, we believe the communication should be kept as simple as possible for clarity. There is no advanced riding, only basic riding done well.