...The Il Paretaio experience
Il Paretaio feeels like a home away from home for riders who have steeped themselves in classical dressage...with more than 20 high-quality school horses, it also caters to new or novice riders in addition to advanced dressage students.
Lessons run throughout the day, beginning at 7.30 a.m. with a large pause in the middle to seek reprieve from the heat....Most sessions begin with lateral movements in the walk and then progress to suppling figures at trot and then canter. Students spend ample time in the beginning of each lesson loosening their horses by riding figures and lateral work in a lively but relaxed walk. This phase of "connecting the horse's body to your seat and his mind to your mind", as Giovanni explained it, sets the stage for any training session to be productive.
In the walk, explains Cristina, considerable learning and progress happen for both horse and rider, but too many riders skip over it in their daily work. When they are too eager to get to the faster movements, they often skip the finest points of dressage. At Il Paretaio, students learn the value of that initial walk period, especially for touring through lateral movements and feeling every stride...
