Tricia Gardiner draws on her experience as a trainer and competitor to describe the essentials of training a young dressage horse. She considers the basics of choosing a horse, selecting the right equipment and early work on the lunge and under saddle. She also covers general suppling work, schooling exercises and movements that need to be taught at Novice, Elementary and Medium level and offers advice on coping with problems of evasion and on riding at competitions.