Once the horse finds the collected canter and the working pirouette fairly straightforward, it’s time to start turning a little tighter. The key to this is not to overdo it straight away – it takes time for the horse to be physically and mentally able to cope with the exercise.
The most common way of approaching this transition is to take it from the working pirouette. The horse should already be comfortable in moving the canter around within the exercise. The rider can then turn the shoulders in a smaller circle around the quarters, decreasing the size of the pirouette.
The important thing to remember with this approach is not to increase the pressure with the outside leg. All too often, riders think they need to bring the quarters in more to create a small pirouette. In effect, this only unbalances the horse and makes maintaining the pirouette more difficult. Instead, it is more useful to think of turning the shoulders tighter. This ensures the horse can keep a correct and uniform bend and positioning, maintaining balance and engagement.
At around the same time I start tightening the working pirouette, I also start to introduce the quarter pirouettes on the square. Faults are most common in the entry and exit of the pirouette, so it’s important to work on these crunch points early on. I like the quarter pirouette because you can get in and get out again quickly, and work on the entry and exit without fatiguing the horse by doing endless half or full pirouettes.
Once again, it is really important to maintain the shoulder-fore feeling through the exercise. If the quarters start to drift in – or the shoulders out – on the straight lines of the square, it makes the turn more difficult to place and balance. In the early days, it can help to alternate a ‘normal’ quarter turn in shoulder-fore with the quarter pirouette. The helps the horse stay fresh and underlines the rider’s need for control over the shoulders.
Taking the pirouette tighter is a big ask for any horse and should be approached slowly and carefully, particularly with those that offer the collection with ease. As tempting as it is to use that natural ability, exploiting it too much puts the horse at greater risk of injury. Slow, steady progress is particularly important with this demanding movement, and the transition from working to tight pirouette should be treated with respect for both the exercise and the horse,