American professional dressage rider Eliza Sydnor Romm attended the 2025 USDF Trainers Conference at Mary Anne McPhail’s High Meadows Farm in Florida, where US team trainer Christina Traurig and German team trainer Monica Theodorescu provided valuable instruction. Sydnor took notes from day 1, including insights on working with young horses, suppleness, transitions, and alignment.

Some key takeaways from the seminar included the importance of flexion before working on bending and suppleness, the value of riding bent lines and transitions on bent lines, and the significance of maintaining alignment and suppleness in the horse. Exercises such as leg yielding, transitions, and serpentine patterns were highlighted as effective tools for improving balance, suppleness, and reactions to aids in the horse.

Other riders at the conference, such as Neve Myburgh, Chris Hickey, Kate Shoemaker, and Olivia LaGoy-Weltz, also received valuable feedback and instruction on various aspects of dressage training, including warm-up routines, canter work, lateral movements, and transitions. The trainers emphasized the importance of patience, correct aids, and maintaining a connection with the horse throughout the training process.