An introduction and how do I tell if I've found a good dressage trainer?

I'm fine with yelling, especially if they are trying to make a point clear (foul language is fair game too..).

I like to know *why*. Yelling at me to do this, do that, blah, blah, blah doesn't tell me why I need to do that and how it affects my horse. I really like my current trainer because she tells me what to do in the midst of the moment but explains why later on. So she'll yell at me to shorten my outside rein and then later tell me that my horse was falling out because I had zero contact with the outside rein and it needed to be shorter.

I like a trainer who pinpoints when things are going good and tells me exactly then so I can FEEL it and remember and strive for that feeling again.

Trainer should concentrate more on the quality of how the horse goes with you , and your riding, rather than the geometry of the ride and whether or not you can do such and such a test.

Should never tire of being asked questions, and never act as if a question you ask is a dumb one.

Always have the greatest consideration for the horse; giving multiple stretch downs during the lesson and never doing a lesson if your horse is "off", even if it means losing money for themselves.

This this this!!!

Totally agree.

The best advice I can give is to find a good communicator. This is the type of trainer who explains what your are doing with clarity, and you leave understanding exactly what you did and why - like Delfina's trainer. I've had trainers who literally just barked orders but made no effort to really explain the "why" which is needed and very beneficial as you build off of your basics and on to a new level.

I would also advise finding someone who is still actively pursuing and broadening their education. Anyone who says that they never need someone watching them from the ground is someone I would be suspicious of.

A yeller is never OK with me - ever. I am respectful and considerate and I expect the same from them. To each his own.

I hope you find a good fit for you!

For me,i have found that I like trainers who push me to do better. As kayty said , trainers that arent honest and tell you crap arent going to benefit you. You will never progress. Also trainers should work on you more than the horse. You can't expect your horse to be good if you are a horrible rider.

I rememberwhen I went for jump lessons once, the first thing that was worked on was me. I had ALOT to work on. Yeah my horse could jump awesome but I needed to learn how to jump correctly and safely!

Find a trainer you like and that knows what theyre on about. Otherwise you are wasting your time and more importantly MONEY! Lessons are expensive!

Wow! Thank you everyone for all of your suggestions. This has been incredibly helpful. I've got a pretty good picture of what to look for now and I'm sure I'm going to be searching for a while to find someone who matches it ;) Leave the head alone, run if there are gadgets involved, honest person who can communicate well and is still learning. Trust my gut. Got it!

I guess I should have said a bit more about myself in the first post. I would describe myself as a good rider. I can sit just about anything and I have fairly good posture. The unfortunate thing is that I've been -how do I say this kindly- messed up by multiple trainers. I have about 12 years of weekly lessons in my history: with the first person anything I learned was from the horses, and the next person, it turns out, taught me a lot of bad things (see-sawing on the rains, etc. Bleh!). That's why I'm taking the utmost care to find a really, really good person to teach me now. :P

Haha. Don't tell my horse I said this, but that describes her pretty accurately. I wouldn't be taking lessons with her, though.

I've been messed up by several trainers as well, but once you find a good one it really, really helps. I had been taught by a terrible trainer, who would blame me for 'abusing' her horses, when she was really the one abusing them. She told me that all horses needed tight draw reins and martingales and that horses should always start jumping at 2. Once I found a good trainer I was taught about how wrong all of those things are and would never go back to that. Plus my riding improved immensely.

Good luck!

Start out with someone that can give you longe lessons. That way you can focus on your position and making sure you're on the same page and have a good foundation to build upon as you progress with your lessons.

I really like Val's list. I'd also like to add that my biggest red flag is an instructor that just has you walk, trot, and canter in big circles or around on the rail (especially given that you already know how to ride). Even when you're just starting out you can start learning the basics of exercises like leg yielding or being implementing baby serpentines.

I like to use lots of exercises to change things up and keep it interesting both for the rider and for the horse. If you just ride in a big circle it's going to be hard to improve .

^ I actually NEED circles!! Mine are terrible.

The best dressage coach I have ever had spent literally 1/2 an hour yelling at me either "SIT UP HEELS DOWN" or "CIRCLES ARE ROUND"... 2 lessons on a lesson horse and BAM huge difference to MY horse when I came home and rode him.

I am now having lessons with a girl my age, who is a dressage rider at a pretty decent level. Medium isn't to be sneezed at (think it's equivalent to about 3rd??)! She had me show her where my horse and I were at, and then offered guidance. She's pretty good but nowhere near as awesome as the lady I had on my visit to NSW - but ah, them's the breaks, I'm not working 12-13 hours a day for a week for two lessons from my friend :P I'm not paying either atm due to lack of funds. It's good for me, because I get her guidance and eyes on the ground from someone who knows what they're doing, and it's good for her because it's teaching practice for her win-win.